Thought I would share this on the health and fitness forum just in case others find themselves or someone they know in the same situation.
I am 57, 5' 11", 165 lbs. I'm in above average physical condition for my age. I run 12-15 miles per week and also do HIIT. I'm in the gym doing weight training at least 3 days per week. I have run 6 marathons since turning 30, countless 5k and 10k runs. I've done a Tough Mudder 10K and a Spartan 10K. I also "invented" my own training torture session which I call a Tuff Tater that me and my fellow old friends do together now and then. More on that later. I don't eat super healthy but I use what I consider to be a keto lite type of diet, no potatoes, no white bread, no pasta and almost no rice. No diet drinks, very little processed carbs/sugars. I share all this as background to demonstrate my surprise when my part blood tests from my last 3 annual physicals have shown me with an A1C of 5.7 or 5.8, pre-diabetic. I have no history of diabetes in my family. I'm not overweight and until a few years ago my A1C was always below 5.5. All of a sudden, my doctor and I are scratching our heads and he's telling me I'm pre-diabetic and I'm wearing a continuous glucose monitor trying to understand how different foods effect my blood sugar. It was maddening because I couldn't get my average glucose levels to drop below 117, which is consistent with a 5.7 A1C.
So, after three months of CGM and not seeing any progress in my most recent A1C blood test, I came across a study that said there's some evidence that caffeine can impact blood glucose. I don't recall the exact mechanism for how it effects it, but I decided to do an inventory of how much caffeine I consumed daily.
I was regularly drinking 2 grande' Starbucks non-fat latte's and a Celsius. Easily around 500-600mg of caffeine daily. I thought why not just cut it out entirely and see what happens. So, I have had no caffeine since Sunday and have not done anything else differently than what I have been doing for the last 3 months. Almost immediately the average glucose level on my CGM dropped below 115 and is now hovering around 110. That's 4 days of no caffeine and a consistent drop in average glucose levels.
I'm sharing this just in case anyone else struggles with keeping their A1C levels down. If you're drinking caffeine and have high average glucose levels and A1C numbers, consider eliminating caffeine and seeing if you get the same positive effect that I am seeing.
PS - Tuff Tater is a 4 mile run as follows:
At the beginning of each mile, do:
-35 pushups;
-10 burpees
-10 squats
If possible, find a hill or parking garage or other strong incline and do 10 incline runs somewhere along the way.
I am 57, 5' 11", 165 lbs. I'm in above average physical condition for my age. I run 12-15 miles per week and also do HIIT. I'm in the gym doing weight training at least 3 days per week. I have run 6 marathons since turning 30, countless 5k and 10k runs. I've done a Tough Mudder 10K and a Spartan 10K. I also "invented" my own training torture session which I call a Tuff Tater that me and my fellow old friends do together now and then. More on that later. I don't eat super healthy but I use what I consider to be a keto lite type of diet, no potatoes, no white bread, no pasta and almost no rice. No diet drinks, very little processed carbs/sugars. I share all this as background to demonstrate my surprise when my part blood tests from my last 3 annual physicals have shown me with an A1C of 5.7 or 5.8, pre-diabetic. I have no history of diabetes in my family. I'm not overweight and until a few years ago my A1C was always below 5.5. All of a sudden, my doctor and I are scratching our heads and he's telling me I'm pre-diabetic and I'm wearing a continuous glucose monitor trying to understand how different foods effect my blood sugar. It was maddening because I couldn't get my average glucose levels to drop below 117, which is consistent with a 5.7 A1C.
So, after three months of CGM and not seeing any progress in my most recent A1C blood test, I came across a study that said there's some evidence that caffeine can impact blood glucose. I don't recall the exact mechanism for how it effects it, but I decided to do an inventory of how much caffeine I consumed daily.
I was regularly drinking 2 grande' Starbucks non-fat latte's and a Celsius. Easily around 500-600mg of caffeine daily. I thought why not just cut it out entirely and see what happens. So, I have had no caffeine since Sunday and have not done anything else differently than what I have been doing for the last 3 months. Almost immediately the average glucose level on my CGM dropped below 115 and is now hovering around 110. That's 4 days of no caffeine and a consistent drop in average glucose levels.
I'm sharing this just in case anyone else struggles with keeping their A1C levels down. If you're drinking caffeine and have high average glucose levels and A1C numbers, consider eliminating caffeine and seeing if you get the same positive effect that I am seeing.
PS - Tuff Tater is a 4 mile run as follows:
At the beginning of each mile, do:
-35 pushups;
-10 burpees
-10 squats
If possible, find a hill or parking garage or other strong incline and do 10 incline runs somewhere along the way.