7 Tips to Lower HbA1c Levels

If you have diabetes, HbA1c is one of the most important tests you need to get regularly.

What is the HbA1c test?

Unlike regular blood sugar tests such as; fasting blood sugar (FBS) and post-prandial blood sugar (PPBS), the HbA1c or A1c test indicates how well your blood sugar has been controlled over a few months.

Sugar binds to protein in your body, especially haemoglobin present in your red blood cells — and the A1c test measures this sugar to give your physician a picture of your diabetes control.

How HbA1c is different from a regular blood sugar test?

The A1c test is performed by a finger prick to collect blood and is one of the main tests used by your healthcare team to plan your diabetes management.

While you should aim for your A1c number to be below 7 per cent (indicating well-controlled diabetes), your physician will be the best judge on exactly how much lower it should be.

Your HbA1c levels are important, and being in the healthy range helps lower your risk of nerve damage, eye problems and heart disease. But, apart from following your doctor’s advice about your medication, there are several things you can do to lower your HbA1c.

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How to lower your HbA1c level?

Here are 7 tips to lower hba1c levels:

1. Create a lifestyle management plan

Your lifestyle, including your diet, physical activity, weight, and mental state, directly impacts your blood sugars. So having a healthy lifestyle is key to keeping your diabetes in check.

Having a plan from the get-go makes following and implementing a lifestyle change much easier. Planning your meals, exercises routine, and even shopping trips can be exactly what you need to get started on lowering your A1c levels. But making these lifestyle changes can be difficult.

It’s like trying to break an old habit to create a new one, and that’s a tall ask – all by yourself. What really makes a difference is having experts at your side, guiding you through the entire process – telling you what to eat, what to avoid, which exercises to include in your routine and how to take care of your worries and stresses, amongst others.

Personalised, scientific guidance and motivation from experts who understand your medical history and diabetes management goal will help you make incremental, positive lifestyle changes till they become a part of your daily routine.

At Fitterfly diabetes management program – every customer has access to a nutritionist, physiotherapist and psychologist to get holistic care that complements your Doctor’s medical prescription.

Watch how Mrs Patil reduced her diabetes medicines naturally in 3 months.

2. Have a balanced diet rich in micronutrients

The Indian diet is rich in carbohydrates – one of the biggest culprits of high blood sugars. It may seem daunting at first, but managing diabetes and lowering your A1c levels are about monitoring how many carbs you are eating at one time.

In general, a person needs about 45 to 60 grams of carbs per meal and about 15 to 30 grams during a snack. Please note that this requirement differs from person to person based on their current blood sugar levels and must be planned with a nutritionist.

But not all carbs are your enemy. Choosing healthier, nutrient-dense carbs, like fruits or sweet potatoes, instead of something processed is the way to go.

The catch: Keep track of how much you’re eating at one time. Balance your meals with proteins and fibre that will keep you full for longer and keep your blood sugars from spiking post-meal. But, diabetes management in the 21st century goes beyond keeping track of the carbs, proteins and fat you eat.

It focuses on everything in your diet, including diabetes-specific micronutrients like iron, zinc, magnesium, omega-3 fatty acids, calcium and vitamin C. A deficiency of these essential nutrients hinders essential functions such as insulin production, utilisation of glucose, sleep, and heart health.

And that’s where Fitterfly diabetes management program comes into play. Sometimes the challenge is simply knowing what you can and cannot eat. At Fitterfly diabetes management program, we use advanced algorithms to correlate what you eat with its impact on your blood sugar levels, i.e. your personalised glycemic response.

This gives us a list of the top foods you should and should not include in your diet. We use these insights while planning your diet – making your diet plans highly personalised to you!

3. Lose weight (in a healthy way)

Diabetes and being overweight do not work well with each other. But you can’t manage diabetes with a fad or Yoyo diets – making long-term lifestyle changes is key. Eating healthy, exercising regularly and integrating it into your lifestyle is an essential part of losing weight.

On the upside, losing even five to 10 percent of your body weight decreases your chances of complications from diabetes. One good way to do this is to track how many calories you consume every day and how many you burn.

You can do this easily using the Fitterfly Metabolic Health App, which has India’s most extensive food database allowing you to track your daily meals and understand your overall calorie intake.

Combine that with the app’s activity tracker to know how many calories you’ve burned, and you’re on track to lose some kilos! While you might be on track with your diet and exercise, be sure to take care of your mental well-being as well.

It has a great impact on your day-to-day actions and will affect your weight loss journey as well.

4. Exercise consistently

Increasing your activity levels can help lower your A1C level for good. It’s simple, start with a 20-minute walk and slowly increase the intensity of your exercise routine.

If you think you’ll have to huff and puff away at the gym, working out for hours on end, you’re wrong. The goal is to try to do at least 150 minutes of physical activity each week, or 30 minutes, five days a week.

You could choose to work out for 30 minutes at a time or break it up into 10-minute sessions three times a day – whatever works for you. Just be consistent. If you haven’t been exercising, start slowly and build up, five minutes at a time.

Tip: Combine cardio and resistance training. Why? Because exercises that strengthen your heart, lungs and especially large muscles help lower your A1c levels.

So you could alternate between walking, swimming and bicycling with exercises that include resistance, such as those where you use weights, resistance bands or even your body weight can go a long way in lowering your A1c numbers.

And remember, any exercise is better than no exercise at all. So, even if it is getting up and walking around your home for two minutes every hour, do it because it can help.

5. Take care of your mental wellness

Believe it or not, your mental health also affects your blood sugar levels. A study [1] found that diabetes and depression form a vicious cycle that people with diabetes often get trapped in.

The study found that if you have depression, you’re at a higher risk of suffering from diabetes, and if you had diabetes, you were at a higher risk of being depressed.Evidence shows that your thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can affect your body’s health.

And untreated mental health issues can worsen diabetes, and problems with diabetes (or managing your blood sugar levels) can make mental health issues worse. But fortunately, if one is treated successfully, the other one gets better too.

For instance, some of the most common stressors in life can affect your blood sugar levels and how you manage diabetes. Uncontrolled, chronic stress is directly linked to high blood sugar levels and weight gain [7]. So, finding methods to identify and deal with these stressors is essential.

And if you find yourself stuck in the rut of trying to beat these triggers without any success, then seek professional help from a counsellor or clinical psychologist. It may be your gateway to managing your blood sugar better.

This is why Fitterfly diabetes management program comes inbuilt with psychological experts to manage everything related to your mental health. Not dealing with your mental health issues might be the reason why your blood sugars are not under control – despite trying everything.

6. Be consistent

Making changes in your lifestyle is not a one-off thing; it should ideally be something you commit to and live by, so you do not revert to the unhealthy ones. And don’t be too hard on yourself if you slip up – a cheat meal once in a while is okay.

A missed day of exercise is fine. Come back stronger the next day instead of giving up just because of one mistake.

7. Track your lifestyle & your blood sugars

Keeping a tab on your blood sugar readings, what you eat, how much activity you perform, how you feel, how much sleep you got and any other issues. Every detail matters and your doctor can use this information to make a judgment about how your blood sugar levels are affected by your diet and lifestyle and can be used to improve your management plan.

With practice, you too will understand the triggers from your lifestyle that affect your blood sugars – helping you make healthier choices in the future.If you’ve been struggling with your blood sugar levels and want to lower your HbA1c levels, sign up for Fitterfly diabetes management program.

Unlike other programs out there, Fitterfly diabetes management program has a proven methodology that is tailor-made to suit you and your specific situation – whatever that may be. Fitterfly diabetes management program coaches are trained to give you personalised recommendations on diet, exercise, sleep and stress.

And, for people with diabetes, Fitterfly diabetes management program has proven to reduce HbA1c in 90% of users in as little as three months without the need for additional medications, thereby reducing the risk for diabetes-related complications.

To know more about how Fitterfly diabetes management program can help you take control of your diabetes in a smart way, speak to one of our counsellors on 022 4897 1077.

We are here for you! Talk to us today for a free consultation.