Hello Diabetes Forum

I've read posts here for about a week, and it seems like a good place to be.

Nutshell background: Pre-diabetes numbers came back in bloodwork in April, 2009. Two doctors were too nice about it. One said "cut out white bread and soda" while the other said "cut back on sweets." *I* made the pre-diabetes connection from researching and reading about it.

I went through a really good weight loss program about five years ago. I learned quite a bit about nutrition. That knowledge has already been very helpful in working on this problem. I also exercised consistently for a few years, including being an outdoor runner for an entire year.

Right now I have four questions. Short answers will work the same as long answers:

1. If you are a consistent exerciser, do you eat before or after exercising? I used to eat after, but have read on the Internet that it's better, from an 'avoiding hyperglycemia' standpoint, that one should eat before working out. The reasoning was that it's a better way to control a spike, because the glucose avoids sitting in the body and contributing to the rise. It is used in the muscles for energy. If the meal choices are good, and probably will not spike the blood, is it still important to eat after exercising, or can the exercise be done at any time.

2. I'm looking for opinions on this sentence: 'It takes 2-3 months to get an HbA1C level down." I really understand that avoiding diabetes is a permanent lifestyle change, but I'm feeling much better after only a few weeks of cutting out bad stuff and eating much healthier foods. I guess my questions are 'Why does it take so long for that number to decline?' and, 'Is it possible that I will I feel a lot better in 2-3 months? (Yes, I realize that I can't go back to the diet I had.)

3. Does anyone know where I can find a diabetes educator? Neither of the 'too nice' doctors mentioned above is an endocrinologist, and sometimes I need to discuss things face-to-face. Until I've made a solid effort and have not brought down my numbers, I don't really want to go through everything involved with seeing an endocrinologist.

Thank you so much,

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