Prediabetes and Controlling Your Blood Sugar: What You Can Do

Prediabetes is more common than you might think – more than 1 in 3 adults in the United States have it, and most don’t even know. The good news? With simple lifestyle changes, early prediabetes can be reversed.

Knowing your risk and making small, consistent changes can help you address prediabetes, avoid type 2 diabetes, and live a healthier life.

What is prediabetes?

If you have prediabetes, then your blood sugar is higher than normal, but not high enough to be diagnosed as type 2 diabetes. It’s a sign that your body isn’t efficiently processing glucose, but it’s also a chance to act before things progress. A simple blood test from your provider can tell you if you’re at risk for prediabetes.

Risk factors for prediabetes include:

• Being overweight
  
  
• Being 45 or older
  
  
• Having a family history of type 2 diabetes
  
  
• Being physically inactive
  
  
• Having a history of gestational diabetes

How prediabetes becomes type 2 diabetes 

Without intervention, your body can become more resistant to insulin or stop making enough of it over time. As a result, your blood sugar levels may continue to rise and eventually cross from prediabetes into a type 2 diabetes diagnosis.

Thankfully, simple lifestyle changes such as healthy eating, regular physical activity, and weight loss can help stop the progression from prediabetes to type 2 diabetes.

How to keep prediabetes from progressing 

These practical lifestyle changes can help lower your blood sugar and reduce your risk for type 2 diabetes:

• Get active: Aim for at least 30 minutes of moderate activity a day, 5 days a week
  
  
• Eat balanced meals: Focus on a healthy balance of whole grains, vegetables, lean proteins, and fewer added sugars
  
  
• Lose a little weight: Losing just 5–7% of your body weight can make a big difference
  
  
• Focus on overall well-being: Improving sleep and stress management can affect your blood sugar

If you need help addressing prediabetes, you can ask your Marathon provider about options for supporting your commitment to improving your health, including our own diabetes prevention program. This is a lifestyle change program that can help you stay on track to reduce your risk of type 2 diabetes.

Tips for controlling blood sugar

Whether you’re working to reverse prediabetes or have already been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, these are everyday steps you can take to manage your blood sugar:

• Check your blood sugar as recommended by your doctor
  
  
• Eat regular, balanced meals and snacks
  
  
• Stay hydrated and limit sugary drinks
  
  
• Stay active throughout the day
  
  
• Take medications as prescribed
  
  
• Keep regular checkups with your healthcare provider  

Your provider can help

No matter where you are on your journey with prediabetes, your Marathon Health provider is here to support you.

Schedule an appointment with your provider today to discuss your risk, set achievable goals, and take control of your health today.

Sources:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). About Prediabetes and Type 2 Diabetes. Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-prevention/about-prediabetes-type-2/index.html                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). Prediabetes – Your Chance to Prevent Type 2 Diabetes. Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/prevention-type-2/prediabetes-prevent-type-2.html                                                                                                                                                                                       Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). About the Lifestyle Change Program. Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-prevention/lifestyle-change-program/lifestyle-change-program-details.html                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, May 15). Preventing Type 2 Diabetes with the Lifestyle Change Program. Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-prevention/lifestyle-change-program/index.html                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). Manage Blood Sugar (Diabetes Treatment). Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes/treatment/index.html    Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (n.d.). What Is the National DPP? Retrieved September 26, 2025 from https://www.cdc.gov/diabetes-prevention/programs/what-is-the-national-dpp.html