Prediabetes: what your numbers mean
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- Prediabetes & A1C
- Reading time
- 1 min
Prediabetes is a warning light, not a diagnosis of diabetes. The numbers below define the range and explain why tracking helps.
In short: An A1C of 5.7–6.4% or fasting glucose of 100–125 mg/dL is the prediabetes range.
Prediabetes means your glucose is higher than typical but not yet in the diabetes range. The common thresholds are an A1C of 5.7–6.4%, a fasting glucose of 100–125 mg/dL (5.6–6.9 mmol/L), or a two-hour value of 140–199 mg/dL on a glucose tolerance test.
It matters because it's often reversible and because it's a strong, early signal. Many people have no symptoms, so a number from routine bloodwork is frequently the first sign. It also responds well to tracking: you can watch the effect of changes you make instead of waiting a year for the next lab.
Logging fasting readings, after-meal readings, and weight over time shows whether your numbers are trending toward or away from the diabetes range. This is general information; your clinician interprets your results in the context of your health.
If the result is new, resist the urge to overhaul everything by Friday. Spend the first week simply logging: fasting readings, a check after your usual meals, and a note about what you ate, with nothing changed yet. That baseline week shows which meals and times of day actually drive your numbers, so the changes you make afterward are aimed rather than guessed, and you will be able to see their effect against a before picture. And take the label seriously without panic: prediabetes is a warning light, not a rehearsal of a diagnosis to come. The same numbers that flagged it are the ones that can show it receding.