Really confused about carbs
32F, 5’6” 145lbs (I’m 4 months postpartum and breastfeeding and my normal weight is 130). I just got diagnosed yesterday, my A1C is 5.7, est glucose 116, and actual fasting glucose 89. My cholesterol is fine but I need to be careful.
That‘s where my confusion comes in. I cook all my food at home from scratch. I eat a mostly plant based diet (I do eat chicken maybe twice a week, salmon 1 a week), lots of vegetables, healthy carbs, and an occasional unhealthy carb like white rice or homemade white bread. I eat more beans than most people. I eat whole grains. I do eat a lot of fruit and dried fruit, so I guess I should limit that. I walk everyday and exercise 3-4 times week with weight training or running.
I want to lower my A1C but I also want to support my body for long term heart health. Since I already eat healthy I feel like I need to make drastic carb cut outs but also never eating sweet potatoes, oats, brown rice, beans, and whole wheat also feels wrong. I do have health anxiety and am struggling to understand how to do this correctly. I could easily see myself getting into disordered eating obsessing about carbs.
It seems like a strict carb reduction can also cause a cholesterol rise, and just anecdotally from this sub not always help A1C. Has anyone felt like they’ve mastered a balance for themselves?