Pre-diabetes is a condition of mild glucose elevations but not high enough to meet the diagnostic criteria of type 2 diabetes. The diagnosis of pre-diabetes is defined as a fasting glucose of 100-125 mg/dl or a 2 hour after a 75 gram glucose load glucose during an oral glucose tolerance test of 140-200 mg/dl. Preventing the progression to diabetes is rather straight forward. It is all about diet, weight loss, and exercise.

Diet:

Low fat, avoid/limit concentrated sweets (candy, cookies, cakes, soda, etc.). Portion control is a key component to reducing calories. I believe Weight Watchers has the best diet program as it emphasizes portion control and is a way of life that can truly be maintained unlike fad diets.

Weight loss:

Studies have shown that a 7-10% weight loss can prevent the progression of Pre-Diebetes to diabetes. Exercise is very helpful to burn calories while the dieting limits calorie intake. The goal is to burn more calories in a day than you eat -- produce a negative calorie balance.

Exercise:

150 minutes a week (walk 30 minutes a day 5 days a week) of moderately intense(defined as a target heart rate of 50 to 70% of 220 minus age during exercise) aerobic exercise. The exercise is a key component of the "formula" for preventing diabetes. Exercise makes the body more sensitive to insulin that directly combats the insulin resistance that "is" pre-diabetes and diabetes.

Medication:  

Some providers prescribe Metformin, Precose®, or a TZD (Actos® or Avandia®) but with aggressive diet, weight loss, and exercise these are not necessary.