My Type 2 Remission Log

Tag: A1C

  • The Truth: How I Lowered My A1C From 12.5% to 5.8% in Under a Year

    Short answer: In February 2023, I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes with an A1C of 12.5% and a blood sugar of 343. By cutting carbohydrates, losing weight, and tracking every number, my A1C dropped to 7.5% in about 60 days and to 5.8% by 2024, where it has stayed. I did it without Ozempic or Mounjaro (though I did reluctantly start metformin). The journey of getting my A1C From 12.5% to 5.8% has transformed my health, and I’ll share how I lowered my A1C.

    My glucose numbers have been holding steady since. However, I have not had a lab-based A1C reading since. That changes in September when I finally get back to the doctor.

    how I lowered my a1c

    What were my numbers at diagnosis?

    On February 3, 2023, I went to urgent care feeling like I was dying. My finger-stick blood sugar was 343. Four days later my full labs came back: A1C 12.5%, fasting glucose 207, total cholesterol 275, LDL 193, and triglycerides 206. The doctor said 343 was one of the highest readings he’d seen. Those numbers are my baseline, the “before” against which everything else on this site is measured.

    Why did this scare me so much?

    My father died from complications of diabetes at 57. My uncle lost toes, then his foot, then part of his leg. I was 54 at diagnosis. In my head, that gave me about three years to turn things around, and the fear of repeating my family’s history is exactly what made me act instead of waiting. I’m 58 now and still here. Healthier than I’ve ever been!

    What did I actually change?

    I cut carbohydrates hard, prioritized protein and good fats, dropped sugar and soda, and measured my blood glucose 8 times every single day. The framework that made it click for me came from a talk by Dr. Sarah Hallberg: treat the cause, insulin resistance, not just the symptom. It’s what I did, and I tracked the results so I’d know fast if it wasn’t working.

    How fast did my A1C drop?

    Fast. My A1C went from 12.5% to 7.5% in about 60 days, then to 5.9% by mid-2023 and 5.8% by 2024. A very high starting A1C can fall quickly at first, and I was also on metformin, which helps. But metformin alone doesn’t take anyone from 12.5 to 5.8, and no medication dropped my 131 pounds. The bulk of the change was the diet, exercise, and weight loss.

    Am I “in remission”?

    Not by the strict definition yet. Clinically, remission means holding a normal A1C without glucose-lowering medication, and I’m still on metformin. So I’m well-controlled, and “remission” is the goal I’m working toward with my doctor. This site is the honest log of that journey, including the part where I ask my doctor if I’ve worked my way off the metformin.

    Where to start on this site

    FAQ

    What was my A1C at diagnosis? 12.5%, with a finger-stick blood sugar of 343, in February 2023.

    How long did it take to lower my A1C? About 60 days to go from 12.5% to 7.5%, and roughly 18 months to reach 5.8%, where it has held.

    Did I use Ozempic or Mounjaro? No. My doctor pushed Ozempic at diagnosis, and I declined. I did reluctantly start metformin, which I regret, but that’s just how my brain works. How you handle this is, of course, up to you.

    How much weight did I lose? 131 pounds; from a peak of 356 down to 225.

  • Did metformin or diet lower my A1C? The truth.

    So, did metformin or diet lower my A1C? Short answer: Both helped, but the math points clearly to diet and weight loss doing most of the work. Metformin typically lowers A1C by roughly 1 to 1.5 percentage points on its own, per published clinical data.

    My A1C fell 6.7 points from 12.5% to 5.8%, and no medication caused my 100+ pound weight loss. I do take metformin, but it can’t account for most of my results.

    What metformin typically does

    Metformin is a well-studied diabetes medication, and the research generally credits it with lowering A1C by about 1 to 1.5 percentage points. That’s meaningful, but it’s a fraction of my total drop. If metformin had been the whole story, I’d expect to have landed somewhere around 11%, not 5.8%.

    The math on my numbers

    • Total drop: 12.5% → 5.8% = 6.7 percentage points
    • What metformin typically explains: ~1 to 1.5 points
    • The remaining ~5+ points: the diet, the carb reduction, and 100+ pounds of weight loss

    I can’t assign these with lab precision; nobody can split them perfectly, but the gap between what metformin does on its own and what actually happened is too large to attribute to the pill. → How I got my A1C from 12.5 to 5.8

    The part medication definitely didn’t do

    No medication dropped my weight. I went from a peak of 356 pounds (before my diagnosis) to 225, 131 pounds, and that came from how I ate and how I moved, full stop. Weight loss and the carb reduction that drove it are, in my reading of my own data, the engine here. → How I lost 131 pounds

    Why I’m careful about this

    I’m not anti-medication, and I’m not telling anyone the metformin “didn’t matter.” It’s part of the full picture. But the reason this question matters to me is that I’m working toward full remission; which by definition means holding a normal A1C without glucose-lowering medication. To know if that’s possible, I have to be clear-eyed about how much of my result is the diet versus the drug. → [link: Can you get off metformin?]

    FAQ

    Does metformin or diet lower A1C more? Metformin typically lowers A1C ~1 to 1.5 points; my total drop was 6.7 points and included 131 lbs of weight loss, so diet and weight loss did most of it in my case.

    How much does metformin lower A1C? Published data generally cites about 1 to 1.5 percentage points. Ask your doctor about your situation.

    Can diet alone lower A1C? Diet and weight loss did the bulk of mine, alongside metformin. For me, yes. What it does for you, I can’t say.

  • My Full Lab History, Diagnosis to Now

    Here is every key verifiable number from my full lab history in one place. At diagnosis in February 2023: A1C 12.5%, fasting glucose 207, total cholesterol 275, LDL 193, triglycerides 206, and weight 327.6 lbs. Last lab result in August 2024: A1C 5.8%, fasting glucose 109, cholesterol 141, LDL 78, triglycerides 93, and weight 225. Today, June 7th, 2026: A1C (not lab-verified, but my own numbers say 5.6) and fasting glucose 98. I don’t have cholesterol or triglyceride numbers, but I’m not sure why they’d have changed; my weight is 224.

    This is my actual data, the whole point of this site.

    The numbers at diagnosis (February 2023)

    • A1C: 12.5%
    • Fasting glucose: 207 mg/dL (finger-stick that day: 343)
    • Total cholesterol: 275
    • LDL: 193
    • Triglycerides: 206
    • Weight: 327.6 lbs (peak was 356); BMI: ~41

    The A1C trajectory

    • Feb 2023: 12.5% (diagnosis)
    • ~April 2023: 7.5%
    • Mid-2023: 5.9%
    • 2024: 5.8% — held since

    Where everything stands now. New numbers coming September 2026

    • A1C: 5.6%
    • Fasting glucose: 98 mg/dL
    • Total cholesterol: No way of knowing with certainty
    • LDL: No way of knowing with certainty
    • Triglycerides: No way of knowing with certainty
    • Weight: 224 lbs (−131 from peak)

    What this data does and doesn’t show

    Two things. First, I’m on metformin, atorvastatin, and lisinopril. So, for me, this is what lifestyle change plus medication looks like, not lifestyle alone. Second, the lipid improvements owe something to the statin, while the triglyceride and blood-sugar changes track closely with diet and weight loss. → Statin vs diet cholesterol · → Did metformin or diet lower my A1C?

    Why I put it all on screen

    I put every lab on one screen so you can see the real trend, and so I have to keep showing up to it. One result is a snapshot; the whole row is the story. → [link: Why I keep copies of all my lab results]

    FAQ

    What were your diabetes numbers at diagnosis? A1C 12.5%, fasting glucose 207, total cholesterol 275, LDL 193, triglycerides 206, weight 327.6 lbs, in February 2023.

    What are your numbers now? A1C 5.8%, fasting glucose 109, cholesterol 141, LDL 78, triglycerides 93, and weight 225.

    Did you do this without medication? No. I take metformin, atorvastatin, and lisinopril. I did it without Ozempic or insulin, alongside diet and weight loss. I am looking to speak with my doctor about stopping some or all medications. Stay posted!

    Is this medical advice? No. It’s my own documented lab data, for information only.