Welcome back, health champions!👋

Cutting carbs gets all the attention. It's not wrong — but it's incomplete. The prediabetics who see lasting results aren't just eating less of something. They're eating more of the right thing.

Inside today's health guide: why protein may be the single most impactful addition you can make.

Inside today's guide:

• Blood sugar spikes, crash cycles, and the protein fix

• Why muscle is the key to lasting prediabetes remission

• Real protein targets with actual numbers

• The protein sources most people underestimate

• How front-loading your day cuts cravings before they start

BEST FINDS
Start your morning with protein + plants and you’ll often notice the “magic” by mid-morning: steadier energy, fewer cravings, and less snacky chaos. Egg Muffin Cups (Meal Prep) — Grab-and-go bites loaded with eggs + veggies. Make once, win all week. Southwest Protein Breakfast Bowl — Eggs + black beans + avocado + veggies = fiber + protein power combo. Berry Spinach Protein Smoothie — A sweet start with a stealth veggie boost (spinach disappears, benefits don’t). Breakfast Turkey Burger — High-protein and surprisingly breakfast-friendly. Pair with sprouted grain bread or a lettuce wrap for a veggie-rich build. Quinoa Breakfast Bowl with Mushrooms & Edamame — Hearty, savory, and protein-packed. Tip: batch-cook quinoa to make this a 5-minute assembly meal. Savory Yogurt Bowl — Greek yogurt goes savory: crunchy veggies + herbs + olive oil = fast, filling, and refreshing.

Prediabetes: Tired, Hungry, Spiking, and Restricted? Start With Protein

Stop Cutting. Start Adding. Most people arrive at prediabetes management with one tool: cut carbs. It works — until it doesn't. Here's what the research, and results across thousands of members, suggest is missing.

A community member shared this recently:

"Nine months ago my A1C was 5.8. I cut carbs to 80g a day, worked out when I could, and felt exhausted and starving. So around 4 months back I shifted focus: brought carbs back up to 160g, prioritized protein, stayed consistent with movement. This week: A1C 5.4. No longer prediabetic."

When people focus only on cutting carbs, they miss what actually drives lasting results: what they build their meals around. And the most impactful addition? Protein. Here's how it addresses four of the most persistent struggles in prediabetes.

How Protein Reduces Blood Sugar Spikes and Energy Crashes in Prediabetes

In prediabetes, cells don't respond to insulin efficiently — so glucose from carbohydrates lingers longer, causing spikes.

What goes up sharply comes down sharply. Those swings directly contribute to a higher A1C, afternoon energy crashes, and the cravings that follow.

Protein slows all of this down. Eaten alongside carbohydrates, it slows digestion, flattens the glucose curve, and triggers GLP-1 — the same hormone pathway targeted by popular diabetes medications. Adding protein to a carbohydrate-containing meal can reduce the postprandial glucose response dramatically. The goal isn't obsessive carb elimination. It's smarter pairing.

Why Protein at Breakfast Reduces Carb Cravings and Hunger All Day

Spikes drive crashes, and crashes drive cravings. Your body interprets a blood sugar dip as an energy emergency and reaches for the fastest fuel available — sugar and refined carbs. The cycle repeats.

Protein breaks this loop. It stimulates satiety hormones GLP-1 and PYY that signal fullness, and keeps blood sugar stable enough that the distress signal never fires. A meta-analysis of 68 RCTs confirmed that protein suppresses hunger and raises key satiety hormones.

The most common mistake? A carb-heavy breakfast sets off the spike-crash cycle before 10am, and the rest of the day follows. Aim for 20–25g of protein at breakfast. There are more options than you might think:

• Eggs and Greek yogurt are classics — but they get old

• Tofu scramble, beans or lentils, cottage cheese bowls

• Overnight oats with protein powder and blended vegetables

• Smoothies with protein powder and spinach or frozen cauliflower — you won't taste the vegetables

Read: Prediabetes breakfast guide

Why Muscle Health Matters for Blood Sugar Control in Prediabetes

We've covered the muscle-blood sugar connection in previous issues. Here's the protein link that ties it together.

Skeletal muscles handle over 80% of glucose uptake after a meal and even a 3% increase in muscle mass is associated with a 7.5% relative reduction in diabetes risk.

Protein provides the raw material; resistance training activates the machinery. But simply eating more protein doesn't build muscle — intake needs to be strategic, distributed across meals, and sufficient in leucine content to trigger muscle protein synthesis. Overconsumption, common in low-carb and ketogenic approaches, offers little added benefit once muscle needs are met.

Read: Muscle up your metabolism

Why Restrictive Diets Fail Long-Term — and What Works Instead

As we've covered before: prediabetes isn't a sugar or carb problem — it's a metabolic problem. Restriction alone doesn't fix metabolism. It just temporarily limits the damage.

Lasting remission requires repairing metabolic function — and that means building meals around quality protein, healthy fats, and fiber. When you prioritize these three, total carbohydrate intake naturally decreases. Not through obsessing over a food list, but because whole food protein and fiber are genuinely filling and crowd out refined carbs on their own.

Most people are surprised to find they're eating far fewer carbs than before — without trying, without restriction, and without burnout.

How Much Protein Do Prediabetics Need Per Day? (With Real Numbers)

The standard 0.8g per kilogram of body weight per day is a floor for basic function.

• Sedentary adults: ~0.8g/kg/day (minimum, not a goal)

• Active adults or those losing weight: 0.8–1.6g/kg/day

• Adults over 50 or post-menopausal: 1.0–1.2g/kg/day — spread across all meals, not concentrated at dinner

A 75kg (165 lb) active adult needs roughly 105–120g per day — about 30–35g per meal.

In real terms: 3 eggs (~18g), a cup of Greek yogurt (~17g), a chicken breast (~35g), a cup of lentils (~18g). Achievable, but it requires intention.

Best Protein Sources for Prediabetes: What to Eat and What to Limit

Whole food plant proteins — lentils, legumes, tempeh, quinoa, nuts, seeds — are particularly powerful. A cup of lentils delivers ~18g of protein and 15g of fiber. A large study across four countries found higher plant protein intake was associated with lower risk of both prediabetes and diabetes.

Lean animal proteins — eggs, fish, poultry — are excellent. Fatty fish like salmon bring anti-inflammatory omega-3s.

Nobody names spinach as a protein source — but vegetables are far more valuable than most people realize. Broccoli, edamame, peas, spinach, and cauliflower won't hit your daily target alone, but they bring protein + fiber (flattens glucose curves), magnesium (supports insulin signaling), and a micronutrient profile that directly supports metabolic health.

Limit: processed meats — deli meat, sausage, hot dogs, bacon — and high-saturated-fat animal proteins. A meta-analysis of nearly 2 million adults across 31 cohorts found processed meat consistently linked to higher T2D risk. Protein content doesn't offset it.

Read: 7 worst foods for prediabetes

Three Protein Mistakes Prediabetics Should Avoid

Skipping the pairing. Protein combined with fiber at every meal is one of the most effective strategies for flattening post-meal glucose spikes — think lentils, vegetables alongside eggs, or beans in a salad.

Trusting "protein" labels. Flavored yogurts, bars, and shakes are often loaded with added sugar. High-protein on the label doesn't mean prediabetes-friendly.

Fearing protein's effect on kidneys. Current evidence doesn't support protein restriction in prediabetes with normal kidney function — but if you have any kidney history, discuss targets with your provider first.

Read: 12 foods that flip the script on prediabetes

Bottom line

Protein addresses four of prediabetes' most persistent challenges — spikes, cravings, muscle health, and restriction burnout — in a way that's sustainable and evidence-backed.

The goal isn't deeper restriction. It's smarter addition.

Have questions? We got answers. Email [email protected]