Andrew Latimer - Nutritionist and Diabetes Expert (2025)

16/09/2025

If you’ve ever looked at your Freestyle Libre and then compared it to your HbA1c blood test, you might have noticed the numbers don’t always line up 100% accurately.

For some people, they match perfectly.

For others, there’s a difference — sometimes as much as 5-6 points higher or lower.

And naturally, that makes people worry.

So let’s clear this up.

How Libre works vs. HbA1c

👉🏻 Libre (and other CGMs): measure glucose in your interstitial fluid (just under the skin), giving you real-time feedback on how meals, exercise, and lifestyle affect your blood sugar. From this, it estimates an average glucose and gives you an “estimated HbA1c.”

👉🏻 HbA1c blood test: measures how much glucose is attached to your red blood cells, giving you a 2–3 month average.

Both are looking at blood sugar — but from two different perspectives.

So, why can the numbers vary?

👉🏻 Red blood cell lifespan: HbA1c assumes your red blood cells live about 8–12 weeks. If yours live longer or shorter (and this varies from person to person), the result can be skewed.

👉🏻 Day-to-day variation: Libre captures your highs and lows every day. HbA1c “flattens” them into an average. That means Libre might reflect improvements sooner than your blood test does.

👉🏻 Hydration, illness, or anaemia: these can all affect HbA1c, sometimes making it look worse (or better) than reality.

👉🏻 Placement and calibration: CGMs measure fluid, not blood directly. A slight lag or difference in placement can influence readings.

So if your Libre and HbA1c don’t match exactly, it doesn’t mean one is wrong.

It just means they’re measuring slightly differently.

Downsides of HbA1c (and why Libre helps here)

HbA1c is useful, but it has limits:

It can hide dangerous swings. Two people can have the exact same HbA1c, but one might be on a steady line while the other is riding a rollercoaster of spikes and crashes all day long. Their risk profiles are completely different, yet the HbA1c looks identical.

This is where Libre shines. A CGM shows you the real story — the rises and falls, the impact of meals, and the stability (or instability) in between. That’s insight HbA1c will never give you.

HbA1c also misses daily wins, like fewer crashes, smaller spikes, or improved energy.

And it can be skewed by unrelated issues like anaemia or kidney problems.

So, what really matters?

The key is to stop obsessing over matching numbers and instead ask:

👉 Is my overall trend improving?

👉 Are my daily readings becoming steadier?

👉 Am I feeling fewer crashes, fewer cravings, and more energy?

If you can answer yes, then you’re on the right path, even if your Libre says 42 and your HbA1c comes back at 45.

Because in the long run, trends beat snapshots.

And when you keep heading in the right direction, the lab test always catches up.

So don’t panic about small mismatches.

Keep your eyes on the trajectory.

That’s what reverses diabetes.

15/09/2025

How long does it really take to reverse type 2 diabetes?

It's a question I receive more than any other.

And I get it.

If you’ve been told type 2 diabetes is for life, of course you want to know how quickly you can prove that wrong.

Here’s what I’ve seen working with hundreds of clients:

1) Early wins happen quickly. Within the first 2–4 weeks, many people see their fasting blood sugar drop, energy improve, and cravings ease. That’s the body responding to lower insulin levels.

2) The deeper reversal takes longer. For HbA1c (your 3-month average) to show real progress, you need at least 12 weeks. That’s why my core programme runs over 3 months — it gives your body time to reset.

3) Full reversal depends on consistency. For many, it happens inside 3 months. For others, it might take 6–12 months.

So, why the difference?

Because there are factors that can make it quicker or slower:

👉🏻 How long you’ve had type 2 diabetes

👉🏻 How much weight / fat you’re carrying (especially around the middle)

👉🏻 How consistent you are with food, movement, sleep, and stress

👉🏻 How much medication you’re on, and how your doctor supports changes

But here’s the thing most people miss: none of that really matters.

Whether it takes 3 months or 12, the principle is the same: if you stay consistent, your body will heal.

The only way to fail is to quit or never start.

Think of it like planting a seed.

Some sprout in days, others in weeks — but every seed that’s watered grows.

So instead of asking, “How long will it take?”

The better question is: “Am I willing to do the work until it does?”

Because the habits that get you there are the same ones that keep you there.

And if your health isn't worth the effort, what is?

11/09/2025

Loving this result for my recent client, Chris.

Off all insulin ✅.

10kg lost ✅.

Projected HbA1c down from 58 to 39 ✅

An absolute pleasure to work with and you can see how much of an impact this has had on his health.

I will be opening up new slots for clients in the next week.

DM me or message below if you are interested in receiving support for type 2 diabetes reversal. 👍🏻

25/08/2025

👉 One in five adults in the UK now live with diabetes or prediabetes.

That’s over 12 million people.

4.6 million with a diagnosis.

6.3 million with prediabetes.

And the numbers are still climbing.

On one hand, this should be a wake-up call for the government, the NHS, and society as a whole to start educating people on what they need to do to prevent and reverse this disease.

We’re in the middle of a hidden health crisis.

But here’s the truth…

For you, this isn’t a headline.

It’s your reality.

And let’s be honest, if you’re on my email list, you’re already one of those numbers.

That's why you're here.

So the question isn’t “what if?” anymore.

The question is: what next?

Because behind those statistics are real people.

For many, the journey simply means more and more medication over time.

And without the right changes, the risks of complications — things like heart or kidney issues — quietly build in the background.

That’s the path the system expects you to take.

But it’s not the path I want for you.

Because there is another way.

A way that doesn’t rely on more and more prescriptions.

A way that puts you back in control of your health instead of watching your medication list grow.

That’s the path of reversal.

And it’s the one I guide my clients through every single day inside the 3R Diabetes Reversal System.

If you want a proven path that will educate you, support you, and show you exactly how to reverse type 2 diabetes sustainably and effectively, then book in for a free Diabetes Reversal Assessment call. 👇🏻

https://www.metabolichabits.com/call

On the call we’ll determine where you’re at right now, what’s possible for you, and what steps you need to take next.

If you're wondering if there is an investment to work with me? Yes.

But that’s because this isn’t generic advice or a 10-year government plan.

It’s a personalised system that gives you the structure, accountability, and support you need to finally break free.

At the very least, you’ll leave the call with a clearer understanding of how to tackle the root cause of type 2 diabetes, and what steps you can take right away to move forward.

24/08/2025

Sunday reminder:

If you only get 4–5 hours of sleep a night, your body can become up to 50% worse at handling sugar.

22/08/2025

One of the most frustrating things about type 2 diabetes is how much you can feel in the dark.

You’re told to focus on HbA1c, but that number alone doesn’t ALWAYS explain what’s really going on.

That’s because type 2 diabetes isn’t the same for everyone.

On the surface, it can look similar — rising blood sugars, fatigue, weight gain, medication being prescribed — but the underlying causes and the way it plays out in your body can be very different.

For many people, excess weight is the main driver.

But for others, the issue is less obvious.

It could be where fat is stored, how much lean muscle has been lost, or how much insulin the body is being forced to pump out just to keep things “normal.”

This is why simply looking at one number — your HbA1c — doesn’t always give the full picture.

Don’t get me wrong: HbA1c is important.

It tells you your average blood sugar over the last few months.

Doctors use it as the main marker for diagnosis and progression.

But here's the problem: it’s an outcome test.

It tells you the result, but not the reason behind it.

And if you don’t know the reason, how can you properly fix the problem?

That’s why I encourage people to think beyond HbA1c, especially if they’re scratching their head wondering why blood sugars don’t match the effort they’re putting in.

Here are three other ways you can get a much deeper understanding of what’s going on in your body:

1. Have you ever had a DEXA scan?

A DEXA scan is one of the most precise ways to measure body composition. It shows:

Body fat percentage

Lean muscle mass

Where fat is stored in the body

This matters because two people at the same weight can have very different risks.

One might store fat mostly under the skin (less harmful), while another stores more around the organs (visceral fat), which strongly drives insulin resistance.

Even at a “healthy” weight, higher visceral fat can be an issue.

And if lean muscle mass has been lost, blood sugar control becomes harder because muscle is the biggest site for glucose disposal.

2. Have you ever had a fasting insulin test?

HbA1c measures glucose.

Fasting insulin measures how much insulin your body has to pump out to control it.

This is important.

You could have an HbA1c that looks “okay,” but if insulin is sky-high, that means your body is working overtime to keep things balanced.

Think of it like this:

HbA1c = the outcome

Fasting insulin = the effort behind the scenes

High insulin levels are often the earliest sign of insulin resistance, years before blood sugar rises.

3. Have you ever had a HOMA-IR test?

This combines fasting glucose and fasting insulin into a score that directly measures insulin resistance.

Why is this helpful?

Because insulin resistance is the root cause of type 2 diabetes.

And HOMA-IR often picks it up earlier and more sensitively than HbA1c.

The bottom line is this: HbA1c tells you part of the story, but it doesn’t explain what’s really driving things.

And if you want to reverse type 2 diabetes, you need to understand more than just the outcome — you need to understand the mechanism.

Now, is it essential that you run out and get all of these tests? Not at all.

They’re not the be-all and end-all.

But if you’ve already made changes like losing weight, cutting back on ultra-processed foods, and you’re still left scratching your head wondering why your blood sugar isn’t where you want it to be — then these tests can be incredibly helpful.

They give you clues about body composition, muscle mass, and insulin resistance that HbA1c alone will never show.

21/08/2025

For many people, the day doesn’t start until the first coffee hits.

That jolt of caffeine feels like the kick-start you need.

And I’ll admit it, I’ve had those mornings where I relied on cup after cup just to get going.

It feels like fuel, but it can also backfire if it’s the first thing you put in your system.

It wakes you up, sharpens your focus, and helps you push through the morning fog.

But here’s the problem: if you drink coffee on an empty stomach, especially first thing in the morning, it could be quietly sabotaging your blood sugar control.

Here’s why:

1. Cortisol and adrenaline spike.

Caffeine triggers a stress response.

It increases cortisol (the stress hormone) and adrenaline.

On an empty stomach, with no food to buffer it, those hormones can drive blood sugar up by prompting your liver to dump stored glucose into the bloodstream.

2. Insulin resistance rises.

High cortisol levels temporarily make your body less sensitive to insulin.

That means the glucose floating around in your blood hangs around for longer, which is not ideal if you’re already struggling with blood sugar control.

3. Cravings later in the day.

The combo of caffeine + no food is a recipe for a mid-morning blood sugar dip.

That’s when you start thinking about biscuits, crisps, or whatever’s in the vending machine.

4. Gut irritation.

Coffee on its own increases stomach acid.

For many people, that means bloating, reflux, or discomfort, especially if they’re already on medications like metformin, which can upset digestion.

The fix is simple.

You don’t need to give up coffee completely. (I’d never suggest that — I enjoy mine too much.)

But you do need to change the context.

Here’s how to make it work for you instead of against you:

👉🏻 Start with water. After 7–8 hours asleep, your body is dehydrated. A tall glass of water first thing balances fluids before caffeine does the opposite.

👉🏻 Have protein first. A breakfast with 30–40g of protein (think eggs, yoghurt, nuts, seeds, cheese) gives your body stability before caffeine.

👉🏻 Or add fat/protein to your coffee. Think cream, full-fat milk, or even blending with a scoop of collagen — anything that stops it hitting your system alone.

👉🏻 Delay your coffee by 60–90 minutes after waking. Cortisol is naturally highest right after you get up. Waiting a little reduces the stress spike and makes the caffeine work better.

Why this matters:

The first 1–2 hours of your day act like the “launchpad” for your metabolism.

If you spike cortisol and blood sugar straight away with coffee on an empty stomach, you’re starting the day in survival mode.

But if you stabilise with protein and then add your coffee, you start the day in fat-burning, energy-stable mode.

That one change can ripple through your whole day:

- fewer cravings

- fewer crashes

- better focus

- and more control over blood sugar.

So here’s my challenge to you:

Tomorrow morning, reach for a tall glass of water first.

Then have protein.

Then enjoy your coffee.

Try it for just 3 days and notice how different your energy and cravings feel.

19/08/2025

I hear a lot of things about type 2 diabetes.

Some advice is better than others.

And some advice, while it sounds sensible, can actually make things worse.

One I came across again this week in the comments on one of my posts was:

“I was told to eat small meals frequently to keep my blood sugar stable.”
..Maybe you've heard similar in the past?

It sounds logical, right?

But here’s the problem…

Every time you eat, your body has to release insulin to deal with the food.

When meals and snacks creep up to 5, 6, or 7 times a day, so do the insulin spikes, and that’s exactly what keeps blood sugar stuck.

And it’s not just how many times you eat… it’s how long you spend eating, too.

The average person today has an eating window of 15–16 hours.

That’s basically grazing from the moment they wake up until late in the evening.

And for someone with type 2 diabetes, the last thing you want is to keep your insulin sky high all day long.

What your body actually needs is time.

Time between meals to bring insulin levels down.

Time to start tapping into your own fat stores again instead of just burning through sugar.

That doesn’t mean starving yourself.

It means eating satisfying, balanced meals that actually keep you full, and then giving your body a break before the next one.

That’s how you lower insulin, improve blood sugar control, and move toward reversal.

So next time you hear the “small frequent meals” advice?

Remember: more often isn’t better.

Better is better.

17/08/2025

It always amazes me what the body can achieve under the right conditions.

For many people who’ve lived with type 2 diabetes for years — especially those who’ve been put on insulin — it can feel like a one-way street.

A slow decline.

No way back.

That’s exactly how Lisa felt.

She wrote this review below just 6 weeks after joining the 3R Diabetes Reversal System on July 7th:

This is someone who thought she was stuck after two decades with the disease and, in recent years, on insulin… and in just 6 weeks she’s taken her health in a completely new direction.

Lisa’s story is proof that it’s never too late.

Your body is capable of change, wherever you are at on your type 2 diabetes journey.

With dedication and consistency, what could the next 6 weeks look like for you?

16/08/2025

Have you ever lost weight… and then regained it?

If you’re like most people, the answer to that question is yes.

Maybe more than once.

Maybe so many times it feels like the same story on repeat:

You lose a stone.

You feel lighter, your clothes fit better, the scales are kind to you.

Then, slowly but surely, it all creeps back.

And often it doesn’t just stop where you started.

It overshoots.

One step forward, two steps back.

It’s frustrating.

It’s disheartening.

And if you’re like many of the people I speak to, you’ve probably blamed yourself.

Not disciplined enough.

Not strong enough.

Not motivated enough.

But here’s the truth: it’s not that you failed.

It’s that the approach failed you.

Let me explain.

When you lose weight quickly — through crash diets, extreme restriction, shakes, soups, or “just cut calories” — the scales move fast.

But what’s really coming off in those early weeks?

A lot of it is water.

A lot of it is muscle.

And often, very little of it is the dangerous fat around your organs — the visceral fat that drives type 2 diabetes.

That matters more than most people realise.

Because muscle isn’t just about strength.

It’s your body’s most important glucose sink.

It’s where sugar is supposed to go when you eat.

The more muscle you carry, the more resilient your metabolism becomes.

So when you diet hard and lose muscle, you actually make your body less effective at handling blood sugar.

And when the weight inevitably comes back (because no one can live on shakes forever), it doesn’t return as muscle.

It comes back as fat.

And not the harmless kind under the skin — but the visceral fat that creeps into your liver and pancreas, silently pushing up insulin resistance.

This is why yo-yo dieting makes things worse over time:

– Less muscle.

– More organ fat.

– A slower, less efficient metabolism.

Not because your body is broken.

Not because your metabolism is doomed.

But because the method you were told to follow never protected the things that matter most.

And that’s the missing piece.

The real goal isn’t just “losing weight.”

It’s losing the right kind of weight, while protecting the very thing that makes you metabolically healthy: your muscle.

That’s why the approach you take matters.

It’s why in my work, we don’t just slash calories and hope for the best.

We focus on strategies that actually preserve muscle and shift fat from the right places:

– Prioritising protein so you don’t lose the tissue that keeps your metabolism alive.

– Adding resistance training, because muscle is your best friend for blood sugar control.

– Structuring your eating so insulin levels fall and your body is able to tap into its own fat stores again.

– Making the changes sustainable so you don’t just “do well” for a month, but build something that sticks for life.

Because the problem was never your willpower.

The problem was the plan.

And once you understand that, everything changes.

15/08/2025

Have you ever tried to get healthier but felt like you were flying blind?

For most people with type 2 diabetes, the only feedback they get is their HbA1c test every few months.

The problem?

That’s like checking your bank account four times a year — you might get a surprise, but you have no idea what’s been happening in between.

By the time the test comes around, you’re either told “everything’s fine” or you get handed another prescription.

Neither tells you why your numbers are what they are… or what you should do differently right now.

The truth is, your body gives you clues all the time about whether your blood sugar is improving or not.

The trouble is, most people don’t know what to look for, and if you’re not looking at your numbers at all, you’re just guessing.

These signs are easy to miss if you don’t know what to look for, but once you do, they can be hugely motivating.

Here are some I look for with my clients:

You wake up with lower readings than before.

There’s something called the “dawn phenomenon,” where your body releases stored sugar into your blood in the early morning.

When your blood sugar control improves, that morning spike becomes much smaller — meaning you start the day on a steadier footing.

Your nights are calmer.

Poor blood sugar control often means a slow creep upwards through the night, even when you’re not eating.

Better control means your numbers stay much more level while you sleep, and you often wake up feeling more rested.

Meals that used to spike you don’t anymore.

Maybe that bowl of porridge used to send you sky high, but now it’s a gentler rise.

That’s a sign your body is handling carbs better.

When you do rise, you come down faster.

Blood sugar isn’t meant to be perfectly flat, but it is meant to recover quickly after a meal.

If you notice your post-meal highs are shorter, that’s a great sign.

You feel steadier through the day.

Fewer crashes, less tiredness after eating, less of that “I need something sweet now” feeling.

That’s your body switching from being sugar-dependent to being able to tap into your fat stores for energy.

Now, here’s the important bit... if you’re not actually looking at your blood sugar, you’re guessing.

What gets measured gets managed.

Most people have no idea if their blood sugar is getting better between tests because they’re not checking it.

And if you’re not checking, you can’t connect the changes you’re making to the results you’re getting.

You don’t have to test every five minutes, but having that feedback even for a short period can show you exactly what’s working, what’s not, and what needs tweaking.

The big takeaway?

You don’t have to wait months for a test to tell you whether your efforts are working.

If you know what to look for and you’re tracking your numbers, you can see progress week by week and keep building on it.

So if you’ve been putting in the work lately, ask yourself:

Which of these have I noticed in my own body?

And if you’re not seeing any yet… that’s valuable too, because it tells you it’s time to adjust your approach.

The trouble is, some people spend years — even decades — trying to figure this out through trial and error, with little or no success.

In the meantime, the symptoms often get worse… and that’s when it becomes harder to turn things around.

So here’s my question for you…

How clear are you on what you’re actually seeing in your own body right now?

If you’re unsure, or you’ve got a reading, symptom, or pattern you don’t quite understand, hit reply and ask me.

I’ll do my best to point you in the right direction.

14/08/2025

Community is powerful when it comes to reversing type 2 diabetes.

Every Wednesday evening, I run a group session where you get to hear from others on the same journey – their wins, struggles, and lessons learned.

In last night’s call, we spoke about something that’s often overlooked… visceral fat – the fat around your organs that drives type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and fatty liver.

We dug into why:

• You can lose weight but see little change in your HbA1c.

• Someone else can keep their weight exactly the same but see a big improvement in their blood sugars.

• Not all “weight loss” is created equal – what matters is the type of fat you’re losing, and the approach you take to get there.

Here’s the simple version: visceral fat is more “active” in the body than the fat under your skin.

It releases substances that push up your blood sugar, make your insulin work less effectively, and increase inflammation.

So, losing visceral fat has a far bigger impact on your blood sugars than just losing weight in general.

That’s why the number on the scales isn’t the whole story!

You can lose mostly water and muscle (and keep the harmful fat around your organs), or you can focus on losing the type of fat that transforms your metabolic health.

The approach you take is what makes the difference.

If you’ve ever been frustrated because “the scales are moving but my blood sugar isn’t” – this could be why.

And this is exactly what we work on each week in the group: focusing on the habits and strategies that help you lose the right kind of fat, in a way you can sustain for life.

Andrew Latimer - Nutritionist and Diabetes Expert