Six Questions for the No-Longer Noob

Hi All, This is a very long post, so dive in if you are interested in the exploration. Also, I am cross-posting this to a few different diabetes subreddits, so forgive me if you are also multiply subscribed and get multiple posts. I am a male/53/5'10" SW 226, CW 192, GW 160. Dx'd prediabetes in Jan, 2020. My guiding star resources are Fung's two Code books, and Sarah Hallberg's youtubes. I use a Verio meter & stick testing. My last A1c was 5.7, but I am due for another. Tracking my own testing, my average over the last 90 days is 108 mg/dl, which might suggest that my A1c won't go down by much since my first. I normally test twice daily: in AM right before I eat, and 2 hours after dinner. In the last 3 weeks I have also added mild intermittent fasting from 7pm to Noon the next day, so around 17 hours. On those days I eat two meals (mid-day and dinner), with no snacks between. That is working pretty well. I normally walk 1-2.5 miles after a meal. I drink lots of water. Question 1 -- I feel like I have a good sense of my baseline, but now it is time to target specific foods for elimination. I understand that a good way to do that is to test immediately before a meal, and then 2 hours after. One tip I've heard suggested that any food that spikes sugar by 30 mg/dl should be eliminated. Do you have any tips for the post-meal test time, the amount of spike to target for elimination, or any other tips for this kind of experimentation? My prescription covers 2 tests daily, but I realized I can just buy more strips and lancets to do the testing that I need, so I think I will do that, until I learn more about my body's responses. Question 2 -- I've been experimenting with testing twice in the AM, to get some important levels. The first test is immediately upon waking (with good sleep, feeling rested). The second is after 32 oz of water, and a 2 mile walk. I tried this twice. Yesterday's results were pretty dramatic, 123 before and 83 after. Today's results were different, 109 before and 120 after. Any suggestions about how to interpret the results of this somewhat controlled experiment? While we are at it, is a walk most productive immediately after a meal, rather than close to the end of the 2-hour post-meal testing period? Question 3 -- I try to eat veggies at every meal, and shoot for at least 50% of the meal's bulk as veggies. I am sparing with fruit. I eat no added sugar and no processed carbs. My question is, how cumulative is it to slow down processing of sugars by fiber? I understand that overall, fiber delays digestion and improves glycemic control. Is this one of the silver bullets of diabetes control? If I lower my sugar levels for a few hours surrounding the evening meal, will that show up as reduced sugar levels the next morning? Or is the response curve longer, perhaps only captured by an A1c over a few months? Question 4 -- What are your opinions about processed vegetarian products? I am a vegetarian who eats fish. I really like the following and would rather not eliminate them unless they are particular problem foods. All have lower carbs, lower fiber, and higher protein. None have added sugars. All come with a long list of multisyllabic ingredients, so they are definitely *processed*. ​ * Morningstar Farms Vegetarian sausage patties (per serving: 6g carbs, 2g Fiber, 18g Protein), * Hickory Smoke Tofurky Slices (per serving: 5g carbs, 1g Fiber, 13g Protein) , and * Gardein Beefless Burgers (per serving: 8g carbs, 2g Fiber, 14g Protein). Question 5 -- I have chronic unexplained pain in my hamstrings that has lasted approximately 2.5 years. I walk often, so that is the proximate cause, but nothing seems to relieve this functionally chronic pain, and I don't have a handle on the ultimate cause. For example, stretching helps in the short term, but can easily lead to *increased* inflammation; perhaps like rebound pain. For another example, lactic acid in the muscle is supposed to be a likely cause, but using a foam roller over several days drastically increases the pain, rather than reducing it by breaking up and releasing the lactic acid in the muscle. Once triggered, the pain remains for 5-6 days. I am stuck on meloxicam to manage it, but I would really like to solve this issue. It definitely keeps me from doing the kind of 6-mile mountain hike that I love to do. This feels like a chronic inflammation, and my hypothesis at this point is that my large leg muscles have fat stored in them that is prompting long-term inflammation. Have any of you experimented with muscle pain in large muscle groups? Fung's work suggests that I try extended intermittent fasting (like repeated 36-hour fasts over weeks-to-months) to remove stored fats from organs and muscles. That would be a pretty big commitment, so I want to understand my options before diving in. Question 6 -- I am very interested in recipe sites and books that focus on vegetarian eating for diabetes management and particularly with the goal of reducing insulin resistance. Any suggestions? If you are still reading, you should get continuing ed credit! Thanks for considering my questions.