Your Target Ranges, in mg/dL
Reviewed by CDE Mehandi Sharma · Updated
Knowing what to aim for is what turns a reading from a source of worry into useful information.
For most adults with Type 2 diabetes, the commonly used targets are:
| When | Target |
|---|---|
| Before meals | 80 to 130 mg/dL |
| About 2 hours after eating | Below 180 mg/dL |
| HbA1c | Below 7% |
These are starting points, not rules. Your targets may be set higher if you are over 65, have other health conditions, or have been getting frequent low blood sugar. Tighter is not automatically better — targets that push you into repeated lows do more harm than good.
Measure the after-meal reading from your first bite, not from when you finish eating. It is a common mistake and it makes readings look worse than they are.
And treat a single high number as information rather than failure. One reading tells you about one moment. A week of readings tells you about your treatment, and that is what your review appointment is for.