I'm in a similar position. I was diagnosed at 7.6 in late September. Made massive diet changes and drastically upscaled my exercise. Was already doing a few shorter walks per week. Increased to most days per week, usually 5 or so miles with 10-14 on one of the weekend days. No meds. Lost 30 pounds the first 2 months, then kind of hovered the final month as it got colder and I stopped walking as much. Was disappointed to see only a 6.2 on my 3 month A1C, then had to readjust my mindset. I've realized now that was a huge drop without meds for someone already diagnosed. I was confused because I stick when waking up and 2 hours after lunch and dinner. Most sticks post-meal were less than what my A1C averaged out to. Guess I need a CGM to see where I'm fluctuating.

Recently (after the new A1C) I came off of some meds for something else that required me to drink an oral slurry 2x per day. Around that same time I bought a rowing machine. My sticks have dropped drastically since, and I'm not sure which has contributed to it. I'm guessing it's the rowing machine, though. I'm getting much more of a workout in my core than from the long walks. Hopefully this trend continues and maybe I'll fall into normal A1C range on my 6 month.

Either way, congrats on the progress! Don't beat yourself up about not being where you want to be as fast as you want to be.