[sumi]

Hi Pete, welcome
Good for you and your doctor. It seems too many people wait until the problem is extremely serious before taking action. Your doctor's advice sounds reasonable to me, however it is certainly not what we normally hear. Yes get a meter. Test before each meal, then 2 hours after first bite. This will tell you which foods your body can handle. Personally, I like my pp (post prandial) reading to be 120 or under although 140 is likely good enough to prevent damage. As you may know by now, that high insulin level makes weight loss tough. Most of us find that low carbing (much much lower than the ADA guidelines) has several positive effects. Carbs are mainly what affect your bg levels, so by limiting them, you will limit your pp spikes.
I sympathize with the constant hunger, that was me for several years before diagnosis. It didn't matter if I had just finished a big meal, I was ready to eat again. Although my weight hit 212, I feel that it could easily have been twice that if I had completely given up. By drastically lowering my carbs, for the first time in years, I could finally be free of that constant desire to eat. In my case that number was 50 carbs a day, I am now able to handle up to about 70-75 some days. This is definitely individual. Some people can handle only about 30, others perhaps 150. Diabetics on insulin can eat very normally as long as they don't have significant insulin resistance.
Your exercise regime will pay off as much as your diet. You will find that a 20-30 minute walk just before or after a meal will lower your bg level - something to keep in mind if you overindulge. You might also try eating smaller more frequent meals to smooth out your bg levels.
As far as meds go, probably the fewer the better. All meds of course have side effects. Since your fasting bg is already pretty good, you certainly don't want to take a chance on going too low which is extremely unpleasant (not that I have any first hand experience) as well as dangerous. Metformin is usually the first drug of choice. Some people have trouble tolerating it. The dosage should be built up slowly, or the extended release type used.
Please visit Jenny Ruhl's website Blood Sugar 101 for lots of info including most common drugs and side effects. You should also read through lots of old threads for tons of advice on how to proceed. Of course, you will have to make up your own mind as to what feels right for you. One thing that we are very aware of is how individual D is. And remember, most of what you read is simply our own individual experience and may or may not apply to you.