"I have learnt a lot from the Diabetes Prevention Programme"

I was shocked to be diagnosed with prediabetes, recently. I had a BMIwithin normal limits, eat healthily and exercise regularly. I had no obvious symptoms. It was picked up because I had volunteered for the Novavax trial in Belfast. They referred me to my GP who told me they would monitor by HBA1C again after several months and to try to cut back. However in 3 months time it had increased to47 and on the verge of diabetes.

The diabetes nurse in the practice asked me if I would consider doing the programme. I was a bit surprised at the length of time involved but due to Covid I wasn’t out so much in the evenings and thought with it being on zoom I would give it a try.

However I didn’t hear any thing for several months so began to think it wouldn’t happen. However the thought of officially being diagnosed as a diabetic scared me and by coincidence there was an article highlighting a book by Prof Roy Taylor entitled “ Reversing Diabetes” I read the article, ordered the book and read it from cover to cover. I decided to try and use his method, of limiting my calorie intake to 800 cal for 12 weeks. I had never done a proper diet before as I had never needed to loose weight, however as I still cook every day and have home grown vegetables I decided to follow the Michael Mosley receive book for 800 cal a day instead of taking commercial meal replacement shakes.

My diet consisted of porridge for breakfast, home made soup for lunch and them a small healthy meal in the evening. If I was particularly hungry at night I ate a lot of green vegetables, home grown spinach, kale, cabbage etc. Over the 12 weeks I lost over one and a half stone and was indeed the size I had been in my twenties! I was amazed, as I wasn't overly tired and still able to exercise as before.

Finally I was invited to join the DPP. I did wonder if there was any point as I had already lost the weight required, however I was a bit scared of just putting it all back on again, so thought I might learn something and decided to give it a try.

As I had worked in public health before retiring and had on occasions run “ cook it “ courses I felt I knew all there was to know about healthy diets! However with the help of our facilitator I realised that was far from the truth! I identified that I eat a lot more carbohydrates than I needed and was not as aware of the fat content of foods. But the biggest revelation was in my portion size, which was often double what is an accepted portion.

In all this our facilitator was encouraging, supportive and non judgmental. He was clear about the facts but also realistic about how many goals we could achieve at once. It is now obvious to me why nine months are required in order to embed new behaviours and establish more healthy dietary habits.

I recently was reviewed by my GPS and my HBA1C is now within normal limits. I am delighted but feel empowered that with detailed information and ongoing motivational support I have reversed my condition. However I fully understand that these changes have to be for the rest of my life now but it is getting easier and we still have another three months to go. I am hopeful that my pancreatic Beta cells will recover normal function with time and I can allow my self an occasional treat ! I am amazed at how much weight I have lost and have noticed that that has also helped with some other minor health complaints I had started to notice.

The reverse diabetes diet is quite extreme but I am glad I found out about it as the general advice is just to try and cut back gradually, and I am sure following the DPP I would have lost weight too but more slowly.

I would recommend the programme to any one and I have learnt a lot. I have enjoyed the sessions and found them relevant, and challenging as you have to apply the topics to yourself and your lifestyle and set your own goals.