Energy boost – Keith's story
Following a routine check-up with his GP, Keith was diagnosed with high blood sugar, which put him at risk of Type 2 diabetes. Keith’s GP referred him to our Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme for support in making the necessary changes to his diet and lifestyle to help him reduce his risk.
Our Healthier You Health Coaches provide fun and interactive support and advice in a group setting, with likeminded people. We provide guidance and structure that helps our participants to plan and begin their Healthier You journey with us.
Keith said: “Three weeks prior to starting the programme I started a diet, but I was struggling, I had lost my way and was eating too much of the wrong food, whilst drinking slightly over the recommended units.”
Our sessions deliver the right tools for checking food labels, understanding the effects of sugar, and how to prepare and serve meals in healthy portion sizes. The service helps people to make sustainable lifestyle changes that become part of their everyday life - now and in the future.
“Since joining”, continued Keith, “I’m more aware of the need for exercise, and so I try to get at least 30 minutes in each day. I’ve now reduced my portion sizes whilst increasing the amount of salad and vegetables I eat with meals. The best thing I have taken from the programme is knowing what’s in your food. I’ve learned that saturated fats and sugar are a nightmare when checking labels, and this awareness is now supporting me to make the right meal choices.
“I feel much better about myself and how things have improved for me physically. Understanding the properties of food and how our system copes with it has been a real eye opener. I think we should be taught more about this from school onwards. Some people use sugar as a polite swear word, but it really is a vicious killer.”
We do everything we can to support people to continue their healthy active lifestyles once they have completed the Healthier You programme. This includes a follow-up appointment with their GP so that they can reassess their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and reflect on the progress they have made with us.
Keith said: “I now have a reduced blood reading of 38 HbA1C and I have lost two stone! This has given me more energy, mobility, and confidence. I can get up from the sofa and floor more easily, I don’t get as tired from playing with my grandson – I can run and hop!”