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Helen: “I never want to fall into the ’at risk’ category again.”

Helen is living with coeliac disease and since joining Second Nature 6 months ago has lost 10 kilos and improved her blood glucose levels.

Helen: “I never want to fall into the ’at risk’ category again.”

Helen has coeliac disease, and knew she had to make changes to her diet and lifestyle to reduce her risk of developing type 2 diabetes. She lost and kept off 10 kilos over the last six months!

What led you to try Second Nature?

I have coeliac disease and I know that people with coeliac disease can develop type 2 diabetes. When I had my annual coeliac review, my blood tests revealed that I was at high risk of developing type 2.

My mother-in-law suffered type 2 diabetes and quite frankly I was horrified to think that I was at risk of suffering the same fate. My blood test shocked me into doing something positive to reverse this result.

I searched the internet for diets that helped to reduce the risk. I eventually found an article that was printed in the Daily Mail about Second Nature and how some NHS Trusts were adopting the plan for patients suffering type 2 diabetes, and thought it sounded sensible!

How did you find the programme?

The first and foremost thing for me was to establish the diet. I have coeliac disease and I was already following a gluten-free diet. So I knew this was going to be a challenge.

The programme began with Reset. This required reducing my intake of carbohydrates and sugar. I’ve always had a sweet tooth and love sweets, biscuits and cake. And I have so many lovely friends who delighted in baking gluten-free cakes for me, which I felt obliged to eat!

So to say Reset was challenging was an understatement. But I was pleased after the first week to have lost a few pounds already!

The other part of the programme that helped me to get through Reset and all the programme stages were the daily articles, which covered all aspects of wellbeing. They included the psychological aspects of overeating, stress, sleeplessness, insulin resistance. They also covered the physical aspects and gave examples of exercise to improve weight loss and well being – I found that really helpful.

Why did you think Second Nature worked for you?

The other factor that led to success was my health coach, Linnaea, who was available to offer encouragement and psychological support. Another aspect I found helpful was going through the process with a group of ladies who had similar goals – we were able to chat and support one another throughout the different stages of the programme!

Another element of the programme which helped towards my success was the way my weight automatically appeared on my dashboard every time I weighed in. Seeing the daily progress motivated me to stick to the programme and achieve my weight loss goal.

What made Second Nature different?

I think where this programme has succeeded where others have failed – and I have over the past 36 years tried every diet under the sun – was the HOLISTIC approach to wellbeing that Second Nature has designed. It included all the dietary, physical, mental and psychological support necessary to reduce weight, obesity and ill health.

At the beginning of the programme I set a goal for weight loss and I am happy that I am 1% away from achieving this goal, having lost more than a stone! Most importantly though, I am pleased to say that when I repeated the blood test, which previously showed that I was at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes, this reading has also improved.

Although I have achieved my two main goals, I intend to carry on with the programme, because I never want to fall into the type 2 diabetes ‘at risk’ category again.

Well done Helen on all your hard work!

We love hearing about how the programme has helped people make lasting changes to their mindset and their lifestyle.

We aim to give people flexible guidelines so that you can find the way of eating that is right and sustainable for you – like Helen, who needed to find a gluten-free diet that also reduced her risk of type 2 diabetes.

You can read more Second Nature stories here.

*Name and photo have been anonymised at the user’s request.

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