If you have been enrolled on to the Healthier You: NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme with Living Well Taking Control please see the information below.

 

Before you begin the group element of the course, we have the following resources for you to use to get started on your diabetes prevention journey. Working towards reducing your risk of developing Type 2 diabetes does not require a complete lifestyle overhaul and you can still enjoy your favourite things. It's all about small and achievable changes that get you eating a healthier, balanced diet and moving more. You can take control and small changes can have dramatic effects.

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What does 'at risk' mean?

Being 'at risk' of developing Type 2 diabetes means you have an increased likelihood of getting the condition because your blood sugar (HbA1c) levels are above the normal healthy range. Although you do not have diabetes yet, this is still something that needs to be taken seriously in order to protect your future health. Fortunately, it is possible to normalise your blood sugar levels through simple lifestyle changes, particularly to your diet and physical activity levels. The Diabetes Prevention Programme will support you to do this, but there are also things you can do now to get started.

 

Nutrition

Many people don't always know how much they are eating, and sometimes it's hard to keep track of what's in our food. We will provide a food diary that

will help you to take a look at your current diet and how much sugar, fat and alcohol you are consuming. You can then compare your results to the recommended daily intake, which can be found here, and see if you can identify any areas that you may need to make changes to. Once you start the programme, your facilitator will be able to go through this with you and support you moving forward. 

 

Exercise

Fitting exercise into your lifestyle can be difficult but many people get very little or no exercise each day. Exercise is a really important part of a healthy lifestyle and you can increase your level of physical activity without having to do anything drastic like running on a treadmill for an hour a day. We will provide an exercise diary so you can track what you are doing each day, and remember, walking counts. 

Once you have recorded how much exercise you currently do over a week period, have a look at these tips for simple ways to start increasing your physical activity. Then fill in the diary again and see what a difference small changes can make.

 

Support

The programme is designed to be educational but in a relaxed setting. You will be allocated to a friendly local group with others with the same pre-diabetic diagnosis in which you can discuss various aspects of your lifestyle and how you could make adjustments to bring about better health. You will have an initial educational course of weekly group sessions. After this, you will be given continued support. In these sessions, the Facilitator will see how you are getting along and to support you to stay on track. The Facilitator will also have your HbA1c and other biometric data measured throughout the course.

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The course will support you to:

•  Understand the risks of pre-diabetes

•  Find out what you need to do to avoid developing diabetes

•  Make healthier food choices

•  Increase your physical activity levels

•  Discover a new way of living that improves your wellbeing 

•  Maintain a healthy weight

•  Get more out of your life