Hey everyone, firstly I must apologise for my radio silence over the past few months. I started this blog with the best of intentions – I was going to lose weight by following Slimming World and document my journey. I was hoping this would keep me accountable and push me to try harder. Unfortunately, life got in the way, and here I am, it’s a new year and I’m basically exactly where I was six months ago. Some things however have changed, and this will massively impact how I go forward with this blog. The biggest change is a diagnosis of pre-diabetes which will affect how I move forward in many ways. Here’s how I got to this point.

A few months ago I was feeling really run down and tired. I have struggled with this for most of my adult life, but never really gotten any answers with regards to it. It just seemed to be getting worse rather than better after I changed jobs, and so I went to the doctor primarily to talk about how badly I sleep and how permanently un-rested I feel – I certainly never wake up feeling refreshed. We had a chat and I know my weight is a contributing factor to a lot of the issues and problems I have, however he decided to run some blood tests. My blood sugar came back a little high, and I had to go for another test – my HbA1c level. This shows the amount of sugar in the body over a longer period of time.

The results came back with a diagnosis of pre-diabetes. The doctor’s surgery were adamant that this didn’t mean I was fully diabetic, but that if I continue on the course I am on, then I could be setting myself up for type two diabetes and all the health problems and complications which would follow this. I found this out just before Christmas, and I was booked in to see the practice nurse at the pre-diabetic clinic last week.

I decided to enjoy Christmas, although to equally not go too crazy, and then see what happened at that appointment. It was a little scary, and to be honest I was rather embarrassed about it. My weight causes me enough issues, but to see on paper that what I am doing to my body is causing such issues was devastating. I live alone and have no-one to blame but myself. I know I have to do something now, and yet I am struggling to process it all and move forward.

I then realised that I should come back to this platform and continue to share. To continue to be accountable and to hopefully connect with other people in a similar situation as myself.

I asked the nurse at the appointment what was the single best thing I could do going forward and she said to go low-carb. Bearing in mind when I follow Slimming World I rely heavily on pasta and potatoes, I knew this plan was no longer going to cut it for me, so I have decided to go low-carb (or lower than I am now to start with) and calorie count/track.

The nurse gave me lots of information and resources to access – and so I am working my way through these, and trying to absorb and get my head around it all. Here are some of the top resources she gave me:

• Shape up 4 life – this is a free course which will help you understand fitness and dietary issues. Check to see if it is offered in your area.
• National Diabetes Prevention Programme – this is a national programme designed to help reverse the effects of pre-diabetes and to ensure the health of people at risk.
• Dr David Unwin – Dr Unwin is a GP in the UK who writes and researches extensively on issues relating to sugar in the diet and diabetes.

I have done a bit of research, but there is much more to do. This new journey for me is very much going to be mind over munching now I’ve had a diagnosis of pre-diabetes!