When Nassreen from Milton Keynes was diagnosed as pre-diabetic it came as a shock to her and her family.
She had not realised that her diet and lifestyle was impacting her health so negatively. She wanted to find out how she could turn this around and of live a healthier life.
Nassreen was referred to the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme, also known as the Healthier You programme, which identifies people at risk of developing type 2 diabetes and refers them onto a nine-month, evidence-based lifestyle change programme.
On the programme, which provides people with personalised support to manage their weight, eat more healthily and be more physically active, Nassreen said:
“I joined the programme to find out what parts of my life were increasing my risk to diabetes. The best part of the programme for me was the education on a healthy diet. As I work in a restaurant, being surrounded by food daily was quite a challenge. Calculating portion sizes for my food daily has been quite a challenge however the programme has helped me with this. I’m now much more knowledgeable about what I’m eating and how it’s affecting my body”
“The programme has helped me to look at my lifestyle closely. I’ve changed my diet for the better, I’m eating the right food and looking at portion sizes now. I’ve also brought exercise activity into my routine.”
“Even though my programme has finished, I will definitely be following it in the future. My health has now become my priority. My children keep me on the straight and narrow and have become my diet police because they want a happy and healthy mum.”
Read more about Nassreen’s journey in the NHS Diabetes Prevention Programme.