After spending most of her adult life feeling overweight and self conscious, Carolyn came to LighterLife in hope of reversing her type 2 diabetes.
- Weight lost: 5st 4lb*
- Weight loss plan: Total
- Followed by Management
“In 2004 I was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, I always knew my weight was the biggest contributing factor but when you’ve struggled since childhood it’s extremely difficult to find the right solution. I was 26st at my heaviest.
I persisted with low carb diets for a while, with some degree of success, but the high fats and large portions didn’t help with either the weight loss or glucose control. Then in April 2019 my doctor urged me to change my current dosage of one Metformin tablet a day and move me onto insulin, my HbA1c result came back as 98 – anything over 42 is classed as diabetic. In the past I always refused when it was suggested I start taking insulin, it seems like a very drastic and permanent step too far. I was fed up of being labelled obese and type 2 diabetic, it was time to take responsibility for my own health.
It was time to make a change
I went on to tell the doctor that I’d try LighterLife as my first port of call. I’d been reading up on some recent diabetes trials with really positive results and I too wanted to see if a Total Diet Replacement plan could do the same for me. Plus, in January I saw a man called Mike on ITV’s This Time Next Year reverse his type 2 diabetes using LighterLife, if he could do it why couldn’t i?
There was a local LighterLife mentor near me in Porthcawl, I decided to pop along to find out more about the plan and how it could help. Debbie, my mentor, advised me that once I got medical approval from my GP I should start on the Total plan to lose up to a stone a month. I didn’t have to prepare or plan out my meals which was great. I really liked LighterLife’s total diet replacement meals – Foodpacks – they’re delicious, especially the meal bars. I was so surprised how straightforward it was to follow, too; all I had to do was choose four products for the day and I knew I was getting all the nutrition my body needed without the extra calories.
The fast weight loss kept me motivated. Improving my health was my goal and the weight loss was just a bonus, but it’s amazing how good you can feel when you’re shedding the excess weight.
Would I reverse my diabetes?
In November 2019 I went back to my doctor for a comprehensive blood test to see what impact losing the weight was having to my levels. A few days later my doctor called me. She told me that my HbA1c result came back as 38, she was amazed considering I’d been diabetic for so long. For the first time in 15 years my blood sugar levels were in the normal range, I had reversed my type 2 diabetes! I cried when I got this life changing news – I’d done what I set out to do.
LighterLife has completely changed my world, I was on the verge of being on insulin but now I’m free from diabetic medication. I’ve gone from a dress size 26 to a size 14, the LighterLife programme and support from my mentor has allowed me to achieve life changing results.
I turned 60 at the end of January 2020, this was the personal target I’d set myself to reverse my diabetes by that date, but I’m so proud that I reached my end goal well ahead of target. I’m so much more self-confident than before, I’ve got the energy to keep up with my granddaughter and I’m now a regular at my local yoga and water aerobics class. The old me would never have had the confidence to take part.
If anyone out there is faced with the challenges of type 2 diabetes, I would urge you to look at a meal replacement plan, I couldn’t recommend LighterLife enough. If your dream is to be diabetes free, don’t just think medication is your only option, I’m living my dream now and so can you!”
