In July 2017, Tina C, a Fire Prevention Officer from Northamptonshire, achieved something incredible. She had been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes two years earlier and needed medications to keep her blood sugars in check day by day. She was feeling lost, was struggling to keep a check on her diet, and things were getting worse.

Then came the call from the BBC. A second series of the hit documentary How to Stay Young was on the cards, and Tina had been selected to participate. If she was up for it, she would embark on a strict, 12-week diet and exercise plan supervised by Changing Health’s Professor Mike Trenell, with the aim of reducing her “real body age”. She would undergo extensive testing at four, eight and twelve weeks to assess everything from her weight and blood glucose levels to quality of sleep and cognitive function.

Tina accepted. The diet took some serious willpower; calories were reduced to just 800 per day, with each meal logged in the Changing Health app alongside Tina’s daily physical activity levels for her lifestyle coach to feed back on. It was a dramatic shift from Tina’s normal habits, but she kept it up.

Success At Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

Fast-forward 12 challenging weeks, and there was big news. Watched by millions across the UK on BBC1, Professor Trenell gave Tina the results from her final round of tests. Had she walked in and there and then, Professor Trenell told her, he wouldn’t say she has diabetes. He’d say she haddiabetes.

She was gobsmacked. She had taken control of her health and transformed her life. And a year on, she’s kept it up. “It’s been a difficult year with some big challenges,” she says. “Sometimes your mind gets unfocussed, you end up comfort eating – in April I lost my way. It was the first time I’d felt like that, and it disappointed me.

“But then, 6-8 weeks ago, something reclicked; I’ve gone back to being strict with myself, logging my foods and exercise in the Changing Health app and re-reading the learning content. It’s really important to have the facts, because when you do you realise you’re in control. I reminded myself that my health is something I can change. It is possible.”

Reversing Type 2 Diabetes With Low Carb Diet

Perhaps the most drastic change in Tina’s lifestyle over the past year has been her meal choices. “I used to just load up on carbs, thinking they would fill me up – not realising that carbs actually turn to sugar in your blood! Now I’m eating a lot of vegan meals and plant-based foods… and sugar-free baking has changed my life! I use a lot a cacao in my cake recipes; it’s just a matter of getting your taste buds used to it.

“The recipes in the Changing Health app have been really useful too. All kinds of foods I didn’t even know about have become staples… Chia seeds, for one, have become a massive part of my life. I have to think of unhealthy foods as evil. I’ll allow myself a treat on very special occasions, for example I baked a normal cake for a 40th birthday, and I’m going to have a slice!

“I make sure that on 6 days a week I’m brilliant, so on the 7th day I can have a glass of wine or something a little naughty! My strategy is to picture my own long-term health. I keep a couple of pics on my phone of how I was before, just to remind myself.”

Beating Diabetes With A Little Help From The Hubby

There’s no doubt that Tina’s husband’s support has been invaluable too; together they’re quite the team. “He gave up six months of his life to lose weight with me and support me through completely changing my diet and starting a regular exercise routine and if he can do it, I can too. I was having a tough time in April, and without him, I would’ve self-destructed. But now I feel so much better. You just feel more positive when your diet is good and when I’m healthy I get through things. I feel really different in how organised I am – literally just ticking things off my to-do list all day!”

“We’ve got two businesses that I help out with; and we always look for different solutions to get the energy we need for a long day without eating sugar. Planning is very important. I’m back down to 1000 calories temporarily so this morning, for example, I had chia seeds and soya milk, for lunch it was chickpea falafels and a green salad, and this evening we’ll have chicken fajitas without the wraps.”

“Having the Changing Health app on hand is like having a little buddy in my pocket. When my husband isn’t there, it’s a constant reminder: what have I eaten this week? It’s engaging, nice to look at and the content is easy to understand.”

“Ultimately, the power’s in your hands to change your health. I still can’t get my head around how I made that difference and changed my life. It’s not expensive, it’s not a lot of work, it’s just you and your mindset. If somebody gave you that chance, if somebody told you could do it – why wouldn’t you?”

Watch Tina’s moving account of her experience reversing Type 2 diabetes