Flory’s REWIND experience so far

How did you hear about us?

I was diagnosed diabetic in 2009, I tried to reverse it in the past, but I was not educated enough around nutrition to be able to make the specific changes needed to reverse diabetes. But this programme as helped me look at food in a different way. I found that label reading, portion control and exercise did wonders for me. And when I put all these habits into place, people started noticing how much weight I have lost, and I achieved remission and I am off medication at the moment, which is great.

Challenges and benefits of the programme

The first phase of the programme with just the shakes and the vegetables was quite challenging for me at first, I needed to get used to it, give it some time. After a couple of weeks, it was fine. But then again, the food-re-introduction phase was challenging, because I had gotten used to the convenience of just having to grab a shake and pre-prepared vegetables and all of a sudden, I needed to get back to preparing my meals, I had to think about the portion sizes. What helped me overcome this challenge is planning ahead of time. This programme has really showed me what is good for me and what to look out for. For instance, in the past I used to have a portion of chips every day. And my previous portions used to look like little mountains on my plate and now their just handfuls. I also found it very interesting how low in calories vegetables are, you can have so many vegetables for such little calories. I sleep much better, I have so much more energy. I am a member if an over 50 club, which also has a gym and exercise classes, I go there from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm every day and we have a community of people who also go daily. I spend the day doing a variety of different classes with friends and socialising. What also kept me going is the amount of weight I have lost, none of my clothes fit me anymore, my trousers fall off and I have bought a new wardrobe, I am in between a size 10-12 and I used to be a size 16.

What advice would you give a service user who is just getting started?

I think the main points are, stick to your long-term goals (keep them in mind), preparation is very important (can help reduce giving into temptations), lots of exercise and reading the labels. What kept me going, is that I have been diabetic since 2009, and I managed to reduce my HbA1c in these three months! Also, my husband is very supportive and has joined me, he will come along and exercise with me. Being a part of the social club and exercising with friends who keep me accountable and expect me to be there has been extremely helpful.

You can find out more about the REWIND programme by clicking here