Christina’s story: Trying to keep my blood sugar levels below the prediabetic range

My mum lives with type 2 diabetes. When she carried me, she had gestational diabetes and then developed type 2 about 10 years later in her thirties. 

At the age of 28, I was in a new relationship and we were going out to eat a lot. I was enjoying life and having a good time. This meant I’d put on three and a half stone. 

I knew being overweight as well as my mum having had gestational diabetes put me at higher risk of type 2 diabetes, so I went to the doctor to have an HbA1c blood test. 

My HbA1c level was 44mmol/mol which put me into the ‘at risk’ or prediabetic range.

I was in denial. My mindset was not to do something about it as I thought I’m heading down the road to type 2 diabetes anyway. 

But a year later, my mindset changed when I knew I was getting married. 

I was adamant that I wanted to lose weight as I was planning a wedding and thinking about being a bride. I wanted to wear a dress I felt comfortable in on my wedding day and have self confidence and higher self esteem.

And over the next 2 years, I lost five-and-a-half stone and by the time I got married my HbA1c was down to 29mmol/l .  

I lost weight by going to Slimming World. I liked it because no food was off limits. My partner encouraged me. And once I put my mind to something I’m very loyal to the process and do it as much as I can. 

I felt great and could go into a shop and buy clothes off the rail without worrying if they’d have my size. We got married and went on honeymoon and a year and a bit later Covid hit. 

That threw me completely and I went from that five-and-a-half-stone weight loss to putting on seven-and-a-half stone. And unsurprisingly my HbA1c was back in the prediabetic range (42 mmol/mol to 47 mmol/mol) .

My doctor asked me if I wanted to go on a type 2 diabetes prevention course. I was at my heaviest weight-wise. We’d just had a baby – my wife had carried. 

As you can imagine with a new-born baby, routines had gone out of the window and so had my eating habits. There were lots of take-aways and quick and easy not very nutritious meals and the weight piled on. 

The prevention course took place in different sessions over nine-months. One of the most useful sessions was one on stress and sleep. It helped me see that if I’m stressed or not sleeping well, it makes it hard for me to eat healthily.

When I started the prevention course, my HbA1c was 43 mmol/l but it had only gone down to 42mmol/l by the end of the course. Although I was making some changes to my eating habits I’d been diagnosed with Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) which is linked to insulin resistance and a higher HbA1c and I was started on metformin.

Last year we bought a house and moved in so things were busy. My sister’s getting married and last October I thought enough is enough – and since then I’ve lost three-and-a-half stone. My latest HbA1c was 42 mmol/l.

I try not to focus too much on the HbA1c numbers, as sometimes they can only change a small amount even with a huge amount of effort and as such it can feel disheartening. 

Since going on the prevention course, I've become a more mindful eater, so taking my time to enjoy my food and recognising the nutrition the food is giving me. I have also become more active than I was. I walk more and take the car less. 

I want to live a long and healthy life in order to be there for my daughter. Now that she is a very active toddler, I want the energy to play with her and ultimately not hold her back because of my weight or any health concerns.

(Please note the name of this person has been changed for privacy reasons. The photo is posed by models.)