Today’s Diabetes Awareness Month success stories is Annabel McCaffrey, who lost four stone after adopting a low carb diet and has now taken control of her type 2 diabetes.

When Annabel was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes she was told by her diabetes nurse to “treat herself like an experiment”. And she did. She tested how various foods affected her blood glucose levels and eventually joined the Low Carb Program. She was immediately impressed with her results.

She managed to lose 25.4kg (4 stone) in just 18 months and reduced her HbA1c levels from 130 mmol/mol (14%) to 41 mmol/mol (5.9%).

Losing the weight meant she also dropped several dress sizes, going from a 16-18 down to a size 8-10. This boosted her motivation further.

“The difference you see in your blood sugars means it becomes a bit addictive. The results were pretty much overnight. I was shocked, it is certainly motivating.”

Some can find the initial conversion to eating low carb challenging, but Annabel is like many others who found that once they discovered the sugar in everyday foods such as bread and other starchy carbs they had no problems making the change.

“I enjoy the diet. Although I ate quite a lot of sweet things before I was diagnosed, I’ve found it easy to swap them for berries, cheese, nuts or an apple. I’ll have a little bit of cake every now and then but I don’t crave sugary foods,” she said.

You can read Annabel’s full story here.

This week it was announced the NHS are now spending £1 billion on diabetes medication, but the Low Carb Program is proving to be as beneficial a financial intervention as it is for health. Last year it was estimated the Low Carb Program had saved the NHS £6.9 million in one year through reducing type 2 diabetes medications.

We will be showcasing a diabetes community success story every day throughout Diabetes Awareness Month. Visit our News section to view the case studies we’ve featured so far.

You can also keep updated with the Diabetes Awareness Month campaigns we are running this month on our social media pages.