Otu

It was my 25th birthday and I found out that I had really high blood sugars and my diabetes was not under control. I was ignorant to what this meant for me and I also had a ‘I don’t really care attitude”.

Two years ago I had a blood transfusion. Whilst lying in hospital I decided I did not want my life to be a series of hospital visits. I decided I would start to try and manage my diabetes. I made some changes that helped.

In February 2024 I started volunteering in the garden at WELLfed. It was there when I was talking to Kim that I heard they were going to be running some trial WELLfed Diabetes Classes.

I signed up. I decided I was doing this for myself, my moko and my whānau.

Each week I would go to class. I learned what diabetes was, how it affected my body and lifestyle. I learned what I could do to make changes so I didn’t end up with these negative things happening to me. Some learnings:
Taking little steps each day to make a bigger change.
Learning to cook healthier kai, adding veggies and salads makes a huge difference and serving sizes. I love the kofta recipe, yogurt and hummus, lasagne with lots of veg and lentils.
I no longer drink fizzies and rarely have take aways. I drink plenty of water.
Moving more, keeping active.

It also helped so much that I was being encouraged by the staff at WELLfed. Receiving compliments from people was a big boost that kept me going.

Being consistent, doing it even when I didn’t want to do it. This really helped me achieve what I have so far. It really is key.

My diabetes nurse called to tell me that I have now gone from diabetic to the pre diabetes stage. I’m so happy and know this is a lifetime journey. I’m going to keep working at getting those numbers lower.