MY NUMBERS & ME

Have you just been told that you are Diabetic or Prediabetic?

Have you struggled to get your blood glucose under control for a while?

Are you fed up of feeling tired or possibly struggling with your weight?

Is your goal to reverse your Diabetes or Prediabetes? 

If any of the above apply to you, please consider signing up for the Diabetes and Prediabetes Group sessions.

These sessions are run by the Diabetes Doctors and Nurses of Aspen Medical Practice at the Aspen Centre’s meeting room (second floor). They are small relaxed informal group sessions with up to 12 people. We enjoy people asking lots of questions and are equally happy if you feel more comfortable just listening. 

The course is two sessions each lasting 1½ hours. The sessions are held at a variety of times including 1:30pm and 6.30pm across the week.

Session A – My Numbers and Me

• We will explain what your diagnosis means and how to manage your condition going forward.
• Our key message is that of HOPE – it is completely possible to reverse this condition (also referred to as putting the disease into remission).
• We will provide information on which foods typically raise blood glucose.
• We will be teaching you why we check blood glucose, what we are aiming for, and how to maximise the use of glucometers to help work out the best way to eat for you.

Session B – My Numbers and Me

• We will ask you to bring back your Blood Glucose Journal to discuss with the group what you have learnt using your glucometer.
• We will teach you various hacks with food combinations and sequencing to try avoiding blood glucose spikes for those of you who are not ready to give up starches.
• You will learn that all 4 pillars of health (Food, Movement, Sleep and Stress) underpin all of our human biology and they all affect blood glucose.
• We will cover what all the different blood test results mean so that you can start to understand how to understand your picture of metabolic health.
• Intermittent Fasting can be a very effective way to manage your blood glucose. You can explore if this is an option for you.
• Finally, where you will go from here with regards ongoing management as well as support.

Our goal is to empower you to learn about your own body’s blood glucose response to different foods in order for you to make better choices. Sometimes apparently healthy foods may result in your blood glucose spiking up. The same food may result in significantly different blood glucose responses in different people. Occasionally, foods that most of us would think would cause blood glucose to jump up do not actually cause the blood glucose to rise as much as expected. Walking and exercise can affect blood glucose control positively as much as poor sleep can have huge impact negatively  When you start monitoring your blood glucose, you will also start to see the effects of stress on your blood glucose.

We base our approach on the four pillars of health – Food, Movement, Sleep and Stress. Dialling into all four of these areas is critically important to achieve good metabolic health. 

If you would like to find out more about how you can personalise your diet and lifestyle, please do come along to our group sessions. We encourage you to bring your partner, spouse, or friend, especially if they will be supporting you on your journey. Please email aspen.diabetes@nhs.net to register your interest. 

• ‘A very informative course and sessions have opened my eyes to the implications if I do not eat healthily and how important the need for exercise, sleep and no stress are to achieving your goals’
• ‘The sessions with Sam have been very helpful and informative. She explains things clearly and makes the information easy to follow. She is enthusiastic and inspires confidence’
• ‘I recently attended a session for patients who have been diagnosed with prediabetes and diabetes. The session was really well delivered, the doctor presenting it was very engaging and made the information easy to follow and understand. I feel I learned a lot about my condition and how I can try to turn things around and I would urge anyone who is offered this service to attend the sessions.’
• ‘Makes understanding diabetes easier, makes understanding of what I can and cannot eat, the PowerPoint was very good and easy to follow, not too many medical terms’
• ‘Fantastic information and lots of support options, sessions are well ring, all information is excellent, me my numbers & me book is very good’
• ‘Convenient time at lunchtime, definitely food for thought, excellent 2 sessions’
• ‘Sessions were really valuable and friendly’
• ‘Useful to understand, lovely recipes and ERF was very helpful’
• ‘Very well-presented session, I get distracted easily and this did not happen, thank you!’
• ‘ I struggle with memory, but the booklet I have has really helped me, coming to the meetings have helped me also realise my strength how much I need to try my hardest to succeed and have a better life’
• ‘The Session was really amazing, content was very useful , overall, it was fantastic’
• ‘It was very informative and really made me think about my meals, I have been reducing my carbs and tracking my blood, without the group sessions I definitely wouldn’t be as knowledgeable’
• ‘Two great sessions, very interesting and educational. Very helpful with lots of suggestions in getting sugar levels down’
• ‘Absolutely brilliant, it has really made me focus on what I eat benefit to me. I feel the session have given me firm foundation going forward, thank you!’
• ‘Can tell the doctors passion towards helping people on the course’
• ‘I thought the sessions were very informative – making lifestyle changes and substituting high sugar foods have made a difference already. Blood monitoring has been very beneficial in that you can see after a meal where food is not suitable if reading high’
• ‘Great info has really helped me make changes. I have used the tools from the first session to change my diet. Found out about 3 monthly blood tests as I wasn’t aware of this.’
• ‘Excellent content and communication. I have been a diabetic for 32 years and this has added very helpful information which is already improving my health – thank you!’
• ‘Very informative and includes lots of excellent advice and guidance for managing the journey to be undertaken. Found both sessions very interesting and well presented with useful handouts’