A diet on the NHS has proved to help people lose a staggering amount of weight - but it requires weight-watchers to go to extreme lengths. A new study has found that people who embark on the programme, known as the NHS 'soups and shakes diet', not only can expect to see significant weight loss, but it can also reverse their type 2 diabetes . The paper published in the journal Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology said a third put their diabetes into remission whilst following the year-long programme.
It sees users kick-start their weight loss journey with a low-calorie "meal replacement" diet of soups, shakes and bars for the first 12 weeks. People are then encouraged to reintroduce healthy food and are supported to maintain their weight loss. Tracey Mellish, from Derbyshire, is 10 months into the NHS Type 2 Diabetes Path to Remission Programme.
She knows just how gruelling it can be to live off liquid meals for weeks on end, but says the tough process is worth it as it's changed her life. Before joining, the mum-of-two had just come out of a divorce and says she was in 'survival mode'. She wasn't exercising, had no energy, and weighed in at 116kg (18 stone).
In her diabetes review, she was told her HbA1c (the test that measures the amount of blood sugar attached to your hemoglobin) had risen to an alarming 59mmol/mol. "I had decided that 2023 was going to be a new chapter for me – a time to sort myself out," Tracey told the Mirror . "I didn't want to be on medication anymore a.