The Diabetes Coach

For many people, yes. The clinical term is remission – an HbA1c below 48 mmol/mol (6.5%) sustained without glucose-lowering medication. It is not a cure and it is not guaranteed: blood sugars can rise again, which is why the NHS and Diabetes UK prefer “remission” to “reversal”. What is well established is that sustained weight loss and lower insulin exposure give you the best chance of getting there. Your own numbers and medication are a conversation for your GP.

Everyday language versus clinical language. Most people say they want to reverse their diabetes; doctors say remission, because the underlying tendency doesn’t disappear and the condition can return if the weight goes back on. Practically, you are aiming at the same thing: blood sugars back in the normal range and staying there, without medication doing the work for you.

Start with the five markers on this page: a waist more than half your height, a doctor already using the words prediabetic or type 2, blood pressure or cholesterol medication, worry about memory and mood, and a weight pattern that goes down, comes back and is now stuck. Two or more makes insulin resistance very likely. An HbA1c blood test from your GP will confirm where you sit in terms of blood sugar. But problems with insulin often begin decades before that test shows anything. If in doubt, take back control today.

No – and please don’t change anything on your own. This is nutrition, strength training and habit change. Every decision about metformin, blood pressure tablets, statins or a GLP-1 stays with your GP, pharmacist or prescriber. What often happens is that as your numbers improve, they review your doses with you. And besides – medication should help you take back control, not be the control. A GLP-1, for example, can curb your appetite while you get on with changing your diet for the longer term. The meds aren’t the cure.

Yes – it’s built to work with or without a jab. A GLP-1 quietens appetite, but it doesn’t decide what you eat, protect your muscle, or change your habits for when you stop. Used alongside the right dietary change, the jabs can work well. Used instead of changing anything, the weight tends to come back.

Fully online, wherever you are. Live workouts every Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday morning with Coach Allison, weekly live coaching, and weekly check-ins with personal replies. Camera off if you’d rather, and no equipment needed to start.

The first week is free – no card, no commitment. After that the Ultimate 10-Week Challenge is £450, or 3 × £150 monthly, which works out at about £45 a week. Nothing is due until the free week ends, and if you stop there it costs you nothing.

This programme is designed for type 2 diabetes, prediabetes and insulin resistance. Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition and is not reversible, so the goal here doesn’t apply in the same way. People with type 1 can still benefit from strength training and better nutrition, but that must be managed with your diabetes team. A better diet, less reliance on carbohydrate for energy and more muscle available to store glycogen can mean lower insulin requirements and fewer highs and lows – though every dose change is theirs to make, never yours alone.