Second Nature

[Languid_Lil]

Hi there all. Anybody know anything about Second Nature? My local NHS dietitian has referred me to it.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone]

I have no personal experience of Second Nature, but it seems to be the most recent weight loss club that the NHS are using and it appears their approach is lower carb. I wonder if you've recently been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes, or pre-diabetic?

This should tell you what you need to know secondnature.io/guides/nutr...

If the NHS is going to be paying, you have nothing to lose except weight

[Lytham 3 stone in reply to moreless]

WHAT???? The NHS is promoting lower carb???

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Lytham]

The exact opposite to the Eatwell Guide! Wonders will never cease, but I wonder if it's still only for people with T2D, or pre-diabetes.

[Lytham 3 stone in reply to moreless]

OMG!! Surely regardless of any health conditions, they obviously believe that's the way to lose weight now? X

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Lytham]

I'm not sure, they don't seem to equate a high carb diet with causing diabetes and/or weight gain, so may still only be advising a lower carb diet to reverse the diabetes.

[Lytham 3 stone in reply to moreless]

Isn't reversing diabetes purely down to losing weight? X

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Lytham]

That's what the 'experts' think, but what about the slim people that get type 2? That's down to lifestyle and nothing to do with weight.

[Lytham 3 stone in reply to moreless]

Hmmm., true. But I still can't wait to tell my Aunties and friends that have been arguing with me for years over low carb this little nugget! X LOL

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Lytham]

LOL!!

[Hidden in reply to moreless]

Surely the slim people will benefit from low carb because that equates to low sugar? Just because you're slim doesn't mean you're eating right...

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Hidden]

Oh yes, I agree, it's the powers to be that don't

[Hidden in reply to moreless]

I took a look - might be worth trying - been thinking about ww or sw - not very good at these things though so a different plan might be ok - you get a free 14 day trial I think it said but then quite expensive - £49/mth, £39/mth for 3mths, £33/mth for a year - I did their little quiz and gave my email address - I wonder if they'll email with a better offer as I didn't take them up on their offer...

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Hidden]

It really isn't necessary to pay to lose weight, or follow a low carb way of eating. Here are a few things that could help:

healthunlocked.com/redirect...

res.cloudinary.com/grohealt...

fatismyfriend.co.uk/

[Hidden in reply to moreless]

thank you ((((moreless)))) I'll check those out!

[Lytham 3 stone in reply to Hidden]

Maybe the slim people just haven't got fat YET? X

[Blearyeyed Visitor in reply to moreless]

It can be a lot more complex than that.This is why the NHS guidance or recommendation about certain low carb diets has to be considered very carefully , even for people with Type 2 or Prediabetes of whatever size. And GPs and Consultants should get more training about nutrition , exercise and appropriate guided weight loss before issuing out recommendations.

Not all people get Type 2 Diabetes or Weight Gain from Lifestyle or Diet alone.

It can occur because of other illness issues , as yet undiagnosed nutrient deficiencies or digestion illnesses not poor diet , or , problems in the liver , kidney , heart , gallbladder or pancreatic control.

It can be a side effect of hormone imbalance , menopause , enzyme control , and required medication use. All of these things can change how the body stores fat , distributes fat in the body , prevents weight loss , and even prevents weight gain as well as being a cause for the onset of Type 2 Diabetes.

So , although lower carb can be effective it needs to be equated with the individual and their other health needs.

I'm surprised that the NHS don't recommend more people with Type 2 Diabetes related to weight gain from diet to consider the Newcastle Protocol or to get guidance and advice from Charities and sites like Diabetes UK. This , has great recipes, articles and advice about choices of different diets , exercise and lifestyle changes depending on which Diabetes you have , Type 1 or Type 2 , and most importantly, what works for how it came about . The recipes available include the appropriate balance of lower carbs for various Diabetes issues , not just low carb , which if done too extremely can cause certain people to become more ill , or even gain weight.

The same can be said about the various options of Low Carb / High Fat , that's why it's so important to get a proper health check with a GP and diagnosis of any issues before trying certain new diet and lifestyle regimes.

[moreless Administrator 7 stone in reply to Blearyeyed]

As a non-medical member of a weight loss forum, I agree with everything you've said. Yes, GP's need more training on nutrition and nutritional guidelines need a serious overhaul.

We here look at diet predominently from a weight loss perspective and advocate that members follow what suits them best and what will be sustainable for them and as advised by HealthUnlocked in their terms of use "The information posted on HealthUnlocked can support, but will not replace the relationship between you and your doctor or any other healthcare professionals. Information from this site may inform your discussions as well as the exploration of treatment options with your healthcare professionals. You should always consult a healthcare professional if considering changing your medication or treatment or in case of an emergency". Having people directed by their medical practitioners, as Languid_Lil has, to a lower carb way of eating, whether diabetic or not seems a huge step forward from being recommended the Eatwell Guide way of eating which bases all meals on starchy carbs and is fat phobic.

Change is happening slowly, but is still a long way from ideal.

[Blearyeyed Visitor in reply to moreless]

Yes, I agree , the Eatwell Guide , whether you are a healthy individual , a person needing to change their weight or one that has health issues and needs a diet change is incredibly outdated and not fit for purpose.The reliance on sending people to it for guidance by poorly informed or apathetic healthcare professionals over the years is one of the health systems great failures.

[fedupoffeelingtired]

My hubby is a type 2 diabetic, and thru trial and error found that a low carb diet is much better for him. It keeps his blood sugar at a lower level and is much easier to maintain. We are all different, what works for one doesn't work for another. Its about finding what works for you, regardless of what other people think.

[TheTabbyCat Administrator 16kg in reply to fedupoffeelingtired]

Hi fedupoffeelingtired and welcome back. Thanks for your support. I'm sure that you can still find your way around but as somethings have changed since you were last here I'll leave you the link to the pinned posts, from there I hope you can find everything.

healthunlocked.com/nhsweigh...

[Languid_Lil]

Wow! Thanks everyone for your replies. I got 3 options in the referral, one was to weekly online dietitian support groups plus some resources, one was 12 weeks of Slimming World and one was Second Nature. I didn't fancy the first two and I like the idea of an app plus other support so I went for option 3 without knowing much about it. Sounds like I made a good choice.

I am pre-diabetic and also have a high BMI.

Onwards and downwards I guess.

[G1s2m3]

Overall its very good. I found it hard to stick to because I have adhd but it gives very good advice. I did not like the fact that I paid £120 in total and you don't get to keep all recipes. Slimpod is as like second nature spoken about re nhs. Once you have paid you can still get support from Facebook page and listen to pods that encourage your subconscious to eat healthy etc. Hope this helps 👍 😊

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to G1s2m3]

It looks like Languid_Lil will get this as a free service, funded by the NHS.

You really don't need to pay to lose weight. See the reply from moreless to June-Walker (higher up on this thread) for some useful links

[G1s2m3 in reply to BridgeGirl]

I saw that it was free and I certainly won't be paying more money as I,ve learned there are a lot of free resources out there 😊

[BridgeGirl Administrator 2 stone in reply to G1s2m3]

😊

[G1s2m3]

I do have adhd which makes me impulsive though and struggle to stick to healthy eating 🙈