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A shock diagnosis was all the motivation GILLIAN WILSON needed to get active again.

I never really visited the doctor’s a lot. I didn’t feel like I needed to. But I started to get really weird sensations in my feet which just didn’t seem right. So I went and had a blood test and found out that my blood sugars were through the roof. I just thought, what the hell? It was totally out of the blue, although I did have gestational diabetes 28 years ago. I was in shock, but the doctor who diagnosed me didn’t seem that alarmed about it. Because of that, I didn’t actually take it seriously. Two weeks later, I went to see a diabetic educator. She tested my blood and said, ‘Oh, this isn’t good.’ She couldn’t get a reading, which meant it was super high. When she finally managed to get one, my sugar was level was 29. I could tell from her distress that it wasn’t good. She rushed me in to see a doctor who put me on insulin straightaway. She said I needed to start that night. It hadn’t all really sunk in until then, but now it hit me like a tonne of bricks.

I got a script and hurried down to the chemist – it was around 6.30 in the evening by then – and I was just staring there, dazed. The chemist came back with this whole swag of stuff. I couldn’t believe it was all for me.

The diabetic educator had told me to wait for two hours after I’d had my meal to check my blood glucose, but because I was in such a daze I didn’t end up cooking dinner till nine o’clock. I had to stay up till 11.00 and I was so tired. If it hadn’t been for that educator being so clear about what I had to do – starting that night – I would have just gone to bed anyway. But I stayed up and got the whole regime going. The next day at work, we had someone leaving, so I walked into my office and it was full of cakes and muffins. I walked in and almost panicked. I made the sign of the cross to get it away from me. But it probably took another two or three weeks to settle into a routine.

I stopped drinking alcohol and cut out all the processed foods. I probably saved a lot of money that Christmas. Once the dust had settled, I realised it’s something I can control. I realised it wasn’t just about the diet, but about the exercise too. I’d do my finger pricks, exercise and check again and I could see the difference it made.

I wasn’t as active as I had been in the past. Things get in the way. I’ve got three grandkids and a husband who needs looking after. So I did need to get back into exercise, especially weights. I’m doing weights a few times a week and I work with one of the personal trainers at VenuesWest. That really helps. She keeps me going when I can’t be bothered. Her name’s Lynn and she’s just relentless. She’ll call me up and ask me when I’m coming in. That was really helpful in the beginning. I’m actually an experienced trainer myself. But I still feel like I need someone to think about it for me. I know it’ll be the same for a lot of people out there. People have no clue where to even begin. But if you find a personal trainer, someone with all that knowledge, they’ll help you get going. Even if you just work with a trainer for three to six months, just to get you started, it’ll make it all seem possible and help get you in the routine.