When 59-year old Sharyn Nash joined the Beat It program she was very overweight, taking blood pressure medication, suffering from knee and hip problems and finding everyday life increasingly hard.

My diabetes was brought on through another illness and I gained a lot of weight as a consequence. I tried everything to lose the weight including going to a gym, but it just didn’t work for me. It was very hard.

Then I got a newsletter from Diabetes NSW & ACT about the Beat It program. I enrolled in 2019 and it was very beneficial. The next year I enrolled again, but due to Covid the classes were by zoom. I found being able to take part through zoom incredibly helpful because I was able to set up my home as a gym and use the equipment I had.

“So far I’ve lost nearly three dress sizes”

It’s so incredible. It saved my life it really did.

The instructor Jo Braham was brilliant. There was no judgement, there was no forcing me to do anything I didn’t want to do. She understood how I felt and it was a really motivating program. It helped having other people there with diabetes too.

I found the educational component really useful, especially learning about the effect exercise has on blood glucose levels. It was a really, really good experience and I was able to maintain the exercises at home because I had already been doing the exercises from home. I bought some equipment such as resistance bands and Jo set up a program for me to do. It’s just been so successful.

The greatest benefits for me are the way it’s affected my weight – I’ve lost over 20kg. It has also affected my mindset and how I feel every day – I have more energy and I feel a lot more motivated and optimistic.

Prior to the program I was very overweight, I was really struggling. I had knee problems, I had hip problems and I didn’t really want to do anything. It was too hard to walk far and too daunting to go to a regular gym. Every day was difficult. But now I’ve been through the latest program it has a continuous effect on me every day. I have a positive mindset and I’m more active around the house, my knee doesn’t hurt anymore, I’m off my blood pressure meds and I’m a lot happier to be with.

It is just an incredible program and anyone who has diabetes should give it a go, even if you are incredibly overweight and unfit because the instructors will modify the program for you. There are always little goals and once you meet those goals there’ll be bigger goals and all of a sudden you’ll be doing a workout. It can be hard at first because all your body wants to do is sit there but once you start making your body move you find it easier and feel better as a result.

It’s just a fantastic program, it really is. The instructors, the support and the education is just brilliant; everything you need to succeed is there for you.