The Diabetes Reversal Webinar That Sowed a Seed

A diabetes reversal webinar attended by just 10 people, two years ago, sowed the seed of what is now a comprehensive structured online learning programme for people with Type 2 diabetes. This is the story of why it was built, and what problem it was built to solve.

Watch: The Story Behind This Diabetes Reversal Programme

In this video, I explain why I spent months building a structured learning programme on reversing Type 2 diabetes, and why more information alone is not enough to help people reverse their diabetes.

The Diabetes Reversal Webinar And a Small Audience - How it All Started.

The Diabetes Reversal Webinar that I had procrastinated on.

For many years, I had thought of conducting a diabetes reversal webinar for people with Type 2 Diabetes, I had so much I wanted to teach and share. But work and family commitments always came in the way and I never got down to actually doing it. Until two years ago, when one day, I decided to JUST DO IT - I 'impulsively' posted an announcement on my Facebook page, with a modest following interested in my pursuits and sharing in Lifestyle Medicine. I picked a date a couple of months ahead, committed myself by inviting people to register for it, with a fee, because I knew once I did that, I would be obligated to run it, and not be able to back out of it.

Preparing for the Diabetes Reversal Webinar became my 'obsession

In the 2 months leading to the webinar, I was literally 'obsessed with my preparations for the webinar, I couldn't stop digging into my years of experience coaching people with Type 2 diabetes. My thoughts kept going back to the stories and experiences of those who succeeded in reversing their diabetes - what made them succeed where others failed? I kept thinking and translating those lessons into teaching materials for the upcoming diabetes reversal webinar. But what I didn't expect was that, when I thought back about the people whom I coached, who struggled and still eventually failed to achieve diabetes reversal despite their best effort, it became a even bigger treasury of lessons that I knew I must share at the webinar - the mistakes, the misconceptions, the failures to set themselves up for success during their diabetes reversal journeys, those memories of past coaching sessions and coachees became all I was thinking about all day in the couple of months before the webinar.

The gaps of knowledge about diabetes reversal that I found in my patients and coachees with Type 2 diabetes, their mistakes, misconceptions, struggles, success and failures wwer the rich source from which the lesson plans for the diabetes reversal webinar was drawn and developed.

The Diabetes Reversal Webinar - The End Became The Beginning. 

The day of the diabetes reversal webinar finally came. Ten participants had registered, a mix of paid participants whom I had assumed were my Facebook followers and a couple of friends and relatives whom I had invited and given complimentary access to.

It was an intense 2 hours, I was in the zone, I was even emotional, because I was not teaching from my intellect, I was sharing from my heart and lived experience coaching people with Type 2 Diabetes in the past 10 plus years. The lessons and learning points I was teaching were not from a book or research papers but from the successes, failures and struggles of the people with Type 2 diabetes I had coached.

I remember very vividly, immediately after the webinar, I turned to my wife, who had assisted me with conducting the webinar, and said, "The teaching and lessons in the webinar have the potential to change lives. How I wish I can teach this to more people, this is something every person with Type 2 diabetes should know and learn." But the moment said that, I immediately knew it was wishful thinking on my part, because I knew that it would take a lot of resources to be able to market to and deliver at scale, these, what I felt were transformational, game-changing, lessons about diabetes reversal that I had shared in the webinar. So realism triumphed, and my dream to scale up this diabetes reversal webinar that I had just conducted, was put into storage.

Until two years later.

The Diabetes Webinar that became a Structured Learning Programme

A few months ago, 2 years into sitting on a dream that started after I finished conducting the diabetes reversal webinar. I decided that I should not let the worry of inadequate resources and bandwith to market and conduct the diabetes reversal webinar at scale stop me from finding ways to bring these important learning points, the essential basics of reversing diabetes to as many diabetics as possible. I just needed to do it differently. So I thought of developing an evergreen structured online learning programme instead of constantly marketing and conducting live webinars or workshops. 

So began the work of developing that, drawing from the core teachings from the diabetes reversal webinar I conducted two years ago, I developed focused learning modules as well as other components of the structured online learning programme. 

 So after almost 3 months of hard work,this Reversing Type 2 Diabetes: Essential Basics Structured Online Learning Programme was birthed.
The end of the diabetes reversal webinar became the beginning of this programme that I hope would change the lives of many people with Type 2 diabetes, to equip them with the essential basics of reversing diabetes, to clear up their misconceptions, to highlight common mistakes to them that they should avoid and to teach them the factors of success to increase their chances of success in their diabetes reversal journeys. 

Diabetes Reversal Information is everywhere, People have no problem getting access to them.

Whenever I share with people about this diabetes reversal programme that I developed, this would be one of the common replies that I get, saying that people have no problems having access to any information about diabetes reversal online, so the impact and value of my diabetes reversal programme would be limited. 

I don't blame them, but that doesn't mean I would agree with them.

Because they do not see what I have been seeing, from my years of coaching people with Type 2 Diabetes in making lifestyle and eating habits changes, the problems that people face when it comes to reversing diabetes. The abundance of diabetes reversal information online was not a help, but a problem, three problems to be specific. 

Three Problems caused by the Abundance of Diabetes Reversal Information Online.

Problem One: Information Is Abundant But Not Understood

People with Type 2 diabetes are not short of information about diabetes reversal. On the contrary. They are drowning in it. YouTube videos, Facebook groups, health websites, friends who have reversed diabetes, relatives who tried keto, articles that contradict each other.

And yet when patients sit across from me in the consultation room, when coachees share with me on Zoom, most of them are confused. Uncertain. Not sure what to believe or where to start about diabetes reversal.

I often see patients who have watched many videos about diabetes reversal. They can repeat certain phrases. They know certain ideas. But when I ask them what diabetes remission actually means medically, the answer becomes vague. Or wrong.

The information reached them. The understanding did not.

Reading something is not the same as understanding it. Watching a video is not the same as truly grasping what it means for your situation. That is the first problem, and it is where most diabetes reversal attempts start on the wrong footing.

Problem Two: Even When Understood, It Is Not Retained

Even when understanding is achieved, it fades.

A person may watch an excellent video about diabetes reversal, understand it clearly in that moment, and two weeks later find that the clarity has blurred. The understanding has become hazy. They may still be determined and motivated. But the clarity that would have made them more confident and more committed about diabetes reversal begins to fade.

The more they watch, read and learn about diabetes reversal in a random, piecemeal manner, the more confused they become instead of gaining clarity. And over time, their interest and their confidence fizzles out.

This is not a personal failure. This is what happens when people gather relevant information randomly, without the structure needed to lock it into memory, to make it stick.

Problem Three: Information Is Scattered, Disconnected, and Without Context

This is the biggest problem of all.

A person may understand what insulin resistance is from one video. They may understand the medical definition of remission from an article. They may have a rough sense of what diets are known to help from a Facebook group. But they do not fully understand how these pieces connect together. They do not understand the implications of each piece of information for their own situation.

Piecemeal information has no context, no sequence, no connection between one piece and the next. A collection of facts, however accurate, does not activate a person to take action to change. The information is out there. But it is scattered, unsequenced, and unintegrated.

And scattered, unsequenced, unintegrated information does not become a foundation. It simply becomes noise and a distraction.

Can you see the problem? Piecemeal information can often be worse than no information at all.

Why the Programme Was Built the Way It Was

Those three problems, Understanding, Retention, and Integration, do not solve themselves. That is why the structured learning programme was built the way it was.

The 70-minute teaching session gives the integrated picture. Not fragments. The whole thing in sequence, with context, with the implications made clear. Set aside the time. Commit to paying attention. Sit through from start to finish, at least once.

The 30 Focused Learning Modules are for learning again at your own pace. Each module tackles one essential learning point about reversing Type 2 diabetes. A short video of one to five minutes. A quiz to foster active engagement, not just passive watching. Take each essential point. Go and refresh it. Lock it in.

The weekly email refreshers over 30 weeks are there to keep the understanding alive. Each email reminds and invites participants to revisit a key learning point about diabetes reversal, because each one is important enough to deserve the effort to be refreshed and locked in.

I did not set out to give people more information. I set out to solve the three problems that most people face with diabetes reversal information. I set out to give people understanding that leads to activation, that leads to them making better decisions when they take action to reverse their diabetes.

What I Hope You Will Take Away

Medical information that is not clearly understood, not remembered, not integrated properly, does not become medicine. It simply sows more confusion. It simply causes paralysis.

The feedback I hope to hear from participants is not that the programme gave them good information. The true feedback I hope to hear is that it gave them information in a way that they actually understood it, remembered it, and felt activated enough to do something with it. To start improving their lifestyle habits. To start their diabetes reversal journey.

For people with Type 2 diabetes, having a go at reversing their diabetes, as early as possible, is one of those things in life that is worth giving your very best shot.

In Hokkien, I often say to my patients: Mai Zo, Mai Zo, Ai Zo, Zo Swee Swee. If you are going to do it, do it properly. Give it your best. Do it well.

The window to reverse Type 2 diabetes does not stay open forever. The earlier a person acts with the right foundation, the better their chance of achieving something that could change the trajectory of their health for the rest of their life.

Reversing Type 2 diabetes may be possible if lifestyle habits are changed and improved early enough, appropriately, adequately, and sustainably.

Start now. Start today.

Learn the Essential Basics of Reversing Type 2 Diabetes

If you have Type 2 diabetes and want to build a strong foundation before and during your diabetes reversal journey, this programme is for you.

Reversing Type 2 Diabetes: Essential Basics, A Structured Online Learning Programme by Dr Chan

You may also want to read: Can Type 2 Diabetes Be Reversed? Dr Chan Answers.

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About This Video

In this video, Dr Chan explains why he built the Reversing Type 2 Diabetes: Essential Basics structured online learning programme. He shares the story of the live diabetes reversal webinar that preceded the programme, identifies the three core problems people with Type 2 diabetes face with diabetes reversal information, namely understanding, retention, and integration, and explains how the programme was designed to solve each one. He closes with an encouragement to every person with Type 2 diabetes to start their reversal journey now, while the window remains open.

Full Video Transcript

The following is the full transcript of the video above.

Another Diabetes Reversal Programme? There are already so many out there! You might say. Reversing diabetes masterclasses, diabetes remission online courses, diabetes reversal programmes. There are already so many out there. So why did I spend months creating yet another one?

I want to be honest with you about something. Everything that I teach in my programme can be found somewhere online if you search hard enough. I know this.

Other than my work as a medical doctor, coaching patients with diabetes, I also do a lot of teaching about diabetes and diabetes reversal, including making YouTube videos online, including many videos about diabetes remission. So some of the things I covered in this programme, I might have shared somewhere at workshops or online at some point in time as well.

And yet I invested many months of hard work of time to build this programme anyway, and I want to tell you why. Because the reason matters and because it highlights something very important about what you actually need if you are serious about reversing your diabetes.

People are not short of information about diabetes reversal. On the contrary. Instead, they are drowning in it. YouTube videos, Facebook groups, health websites, friends who have reversed diabetes sharing their knowledge, relatives who have tried keto, articles that contradict each other. There is so much information about diabetes reversal everywhere. And yet when patients sit across from me in the consultation room, when coachees share with me on Zoom, most of them are confused, uncertain, not sure what to believe or where to start about diabetes reversal. The easy access to an abundance of diabetes reversal information, uncurated, unstructured, confuse and paralyze them. More information did not help them. In most cases, more information made things worse. So the problem is not that people lack information, the problem lies somewhere else.

Let me share with you what I mean. In my years of coaching people with Type 2 diabetes, I have come to identify three specific problems, three problems that people face, not with their own effort or motivation, but with the what and how of the diabetes reversal information that they are being exposed to.

Problem number one is UNDERSTANDING. Diabetes reversal information is abundant, but it is not understood. Reading something is not the same as understanding it. Watching a video is not the same as truly grasping what it means for your situation. I often see patients who have watched many videos about diabetes reversal, they can repeat certain catch phrases, they know certain ideas, but when I ask them what diabetes remission actually means medically, the answer becomes vague or even wrong. The reality is the information reached them, but the understanding did not. That is the first problem, and it is where most diabetes reversal attempts start on the wrong footing.

Problem number two: RETENTION. Even when understood, diabetes reversal information is not retained. Even when understanding is achieved, the recall of that information fades over time. Most people do not retain new medical knowledge easily without regular reinforcement. A person may watch an excellent video about diabetes reversal, understand it clearly whilst watching it in that moment and two weeks later, find that the clarity has become blurred. The understanding has become hazy. They may still be determined and motivated. The more they watch, read, and learn about diabetes reversal in a random, piecemeal manner, the more confused they become instead of gaining clarity. The clarity that would have made them more confident and more committed about diabetes reversal begins to fade. And over time their interest in diabetes reversal and their confidence in it fizzles out. This is not a failure. This is what happens when people simply gather relevant information randomly without the structure needed to lock them into memory, to make them stick.

Problem number three: INTEGRATION. Diabetes reversal information is scattered, disconnected, and without context. This is the biggest problem of all. Piecemeal information has no context, no sequence, no connection between one piece of information with another. A person may understand what insulin resistance is from one video. They may understand the medical definition of remission from an article. They may have a rough sense of what diets are known to help from a Facebook group, but they do not fully understand how these pieces connect together. They do not understand the implications of each piece of information for their own situation. Can you see the problem? Piecemeal information can often be worse than no information at all. A collection of facts, however accurate they may be, does not activate a person to take action to change. The information is out there, but it is scattered, unsequenced and unintegrated. And scattered, unsequenced, unintegrated information does not become a foundation. It simply becomes noise and a distraction.

And this is why I built this Reversing Type 2 Diabetes: The Essential Basics, A Structured Online Learning Programme, not because the information does not exist elsewhere, but because of these three problems that I shared with you earlier. Comprehension, Retention, and Integration, they do not solve themselves, that is why I put these three components in this structured online learning programme, starting with the 70-minute teaching session. It gives the integrated picture, not fragments, the whole thing in sequence, with context, with implications made clear, in one go. Set aside a time. Commit to pay attention. Sit through from start to finish, in sequence, at least once. Then use the 30 Focused Learning Modules to learn again at your own pace. Take each essential point, go and refresh it. Lock it in.

In each Focused Learning Module that tackles one essential learning point, there is a short video lesson of one to five minutes, followed by a quiz that aims to foster active engagement, not just passive watching. I also decided to include weekly email refreshers over 30 weeks, so as to keep the understanding alive. Weekly emails to remind and invite the participants to refresh their understanding of each key essential learning point of diabetes reversal, because they are each important enough to deserve the effort to be refreshed and locked in.

I did not set out to give people more information. I set out to solve the three problems that most people have with regards to diabetes reversal information. I set out to give people understanding that leads to activation, that leads to them making better decisions when they take action to reverse their diabetes.

The feedback that I hope to hear from participants is not that the programme gave them good information. The true feedback that I hope to hear from participants is that it gave them information in a way that they actually understood it, remembered it, and felt activated enough to do something with it, to start improving their lifestyle habits, to start their diabetes reversal journey.

The goal is not just for you to have encountered the information, the goal is for you to understand it clearly, remember it reliably, and feel it urgently enough to actually do something about it. Type 2 Diabetes for most people, is not going to end up being just a minor inconvenience. For many people, the window to reverse it genuinely exists. But that window does not stay open forever. The earlier a person acts with the right foundation, the better their chance of achieving something that could change the trajectory of their health for the rest of their life.

This is not a small thing. It deserves to be learned comprehensively, clearly with enough conviction that the learning activates, not just informs.

There are certain things in life that are worth giving our very best shot. For people with Type 2 Diabetes, having a go at reversing their diabetes, as early as possible, is one of them. I often say to my patients, especially my Chinese patients in Hokkien: Mai Zo, Mai Zo, Ai Zo, Zo Swee Swee, meaning: If you are going to do it, do it properly. Give it your best, do it well.

Medical information that is not clearly understood, not remembered, not integrated properly, does not become medicine, it simply sows more confusion, it simply causes paralysis.

So if you have Type 2 Diabetes, I hope this programme will help you build a strong foundation before and during your diabetes reversal journey, that it will help you achieve a clear understanding of the essential basics of reversing Type 2 Diabetes, so that your journey is founded on solid knowledge, so that you can make good choices, so that you give yourself the best possible chance of success.

I'm hopeful that the months of hard work I've put into developing this programme, drawing on everything that I have learned from years of coaching people with Type 2 Diabetes will be helpful to you. If you want to find out more about this programme, the link is in the description below. Somewhere on this page.

I'm Dr Chan and I want to encourage you that reversing Type 2 Diabetes may be possible, especially if lifestyle habits are changed and improved early enough, appropriately, adequately, and sustainably. So I want to encourage you, Start Now. Start today.

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