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Inês Parro Sousa, Diabetes Specialist Nurse
Entrepreneur, passionate about people, naturally optimistic, dedicated in helping you to become the healthiest and most confident version of yourself.
I know how hard it is to change a habit.
It is even more difficult when there is a machine that makes the world go round nurturing the habit.
It is even more difficult when we are supported by a health system whose practices and recommendations have been the same for dozens of years, completely out of synch with our changing lifestyles and the new empirical studies that are carried out every day.
I am here to tell you that you are not the problem. I am here to tell you that it is possible to drastically improve your image, quality of life, and consequently your confidence by changing one major habit: the eating habit.
How I Went From Nurse to Diabetes Specialist
Before helping people control their Diabetes. Before helping people lose weight. Before helping people create sustainable eating habits. I was just another nurse saying “yes” to the system.
I had no confidence in myself and my ability to make a difference. My first job was at Hospital de Dona Estefânia in Lisbon, in 2009, and then I worked at Hospital de Santa Marta, also in Lisbon.
In 2013, I emigrated to London, England, and began to realize the power and important role that nurses have in the UK’s healthcare system, NHS.
I started working at the Royal Free Hospital and then moved to St. John & St. Elizabeth Hospital.
In 2015, I completed a Diabetes Educator course from The Michener Institute of Education at UHN, Toronto, Canada.
Still in London, I worked in the Integrated Diabetes Care for the London North West Hospital from 2016 to 2018.
In 2018, I embarked on a new adventure in the Netherlands with Dutch as mandatory language.
I am currently working as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse (and Cardiovascular diseases) at the International Health Center in The Hague and at the Westbroekerplas health center in Velserbroek.
I am also attending the Nutrition course at Mac-Nutrition UNI and I plan to finish it in 2023 and become a certified Nutritionist based on scientific evidence.
“A diabetes é uma doença intimamente ligada à alimentação, um sinal do
seu corpo que lhe diz que está cansado de lidar tantos hidratos de carbono.”
Enf. Inês Parro Sousa
My passion for Diabetes care started to take shape in 2009 in my first job as a nurse at Hospital D. Estefânia in Lisbon, where I accompanied children newly diagnosed with type I Diabetes.
Since then I have gained experience in the most diverse professional environments and with the most diverse cultures.
When I emigrated to London in 2013 a new reality opened up – my role as a nurse was valued. The NHS is a healthcare system where there is no gap and no hierarchical system of physicians and nurses.
The general practitioner has to refer a person with Diabetes to the Diabetes Specialist Nurse. This permanent contact with people with Diabetes has allowed me to thoroughly develop my methodology and strategy to help people with Diabetes to improve their control over the disease. My methodology focuses on eating habits, along with medication, and part of my strategy is to customize the recommendations because each person is different.
Still in London I had the opportunity to be part of the committee for drafting Diabetes protocols at the Hospital St. Johns & St. Elizabeth. This always up-to-date of generalist indications is important to keep health care up to date with reality and current lifestyles.
Diabetes and excess weight, the problems of 21st century
Diabetes and excess weight are highly connected. The causes of excess weight are almost always the same causes that lead to Diabetes. Not all people with Diabetes are overweight, nor all overweight people have Diabetes. But what causes excess weight can also cause Diabetes. All eating habits that improve Diabetes can also be used for weight loss.
Diabetes is a silent disease; it starts by causing fatigue, lack of energy, and thirst. Nighttime bathroom trips increase. Poorly slept nights become the norm. The patient visits the doctor and Diabetes is diagnosed.
The patient starts medication – Metformin – to improve the cells’ sensitivity to insulin. The patient feels well, but the test results do not improve. Other medications are prescribed. Eventually insulin. The doses increase.
The episodes of blurred vision, tingling feet, joint pain, and constant hunger begin. The doctor’s recommendations have no impact on improving the disease because they are outdated. The chance of heart conditions increases, amputations, diminishing eyesight.
Diabetes is a disease closely connected to food. This is your body telling you it is tired of dealing with so many carbohydrates. It is all about food.
As the cases came in, I paid more attention to culturally amplified eating habits and the silent impact these have on people’s lives.
It has all become so obvious that I find it hard to believe that people do not see the total misinformation that is shown every day on TV, in newspapers, in supermarkets, and by the indications provided by the health system. The food industry is interested in having people eating addictive foods, high in carbohydrates and sugar. Such simple habits that can be easily changed and can have a tremendous positive impact on public health.
From that moment on I decided that fighting Diabetes and excess weight, and improving people’s lives and confidence through food was my new major goal.
“A minha metodologia incide nos hábitos alimentares, a par com a medicação, e parte da minha estratégia é individualizar as recomendações porque cada pessoa é um caso e não há dois casos iguais.”
Enf. Inês Parro Sousa
In the following years I refined my approach and worked more on the emotional side of the patient and got to know more about where it comes from culturally.
A good example of this cultural amplification comes from the community I served in London when I worked in the Integrated Diabetes Care at London North West Hospital.
A community composed mostly of Indians, whose culture revolves a lot around food, there is a high incidence of Diabetes caused by the enormous amount of carbohydrates present in Indian cuisine.
As you may realize, it is not enough to tell these people to reduce their carbohydrate intake. We have to be sensitive and go beyond the recommendation “If you do this then you will get that”. For small changes to last, we have to connect emotionally.
This community was a milestone in the vast experience that I bring to the present day because it highlighted the urge to fight Diabetes and excess weight and how challenging this can be due to the culture and misinformation that surrounds us.
What I Promise
Dedication
Individualização. Trabalho imersivo em cada caso clínico que vai muito além das consultas.
Professionalism
Investigação. Atualização. Confiança nas minhas recomendações e nos resultados.
Empathy
Saber ouvir e respeitar os limites do cliente. Cada pessoa vive num contexto e esse contexto é importante quando se determinam planos de ação.
In 2018 and on the verge of having my first child, my husband and I decided that London would not be the appropriate city to continue living as a family and decided to pack our bags again and move to Amsterdam, Netherlands.
This was not a simple change. In the Netherlands only professionals fluent in Dutch can work as nurses, but even that didn’t stop me. With the same drive and ambition as always, I learned to speak Dutch and was back to work in no time.
First, at the International Health Center in The Hague as a Diabetes (and Cardiovascular diseases) Specialist Nurse, helping my patients with independent and fully customized consultations. And in parallel at the Westbroekerplas health center in Velserbroek, also as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse.
As bread, and thus carbohydrates, is one of the main foods in the Dutch culture, there is a great need and demand for health services related to weight and Diabetes.
After gaining all this experience and obtaining excellent results with my patients, I decided to start giving advice on my own. Hence this website and my Instagram account @daybetes were born.
I intend to continue to apply my knowledge even harder. I want to help those who want to be helped.
It is possible to lose weight without highly restrictive diets that you eventually abandon. It is possible to control Diabetes. In some cases it is possible to reduce the medication. In other cases it is possible to go into complete remission and stop taking the medication completely. The important thing is to know that there is always a constant: commitment! And you will get positive results – I can guarantee you that.
MY CLIENTS ACHIEVE GREAT RESULTS
Want to be the next success story?
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