People with diabetes or anyone wanting a 180-degree lifestyle switch could get a boost from the Your Life - Your Journey support group.
Diabetes sufferer Irene O'Regan says it's not a fad diet, or a six-week course or a plan to reach a goal weight.
"It is pure and simple a lifestyle change that you do for the rest of your life."
And reassuringly, taking control of your life means you will be supported "every step of the way" by people like Irene.
The 74-year-old Whanganui woman was diagnosed with gestational diabetes in 1968 when pregnant with her second child.
She was warned by her doctor to watch what she ate and exercise regularly or she would develop type 2 diabetes later in life.
Her mother developed the same strand in her 40s and her grandmother in her 60s.
Irene did what the doctor ordered. She cut out sugar, ate healthy foods and played sport.
She held the disease at bay for 40 years but in 2002 she was told she had type 2. It came as a bombshell - she had done everything right but had not been able to avoid the sentence. She blamed herself and was revolted that she had "let" the condition develop.
"My initial reaction was disgust with myself and that threw me into a depression.
"I felt like giving up, as all these years I had been trying to control my way of living so I woudn't get diabetes and it still hadn't worked."
Her doctor initially gave her Metformin, the first-line medication for the treatment of type 2 diabetes, which made her ill and more depressed than ever.
A switch to insulin injections three times a day worked for Irene.
She also started reading all she could about the condition and found her answer in a healthy eating programme she started last year.
She has lost 13 kilograms and gained control of her life.
"My first HbA1c (average blood glucose) was 47, down from 54 and now it is 45. People with diabetes try and aim for a reading of 48.
"From the first week of the programme I had to drop the Nova Rapid (quick acting insulin) injection I took before my evening meal as I was having hypos (hypoglycaemia).
"I only alter my insulin after a consultation with the diabetic nurse and still don't take it, and my protophane (long acting insulin) I have cut back more than 50 per cent.
"My blood readings are between 4 and 8 most days, except when I have something I know I shouldn't have."
Irene said her doctor and diabetic nurse were impressed she even wanted to do the programme.
"My feeling is, anything I can do to make my life better has to be a good thing.
"I also do exercise at least three times a week - water aerobics, sometimes the gym, and the pool."
Irene says the Your Life - Your Journey support group will have meetings in room 125, first floor of Community House at 60 Ridgway Street, starting on July 4 at 10am.
Anyone can register at Community House or just turn up, and support people are also welcome.
The group doesn't give out medical advice but will supply information and talk about their own experiences.
Irene says no one can "make you take control of your life".
"You have to want to do it. I feel good, so definitely worth the effort."
INFORMATION
*For people with diabetes, blood sugar level targets are as follows:
Before meals: 4 to 7 with type 1 or type 2 diabetes
After meals: under 9 for people with type 1 diabetes and under 8.5 for people with type 2 diabetes.