One year ago, Susanne was living with uncontrolled diabetes, and she felt like her world was falling apart. Her doctor had just instructed her to start taking Metformin (diabetes medication) and Crestor (medication for high cholesterol).

She decided to take an alternative approach – to carefully monitor her blood glucose and overhaul her diet by bringing in foods for healthy weight loss.

Susanne joined the Mastering Diabetes Program in May of 2017, ready to make a change. This is her story.

Like many, Susanne felt confused about what foods to eat. The more she searched for information, the less she knew who to trust.

When she joined the Mastering Diabetes Program, she immediately began watching videos in the online course  and diligently reading everything inside.

Intuitively, the information made sense to her, and she was thrilled that she already loved many staple foods in the program.

She started by eating only foods that she already knew she enjoyed - such as potatoes and corn.

This technique––to eat simple meals made of just a few ingredients––was pioneered by one of our coaches, Adam Sud, and is the approach he used to overcome type 2 diabetes and food addiction.

When it comes to eating foods for healthy weight loss, variety is not so important––especially as you are first getting started. The key is to make it 1) easy, and 2) delicious. Eat foods that you enjoy, and don’t make it complicated.

Over time, as Suzanne became comfortable with this new lifestyle, she began exploring new foods and more involved recipes.

Today, Susanne’s plate is always FULL of foods for healthy weight loss (which are now healthy foods for weight maintenance).

If you were to spy on Susanne on any given day, here are some examples of what you are likely to find her eating:

The most important aspect of Susanne’s experience in the Mastering Diabetes coaching program wasn’t the information in the online course about what to eat, it was being part of a supportive community that supported her lifestyle change decisions.

In the Facebook community, Susanne found inspiration for what to prepare for food, she learned how to save money on groceries, and she learned where to find the best produce. Some of the most valuable information was about how to navigate difficult social situations with people eating the Standard American Diet.

Another aspect of the coaching program that Susanne found very valuable was setting realistic goals. Creating a measurable and attainable goal at the beginning of the program helped Susanne to stay on track and measure her progress over time.

Susanne’s main goal was to reach her ideal body weight of 105 pounds, which she did after 4 months in the program (losing approximately 1 pound per week). Since then, she has maintained her ideal body weight, and plans on maintaining her weight here into the future.

In addition to achieving her ideal body weight, she also reduced her A1c from 7.2% to 5.4%, a reduction of 1.8% in 4 months. She also dropped her cholesterol by more than 23%, and reduced her blood pressure significantly.

Take a look at the table below to see Susanne’s laboratory data:

It IS possible to lose weight and reverse insulin resistance while eating food that you enjoy. Susanne has learned this and today is living her best, healthiest, happiest life ever.