After having a heart attack in June 2025, April Love-Fordham learned in the hospital that she had type 2 diabetes with an A1c of 11.5% and fasting blood glucose in the 300s mg/dL. She went home taking 30 units of insulin per day and unsure how to manage her new diagnosis.
After joining the Mastering Diabetes Coaching Program, April reported that within approximately three months her A1c had fallen to 6.4%, her fasting blood glucose was 106 mg/dL, she had lost 30 pounds, and she had stopped using insulin. At a January 2026 follow-up appointment, she reported further progress, including an A1c of 5.4% and blood pressure of 114/69.
In this case study, April shares how coaching, community support, and changes to her whole-food, plant-based diet helped her build new habits and regain confidence after her heart attack and diabetes diagnosis.
April's Results at a Glance
Result | At Diagnosis | After ~3 Months | Later Follow-Up* | Header |
|---|---|---|---|---|
A1c | 11.5% | 6.4% | 5.4% | Cell |
Fasting Blood Glucose | 300s mg/dL | 106 mg/dL | --- | Cell |
Weight | 175 lbs | 145 lbs | --- | Cell |
Daily Insulin Blood Pressure | 30 units --- | 0 --- | 0 114/69 | Cell |
*Later follow-up results reported from April's January 2026 doctor's appointment.
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April had coaching, practical nutrition guidance, and a supportive community as she worked to improve her diabetes health. If you'd like help applying the Mastering Diabetes approach to your own goals, schedule a free discovery call to learn whether personalized coaching is right for you.
In This Story:
A Heart Attack Led to April's Type 2 Diabetes Diagnosis
After her heart attack, April was discharged from the hospital with a handful of medications and almost no guidance.
“They gave me insulin and pills, but no instructions. I had to watch YouTube videos just to learn how to give myself injections. I didn’t even know what low blood sugar felt like. One night, I got so sweaty and dizzy, and I had no idea what was happening.”
She was prescribed 30 units of insulin per day along with a diabetes drug, but the lack of education left her scared and confused.
“I prayed for help, and then I found Mastering Diabetes. I signed up right away, and within a month I was off all insulin and medication.”
Finding Mastering Diabetes and Getting Off Insulin
At the hospital, April’s A1c was 11.5%. Three months after joining the Mastering Diabetes program, it dropped to 6.4%. Her continuous glucose monitor now shows an average of 89 mg/dL, which predicts her next A1C to be around 5.4%.“My doctors were stunned. They told me I’d be on insulin for life. Now, I’m completely off medication, and my cardiologist said, ‘You’ll never have another heart problem.’ I hope he’s right.”
Header | Before | After |
|---|---|---|
A1c (%) | 11.5 | 5.4 |
Fasting Blood Glucose (mg/dL) | 250 | 89 |
Weight (lbs) | 175 | 145 |
Basal Insulin (units) | 30 | 0 |
Blood Pressure | – | 114/69 |
Coaching and Community Gave April Hope
April joined a Mastering Diabetes group coaching program, where she found not only answers but also encouragement.
“The group coaching was wonderful. Other people were improving, even people with type 1 diabetes. It gave me so much hope.”
Her coach guided her through every step, from adjusting her diet to handling emotional hurdles.
“One night, my insulin pen malfunctioned and I ended up in the ER. The next morning, my coach helped me process what happened. Having that kind of support meant everything.”
She learned to count fat, prioritize whole carbohydrates, and transition from a vegan diet high in oil to a truly low-fat, whole-food, plant-based lifestyle. Within weeks, she was seeing and feeling the difference.
“I’ve lost 30 pounds, I sleep better, my energy is incredible, and my heartburn is completely gone.”
A1c 11.5% to 6.4%, Blood Sugar 106, and 30 Pounds Lost
Before the heart attack, April considered herself a healthy person. She was vegan, walked up and down her mountain five days a week, and had no obvious symptoms of diabetes.
“When they told me my A1C was 11.5%, I thought they had it wrong. I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t feel sick. But that’s what scared me — how easily this could have gone unnoticed.”
Her experience has since become a spiritual awakening.
“There’s something right about eating this way. It feels like getting back to the way we were meant to eat. For me, it’s almost spiritual — reconnecting to creation itself.”
Just a week after coming home from the hospital, April suddenly lost her vision.
“I couldn’t read, couldn’t work, couldn’t see clearly. The ophthalmologist said I had stripes in the back of my eyes, and they might not heal. A few weeks ago, I went back, and they were completely gone. My eyes healed. No damage. I believe it’s from this lifestyle.”
Her transformation extended beyond herself.
“My husband and son started eating this way, too. My son has lost 20 pounds, and we all feel better. It’s changed our whole family.”
Looking for a Diabetes Nutrition Plan You Can Sustain?
One of April's biggest concerns was whether she could continue eating this way long term. With recipes, coaching, and practical guidance, she says the answer became an enthusiastic yes. Mastering Diabetes coaching can help you learn how to apply the program's nutrition and lifestyle principles to your own needs and goals.
Gratitude and a New Outlook on Life
“Since leaving the hospital, I feel like I have a new lease on life. I had a cousin who died from type 2 diabetes because he didn’t know there was another way. I’m so grateful that I found Mastering Diabetes before it was too late. It saved my life — not just from diabetes, but from heart disease too.”
She now enjoys hiking, kayaking, writing, and inspiring others in her congregation and community to take control of their health.
“I’m doing better than I was even before all this happened. I feel alive again.”
April’s message for anyone newly diagnosed with diabetes is simple.
“I met someone who was just diagnosed and said, ‘I’m not doing anything crazy with my diet.’ I told them, ‘Crazy is not doing something.’ You don’t have to stay sick — you can learn how to heal. Mastering Diabetes makes that possible.”
April's Transformation After Three Months
Approximately three months after starting Mastering Diabetes, April reported that her A1c had fallen from 11.5% to 6.4%, her fasting blood glucose had decreased from the 300s to 106 mg/dL, and she had lost 30 pounds. After leaving the hospital on 30 units of insulin per day, she says she was off insulin within about a month of starting the program.
Just as important to April was how she felt. She described having more energy, walking up the mountain near her home without stopping, completing a 12-day hiking and kayaking trip, enjoying the food she was eating, and feeling hopeful about her health again.
Her progress continued after the original story: at a January 2026 follow-up appointment, the current case study reports an A1c of 5.4% and blood pressure of 114/69 without diabetes or blood-pressure medications.
Ready to Work on Your Own Diabetes Health Goals?
April's story reflects her individual experience, but you don't have to navigate your diabetes health alone. If you'd like personalized support with nutrition, insulin resistance, blood sugar, and sustainable lifestyle changes, speak with a Mastering Diabetes advisor to learn whether coaching is right for you.
Video Transcript: April Love-Fordham's Type 2 Diabetes Story
April Love-Fordham describes her experience with Type 2 diabetes and Mastering Diabetes, including reducing her A1c from 11.5% to 6.4%, lowering her fasting glucose from the 300s mg/dL to 106 mg/dL, getting off insulin and diabetes medications, and losing 30 pounds.
Original video: How I Cut My A1c in HALF (NO MORE MEDS)
This transcript has been lightly edited for clarity and readability while preserving the meaning and first-person voice of the original story.
00:00 – Type 2 Diabetes Results: A1c 11.5% to 6.4% & Off All Insulin
My A1c when I first got diagnosed in the hospital was 11.5%, and just 2 days ago it was 6.4%.
My fasting glucose in the hospital, they measured it in the 300s mg/dL, and now it is 106 mg/dL.
I was on 30 units of insulin a day. I was off insulin a month after I started the program.
00:30 – Diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes After a Heart Attack: A1C 11.5%
I started in the Mastering Diabetes program about 3 months ago, a few days over 3 months ago.
I had a heart attack, and while I was in the hospital, they found out that my A1c was 11.5%.
When I came home, they gave me all the drugs for diabetes, but I had no instructions on how to prick my finger or give myself insulin. I watched YouTube videos to learn how to do that. And the only thing they had given me about what to eat was handed to me in the elevator as I was leaving. It was a piece of paper that showed a plate on it.
I think the point was you should have more vegetables than you should have regular food, like what they considered regular food. It was very odd. I really couldn't figure out what it was saying.
A week later, I got very disturbed because I was like, "I don't know what I'm doing." They told me to inject 30 units of insulin a day, which put me in extreme lows. I didn't even know what was happening. I just knew that all of a sudden I was sweaty and didn't feel good at all.
01:40 – How She Got Off 30 Units of Insulin & All Diabetes Medications
I started looking online, and I found Mastering Diabetes and signed up. The coaching sessions started in July, and by August 1st, I was off all insulin and all diabetes meds, and thank God, because in the hospital they had told me that I would be on insulin for the rest of my life.
I'm just really healthy, and I feel great. I think it's also helping my heart because my cardiologist tells me, "You will never have another heart problem."
My doctor didn't know anything about Mastering Diabetes, but he was very open to helping me. When I've come in with these really great numbers, his question always to me is, "Can you sustain what they're telling you to eat? Can you keep doing that?" And the answer is absolutely.
That's one thing Mastering Diabetes has taught me, with all the great recipes and just advice from the coaching sessions, that I can do this forever. I'm thrilled. I feel like Mastering Diabetes saved my life, not only from diabetes but also from heart disease.
It is wonderful because other people have it. Other people are dealing with it, and they're getting over it. Their insulin is becoming effective again, and their pancreas is starting to work again, and it's pretty amazing.
It's taken me from feeling sick and like I was alone in this whole thing—I was never going to get better, it would be this way my whole life, there was nothing I could do about it—to having this enormous amount of hope.
At first, it was, "Well, I hope I'll get better." And then it went to everybody seeing improvement. Even people with Type 1 diabetes, they're really improving, and they're not seeing these horrible diseases that are associated with diabetes, these symptoms, and they feel good. It motivated me and made me feel great.
My first impression of the coaches—I've had two. I had one when I was on insulin, and then they changed me to a new coach after I was off. They were both fantastic, just happy, very positive, enthusiastic, and also very informative. Any questions we have, they have the answers. I ask a lot of questions, and not once have they not had answers for me.
I have seen huge improvements in my energy and in walking. I do walk up the mountain that we live on almost every day, and beforehand I would have to stop every now and then, and breathe. I don't ever have to stop anymore.
I just got back from a 12-day hiking and kayaking trip, and I never had to stop. I had so much energy.
I am so surprised that I got well so quickly. My primary care doctor has been shocked. He's been thrilled at the whole thing. He's just very happy with it. I just didn't expect it would happen in 3 months' time. I was thinking maybe 6 months or a year, but these things have happened so quickly. My cardiologist thinks my heart is doing fantastic. All my numbers are good.
My A1c when I first got diagnosed in the hospital was 11.5%, and just 2 days ago it was 6.4%.
04:58 – Blood Sugar 300+ to 106, A1c 6.4 & 30 Pounds Lost
It took me 3 months to go from 11.5% to 6.4%. My fasting glucose in the hospital, they measured it in the 300s mg/dL, and now it is 106 mg/dL.
After I came home from the hospital, I was on 30 units of insulin a day. I was off insulin a month after I started the program, and it feels great.
The other thing that has been really great is losing weight. I've lost 30 pounds, and the group and the coach have been my cheerleaders all along. It hasn't been hard for me at all. Just the simple changes I've made in my diet have been perfect. I haven't missed anything. I haven't craved anything. I've been really happy with the food.
It has affected my family. My oldest son lives with us, and he has lost, I think, probably 20 pounds. We've been all eating the food together. My husband's doing great.
My kids that day in the hospital were both there, and the looks of fear on their faces just tore me up. It just broke my heart because I thought, "If I'm not here tomorrow, it's going to be so hard on them."
And not only am I here, but I'm getting better and better every day, and I'm going to continue to get better. I think they will get better as part of it because they're learning from me. They knew I was vegan for forever, but they now understand that's not enough. The whole-food, plant-based diet is where it's at.
06:40 – Whole-Food Plant-Based Diet for Type 2 Diabetes & Lasting Results
My favorite recipes, when I first started, Mastering Diabetes has a plan for a 6-week challenge to try all these things. I did try those, and they were excellent recipes, but I have now traveled back to a lot of the old recipes that I had, and I'm making them suitable for Mastering Diabetes.
Several times, I've shared with my coaching group recipes that I've altered and enjoyed those.
I met someone recently who had just found out they had diabetes, and I could not wait to tell them about Mastering Diabetes because they were complaining about the insulin, they were complaining about drugs and how they were affecting them, and all this.
I told them, "You don't have to go through all this. You don't have to worry about this. You've got people that will teach you and have your back and really take care of you."
Their reaction was, "Well, I'm not going to do anything crazy”, with their diet. And I thought, crazy is not doing something, because crazy can put you into a place where eventually you're really ill. Don't do that.
It will be hard at times to make sure you do everything, but it's made easy for you by Mastering Diabetes. You can do this.
I think if I were to sum up my journey, it would be gratefulness. I feel a lot of gratitude to the people at Mastering Diabetes who are doing this work to figure out how diabetics can live better, longer, healthier lives.
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