Misdiagnosed and Misinformed: Lara’s Journey to True Diabetes Control

Article written and reviewed by Robby Barbaro, MPH
Published March 19, 2025

Taking It Seriously From the Start

At age 44, Lara was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes–and she took it seriously. She started following the best dietary pattern she’d heard of for diabetes at the time: a low-carb, keto-style diet. She also started running (at this point she’s run 22 half marathons!) and lost 30 pounds.

Something’s Not Working…

But despite being a seemingly perfect patient in her lifestyle, her diabetes numbers were getting worse. By age 49, she had to start taking insulin.

Lara later found out that she was originally misdiagnosed with type 2 diabetes due to her age, and she actually had type 1 diabetes. However, this did nothing to reduce her symptoms or improve her health. Her blood sugar numbers continued to get worse, her insulin dosage continued to increase, and she was tired all the time.

She thought, “there’s got to be a better way!” The low-carb diet wasn’t working. She was eating small portions of food she didn’t even enjoy, and it wasn’t even making a difference. She started researching alternative approaches to food for diabetes. She began dabbling in plant-based eating, and through doing some research on the topic she found Mastering Diabetes.

A Little Self Experiment

Lara decided to go all-in on a self-experiment, testing out the Mastering Diabetes Method. She knew she had an upcoming endocrinologist appointment in August, so on June 1 she started eating a low-fat, plant-based, whole food diet to see what would happen by then.

Immediately, her insulin needs started going down, and progressively lowered as she continued the diet. At the start of the experiment in June, her carbohydrate-to-insulin ratio was 6:1, and by the time she went to her endocrinologist in August, it had increased to 25:1. (During this time, her average amount of carbohydrates per day increased tenfold, from 30g to 300g!)

Here’s a look at the other results she experienced:

Header

Before

After (5 Months)

A1c (%)

7.1

6.4

Fasting Blood Glucose (mg/dL)

200

88

Total Cholesterol

200

120

Triglycerides

300

73

Carbohydrate-to-Insulin Ratio

6:1

25:1

Carbohydrates p/day (g)

30

300

Weight Loss (lb)

↓22 Lbs Lost

The Numbers Speak for Themselves

Lara was thrilled. “I’m eating TONS of delicious food, and all these fruits I haven’t eaten in literally years!” She enjoys the lifestyle and is overjoyed as she continues to watch her health improve.

Her results even convinced her doctor to start following this Method for her own health.

If they’ve convinced you, too, or at least grabbed your attention, you can learn more starting with this video.

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About the author 

Robby Barbaro, MPH

Robby Barbaro, MPH is a New York Times bestselling co-author of Mastering Diabetes: The Revolutionary Method to Reverse Insulin Resistance Permanently in Type 1, Type 1.5, Type 2, Prediabetes, and Gestational Diabetes.

Robby was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at the age of 12 and has been living this lifestyle since 2006. In that time, while eating pounds of fruit every day, his HbA1c has been stable with a current A1c of 5.3%, TIR of 92%, and average total daily insulin use of 30 units.

Robby graduated from the University of Florida and is the cofounder of Mastering Diabetes and Amla Green. He worked at Forks Over Knives for six years before turning his attention in 2016 to coaching people with diabetes full time.

He is the co-host of the annual Mastering Diabetes Online Summit, a featured speaker at VegFest LA, and has been featured on The Doctors, Forks Over Knives, Vice, Thrive Magazine, Diet Fiction, and the wildly popular podcasts the Rich Roll Podcast, Plant Proof, MindBodyGreen, and Nutrition Rounds.

Robby enjoys exercising every day, spending time with friends, and sharing his lifestyle on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.