Restaurant owner, author and celebrity cook Paula Deen has been making headlines a lot lately. The southern belle, known for her love of foods that are rich in butter, sugar and all things creamy and fried was recently diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Deen announced in January that she has type 2 diabetes and she has managed to drop two pant sizes since then. Her weight loss has aided in her feeling better and she achieve it through walking 30 minutes each day and cutting her portion sizes in half.
“I’ve dropped two pant sizes and I feel great!” Deen said. Although she is losing weight and dropping sizes, Deen doesn’t keep track of her exact weight. “We don’t have a scale in our house. Every six months I go for a physical and find out. Now it’s time to see the doctor. She’ll be so happy if I’ve lost weight,” Deen said.
Paula Deen has known she’s had type 2 diabetes for over three years, but didn’t officially announce her disease until this past January. She’s received a lot of backlash for continuing to cook foods that are high in fat and calories instead of raising awareness toward a healthier diet.
Deen has said on several occasions that she encourages moderation rather than regularly eating the types of foods she prepares on her cooking show and in her cookbooks.
“People see me cooking all these wonderful, southern, fattening recipes…it’s for entertainment. People have to be responsible,” she said.
Paula Deen’s statement does bring to light an important issue when it comes to eating. Learning how to enjoy your favorite foods in moderation can be the key to helping you stay on track with a healthy lifestyle. Things like eating proper portion sizes, avoiding processed foods and limiting certain items to an occasional taste can fend off feelings of guilt and keep you from binging. Adding in daily activity is also very important.
Her progress of losing two pant sizes shows that Paula Deen is making changes for the better. Hopefully she continues to move in the right direction toward better health.