Sherri Shepherd Diabetes, Disease Saved Talk Show Host’s Life
Sherri Shepherd says that diabetes saved her life instead of ending it when she was diagnosed in 2007.
Plan D: How to Lose Weight and Beat Diabetes (Even if You Don't Have It) was released at the end of April and The View co-host shared how her stubborn behavior almost shortened her life. She opened up about the journey to healthy living in an interview on May 17. She was warned for years by doctors to change her eating habits. However, she could no longer ignore the health warnings when she was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in 2007.
"If I didn't have diabetes, I would probably be at the International House of Pancakes eating a stack of pancakes with butter and syrup," Shepherd said.
Shepherd has been able to shed 40 lbs and weighs 157 pounds. The 5-foot-1 now had to take three medications for diabetes. However, she did not heed the diagnosis and was still going to IHOP and still ate whatever she wanted. Her actions caused her blood pressure to spike and she couldn't hold her head up. Shepherd had an image of her son crying and trying to figure out where heaven was.
"That image made me put my head up and say, 'I don't want to do what my mother did to me,' which was leave me at an early age to fend for myself," she said.
Shepherd is now eating healthier, exercising regularly and keeping her blood sugar in the right range. She has been so successful that doctors weaned her off medication. Shepherd's diagnosis impacted her personal life as well. She felt she would still be overweight and not be married to her husband. Most importantly, Shepherd was glad that she is still able to be a mother to her son.
"I would probably be 250 pounds. I would not be going to the doctor. I probably wouldn't be married to my husband, Lamar Sally. I wouldn't be healthy for my son, Jeffrey," Shepherd said.
Shepherd said that she is also now a vegetarian. It is change in lifestyle that she could have never predicted but she now considered herself a kale addict. She challenged others to make the most of their diets if they had the disease.
"People think that when they're prediabetic or diabetic, they're not going to be able to eat anything, but you can eat a lot," she said.
