"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. 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, 46, is 5-foot-1 and weighs 157 pounds, down from the 197 pounds she weighed several years ago. At one point she was taking three medications for her diabetes, but since she has been eating healthier, exercising more, and keeping her blood sugar in the right range, her doctor has taken her off all the medications.
Shepherd wrote about her struggles with diabetes and how she changed her life in her new book Plan D: How to Lose Weight and Beat Diabetes (Even If You Don't Have It), co-written with Billie Fitzpatrick. She has a family history of diabetes- her two sisters have it and her mother died at age 41 from complications from the disease.
When Shepherd was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, she says she was in denial. "That said to me I'm not diabetic so I can eat the way I want", including barbecue, mac and cheese, pizza, pancakes, and waffles, she recalls.
By the time she was diagnosed in 2007, Shepherd had numbness in her feet, blurred vision, no energy, and was thirsty all the time and went to the bathroom frequently. Her blood sugar was too high.
Her doctor was blunt: "She said, 'Sherri, you love wearing those shoes, don't you?' I said, 'Yes, I do.' She said, 'You won't be wearing them with your foot cut off, because if you keep eating the way you are eating, that's where you are headed.'"
Even after she was diagnosed with what she calls "the big D", Shepherd went out and had a stack of pancakes and enough "pesto pasta to feed a family of four people. I can down some food. I love food. Girl, it was complete denial. I figured if I didn't talk about it, it was going to go away."
Shepherd became scared when her doctor put her on medication and realized that she had to make a change in her life or she wasn't going to be around to raise her son. "I was going through a nasty divorce at the time, and I thought, I'll be damned if my husband's girlfriend is going to raise my son."
Her good friend Mo'Nique said to her, "We keep saying we would die for the people we love. Are you willing to live for the people you love?"
Shepherd has completely revamped her eating and exercise habits. "I learned how to eat. I learned how to get rid of the white foods- the pasta, pancakes, cereal, anything loaded with sugar." She began eating grilled fish and chicken, instead of fried, reading food labels, and eating more vegetables.
"I never liked vegetables before. Now I'm a kale freak because one day we got kale and my husband sauteed it with green peppers, olive oil, and garlic." Lamar does most of the cooking for the family.
Shepherd goes to boot-camp workout classes (intense cardio and weight training) three times a week and heads to the gym several times during the week, working on the elliptical.
"I do have a trainer who teaches me stuff that I can do on my own at home. And when I have the time, I will go work out with her to have someone hold me accountable, but for the most part I do it on my own," Shepherd says.
She has also incorporated exercise into her daily life. "I have learned to turn my house into a gym. I do lunges when going to the laundry with my basket. When cooking, I do push-ups against the kitchen counter. I do toilet squats. My behind has not touched a toilet seat in years. I am an Olympic squatter," she jokes.
Shepherd runs races with Jeffrey and even climbs the monkey bars with him. She loves dancing (remember when she was on Dancing With the Stars?) and does salsa at home with her husband or son.
"I feel really healthy. I have so much energy. I want to live and I'm going to beat this thing. I feel so blessed," Shepherd says.
If you are a diabetic and do not currently see a podiatrist, call our Bristol office to make an appointment.
Richard E. Ehle, DPM
Connecticut Foot Care Centers
Diabetic Foot Care in CT
Podiatrist in Bristol, CT
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