Beating Type 2 Diabetes: Kay’s Inspiring Success Story

Article written and reviewed by Robby Barbaro, MPH
Published April 2, 2025

The Health Journey Begins

Kay’s health journey began with a gall stone scare ten years ago. Prior to that experience, she had been eating, drinking alcohol, and smoking without considering much of how it affected her health. However, as often happens, it all caught up to her. She was diagnosed with prediabetes so she decided to go on a ketogenic diet to lose weight – and in the short term, it worked.

Finding the Right Path

Then, her daughter suggested that they go vegan together, and Kay agreed. Unfortunately, Kay chose to eat a lot of processed foods at that time, and the weight piled back on. Eventually, she was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and pancreatitis.

Kay considered going back to a keto diet but knew that it wasn’t going to be sustainable for her as a long-term lifestyle. She sought out the help of a physician who was plant-based, and was directed to apply the Mastering Diabetes Method.

Skeptical, But Willing to Try

At first, she was very skeptical. She didn’t think it would work to eat a high carbohydrate, low-fat diet, but agreed to give it a try for at least a week. After that first week, her blood sugar was more stabilized and she was already seeing other improvements too. She was very impressed.

In 7 months, she had lost 77 pounds and brought her A1c from 13.5 to 6.6.

No Looking Back

In comparison to the keto diet she’d tried years ago, this felt sustainable. Kay was losing weight even though she was eating lots of food and never felt hungry – and she loved the food! She has had fun expanding the variety of foods that she eats as she tries new fruits and vegetables. Her favorite dishes involve tofu, noodles, and lots of vegetables. She’s become a master of low-fat sauces and salad dressings that make her meals even more delicious.

Kay says that until you have your health taken away, you’ll never appreciate how much you really need it. She’s lived this lesson the hard way, and wants to encourage others to take back their health too. What you do now is setting you up for the life ahead of you. “You don’t want to die regretting that you didn’t make a change,” she says.

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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.