I was 13 when I developed the classic symptoms of a person who gets diabetes: a lot of weight loss, a tremendous thirst, and blurry eyesight. My mom took me to the hospital, and the doctors took some blood tests. My blood sugar was so high that they knew right away.

I know I'm a person who's been bugged for years about the up and down weight thing.

We know that a 5 to 10 percent weight loss has significant effects on blood glucose and on blood pressure and triglycerides. If you put them all together -- healthy weight, healthy eating, physical activity -- you will find on every level that you will see a reduction in diabetes and heart disease,

There is no magic pill for weight loss.

Weight doesn't matter as long as you're happy with yourself.

[So, to lose the weight, she avoided faddy diets and devised a balanced eating plan.] I was careful not to lose loads of weight quickly because I didn't want to put it all back on again, ... I decided not to give myself a hard time, so I just ate healthily.