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Food Network star Paula Deen is showing off a noticeably slimmer figure on the latest cover of People magazine, and reveals that she's already lost 30 pounds since announcing she'd been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes in January.

"It took me a couple of years to get to this point," she tells the magazine. "If you make a few small changes, they can add up to big results."

Video: Paula Deen Opens Up About Diabetes & New Diet

But one big change has been cutting out her favorite "trigger foods" such as mashed potatoes, and embracing a new-found love for healthier fare such as Greek salads and baked fish.

"I'm redoing the way my plate looks," she told ET in May. "I'm doubling up on salad or vegetables and putting smaller portions of carbs and all that. I try to walk thirty minutes a day."

Related: Paula Deen Confirms Diabetes Rumors

Deen, who's been criticized for her often decadent, high-calorie recipes, admits to adopting a whole new attitude when it comes to food.

"I do think differently now" about food, she says. "I'm more aware."