Paula Deen Opens Up About Diabetes & New Diet
The Food Network's resident butter queen Paula Deen opens up to ET's Nancy O'Dell about the controversy over her diabetes disclosure and reveals her own recent diet changes to improve her health.
"It's probably around 30 pounds," Deen tells Nancy when asked about her recent weight loss in an interview at the TV chef's sprawling Savannah, GA estate. "Small changes can add up to big results," she adds. "I'm redoing the way my plate looks. 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."
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Deen says she still indulges in the decadent southern food she was raised on, albeit with a bit more moderation. "It is tough, let's be honest!" she says, confessing the difficulty resisting guilty pleasures such as buttery biscuits. "Absolutely, and once in a while you can eat two biscuits -- you just can't do it every day three times a day."
Regarding the controversy that erupted in January after she announced she'd been diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years ago, and the fact that she had also signed a lucrative deal to promote a diabetes drug before the announcement, Deen said she feels that some of the criticism from other famous chefs was unwarranted.
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"I thought it was very unfair," said Deen, who recently received a Daytime Emmy nomination for her Food Network show Paula's Best Dishes. "I was really, really shocked because I didn't choose this. I didn't choose this to happen to me. When I see things in print, it's like stabbing me with a knife."
Deen said she currently feels "fabulous" and is focusing on trying to educate and help other diabetes sufferers, while at the same time improving herself. "I really am trying. But if I'm going to help others, I've got to try to do right myself."
Watch the video for more of the interview and to get a look inside Deen's personal kitchen!