7. Sherri Shepherd
The actress and former co-host of The View said even after she was diagnosed with diabetes, it took her a while to change her pasta-heavy diet. Comedian Sherri Shepherd, co-host of The View, says type 2 diabetes could have killed her, but instead it saved her life. “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,” says Shepherd, 46. “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.” Eventually she discovered vegetables without sauce and oatmeal without brown sugar. She cut out fried foods and white bread, too. A healthy diet combined with exercise helped her lose weight and feel a lot better. “If you have diabetes, it’s not a death sentence,” Shepherd told U.S. News. “And if you’re pre-diabetic, don’t sit in the dark and try to ignore it. So many people are paralyzed with fear, but knowledge is power.” Shepherd details her struggles with diabetes and the changes she made in her life in her new book, Plan D: How to Lose Weight and Beat Diabetes (Even If You Don’t Have It), written with Billie Fitzpatrick.