I came across a Polaroid from my PEOPLE Magazine profile from two decades ago, and it brought back such wonderful memories! Back then, the talented writer Mark Dagostino highlighted my journey of finding Luther Vandross after he faced a tough battle with a stroke due to mismanaged type 2 diabetes.
This inspired me to create the national nonprofit Divabetic, aimed at helping Luther’s fans and their families keep their homes joyful and healthy by learning how to prevent diabetes-related complications.
I was so lucky to host free monthly Divabetic support meetings at the McBurney YMCA, and I loved volunteering backstage at the national diabetes TV show, dlife, with my wonderful parents. The exposure from PEOPLE, along with my amazing network of healthcare professionals, helped me land on Novo Nordisk’s shortlist for a trial program.
With a backpack filled with Divabetic and Dude-a-betic t-shirts and a stack of flyers for various diabetes programs, I nervously pitched both myself and Divabetic to the PR team, BioSector. They were a bit puzzled by my unconventional approach, but when they asked which program I wanted Novo Nordisk to produce, I glanced at my flyers and said, “Since our name is Divabetic, people will expect a touch of glamour. I really want to go with our Makeover program!”
Divabetic’s podcast focuses on ACCEPTANCE with musical inspiration from the iconic musical group, TheIsley Brothers.
The youngest member and bass guitarist of the Isley Brothers, Marvin Isley, was living with type 2 diabetes. He remained a group member until complications from his longtime battle with mismanaged diabetes forced him into retirement in 1997. Before his death, he had to amputate both legs.
In a 2001 interview, Marvin Isley told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution he regretted the decades he spent ignoring his diabetes. “If I would have listened, if I would have understood diabetes like I understood music, maybe these things wouldn’t have happened.”
A diabetes diagnosis can be scary, but ignoring it won’t prevent it. Learning to accept your diabetes takes time, energy, and attitude. The transition from denial to acceptance and all the stages vary for everyone. Seeking a support group, online community, or a trained professional therapist can help you navigate your emotions. Once you learn how to accept your diabetes, you make unlock the key to a healthier and happier way of life.
Mr. Divabetic explores the process of ‘ACCEPTANCE’ with Dr. Beverly S. Adler, PhD, CDCES, in the final installment of our series on the emotional side of living with diabetes.
Additionally, ‘New York Times bestselling co-author and former Senior Writer for People Magazine Mark Dagostino. His book Ellie & Coachtells the endearing true story of a type-A mom caring for a daughter with type 1 diabetes – and the incredible service dog who changes their lives for the better.
Are you considering getting a diabetes-alert dog or training your own dog? Professional Animal Trainer, and Dog Detection Expert Debby Kay, who specializes in scent detection work with dogs, discusses the do’s and don’ts to diabetes-alert dogs. She also shares how the power of the human-animal connection changes hearts and lives with Terri Seidman and Mama Rose Marie.
Plus, Dr. Beverly Adler, PhD, CDCES and shares insightful advice about the learning curve of accepting a diabetes diagnosis.
Throughout the podcast, we feature elected songs from The Isley Brothers: The RCA Victor and T-Neck Album Masters (1959-1983), a monumental 23-disc box set collection chronicling the sonic evolution and abiding achievements of the unprecedented R&B ensemble courtesy of SONY MUSIC. This box set follows The Isley Brothers through their transformation from a 1950’s doo-wop/gospel vocal group into the world’s preeminent R&B rock ‘n’ soul powerhouse party band.
“I (now) have this state of being,” says a slimmed down Rebel Wilson, ” which is not my quote, but I go, ‘Nothing is forbidden.’ We’ll be like, ‘Should we get In-N-Out burger?’ And I’m like, ‘Nothing is forbidden.’ I can go there, I just might eat half of what I used to eat before. You know? And I’ll have a burger, and a few fries, and then you feel fine.”
“Before I was probably eating 3000 calories most days, and because they were normally carbs, I would still be hungry,” Rebel Wilson confessed.
“So, I’ve really changed to eating a high-protein diet, which is challenging because I didn’t used to eat a lot of meat.”
The actress confirmed to her fans that she had lost over 60 pounds this year, putting a lot of the loss down to her passion of hiking.
She revealed the exciting milestone on Instagram on Sunday, sharing a photo of her weight on the scale, saying that she had reached her goal weight with time to “spare”.
“Hit my goal with one month to spare! Even though it’s not about a weight number, it’s about being healthy, I needed a tangible measurement to have as a goal and that was 165 pounds” Rebel captioned the instagram post.
During an hour long Instagram Live video, the comedian fought back tears as she revealed to her fans that she did not treat her body with the “love and respect” it deserved in the past.
We’re talking about Amazing Weight Loss Journeys & Diabetes with musical inspiration from Jennifer Hudson on Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast.
Guests include Vanessa Hunter, Dr. Wendy Rapaport PsyD, Dr. Stewart Harris, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, and Autumn Reed.
Diabetes Late Nite is a fast-paced, full-filled hour of diabetes education and wellness advice that encourages listeners to “laugh a little, learn a lot.”
Patti LaBelle was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes over 25 years ago and it took awhile for her to get in tune with her condition. She admits she was angry at first but now this self-proclaimed “Divabetic” says she’s not just living with diabetes, she’s living well with diabetes.
She’s incorporated small changes into her recipes to make them healthier. Enjoy her Free-Form Apple Tart recipe from Eating Well, which uses light sour cream and just a little butter to keep calories in check.
Patti LaBelle’s Freeform Apple Tart
Ingredients (Partial List)
1 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour
¼ teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons ice water
2 tablespoons light sour cream
Nutrition Facts Per Serving:190 calories; 11 g total fat; 6 g saturated fat; 25 mg cholesterol; 80 mg sodium. 21 g carbohydrates; 1 g fiber; 3 g sugar; 3 g protein. Serving Size: 1 Slice
Patti LaBelle tells Rachael Ray she calls herself a ‘Divabetic’Don’t Get Down, Get Diva!
Patti LaBelle loves being in the kitchen even after being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. This might sound strange for people newly diagnosed with type 2 diabetes to hear since many of them have knee jerk reactions to modifying their diets. But Patti LaBelle told People magazinethat cooking for herself is why she’s still alive because she controls what she puts in my food and avoids all the things that aren’t good for diabetes. In her latest cookbook, Desserts LaBelle: Soulful Sweets to Sing About, she’s modified some of her signature recipes for fellow “divabetics” using sugar substitutes and cutting down on butter.
Poet Lorraine Brooks shares her thoughts about modifying recipes while sheltering in during the pandemic in her poem, Alone In The Kitchen.
Looking for a fun way to socialize without putting your diabetes wellness at risk? Do you need a little help staying on track with your diabetes self-care?
We are having a ball at our free virtual events. Stay safe, stay in and join us for some good times connecting with other people living with diabetes.
Join the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic for this free, fun Indoor Scavenger Hunt on Zoom with best-selling Intimacy & Diabetes co-author, Janis Roszler LMFT, RD, LD/N, CDE, FAND on Thursday, July 16, 2020, 7 – 7:30 PM, EST.
Relationships play an important role in our everyday lives. But when diabetes enters the picture, it can complicate even our casual relationships. Janis will answer your questions about how diabetes affects the 8 types of Intimacy: Aesthetic, Spiritual, Intellectual, Social, Emotional, Affection, Physical, and Sexual.
Soap Opera legend Susan Lucci underwent emergency heart surgery in October for a major blockage in her arteries that could have ended in a fatal heart attack.
She admitted in People magazinethat she ignored the warning signs for three months.
Sometime last autumn, she had felt a tightness in her chest but “told myself, it’s nothing, it will go away. And it did.” Roughly 10 days later, the pain returned, “radiating around my rib cage. I thought maybe I had fastened my bra too tightly.”
Then on October 23, while at the Tory Burch boutique at the Americana Manhasset shopping center, the pain came back, intensified. “It felt like an elephant pressing down on my chest,” she told the magazine, adding that the store manager offered to drive her to Roslyn’s St. Francis Hospital, which specializes in cardiology.
The tests revealed that the actress had 90 percent blockage in the heart’s main artery, which doctors call “the widow maker,” and 70 percent blockage in another branch.
“Ninety percent blockage – I was shocked,” Lucci said.
The 72-year-old actress had to undergo surgery, during which her doctor inserted two stents into her arteries to help increase blood flow back to her heart.
Heart disease is the leading cause of death among women today, killing approximately 400,000 women a year, according to the latest statistics from the American Heart Association.
Susan Lucci who has devoted decades to a daily Pilates workout and a heart healthy Mediterranean diet, was unaware that her father’s heart disease meant she was also at risk. Her father, Victor Lucci, had suffered a heart attack in his late forties. “I always thought I had my mother’s genes,” says Lucci of her mother, Jeanette, now 101 years old.
Diabetes is a powerful risk factor for heart disease in women as reported on the American Diabetes Association’s website. Heart disease is the leading cause of death in women with diabetes. Women with diabetes are 2 times as likely to have a second heart attack and 4 times more likely to have heart failure than women without diabetes.
Many women with type 2 diabetes already have heart disease when they are diagnosed or have many of the risk factors such as high lipids levels, high blood pressure, abdominal obesity, and abnormalities in blood vessel function.
Clued Inn is a TOTALLY free and TOTALLY unique way to learn about Diabetes & Heart Disease on National Diabetes Alert Day on Tuesday, March 26, 2019 sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim. Our goal is for participants to have a fun, gaming adventure as we take the mystery out of the link between diabetes and heart health and encourage people to discover their risk for diabetes. Space Limited. BOOK NOW
