In her 77 years on this earth, Dolly Parton has taught us many lessons—like never skimp on hair spray. So, in honor of the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter, Oscar/Emmy/Tony–nominated actress, and philanthropist extraordinaire, we dedicate this Divabetic podcast to her.
If you’re ever experiencing a bout of self-doubt or lacking in the self-love department, there maybe you need a dose of Dolly Parton. As referenced in The New York Times, one fan summed up her appreciation like this: “I’ll tell you why I love her… Dolly is everything I never dared to be. Sure, she’s outrageous looking. But just once, didn’t you ever want to do something outlandish — without worrying what everyone will say?”
https://youtu.be/J-5kAo2B5wo
She doesn’t let age slow her down. Dolly says she’s still “the same girl that wants to squeeze every little drop out of life that I can.”
Dolly is a big advocate for keeping a positive mindset and finding beauty in even the smallest aspects of everyday life. She says “I make a point to appreciate all the little things in my life. I go out and smell the air after a good, hard rain. These small actions help remind me that there are so many great, glorious pieces of good in the world.”\
“The way I see it, if you want the rainbow, you got to put up with the rain.” — Dolly Parton
Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Dr.Beverly S. Adler PhD, CDCES, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES, Catherine Schuller, Lisa R Young, PhD, RDN, and Type 2 Diabetes – What To Know Facebook Community member Crystal.
Throughout the podcast, we feature music from Dolly Parton’sDumplin’ Original Motion Picture Soundtrack courtesy of SONY Music.
Traci Braxton, the sister of singer Toni Braxton and “Braxton Family Values” TV show star, passed away after battling cancer in the esophagus.
During the past decade, Traci Braxton was an outspoken diabetes advocate. Most of her comments and confessions about living with diabetes centered around her weight. Like many of us, she had a rollercoaster journey with her weight. But her journey was seen by millions.
If you struggle with managing your weight and/or maintaining a weight loss, you know all too well how challenging that can be. And to have diabetes on top of that can make it doubly difficult. Traci Braxton was no different.
Back in 2018, she said, “I was diagnosed diabetic and didn’t want to take any more pills, so I had to go on this healthy kick.” As a result, she successfully lost 4o pounds. “Now I control it through my diet. Because of that, I am no longer on the pills.”
Years earlier, in 2013, Traci Braxton faced harsh criticism from her sisters about her size. The Braxton sisters confronted her about her weight during a weight-loss intervention. The driving force behind their actions, it seems, was to tell Traci what the extra weight was doing to her health.
In the heat of the moment, Traci was not happy. “I really wanted to punch them in the face,” she said. However, Traci later changed her mind about the confrontation. Later, she made several lifestyle changes to get her health back on track. “I had to really change my eating habits, and it’s [still] a struggle. But my sisters were exactly right,” she admitted showing off her newly slimmed-down figure. She lost thirty-five pounds. “They saw me gaining weight … I developed (type 2) diabetes, high blood pressure, and I was in denial.”
Managing diabetes day in and day out can be a grind. Sometimes family members, friends, and healthcare providers telling you to ‘just lose weight’ doesn’t help or motivate you.
After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, getting your diabetes under tighter management is a reasonable first goal without the added extra burden of a weight loss goal. Doing so may mean starting on medicine (including, possibly, insulin), adding a different type of medicine to your regimen, and/or increasing the dose of diabetes medicine that you’re already taking. And, of course, meal planning and physical activity work with your diabetes medicine to help you manage your diabetes, as well.
Our big takeaway from Traci Braxton’s candor regarding diabetes advocacy is that conversations about diabetes shouldn’t start and end with weight loss. There’s much more in play regarding diabetes management than just the number you see on the scale. Maybe it’s time for society to realize there are many ways to manage your diabetes and avoid complications that don’t involve the word ‘diet.’
Gone far too soon, we celebrate Traci Braxton’s life and memory and send our heartfelt condolences to the entire Braxton family during this difficult time.
We’re talking about the power of words to elevate or tear down someone’s perception of themselves and their diabetes health on Divabetic’s podcast scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, 2022.
Guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, and Susan Weiner MS, RDN, CDCES, FADCES. Throughout the podcast, we will be featuring music from Prince & The New Power Generation’s Love Symbol album courtesy of SONY Music.
Have you ever thought about the language we use when talking and writing about overweight and obesity and people living with obesity?
If the rash of criticism directed at superstar Lizzo is any indication, we have a long way to go before society embraces and supports people of different proportions and sizes.
We’re tackling this topic and more on Divabetic’s upcoming podcast scheduled for Tuesday, March 15, 2022, with guests Susan Weiner MS, RDN, CDCES, FADCES, and Poet Lorraine Brooks. We will be featuring music from Prince and the New Power Generation’s Love Symbol album courtesy of SONY Music. Please join us!
We love Lizzo‘s attitude about herself and her music. She has no patience for fat-shaming and neither do we! Her body-positive, self-love anthems are part of our workout playlist.
I feel like [being] fat is the worst thing people can say about me at this point,” Lizzo shared on Apple Music’s The Zane Lowe Show. “This is the biggest insecurity. It’s like, ‘How dare a pop star be fat?’ I had to own that.” She added, “I feel like other people who were put on that pedestal, or who become pop stars, probably have other insecurities or have other flaws, but they can hide it behind a veneer of being sexy and being marketable.”
Unfortunately, it’s all too common to see and hear obesity talked about negatively, which risks reinforcing stereotypes, simplifying the causes of obesity, and contributing to weight stigma. Currently, obesity is commonly described in the media and society with negative images of people living with obesity and weight stigmas.
“There’s still so many people who suffer from being marginalized systemically,” she says. “Meanwhile, there’s a plus-size Black girl at the Grammys. But plus-size Black women are still not getting the treatment they deserve in hospitals and from doctors and at work.”
In honor of Valentine’s Day, we’re sharing this special performance by our friend pianist Rohan DeSilva of Claude Debussy’s Clair de Lune.
We’d like to encourage you to make time for yourself and your diabetes health. You cannot do everything for everyone else and nothing for yourself. Making time for yourself and your diabetes health is an act of self-love. Learning to accept a diabetes diagnosis isn’t easy either. It takes time, patience, and support. For many people, acceptance starts with loving themselves enough to treat themselves with tending loving care. How do you practice self-love as someone living with diabetes? Do you tell yourself I love you? Do you smile when you look in the mirror?
People high in self-love nourish themselves daily through healthy activities, like walks, meditation, sleep, intimacy, and healthy social interactions. When you genuinely love yourself, you create a mindset of acceptance.
Claude Debussy started writing the piano piece Clair de Lune in 1890 when he was just 28, but it wasn’t published for another 15 years! The title means ‘Moonlight’ and the piece is actually part of the four-movement work Suite Bergamasque.
Among Rohan De Silva’s awards is the best accompanist special prize at the ninth International Tchaikovsky Competition in Moscow. He performed at the White House in 2007 for President George W. Bush and Queen Elizabeth, and in 2012 with Itzhak Perlman for President Barak Obama and Shimon Peres. He has also appeared on television on The Tonight Show with Midori; and on radio stations WQXR, WNYC, and WNCN, as well as the Berlin Radio, Japan’s NHK, and CNN’s Showbiz Today, Millenium Grammy’s 2000. De Silva has recorded on the DGG, CBS/Sony Classical, Collins Classics, and BMG labels. Rohan De Silva holds BM and MM degrees from Juilliard where he studied piano with Martin Canin and chamber music with Felix Galimir.
Valerie Bertinelli confessed she made the ‘mistake’ of reading some ‘comments’ online about her weight as she clapped back with a powerful video message. Valerie Bertinelli is done with body shaming.
The 61-year-old took to social media to clap back at a comment made about her weight with an emotional video where she confessed being “vulnerable” was difficult. “When you see somebody who has put some weight on, my first thought is that person is obviously going through some things because if I could lose the weight and keep it off, I would,” she said in the Instagram post shared on Friday, July 9, responding to “someone” who “pointed out” out she “needed” to lose some pounds. “But since I haven’t been successful with that my whole entire life, at 61 I’m still dealing with [it],” she said through tears as she spoke to the camera, makeup-free. “You think I’m not tired of it, lady? Where’s the compassion. You think a stupid little comment like ‘you need to lose weight’ — not f***
Yes! Valerie Bertinelli responds to weight-shaming and we love her for it!!! Judging a person does not define who they are, it defines who you are! No one should sacrifice their mental health to live up to someone else’s expectations.
According to Healthline, body-shaming “involves criticizing and harassing overweight people about their weight or eating habits to make them feel ashamed of themselves,” with the intent to “motivate people to eat less, exercise more, and lose weight.”
Some believe that making others feel ashamed of their weight or eating habits may motivate them to get healthier. However, scientific evidence confirms that nothing could be further from the truth.
If you are going through these same things, remember you are not alone. Actress Emma Stone said, “There’s a sense that we’re all ‘too’ something, and we’re all not enough. This is life. Our bodies change. Our minds change. Our hearts change.”
Body Shaming Yourself
A social media troll body-shamed actress Valerie Bertinelli but most of the time we body shame ourselves. The worst part is that when we talk to ourselves we use much more toxic language than Valerie’s troll did.
Self-shaming is a destructive mindset. When we body shame ourselves we are working against our bodies and putting obstacles from attaining our diabetes health goals, and our overall sense of well-being.
“We know that people who experience body shaming are at a much higher risk for both depression and anxiety disorders,” said A. Janet Tomiyama, an associate professor of health psychology at the University of California at Los Angeles in Washington Post. “It’s easy to see how feeling bad about yourself could lead to more serious emotional troubles.”
One way to break the cycle of negative talk is to write down everything your body does for you. Going forward, every time you experience a negative thought about your body, try to replace it with something from your gratitude list. If you started to spiral into shame, quickly correct yourself.
that debunks the myths and the general public’s opinion about fat and people who are overweight.
It’s must-see TV for anyone who blames themself and/or their lack of willpower for their body size.
Obesity is not a character flaw; it’s a medical issue. That’s why we need to stop blaming weight gain on willpower.
Learn more about the mysteries of fat and its role in hormone production, hunger, and even pregnancy.
Why don’t sumo wrestlers suffer from the health problems that other obese people do?
Why has evolution hardwired us to hang onto fat even when it’s unhealthy?
And what would happen if you had no fat at all?
Through real-life stories of hunter-gatherers, supermodels, and a BIGGEST LOSER contestant, NOVA explores the complex functions of fat and the role it plays in controlling hunger, hormones, and even reproduction on “The Truth About Fat.”
The Truth About Fat Prologue
Scientists are coming to understand fat as a dynamic organ — one whose size may have more to do with biological processes than personal choices. Explore the mysteries of fat and its role in hormone production, hunger, and even pregnancy.
We’re talking about diabetes wellness with music from Jessye Norman on March’s Divabetic’sDiabetes Late Nite podcast. Guests include Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Mandy Reece PharmD CDCES, BC-ADM, BCACP, FADCES, Maximize Your Metabolism Authors Dr. Noel Maclaren and Sunita Singh Maclaren, and Know Diabetes By Heart Ambassador, Sarah.
In an interview with Anna Deavere Smith for The Aspen Institute, March’s Diva Inspiration, Jessye Noman said, “singing is a very physical responsibility. It requires being as healthy as possible so that we can keep this instrument that we carry around in our throats rather than a nice box that we put away at night so it can do what it needs to do. It’s important to take care of our bodies where our voice lives. During an opera performance one can use as many calories as a marathon runner.”
“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.”
Can you complete our Divabetic Mystery Phrase below? Diabetes self-care can be emotionally taxing, but reframing your mind-set with positive affirmations can have powerful results.
Divabetic Mystery Phrase #17
Constant worrying or self-doubt about what you are or are not doing isn’t empowering. That inner dialogue isn’t true, or even real.
If you’re struggling to cope with your diabetes diagnosis: try repeating positive affirmations to yourself each morning to steer your mood in the right direction. This way of thinking can be helpful when the mental burden of diabetes management gets tough.
“People without diabetes can feel loneliness, anger, guilt, and shame or use denial, rebellion or secrecy. The addition of diabetes to your daily life increases the likelihood of complex emotions,” says Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport aka ‘The Diabetes Pysche’. She adds, “My goal is to help you recognize these normal and demanding feelings and then move past them to do better.“
Divabetic Mystery Phrase #17
“Wisdom is avoiding all thoughts which weaken you.” – anonymous
Making your diabetes wellness your top priority will help you find the life flow that you can manage and maintain.
Like many habits, inner strength, resilience and/or wherewithal can be attained states the Power of Positivity website. It doesn’t matter if someone is thought of as weak or timid; they can still overcome life’s challenges
Inner strength comes from knowing you have the tools you need to handle life’s challenges. If at first you don’t succeed then rely on your strength for progress. Optimism is a source of courage and confidence. It motivates us to set goals, to take risks. It encourages persistence in the face of obstacles.
We’re talking about overeating, binge eating and food addiction on Divabetic’s Diabetes Late Nite podcast with Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Mama Rose Marie, Dr. Lori Shemek PhD, Megrette Fletcher MEd, RD,CDE and Cat Beach with music from Kelly Clarkson.
Can you complete ‘The Staple Singers’-themed Divabetic Mystery Phrase below? Diabetes self-care can be emotionally taxing, but reframing your mind-set can have powerful results.
Divabetic Mystery Phrase
Constant worrying or self-doubt about what you are or are not doing isn’t empowering. That inner dialogue isn’t true, or even real.
If you’re struggling to cope with your diabetes diagnosis: try repeating positive affirmations to yourself each morning to steer your mood in the right direction. This way of thinking can be helpful when the mental burden of diabetes management gets tough.
“People without diabetes can feel loneliness, anger, guilt, and shame or use denial, rebellion or secrecy. The addition of diabetes to your daily life increases the likelihood of complex emotions,” says Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport aka ‘The Diabetes Pysche’. She adds, “My goal is to help you recognize these normal and demanding feelings and then move past them to do better.
Divabetic Mystery Phrase
Self respect is a vital aspect of self love. The more you respect yourself, the more you are able to love yourself.
Making yourself feel good physically is one of the ultimate ways to respect yourself according to PositivelyPresent.com. Treat your body as you would the body of someone you love dearly. Healthy food, exercise, low stress. Respecting your body is an essential aspect of self-respect.
Start believing in yourself and believing deeply—on every level—that you are doing your best.
We think you’re fabulous! Taking care of yourself and your diabetes health.
Love a good mystery?
Listen to Divabetic’s Cozy Mystery Radio Drama, Swan Wake, available on demand with this player.
When the happy healthcare host, Mr. Divabetic heads to the Gotham City Ballet Company’s box office to fix a mix up with his ‘Swan Lake’ tickets he’s faced with a even bigger problem – a murder. To make matters worse, one of his latest culinary creations, a gluten free cheesecake, seems to be covering the victim’s face. Even more shocking are the numerous scandals swirling around the Gotham City Ballet and it’s members that have everyone walking around on tip toes. Could our happy healthcare host’s questionable culinary skills make him an accessory to the crime or even a possible side dish? Now Mr. Divabetic with the help of his team of whip smart Diabetes Educators, a Best-Selling Mystery writer and his own nosy Italian Mom must whip up his own crime-solving recipe, and fast–before a hearty dose of intrigue and a deadly dash of danger ends his diabetes advocacy and healthy catering career once and for all.
Our Swan Wake cast features Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, We Are Diabetes organization founder Asha Brown, Seveda Williams, Catherine Schuller AICI, CIP, Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE, Mary Ann Nicolay MEd, DTR , Mama Rose Marie and Chef Robert Lewis aka ‘The Happy Diabetic’ and Poet Lorraine Brooks.
Can you complete the Divabetic Mystery Phrase below? Diabetes self-care can be emotionally taxing, but reframing your mind-set can have powerful results.
Divabetic Mystery Phrase
Self-help books often promote the power of positive affirmations. If you’ve never tried them before, the idea can seem incredibly awkward to tell yourself how awesome you are.
Positive affirmations help to re-program your thought patterns and change the way you think and feel about things. They are short positive statements that can help you focus on goals, get rid of negative, self-defeating beliefs and program your subconscious mind.
And yes, there is genuine theory and a fair amount of neuroscience behind this practice.
If you’re struggling to cope with your diabetes diagnosis: try repeating positive affirmations to yourself each morning to steer your mood in the right direction. This way of thinking can be helpful when the mental burden of diabetes management gets tough.
“People without diabetes can feel loneliness, anger, guilt, and shame or use denial, rebellion or secrecy. The addition of diabetes to your daily life increases the likelihood of complex emotions,” says Dr. Wendy Satin Rapaport aka ‘The Diabetes Pysche’. She adds, “My goal is to help you recognize these normal and demanding feelings and then move past them to do better.”
Divabetic Msytery Phrase
Constant worrying or self-doubt about what you are or are not doing isn’t empowering. That inner dialogue isn’t true, or even real.
Start believing in yourself and believing deeply—on every level—that you are doing your best.
Divabetic’s 6th Annual Diabetes Mystery Podcast, Gingerbread Men Prefer Blondes. The mystery is set in the fictitiously decadent world-renowned Gingerbread Men Cookie Baking Competition in New York’s Central Park Zoo. Mr. Divabetic’s healthy culinary misadventures continue in this year’s escapade as he enters the competition with headless cookies and pureed kale hot cocoa for the judges to sample. As if this dreadful combination wasn’t bad enough to land him at the bottom of the throwdown, his mother, Mama Rose Marie, is accused of poisoning one of the celebrity judges! Things go from bad to worse when the snake phobic Mr. Divabetic hears about the giant python’s escape.
Now, the happy healthcare host must decide to face his fear of snakes and recipe rejection or throw in his apron and risk getting caught up in another murder investigation. Can Mr. Divabetic and his team of amateur sleuths hunt down the real killer and get Mama Rose Marie out of jail? Will he be the next murder victim? Can he ever create an edible recipe?
The cast of Gingerbread Men Prefer Blondes features Mama Rose Marie, Best-Selling Author Tonya Kappes, the Charlie’s Angels of Outreach (Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDE and MaryAnn Nicolay BA, DTR), The Happy Diabetic Chef Robert Lewis, Seveda Williams, Coach The Cure’s Trisha Artman, Jillian Walsh, Wendy Radford, Dave Jones, Lorraine Brooks and Max Szadek.
Throughout this podcast we will be featuring music from the original Broadway cast recording of Gentlemen Prefer Blondes courtesy of SONY MUSIC.
