Randee Dimond of Santa Rosa quit eating red meat, white flour and sugar, piled on the vegetables and lost 80 pounds. Her blood sugar levels are all normal.
"I'm still a diabetic," she said during a day-long program, titled Taking Control of Your Diabetes, that drew a big turnout Saturday of people worried about their health.
Rail thin at age 66, Dimond has lived with diabetes for 15 years. She said she is still learning about the disease that afflicts 26 million Americans, contributes to 230,000 deaths and costs $218 billion a year.
Dimond heard Saturday about what she called "the elephant in the room," how emotions common to diabetics - shame, fear and anger - can elevate blood sugar level.
"I didn't realize the critical role that emotions play," she said.
John and Gloria Coyne, a retired couple and both diabetics, said the drive down from Lakeport was well worth it.
John Coyne, a diabetic for 30 years, learned the importance of documenting his blood sugar tests. "You've got to keep records and take them to your doctor," he said.
His wife, diagnosed with diabetes 19 years ago, said the conference at the Hyatt Vineyard Creek Hotel in Santa Rosa was like a giant support group. "It's wonderful to know you're not the only one out there," Gloria Coyne said.
About 1,300 people, most of them diabetics or prediabetics (people with blood sugar levels just below the diabetic range) attended, the first of 13 Taking Control of Your Diabetes events being held nationwide this year.
Physicians, nurses, podiatrists, therapists and attorneys were among the professionals who discussed prevention and treatment of diabetes, an obesity-related epidemic that grows by 1.9 million new cases a year.
Much of the advice came from those who walk their talk.
Dr. Jerry Minkoff, an endocrinologist at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Santa Rosa, said he got up at 5 a.m. Saturday to fit in his daily 90 minutes of exercise.
A prediabetric with a family history of the disease, Minkoff said he would weigh 50 pounds more if he did not get that much exercise. (The official recommendation is 30 minutes of exercise five days a week.)
Controlling blood pressure may be more important than controlling blood sugar for Type 2 diabetes, the disease's most common form, he said, declaring that salt is "the white death."
Diet and exercise adjustments typically address Type 2 diabetes. Type 1 diabetes, diagnosed in children and young adults, accounts for 5 to 10 percent of cases and is treated with insulin therapy.
"Early intervention in diabetes is really what the game is about," Minkoff said.
Robert Lewis, a corporate chef from Iowa who calls himself "The Happy Diabetic Chef," said that he went through six months of denial after being diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes 13 years ago.
"I was a mess," Lewis said, spicing his cooking demonstration with rapid-fire patter.
"There is no such thing as a diabetic diet," Lewis said, recommending that people eat five times a day, small portions only, and specifically avoid "starving yourself."
Lewis quickly fixed a dinner of sauteed chicken breast slices with vegetables and beans, flavored with pepper, oregano, rosemary, garlic, white wine and his "secret ingredient," lime juice.
Eric Moes of Santa Rosa, a conference attendee, said he is a "Type 3" diabetic, the term for a spouse or relative of a diabetic. His wife, Oona McKnight, has been Type 1 for 13 years.
"Your behavior needs to support their issues," he said. "You can't go off and eat Ben and Jerry's all the time."
John Coyne said he realized long ago that his medications help, but fighting diabetes is his responsibility. "It isn't going away," he said.
Gloria Coyne said she tries to stick to healthful foods, but admitted, "sometimes I cheat."
Still, she said she has an abiding goal that involves her 4-year-old granddaughter.
"I want to be there for her wedding," Gloria Coyne said. "This is really important to me."
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