At 62, Rochelle had never been diagnosed with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes. But after an ultrasound confirmed she had fatty liver, she knew she was heading in a direction she didn’t want to go.

A semi-retired preschool educator from Adelaide, Rochelle had struggled with her weight for years and had a family history of premature death from cardiovascular disease, stroke, cancer and diabetes. When her GP told her she needed to lose weight, she felt overwhelmed. She had tried countless diets without success. She couldn’t imagine what would make this time any different.

Then Rochelle discovered Defeat Diabetes. Four years later, her fatty liver has resolved, her blood markers are back within the normal range, and the way she eats has become an easy, sustainable part of everyday life. Her husband and children have also adopted some aspects of the Defeat Diabetes approach to eating, making Rochelle’s journey one that has benefited the whole family.

“I’d struggled with my weight for a long time, especially since having children, but my general health wasn’t too bad. Insulin resistance and diabetes run in my family though, so it was always in the back of my mind.

“When my daughter got married and I saw the photos of myself, I remember thinking, ‘Oh boy’ but I didn’t really do much about it. Later, my GP did the usual blood tests and put me on a statin. My liver markers went up, so he sent me for an ultrasound, which confirmed I had fatty liver.

“My GP told me that I needed to lose weight and that it was a very simple equation: ‘calories in, calories out’. At the time I thought that if it were that easy, I would have achieved it by now. Soon after, when a specialist told me I needed to lose 10 kg, I felt like crying. I’d tried everything and couldn’t lose 1 kg, let alone 10 kg! With diabetes in my family, I felt like I was on my way towards type 2 diabetes and I thought, ‘I don’t want to get there.’

“I started looking online for a program I could follow, but it all seemed like the same old thing. Some programs had costly subscriptions, which I wasn’t prepared to pay for, and I didn’t want to spend my life counting calories.

“Then one weekend we went away and I was watching YouTube when an ad popped up for Defeat Diabetes. Something about it seemed different. It wasn’t about lowering calories or eating low-fat food. Dr Brukner and Dr Mason were explaining how it worked and it piqued my interest.

“I looked at the recipes and thought, ‘I would actually eat that!’ It looked like normal, everyday food and it didn’t look expensive. It was the first thing I’d seen in six months that made me feel hopeful, so I decided to give it a go.

“When I lost the first few kilos, I was still pessimistic. I thought, ‘I’ll lose it initially, then I’ll put it straight back on.’ But I kept going and lost another 3 kg by the 12-month mark. More importantly, once I’d been eating this way for a while, my liver markers returned to the normal range and my HDL and triglyceride levels also started to improve.

“My cardiologist was concerned about my raised LDL cholesterol, so I had a CT coronary angiogram and everything was clear. I’ve learned that you have to take an active role in your own health, ask questions and understand what your results actually mean.

“There have been so many other changes too. I used to have a constantly rumbling and uncomfortable tummy mid-afternoon, but that disappeared almost as soon as I started eating low carb. My skin tags disappeared, I’ve noticed less plaque build-up on my teeth, my plantar fasciitis improved and I have more energy for exercise. My optometrist also said my eye health was excellent.

“The optometrist told me when she first started practising 20 years ago, she might have had two or three people a week who she needed to speak to about their risk of diabetes. Now it’s two or three a day. It’s incredibly sad, and it reinforces why I didn’t want to keep heading towards type 2 diabetes or simply wait until I needed medication.

“My old way of eating was what most people would consider quite healthy. Breakfast was cereal such as Weetbix or Sustain, or porridge. I would never have eaten bacon and eggs because I thought they were too fatty. Lunch was usually sandwiches, and dinner might be a pasta or rice dish, or meat and three vegetables.

““Now I might have low carb pancakes, Defeat Diabetes muffins or granola, yoghurt and berries with Dr Brukner’s muesli, or bacon and eggs for breakfast.  Lunch is often leftovers, so the sandwiches have been ditched. For dinner, I adapt our old favourites using swaps such as konjac or zucchini noodles, Defeat Diabetes Ultra Fluffy Bread Rolls as burger buns, almond or coconut flour, kohlrabi or swede instead of potato and low carb wraps as pizza bases.

“I don’t make food preparation difficult because that’s what has made it sustainable. I might bake the Defeat Diabetes Lemon and Blueberry Cupcakes or Banana Bread, portion it and keep it in the freezer. If I’m going out, I can take a couple of slices with me and I don’t feel as though I’m missing out.

“I’ve also become comfortable with meals that other people might not think of as a ‘proper’ meal. I might have a bit of leftover mince mixed with an egg, or put together different odds and ends from the fridge. It doesn’t have to look conventional to be nourishing and satisfying.

“The Defeat Diabetes food list was very helpful when I was starting out and I learned how to read food labels properly. Over the past four years, I’ve continued learning through the program and its webinar guests, including Nina Teicholz, Dr Ken Berry and Dr Gary Fettke. You don’t start off knowing everything. You learn as you go and gradually it becomes second nature.

“I’ve recently started experimenting with intermittent fasting too. On a recent cruise, my husband and I would have a big breakfast and skip lunch. Other travellers had to stop and find food in the middle of the day, while we had more time for sightseeing. I’m no longer frightened of not eating for a few hours because I know that when I eat enough protein, I’m not constantly hungry.

“My husband became interested almost immediately. He’d look at my keto pancakes and say, ‘Oh, that looks really nice!’ Before long, he was eating this way too and even started cooking some of the recipes. He says he has ‘accidentally’ lost 4 to 5 kg. My son, who still lives with us, eats many of the same evening meals, and we’ve noticed some changes in what he prepares for his own lunches as well. My married daughter follows a low carb diet more loosely, but she has lost 6 kg and looks so much healthier. It has benefited our whole family.

“This is simply our everyday life now. I would never go back to our old way of eating because this isn’t a temporary diet. It’s part of my lifestyle, and it’s something I can sustain.

“I’ve told lots of people my story, and they can see that I’ve lost weight and look better. Even when I explain that my fatty liver has resolved, some people say, ‘Oh, that doesn’t sound right.’ They’re still attached to the old messages about low-fat foods, calories and ‘healthy whole grains’.

“I think food and carbohydrate addiction have a lot to do with why change can feel so hard, and marketing certainly doesn’t help. Once you change your mindset, though, this way of eating can be quite simple and affordable. I rarely buy ready-made or highly processed foods such as salad dressings, making my own whenever possible. For cooking I now use animal fats and save the leftover natural fat from the food I’ve prepared previously.

“I like that Defeat Diabetes is Australian and doctor-led. I don’t tell people they have to do what I do and I’m certainly not a zealot. I simply say, ‘This is what has worked for me. Have a look at it with an open mind because it might help you too.’

“Conventional advice never worked for me, but this way of eating has. It’s normal food, the principle is simple and it doesn’t have to be complicated or expensive. You don’t need to know everything when you begin. You just start making changes and learn as you go.

“I’m an ordinary person and this works for everyday people who have struggled with their health and weight. Four years later, it’s still working for me and I’m never going back.”