Paula Deen looked a little slimmer than usual at an appearance this weekend, a month after revealing to the public that she’d had Type 2 Diabetes for three years while simultaneously championing gluttonous foods.
“I’ve dropped two pant sizes and I feel great!” Deen told People at the South Beach Wine and Food Festival on Sunday, explaining that she’d been taking a walk every day and eating smaller portions during meals than she used to.
However, the Southern food aficionado has not completely changed her tune. At the brunch she hosted at the festival, she served up fattening fried chicken and waffles and a caloric strawberry margarita mousse.
Furthermore, Deen admits that she is not technically watching her weight.
“We don’t own a scale in our house,” explains Deen. “Every six months I go for a physical and find out. Now it’s time to see the doctor. She’ll be so happy if I’ve lost weight.”
Deen was skewered in the press last month when she revealed that she’d been diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes only after being outted by The Daily. Deen admitted that she got the diagnosis three years prior, but kept it a secret while remaining the posterchild for buttery and sugar-heavy Southern dishes.
Deen is now trying to rehab her image by offering lighter versions of her dishes on the website New Light, sponsored by diabetes drug maker Novo Nordisk. Deen is also donating a portion of her compensation from Novo Nordisk to the American Diabetes Association.