Fans of celebrity chef Paula Deen know that she has three favorite ingredients: butter, butter, and more butter.
But while she can cook up delicious Southern comfort food like nobody's business, all those biscuits and gravy are tough on the waistline.
Deen admits that her unhealthy diet, and a Type 2 diabetes diagnosis, eventually forced her to slim down.
But how she managed to drop 36 pounds is a lesson to us all, because Deen didn't need to hit the gym or sacrifice her favorite foods.
"Cauliflower became my very good friend."
The Food Network host admits she resisted making healthy lifestyle changes until her doctor gave her no other choice.
"Honey, I was in denial - for a couple of years," she admitted to Woman's Day.
In the end, the risk of not being around for her family in old age convinced Deen, now 71, to take control of her diet.
"I want to be here for my grandchildren. I think about them every day. My daddy was dead at 40. My mother was dead at 44. And look "” I'm still here!"
But the cookbook author's first order of business was not to go on a juice purge, or to sign up for a spin class.
"I went into my kitchen and I threw every white food out...except for cauliflower," she revealed. "Cauliflower became my very good friend."
That included white bread, rice, potatoes, and even pasta. Deen also gave up on her daily glass of sweet tea, to cut back on sugar, and replaced her drink of choice with flavored teas instead.
"I was drinking smoothies for breakfast, but one that's all fruit will immediately turn to sugar, so I've backed off those," she added.
Deen says she didn't stick to any single diet, but embraced many aspects of the Keto plan, which encourages high-protein and low-carb meals.
She told Shape that, in practice, she tried to fill her plate "with more greens and less starches" at every meal.
"The thing that I'm really trying to focus on y'all is moderation, moderation, moderation."
Deen didn't totally rule out exercise, but says at most she spent a half hour out walking each day, or hopped on the treadmill for a jog.
Mainly, she chalks up losing 36 pounds in just four months to "putting [her] fork down," eating in moderation, and "having a conversation" about her eating habits.
"I just needed to learn to eat normal portion sizes and not overindulge," she said.
Best of all, Deen's family adopted her healthy habits, and together they lost more than 200 pounds together.
Deen's husband, Michael, dropped 100 pounds himself, while Deen's sons lost 45 and 30 by copying her good habits.
During an appearance on Dr. Oz, Deen offered advice for any fans who wanted to lost weight without eating salad or rice for every meal.
"The thing that I'm really trying to focus on y'all is moderation, moderation, moderation," she said. "Eat a cookie, just don't eat six of them."
