Elizabeth Peralta, a Laboratory Technician at The Mount Sinai Hospital, lost 55 pounds in five months and reversed her diagnosis of type 2 diabetes with help from The Diabetes Alliance at the Mount Sinai Health System. The Diabetes Alliance offers Mount Sinai staff and patients personalized diabetes education, nutrition, and counseling and support to achieve their health and wellness goals.

The quick turnaround for Ms. Peralta started in July, after a routine physical with her internist, Laurie Edelman, MD, revealed that her blood sugar level had significantly increased over the prior year, resulting in a diagnosis of uncontrolled type 2 diabetes. Dr. Edelman is an Associate Professor in the Division of General Internal Medicine at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.

The next day, Ms. Peralta, 53, went to see Maria Rodriguez, RD, CDN, CDE, Diabetes Program Manager of The Diabetes Alliance. The Alliance forges a collaboration among individuals living with diabetes, their primary care physicians, cardiologists, endocrinologists, and other specialists, and registered dieticians who tailor an individualized care plan that addresses diet, lifestyle modifications, and medical management.

“I cried the day I found out about my diagnosis. I thought, ‘Oh my God, I’m never going to do this,’” says Ms. Peralta. “But when you have the right people around you, it makes a big difference.”

Ms. Peralta sprang into action and drastically changed her diet, trading Chinese food and the Cuban dishes of her youth for low-fat chicken, turkey, and salad. She also started walking the one-mile indoor walking route at The Mount Sinai Hospital twice a day. Ms. Peralta knew she faced a special risk because her mother and brother also had type 2 diabetes.

In fact, type 2 diabetes—the most common form of the disease, in which the body does not make enough insulin or cannot use its own insulin—is New York State’s most rapidly expanding chronic health condition. If left untreated, diabetes can lead to blindness, kidney disease, and amputation, and contribute to heart disease and stroke. The disease is linked to obesity, genetic risk factors, and inactivity.

What is unique, says Dr. Edelman, is that Elizabeth said, “‘I want to do everything in my power to make this better; I’m going to completely rethink how I live my life.’ Not everybody has to make a dramatic change. For some people, a small change can make a big difference—watching portions, eliminating fast food, juices, and soda, and incorporating more vegetables and fruit.”

Today, Ms. Peralta is back to the size she was at age 18, with 17 more pounds to go, and she does not need to take diabetic medication.

“Now I feel so good. I put on my clothes and I love myself,” says Ms. Peralta. “Everything I do now is love. Once you have that, you can inspire somebody else.”

Mount Sinai Health System staff and patients may contact Abby Schwartz, RN, BSN, MBA, at Abby.Schwartz@mountsinai.org for information about The Diabetes Alliance.