Life of the party

You can face up to food temptations and still have fun at family reunions, ball games, and other social outings.

Can a person with diabetes maintain healthy food habits and still be the life of the party?

“Amen!” says Tom Terbrock, a cheery St. Louis talk-radio personality who doesn’t let his diabetes keep him from having a great time all the time. “You can go out and have a blast and still be good,” he says. “I’m Curly of the Three Stooges.”

The 46-year-old likes to nosh as much as the next guy and then a little bit more. Three years ago, at 368 pounds, he packed away food and drink at family gatherings, rock concerts, and sporting events even though he knew he was at risk. His “obese, obese” grandmother had died of diabetes.

“I had been abusing my diabetes,” says Terbrock, diagnosed with type 2 at age 30. “The doctor would say, ‘If you don’t do what you’re supposed to do, you’ll die young.’ And I’d say, ‘Yeah. Yeah.’”

June/July 2008
Update: July 8, 2010