(Image credit: ABC News)

Celebrity chef Paula Deen has revamped her diet and lost 30 pounds, she told the co-hosts of "The View" today.

Today's episode, which took a look at increasing American obesity rates, was titled "The Fat Show." Co-host Joy Behar quipped to Deen "and you're the guest of honor."

Deen has come under fire in recent weeks for waiting to announce her diabetes diagnosis and signing a pharmaceutical promo deal with Novo Nordisk.

The co-hosts gave Deen the opportunity to defend herself against critics of the buttery recipes she has become known for.

"Studies have shown, Barbara, that there's not one food that causes diabetes.  What causes Type II diabetes is being overweight…I've just come to grips, over the past four or five months, with my diabetes."

"This is not something I chose," she said. "I'm the only one in my family, and my family we all eat the same way."

RECIPES: Paula Deen's Most Outrageous Recipes

However, Deen does acknowledge that she received warnings from her doctors in the past.

"I ignored it for the first couple of years - I thought the doctor was wrong."

Deen has lost 30 pounds, eating in moderation and allowing herself one cheat day a week with her family.

"I have rearranged my plate," she said, adding she doesn't eat comfort food as often.