Some members of Cambron's family are overweight, and her mother, grandmother, aunts, and uncles have diabetes. She recalls going to the doctor with her mom and seeing her inject insulin at every meal. "My oldest brother, he’s also type 2 diabetic, and for too long didn’t take care of himself," she says. "He wasn’t able to participate in a lot of things that someone his age should have been able to do.”

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According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), the average adult in the United States has a 40% chance of developing type 2 diabetes. But if you’re a Hispanic American adult, your chance is more than 50%, and you’re likely to develop it at a younger age. These trends were apparent in Cambron's family. Her relatives saw diabetes as something that was going to happen, so you just took your medicine and dealt with the complications.

Cambron also developed diabetes six years ago. She began blacking out during periods of intense cardio—she always loved working out and being active. She went to the doctor to find out what was going on. A few weeks later, she was told she was prediabetic, and an endocrinologist recommended she see a diabetes educator to help get her health on track. It was at this meeting that she learned she actually had type 2 diabetes.

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“I remember sitting down with the educator and she kept saying, ‘As a diabetic’ and I tried to correct her, saying I was prediabetic. But she told me, ‘No, you have type 2 diabetes’ and I just started bawling. I felt like I had really let myself down.”

Her diagnosis meant Cambron now had to take insulin, just as her mom did. But it also made her realize she needed to make some changes. “I didn’t want to end up like some of my family members who have diabetic neuropathy (a type of nerve damage caused by the disease) and can’t even go for a walk,” she says.

For too long, Cambron had used her love of physical fitness as the sole barometer of health. She worked out consistently and could run half marathons, but she believed that her workouts compensated for unhealthy food choices. “People always say you can’t outrun a bad diet," she says. "And I really had to learn that the hard way.”

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As she began working on a healthier nutrition plan, she found herself unlearning her own preconceived notions. “Growing up, I don’t ever remember eating a salad. Maybe as a topping on tacos. But it was never something we actively strived to eat," she remembers. "It was something I always assumed was for rich people."

She struggled with giving up some of the foods and flavors she associated with her family traditions. “I felt like I losing part of my Mexican heritage," she says. "When I tried to introduce healthier options, I was definitely shunned a little [by family members]. It was almost like they treated me like I didn’t want to be Mexican because I didn’t want to eat eight tortillas."