@ShyLily I'm a 52 year old male and I was diagnosed type 2 several years ago. My Dr sent me to a dietician who gave me the pre-prepared spiel of plenty of carbs, moderate protein and low fat. I have pretty much followed that up until the last 6 months or so. Why? Mainly because I actually lost 30lbs and kept it off, my bg's and a couple of my bi-annual HbA1c's came back either normal or just pre-diabetes plus I wasn't and am still not on any meds.
I also started walking roughly 5 miles/day then added weightlifting 3x/week. My weight has gone up about 12 pounds since my initial weight loss but I'm wearing smaller clothing. I traded out fat in favor of muscle.
Now that I'm lchf and intermittent as well as extended fasting, my blood glucose readings are coming down but more importantly, the blood glucose spikes are minimal. Currently my readings are between 5.6-7.8. Not the best but they are trending downward.
I personally don't consider type 2 anything but an inconvenience. I know that with the help of the great people on this forum as well as the work of people like Michael Moseley and Jason Fung, I can control it if not reverse it.
I still stray from my diet time to time with the odd indulgence but I don't make it a habit. I have always been just a meat and potato guy so incorporating salads and other healthy foods into my diet was at times painful. Now I have learned to not only eat a variety of healthy foods, I really enjoy them. I love fruit but have limited it to an apple or two per week. It's a treat for me and the fiber helps.
Don't think of your diagnosis as a sentence, think of it as a tap on the shoulder reminding you to mind what you eat.
Ask your parents or grandparents what, how much and how often they ate at your age. I'll bet the answer is quite different than the current gov't healthy eat guidelines.