There are two paths you can go by….
…but in the long run, there’s still time to change the road you’re on.
Does being overweight cause diabetes? Is diabetes really the result of gluttony? NO! Although this is the commonly held assumption, it is wrong. It is grossly unfair to those with a weight problem or diabetes. Obesity and Type 2 diabetes are two sides of the same coin. Dr Robert Atkins was right when he coined the term Diabesity. The low-carb/keto community contend that Diabesity is caused by insulin resistance and (early on) insulin excess. So, just losing weight is not the answer. Cutting carbs is the way to go. Cutting carbs cuts the insulin drive to both weight gain and diabetes. Carbs are the problem.
Here is another flow-chart from Beating Diabetes the low-carb way. It illustrates the difference between how Official advice and the Beating Diabetes/Low-carb approaches to the problem differs.