Balancing my blood sugar wasn't a straightforward path. I made mistakes, learned lessons and worked out what actually helps through trial and error. Here are the biggest mistakes I made, and what you can learn from them:
1. Only focusing on the numbers
When I started, I was obsessed with my continuous glucose monitor (CGM) readings. I counted fats, proteins and net carbs and ignored food quality and micronutrients. I ate poor-quality fats, artificial sweeteners and foods I was intolerant to, simply because they didn't spike my glucose. It didn't work. I was chasing numbers instead of health.
What I'd do now: use a CGM to learn how your body responds, then choose food for its quality first and the numbers second.
2. Ignoring stress
I was doing everything I thought was right with diet, movement, sleep and supplements, and I still felt terrible. I underestimated how much stress and my nervous system were shaping my physical health. Chronic stress and unresolved trauma kept my body on high alert, and my blood sugar followed.
What I'd do now: treat stress as part of the plan from day one, not something to deal with once the food is sorted.
3. Falling for "eat less, exercise more"
I pushed hard with HIIT, marathon training and restrictive eating. All of it added to my stress load and eventually tipped me into burnout.
What I'd do now: match training to how much capacity you actually have. Sometimes that means walking and strength training instead of another hard session.
4. Copying others instead of listening to my body
I followed influencers and biohackers, many of them men, and ignored my own signals, including how my needs changed across my cycle.
What I'd do now: notice your own patterns in energy, hunger and sleep, and how they shift across the month, and use those.
5. Being dogmatic
Whenever something worked for a while, I stuck to it religiously, even when my body was telling me it had stopped working. What helps you at one point in your life may not be what you need forever.
What I'd do now: treat every approach as an experiment, and check every few weeks whether it's still helping.
6. Chasing quick fixes
Even though I knew better, I still looked for the magic pill or the clever hack. I spent time, money and hope on things that only helped for a little while.
What I'd do now: put the effort into the basics first, and be wary of anything that promises fast results.
How I work with clients
These mistakes are common, especially among women who are trying really hard. So I start with the whole picture: your blood sugar, stress, sleep, cycle and your life as it actually is, not just the numbers. Then we build one step at a time, so you know what's working and why.
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