As many of you know, this past year I delved into the realm of Health at Every Size care for diabetes.

Many people contact me looking for help with normalizing their eating, and I’ve noticed that folks struggling with blood sugar abnormalities often feel that a non-diet way of eating does not include them. They’ve been told by doctors or other health care professionals that they must focus on restriction and weight loss to improve their labs and health.

This could not be further from the truth. I have seen it with my clients who struggle from both disordered eating and diabetes or pre-diabetes. I have seen that helping them normalize eating patterns without a focus on restriction (in fact I emphasize including all the foods a person loves including sweets) or weight has improved their blood sugars, not to mention their quality of life.

That’s why I I was so excited to so a podcast earlier this year with Megrette Fletcher, MEd, RD, CDE. Megrette is a certified diabetes educator who provides non-weight-focused education for people with diabetes and pre-diabetes, and teaches other professionals how to provide this care as well. Founder of the Center for Mindful Eating, Megrette advocates for pleasurable, mindful eating and shame reduction to help manage blood sugars instead of restriction and weight loss. She is so generous with her knowledge, and truly someone I consider a mentor.

In this episode, she gives us a handy metaphor for understanding how our insulin works (the Insulin Knife!) and how we can best help our own bodies utilize its insulin. For those who have been scared by or felt shame for a diagnosis or family history of diabetes, we think you’ll find this episode extremely helpful in helping you get your self-compassionate self-care on.

Listen now:

Episode 41 – Mindfulness for Diabetes Self-Care with Megrette Fletcher

Also available in iTunes and Stitcher.

Show notes:

Diabetes Counseling and Education Activities (for Professionals)

Eat What you Love, Love What You Eat with Diabetes 2017 Edition – most recent edition

Did you miss getting non-diet help with diabetes this year?

So many people reached out to us late this year to tell us they were sad to have missed enrolling in the group I run with Rebecca Scritchfield,RDN, HAES Care for Diabetes, and wanted to know when we were running our next cohorts. Good news! We are taking names for our waiting list on our HAES Care for Diabetes page, so just click the link or the image below and make sure to sign up so you’ll be the first to get notified when our next groups are available (likely early 2019). We help people concerned with blood sugars to stop focusing on restriction and weight, and to start making positive changes that feel good and are sustainable. We have had great feedback and will keep making this group better for you in future iterations.