Three Years In: What Prediabetes Taught Me

January marks the three-year anniversary of my prediabetes diagnosis — a moment that shocked me, scared me, and ultimately changed the entire trajectory of my life and career.

Back then, I thought I was doing “all the right things.” I exercised, I ate what I thought was healthy food, and I considered myself as pretty stress resistant. But the lab slip told a different story: prediabetes. I was stunned. Frustrated. Felt terribly alone.

If you haven’t read my full About page yet, you can find my story here. In short, this diagnosis felt like a punch to the gut that left me questioning everything I believed about my health, my habits, and my body.

What I’ve Learned in Three Years

1. You are not alone — even when it feels like it.

Prediabetes and diabetes are incredibly common. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), roughly 75 % of Americans age 65+ and nearly 66 % of Americans aged 45–64 have diabetes or prediabetes — that’s three out of four older adults and two out of three mid-life adults living with this condition. Every year, over 900,000 US adults age 45+ are newly diagnosed with diabetes, 95% of those with type 2 diabetes. That’s not isolation — that’s a community of millions navigating the same challenges.

So if you’re sitting with fear, confusion, or exhaustion — know this: you are not alone.

2. Diabetes should never be taken lightly.

Both the CDC and the American Diabetes Association call diabetes “one of the most serious health problems our country has ever faced.” And for good reason: unmanaged glucose can contribute to heart attacks, strokes, kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, and amputations. This is not small. This is not trivial. This is life-altering — and it deserves serious attention, not sugar-coated advice.

3. There’s an overwhelming amount of opinions — and a surprising lack of practical guidance.

Everyone has advice.

• Your endocrinologist might talk genetics, hormones, family history.
• Your physician might point to cutting carbs, sugar, or alcohol.
• Scientists might preach exercise and weight loss.
• Influencers sell “hacks” to keep glucose down.
• Friends might suggest meds or therapy.

All of it can have value — but here’s the truth: what works for someone else might not work for you. More importantly, what worked yesterday might not work today — or this morning might not work this evening. On this journey, there is no “one-size-fits-all” playbook.

4. You have a unique glucose “fingerprint.”

Your body is a complex system. Your glucose responses are personal. To understand them, you need to put on your detective hat — with curiosity, patience, and a calm, focused mind. That’s how you uncover patterns that actually apply to your life, not someone else’s.

5. You are not your numbers — and you are not broken.

Your A1C, your CGM graph, your scale — these are data points, not your identity. Your health doesn’t need to be perfect to be meaningful. Homeostasis and balance are real goals; perfection is not.

You are a human being trying to live a good life in a stressful world where affordable, healthy choices aren’t always easy to find. That’s it. That’s real life.

What helped me most — and what may be helpful for you

Here are the tools and practices that made the biggest difference for me. I don’t offer them as prescriptions, but as possibilities you might explore:

A kitchen scale

I started weighing everything in my meals so I could actually see what I was eating. It’s tedious and boring but it really provided great insight into my diet. Two weeks of real tracking is enough to reveal blind spots we all carry. My advice: get a good kitchen scale and track consistently — you might surprise yourself (and that’s okay).

Food tracking tools

I created spreadsheets tied to the USDA Food Data Central database (all ~7,000 food items included 😅). But you don’t need to be a nerd like me — use a good app instead, such as MyFitnessPal or Cronometer. These tools do the heavy lifting for you.

A continuous glucose monitor (CGM)

Seeing my body’s real-time glucose response was a real eye opener that changed everything. If you don’t have one yet, talk with your clinician about getting a CGM — the insights are worth it.

Sharing my story

Talking to people who get it — who have lived the frustration, the confusion, the fear — was incredibly healing. Don’t hide your experience. Find your community — a Facebook group, a forum, a friend who listens without judgment.

Coaching

I was lucky: I went through my health coach training right in the middle of my own struggle. I had peers to practice with, questions that got me thinking differently, and space to explore what actually mattered to me. Coaching didn’t tell me what to do — it helped me uncover what I knew about myself all along. Even a few sessions can be transformative. If prediabetes or diabetes is heavy in your life, consider getting some coaching sessions. It’s worth it.

Taking back the driver’s seat

There’s a lot of advice out there that can feel disempowering — “do this, and it’ll fix you” or “if I can do it, you can do it”. That’s not helpful. And it’s not respect for your experience. You know your body, your rhythms, and your life better than anyone else. And you, only you, can make judgements about your best approach for moving forward.

My job now as a coach is to help you lean into that wisdom — not impose someone else’s checklist.

Where I Am Today — and Why I Became a Health Coach

After three years of wins and losses, tears and breakthroughs, my A1C is now in a healthy range. That was a huge milestone — but it’s not a destination. It’s a step in the right direction.

And what happened along the way — the self-discovery, the resilience, the compassion — changed me. It ignited something deeper than a career shift. It wasn’t a pivot — it was a transition: from someone overwhelmed and uncertain, to someone empowered to help others walk this path with support, clarity, and confidence.

I became a board-certified health & wellness coach because I know what it feels like to be lost in a sea of confusion and desperately wanting something better. I know what it feels like to be told “just do this” and to realize that it’s not that simple. I know what it feels like when someone truly listens — not to fix you — but to help you uncover what you already know deep inside of you.

So if you’re in the early days of this journey — or you’ve been walking it for a while — here’s what I want you to hear:

You don’t have to do this alone.

Your story matters.

Your experience is real.

And when you’re ready — I’m here to listen. Get in touch.