Ditch the restriction and manage blood sugar with intuitive eating for diabetes – because fear and guilt aren’t part of the treatment plan.
“Watch your blood sugar” isn’t helpful advice. Here’s what is.
If you’ve recently been diagnosed with diabetes – or told you’re at risk – and your first reaction was panic, you’re not alone.
One of my favourite kinds of patients to work with is someone who’s just made the liberating choice to stop dieting… only to be told they now need to “watch their blood sugar.” Suddenly, they’re stuck between the freedom they’ve been working so hard to claim and the fear that food has once again become a danger.
“Can I manage diabetes without falling back into restriction?”
Yes. You absolutely can.
Intuitive eating with diabetes offers a powerful, weight-neutral approach that supports your blood sugar and your sanity. Let’s unpack what that really looks like—and why guilt, stress, and shame have no place in your care plan.
“I felt like I was one bite away from disaster.”
A patient once told me that after being diagnosed, she found herself frozen in her kitchen.
Staring at the fridge, script in hand, completely overwhelmed.
“I didn’t know what I was allowed to eat. I was scared I might hurt myself. It felt like one wrong bite could ruin everything.”
She had been given a diagnosis and a prescription… but no support.
No plan.
No framework.
Not the space to grieve, process, or feel safe in her body again.
And that fear? It’s not harmless.
Stress hormones like cortisol can increase blood sugar. So can sleep loss, weight stigma, food guilt, and disordered eating habits. Yet somehow, the most common “advice” still looks like:
🔹 Cut out carbs
🔹 Lose weight
🔹 Try keto
🔹 Fast longer
🔹 Just be more disciplined
That’s not a care plan. That’s a crash course in self-doubt and fear.
What is intuitive eating with diabetes, really?
Let’s bust a myth right out of the gate:
Intuitive eating does not mean ignoring your health.
It means supporting it without shame, rigidity, or obsession.
In my work, intuitive eating with diabetes means:
- Using blood sugar as a source of curiosity, not control
- Understanding carbs without villainizing them
- Supporting insulin sensitivity through gentle, sustainable strategies
- Learning to read your body’s cues – even when they’ve been drowned out by years of diet culture
- Creating a relationship with food that’s peaceful, not panicked
You get to care about your health without falling back into restriction. You get to say, “I want support that honours both my diagnosis and my history.”
Your blood sugar is a sink, not a sin.
Let’s talk about my favourite analogy – your kitchen sink.
Your bloodstream is the sink. Glucose (sugar) is the water.
Your cells are the pipes beneath the sink, and the cell walls act like those little mesh drain filters. Their job is to let glucose through – but when they become resistant (clogged), the water backs up.
Insulin’s job is to help get that water through the mesh and into the pipes.
In insulin resistance, the mesh has become sluggish – it’s not broken, but it’s not flowing efficiently. Your body’s natural response? Make more insulin to push the glucose through.
But here’s the key point:
The issue isn’t the water. The issue is the slow drain.
And here’s where food comes into the picture:
If we dump a bucket of water into a slow-draining sink, we’re going to get overflow. But if we gently pour in a small glass, the drain can keep up.
That’s what balancing meals can do.
They slow the rate of glucose entering the bloodstream and give your system time to keep up.
But turning off the tap completely isn’t the answer.
Your body needs glucose – it’s your brain’s favourite fuel. Instead of fearing food, we learn how to support the drain. This is what intuitive eating with diabetes makes possible.
Can you improve blood sugar without weight loss?
Absolutely.
Despite what you’ve probably been told, weight loss isn’t the magic bullet for blood sugar control.
In fact, weight cycling (losing and regaining weight repeatedly) may worsen insulin resistance and increase inflammation.
So what does help?
- Building balanced meals that reduce blood sugar spikes
- Increasing movement in ways that feel good, not punishing
- Improving sleep
- Reducing stress and stigma
- Using supplements strategically when appropriate
- And above all—supporting behaviour change without triggering restriction or shame
Your body is not a math problem. And you’re not a before-and-after story.
You’re a person with a life. Let’s make space for that.
For more on this topic, I dive deeper in this past blog on navigating the early days after a diabetes diagnosis.
What does this look like in real life?
It might look like choosing toast at breakfast – and adding nut butter and eggs to help keep your blood sugar steady.
Sometimes it looks like eating the damn banana – not because it’s perfect, but because you’re hungry, it’s available, and you’re learning to trust your body again.
And then there are days where you’re reviewing your A1C and thinking, “Hmm. What patterns do I notice here?” instead of spiraling into guilt.
And sometimes, it looks like sitting in a provider’s office (mine, maybe), saying:
“I want to manage this, but I’m scared. I’m tired of being told I caused this. I don’t want to diet again – but I want support.”
That conversation is always welcome here.
Want a no-pressure way to explore this approach?
If you’re not quite ready to chat—but you’re intrigued by all this talk of balance, blood sugar, and ditching diet culture—my free guide Eat Like You Trust Yourself is a great place to start.
Inside, you’ll learn the foundational steps of intuitive eating (without giving up on health), and how they can support your relationship with food—even if you’re managing a condition like diabetes.
👉 Click here to download Eat Like You Trust Yourself
It’s free, non-diet, and designed for real-life humans navigating real-life food decisions.
Finding support that respects your body and your story
If you’re ready to explore intuitive eating with diabetes, it helps to have support from providers who truly understand it—not just in theory, but in practice.
Look for someone who is:
- A Certified Intuitive Eating Counsellor or trained in intuitive eating principles
- Explicitly weight-neutral or HAES-aligned
- Trained in eating disorder-informed care
- Experienced in working with chronic conditions like diabetes, PCOS, or insulin resistance
- Willing to centre your lived experience and collaborate, not dictate
If you’re not sure, ask directly:
“How do you support clients with diabetes or blood sugar issues without recommending weight loss?”
That one question can tell you a lot.
You’re allowed to want peace. And real support.
If you’ve been feeling like you’re stuck between two impossible choices—rigid food rules or reckless abandon—there’s another way.
Intuitive eating with diabetes is about building a way forward that’s grounded in respect—for your body, your story, and your goals.
No shame. No scare tactics.
Just care.
If you’re ready to explore what that could look like for you, I’m here. You can book a free discovery call when you’re ready. No pressure—just a conversation.
Additional Resource:
Curious about the research? This peer-reviewed study found that intuitive eating behaviours were associated with better blood sugar control in people with type 2 diabetes—without weight loss.
kerrifullerton.com (Article Sourced Website)
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