It’s Not the Bad Days That Define You. It’s the Averages.

Last Updated on July 28, 2026 by Alyssa

Quick answer: Living well with Type 1 diabetes in midlife isn’t about never having a bad number. It’s about what you do on average, over time. The mindset shift that changed things for me wasn’t a single hack. It was trading “what did I do wrong” for “what can I do,” and staying curious long enough for small adjustments to compound.

Right before the Fourth of July, I did really well at a family reunion potluck. Brisket, fresh fruit, a side of sweet corn. I didn’t even want the rest of the spread, and the dessert table didn’t tempt me. I left feeling energized and proud of myself.

Two days later, I made rice crispie bars and cookies to drop off to clients that week. I’m still not sure what got into me, but I decided to have just one. Then I had more. Then more again, the rest of the week. By Thursday, before the holiday weekend even started, my husband and I went to our favorite Mexican restaurant and I had the margaritas, the chips, all of it.

I know what some people reading this might think. You’re diabetic. Why would you eat that? Here’s the truth: those of us managing Type 1 are just as human as everyone else. We work hard at this every single day, and sometimes you still hit a wall and think “fuck it.” That’s not failure. That’s just being human.

This morning, I noticed my acne is back. My mood wasn’t great either. I know exactly why: the food, and the fact that I didn’t exercise once through any of it, which hits my mood just as hard as it hits my blood sugar.

Ten years ago, this is where I’d have spiraled. Back before the night my blood sugar hit 23, a few “bad” days would have turned into a running story about how I’d failed, again, at something I should have had figured out by now.

Instead, today, I feel grateful for the reminder and genuinely excited to get back to what I know works. That’s the whole shift. And it took me years to get there.

The years I spent calling it failure

In my early diagnosis years, every high or low felt like a report card. A stubborn number meant I’d been careless. A low meant I’d overcorrected. I was managing Type 1 diabetes reasonably well by any objective measure, and I still walked around most days feeling like I was failing at it.

Nobody told me that was optional.

Hormones change the rules in midlife, and for a long time I kept trying to hit the same targets with the same effort and couldn’t understand why it wasn’t working anymore. I wasn’t failing. I just hadn’t learned yet that a hard morning is data, not a verdict.

The shift: curiosity instead of blame

What actually changed wasn’t one strategy. It was staying curious, one small adjustment at a time, for years, instead of demanding a fix and giving up when it didn’t work fast enough.

Here’s some of what that curiosity actually looked like:

• I listened to podcasts on hormones and perimenopause, including Melissa Slemp’s Type 1 in MidLife instead of assuming my endocrinologist would eventually explain it
• I started attending Diabetes Sisters meetings to find support and other women like me
• I talked to other women, some with Type 1, some just navigating perimenopause with no diabetes at all, and compared notes
• I found women who felt better, or who were further down this road than me, and asked them directly what they’d done
• I found out some functional medicine practitioners actually accept insurance, which was a genuine game changer for getting real answers
• I researched supplements and HRT, pros and cons, instead of staying afraid of something I didn’t understand
• One episode of the Mel Robbins Podcast, an interview with Dr. Mary Claire Haver about menopause, completely changed how afraid I was of HRT
• I joined Melissa Slemp’s group coaching and got connected with women living the exact same thing I was
• I tracked my patterns instead of trusting my memory of “what usually happens”
• I ran elimination diets, which is how I found out dairy was quietly driving both my bloating and my acne.

None of these were dramatic on their own. Together, over years, they compounded into a version of me who genuinely feels good most days.

It’s not the bad moments. It’s the averages.

Here’s the belief underneath all of it: one hard day doesn’t undo years of the right habits, and one good day doesn’t replace them either. What actually matters is what you do on average, week over week.

A number that makes no sense is a moment. My sleep, my food, my movement, my willingness to keep adjusting, that’s the average. And the average is what I’m actually accountable to, not any single point on a graph.

This is what I’d want every woman in this season to hear: your body is changing, so your strategy needs to change too. That’s not a failure. That’s just the work.

Where I am today

I’m still learning. I’m still tweaking. I’m still trying to figure out sleep and weight, and I don’t have either of those fully sorted out. I still have weekends like the one I just described.

But most days, I feel genuinely good and energized. Not because I finally cracked some code, but because I kept showing up with curiosity instead of blame, long enough for it to add up. And because I’ve learned that the faster I stop punishing myself for a rough stretch, the faster I actually get back to what works.

Does that mean I never have a bad day, or eat perfectly, or get it all right? No. It means I’m more aware of my own triggers now, even on the weeks that still get away from me. That awareness is worth more than perfection ever was. This week, I’m not beating myself up. I’m just gently getting back to it.

Want a place to start?

I put the five strategies that steadied my blood sugar in midlife into a free one-page cheat sheet.

Common questions about managing Type 1 diabetes in midlife

Does one bad blood sugar day mean my management is failing?

No. A single hard day is a moment, not a pattern. What matters more is your average over weeks and months. Hormones shift constantly in midlife, and an occasional number that makes no sense is normal, not a sign you’re doing something wrong.

What actually helps when hormones make blood sugar unpredictable?

For me, it wasn’t one fix. It was compounding small things over time: tracking patterns, talking to other women further along, researching HRT and supplements honestly, and adjusting my approach as my body changed. Every woman’s hormones, management, and resources are different, so what worked for me is a starting point, not a template.

Is it normal to still be figuring things out years into diagnosis?

Yes. I’ve lived with Type 1 diabetes for over 16 years and I’m still adjusting my approach to sleep and weight. Midlife keeps changing the variables. Staying curious matters more than having it all solved.

Nothing here is medical advice. I’m sharing what I’ve learned living with Type 1 diabetes through midlife, not practicing medicine. Always work with your own care team on changes to your management, devices, medications, or supplements.