Meet CJ. For roughly 20 years, diabetes had been part of CJ Pettersson’s life.
It began with prediabetes, which lasted for several years before she was eventually referred to an endocrinologist and told she had diabetes. What CJ remembers most about those early years was not receiving a clear explanation of how to manage the condition. She was prescribed insulin, given a sliding scale, and over time, the amount she used continued to increase.
Every visit seemed to bring another adjustment, but CJ still didn't understand why those adjustments were being made or what she could do differently.
She knew there had to be more to diabetes management than simply increasing insulin.
Years later, that search eventually led her to Mastering Diabetes. And when she saw an opportunity to attend an in-person Mastering Diabetes Retreat, she decided that showing up was part of the commitment she had already made to herself.
During the retreat, CJ began reducing her insulin, learned how to better time her meals and insulin, and gained a much clearer understanding of concepts that had confused her for years.
Most importantly, she left with something she had been missing throughout much of her diabetes journey: confidence in her ability to understand what was happening in her own body.
Looking for More Than a Sliding Scale
CJ had tried other approaches before finding Mastering Diabetes.
One program helped while she was actively following it, but she was ultimately dissatisfied with her progress and the level of support she received. That experience also made her more cautious when she encountered another diabetes program.
She didn't want to invest in something only to repeat the same experience.
CJ had actually purchased the Mastering Diabetes book a couple of years earlier, believing there might be answers inside, but she admits she didn't read it at the time.
Eventually, she found Mastering Diabetes on YouTube and decided to schedule a discovery call. This time, she arrived with questions.
After her previous experiences, she wanted to understand exactly what she was committing to before moving forward. The conversation gave her enough confidence to sign up to the Mastering Diabetes Coaching Program.
CJ also knew herself well enough to recognize that she wasn't going to transform decades of habits overnight.
She described herself as someone who was constantly on the go and accustomed to driving through somewhere for food rather than writing everything down or preparing meals in advance.
Instead of expecting perfection, she started small. First, she worked on breakfast. After several weeks, she added lunch. Each change gave her another opportunity to practice.
Why CJ Decided to Attend the Retreat
CJ told her coach, that she was “all in.” Her promise was simple: expect her to show up.
So when she learned about the Mastering Diabetes Retreat, she had another decision to make. Attending required an additional investment, and she initially wondered whether she wanted to make it.
Then she remembered the commitment she had already made.
Showing up meant more than participating in Coaching from home. For CJ, the retreat became another opportunity to invest in understanding her diabetes and developing habits she could actually maintain.
Once she arrived, she discovered that the value wasn't simply in receiving more information.
She finally knew enough to ask better questions. And this time, there were coaches all around her who could answer them.
CJ's Retreat Results
The results would exceed her expectations.
Before | After |
|---|---|
Followed an insulin sliding scale | Better understood her insulin ratios |
Unsure how to time insulin and meals | Learned when to wait before eating |
Higher insulin requirements | Began reducing insulin |
Rarely got out of bed before 10 a.m. | Up around 7 a.m. ET for morning activities |
CJ saw encouraging changes in her blood sugar and was able to reduce some of her insulin during the retreat. But the education behind those changes was just as important.
For years, she had followed a sliding scale without really understanding how to adjust it. At the retreat, concepts like insulin ratios and meal timing began making sense. Instead of simply following instructions, CJ was developing a better understanding of how to manage her diabetes.
Finally Understanding Insulin and Meal Timing
One of CJ's most important discoveries involved something she had been doing for years.
When her blood sugar was high, CJ would take insulin and immediately eat.
She didn't realize that waiting for her glucose to begin dropping before eating could sometimes be an important part of managing her blood sugar response.
At the retreat, she could ask questions about what she was seeing and receive guidance in real time.
That made the education practical.
CJ wasn't sitting at home trying to remember something she had read or wondering whether she had understood an explanation correctly. She was eating the meals, monitoring her blood sugar, using insulin, and surrounded by coaches who could help her make sense of what was happening.
For someone who had spent years feeling like she was simply following a sliding scale, that understanding represented a major change.
Her blood sugar was doing well, she had reduced some of her insulin, and for the first time, she felt like she understood concepts that had previously been a mystery.
Simple Food That CJ Could Actually Make at Home
CJ also discovered that following the Mastering Diabetes Method didn't require becoming an elaborate home cook. That mattered to her.
She had spent years living a busy, on-the-go lifestyle, so a complicated meal plan requiring special equipment or hard-to-find ingredients wasn't likely to last.
Instead, she found the food surprisingly simple. “You don't really have to be a cook.”
CJ could prepare meals on the stovetop without buying special equipment. Lentils quickly became one of her go-to foods, and she learned how easy it could be to build meals around familiar whole plant foods.
Then there was the fruit.
CJ was amazed by how much fruit she could eat while following the program. At the retreat, she also picked up practical skills she had never expected to learn, including how to choose a good mango or papaya.
For CJ, even those small lessons mattered.
The retreat wasn't simply telling her what to eat. It was helping her understand how to make this lifestyle work when she returned home.
Movement That Met Her Where She Was
Exercise was another important part of the experience.
CJ had already completed some of Michelle's training before attending the retreat, and she appreciated how the workouts could be adapted to different fitness levels.
She joked that Michelle understands that when people are older, they might not move quite as quickly.
Having alternatives available meant CJ could participate without feeling like she needed to keep up with someone else's ability level.
The morning routine itself was a change.
At home, CJ said she normally wouldn't get out of bed until around 10 a.m. At the retreat, she was getting up around 7 a.m. Eastern Time and joining the morning activities.
To her surprise, she was having fun doing it.
The combination of movement, food, education, and support made healthy habits feel less like isolated tasks and more like pieces of one lifestyle.
A Community Where Every Coach Was Available
What surprised CJ most about the retreat was the community. She described it as the best community she had experienced in a long time.
Everyone had arrived with the shared purpose of improving their health, and that created an environment where people could connect easily and support one another.
The coaches were equally accessible.
CJ didn't feel restricted to asking questions only of the coach assigned to her. If she happened to be standing beside another coach and had a question, she could simply ask it.
Nobody responded by telling her to find someone else. They helped.
That accessibility was particularly valuable because CJ had reached a point where she finally understood enough about diabetes management to know what she wanted to ask.
The retreat gave her the opportunity to get those answers when they mattered.
What CJ Wants Others to Know
CJ knew before joining Mastering Diabetes that changing her health would be a long-term process.
She had too many established habits to expect herself to change overnight.
The retreat didn't change that perspective. It strengthened it.
What CJ discovered was that the lifestyle itself could be surprisingly simple. The challenge was consistently putting those simple principles into practice.
“Simple sometimes isn't easy.”
But now she had experienced what those habits looked like in everyday life.
She had eaten the food, exercised in ways that worked for her, asked questions directly to coaches, learned more about insulin and meal timing, reduced some of her insulin, and spent several days surrounded by people working toward similar goals.
By the end, her biggest complaint was that the retreat wasn't longer.
When CJ compared the financial investment with other experiences she had spent money on, she came to a clear conclusion: “This has been worth every penny.”
Because this time, she wasn't simply paying for a few days away. She was investing in knowledge and habits she could take home and continue building for the rest of her life.
Ready to Experience the Mastering Diabetes Retreat?
If you've spent years managing diabetes but still feel like you're following instructions without fully understanding what your blood sugar is doing, the Mastering Diabetes Retreat offers an opportunity to learn in a completely different environment.
Join us at the next Mastering Diabetes Retreat and experience hands-on coaching, world-class education, delicious whole-food, plant-based meals, daily movement, and a supportive community that will help you build momentum long after you return home.
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