How Haley Lowered Her A1C from 8.5 to 5.8 and Got Pregnant, Without Cutting Carbs
If you live with type 1 diabetes and want to lower your A1C for pregnancy, it can feel like the only way is to cut carbs, white knuckle every meal, and constantly judge yourself. That is exactly where Haley started.
Her A1C had been stuck in the mid eights even though she was trying very hard. She wanted to get pregnant with type 1 diabetes and have a healthy pregnancy, but her numbers made her feel like her body was not ready.
In this case study, I will show you how to lower A1C with type 1 diabetes, using the exact approach Haley used to go from an A1C in the mid eights to 5.8, stabilize her blood sugar, and get pregnant while still eating carbs.
If you are ready to feel more in control of your blood sugars and A1C without restriction, and you want a team that truly understands what living with type 1 diabetes is like, you can apply to work with me and my team below here.
Type 1 Diabetes, A1C, And Pregnancy: Where Haley Started
When Haley joined our program she was:
Living with type 1 diabetes and using insulin daily
Stuck with an A1C in the mid eights
Dealing with frequent unexplained blood sugar spikes
Exhausted, frustrated, and burned out
Afraid her blood sugar control was not good enough for a healthy pregnancy
She had already tried a list of popular approaches:
Paleo style programs
Weight Watchers
Local fitness and nutrition coaching
The problem was not motivation. The problem was that none of these were designed for blood sugar control for type 1 diabetes, and none were personalized to her goals of lowering A1C and preparing for pregnancy.
Everything she saw online made it seem like the only way to prepare for pregnancy with diabetes was to go very low carb, cut out her favorite foods, and micromanage every number forever.
Why Generic Programs Fail People With Type 1 Diabetes Who Want To Lower A1C
Most general diet programs are built for weight loss, not for type 1 diabetes and long term blood sugar stability. They usually:
Focus only on calories and weight
Ignore insulin dosing, CGM data, and glucose patterns
Overlook how stress, sleep, hormones, and minerals affect blood sugar
Fail to mention what is different about pregnancy with type 1 diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is complex. Each day you are balancing:
Blood sugar monitoring and CGM data
Insulin timing and doses
Carbohydrate intake and meal composition
Exercise and activity
Stress load
Sleep and circadian rhythm
Nutrient and mineral status
If a program does not take these pieces into account, it will rarely help someone who wants to lower A1C without cutting carbs and still prepare for pregnancy with diabetes.
That is why our approach with Haley inside The Pohlman Method had to be more specific.
Step One: Personalized Type 1 Diabetes Coaching To Lower A1C
I’m Isaac Pohlman, a registered dietitian, fellow person with type 1 diabetes, and the CEO of The Pohlman Institute. Our team has helped hundreds of clients all over the world lower their A1C with type 1 diabetes, stabilize blood sugar naturally, and improve their health without extreme restriction.
With Haley, the first step was true type 1 diabetes personalization. We matched her with a practitioner on our team who also lives with type 1 diabetes. That alone helped:
Build trust and rapport quickly
Make her feel understood instead of judged
Cut down on explanation because her coach already knew the daily reality of type 1
But personalization did not end there. To support blood sugar control for type 1 diabetes, we also needed to understand:
Her schedule and work demands
Her insulin strategy, corrections, and patterns
How she responded to highs and lows
Her relationship with carbs and food
How stress and sleep showed up in her life
What she had tried in the past that failed
From there, we could see the exact factors that were keeping her A1C high and making pregnancy feel out of reach.
Personalization meant we were not just reacting to numbers. We were addressing the real life inputs that drive those numbers.
Step Two: Reducing The Cell Danger Response To Stabilize Blood Sugar Naturally
The next step was addressing internal stress and the cell danger response so she could stabilize blood sugar naturally.
At first, Haley did not totally resonate with stress being a main driver. She thought of stress as being busy or anxious, not as something that could physically push her blood sugar higher.
But the cell danger response is an internal stress state where the body:
Releases more glucose from the liver
Becomes more intolerant to carbohydrates
Has more erratic spikes and crashes
Produces stress hormones that blunt insulin’s effect
For Haley, this looked like stubborn highs that felt random and hard to control. To calm this response, we focused on:
Simple morning and evening routines that turned down internal stress
Aligning meals with her schedule so her body felt more supported
Tools to help her recover from stress instead of staying stuck in fight or flight
This was not about perfection. It was about building resilience so she could live her life and still keep blood sugar more stable.
When we lowered that cell danger response, her body stopped fighting her, which made it much easier to lower A1C without cutting carbs.
Step Three: Root Cause Work Beyond Carbs And Insulin For Type 1 Diabetes
Most of the education for type 1 diabetes focuses on only two levers:
Carbohydrates
Insulin
Those are important, but if you want to lower A1C with type 1 diabetes and maintain results, you need more levers to pull. With Haley, we addressed root causes beyond carbs and insulin:
Circadian rhythm and sleep
We supported light exposure, bedtime, and wake time so hormones that control insulin sensitivity, appetite, recovery, and overnight blood sugar worked in her favor. This is a core part of functional nutrition for type 1 diabetes that many people overlook.
Minerals and nutrient status
Minerals like magnesium, potassium, sodium, and others help the body use insulin, support nerve function, and tolerate carbohydrates. We looked at how to support these so her metabolism and blood sugar control had a stronger foundation.
Movement and exercise tolerance
Instead of telling her to just “work out more,” we helped her find types and timing of movement that made her blood sugar more predictable, not more chaotic.
By working on these root causes, Haley suddenly had:
Better insulin sensitivity
More predictable blood sugar patterns
Multiple ways to keep her blood sugar in range
This is the core of stabilizing blood sugar naturally and is often missing from conventional advice.
Letting Go Of Perfectionism In Type 1 Diabetes Management
Before we worked together, Haley believed that in order to lower A1C with type 1 diabetes, she had to be perfect.
Perfect carbs.
Perfect insulin.
Perfect meals.
Anything less felt dangerous, especially with pregnancy on her mind.
As we improved her foundations and gave her more levers to pull, she no longer had to be perfect to stay in range. She could:
Enjoy dessert or higher carb meals without spiraling
Handle days where the timing of food or insulin was not perfect
Travel for work and adjust by using the tools she learned
Instead of micromanaging every reading, she started to trust her body again. That emotional shift is a huge part of successful pregnancy with type 1 diabetes and long term blood sugar control.
Results: Lower A1C, Stable Blood Sugar, And A Healthy Pregnancy With Type 1 Diabetes
By focusing on these three areas:
Personalized type 1 diabetes coaching
Calming the cell danger response
Root cause work beyond carbs and insulin
Haley was able to:
Lower her A1C from the mid eights to 5.8
Improve blood sugar control for type 1 diabetes while still eating carbs
Use insulin more effectively without extreme doses
Stop obsessing over every single number on her CGM
Travel for work with confidence in her blood sugar plan
Get pregnant and feel ready for pregnancy with type 1 diabetes
She now understands exactly what affects her blood sugar and how to adjust without panic. She has routines and tools that support both her blood sugar and her overall health, which is crucial as she moves through pregnancy.
This is what it looks like to prepare for pregnancy with diabetes in a sustainable way.
Can You Lower A1C And Get Pregnant With Type 1 Diabetes While Eating Carbs?
If you are living with type 1 diabetes and:
Your A1C is higher than you want
You want to get pregnant with type 1 diabetes and feel confident
You are tired of being told to cut carbs or do extreme diets
You want to use a root cause, functional nutrition approach instead of quick fixes
Then Haley’s story is a real example of what is possible. You can:
Lower A1C
Stabilize blood sugar naturally
Eat carbs in a way that works for your body
Support hormones, sleep, and minerals
Move toward pregnancy with more confidence and less fear
All without torturing yourself to get there.
Get Help Lowering A1C And Preparing For Pregnancy With Type 1 Diabetes
At The Pohlman Institute, our coaching programs are built specifically for people who want to:
Lower A1C with type 1 diabetes
Improve blood sugar control for type 1 diabetes
Prepare for pregnancy with diabetes
Eat carbs without feeling out of control
Address the root causes behind highs, lows, and blood sugar swings
If you are ready to feel more in control of your blood sugars and A1C without extreme restriction, and you want a team that truly understands what living with type 1 diabetes is like, you can apply to work with me and my team below here.
From there, we’ll talk about how we can help you lower your A1C, stabilize your blood sugar naturally, and even get ready for your next pregnancy in a way that actually fits your life!
