How Debi dropped her blood sugar by 100+ points while eating carbs, lost 15 lbs, and got off Metformin!
If you have type 2 diabetes and feel like you have tried everything from low carb to medications, yet your blood sugar, weight, and cravings still do not budge, you are not alone.
Debi came to us with type 2 diabetes and a clear wish list:
More stable blood sugar
Sustainable weight loss
Better energy
Restful sleep
Less emotional eating and fewer sugar cravings
She wanted to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally and get off Metformin without having to cut out carbs for the rest of her life.
The problem:
She felt fatigued with almost any physical activity like walking or pickleball
She felt weak, shaky, and hangry if she went too long between meals
Her energy swung up and down all day
Evening cravings for dessert and emotional eating were common on busy, stressful days
She woke up at least once a night to use the bathroom and then struggled to fall back asleep
She had already tried:
Gluten free eating
Low carb diets
Metformin, glipizide, Ozempic
Vitamin D3, berberine, cortisol manager supplements
Either they did not work or were so unsustainable that the changes never lasted. Debi was done settling for quick fixes. She wanted a long term plan that actually worked with her body.
That is when we started working together.
Who We Are And Our Root Cause Approach For Type 2 Diabetes
I’m Isaac Pohlman, a registered dietitian, fellow person with type one diabetes, and the CEO of The Pohlman Institute. Our team has helped hundreds of clients around the world:
Balance blood sugar
Lower A1C
Improve insulin resistance
Lose weight in a sustainable way
Restore their health
all while still eating carbs and without relying only on medications.
Inside our coaching program, The Pohlman Method, we focus on three main pillars to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally:
Finding your sweet spots for carbs so you can see early blood sugar wins and lower fasting and post meal numbers without feeling restricted.
Reviving your metabolism with personalized nutrition and realistic routines that help you regain your energy and lose stubborn weight.
Achieve carb freedom by addressing deeper issues like mineral imbalances and deficiencies and inflammation using targeted lab testing and interpretations to make personalized nutrition and lifestyle recommendations, not taking 20 different supplements.
Debi’s story is a clear example of how this approach can help someone reverse type 2 diabetes, stop sugar cravings, and come off Metformin while still eating carbs.
When you’re ready to do that as well, you can apply here to get support, guidance, and accountability from a team that has been where you are and truly understands blood sugar!
Debi’s Starting Point With Type 2 Diabetes Fatigue, Cravings, And Poor Sleep
Nothing felt stable or sustainable. She would follow a plan for a while, then cravings and emotional eating would kick in and she would feel like she had failed.
Deep down she knew this needed to be the year that she stopped settling and invested in a plan that could help her truly reverse high blood sugar and build skills she could keep for life.
That’s when Debi started working with our practitioner, Angela!
Step 1: Eating Enough During The Day To Stabilize Blood Sugar And End Night Cravings
The first major root cause we found for Debi was under eating during the day because of a busy job and low appetite. She barely ate during the day and then overate at night.
Most people blame late night cravings or emotional eating itself. But in many cases, including Debi’s, the real problem is what happens earlier in the day.
When you under eat during the first half of the day:
Blood sugar is more likely to swing
Stress hormones rise
Your body feels deprived
Cravings increase at night to help make up for the missed food during the day
For Debi, under eating during the day plus overeating at night was also disrupting her circadian rhythm.
Her body was trying to power through the day on fumes, then getting a big rush of food right when she wanted to wind down. That pattern
Raised body temperature at night
Made it harder to release sleep supportive hormones
Led to waking at night to use the bathroom
Made it harder to fall back asleep
Contributed to high morning blood sugar
To reverse type 2 diabetes naturally, we had to reverse that pattern. We focused on:
Gently increasing her appetite with simple lifestyle shifts
Adding more dense, satisfying meals earlier in the day
Including enough protein, carbs, and healthy fats to truly nourish her body
As she started eating enough earlier in the day
Her hangry, shaky feeling between meals went away
She could go longer between meals while still feeling stable
Cravings and emotional eating in the evening decreased
Her morning blood sugar began to normalize
Starting the day with normal fasting blood sugar made it far easier for her to keep numbers stable the rest of the day instead of chasing high readings for hours.
Step 2: Fixing Her Stress Response, Leptin, And Circadian Rhythm To Lower Morning Blood Sugar
Debi had already done some work on reducing stress before we met, which was great. She had made changes in her social life, work, and volunteering to feel more fulfilled and less overwhelmed.
But lowering stress on paper is only part of the story.
With type 2 diabetes, high blood sugar is almost always a sign that the body is overproducing stress hormones on the inside.
So we focused on two key questions
How can we help her body become more resilient to stress
How can we restore a healthy circadian rhythm so her hormones work for her, not against her
We worked on simple, realistic strategies to:
Support her nervous system during busy days
Make it easier to wind down at night
Reduce the stress driven blood sugar spikes that showed up even when she had not eaten
This also tied into a key hormone leptin.
Leptin is your body’s fuel gauge. It tells your brain how much energy you have stored, similar to the gas gauge in a car. When leptin signals are working well, it becomes much easier to
Lose weight
Support thyroid function
Improve energy
Lower blood sugar and insulin resistance
Have a healthy appetite and feel satisfied after meals
Debi’s leptin was high, which is a sign that her brain was not receiving that signal correctly. A disrupted circadian rhythm often blunts leptin’s signal, similar to driving with a broken gas gauge.
We helped her rebuild a healthier circadian rhythm and leptin response through
Better light exposure patterns
Eating more of her food earlier in the day
Reducing late night eating and indoor light
Simple evening routines that supported sleep
These changes were fundamental for her weight loss and blood sugar control. Over time she:
Lost 15 pounds without fixating on calories or macros
Saw improved morning and post meal blood sugar
Found it easier to fall asleep and stay asleep
Step 3: Balancing Minerals To Improve Insulin Resistance And Safely Come Off Metformin
Debi wanted to reduce dependence on medication, especially Metformin, while still keeping her blood sugar in a healthy range.
To do this safely we looked deeper at her mineral status using The Pohlman Lab Bundle. We found
High iron
Low vitamin D
Low copper
Signs of magnesium depletion
Iron is essential, but when iron is too high it becomes a pro oxidant meaning it increases stress and inflammation in your body, which can:
Make the liver release more glucose into the blood
Make the pancreas less effective at producing insulin
Raise insulin resistance
Make weight loss and stable energy more difficult
Low copper also mattered. Copper acts like a parent to iron. When copper is low, iron is more likely to cause chaos instead of being used correctly.
Low vitamin D on its own is not always a reason to take a vitamin D supplement. Often the deeper problem is that the body cannot hold onto vitamin D well because of inflammation and stress.
Magnesium is another key mineral. The more stress, inflammation, blood sugar swings, and insulin resistance someone has, the more magnesium the body burns through.
For Debi, the solution was not just “take more supplements.” We focused on
Helping her body hold on to magnesium and other minerals better
Reducing inflammation and internal stress
Using targeted nutrition and lifestyle support to help her use the iron she already had
Layering in mineral support in a way that matched her specific lab patterns
As her mineral balance improved
Insulin resistance decreased
Her body did not need as much medication support
Fasting and post meal blood sugars stayed in a healthier range
With support from her doctor and as her numbers improved, she was able to safely stop Metformin while maintaining healthy blood sugar.
Step 4: Using Enjoyable Movement To Support Blood Sugar And Weight Loss
Debi already enjoyed movement when we met. She liked walking and pickleball, but she often felt too tired to do as much as she wanted.
At the beginning of our work together, the priority was not more exercise. It was restoring enough energy and blood sugar stability so that movement actually felt good again.
As her appetite improved, energy increased, blood sugar stabilized, she naturally had more capacity to move.
Over time she increased her walks, played more pickleball, became open to adding weightlifting, even though it felt out of reach at first.
With more energy and resilience, movement stopped being a drain and started working in her favor, supporting
Better insulin sensitivity
Easier weight loss
More stable mood and stress response
This layer came after the foundations were rebuilt, which is why it was sustainable.
Debi’s Results Reversed Type 2 Diabetes, Lost 15 Pounds, And Got Off Metformin
By working through these root causes inside The Pohlman Method, Debi experienced a full transformation. She
Normalized her fasting readings into the 80s and 90s
Stabilized her post meal blood sugar while still eating carbs
Came off Metformin while maintaining healthy blood sugar
Lost 15+ pounds naturally after seeing no progress on Ozempic
Stopped sugar cravings and emotional eating episodes
Started sleeping through the night without waking to use the bathroom
Felt satisfied and energized for hours after meals instead of needing to snack all day
Finally found a plan that works for her body and is truly sustainable
This is what it looks like to reverse type 2 diabetes naturally by addressing the real drivers of insulin resistance, cravings, and high blood sugar instead of relying only on short term diets or medications.
Ready To Work On Reversing Your Type 2 Diabetes Without Cutting Carbs
If you are living with type 2 diabetes and want to lower blood sugar naturally, would love to rely less on medications like Metformin, want to lose weight in a way that feels sustainable, are tired of constant cravings and emotional eating, want to eat carbs again without fear, there is a different way.
At The Pohlman Institute we help clients like Debi:
Understand why their blood sugar is high in the first place
Create a customized plan for nutrition, stress, circadian rhythm, and lifestyle
Improve carb tolerance and insulin resistance
Build routines that support long term blood sugar control
If you are ready to stabilize your blood sugar and feel better in your everyday life while eating carbs, like Debi did, you can apply here to get support, guidance, and accountability from a team that has been where you are and truly understands blood sugar!
