Episode 26 — Building a Diabetes Community Through Vulnerability, Movement and Mindset

In this episode

In this Beyond the Numbers episode, John speaks with Milly, the creator behind Diabetes with Milly, about how a lockdown diagnosis, sport, yoga, Eastern philosophy and honest vulnerability have combined into a community that feels like home for people with type 1 diabetes.

Diagnosed in January 2021 during the third UK lockdown, in the final year of her biology degree, Milly went from rapid unexplained weight loss and a racing heart to a phone call telling her she was in severe DKA and needed to get to hospital immediately. She spent her diagnosis weekend alone due to COVID restrictions, and then had to relearn how to move, train and live with type 1 from inside a family bubble.

Over time, her background in sport and strength training, a solo trip to India for intensive yoga, and a growing interest in women’s health and exercise physiology have all fed into a distinctive East-meets-West approach: resistance training for metabolic health, yoga and breathwork for nervous system regulation, and social media as a vehicle for real, day-to-day honesty.

Key themes explored

Diagnosis in lockdown: DKA, exams and isolation

• Final-year biology exams, rapid weight loss, and fatigue that turned out to be severe DKA
• Being told over the phone to go straight to hospital — during COVID restrictions
• Spending diagnosis weekend alone, with no visitors allowed
• How that isolation shaped confidence, fear and behaviour long after discharge

Exercise as identity and therapy

• Growing up with sport: cricket for Lancashire, football in Wigan, then strength and hypertrophy training
• The first home workout after diagnosis and the first frightening hypoglycaemic episode
• Why activity became a non-negotiable tool for both metabolic and mental health
• How lockdown provided a safe environment to relearn movement with family close by

East meets West: India, yoga and nervous system regulation

• Travelling solo to India two years after diagnosis for 26–27 days of yoga training in an ashram
• Blending strength training and yoga: compacting versus lengthening muscles, and why she keeps both
• Using breathwork, mindfulness and body awareness to manage anxiety during hypos
• How Eastern practices help step back from frustration and emotional echoes during highs

Burnout, back-burner diabetes and coming home

• From 250 Libre scans and logging everything to disengaging during the final weeks in India
• High-carb vegetarian diet, multiple hours of yoga per day and loss of routine
• The decision to accept imperfection while focusing on the purpose of the trip
• Rebuilding structure and connection to management on returning home

Social media, vulnerability and the growth of Diabetes with Milly

• Starting her Instagram account two months after diagnosis, inspired by other T1D creators
• Organic growth to the first thousand followers with no strategy beyond documenting real life
• Being contacted about exercise, nutrition and mindset — watching a community form around shared struggles
• Choosing Instagram over TikTok to protect focus and depth

Hypos, hypers and emotional responses

• How yoga and logic-based self-talk helped move from near-panic during hypos to more grounded responses
• Why highs can trigger stronger emotional reactions than lows
• Diagnosis anniversaries and the sense of “is this happening again?”
• Normalising these responses as human, not failures

Women’s health, menstrual cycles and a new research path

• From biology degree to exercise physiology to PT and yoga instruction in the Lake District
• Drafting a new master’s proposal in women’s health and type 1 diabetes
• Interest in insulin and glucose responses across the menstrual cycle and across life stages
• Long-term vision of moving into PhD research on physical activity in women with T1D

Building community: Glucose Gals and offline aspirations

• Creating Glucose Gals, a WhatsApp community of around 250 women with type 1 diabetes
• Sub-chats for pregnancy, exercise and other key topics
• Dreaming of UK meet-ups blending training, yoga and practical peer support
• How being authentic and joyful makes connection possible, not less credible

Beyond the numbers: why people need people

• John’s reflection on guidelines, evidence and the limits of clinic-based support
• Why real-life implementation needs peers as well as professionals
• How online communities provide belonging, meaning and daily encouragement between appointments

Episode timestamps

• 00:10 — Why this podcast exists: lived experience and evidence
• 01:23 — Milly’s diagnosis in lockdown: DKA, final-year exams and isolation
• 07:41 — Sport, strength training and relearning movement after diagnosis
• 11:13 — India, yoga and regulating the nervous system
• 14:46 — Building Diabetes with Milly and the Glucose Gals community
• 28:15 — Women’s health, menstrual cycles and her next research chapter

About Milly — Diabetes with Milly

Milly is a 25-year-old living with type 1 diabetes, diagnosed in 2021 during the third UK lockdown. She has a background in biology and exercise physiology, and now works as a personal trainer and yoga instructor in the Lake District. Her work blends strength and resistance training, yoga and mindfulness, evidence-informed thinking about exercise and metabolism, and honest conversations about burnout and mental health with T1D.

• Instagram: @diabeteswithmilly
• Glucose Gals: a WhatsApp community for women with T1D — send Milly a direct message on Instagram to join