Welcome to The Bad Diabetic Club — the podcast for anyone who’s ever felt like they’re doing diabetes “wrong” or tired of one-size-fits-all advice.
Hosted by Madi Cheever, a girlie with type 1 diabetes, dietitian nutritionist, and a type 1 diabetes expert coach, this show is all about ditching outdated rules, personalizing your care, and building a life you actually love.
If the standard advice isn’t cutting it, your blood sugars feel chaotic, and you’re craving support that actually gets it — pull up a chair. You’re one of us now.
Leave each episode feeling seen, supported, and empowered.
what burnout taught us about decisions, doctors, and doing less
Madi's back on the Healthy Diabetic Podcast with Coach Ken after about a year away, and this one goes straight into what that year actually looked like.
A trip to Japan. Getting sicker than she's ever been. A 300-person conference. Her first time as the solo dietitian at camp. A breakup. A move across the country. All of it stacking up until the cup was empty.
Then the two of them do something they didn't expect to do: fact-check a statistic they've both repeated.
In this episode, you'll learn:
What burnout looks like when helping folks is your actual job
Why the 180-decisions-a-day number might not hold up, and what Ken found when he tracked his own
How fear and low confidence can quietly inflate the number of decisions you make
What to say when a provider changes something that was working and won't hear you
Why asking a provider to note their reasoning in your chart is worth doing
How to build up to a food you're nervous about, one small step at a time
The three things that make any of this sustainable: education, community, accountability
The line that stuck: you can't pour from an empty cup, even when pouring is the whole job.
This episode also airs on the Healthy Diabetic Podcast, so you get to hear it twice.
📚 Get my free book: typeonetypefun.com/free-book
🎙️ More episodes: TypeOneTypeFun.com
Coach Ken: SimplifyingDiabetes.com, and the Healthy Diabetic Podcast wherever you listen
This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not replace personalized medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider.
10 Sept 2026
Why eating better and exercising isn't fixing your blood sugar (and what is) - Type 2 Diabetes
Quick note before we start: this conversation is about type 2 diabetes and insulin resistance. Type 1 diabetes is a different condition, and there is no cure for type 1. If you live with t1d, there's still plenty here for you, especially if you've ever been handed advice that didn't fit your body.
You cleaned up your food.
You started moving more.
You did the thing your doctor told you to do.
And your numbers still won't budge.
Dr. Jason Shumard has spent over 20 years in functional medicine working with folks in exactly that spot. In this episode, he breaks down what might be happening underneath, and why the standard advice can be true and still not be enough.
In this episode, you'll learn:
What insulin resistance actually is, explained with a car, a gas tank, and a fuel line
Why your a1c can look fine while something else is off
The cholesterol panel ratio that may flag insulin resistance early, using labs you probably already have
Why fixing 3 problems out of 10 rarely moves the number
What high insulin might be doing at the cell level
Why symptoms tend to show up late in the process
How to start with one change instead of twenty
The reframe that stuck with me most: if there are ten things driving someone's blood sugar and they fix three, that's not failure. That's three fixed. It takes so much blame off folks who have been trying hard for years and getting told to try harder.
One step at a time still works. It just helps to know what you're stepping toward.
📚 Get my free book: typeonetypefun.com/free-book🎙️ More episodes: TypeOneTypeFun.com
Guest: Dr. Jason Shumard, DrShumard.com
This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not replace personalized medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider. Views shared by guests are their own.
25 Mar 2026
What Actually Changes When You Finally Understand Your Blood Sugar
Most people with t1d aren’t missing effort. They’re missing explanation.
In this episode, I share a personal story that helped shape everything I do in diabetes education today.
Early in my T1D journey, I was told to start adjusting my pump settings every two weeks. But no one explained how to do it or why those changes mattered.
So I taught myself.
I studied reports, experimented with settings, and slowly improved my time in range and A1C. But when I proudly showed the progress at my next appointment, the response shocked me.
I was told to stop.
That moment revealed something much bigger than one frustrating appointment.
For many people living with t1d, the issue may not be effort or discipline. In many cases, it might be the system itself.
Most diabetes care is designed for short medical appointments and medication management. But managing t1d often requires something different: ongoing education, pattern recognition, and real understanding of how blood sugar actually works.
In this conversation, I explore why so many people might feel confused, blamed, or stuck when it comes to their numbers and what can change when someone finally understands the why behind blood sugar patterns.
📌 In this episode, you might learn:
✨ why diabetes education often leaves people feeling unsupported
✨ why most appointments simply don’t have enough time for deep education
✨ why advice like “eat fewer carbs” may not solve the real problem
✨ how understanding insulin timing and CGM patterns might change how you approach blood sugar
✨ why confidence and trust in your own decision making can be one of the biggest transformations
I also share real examples from people I have worked with who went from fear and frustration to greater clarity and confidence in their diabetes management.
In many cases, the biggest change isn’t a specific number.
It’s understanding.
When blood sugar finally starts to make sense, diabetes management may begin to feel less like guessing and more like strategy.
And for many people living with t1d, that shift can be powerful.
🎧 Listen now on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Podcasts & all major platforms
🩷 Doors are OPEN for the Bad Diabetic ACADEMY waitlist - https://www.typeonetypefun.com/pl/2148742669
✅ Follow Madi: https://www.instagram.com/type.one.type.fun
Disclaimer: This content is for educational and informational purposes only and should not replace personalized medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making changes to your diabetes management.
Reach and audience
Public platform figures. Ratings count people who left a rating, not total listeners.
YouTube views
491,963
Score snapshot 15 Sept 2025
Apple Podcasts (US)
4.4 / 5
7 ratings
Spotify
5.0 / 5
1 ratings
Podcast Authority Score: 56 / 100
A composite of feed quality, social presence, YouTube performance and engagement. Read the methodology.
Quality
64
Social presence
0
YouTube
86
Engagement
32
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