Get to Know The Hangry Woman

Mila Buckley, the author behind acclaimed diabetes blog hangrywoman.com, was initially diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. Only when treatments were found to not be working was she accurately diagnosed with a rarer disorder: latent autoimmune diabetes in adults (LADA). Her journey hasn’t been an easy one. That’s why she’s made it her purpose to shed light, share tips and bring hope and community to her readership.

How did your diagnoses influence the way you eat?

My eating habits were actually pretty good before my first diagnosis. I worked out a lot and ate lots of greens, fruits and water. I’d enjoy the occasional burger or cocktails with friends, too. After being diagnosed with type 2 diabetes, my eating patterns didn’t have to change too much. I did have to start being more conscious of macros – especially carbohydrates, which spike blood sugars. But food became hard to manage. I felt like I was eating well and counting carbs, but my blood sugars weren’t reflecting that. When I found out I actually had LADA and that I needed insulin, I had to be even more conscious of counting carbs so that I could take the appropriate amounts of insulin for my food without having low blood sugars. At first, remembering to count carbs all the time was difficult. Also, researching what I ate and weighing it to find the carb counts were so time-consuming. But now? I’m a human carb calculator! I can look at foods and estimate the carb counts pretty closely.

What’s something positive that came from your diagnosis?