We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ginger Vieira a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Ginger thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Can you tell us the backstory behind how you came up with the idea?

I’ve lived with type 1 diabetes for about 25 years. I diagnosed myself when I was 13 years old during my school’s 7th grade health fair! I had all of the symptoms listed on my classmate’s poster. Fast forward to my early 20s: I found myself trying to learn more complex diabetes science around exercise, and my doctor offered me zero support. I had been training in powerlifting, getting really strong, and was struggling to understand the impact different types of training had on my blood sugar levels and insulin needs. So I basically taught myself exercise physiology. At the same time, I was earning my bachelor’s in professional writing. I essentially combined my writing skills with my evolving ability to explain that complicated science. This was around 2008 before the internet really blew up, so there wasn’t a huge variety of diabetes resources online at the time. Since then, I’ve written hundreds of articles, a half-dozen books, and a few hundred videos that help people with type 1 and type 2 diabetes understand the deeper science of insulin, nutrition, exercise, weight loss, and other medications. But I teach that science in language and context that anyone can understand, and apply to their own diabetes management. People with diabetes need that deeper science to thrive.

Mainstream society thinks managing diabetes is as simple as “eat a healthy diet” and “take your insulin” but it’s wildly complicated. I help people simplify those complicated details that affect our hour-by-hour health and safety when taking insulin.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I specialize in diabetes-focused content and marketing strategy. I produce books, videos, and articles that educate and support people with diabetes. This includes insulin management, exercise science, nutrition guidance, explaining complex research, weight loss support, and more.

I have a knack for diving deeper into the science of something very specific and explaining why it’s spiking/dropping your blood sugar — and then what to do about it! I also enjoy explaining complex diabetes research in language that anyone can understand.

For other companies, I’ve built social media strategies that double their following, significantly increase their engagement, and help them become authentic voices and participants within the diabetes community. This starts with genuine content that speaks directly to people with diabetes.

I can also build your entire diabetes content library. I’ve produced reader-friendly articles on nearly every topic in type 1 and type 2 diabetes, giving websites a robust source of support for their customers and readers.

What I’m most proud of? Self-publishing books that immediately help people manage specific challenges of diabetes. I’ve published books on pregnancy with type 1 diabetes, diabetes burnout, exercising while taking insulin, and books for children with type 1. I receive private messages every single week from people thanking me for these books and for the impact they had on their lives. That drives me — knowing these books are making a difference and truly helping people get through the day.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

I built and continue to build my audience by creating content I believe in! Being authentic combined with making sure every bit of content offers real-life support or information or camaraderie or tips. It just needs to be valuable while also being well-edited and easy to watch or read. Fine-tuning those editing and graphic design skills definitely takes practice. You have to do it over and over to get better at either of those skills. You have to stop and look at your content from the perspective of a stranger passing by. Would they want to stop and check it out? Is it clear? Is it inviting? Is it visually pleasing? It is easy to understand? is it focused? Is it genuine or does it feel fake or staged? Go review your own content! This is how you get better and better. But if you’re too scared to put something out there in the first place, you’ll never get better at it.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I care about people with diabetes. I live with type 1 diabetes, but I strive to provide nearly as much support for those with type 2 diabetes, too. Both of these diseases are incredibly complicated. Society loves to oversimplify them: “eat a healthy diet, lose weight, take your medicine”…but neither type of diabetes is that simple. Learning how to get through the day safely when you take insulin takes years. Learning how to walk your dog when you take insulin is actually very complicated. Dealing with hour-by-hour pressure to be “perfect” is exhausting. Being a human pincushion is painful. Battling health insurance companies for a medication you would die without…is infuriating. These are just some of the challenges my fellow T1Ds and T2Ds face every single day. If I can help make life better or safer and less lonely for people with diabetes, I feel I am serving a good purpose on this planet.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.gingervieira.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gingervieira.t1d
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gingervieira
• Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/gingervieira
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@diabetesnerd
• Other: Exercise with Type 1 Diabetes Book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BYGNFQ47