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Haley Maddox
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Field notes · Type 1

It’s a numbers game

Finding your numbers

Finding your numbers is the first step to keeping them in range. Here’s every place I see mine, sorted by how often I look.

How often I lookTap one to jump to it
Coll. Haley Maddox · Oct 2026Next: Build a guide →
Just a reminder
My diabetes care is managed in close partnership with my care team. This page shares what works for me. It isn't medical advice. Talk with your own doctor or diabetes care team before you change anything about your care.
Start here

What each number means

Learning what the numbers mean is part of the first step. The same handful show up in every app.

Time in range70 to 180

How much of the day I spent between 70 and 180. If I only check one number, it’s this one.

Time in tight range70 to 140

The same idea with a tighter top. A newer measure, closer to where people without diabetes spend the day.

Time below rangeunder 70

How much of the day I was low. The one to keep small.

Very lowunder 54

The serious lows. Part of time below range, counted on its own.

Time above rangeover 180

How much of the day I was high.

Average glucosemg/dL

All my readings averaged. Useful, but two very different days can have the same average.

GMIglucose management indicator

An estimate of the A1C my average glucose would give. It’s not my lab A1C, and the two can differ.

CVcoefficient of variation

How much my glucose swings around its average. Lower is steadier.

Data capturesensor wear

How much of the time my sensor was sending readings. The other numbers only count if this is high.

All day

At a glance

Most of the time I never open an app. My number is on my lock screen and my wrist, and I have both set to stay updated.

Lock screen

Zukka
My lock screen: Zukka's Live Activity showing 96 and a flat arrow, plus 0 mg/dL, and Zukka's lock screen widget showing 96 and a flat arrow.12
  1. Live Activity. My number, the arrow, and the change. It stays on my lock screen, and up in the Dynamic Island while I use my phone.
  2. Lock screen widget. The number and arrow, in the corner.

Watch

Zukka
My Apple Watch face with the Zukka graph along the bottom.

The Zukka graph on my watch face: number, arrow, change, and the last few hours.

Around meals

The apps

When I want more than the number, I open the app. Both put the same few things up front.

Zukka

★ My pick
Zukka's home screen: 107 with a flat arrow, down 6, insulin and carbs on board both zero, a graph from 7 to 11 AM with lines at 70, 140, and 180, a strip of earlier days below, and the day's numbers: 0% low, 100% tight range, 0% high, average 106, GMI 5.8%, CV 7%.1234
  1. My number, the arrow, the change, and how long ago.
  2. Insulin and carbs on board.
  3. The graph, with my 70, 140, and 180 lines. The strip below scrolls back through earlier days.
  4. The day so far: low, tight range, high, average, GMI, and CV. Tap “1 day” for longer.

Dexcom

The Dexcom app's home screen: 107 in a circle with a flat arrow, and a 3-hour graph between lines at 70 and 180.12
  1. My number and the arrow.
  2. The graph, with 70 and 180. Switch between 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours.

After I eat: one day, sideways

★ Zukka
Zukka turned sideways, one day: average 106, 0% low, 92% in tight range, 8% high, a graph of the day with lines at 70 and 140, and insulin and carbs on board below.

To reflect on a meal, I turn the phone sideways in Zukka. One whole day, its average and range bar, and insulin and carbs on board for the same hours. Arrows step from day to day.

Weekly or monthly

Looking back

Every week or month, I look back at how it’s going.

Time in range

Zukka Statistics Summary for 7 days: 97% in range, 88% in tight range, average 108, CV 21%.
Zukka · Statistics, Summary. Range and tight range, two bars.
Dexcom app Time in range for 30 days: 96% in range, 2% low, 1% high.
Dexcom · Trends, Time in range. Five bands, and the change since last time.

The average day

Every day stacked onto one 24 hours, so the usual shape of my day shows up.

Zukka Statistics Trends for 90 days: the day overlaid, with the typical reading as a line and shaded bands for the spread between 70 and 180.
Zukka · Statistics, Trends. A line for my typical reading, bands for the spread.
Dexcom app Average day for 30 days: a bar for each hour with a dot for the typical reading, between 70 and 180.
Dexcom · Trends, Average day. A bar for each hour, with a dot.
Nightscout Week to week, Sunday October 11 to Saturday October 17, 2026: each weekday as its own dotted line on one 24-hour graph, mostly between 70 and 180.
Nightscout · Reports, Week to week. Each day its own line, for spotting the day that was different.
Every 3 months

A report to share

Zukka's Generate Report screen with a 90-day period selected.

Before my quarterly visit, I make a 90-day report for my care team. In Zukka it’s Statistics → Generate Report: pick the period and it makes a PDF.

Dexcom Clarity and Nightscout’s Reports make the same kind of report, for any span you pick.

Nightscout’s reporting options

Nightscout reporting: tabs for Day to day, Week to week, Daily Stats, Distribution, Hourly stats, Percentile Chart, Weekly Distribution, Calibrations, Treatments, Profiles and Loopalyzer, then a date range with quick picks from Today to Last 3 months, days of the week, the target range 70 to 180, and SHOW.

Open your Nightscout site, choose Reports, pick a tab and the dates, then press SHOW.

Last step

Think about your own goals

Most of these charts use the same handful of measures. These are the general targets from the international consensus on time in range, for most adults with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. Your own targets may differ. My goals, set with my care team, are tighter. I look at them over time, never day by day.

MeasureWhat it meansGeneral targetMy goal
Time in rangeShare of the day between 70 and 180 mg/dLOver 70%97% or more
Time below rangeShare of the day under 70 mg/dLUnder 4%0 to 2%
Very lowShare of the day under 54 mg/dLUnder 1%
Time above rangeShare of the day over 180 mg/dLUnder 25%
Time in tight rangeShare of the day between 70 and 140 mg/dL. A newer, stricter measure.No official targetOver 90%
Above tight rangeShare of the day over 140 mg/dLNo official target8% or less
CVCoefficient of variation: how much glucose swings around its average36% or less

Experts at a 2024 diaTribe panel suggested about 50% time in tight range as a starting point, but there's no official guideline yet. Sources: AJMC: consensus time-in-range targets · diaTribe: time in tight range

Sources