Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

In this solo episode, Lauren shares practical, experience-based guidance for people living with Type 1 Diabetes who use the Omnipod 5 and still feel like their numbers are unpredictable or frustrating. Drawing from her own life with T1D and years of coaching clients at Risely Health, Lauren breaks down common gaps she sees between simply being on a pump and truly optimizing it. Rather than focusin...

Kristin was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes in 1997, right before she turned four. Like many of us, her early years were defined by parental support, and then college became the turning point where she had to learn how to truly take ownership. From studying abroad in Mexico and navigating T1D with a host family who did not speak English, to advocating for herself during surgery in a hospital system...

After 33 years of living with Type 1 Diabetes, Dori thought she was “fine.” Her A1C was steady at 6.8, her endo told her she was doing okay, and on paper it looked like nothing needed to change. But after a rushed, 15-minute endocrinology appointment where she was told “69% time-in-range is good for 33 years,” Dori walked out thinking: There has to be more than this. In this episode, Dori shares w...

December is busy, loud, and full of expectations even when all you want is a breath. In this end-of-year episode, Lauren Bongiorno and Risely’s Director of Coaching, Abby Cooper, slow things down and walk you through a refreshingly grounded way to reflect and set intentions for 2026 without the shame-y “new year, new you” pressure. They talk about the biggest blocks that keep people stuck (hello,...

Dana was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes at age 6 and has now lived with it for over 24 years. As an ICU nurse working long, intense shifts, she found herself bouncing from the 50s to the 300s, feeling exhausted, ashamed, and frustrated that she couldn’t “get it together” — especially as a medical professional. In this episode, she shares how she went from an A1C of nearly 11 to 6.4, what finally h...

When Shannon’s 7-year-old daughter, Raelynn, went from gymnastics practice to the ICU in DKA within 48 hours, her family’s world flipped overnight. In this episode, Shannon shares the real story behind their viral TikTok family: the trauma of diagnosis, the mental load of T1D parenting, the role of their diabetic alert dog Spy, and how she and her husband found a rhythm that gives their daughter b...

In this episode, I sit down with Shaylin Fuller, a Muay Thai fighter and Risely 2025 coaching graduate, to talk about what it’s really like when the thing you love most starts to feel dangerous because of type 1 diabetes. After experiencing a terrifying low during training, exercise stopped feeling empowering and started feeling like a constant risk she had to manage.  We talk about how that fear...

In this special 200th episode of Reclaim Your Rise , I sit down with Risely coaching alum Layne—an ICU nurse practitioner who has lived with type 1 diabetes for over 30 years—to explore a struggle I know so many in our community quietly carry: the weight of comparison, perfectionism, and those triggering “perfect” flat-line graphs. Even with an A1C of 5.8, Layne shares how she felt mentally draine...

In today’s episode, I’m boiling down everything I’ve observed in 7 years of coaching people impacted by T1D into one essential takeaway. In my experience, there is this ONE thing that is at the base of every T1D transformation, no matter who the person is, when they were diagnosed, or what their story is. I've seen it for myself and I've witnessed it for every single one of our clients h...

In this episode, I sit down with Patrick House, who’s lived with type 1 diabetes for 35 years and came to coaching feeling completely burnt out. He opens up about rebuilding trust with his body, shifting from self-blame to self-compassion, and how a late ADHD diagnosis changed everything. Let’s be honest… we don’t hear enough male voices talking about type 1 diabetes, burnout, or what it actually...

Today, I’m reflecting on my 25th diaversary , 25 years since I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. In the past, I’ve shared this day with my parents on the podcast, but this year I felt called to sit down solo and really process what this milestone means. From the memories of my diagnosis at seven years old to the lessons I’ve learned along the way, I’m sharing how my relationship with diabetes ha...

In this episode, I sit down with author and mom Stephanie Fallon, whose six-year-old daughter, Posey, lives with type 1 diabetes. Stephanie’s story struck me deeply—she shares how her lifelong perfectionism was challenged when faced with the unpredictability of diabetes and how that journey reshaped her perspective as both a parent and a person. We talk about what it means to try to “win” at diabe...

Getting your diabetes supplies shouldn’t be so complicated and we’re here to help spread the word. Today, we’re joined by Stephen Ouellette from Byram Healthcare to unpack what’s happening behind the scenes that makes this part of life with T1D so frustrating. From prescription renewal timelines and insurance authorizations to communication gaps, we break down the biggest challenges and what you c...

Meet Coach Alejandro, the newest member of our Risely Health coaching team! His journey with type 1 diabetes is deeply personal, from being the first in his family diagnosed to later supporting his young daughter through her own diagnosis. Instead of letting diabetes define their story, Alejandro turned it into his purpose, becoming a health coach and diabetes educator to help others find more fre...

In this solo episode, I’m spilling all the behind-the-scenes details from filming Beyond Type One’s Go Beyond campaign with Nick Jonas, Billy Porter, and more. From navigating pregnancy on set to what this experience taught me about breaking stigma and owning your story, it’s one you don’t want to miss. Plus, I’m dropping a sneak peek at our Rising Above World Diabetes Day event featuring Dancing...

This episode is in honor of Kylee Breann Whitley, a daughter, a sister, an aunt, and a friend living with type 1 diabetes.  In this deeply emotional conversation, Dr. Joren Whitley opens up about the life and loss of his sister, Kylee-a bright, adventurous young woman who lived with type 1 diabetes and battled diabulimia, an often-misunderstood eating disorder. This is not just about loss, it is a...

Today's guest is a dear friend of mine who I've shared many meals with, a few stages before, Kyle Banks. In the middle of living out his dreams, performing on Broadway and working with some of the biggest names in the music industry, a type 1 diabetes diagnosis changed everything. In this episode, Kyle shares his journey from the bright lights of Broadway to starting up Kyler Cares and h...

If you've been afraid of carbs or you were told that eating fewer carbs is the only way to manage blood sugars, today's episode is for you. We’re breaking down everything that people with T1D need to know to make empowered choices with food and have a healthy relationship with it. To help us understand why we need carbs and officially debunk these myths, is Bridget Wood– Registered and L...

Have you ever wondered: What if, in those early days after diagnosis, there was something you could do to help protect the insulin your body still makes? In this episode, we’re exploring exactly that. I'm joined by Ulf Hannelius, CEO of Diamyd Medical, to talk about a therapy that could be a game-changer for people newly diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. It's called GAD therapy, and it&apo...

Parenting kids with type 1, especially if you're in the thick of the middle school years, is already a roller coaster for so many reasons. Add a chronic illness like T1D into the mix and the emotional and developmental tension for both parent and child can feel like a lot. As someone who is going through this stage of T1D parenting right now, Abby is taking over today’s episode, to lead a con...

Today’s episode was inspired by a powerful conversation…. What I’m talking about today is something everyone with T1D or if you have a child with T1D can benefit from hearing. Even those who may have heard it before, will benefit from being reminded again, too.   Quick Takeaways: Learning your patterns: Where to spend more of your time vs where you’re wasting your time  The truth about how I bolus...

In this episode, I’m joined by Carly Piehl, a 35-year-old mom and wife who was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes in late 2024 while in DKA, with no family history and no warning signs. Carley opens up about what those first overwhelming months were really like, from being sent home from the ER with a 13 A1C to navigating both the emotional and blood sugar rollercoaster. Despite early progress, she st...

Today I’m joined by Dr. Juan Domínguez-Bendala, someone I know we’ll all be hearing a lot more about in the T1D world. He’s the Director of the Pancreatic Regeneration and Stem Cell Laboratory at the Diabetes Research Institute in Miami. His team just made headlines with a huge breakthrough: using a small peptide called THR-123 to regenerate insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas. This could...

In this episode of Reclaim Your Rise , I’m joined by Risely’s Director of Coaching and fellow T1D parent, Abby Cooper, for a conversation we’ve both been looking forward to. We’re unpacking fresh insights from two major events: the NYU Coaching and Technology Summit and the American Diabetes Association Conference. Like so many of you, I’ve been deep in learning mode with AI this year–asking quest...

In today’s episode, I’m joined by our incredible lead coach, Jehan, who has guided hundreds of women through deep transformation in our signature group coaching program. Together, we unpack the most common patterns we see in women with type 1 diabetes, from fear of lows and all-or-nothing food habits to feeling overwhelmed by the daily unpredictability of blood sugars. Jehan shares her personal st...