Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

Elizabeth Elder knows what it means to carry a lot as a mother. Her two oldest children were born with a rare genetic condition, and in 2021, she lost her daughter Annabelle to complications of that condition at just eleven years old. About a year later, her son Clark, her third child, was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at age five. For Elizabeth, who had already spent years navigating the world of medically complex parenting and had even founded a nonprofit to support other moms walking similar roads, the diagnosis felt like one more heavy thing to hold.
In this episode, Elizabeth sits down with Risely's Director of Coaching, Abby Cooper, to talk honestly about T1D motherhood: the mom guilt, the pressure to get everything right, and the quiet weight of feeling like your child's numbers are a reflection of you. She shares what shifted when she joined our T1D Mom Coaching Program, from learning that you can't get an A in diabetes, to letting herself receive support for once instead of being the one who always gives it, to the community of moms who are still showing up for each other long after the program ended. It's a moving conversation about grief, grace, and finding a way to carry T1D that leaves room for you to actually live.

WHAT WE COVER:
Why a stomach bug with no fever was the clue that led to Clark's T1D diagnosis at 5, almost exactly one year after Elizabeth lost her daughter
What her 5-year-old said to comfort her in the hospital, in the middle of the scariest moment of her year
The number 1 belief that helped to reduce mom guilt
Why you can't get an A in diabetes, and the reframe that finally freed Elizabeth from treating every A1C like a report card
How "time in happiness" became just as important as time in range, and the pediatric psychologist who introduced her to it
Being the mom who holds everyone else together, and what it took for her to finally let herself be the one supported
Clark's first-ever sleepover 3.5 years after diagnosis, the exact blood sugars Elizabeth watched from home, and how she let him go anyway

WHAT’S NEXT:

👩‍👧 Our 8-week T1D Mom Coaching Program is back, starting September 9th. It's live group coaching with Lauren and Abby, built for moms raising kids with Type 1 who are ready to trade the overwhelm for real confidence. Learn more and apply here.
🛒Use code RiselyHealth15 for 15% off discount at Lakanto!

📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: hello@riseyhealth.com   

IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If Elizabeth's story made you feel less alone in the weight of T1D motherhood, subscribe and leave a review so more moms can find their way here.

Drew Mendelow was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 13 and left the hospital overwhelmed by how much he was suddenly expected to learn and calculate on his own. So he built the tool he wished he’d had: T1D1, a free app that takes the mental math out of insulin dosing for people who are newly diagnosed or managing with injections.
Now a student at Georgia Tech, Drew joins Lauren to talk about what’s actually next in diabetes tech, from AI and continuous ketone monitoring to smarter pump algorithms and the apps making daily life with T1D easier, while asking an important question: as diabetes technology gets smarter, how do we make sure people with T1D still feel informed and in control of their own management?

WHAT WE COVER:
Why Drew built T1D1 after being diagnosed at 13
The diabetes tech Drew thinks could change T1D next
Why continuous ketone monitoring matters, even when blood sugar is in range
Lauren’s scariest low in 25 years with T1D and what caused it
The diabetes app Drew recommended that Lauren immediately wanted to download
Where AI and smarter pump algorithms could help, and where they could take away too much control

WHAT’S NEXT:
🛒Use code RiselyHealth15 for 15% off discount at Lakanto!

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.

📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: hello@riseyhealth.com   

IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode got you excited about where T1D tech is headed, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with diabetes can find these conversations.

Lauri Beale never imagined a routine visit would end with her 5-year-old daughter being diagnosed with type 1 diabetes. What followed was an 11-month honeymoon phase that left her family in a constant state of uncertainty. While her daughter was still producing some insulin, every day felt unpredictable, and Lauri found herself waiting for the other shoe to drop.
In this conversation with Risely's Director of Coaching, Abby Cooper, Lauri shares what the first year after diagnosis really looked like. From the mental load that consumed every conversation with her husband to learning how to parent as a team without letting diabetes take over their family, she opens up about the challenges most parents don't expect. She also shares how expanding her toolkit through coaching, prioritizing her own mental health, and reframing blood sugar data helped her move from fear to confidence. If you're raising a child with type 1 diabetes and wondering whether life will ever feel manageable again, this episode offers practical hope from someone who's been there.

WHAT WE COVER:
What an 11-month honeymoon phase practically looked like with insulin dosing 
The simple communication rule that stopped diabetes from taking over every conversation in their marriage
The three things that helped Lauri stop living in survival mode after her daughter's diagnosis
The biggest frustrations with their endocrinology appointments, and how they got the confidence to stop waiting in between appointments to make changes
How they started building diabetes independence in their 6-year-old without putting too much on her shoulders
The mindset and management changes that helped increase their daughter Regan’s Time in Range from 65% to 85%

WHAT’S NEXT:

📱 The Risely App is here! Get support for the 180+ decisions you make every day, so you can build confidence with T1D without your life revolving around it. 
🧠 Discover Your T1D Archetype! Take the free quiz to understand the pattern behind how you think, respond, and make decisions with T1D. 
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: hello@riseyhealth.com   
IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise

Kenna Porter was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 13, and for years she did everything she thought she was supposed to. She followed a strict paleo diet, worked out consistently, and built her life around healthy habits. But every time she went to the endocrinologist, she still couldn't seem to get her A1C below 7%.
Together, they talk about the frustration of feeling like nothing was working despite doing everything "right,", learning to let go of control, navigating pregnancy and motherhood with Type 1 diabetes, and the tangible shifts that helped diabetes finally feel lighter to live with.

WHAT WE COVER:
Why doing everything "right" still wasn't enough to get her A1C below 7% and what she had to do instead 
The shifts that helped Kenna stop chasing perfection and find a more sustainable approach to diabetes
The role comparison played in keeping her stuck, and how she finally broke free from it
Why Kenna avoided connecting with other people with Type 1 diabetes for nearly a decade
The realities of pregnancy, postpartum, and emergency C-sections with Type 1 diabetes
Kenna's experience navigating miscarriage with Type 1 diabetes and the message she wants other women to hear

WHAT’S NEXT:
📲Follow Kenna's journey with T1D + motherhood on IG!

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: hello@riseyhealth.com   
IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If Kenna's story made you feel less alone in the parts of T1D you've never spoken about, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with this can find the support they deserve.

Last week, Lauren went for a 30-minute run and left her phone at home.
No CGM. No way to check her blood sugar. Just two glucose tablets in her pocket, a plan she trusted, and confidence in the patterns she'd learned about her body.
For most people living with Type 1 diabetes, our phones are never more than an arm's length away. They're where our CGM lives, where we bolus insulin, and how we make hundreds of diabetes decisions every day. While that technology is incredible, it can also make it difficult to truly disconnect.
In this impromptu solo episode, Lauren reflects on what happened when she intentionally stepped away from her diabetes technology for just 30 minutes. She shares the blood sugar strategy that made it possible, why the experience felt surprisingly emotional, and the question she's now asking herself and every person living with T1D:
When was the last time you intentionally spent 30 minutes away from your diabetes technology?

WHAT WE COVER:
What We Cover:
The blood sugar strategy Lauren used before heading out for her run
Why leaving her phone behind felt both scary and incredibly freeing
How learning your body's patterns builds confidence beyond your CGM
The difference between using diabetes technology as a tool versus relying on it as a crutch
A simple challenge to help you build more confidence in your own diabetes management

WHAT’S NEXT:

📱 The Risely App is here! Get support for the 180+ decisions you make every day, so you can build confidence with T1D without your life revolving around it. 

🧠 Discover Your T1D Archetype! Take the free quiz to understand the pattern behind how you think, respond, and make decisions with T1D. 

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.

📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: hello@riseyhealth.com   

IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW

If this episode made you want to challenge yourself to be a little more present with T1D, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with this disease can find it.