Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

In this episode, Lauren sits down with Dara Melnick, a licensed therapist who has lived with T1D for 38 years, to talk about the side of “good” diabetes management beyond the numbers.
Dara spent years trying to keep her numbers as perfect as possible. She tested her blood sugar up to 30 times a day before CGMs, developed strict rules around food, and eventually stopped eating breakfast to avoid the spike. Her A1C looked great, but managing T1D was exhausting. 
Through Risely coaching, Dara learned how to loosen those rules without sacrificing the blood sugars she had worked so hard for. Today, she has a 5.7 A1C while eating based on what her body is asking for, salmon and sourdough or Cheez-Its and pretzels.
Lauren and Dara also get into what 38 years with T1D has taught Dara as a therapist, a mom, and a woman, from using the “power of the pause” when diabetes goes sideways to why asking for help can be one of the most powerful things you do for yourself.

WHAT WE COVER:
How trying to keep her blood sugar “perfect” led Dara to a 6.1 A1C, testing up to 30 times a day, and eventually skipping breakfast altogether
The Risely secrets that helped Dara go from strict food rules to a 5.7 A1C while eating what she craved, when she craved it
When “good” diabetes management crosses the line into diabetes controlling your life
What led Dara to ask for help even though she’s a licensed therapist who’d managed T1D for decades
The “power of the pause” and how Dara uses it to respond instead of react to CGM readings
What T1D has taught Dara about raising her 10 and 13-year-old kids, including the lesson they learned when she suddenly went low on a family hike

WHAT’S NEXT:

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
🛒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 Dara’s story made you realize you can have great blood sugars without letting T1D dictate when, what, and how you eat, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find it.

In this episode of Reclaim Your Rise, Lauren sits down with Kelsey Lynn Stokes and Francesca Spinello, co-founders of Calycanthus Lingerie, a company creating feminine, functional insulin pump holders for women who wear tubed pumps.
Kelsey’s story with Risely started years before Calycanthus existed. After living with T1D since age 13, she came to Risely at one of her lowest points with diabetes. Through 1:1 coaching, she brought her A1C from 8.1% to 6.3% and began changing her relationship with T1D.
Now, she’s taking an insecurity she remembers having as a 22-year-old woman starting on an insulin pump and turning it into something that gives other women more choice in how they dress, date, celebrate, and express themselves.
Plus, Kelsey takes us behind the scenes of her career in film and television as a script supervisor, and how living with T1D has given her a unique perspective on diabetes representation on screen.

WHAT WE COVER:
How Kelsey went from an 8.1 A1C and nearly in tears asking for help to a 6.3 and building a company for the T1D community
The heartbreaking question Kelsey asked the night before getting her first insulin pump at 22
How losing a dress on a train in Italy eventually led to a patented product for women with T1D
Why Kelsey once wondered, “Who’s going to love me if I have this on?” and the emotional side of wearing an insulin pump while dating and being intimate
The difference between hiding your diabetes and simply not wanting it to be the first thing people see
What TV gets painfully wrong about T1D, from someone who works behind the scenes
Why Kelsey says her 13-year-old self would have been “less scared” if she could see her life now

CONNECT WITH KELSEY + CALYCANTHUS:
Kelsey Lynn Stokes(founder): @thewanderingdiabetic
Calicanthus Lingerie: @calycanthuslingerie
Shop Products

WHAT’S NEXT:
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
🛒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 Kelsey’s story made you want to stop letting T1D call the shots, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find it.

Jasmine Jones was five months into treatment for an aggressive form of breast cancer when she ended up in the ICU with DKA and heard another life-changing diagnosis: Type 1 diabetes.
As a CrossFit athlete, coach, and military veteran who had always built so much of her identity around health and strength, Jasmine suddenly found herself learning how to manage insulin while she was still going through chemotherapy.
In this episode, Jasmine sits down with Lauren to talk about navigating two life-changing diagnoses in less than a year, from being discharged from the hospital scared to give herself insulin and seeing blood sugars in the 300s, to eventually going from 52% time in range to consistently reaching 85–90%. 
She also opens up about rebuilding her relationship to food, , her identity, and how she went  from thinking, “This can’t be life,” to feeling like she was back in the driver’s seat.
This is one of our favorite conversations of the year. Enjoy.

WHAT WE COVER:
How Jasmine was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes just five months after her breast cancer diagnosis, while still undergoing chemotherapy and immunotherapy
What it was like to leave the ICU with a new T1D diagnosis, a sliding scale, and very little understanding of how to actually manage insulin
How Jasmine went from an 8.4 A1C and 52% time in range to 85% consistently, all while still recovering from cancer
The exact mindset shift that took Jasmine from terrified to give herself insulin to confidently adjusting her own settings
What she did to rebuild her confidence with food after a diagnosis sent her relationship with food into a tailspin
Why this lifelong athlete had to completely rethink what “strength” meant after cancer and T1D changed what her body could do
Why Jasmine believes finding people who understand T1D changed the trajectory of her first year with diabetes

WHAT’S NEXT:

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
🛒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 Jasmine's resilience reminded you that you're capable of getting through anything, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find it.

Every pump user knows they should have a backup plan. But how prepared are you actually if your pump stops working tonight?
Lauren found out the hard way when one task she’d been putting off left her without a working pump and scrambling to switch back to injections before bed. What seemed manageable quickly turned into a middle-of-the-night diabetes disaster and a reminder that having backup insulin isn’t the same thing as being prepared to use it.
In this solo episode, Lauren shares what went wrong, what she wishes she had done differently, and the simple backup plan every pump user should have ready before they actually need it. She also gets into the aftermath of a really rough diabetes night and how she moves forward after riding the rollercoaster.

WHAT WE COVER:
How a supply pickup Lauren kept putting off snowballed into a sleepless night fighting blood sugars in the 300s
The small mistake that left Lauren without a working pump at the worst possible time
How a seemingly simple switch back to injections turned into blood sugars nearing 400 overnight
The backup-plan mistake Lauren didn’t realize she’d made until 3 a.m.
The 4 things every pump user should have ready before something goes wrong
How Lauren handles the physical and mental “blood sugar hangover” after a really rough diabetes day

WHAT’S NEXT:

💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
🛒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 Lauren's rough night made you feel less alone in your own messy diabetes days, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find these conversations.

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.