Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

Kate Makinson has lived with Type 1 diabetes since 7th grade and has spent the last 33 years building a life of absolute adventure. She’s a PE teacher, runner, mountain biker, and someone who has always found a way to figure it out, whether that meant finishing a half marathon with a failing CGM or managing nine days in Europe after her insulin pump broke with nothing but short-acting insulin.
After 12 years away from the diabetes community, raising two kids and focusing on her career, things started changing. When perimenopause hit, the symptoms looked so much like long-term diabetes complications that Kate convinced herself that was exactly what they were. That fear, after three decades of managing T1D with confidence, sent her looking for a T1D community she’d never thought she needed. She found it in Risely's group coaching program, where her average blood sugar dropped from 171 to 155, her time in range climbed from 61% to 75%, and her A1C improved from 7.5 to 6.9. But more than the numbers, Kate walked away with a mindset she hadn't had in years: that no matter what diabetes throws at you, you've got this.

WHAT WE COVER:
The specific habit that helped drop her average blood sugar from 171 to 155 and bring her time in range from 61% to 75%
What it was like to spend nine days in Europe after her insulin pump broke with nothing but short-acting insulin, and how she managed to keep adventuring anyway
How a failing CGM in the first mile of a half marathon forced her to run 13 miles on instinct, gels, and sheer determination
Why perimenopause symptoms convinced her she had long-term diabetes complications
What brought her to Risely coaching after 33 years of managing T1D largely on her own, and why she says it was the support she didn't know she needed
Her best travel tips for flying, international trips, and staying prepared without letting diabetes overthink the adventure

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 feel like the best with T1D really is yet to come, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with this disease can find it.

Chris Roome was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 12 after waking up in the ICU, but for years, managing his T1D wasn’t his priority. Through his teens and early adulthood, he struggled with teenage rebellion, addiction, an A1C of 12, and eventually reached a turning point that changed the course of his life.. Within a year of getting sober, his A1C dropped to under 6.
Today, Chris has completed multiple marathons, 50+ mile ultramarathons, and founded Project InsulNation, an organization leading backcountry expeditions exclusively for adults living with Type 1 diabetes.
In this episode, Chris sits down with Lauren to  share how recovery transformed the way he approached T1D, the exact insulin and fueling strategies he uses during ultra-endurance races, the moment his pump site ripped out halfway through a 50-mile trail run, and why he's on a mission to help more adults with Type 1 diabetes discover they're capable of far more than they've been led to believe

WHAT WE COVER:
What it was like waking up in an ICU at 12, going months without checking his blood sugar, and what finally forced everything to change
The direct connection between getting sober and getting his A1C from a 12 to under 6 in one year
The exact fueling and insulin strategy he uses to run 50-plus miles without his blood sugar crashing
What happened when his insulin pump ripped out in the middle of a race, and how he still crossed the finish line
Why endurance sports gave him a completely different perspective on living with Type 1 diabetes
The inspiration behind Project InsulNation and why he's creating outdoor expeditions specifically for adults with T1D
What it looks like to join a Project InsulNation expedition, and who it's for

WHAT’S NEXT:

🏔️ Interested in joining Chris and Project InsulNation on their August Grand Teton expedition? Learn more and apply at projectinsulnation.com or follow them on Instagram at @project_insulnation.
📱 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 hearing how Chris went from an A1C of 12 and active addiction to running 50-mile races made you rethink what's possible with T1D, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with this disease can find it.

Audrey DeGuerrera was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2022 while working as a management consultant at McKinsey, averaging 80-hour weeks and traveling four days a week. The physical demands were a lot, but it was the mental load of suddenly living with a chronic condition that hit hardest. When she turned to her endocrinologist for support, they offered antidepressants. That's when she started questioning whether the healthcare system was built to actually support people with T1D, or just manage them.
Now pursuing her MBA at Stanford's Graduate School of Business and a former Risely coaching client, Audrey attended this year's American Diabetes Association Scientific Sessions and left with a lot of insights and questions she brought to the conversation. In this episode, she and Lauren dig into why 70% of US counties have no endocrinologist, why only 1 in 4 people with diabetes are meeting their care targets, and why insurance companies aren't incentivized to fix any of it. Audrey also shares what's giving her genuine hope, and why she believes team-based care could be the most important shift the diabetes world makes in the next decade.

WHAT WE COVER:
Being diagnosed with T1D in the middle of 80-hour weeks at McKinsey, and what happened to her insulin needs when she finally left
The statistics from ADA 2026 that stopped Audrey in her tracks
Why the endocrinologist shortage isn't just a rural problem, and who it's actually affecting
The reason insurance companies aren't built to care about your long-term T1D outcomes
The single change Audrey believes could shift the entire diabetes care ecosystem
Where AI fits- and where it doesn't-in the future of T1D care

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 conversation made you feel less alone in your frustration with a medical system that wasn't built for you, subscribe and leave a review so more people with T1D can find it.

Alex Tolwinski… known online as @TypeOneAlexx… built a pretty recognizable T1D presence on social media by doing what everyone told him he couldn’t do: feasting on Crumble cookies, Chinese buffets, and dirty sodas, and posting every blood sugar along the way. But behind the funny viral videos is a guy who spent years feeling completely alone with his diagnosis, and who eventually found his way back through community.
In this episode, Alex joins Lauren to talk about what it actually looks like to live boldly with T1D, why he'll never delete a negative comment, and the moment in college that made him realize he didn't have to figure this out by himself.

In this episode you'll hear:
Why Alex intentionally ate 6 Crumbl Cookies in one sitting, and what happened to his blood sugar afterward
The terrifying 24 mg/dL and 28 mg/dL lows that led to paramedics, police officers, and complete memory loss
What Alex says is the hardest part of Type 1 diabetes (and it’s not high blood sugar)
How Alex handles the comments that claim he doesn't take care of himself
Why he answers "what does reclaiming life with T1D mean to you?" with just one word

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 Alex's story felt like the permission slip you didn't know you needed, subscribe and leave a review so more people find this show.

Argelis Milian Robles was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes in 2025 — alone, without a car, on the brink of losing her job, and managing celiac on top of it all. And that was just the beginning. What came next tested everything she had. Her faith. Her will to stay. Her relationship with her own body.
In this episode, Argelis opens up about the moments that brought her to her lowest point and what it actually took to start building a life she wanted to live… one that includes pancakes, boba, and yellow curry. It's a story about learning to trust yourself when everything falls apart at once.

WHAT WE COVER:
The Sunday morning church visit that ended in the ICU with a blood sugar of 407
What a pituitary brain hemorrhage six months into T1D changed about her insulin resistance, her mental health, and what she wanted for her life
How celiac prepped Argelis to drop her A1C from 13.9 to 5.4 in eight months, and why she doesn't recommend it
Why pancakes, boba, and yellow curry became the goals that mattered most in coaching
The two pages Argelis wrote after the brain hemorrhage that changed the direction of her life

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 you've ever felt like you were figuring out T1D completely on your own, subscribe and leave a review so more people find their way here.