Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

Pregnancy with type 1 diabetes comes with tighter blood sugar targets, changing insulin needs, more appointments, and a whole new level of attention to your diabetes. But what does it actually look like to go through the entire experience?
In this episode, Lauren sits down with Risely Coach Katerina Harmon, who recently welcomed her daughter, Lydia, to talk through her experience from preparing for pregnancy all the way through labor, delivery, breastfeeding, and the first few months postpartum.
Katerina went into pregnancy feeling confident in her diabetes management, with an A1C of 5.9 and months of preparation behind her. But even with that foundation, there was plenty she had to figure out along the way, from insulin needs that changed dramatically throughout pregnancy to advocating for herself, preparing for labor and delivery, and finding a new rhythm with T1D once Lydia was here.

WHAT WE COVER:
What Katerina did months before trying to conceive to prepare her blood sugars for pregnancy
How her insulin needs changed throughout each trimester
Why knowing how to recognize patterns and confidently adjust insulin became so important
Katerina’s experience using manual mode during much of her pregnancy
Advocating for yourself with your endocrinology, MFM, and OB teams
How Katerina prepared her husband to help manage her T1D during labor
Her 44-hour labor, induction, epidural, and four and a half hours of pushing
What happened to her insulin needs after giving birth
Breastfeeding with T1D and navigating postpartum lows
What Katerina wishes women with T1D knew before beginning pregnancy prep

If pregnancy is something you’re thinking about in the next year or two, you’re actively preparing, or you’re already pregnant, this conversation gives you an honest look at what the experience can actually look like with type 1 diabetes.

WHAT’S NEXT:
🤰 Preparing for pregnancy with T1D?
On October 14th, Lauren is working with a small cohort of women with type 1 diabetes who are preparing to get pregnant in 2027/2028. The 12 week group coaching program is designed to help you get your blood sugars ready for pregnancy while building the skills, patterns, and confidence you’ll need to sustain tighter targets through the changes pregnancy can bring.
If you’re interested, apply through the Risely Health Coaching Application and note that you’re specifically interested in the high touch Pregnancy Prep Program.

Stay connected with us: 
📧Join thousands of T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.
Email us at: hello@riseyhealth.com   

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

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
Pregnancy with T1D can come with a lot of “How am I ever going to do this?” If this episode made it feel a little more doable, subscribe and leave a review to help another T1D find it when she needs it.

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.