Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

Rafael Pepen was diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes at 17, right in the middle of rehearsing for his very first musical in the Dominican Republic. Without access to a CGM or carb counting education, he learned to manage largely on instinct. Years later, he moved to the US, pursued his dream of performing professionally, and eventually landed at Disney, where he now performs five high cardio shows a day.
In this episode, Rafael sits down with Lauren to talk about what it actually looks like to manage T1D in a life that never slows down. He shares the months of burnout, panic attacks around lows, and constant roller coaster blood sugars that led him to seek coaching, and what shifted on the other side of that.

WHAT WE COVER:
What it was like to be diagnosed at 17 in the Dominican Republic with limited access to education, CGMs, or carb counting guidance
The unique challenge of managing T1D across five high cardio shows a day and why it is a completely different beast from a traditional performance schedule
The moment things started to unravel at Disney and what five months of daily lows, panic attacks, and burnout actually felt like from the inside
What shifted when Rafael started working with a Risely coach and the tools that made the biggest difference for his day to day management
The emotional side of T1D that most people never talk about, including what it felt like to cry during a low and the moment that started to change
What Rafael is still working toward and the one thing he wants most from his relationship with diabetes going forward

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. 
📊 Diabetes burnout is real, and it can show up in ways you don’t always expect. Take the Diabetes Distress assessment and see where you score.
💻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: [email protected]   

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

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If Rafael's story made you feel less alone in the harder seasons of T1D, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with this disease can find it.

In this solo episode, Lauren breaks down one of the most common and frustrating T1D scenarios: correcting and still running high. She starts by validating why it's so hard, and how it’s not necessarily because of the high itself, but because of the "boomerang decision" it creates. 
Lauren walks through the exact decision framework she uses with clients at Risely to think through this scenario clearly. From checking your insulin timing and ruling out a site issue to widening the lens on what else might be driving resistance. The goal isn't just to fix the high. It's to build the muscle of thinking through situations like this so they get easier every time. She also shares how the Risely app's Decision Domains feature brings this kind of framework to life, with voice notes and written breakdowns for the real scenarios T1Ds face every day.

WHAT WE COVER:
Why correcting and staying high feels so frustrating and why the gap between what you expected and what happened is the hardest part
The urge to rage bolus, why it backfires, and what to do instead
Checking the timing of your correction and understanding your insulin action window
Why ruling out a pump site issue comes first, and how to know when changing your site is worth it even if you're not sure it's the problem
Widening the lens to consider fat, protein, stress, illness, and sedentary days as hidden drivers of insulin resistance
How to use movement to activate insulin on board before reaching for more
When to look at your correction factors versus treating this as a one-time scenario
How decision frameworks reduce the energy drain of T1D over time, and how the newly launched Risely app brings this to life through Decision Domains

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.
📊 Diabetes burnout is real, and it can show up in ways you don’t always expect. Take the Diabetes Distress assessment and see where you score.
💻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: [email protected]   

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

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode gave you a clearer way to think through the next time you're stuck high after a correction, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find it.

About a month ago, Lauren went through a two week stretch of crazy work hours, disrupted sleep, missed workouts, and a few sick days. Her time in range started slipping and she had to figure out how to navigate it in real time.
In this solo episode, she walks through exactly what happened, how she recognized her insulin sensitivity was changing, and the three options she always considers when life throws her off routine. Because waiting for perfect conditions to come back is never the answer.

WHAT WE COVER:
The first sign Lauren noticed that told her her insulin sensitivity was dropping 
The three options available when your insulin sensitivity changes
How Lauren used a hybrid of all three approaches to get her time in range from 65% back up to 80% during a chaotic two week stretch
The difference between temporary insulin resistance and a long term foundational shift in your sensitivity and how to know which one you are dealing with
What factortends to creep up when you are out of your routine and how it impacts your insulin sensitivity more than most people realize
How hormones, sleep, stress, illness, and exercise all play a role in shifting your sensitivity and what to do about each one
What parents of children with T1D need to know about insulin sensitivity changes during puberty

WHAT’S NEXT:

🧠 Discover Your T1D Archetype! Take the free quiz to understand the pattern behind how you think, respond, and make decisions with T1D.
🏋️ Join our upcoming free live workshop to discover smarter, more strategic way to work out with T1D, while staying in range. Two timessessions available on Tuesday, May 12th.
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
📧Join 20+ thousand T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   
IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode gave you a clearer way to think through what is happening with your blood sugars when life gets in the way, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find it.

In this episode, Lauren walks through a recent day in Florida where a combination of late night pizza, an exhausting night with a newborn, a long tennis session without enough food, and a handful of chips sent her on a full day roller coaster that ended with a scary low at dinner.
Lauren shares the five things she always does to reset physically and mentally following a tough blood sugar day, and why how you respond matters just as much as what caused it in the first place.

WHAT WE COVER:
First and foremost: EVERY T1D has bad blood sugar days, what matters is how you respond 
How to get to a place where these days are more rare then they are normal   
Lauren’s five steps for overcoming a bag blood sugar day 
Why reflecting on these days is important & how to stop procrastinating it 
Recognizing low TIR days as data to move forward *instead of* a reflection of failure 
Why communicating with the people around you on bad blood sugar days matters and how to ask for what you actually need

WHAT’S NEXT:

🧠 Discover Your T1D Archetype! Take the free quiz to understand the pattern behind how you think, respond, and make decisions with T1D.
📊 Diabetes burnout is real, and it can show up in ways you don’t always expect. Take the Diabetes Distress assessment and see where you score.
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
📧Join 20+ thousand T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   
IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode helped you feel less alone after a tough blood sugar day and gave you something to reach for the next time one happens, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with T1D can find it.

On April 3rd, in the middle of a regular workday, Lauren's CGM read 245 with double arrows up. She did not feel high. She bolused anyway. Twenty minutes later she was on her kitchen floor, chugging orange juice, with her blood sugar in the 30s, headed down fast. Her CGM had been over 100 points off.
In this solo episode, Lauren shares exactly what happened that day, why it scared her in a way that CGM issues never had before, and what she believes needs to change in the conversation around CGM accuracy. She also talks about how to hold gratitude for the technology that keeps us alive while still being honest about its limitations and why trusting your instincts and finger pricking more often might be the most important PSA she can share right now.

WHAT WE COVER:
How Lauren’s CGM was recently over 100 points off, and why it led to one of the worst lows she has had in years
The three issues she noticed immediately after switching to the Dexcom G7 last August and how they evolved over time
Why she believes you can hold gratitude for diabetes technology in one hand and frustration in the other at the same time
What she would do differently next time
The PSA every person with T1D needs to hear about finger pricking and what happens when you override your own instincts

WHAT’S NEXT:

🧠 Discover Your T1D Archetype! Take the free quiz to understand the pattern behind how you think, respond, and make decisions with T1D.
📊 Diabetes burnout is real, and it can show up in ways you don’t always expect. Take the Diabetes Distress assessment and see where you score.
💻Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve with T1D.
📧Join 20+ thousand T1Ds reading our newsletter every Tuesday: T1D tips and encouragement, straight to your inbox.

Stay connected with us: 
Email us at: [email protected]   
IG: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
TikTok: @lauren_bongiorno | @riselyhealth
YT: Reclaim Your Rise 

SUBSCRIBE & REVIEW
If this episode made you feel less alone in the frustrating and sometimes scary reality of managing T1D with imperfect technology, subscribe and leave a review so more people living with this disease can find it.