Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno

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.

When your child's CGM alarms at 2 a.m., does your body go into panic mode before your brain has a chance to think?
If you're raising a child with Type 1 diabetes, you know the constant mental load. The carb counting, the overnight alarms, the second guessing, and the pressure to get every decision right.
In this episode, Lauren and Risely’s Director of Coaching, Abby Cooper, sit down after spending  three days at the Friends for Life Conference to share the seven things they wish every T1D caregiver knew. Not carb ratios or pump settings, but the beliefs, nervous system patterns, and relationship dynamics that quietly shape everything about how T1D feels to manage as a family. Including why shielding your child from the burden of this disease can work against them, why your nervous system matters just as much as their blood sugar, and why time and happiness deserves just as much weight as time in range.

WHAT WE COVER:
Highlights from the Orlando Friends for Life Conference
The surprising difference between teaching diabetes management and helping your child build a healthy relationship with diabetes
Why your child's nervous system often mirrors yours, and practical ways to stay regulated during stressful diabetes moments
The mistake many parents make when trying to "protect" their child from diabetes, and how to build confidence through age-appropriate independence
How diabetes quietly creates resentment between partners, and the conversation most couples never realize they need to have
Why T1D Facebook groups can leave parents feeling more anxious than informed, and how to know when it's time to step away
Why one family with 93% Time in Range still felt like they were losing, and the powerful concept of Time in Happiness that completely reframes success as a T1D caregiver

WHAT’S NEXT:
🎓 August 4th and 5th Free Live Workshop: How to Stop Letting T1D Run Your Family's Life Without Second-Guessing Every Decision or Living in Fear. Register for free here: [LINK]
📱 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 less alone in the weight of T1D parenting, subscribe and leave a review so more caregivers can find it.