Transform from isolated and overwhelmed to supported and in control of your diabetes.
Apply today
Our coaching philosophy: Yes, we want to help you lower your A1C, but we also want to help you radically experience ownership of your life again. Because when our health transforms, so does everything else—our relationships, our time, our careers, and most importantly, ourselves.
Up and down blood sugar numbers
Finding empowerment with your relationship to T1D
Lack of confidence in your insulin dosing
Overwhelm—you don’t know where to start to take control and operate more proactively
It's truly a game changer when you have tactical and emotional support, personalized guidance, and tools to feel confident as an individual, and as a T1D.
You're a woman on a mission to take control of her T1D.
You have an open mind and heart, ready to prioritize yourself.
You are craving accountability and community to help move you towards your goals.
You have the desire and willingness to be better than you were the day before.
You see the value in being surrounded by like minded people who get it.
You know working on your mindset is just as important as working on the numbers.
We work with you on everything from understanding your blood sugar patterns, knowing when and why to make changes, menstrual cycle resistance and sensitivity, tools to feel balanced with nutrition, relationship to self/family/work, energy maintenance and emotional regulation, weight and body image, relationship to food, nailing exercise blood sugar numbers, and transforming your mindset.
By applying for this program, you are saying that you are ready to make T1D a priority, and don't want to have to keep trying to do it alone.
And it’s not one you are doing alone.
Lauren Bongiorno is the Founder and CEO of Risely Health. When Lauren was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 7 years old, the cure was “just around the corner.” As she grew up, she and her family quickly realized that they couldn’t sit around and wait for that day to figure out how to live a full life despite diabetes.
Lauren’s pivotal moment in her own T1D journey was when she was a junior in college, and was celebrated by her doctor for achieving a 5.7 A1C, even though she didn’t feel healthy or happy in her own body.
In that moment, she realized that success with diabetes is commonly viewed only as a set of numbers, and that it doesn’t take into account personal relationships with food, body, mental health, and each person’s unique needs, lifestyles, and patterns.
From there, Lauren went on to find empowerment in her life by creating more awareness of her mindset and behaviors and how they connected to diabetes. Once she brought all of these pieces together, everything in life shifted.
Lauren ultimately became a National Board-Certified Health Coach to help other people with type 1 diabetes create transformative outcomes for themselves. She has been able to see what’s missing in the traditional diabetes management model. And fill that gap.
Lauren lives on Long Island, New York, where she runs the company, spends time with her family, and stays active by finding all kinds of activities to challenge her body and keep it moving. Someday, she hopes to visit Peru, to see where her grandfather grew up.
Since 2015, Lauren’s company has directly supported more than 5,000 people and families impacted by diabetes, and she’s just getting started.
Jess is the Director of Coaching and Enrollment at Risely Health. She is a firm believer that strength, balance, mindset, and support are all necessary parts of creating a life you love.
Jess was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 15, and she struggled as she tried to adjust to a life that was radically different from what she had experienced so far. She was focused on not being any different than her peers and that mindset continued as she went to college, where her diabetes management was erratic and her endocrinologist said she was in “a rebellious phase.”
Then, her best friend received a diagnosis of cancer, and Jess turned her attention into being a caregiver, further ignoring diabetes and self-care.
After her friend’s recovery, Jess stopped to take a look at her own health and realized that it was finally time to take charge of her life. She started to make small changes to her eating and exercise habits, and let diabetes be at the center more often.
Now, Jess is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach and a certified personal trainer. She is passionate about helping individuals thrive with diabetes, especially those who are interested in experiencing a healthy T1D pregnancy.
Playing a role in Risely Health’s vision of giving unconditional support to real people and disrupting the healthcare system is what drives Jess today. She loves her work, is a proud mom, and is taking care of her diabetes. Her ultimate goal is to empower others to live the lives that they’re meant to live and help them get there.
Jess lives in New Jersey and dreams of traveling to all of the continents and riding in a hot air balloon. You can often find her swinging kettlebells, doing yoga, hiking, or training for half marathons.
“Now,” she says, “I feel like I can take on anything.”
Trista is a National Board-Certified health coach who cares deeply about helping people to grow and change through the cultivation of self compassion. She loves to meet people in the moment and support them no matter where they are in their journey or where they want to go.
Her own journey overcoming hormone imbalances, insulin resistance, and relationship with food inspires her work with clients every day, and her work as an educator and learning specialist led her naturally into a role as a coach in our Family programs.
Trista was born and raised in Vermont, where she developed an appreciation for the outdoors and healthy living. She credits her young diabetes confidence to the support she received from her father, who also lives with T1D. She had an active childhood that evolved into college athletics, traveling abroad, and interning for a women-owned business in Uganda.
Even though Trista grew up with a father who also had T1D, she still struggled with a lot of challenges around blood sugars, self acceptance, and hormones during important years of her childhood and adolescence. Having been both a player and a coach; a student and an educator; and a coaching client of Lauren Bongiorno in 2017, over time Trista realized her true passion was applying her skills to coaching women and families of children with T1D.
Trista now lives in Massachusetts where she enjoys walking, hiking, yoga, pilates, and strength training. She is also a certified yoga instructor and is a National Board-Certified Health Coach. She dreams of visiting all 50 states someday.
Trista believes in the power of the coaching dynamic to help people overcome T1D challenges, create sustainable change, and infuse self-confidence and independence along the way.
Stacy is a believer in the power of knowledge, community, and relationships.
She was diagnosed with type 1 Diabetes at age 37; by this time, she had already started a family and established a career path. She found that juggling a new diagnosis, advancing in her career, and raising her children was intensely difficult.
In an effort to understand how to better manage her own T1D, she began studying nutrition and joined the Decide and Conquer Bootcamp. The DCB strengthened her belief that connection with coaches and fellow diabetics makes facing health challenges less overwhelming and provides the necessary encouragement we need as T1Ds to thrive.
After receiving a master’s degree in Nutrition, Stacy used her new education and her personal experience to start a small catering business, aimed at providing healthy meal alternatives for busy professionals. Stacy is now a National Board Certified Health Coach with a B.A. in Communication Studies from the University of Kansas and an M.S. in Health and Nutrition Education from Hawthorn University.
Stacy lives in Loveland, Colorado, where she loves to walk with her pup and do strength training. She is also an HR professional and a Jayhawk! Someday she plans to hike a 14er.
Stacy is committed to the idea that we are better together than we are on our own.
Jehan's passions in coaching include supporting people with diverse backgrounds and socioeconomic statuses, helping fellow moms prioritize their care, and being open and vulnerable with those that love you.
After being diagnosed at age 10, Jehan was blessed to grow up in a positive environment with supportive friends and family- even giving her nighttime injections at sleepovers! Growing up, Jehan and her family actively engaged in fundraising for a cure for diabetes and even met Miss America Nicole Johnson who has T1D. But like many, she still struggled with the mental load of diabetes, always trying to hide her struggles and put on a happy face for family and friends when inside, Jehan was suffering.
Jehan carried these feelings into adulthood, until finally opening up about the mental, physical, and emotional toll diabetes had on her, 24 years later. As a mom, she knew she had to prioritize her diabetes if she wanted to take care of her family – especially her husband and daughters who mean everything to her.
Before coaching, Jehan worked in the corporate world in HR and training. After having her first daughter, Jehan decided to shift to be a stay-at-home-mom. After a while, she knew she wanted to help people with type 1 diabetes as a career.
After going through Risely’s Group Coaching program, Jehan was inspired to pursue health coaching after her own personal transformation.
She currently lives in Pittsburgh with her husband of over 10 years and their two daughters. Outside of coaching, Jehan enjoys learning new skills in the kitchen, live music, staying active, car sing-alongs and eating al fresco. She hopes to learn Arabic with her daughters someday. She is currently working towards her NBHWC.
After graduating with a Bachelor's degree in Public Health, Emily continued her search for her passions. Less than a year after graduating, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at age 23. After getting acquainted with others in the diabetes community, she found that the procedures and education provided for adults diagnosed with T1D were far less detailed than for children diagnosed.
In the face of underwhelming support from her healthcare team, she immersed herself in diabetes education materials and resources to learn how to manage her new condition without sacrificing the lifestyle she enjoyed. She formed a new care team with healthcare professionals who better supported her. However, even with guidance from the best in the field, she felt there was still a gap in the system where support was lacking.
Her newfound passion for diabetes led her to search for a career in diabetes care. Emily found Lauren and Risely’s social media pages and felt drawn to start her journey to become a health coach. The coaching industry fills the gap in the healthcare system that she discovered. She set out to become the additional support between doctor visits to help empower individuals to achieve their health and wellness goals.
Emily added formal education to her independent learning after graduating from a diabetes specialty care company's NBHWC-approved training program. She will sit for the National Board Certification exam this fall. Working as a coach further proved to her the value a coach adds to an individual's health journey when paired to complement other healthcare professionals.
Emily's passion lies in helping others achieve simple and sustainable goals to manage diabetes more easily and enjoy life fully. She continues to seek guidance from professionals like dietitians, coaches, and therapists to foster a healthy relationship with her body, food, and diabetes management.
Emily lives in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex with her husband. Outside of coaching, Emily enjoys exercising, cooking, playing board games, and traveling. Emily and her husband are paragliding pilots and spend their free time and vacations exploring different parts of the world. She dreams of visiting the Alps to paraglide where the sport was born.
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Tera has over 25 years of experience as a registered dietitian. She is also a National Board-Certified health coach. In recent years, Tera has focused her career on diabetes care and education. She is a certified diabetes care and education specialist (CDCES) and is currently working toward a Master’s degree in Diabetes Education and Management from Columbia University.
Tera is passionate about helping people pursue wellness in their own lives. She believes that true wellness is a balance between the physical, emotional, and spiritual components of a person. This balance will look different for each person and may change throughout different phases of life.
Tera strives to honor clients as experts in their own lives and affirm their many strengths. Her goal as a coach is to offer an open and supportive partnership that can foster growth and change.
Tera lives in North Carolina. She has four grown children and is enjoying the empty nest phase of life with her husband. Outside of coaching, Tera spends her time hiking, traveling, collecting local pottery, and appreciating time with her family.
So that you could come out on the other side with more intuition and self-sufficiency.
So that you could walk around with your head held high, confident in your own understanding of your body.
So that you could connect with other women with T1D around the possibility of change.
So that you could feel guided and supported… throughout the entire process.
If you have googled + educated yourself on different tips, but have trouble bringing it all together and applying it to your own body....
This is about unlocking your potential.
Bringing all the pieces together.
Enhancing how you live your life.
The DCB will change your life, in ways you didn't expect. It's not just better numbers, it's a complete overhaul, at your pace.
Group coaching is completely different from anything else - it puts the power back in our hands. I loved the accountability with the community experience, the group calls, and how responsive the coaches were throughout. This program is truly life changing. I only wish I had found it sooner!
I never realized how much you could bond with strangers you met over the internet in a matter of months! Lauren and Jess are not only highly qualified, but they're T1Ds too and this makes a huge HUGE difference!
Before joining, most of my days felt like I was battling with my diabetes.Now, it doesn't feel like such a battle. These 3 months were filled with support, encouragement, and incredible coaching that gave me tools I will use for the rest of my life.
You’re frustrated with how much diabetes interferes with your life.
You're tired of your numbers going up and down so much.
Straying from your routine creates fear and anxiety.
You crave more high level attention from your doctor.
You keep telling yourself you should be able to figure this out on your own.
You don't want to feel so lost and alone in this.
You think about how much happier you'd be if the diabetes piece just felt easier.
Life with more clarity and freedom.
Confidence in blood sugars, both in and out of routine.
Less guessing with insulin dosing and corrections.
Better understanding of the roles certain habits, food & exercise play into insulin resistance + sensitivity.
Improving your blood sugar control doesn't feel so hard anymore.
No more sacrificing good blood sugar numbers OR the food you love.
Have your entire perspective flipped on how to live confidently with diabetes.
If you don’t take action today, you’ll likely feel the exact same way you in:
3 months...
6 months...
1 year...
+ Get personalized step-by- step support for A1C and Time in Range.
+ Improve blood sugars in a sustainable way.
+ Have in depth strategies you can use long after the DCB ends that goes way beyond "better carb counting."
+ Gain clarity around how nutrition, exercise, insulin resistance, and hormones are affecting your blood sugars.
+Have the accountability and support to trial new tools.
+ Learn how to listen to your body vs telling it what to do.
+ Become more confident in owning your T1D.
+ Reduce anxiety + fear around when things go wrong.
+ Have a healthier relationship with food (and carbs!).
+ Learn how to make peace with the negative voice in your head.
+ Learn how to break out of old cycles holding you back.
+ A guarantee that other areas outside your diabetes management will improve moving forward because of this work.
+ A space for like minded T1D women to come together and bond over their challenges and growth.
+ Accountability groups based on common interests.
+ When the DCB ends, you can take part in our Alumni community.
Join for three months of coaching, guidance, and accountability, getting direct coaching from all 4 coaches while connecting with other T1D women just like you.
7 LIVE group coaching calls taking you through the DCB programming and 6 additional small group coaching support calls. An option to add on three 1:1 calls during your enrollment call.
Join for three months of coaching, guidance, and accountability, getting direct coaching from all 4 coaches while connecting with other T1D women just like you.
We equip you with some of the best resources necessary to make sure you feel supported + succeed in reaching your goals. While you’re in the bootcamp, you’ll have access to additional video trainings and supplemental guides.
The first step is the decision. Then, we help you conquer the challenges you're aware of, and the ones that will creep up along the way. This group coaching program was created to give you the guidance, support, and accountability you need as someone with T1D.
Apply today
🎉 95% of DCB’s last graduating class gave the program an 8/10 or higher.
🎉 100% of graduates would recommend this program to another T1D.
🎉 Over 93% of our graduates have reported a drop in their A1C.
🎉 More than 75% of our most recent graduates reported 70% time in range or higher for their 30 day average.
“This program is a lifelong resource, and is one of the greatest investments that I could have made for my life, my health and my future as a mom. All of the coaches provided support, education, knowledge, help and love to every member of the DCB individually. Over the last 3 months, I lowered my A1C from 7.0 to 6.4, increased time in range by 10%, and I know that what I have learned will stick with me forever."
“Aside from lowering my A1c from a 7.4 to a 6.7, I have never felt so empowered and confident and in control of my body and how I am feeling. I am no longer exhausted from being on a rollercoaster and losing sleep from constant alarms and am able to think more clearly with no brain fog. My heart is grateful for this experience and my life will forever be changed. Simply thankful. ”
"Everything changed for me through group coaching. It gave me space to work through anxiety I was having before and feel less frustrated and more confident and supported. My A1c is down from 7.0 to 6.3, and my time in range started 64%, and is now 87%! I can't believe who I am now versus the person I was three months ago."
If you know you need this program, then fill out the application below. We will review each application individually, and if we feel you would be a good fit, we'll email you within 48 business hours to schedule an enrollment call. We're so looking forward to potentially working with you!
At the root, health coaching helps you get “unstuck” by helping you develop the tools and strategies to become aware of your blocks and patterns so that you can move forward towards the vision you have for yourself.
Risely’s coaching methodology is rooted in behavior change, published research, and our own internal client data collection. We focus on putting you in the driver’s seat and working alongside you to identify the gaps in your knowledge, give you the accountability and relatability you need, and help you with implementation and creating sustainable change.
Yes it’s about helping you improve your blood sugars, but it’s also about helping you discover who you can be when diabetes isn’t in the way.
Risely services are not a substitute for licensed healthcare providers and do not replace medical care.
We work with you on everything from understanding your individual body’s specific blood sugar patterns and knowing when and why to make certain changes, to menstrual cycle resistance and sensitivity, nutritional balance, your relationships with self/family/work/food, insulin resistance, energy maintenance and emotional regulation, weight and body image, sleep, nailing exercise blood sugar numbers, and mindset transformation.
Risely services are not a substitute for licensed healthcare providers and do not replace medical care.
As coaches our role is to empower you with tools, mindset shifts, and behavior change to improve your diabetes management. We don’t prescribe a specific plan for you to follow. Instead, we help you determine sustainable habits that support your mind, body and lifestyle and help you navigate past roadblocks that have kept you from feeling truly confident in your life with diabetes.
Risely services are not a substitute for licensed healthcare providers and do not replace medical care.
All coaching calls are on Zoom and we use Slack for communication, coaching, and support in between calls. The exact schedule is sent out to clients who enroll and traditionally our calls take place on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. All calls are recorded, so you can replay a session if you were unable to attend or want to look back on a certain topic. We’ve had clients join the DCB in all different time zones from Australia, Europe, and all across the U.S.
All coaches on our team are Nationally Board Certified Health Coaches (NBHWC), trained and credited through a program that collaborates with the National Board of Medical Examiners (NBME).
Risely services are not a substitute for licensed healthcare providers and do not replace medical care.
You can visit the Testimonials page under the Company tab to hear from other people who have gone through our coaching programs. They all started out just where you are now and trusted their intuition that was telling them to apply.
Our program does not focus specifically on weight loss. However, many clients in our program report “losing weight with so much more ease” because of improved blood sugar control and overall focus on healthy habits.
Yes, with a diagnosis of diabetes, you can use HSA dollars to pay for Cornerstone Classes and coaching programs.
