In this powerful episode, Risely coaching graduate Mary McCauley shares her story of being misdiagnosed with Type 2 diabetes when she was actually living with adult-onset Type 1 (LADA). From being dismissed by doctors to ending up in DKA and sent home with no insulin, her story highlights just how dangerous misdiagnosis can be. Mary opens up about the emotional toll, the turning point of finally receiving the correct diagnosis, and the journey of reclaiming confidence and ownership over her health. If you’ve ever felt dismissed, unsure of your diagnosis, or like something just isn’t adding up, this episode will empower you to ask the hard questions and trust your gut. You deserve to be heard, supported, and correctly diagnosed.

Quick Takeaways:

• Navigating misdiagnosis
• The damage of stereotypes & importance of diabetes education throughout the entire world: medical bias is real
• Impact of the gaps in our healthcare system on people living with type 1 diabetes
• How the right support can change everything

Timestamps:

• [03:11] Mary’s journey begins: The first signs that something wasn’t right
• [04:00] “I will never know actually when this journey started or how long my honeymoon phase really has been.”
• [08:22] "I was labeled as non-compliant during that time."
• [10:05] “I still had never talked to an endocrinologist, like an actual endocrinologist, nobody had ever explained to me what all of this meant.”
• [10:44] “I went home and I didn't ever test my blood sugar again. Because that's what I was told.”
• [17:10] The ER experience: Misdiagnosis & dismissal
• [19:00] "I was losing my vision, what's happening?"
• [27:09] Finally receiving the correct diagnosis
• [29:53] “Being a LADA type one, it can feel a lot like you're in limbo.”
• [42:55] Advice for someone who thinks they have been misdiagnosed
• [48:09] "You don't have to suffer more to be valid."
• [50:58] “When we know better, we do better.”

What to do now:

1. Follow me @lauren_bongiorno and @riselyhealth on Instagram to stay in the loop when new episodes drop.
2. Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve.

In this week’s episode, Lauren sits down with Alison Abate Black, a graduate of the DCB coaching program and a Type 1 diabetic of 25 years, for a deeply honest conversation about the fine line between grace and avoidance. Alison opens up about her journey from “winging it” with her diabetes to building real confidence with food—and how food freedom, while empowering at first, eventually started pulling her away from the goals that mattered most. Together, they explore what it means to give yourself too much grace, and how compassion without intention can become a quiet form of self-sabotage. As Alison prepares for pregnancy, she’s learning to redefine grace—not as permission to stay stuck, but as conscious, aligned choices that support her vision for long-term health. This episode is a powerful reminder that transformation isn’t a clean before-and-after—it’s a living, breathing process. If you’ve ever asked yourself whether the self-love you’re practicing is truly serving you, this conversation will meet you right where you are.

Quick Takeaways:

• Finding Balance: Weight, Health, and Happiness
• Navigating Emotional Eating and Food Freedom
• Hidden Forms of Self-Sabotage

Timestamps:

• [03:09] What inspired Lauren to have Alison on: “just because I can dose for it doesn't mean that's what I need all the time.”
• [04:11] The beginning of Alison’s T1D journey
• [04:39] “I never had a deep sense of control…’
• [05:26] “I kind of was like a status quo diabetic, but it always felt like I wanted to be more than that.”
• [09:58] Emotional eating: “So I would eat and that would make me feel better…”
• [11:50] What managing eating a challenging meal looks like NOW
• [16:04] “... Really it's like the diabetes version of a diet trap, right?”
• [20:48] Relatability over advice
• [21:55] What sustainable changes she made to lower her A1C in the low 6.0’s for the last year & a half
• [23:38] The conversations around pregnancy that completely changed her perspective

What to do now:

1. Follow me @lauren_bongiorno and @riselyhealth on Instagram to stay in the loop when new episodes drop.
2. Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve.

Episode Summary:

In this week’s episode, we’re joined by someone incredibly close to the Risely heart. Bianca Volpetti, from our enrollment team was diagnosed with T1D diagnosis at age 31, just weeks before her wedding. Even though her sister had been living with T1D since childhood and she was in the best shape of her life, Bianca’s diagnosis completely rocked her world. Because matter how “healthy” or informed you are, diabetes changes everything. Like many of us, she tried to DIY her way through it… and learned the hard way just how isolating and overwhelming that path can be. Today, Bianca opens up about her lowest moments, what finally pushed her to say yes to support, and how coaching helped her not just stabilize her numbers—but truly reclaim her life. If you’ve been stuck in the belief that you should be able to figure this out on your own, this conversation is a powerful reminder that you don’t have to wait until rock bottom to rise.

Quick Takeaways:

• The importance of seeking support with your T1D (beyond your loved ones)
• How T1D impacts your personal relationships
• Navigating an adult diagnosis
• Accepting the help you need

Timestamps:

• [03:20] Receiving her T1D diagnosis at 31 years old
• [05:38] “I was in the ICU for four or five days and that is where my journey started.”
• [07:08] Growing up with a T1D sibling/ family member
• [10:51] Finding Risely… with a plot twist
• [16:24] Hitting her breaking point & deciding it was time for help
• [31:33] “We kind of allow ourselves to accept mediocrity because we have type one and… this is just how life has to be because I have this... We don't deserve to accept that.”
• [33:25] The most common blocks Bianca hears from other T1Ds
• [34:32] Believing in yourself
• [38:15] Advice for someone on the fence about getting support

What to do now:

1. Follow me @lauren_bongiorno and @riselyhealth on Instagram to stay in the loop when new episodes drop.
2. Apply for coaching and talk to our team so you can reclaim the life you deserve.