Guest: Cristina Hoyt, MS, CNS
Integrative Clinical Nutritionist and Body Image Coach specializing in functional, neutral nutrition and Health At Every Size principles.

Episode Overview

If you've ever powered through a flare, skipped rest because your calendar was full, or felt guilty for not bouncing back faster, this episode is for you. Cristina Hoyt joins Paige for a conversation that challenges one of the most deeply held beliefs in high-performance culture: that pushing harder is always the answer.

For women managing autoimmune conditions alongside demanding careers and personal responsibilities, the hustle mindset isn't just exhausting. According to Cristina, it may be actively working against the body's ability to heal.

What We Cover

• Why high achievers are often the last people to recognize their body's warning signs, and the real cost of overriding them
• The nervous system's role in autoimmune health and why chronic stress keeps the body in survival mode
• What "slowing down" actually looks like in practice for women who have never given themselves permission to rest
• Why society rewards over-functioning, and how that reward system makes it harder to heal
• How to begin rewiring a hustle-first mindset without abandoning your ambition or identity
• The intelligence of the body and why learning to trust it is one of the most evidence-backed things you can do for your health

Key Takeaways

• Your nervous system cannot tell the difference between a work deadline and a physical threat. Both trigger the same stress response, and for autoimmune patients, that response has consequences.
• Rest is not a reward for productivity. For many women with chronic illness, it is a clinical necessity.
• The habits that earn you praise at work are often the same habits driving your symptom flares.
• Slowing down does not mean opting out of ambition. It means building a sustainable foundation to sustain it.
• Rewiring a hustle-first brain is possible, but it requires support and intention, not more willpower.

About Cristina Hoyt

Cristina Hoyt is an Integrative Clinical Nutritionist and Body Image Coach who helps clients cultivate a positive relationship with food and their body through functional, neutral nutrition and weight-inclusive, non-diet medical nutrition counseling.

• Podcast: Millennial Body Image Project
• Website: cristinahoyt.com
• Instagram: @cristinahoytnutrition

Connect with Paige:

Website: https://www.invisiblyunwell.com

Instagram: @paigelavellofficial
Substack: https://invisiblyunwell.substack.com/

Have questions about the episode, a guest you'd love for me to interview, or a topic you'd like for me to cover? Email me at paige@invisiblyunwell.com

Enjoyed this episode? Follow Invisibly Unwell so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes two minutes and helps this show reach the women who need it most.

Alexa Prass is a Registered Dietitian who combines her personal experience with celiac disease with her education to support people with celiac disease and other medically necessary gluten-free diets. Alexa believes that living a gluten-free life does not have to hold you back and with the right knowledge and support you too can live your best gluten-free life.

She sheds light on what celiac disease is since there is often not much shared online beyond the name of the condition itself and an understanding that it impacts the gastrointestinal system. There are, in fact, over 300 documented symptoms related to celiac disease including migraines and fertility issues. She also shared that if someone is your family has celiac, you are more likely to have the condition yourself. This was the case with Alexa whose father was diagnosed with celiac long before she began showing symptoms herself.

Alexa notes that celiac disease, like every autoimmune condition, is not something that can be self-diagnosed. Removing gluten on your own can actually prevent a proper diagnosis if you have celiac. Patients need gluten in their diet for the intestinal endoscopy and biopsy results to properly confirm the presence of celiac disease. This puts patients in a rather difficult position.

For those who are not allergic to gluten but are trying to reduce or eliminate gluten from their diet for other reasons (e.g. they have Hashimoto's and are curious if removing gluten helps alleviate certain symptoms), Alexa's recommendation is to inform your friends and family why you are removing or reducing gluten to better educate your support system. She also stresses that everything is a result of a dietary and lifestyle pattern as opposed to a one time decision. Eating (or not eating) one type of food on a particular day will not make or break your current diet. For example, not eating fruits and vegetables one day is not going to derail your health. It's all about the big picture.

Alexa also notes that is it difficult for many patients to obtain a referral to a dietician, and those who are able to receive a referral often end up seeing practitioners who do not specialize in celiac disease or other autoimmune conditions. She started her business, in part, in an effort to address this issue.

Find Alexa:

Website: Gluten Freedom Nutrition

IG: @glutenfreedomnutrition @alexaprassrdn

Connect with Paige:

Website: https://www.invisiblyunwell.com

Instagram: @paigelavellofficial
Substack: https://invisiblyunwell.substack.com/

Have questions about the episode, a guest you'd love for me to interview, or a topic you'd like for me to cover? Email me at paige@invisiblyunwell.com

Enjoyed this episode? Follow Invisibly Unwell so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes two minutes and helps this show reach the women who need it most.

Dana Monsees is a Dietitian-Nutritionist and Body Image Coach specializing in nutrition therapy for gut health, hormonal imbalances, and burnout from a non-restrictive approach. She is also the first returning guest of the Invisibly Unwell podcast!

In this episode Dana debunks many health and fitness trends circulating around the social media jungle and turns several of my questions on their head in the process - in a truly refreshing way! She dives into inflammation and explains why it's not inherently a bad thing despite the information we are bombarded with online. She talks about the role of cortisol which is a key part of the body's stress response and stresses that movement doesn't mean you have to run five miles or day or do 5+ HIIT workouts per week.

If anyone tells you this (insert specific diet workout, or wellness practice) is the one and only way, question anything this individual is touting. The healthier choice is to find and experiment with different things to apply to your unique life and health situation. Also, what works for us in this season of life may not work well for us in another season. This is something I've had to personally learn during pregnancy and which I am sure will continue to evolve as I enter motherhood.

Find Dana:

Website: Real Food with Dana

Podcast: Millennial Body Image Project

Instagram: @danamonsees_cns @wholeheartedeatingpod

Connect with Paige:

Website: https://www.invisiblyunwell.com

Instagram: @paigelavellofficial
Substack: https://invisiblyunwell.substack.com/

Have questions about the episode, a guest you'd love for me to interview, or a topic you'd like for me to cover? Email me at paige@invisiblyunwell.com

Enjoyed this episode? Follow Invisibly Unwell so you never miss a conversation, and leave a rating and review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. It takes two minutes and helps this show reach the women who need it most.