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.

Lea Manilla found acupuncture at 15 years old after suffering from rotator cuff tendinitis in her shoulder, threatening her competitive swimming career. She experienced its healing benefits first-hand and developed a deep love for the practice. Since then she's worked diligently to hone her skills and welcome others to the world of acupuncture and Chinese Medicine.

Lea explains that in simple terms acupuncture is resetting the nervous system. In a world where we are in nearly constant fight or flight, acupuncture helps shift us into rest and digest. This especially helpful for those of us who are Type A, high achievers with a tendency to fall into a hustle mindset. I've personally found that acupuncture helps me achieve a sense of mental and emotional balance while juggling a very demanding career with the physically challenging symptoms of several autoimmune conditions.

We discuss common myths about acupuncture that may unfortunately keep people from exploring its many benefits. These include misconceptions about the needles that are used and the likelihood of patients experiencing pain during sessions. In reality, acupuncture needles are much thinner than needles used to administer shots or draw blood, sometimes as fine as a strand of hair. While there may be a slight prick when the needle is inserted, acupuncture is generally not painful and practitioners are happy to remove any needles which may be causing discomfort.

The most refreshing part of today's episode, in my opinion, is Lea's belief that acupuncture is an excellent tool to utilize within a larger, more holistic approach to our overall health. I truly appreciate this open-minded perspective since chronic illness patients are often left navigating between the conflicting methods and views of western and eastern medicine practitioners.

I hope this episode opens your mind to exploring the many benefits of acupuncture if it's something you have not yet explored.

Find Lea Manilla:

https://www.betterdayswellness.com/

Instagram: @betterdayswellness

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.

Kaely McDevitt is a licensed dietician and fellow perfectionist, type-A high achiever. Upon experiencing her own health issues after years of education in diet & nutrition, she realized there a significant gender gap in healthcare research. We discuss the alarmingly small amount of nutrition and medical research that has been done to date on women's health specifically, the long term risks of birth control that are rarely shared with young females, the health impacts of burnout from constantly hustling, and the growing number of women facing thyroid issues.

Based on extensive research and many years working with female patients, Kaely shares why she believes the high achieving, type A, deriving-our-worth-from what-we-do personality type ends in health issues (particularly hormone and fertility issues). It is because this mentality and the actions derived from it are a complete mismatch with our biological need for safety in order to manufacture hormones and be fertile. Our brain is filtering how we're eating, thinking, breathing, and moving through the lens of am I safe or not. Our bodies are very smart and always look out for number one. If we don't have enough energy or enough safety our body will shut "unnecessary" functions down. Kaely stresses that if we want to start to recover from burnout, we should begin with what is within our control to create that safety.

Find Kaely McDevitt:
https://www.kaelyrd.com/
https://www.instagram.com/kaelyrd/?hl=en

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.

Dr. Saimun Singla was inspired to shift from practicing traditional medicine to a more integrative model that blends, as she says, "the best of the east and the west". She was inspired to explore a more patient centered approach after becoming a rheumatology patient herself and experiencing firsthand the impact that lifestyle practices and evidence based complementary methods have on overall health.

We discussed our diagnoses journeys and the challenges chronic illness patients face in the current medical model. Dr. Singla also shares evidence based complementary treatments that have helped her patients with issues like pain management and sheds light on the importance of having patients define what healthy means to them. She encourages patients to understand why being healthy is important to them specifically so that they are more likely to maintain the lifestyle practices, stress management, medication regimen when necessary, and other factors that help them remain in good health.

Find Dr. Saimun Singla:

https://www.rheumtogrowtx.com/

IG: https://www.instagram.com/rheum.to.grow.tx/?hl=en

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.

Brand Walker is an eating disorder survivor and Certified Independent Recovery Coach. She suffered from her own eating disorder, disordered thoughts and behaviors, and body dysmorphic disorder for well over 30 years. Having gone through an extensive recovery process, Brandy is now fully recovered today. She opened Recover You, LLC in 2019 as a part-time practice while still maintaining my 25+ year consulting career, and she is is the process of transitioning to a full-time recovery coaching practice.

Brandy works from a value-based perspective to help her clients investigate and identify whether their eating disorder behaviors align or misalign with their value system. Some of her core values that helped her lean into and maintain recovery include compassion, empathy, integrity, autonomy, and empowerment. Her deeply knowledgeable insights into the false beliefs many people have about ED are eye opening. Brandy makes an unfortunately taboo topic feel approachable and she brings her expertise to the table without a hint of judgment towards those struggling with disordered behavior.

Brandy also has personal experience with chronic illness, and we dive into the impact physical health issues can have on our mental and emotional state. I hope this episode provides some insight into the often hidden realities of women struggling with ED, especially if disordered eating and perfectionistic tendencies with diet, exercise, and work are part of your story.

Find Brandy:

https://recoveryoullc.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/recoveryoullc/?hl=en

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.

Shannon Dolan was voted Best Nutritionist in Austin, TX 2021 & 2022. She specializes in helping high achievers regain connection to their body. Whether she's talking women's health or having inclusive conversations in corporate wellness, Shannon is passionate about helping her clients gain more energy and be deeply nourished so they can feel more like themselves.

She has a multitude of impressive certifications (CE Fitness Nutrition Specialist, ACE Behavioral Change Specialist, ACE Functional Training Specialist, and ACSM Personal Trainer to name a few), but what stands out to me the most about Shannon is that she does not claim to provide a quick fix. Although her clients often start feeling better in days, her focus is offering them the what, why, and how so they can confidently develop long-term, sustainable results that go far beyond aesthetics.

In this episode discuss the mental, emotional, and physical challenges that affect many high achieving women. Shannon is very open about her past struggles with negative body image, a disordered view of exercise and nutrition, and running herself to the verge of burnout. Her commitment to breaking through the noise in the crowded fitness and nutrition space is inspiring.

Find Shannon:

https://www.healthwithshannon.com/

https://www.instagram.com/healthwithshannon/

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.