Discover what’s blocking your weight loss and energy:
Take the FREE Weight Loss & Energy Blocker Assessment to uncover the hidden imbalances that may be keeping you stuck:
https://www.monikaeva.com/whatsblockingyou

If your bloodwork has been called “normal,” but you’re still struggling with stubborn weight, fatigue, poor sleep, low energy, or other frustrating changes during menopause, your labs may not be telling the whole story.

In this episode of The Balanced Body Podcast, Monika is joined by Kristina Cole, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and creator of the Designer Aging app. Kristina helps women in their 50s and 60s navigate the transition into menopause through movement, lifestyle changes, and personalized lab testing.

Together, Monika and Kristina discuss why standard blood chemistry may miss the nuances needed to understand a woman’s hormones, why focusing on one hormone or body system can prevent lasting progress, and how stress, blood sugar, gut health, thyroid function, and sex hormones influence one another.

They also explore why movement becomes even more important during menopause—not only for weight management, but for protecting muscle mass, bone health, energy, mobility, and longevity.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• Why “normal” bloodwork doesn’t always mean your hormones are functioning optimally
• What personalized lab testing can reveal beyond standard testing
• Why hormones and body systems cannot be assessed in isolation
• How movement supports metabolism, muscle, bones, energy, and healthy aging
• How to begin exercising when you feel exhausted, achy, or out of practice
• Practical first steps for women who no longer feel like themselves

Connect with Kristina Cole:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kristinamcole
Website: https://www.kristinacole.com
Download the Designer Aging app on the Apple App Store or Google Play.

Connect with Monika:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monikaeeva

Thanks for listening. Please rate & review so we can reach more women with this very important information. Share with a friend whom you know would benefit from listening to The Balanced Body Podcast.

Follow your host, Monika Eva, on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/monikaeeva

Take my FREE Weight Loss & Energy Blocker Assessment to find out what's blocking you from releasing the weight & being energized here:
https://www.monikaeva.com/whatsblockingyou

Learn more about working with Monika here:
https://www.monikaeva.com

Take the Weight Loss & Energy Blocker Assessment

If you’re eating well and trying to take care of yourself but still struggling with stubborn weight, low energy, brain fog or hormonal symptoms, there may be something deeper blocking your progress. Take Monika’s free Weight Loss & Energy Blocker Assessment to uncover which hidden stressors may be keeping your body stuck:

https://www.monikaeva.com/whatsblockingyou

Hashimoto’s is often treated as nothing more than an underactive thyroid, but thyroid hormone replacement alone doesn’t address why the immune system began attacking the thyroid in the first place.

In this episode, Monika is joined by Ryan Monahan, a Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner, nationally board-certified health and wellness coach, and founder of Functional Fast-Track.

Ryan spent more than 10 frustrating years and saw over 40 health professionals before finally being diagnosed with Hashimoto’s in 2012. By the time he received his diagnosis, his TSH had reached 150, and no, that is not a typo.

Ryan shares the symptoms that were missed, why being a man may have contributed to his delayed diagnosis, and what ultimately led him to uncover what was happening inside his body.

Monika and Ryan also explore the real root causes and hidden stressors that can contribute to thyroid autoimmunity, including chronic stress, gut dysfunction, infections, nutrient deficiencies and environmental exposures. They discuss the difference between having hypothyroidism and having Hashimoto’s, why a “normal” TSH doesn’t always tell the full story, and what thyroid medication can and cannot address.

You’ll also learn why Hashimoto’s is rarely caused by one isolated factor, how to distinguish an initial trigger from the stressors continuing to fuel autoimmunity, and what to investigate when you’re still exhausted, foggy, losing hair or struggling with your weight despite being told your thyroid is “normal.”

If you’ve been managing thyroid symptoms without understanding what is driving them, this conversation will help you look beyond the surface and begin asking better questions.

In this episode, you’ll learn:

• What Ryan experienced during the 10 years before his Hashimoto’s diagnosis
• How his TSH reached 150 before the condition was identified
• Why Hashimoto’s is diagnosed more frequently in women than men
• The difference between hypothyroidism and Hashimoto’s
• The hidden stressors that can trigger or perpetuate thyroid autoimmunity
• Why genetics may create susceptibility but don’t tell the entire story
• How gut health, infections, stress, nutrient deficiencies and environmental exposures can affect the thyroid
• Why thyroid medication may improve hormone levels without addressing autoimmunity
• What to investigate when your TSH is “normal” but your symptoms persist
• What improving Hashimoto’s can realistically look like

Connect with Ryan Monahan

Website: https://www.themindfulnutrivore.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/themindfulnutrivore
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themindfulnutrivore/

Connect with Monika

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/monikaeeva

Thanks for listening. Please rate & review so we can reach more women with this very important information. Share with a friend whom you know would benefit from listening to The Balanced Body Podcast.

Follow your host, Monika Eva, on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/monikaeeva

Take my FREE Weight Loss & Energy Blocker Assessment to find out what's blocking you from releasing the weight & being energized here:
https://www.monikaeva.com/whatsblockingyou

Learn more about working with Monika here:
https://www.monikaeva.com

✨ STRUGGLING WITH STUBBORN WEIGHT OR LOW ENERGY AND CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHAT'S GETTING IN THE WAY?

Take my FREE Weight Loss & Energy Blocker Assessment to uncover what may be keeping your body stuck in fat-storing, energy-depleted mode. In just a few minutes, you'll identify the area that may need the most support and get personalized next steps to help you start moving forward.

Take the free assessment here:
https://www.monikaeva.com/whatsblockingyou

We talk A LOT about nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep and nervous system regulation when it comes to our health.

But what about the environment we're living in every single day?

In Episode 126 of The Balanced Body Podcast, I'm joined by Crystal Keath, Functional Diagnostic Nutrition Practitioner and health detective, to have the toxin conversation that often gets overlooked or becomes so extreme that women don't know what to actually pay attention to.

We're talking about the everyday environmental exposures that may be adding to the total stress load on the body, how they may intersect with hormones, energy and metabolism, and why meditation, mindset and breathwork aren't necessarily the whole answer when other stressors are still present.

And no, the solution isn't to throw out everything you own and live in a bubble.

Crystal shares how to think about reducing your toxic burden in a practical, realistic way so you can focus on what actually matters instead of becoming overwhelmed trying to eliminate every possible exposure.

In this episode, we cover:

• What we actually mean when we talk about toxins and toxic load
• The everyday environmental exposures many women overlook
• Why meditation, mindset and breathwork may not always move the needle
• How environmental exposures can add to the body's overall stress load
• The potential connection between toxins, hormone health, energy and metabolism
• How to navigate a world full of environmental exposures without becoming fearful or obsessive
• Where to start if you want to reduce your exposure
• The biggest misconceptions around "detoxing"
• How to support your body's natural detoxification processes

You don't need to create a perfectly toxin-free life. But understanding what's in your environment—and knowing which changes are actually worth making—can give you another piece of the bigger health picture.

CONNECT WITH CRYSTAL KEATH, FDNP

Instagram: @wellthyself.life
Substack: wellthyself.substack.com

CONNECT WITH MONIKA

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/monikaeeva

Love this episode? Follow The Balanced Body Podcast so you never miss a new conversation, and send this one to a woman who needs to hear it.

Thanks for listening. Please rate & review so we can reach more women with this very important information. Share with a friend whom you know would benefit from listening to The Balanced Body Podcast.

Follow your host, Monika Eva, on IG here: https://www.instagram.com/monikaeeva

Take my FREE Weight Loss & Energy Blocker Assessment to find out what's blocking you from releasing the weight & being energized here:
https://www.monikaeva.com/whatsblockingyou

Learn more about working with Monika here:
https://www.monikaeva.com