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The Fitnessista Podcast: Healthy In Real Life

200: Autoimmune Healing, Nervous System Safety & the Biggest Mistakes I Made on My Health Journey

The Fitnessista Podcast: Healthy In Real Life

Gina Harney

Nutrition, Health & Fitness

4.9522 Ratings

🗓️ 26 February 2026

⏱️ 20 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Hi friends! I have a brand new podcast episode live, and today is a very special one — episode 200 🎉

This is a short solo episode where I'm reflecting on my own healing journey and sharing the biggest mistakes I made along the way, especially during the height of my autoimmune symptoms. This episode is less about regret and more about perspective, compassion, and helping you avoid some of the same pitfalls if you're in a season of healing right now.

In this episode, I open up about what was happening behind the scenes when my lupus markers were positive, my nervous system was completely fried, and my body was very clearly asking for safety — even though I didn't fully understand that at the time.

This episode is especially for you if you feel like you've "tried everything," are overwhelmed by information online, or feel stuck in a loop of doing more but not actually feeling better.

Here's what we chat about:

  • Why chasing body composition while your body is screaming for help can actually slow healing

  • The truth about exercise intolerance and why pushing harder isn't always the answer

  • The mistake of taking supplements without testing (and why more isn't better)

  • How probiotics and popular wellness products can backfire if your gut isn't ready

  • Why lab testing was a turning point in my healing (and why I wish I had done it sooner)

  • Why cold plunging, fasting, caffeine, and red light therapy weren't what my nervous system needed at the time

  • How staying up all night Googling symptoms kept my body stuck in fight-or-flight

  • The connection between hypervigilance, cortisol, inflammation, and stalled healing

  • A reminder that you're not behind, broken, or failing if healing is taking time

This episode is such an honest reminder that healing isn't about doing more — it's about doing the right things at the right time, in a way that supports your nervous system instead of overwhelming it.

If you're in the middle of a healing journey right now, please know you're not alone. I truly believe our experiences make us stronger, wiser, and more compassionate on the other side.

Thank you SO much for being here with me for 200 episodes. Your support means more than you know 💛

Make sure you're subscribed to my newsletter
For my free Autoimmune Healing ebook, click here.
Detailed show notes here: https://fitnessista.com/podcast

Partners:

Try out luxury handbags and jewelry from Vivrelle and use my code GINAHARNEY for your first month free!

Check out We Feed Raw! Maisey goes crazy for this! I use it as a topper for her kibble or mix it into her pup loaf. You can try the raw version, the raw dehydrated kibble, and they'll help you customize a plan for your pup. Use FITNESSISTA40 for 40% off your Meal Plan Starter Box here!

Check out my new favorite red light device here, and use the code FITNESSISTA for a huge discount. 

I've been using Nutrisense on and off for a couple of years now. I love being able to see how my blood sugar responds to my diet and habits, and run experiments. You can try out Nutrisense here and use GINA30 for 30% off.

If any of my fellow health professional friends are looking for another way to help their clients, I highly recommend IHP. You can also use this information to heal yourself and then go one to heal others, which I think is a beautiful mission. You can absolutely join if you don't currently work in the health or fitness industry; many IHPs don't begin on this path. They're friends who are passionate to learn more about health and wellness, and want to share this information with those they love. You can do this as a passion, or start an entirely new career.

You can use my referral link here and the code FITNESSISTA for up to $250 off the Integrative Health Practitioner program. I highly recommend it!

Thank you so much for listening and for all of your support with the podcast! Please be sure to subscribe, and leave a rating or review if you enjoyed this episode. If you leave a rating, head to this page and you'll get a little "thank you" gift from me to you. http://fitnessista.com/podcastreview

 

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

You're listening to The Healthy and Real Life podcast episode number 200.

0:04.8

Welcome to the Healthy in Real Life podcast, bite-sized tips for healthy living that you can implement right now.

0:12.0

Join us weekly for interviews and real life advice for creating the happiest and healthiest version of yourself.

0:18.8

Here's your host, fitness expert, author and mom of two,

0:22.8

Gina Harney. Hey friends. This is Gina, creator of the Fitnessista blog and brand. I'm so excited

0:28.5

that you're here today. Thank you for tuning in. Episode 200. We made it. It took me a while to get

0:35.0

here, but we're finally here. So thank you for those of you who have stuck

0:38.9

around this entire time. Thank you to my newer listeners out there. And I'm so excited for the next

0:44.8

200 episodes. I have a lot of really great guests planned, some interesting topics. And I'm just

0:51.1

really excited to be here with all of you. So thank you. Thank you. Thank you for all of your

0:54.7

amazing support of the podcast. And it's a big milestone. Like I said, the podcast has just kind of

1:01.0

been something that I've been so passionate about from the beginning. And I've enjoyed it so much.

1:06.2

But it's been something that's hard for me to be more consistent with. So that's one of my biggest

1:11.1

goals is just to be more consistent with the podcast because I love the guests. I love connecting

1:16.1

with you guys like this. I personally love listening to podcasts. So if you're taking the time

1:20.6

to listen to this, it means the world to me because I know you have limited time, but I do think

1:24.6

it's such a fun thing to do while you're doing other things.

1:32.9

So before we head into this short solo episode today, I wanted to tell you guys about IHP.

1:37.9

So Integrative Health Practitioner Institute completely changed my life. It changed my business.

1:43.4

It changed my health. I love sharing it with others. It's just such an incredible certification. And as someone who has

1:44.6

collected quite a few health and wellness certifications over the years, this is by far my favorite.

1:50.7

I think they do such a great job with the teaching modules, all of the handouts and protocols

...

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