When you've been sick for so long (I'm talking years), it can feel delusional to hope in healing. Because countless times before you've likely tried to eat better, hydrate more, work out consistently, and nothing seemed to help you truly feel better.

In this week's episode, we get honest about the messy middle of autoimmune healing. Gianna sits down with her client Megan (25+ years with lupus) to unpack how she started living life again—finding joy, advocating with confidence, and finally experiencing freedom from all-consuming autoimmune fear.

This conversation reflects the same patterns Gianna sees in clients, and what’s helped Megan and other autoimmune women get their sparkle back, regardless of how long they’ve been fighting autoimmune disease.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Why healing and flaring can happen at the same time, and how this is part of the road to remission.

How to break the all-or-nothing mentality and feel safe in your body again.

Advocacy that works: how to partner with your doctor without feeling gaslit.

How “soft-life” recovery (rest, pacing, nervous system calm) lowers flares and chronic symptoms.

If you’ve wondered why your symptoms aren’t improving despite your effort, this episode offers clarity and tangible steps toward hope.

✨ Ready to start a healing journey that gives you your life back? Grab my free guide, How to Heal Alongside Medication: A Beginner’s Guide to Autoimmune Relief, at autoimmunebabe.com to start your own journey today.

🎙 New episodes of the Autoimmune Babe Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7 AM EST—subscribe and tune in weekly!

✨ Don’t forget to subscribe for more autoimmune relief tips and join me on Instagram @autoimmune.babe for daily support.

Are you doing all the right things, eating healthy, working out, taking supplements and still not feeling better? You’re likely making these 3 mistakes. In this episode, I break down 3 "wellness" mistakes that keep your body stuck in pain, fatigue, and inflammation.

These are the very patterns I see over and over again in my clients and the same ones I made during my 10-year battle with scleroderma before finally reaching unmedicated remission.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

Why the all-or-nothing mentality sabotages healing.

The truth about elimination diets (and what to do instead).

How to see your medication as a bridge, not a roadblock.

If you’ve ever wondered why your autoimmune symptoms aren’t improving despite all your effort, this conversation will give you clarity, and most importantly, hope.

✨ Grab my free guide, How to Heal Alongside Medication: A Beginner’s Guide to Autoimmune Relief, at autoimmunebabe.com  to start your own journey today.

🎙 New episodes of the Autoimmune Babe Podcast drop every Tuesday at 7AM EST, so be sure to subscribe and tune in weekly!

✨ Don’t forget to subscribe for more autoimmune relief tips and join me on Instagram @autoimmune.babe  for daily support.

Did you know that after birth, your placenta leaves behind a wound the size of a large dinner plate?

In this nourishing and insightful episode, Gianna sits down with postpartum specialist Samantha Franceschini to explore what most new moms aren’t told about recovery: the power of food, rest, and gentle support. Together, they unpack the physiological changes that occur after childbirth, how under-eating can hinder healing, and why warm, nutrient-dense meals are essential for both physical and mental wellness.

Whether you’re expecting, recovering, or supporting a postpartum mom, this conversation will change the way you view the fourth trimester.

🥣 Why warm, broth-based meals are more healing than cold salads postpartum
🧠 How nutrition directly impacts postpartum anxiety and depression
🍼 Why breastfeeding moms need more calories—not fewer
❌ The common postpartum nutrition mistakes that can delay healing
🌿 Practical food prep tips to nourish your body and mind in early motherhood
🛐 How affirmations and self-compassion support recovery just as much as food

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission

In this intimate and empowering solo episode, Gianna shares how her identity was shaped by 12 years of living with scleroderma—and what it took to finally break free from the “sick girl mentality.” Through personal stories and real-life strategies, she offers hope to anyone who’s ever felt trapped in their diagnosis and shows what’s possible when you stop identifying with your illness and start believing in your ability to heal.

Whether you’re newly diagnosed or years into your healing journey, this episode will remind you: you are powerful beyond the pain, beyond the diagnosis, and beyond the flare.

Your body is made good.

🧠 Why the “sick girl” mentality feels safe—but keeps you stuck
🌿 Why reclaiming your identity is foundational to long-term healing
💊 How to start healing alongside medication—as a bridge to unmedicated remission
❤️ How grief, emotional trauma, and belief systems impact your life as an autoimmune babe

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission

What if the path to remission didn’t start with hustle, but with rest?

In this tender and transformative episode, Gianna sits down with Flo Pina, functional nutritionist and founder of The Catholic Nutritionist, to explore the intersection of women's health, autoimmune healing, and intimacy with God.

Flo shares her personal journey with Hashimoto’s, the lessons she learned from burnout, and how reclaiming Sabbath rest became a turning point in her physical and spiritual renewal. If you’ve ever felt like your worth is tied to productivity, or that slowing down is failing—you need to hear this.

What You’ll Learn 💡
🕊️ Why rest isn’t a reward—it’s a requirement
🧠 How hustle culture affects women’s health and fuels autoimmune flares
🛐 What it means to honor the Sabbath and invite God into your healing
🌿 How functional nutrition supports the body through stress, burnout, and belief
💗 Why your body is not your enemy—it’s on your team

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission

In this raw and empowering solo episode, Gianna Michalak—board-certified clinical nutritionist and connective tissue specialist—opens up about the emotional toll of living with scleroderma for over a decade and what it took to break free from the “sick girl mentality.”

If you’ve ever felt like your diagnosis defines you, this episode is a must-listen. Gianna dives into the grief, trauma, and limiting beliefs that silently consume life with autoimmune disease and reveals how to begin reclaiming your identity. You’ll walk away with actionable steps and a renewed belief that healing is still possible.

This episode is a reminder that your body is not your enemy—it wants to heal just as much as you do.

What You’ll Learn 💡
🧠 What the “sick girl” mentality is—and how it silently hijacks your identity
💊 Why healing alongside medication can increase your odds of unmedicated remission
🌿 How grief, trauma, and belief systems impact your physical symptoms and healing progress
💧 How one simple habit can jumpstart your healing and shift your mindset
🏆 Why stacking small wins builds the evidence your brain needs to believe you can get better

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission

The Bounce Back Lie: Real Talk on Weight Loss After Baby

In this candid and powerful episode, Gianna sits down with registered dietitian and founder of Kelly’s Choice, Kelly Springer, for a deep dive into the real conversations missing from postpartum weight loss and GLP-1 medication discussions.

Together, they unpack the myth of “bouncing back,” the dangers of appetite suppression, and why you can’t supplement your way out of starvation mode—especially as a postpartum mom.

If you’ve felt overwhelmed by body image expectations, tempted by quick fixes, or unsure how to actually nourish your body after having a baby, this episode gives you the clarity and compassion you’ve been craving.

👩‍👧 Why the “bounce-back” narrative is outdated—and the gentle support new moms really need
🥩 Why real food > supplements (including the shocking story of a woman surviving on fries)
🧠 How nutrient deficiencies (like iron) affect circulation, brain fog, and your capacity to show up
🥚 How your body already makes GLP-1—and how to activate it naturally
🛒 The importance of postpartum planning (yes, Instacart counts)
🌱 How to build body trust and choose your pace, your way

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission

What if your journey to remission didn’t start with a protocol—but with a prayer of despair?

In this powerful solo episode, Gianna shares the never-before-told story of how her journey to unmedicated remission from scleroderma began. After 12 years of flares, frustration, and feeling like her identity was her illness, one desperate night became a catalyst to healing.

This is not just a story of physical healing. It’s a story of spiritual breakthrough, self-worth, and what happens when you choose to believe your body is meant to heal—even when you don't have all the answers yet.

🙏🏽 How your rock bottom can become the catalyst for your transformation
🌱 Why healing starts when you take action, not when you have all the answers
💊 How to start your healing journey while taking medication
🌿 The vision that sparked Gianna’s faith, action, and ultimately, remission
🔥 Why unmedicated remission is not reserved for the special few—and how it could be possible for you

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission

Can you really put Crohn’s into remission after 14 years of symptoms?

In this episode, Gianna sits down with Hannah Wedger — a former client, teacher, and mother — who spent over a decade battling fatigue, flare-ups, and frustration with conventional care. After years of mistrust in her body and disappointment with traditional treatments, Hannah took a different approach: one that focused on restoring digestion, rebuilding body trust, and healing alongside medication.

Today, she’s sharing how small, consistent steps transformed her health — from toddler-size sips of water… to hiking the Grand Canyon. You’ll walk away believing what’s possible for you, too.

🔄 The cycle of Crohn’s flare-ups and why traditional treatments often fall short
🧠 The connection between ADHD, decision overwhelm, and autoimmune burnout
🥤 Why tiny steps (like a 2 oz glass of water) can lead to massive shifts in your health
🧘🏽‍♀️ How rebuilding trust in your body is a non-negotiable step to autoimmune relief
🧭 What Hannah’s clean colonoscopy revealed — and her thoughts on now being officially in remission

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission

In this episode, Gianna unpacks one of the most misunderstood parts of autoimmune treatment: the belief that medication is your only option. Drawing from her personal journey with scleroderma and her clinical experience helping women with connective tissue disease, she reveals how medication can be used as a bridge, not a life sentence.

 You’ll learn how to start replenishing what medication may be depleting, how to shift from survival mode into healing, and how to support your body without relying on restrictive diets or random supplements.

 This is the episode every newly diagnosed woman wishes she had heard sooner.

💊 Why autoimmune medication isn’t the whole solution, and what’s missing

⚡ The nutrient deficiencies caused by common drugs like methotrexate, CellCept, and Plaquenil

🍽️ Why eating “healthy” isn’t the same as eating anti-inflammatory

🧠 The mindset shift that helps you stop feeling broken and start taking your power back

🌿 How to use food and strategy to make your medication work with your body, not against it

💻 Website
autoimmunebabe.com

🎁 Free Guide
How to Heal Alongside Medication

📸 YouTube
autoimmune.babe.podcast

🎙️ Subscribe to The Autoimmune Babe Podcast
Listen on Spotify

🎥 Watch the Workshop
How to Increase Your Odds of Remission