The Livy Method Podcast - Hormones and Weight Loss - Part 1 with Dr. Olinca Trejo - Winter 2025

Episode Date: March 4, 2025

In this amazing guest expert episode, Gina sits down with Naturopathic Doctor Olinca Trejo to break down how hormones influence your weight loss journey. They start by defining what hormones actually are and why they need time to recover before they can work in your favour. From the hunger hormone ghrelin to the satiety hormone leptin and even the role dopamine plays in your food choices, they're covering it all. Plus, they get into why giving your body time to push through weight loss thresholds is so important and how comparison is the fastest way to steal your joy. This conversation is a game-changer for anyone struggling with weight loss beyond just food and exercise.Find Dr. Olinca:@[e-mail] can find the full video hosted at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodwinter2025To learn more about the Livy Method or to sign up for the Spring 2025 Program, visit www.ginalivy.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm Gina Livi and welcome to the Livi Method Podcast. This is where you'll have access to all of the live streams from my 91 Day Weight Loss program. With a combination of daily lives, guest expert interviews, and member stories, there is something new almost every day. Miss the Morning Live? Want to relisten to one of our amazing guest experts? Well, this is the place.

This podcast is hosted on Acast, but it's available on all podcast platforms, including the one you're listening to right now, Spotify, Apple, and Amazon Music. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without

insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at zensurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. It is time to take a minute out to hear from our podcast sponsor today, which is another podcast actually, the new wellness podcast from Audible. It is hosted by Chrissy Teigen. It's called Self-Conscious with Chrissy Teigen, where she's providing a safe space to embrace the twists and turns of personal growth, one conversation at a time. And she has some really great guests that she's having these conversations with, like Mel Robbins, Adam Grant, Gabby Bernstein.

These are some of my faves. So she's inviting listeners to learn life-changing new skill sets alongside her and her guests to discover powerful new ways of understanding ourselves. I like that. That's right up our alley. Self-conscious with Chrissy Teigen, expand your self-awareness, gain valuable insights and become more self-conscious. You can go to audible.ca slash Chrissy, C-H-R-I-S-S-Y podcast or wherever you get your podcast from and start listening today. This is an opportunity to become curious.

To learn some things. How do we help you feel less overwhelmed so you can continue on your journey? Keep believing in yourself and keep trusting the process. Just be patient. There's one thing I've learned after spending 30 years, pretty much my entire life, helping people lose weight is that it's not really about what you eat and when. It's about your hormones. And I was just like writing down all the ways your hormones impact your weight journey.

We talk about insulin resistance, metabolic issues, diabetes, thyroid issues, estrogen, testosterone, menopause, cortisol levels from high stress, gut hormones, hunger hormones, hormones that tell you when you're satisfied, your GLP-1, all these weight loss medications based around hormones. I know I say I'm excited for every conversation, but this one has got me giddy. It's probably the most important conversation of the entire program. And my guest today, Dr. Linka Trejo is back. She is the hormone queen and has the best way of breaking it down in a way that you can understand. And it's so important to understand that weight loss is so much more than what you eat and when, and your hormones are a big reason why.

Hi, good morning. Hi, this is honestly, this is my the conversation that I wait for every program. I get so giddy and so excited because you're right. I do think that this is when we start breaking stuff down and people's brains just explode because we force them to unlearn so much about what they've been told. And like you were saying, you know, I think that the hardest part about this is that weight regulation is actually very complicated. It is greatly affected.

For sure. We're not saying, listen, we're not saying that what you eat doesn't matter or how you eat doesn't matter. But there's, you know, psychology, medical condition, behaviors, genetics, gut bacteria, and hormones that play such a big role in, like you were saying, hunger, satiety, food choices, metabolism, fat deposition.

So I love this conversation because I find that the Facebook section just lights up on fire. Like it's like, it is lit there. You guys, if you're not there, you need to join, like the conversation right now, because it's such a good one. I'm so excited for this one. I'm so excited to be here. Yeah, the oversimplification of calories in versus calories out. We have been studying, we've been following this model forever.

Obesity rights continue to skyrocket. Either more diets out there than ever, and people, they can lose the weight. They can't, that's where the diet part is effective, but they can't maintain and sustain their weight. Where do we start with this, where do you wanna start with this conversation on hormones? What I mean, I always like starting with, you know, what a hormone is, just to let people kind of get a better understanding as to what I guess like the intricacy of this.

And hormones truly are just tiny little chemical messengers, right, that coordinate different functions in your body. And so they just carry messages through your blood, to your organs, to signal your body to do specific things. They regulate your blood pressure, they regulate your blood glucose, they regulate your metabolism, your reproduction, your sleep, all of these things.

And there's such an intricacy between them. And you and I often refer to this as like, your hormones are this big orchestra. And if you I often refer to this as like, your hormones are this big orchestra. And if you've ever listened to an orchestra, you've ever listened to music, you know that everybody has to be playing the exact same song at the exact same time, you know, and be finally tuned. And unfortunately, because your hormones get impacted by so many things, right? Like your sleep, your food behaviors, your thoughts, your, you know, the guy that was honking at you because you weren't parking fast enough,

like all of these things, that orchestra sometimes goes a little bit off tune. And so we're here to help you understand that that orchestra is trying to play the most beautiful song for you. And if you just give it the right music, the right tempo, maybe the right instruments, we'll all be able to get back to the beautiful song

that we were like born with. Yeah, because if that trombone is off, you notice, right? And yes, you're still playing the song, but you notice. And that's where your body can still function if some of your hormones are off, but this is affecting how you feel. This is especially affecting the results that you're having on the scale. I love that we're having this conversation a little bit later in week eight of the program. We touched on hormones with you with our stress and sleep series.

Dr. Paul touched on hormones, reasons why your weight might be slower to move. We had Dr. Jennifer Zalawitzki touched on menopause and hormones. And now with all the work that people are doing, because I've had people come into the program, be like, is this program gonna help me lose weight? I have hormonal problems. I'm like, okay, well, what kind?

That's such a loaded question, But of course it does. And again, this conversation is awareness because you are already doing so much with following the method eating the good nutrient rich foods, eating them often, trying to manage your stress better trying to get better sleep, moving your body, taking your supplements. So this is where I just want you all to sit back and be open and listen to this conversation because you will be set in awe

and you'll have such mad respect for still being here in week eight. And you'll be like, wow, I didn't realize that all the things that I were doing were affecting me in such a huge, massive way. So, okay. 100%. And I think, you know what, I think the reason why I love this conversation exactly at week eight is because if you're starting to feel like you're losing steam, this conversation

should ignite all the fire back in you and say, wait, wait, wait. Like it's all of the consistency of those non-sexy small things that I'm doing, like the snacks, or like, you know, putting my phone away, or like this, that you don't really think is related to your weight, that actually makes all the difference, right? It's no longer about like how much you're eating, it's like, oh yeah, it could be about like the journaling, or it could be about this. So that it gives you, I think, just like a bigger picture, which is why you and I get so excited about this one. Yeah, we do. Yes. Because hormones affect sleep, they affect stress, they affect metabolism, they affect

your hunger levels, homeostasis, your mood, they basically affect everything in your body. Yeah. Yeah. And I always go back to this too, especially when it comes to weight, you have to understand like your body, like your hormones are your friends and your body will do anything that it can in order to survive. Right. And so many hormones work together to make sure that you eat so that your body has enough to survive and that you have a reasonable amount of fat storage and reserve

so that you can access that if there's a famine in the land, right? In a way actually your body works with your genetics, with your environment, with your gut microbiome, with all of these things to kind of prevent these extreme swings. And that's actually exactly what you were saying before, right?

A lot of people can't actually maintain the weight loss that they have achieved in a weight loss program. And we know that because their hormones can be almost, you know, quote unquote, traumatized for years after. And for three to four years after you have this dramatic weight loss in other programs that we're not going to talk about, but they start in doctor instead and then seen or things like that. The extreme of that can often predispose your body for years afterwards to try and store more food. And it's that hormone imbalance actually that causes all of it.

It might not be your cravings. It might not be what you're eating and how much you're exercising. It truly can just boil down to your hormones. So let's break them down. Okay. Let's go. Where do you want to start? You know, I always think every time that we have this conversation, I'm like, how can we make it different? How can it be great? I think that we, I like to think about these hormones as like three main categories, truly. The first one I always think about hormones that impact your hunger and your

satiety. The next one, your food choices. And then the third one, which is the biggest one that we're going to spend the most time in is going to be like your metabolism and how your body stores fat and where it stores it so that we can kind of break it down into that so that it will be a little bit easier to follow. What do you think? I'm in, I'm in. And then we also, we also, you're gonna come back on, on Thursday and we're gonna continue the conversation. So, so, so, okay.

So get your pens, get your papers out, or just sit back and watch because you can always rewatch it. We'll post it in the guides you can download and listen by way of our podcast. All right, go. I'm here for this. Okay, amazing. So first things first, you have to know that all of this in like body weight

is controlled by an area in your brain that's very ancient that's called your hypothalamus, right? And your hypothalamus, we've talked about this before. I know Dr. Sandy has talked about this before, but your hypothalamus is a very ancient part of your brain that's responsible for keeping a lot of like your, almost like automatic, we call them like, yeah, but automatic processes like breathing, heart rate, temperature, hunger, satiety,

all of these things in balance because your body truly and neatly just wants to be in homeostasis or balance, right? And so it keeps this balance by receiving these signals, so these signals that are carried by hormones so that it knows what's going on. And so when it comes to hunger and satiety, what will happen is that your fat cells and your gut actually talk to your hypothalamus through these little signals called hormones. And if you, for example, haven't eaten in a while, there's a hormone that's released by your gut that's called ghrelin. Grr, I always say grr like your stomach, like grr, that tell your hypothalamus to activate the hunger pathways

so that you'll eat, right? Once you've had a meal, then there's a whole cascade of hormones that actually get released by not just your gut, but your intestines with really funny names, including GLP-1. So it's gonna be GLP-1, PYY, CCK, GIP, neuropeptide Y, like a bunch of ones that, you know,

we don't need to dive into. But these hormones are actually released by your gut and your intestines to tell that sensor in your brain, you know what, I'm full, like I'm good to go. And these hormones actually peak between 30 to 60 minutes after your full meal, okay? And so that, when that, you know, ghrelin is your hunger hormone,

GLP-1 is more of that fullness hormone, you know, that's produced with it from the intestine when you eat. And so the really interesting thing about these hormones that I'm gonna loop back into the living method is that when you skip a meal, what happens is that your ghirling, right? Like the ghirling, the hunger hormone, gets super, super, super high

so that you're going to consume way more food at your next meal and you can often overeat, right? When ghirling is high, what will happen is that your body, as a survival mechanism, is like, yo, yo, yo, yo, yo. Like this woman has to eat me forever and it actually suppresses other hormones like GLP one so that you actually eat way more food. The other part of this that I actually really love when it comes to your method is that what you eat will also impact girl limb.

And so a lot of people, you know, if you've dieted before, you have probably been fed this idea that carbohydrates are bad. And the very fascinating thing about this hormone is that carbohydrates are actually the most effective macros that will help you lower that ghrelin level. Protein is less effective at lowering it, but protein works to keep girl and suppress for longer. And so this is actually why in this program we never tell you like this is a low carb, you can't eat carbs, like this is actually why we try to always make sure that you have whole carbohydrates, right? Like whole foods, like we're talking about like fruits, we're talking about vegetables, we're talking about grains, we're talking about grains,

we're talking about all of these things. And we always talk to you about like, you know what? When you have a meal, there has to be that whole carbohydrate, but there's always that protein because they work in tandem to make sure that all of these hormones are balanced. This is also why often when you don't have snacks and you intermittent fast, because

that was a fad that we all kind of fell into, things don't work. And you end up overeating at that meal and that mindful eating that we always talk to you about, about like, you know, you need to slow down. Are you full? Are you this? It completely goes out the window because these hormones are super high to tell you like eat more. And then the satiety ones are super low to say like, no, no, no, eat all you can because God knows when you're going to eat again. I cannot with this conversation. I honestly I'm sitting here. I'm just like, ah, like, I'm like, it's hard for me to sit in my chair. Like I go back y'all listen to that all again, factor in all the diets that you've done where you've not just skipped a

stat, a snack or a meal, you have literally starved yourself. Then also you add on our super size world of like just seeing large portions, not being mindful, being stressed, overeating. You add in the food industry, literally making the food that we are eating more addictive so we are more likely to eat more. And then this is it, that when you think you have no willpower,

what's wrong with me? Why can't I? Your hormones are all fucked. Oh, this is like, I can't, I cannot. My favorite conversation hands down of the last 24 programs, that piece right there is so huge. And we haven't even gotten into, we haven't even gotten into it.

And do all the other ones. We haven't even gotten into it. It's one of the hormones. Yeah. But you know, I actually always liked starting with this one because I, even in my practice, right, people come in being like, oh, you know, I have, you know, my doctor told me that like, I should start eating at like noon.

I'm like, girl, the first meal that you have, like that might work because, you know, to an extent for a very short period of time, because you cut out a full meal. But like when you eat lunch, like if your son or daughter walks in front of you, be like, I could, I mean, you, you look a full meal. But like when you eat lunch, like if you're like son or daughter walks in front of you, like I could, I mean, you, you look a little delicious. Like I could eat that too. You know, it is it just out of control. And so I do think it's so important that and I love that you always emphasize this, like it's not about willpower. Like there's not amount of there's not enough willpower in the world that can

fight just your hormones. There is something to be said about your conscious brain, right? And your conscious brain being like, okay, no, like going back to your basics and that cognitive behavioral therapy and retraining that Sandra Elia and Dr. Van talk about so often. But this is like, you just got to help your, you got to help your body, you guys. Which is why we talk here. Right. And this is why, again, where I see with where you're at in week eight, this is why it's so we're sticking around. With where you are in week eight, you're able to see the food plan. Why are we

eating so often? Why are we eating the specific foods that we are being asked to eat? Right? Like, why would downsize and just eating a few bites less for your brain not to stress out your body, just to eat slightly less and having your by trust food is still coming in. Why are we separating our portions to help understand when you have that first portion, you give that body time to start to process and digest. You realize, oh, I'm not as hungry for that second portion again, without stressing the body out.

If you are hungry for it, have it. And so this is like, oh, okay. All right. We're eating often in this program. You get this all the time and I get this all the time. They're like, I can't eat this much food. Right? That's actually what we don't starve you because starving doesn't work. Next hormone. I know. So in tandem with girling, because you know, the cool thing about your body is that it's always going to have hormones that kind of balance or counteract each other, right? And so if there's a hunger hormone, there should be satiety hormones that kind of tell your brain like hold the horses like Reno. And so the most notable one of them is actually leptin. And we've all heard about leptin before. Leptin is actually a hormone that's produced by your fat cells because unlike most of us believe your fat is an endocrine organ which

means that your fat produces stuff and I know, I know, just like it can produce estrogen and it can produce inflammation, it can produce a bunch of stuff, it can also produce hormones like leptin and so leptin actually is a hormone that's produced by your fat cells that constantly communicates with your brain to tell it like how much energy you have stored. And so it's almost like it's released into your bloodstream in direct proportion to your fat storage, right? Which means that if you actually are carrying a lot of adipose tissue, your leptin should be really, really high. If you're carrying really low adipose tissue, your leptin should be low. And that helps control your satiety to an extent. In theory, what can

happen is that there's a lot of disruptions that can happen along the way. And sometimes when you have similarly to insulin, which we're going to touch on next, but similarly to insulin, when these hormones are really, really high, right? Because you're carrying a lot of excess storage for like a really, really long time. And so your fat is producing tons and tons of leptin. Your body similarly to when you yell at your children all the time, eventually they just kind of get to like, man, this is just like what mom is doing. time, eventually they just kind of get to like, man, this is just like what mom is doing.

And it's the same thing that happens to yourselves, right? Eventually your leptin has been high for so long and it's been so high that your body doesn't really respond to the messaging in the same way. And so it's really interesting because a lot of people that carry excess body fat, especially around their abdomen, they tend to suffer from a condition that's very poorly understood in medicine that's called leptin resistance.

And so what that means is that your fat is producing a ton of leptin, but instead of that leptin telling your brain like, girl, stop eating, we've got enough, don't you worry, you keep on eating because your brain doesn't really get the message from leptin telling your brain like, girl, stop eating. We've got enough. Don't you worry. You keep on eating because your brain doesn't really get the message from leptin. Yeah, I want to stop you right there because when this is what I'm talking about, when your body stops listening, you just ignore it for so long. Your body just like tried to figure out, I'm going to figure it all out on my own, right? And does the best that it can given the resources. I think leptin resistance, because you know, if you take it back five, six years ago, insulin resistance was hooey, right? Everyone was like, it's not a real thing. It's pseudoscience. And then science says, oh, hey, actually, not only is it a real thing,

but it's the cause of a lot of things. I think leptin resistance, you give it a next year, two years, everyone's going to be talking about leptin resistance. Everyone's going to be talking about it. 100%. And I, you know, it's so interesting because in those cases, if you were following the conversation, you would think naturally, well, if your leptin is high, you should be losing weight because you're not eating as much. Right. But then when that actually happens, your body, it's almost like your set point actually changes to that higher weight rather than helping you return to that lower weight. Right. And I actually think the most fascinating thing that can happen is that if your leptin has been really high

for a really long time, if you lose weight really rapidly, and listen to me here, if you lose weight really rapidly, and I know that everybody wants that magic pill that's like, oh my God, I was expecting to lose 300 pounds on the Gena Lift method, and if it didn't lose 300 pounds, like it didn't work for me. No, no. What will happen when you lose weight really, really quickly is that your body will start sensing these changes in fat. It will start then feeling those changes in the leptin, right? That's caused by the decrease in fat stores and they will panic and they will be like, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait,

wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait, wait. And then as a result, what will happen is that that will sometimes irreversibly impact not just like your hunger and your satiety cues, but also how much weight your body holds on to. And so when we say to you, like, you know, we like, we for sure, you are all here

for weight loss, I get this. But like when we like slow and steady, and when we celebrate your non-skill victories, and when we celebrate the fact that sometimes you plateau at a certain weight and then you start losing again, it's for a reason. And often the reason is because we want this weight loss to stick around forever rather than these short-term solutions that lead you into more of a hormonal mess. Yeah, you want plateaus, you need plateaus. Plateaus are your body taking time to be like, okay, I need a minute, let me adjust, right? And then that becomes, like your set point gets wired really high.

It's not where your body is happy, it's where your body thinks it needs to be to keep you alive based on what you've taught it, what you've learned, what it's experienced. So you give this way, you give your body what it needs. That's the step one of the Living Method. Give your body what it needs to address why it's feeling a need to store fat to help it specifically focus on fat loss.

And the end of the program is not eat even less, exercise even more. It's actually support your body and its needs. So you lose that weight in a healthy way. And I know there are some people losing what seems like weight every day, and you're like, oh my God, am I losing too much weight? You probably have more weight to lose. 100%.

You have more weight to lose. And at some point, you will also see a plateau. Some people lose plateaus in between. Some people lose, lose, lose, lose, lose. Then they have a long plateau. But your plateaus, you start at your set point, you lose weight, you end up at the plateau. And this is your body saying, Hey, I need a minute.

Let me adjust my hormones. Let me adjust it to everything to the change of this happening. You lose weight again. Let me adjust. And this is why at the end of the program, once you've lost your weight and reached your goal, you're not done. You've got to put time into helping your body adjust to your new weight so that your new weight becomes

your new norm. So, you know, everyone pooh-poos, plateaus, you want a plateau, you need a plateau. That's your body saying, okay. 100%. And this is why we don't believe in quick fixes, right? Because if you rewind back to maybe 10 minutes ago and we're talking about how these hormones can change

for years after, right? That like, resist all of these things, like this is supposed to be a lifestyle change. And this is actually why you call it a program, not like a diet, right? Because this is trying to address in the smallest of ways, and in the biggest of ways, a lot of the things that predispose you

to hold on to that weight and feel tired and not feel like yourself and feel unhappy and like all of these things. So I do think that the oversimplification of weight loss has really worked against us, but diet culture has just fed us the exact same story, which we are breaking down. This is what we're doing here. Because you eat less, exercise more, you lose your weight, you go back to your old ways. It doesn't do anything to help with your stress levels that were out of whack doesn't have doesn't

help with, you know, your sleep that you're not getting. It doesn't help with any of it doesn't help with any of it. It just forces your body to burn fat, which it will and then it stresses it out and it causes it to feel the need to store even more fat. Some people are asking about plateaus. You know, you can have someone who loses little bits and then they have, you know, a couple of day plateaus, lose little bits, couple of day plateaus. You have someone who loses what seems like a larger weight than they have longer plateaus. You'll have someone on a program that feels like they're losing every day and then they'll do their next program

and they'll go maybe like half the program, not losing any because equal and opposite reaction. Yeah. It just is, you know, it varies in terms of how people, what weight loss looks like and feels like to them. So everyone is a little different. But doesn't it sit on a plateau and you knit sweaters and you're like, I'm on a plateau.

There's lots of things you can do to- I keep on doing the work. Yeah. Yeah, I keep on doing the work. Okay. Wow. Okay. I know. Let's take a minute to hear from our podcast sponsor today because this new year,

why not let Audible expand your life by listening? Kind of like what you're doing right now. So you can explore audio books, podcasts, even exclusive A audible originals that are no doubt going to inspire you, but more so motivate you. All you have to do is open up the app, tap into your wellbeing,

and you can hear advice and get insight from leading influencers, experts, and professionals. Whatever your focus really or interest, there's a listen for you. You can find titles on better health, like personal fitness or maybe some relaxation. You can hear ways to improve your relationships both in your work and personal life,

or what if you're looking to embark on a new career strategy, or maybe you wanna overhaul your financial life, you can hear a smart talk about investing for your future because you'll find that too. Ultimately, it's all about starting good habits and that is where Audible can help. They can help you reach the goals that you set for yourself and you can start listening today when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.ca. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack,

fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters. Get customized coverage today, starting at $19 per month at ZenSurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen. Then food choices. Let's talk about food choices.

And I think that Dr. Van always does such a great, and also Sandra, do such a great job at explaining this about you know the dopamine response and like how your body thinks about food and things like that so I'm going to try to summarize it really quickly um but just think about it this way from from an evolutionary standpoint it's really important to your survival that you continue seeking out behaviors that um you seeking out behaviors that help you survive, right? And so that's actually why food gives you pleasure, to an extent, because if it didn't, you wouldn't seek it out, like you wouldn't really eat,

right, you'd just be like, oh, whatever, it's like waste of time. And so the really cool thing is that whole foods, so regular foods, right, give you an appropriate amount of dopamine. Dopamine is that neurotransmitter, it's not really a hormone, but it kind of acts like a hormone in a way, so I always like plugging it in here.

But dopamine is your reward system. It's your reward mechanism, it's actually what your dog releases whenever they see a treat. What you probably release when you add things to cart that you've been looking at for a really long time. And so dopamine makes you feel really good. It helps with like pleasure signaling. And so if you eat whole foods, there's an appropriate amount of dopamine release, an appropriate amount of pleasure that you get from that specific food. And so what happens now is that you have this ancient brain

that's coded for survival and balance, meeting your current food environment, right? And this is actually where we get into trouble because your food environment right now is engineered for highly palatable, really sugary, really processed foods that give you way too much dopamine for and way too much pleasure for what you're eating and what you're consuming. And so the hard thing is is that then your reward brain and

that dopamine center ends up craving things that are a lot more processed, a lot fattier, a lot sugary, because the food industry has developed these so that you over consume and overeat, right? And it's so interesting because I actually didn't know this, but the food industry and a lot of like the snacking and like the highly palatable foods were actually developed a lot of the times for soldiers and like, you know, for like to keep them like, you know, give them a little boost of energy in a really short period of time to kind of get them continue the fight and like the battle for whatever it is that they were fighting for. And so the hard thing about that is that,

you know, the food industry realized like, oh, we make money from this. And they realized that people were just gonna consume only so much at meals. So they had to figure out a different way to plug in more food and more things that you would consume more, right? And that's actually where a lot of the packaged snacks started to come in. And packaged snacks from the beginning of time

haven't been like, let me give you a few apple slices and grapes in a little package, right? They tend to actually be, the package nice tend to be the worst of them. They tend to be the most processed, sugary-est, fatty-est, like highest caloric, I guess like foods that we have available because they need to activate and over activate that reward mechanism, the reward center that keeps you wanting more and more and more.

And we call them treats. So we associate them with treats and ways where nobody over ate a bowl of broccoli. Like no one's sitting at dinner being like bowing more and more broccoli than they can possibly. I wish though, I wish that you were just like, I love this. And that's actually why you, you like, you tend to, you know, this, that's also part of the reason as to why we tend to love fruit a lot more than we love broccoli, right? Because it tends to release a tiny bit more dopamine in your brain and you're like, I'm enjoying this a little bit more for most of us. It's so I, in that, I think that that's also part of the reason as to why I get so upset

when people come into my office or this program being like, well, you know, but like, it's impossible for me to just like focus on whole foods. And I'm like, is it though? Like that is actually what your body is supposed to thrive on and what your body is meant to eat. We were hunter gatherers. We weren't like hunter gathering Cheetos, you know?

And that's actually why when we're talking about mindful eating, it is so much easier for you to be like, mm, I'm full. When you eat the broccoli with the salmon or when you eat the salads that we're talking to you about, whereas like if you have a couple Cheetos, you're like, okay, I'm just gonna go back and I'm gonna go back and I'm gonna go back, right? It's not willpower again. It's just that the food industry is tapping into a center of your brain that they know is going to help you consume more, that's going to help them

make more profits. Yeah, because your body doesn't want that. It doesn't need that. You want it because you're associating to it, right. And there is that addictive quality to it in the way that they are creating foods, but you're not helpless. And that's why this conversation is so huge is to open up your mind and try to look at it from a different from a different angle. Let's talk with that dopamine because I follow this neuroscientist and she talks about how

we're so used to all these quick and high dopamine hits that you all you almost have to get used to not feeding into the dopamine hit. For sure. Like you you there is a bit of that kind of resiliency to like no I'm not going to feed into that that dopamine head even if it makes you sad and you really want it and it's hard and all those things you will notice people notice on the living method that they actually start to crave salads, fresher foods, their taste buds actually turn on. So they're actually able to taste food better when they're not kind of feeding into all of that crap. But you know, if we go back to the leptin resistance,

and we, because we know we've talked about insulin resistance so often. So if we go back to the leptin resistance, because we've talked about insulin resistance so often, so if you go to the concept of insulin resistance, it's probably dopamine resistance, right? Your levels are high all the time and so high for so long that your brain is like, meh. It just doesn't really get that hit from dopamine anymore, but it wants it to be high all the time, all day long, because you don't, it's almost like, you know, my, as you know, my husband's a medical doctor and he always talks about this, like people with diabetes don't feel the sugar highs, but they feel the sugar low. Yeah. Right. That's actually why often you don't even know that you have diabetes. Like, yes,

you see it in your weight and you see this, but like, it's not that you're just like, oh my God, like, well, you know, I need to eat. It's the same thing with dopamine, right? Your dopamine has been so high for so long that when you eat an apple, you're not like, mm, that was amazing. Now, when you reduce those dopamine levels because you take out all of that gunk,

it's almost like you clean out those receptors and your brain starts listening to dopamine a lot more than it was before. And you know, I, it's probably the same neuroscientists that we're following. But there there's such a thing right now in neuroscience that they talk about, like that the we need like the dopamine challenge and cutting out a lot of the behaviors that give you those like really high surges of dopamine. Right. And trying to get your body back into exercise, which gives you dopamine, like sexy times, which gives of dopamine, right? And trying to get your body back into exercise,

which gives you dopamine, like sexy times, which gives you dopamine, whole foods, which gives you dopamine, like a lot of the other behaviors, but it's like, it's an adequate amount of dopamine that then your brain is going to get. And that doesn't lead to the same type of resistance in the same way that the normal surges of insulin

that you get from whole foods or the normal surges of leptin that you get from having a little bit of fat because it's impossible for your body to have 0% body fat. I mean, it can, I guess, to an extent happen, but a lot of bad things happen when that happens because your body needs body fat as much as we want to. It needs body fat as much as we don't want to. It needs body fat. So I do think that understanding in having a little more compassion for where you're at

and how all of these things are connected so that you can deeply understand why you're doing the things that you're doing that help you then stay motivated to continue doing again, the consistent and the non-sexy changes are the ones that make the biggest difference long-term, which is why you're here, you guys. I want our members to be just as excited

about this conversation as I am. And if you are like, what hormones? I don't know, I'm lost. Listen to the conversation again, or go back and listen to our sleep and stress series. Dr. Paul talked about inflammation and how it kind of like, if you add inflammation on top of your hormones and your hormones are like all this resistance, it's like inflammation causes this, like it's, it makes it mucky for your hormones to communicate. So they're like,

for your hormones to communicate. So they're like, oh, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa. That's how I love my scientific explanation. Isn't that great? It's a good one. It's a really, really good one. But hormones, mass, I'm sorry,

inflammation makes it harder for your hormones to communicate. And so that's sort of the- For sure. Yeah. And you know what, and that's actually why, when I talk about the consistent changes and things like that, it's because right now when we're talking about dopamine, you have to know that this is like a it's part of the limbic system. So it's part of like a very specific system in your brain that seeks out those like pleasure behaviors, right? And those reward mechanisms. But there's a different part of your brain that we actually call your conscious brain that's more like prefrontal cortex driven by like your thoughts and your actions and like the things that you have control over And so that your conscious brain can also be like I know that I'm craving X But like I'm a walk away from that and I'm gonna go for like a 10-minute walk Or it actually helps you make the choices to walk away from that dopamine

You know those dopamine seeking behaviors. But in order for your conscious brain to be able to do that, you need to be sleeping well. You need to be dealing with, you know, exercising or moving your body. You need to have ample whole foods. You need to be doing all of the small things in order for then your conscious brain to be like, I don't need that. I'm good. Which is why if you go back to the sleep conversation that we have, we had a few weeks ago, right? When you don't sleep either well or efficiently enough or for

long enough, a lot of these hormones, especially when it comes to your hunger and your satiety hormones, completely go out of whack because your body goes into survival mode and that conscious brain completely goes out the window. And so it's not that you're powerless and dopamine is gonna take over your life. No, no, no, you guys. This is not, this is just so that you understand the role that dopamine plays so that when that reward brain is like, hello, did you see the Oreo cookies over there? Because you're tired, you can be like, why am I craving that? Oh yeah, I didn't sleep well. I probably had like, you know, caffeine too late or a glass of wine or like I'm really stressed out. And you're able to kind of like break down those thoughts so that you can break down those behaviors and let go of the, you

know, Oreos and be like, I'm gonna grab an apple instead, or I'm just gonna go to bed earlier. I'm gonna do these things. There's so much power in these conversations because we're trying to give you the tools in order for you to change your life. I can't, I can't. Again, when we talk about this part of weight loss, I love that conscious brain. It's not all about your past and your associations.

You have a lot of power. You have a lot of say. And when your hormones are at whack, because you haven't been sleeping, you're not managing your stress, you're not managing your body. I love what you said there, managing your stress, trying to get better sleep moving your body strengthens your conscious brain. So you have more awareness, more wherewithal. Right? I don't want to say more will willpower. It's not willpower. It's not you're sitting here and being like, I saw someone's like, Oh, I crave sweet things. I have a bunch of sweet teas. I don't know if I'm

willing to challenge my willpower. Right? Like, it's like, you don't even really need to challenge it. You need to understand if you're happy with those teas, fine. But if you keep reaching for the Oreos, and you're not happy, then that's where you got to be like, okay, what's going on here? What's going on here? Oh, am I right? Right.

I can't. I know. I hope I can take it more today. I know. It's just so good. I know. I mean, we have all the other, the metabolism and fat storage ones are like up next, you guys, which are like, I think you love this one. You love insulin. Like when we talk about

metabolism and fat, I actually see, you know, like the emoticons that have like the little stars, like I just see your eyes just like light up because you get so excited about this one. Look at them. Look, you guys, look at her. Like she just gets giddy about like the fat storage and like the metabolism loss that are up next. Again, it comes, should we save that? That's me. Should we save this until next time? Because I think we've given people a lot. This is, this is so much. And I get excited because again, it's the oversimplification, just eat less, exercise more, they say. The expectation of losing all your weight in 21 days. And I just feel like, man, I don't know.

I just, I really hope people are like, wow, oh my goodness. I had no idea. And then translate that into mad respect for still being here eight weeks in. And I'm hoping you're understanding that weight loss, especially losing weight in a healthy, sustainable way is so much more than what you are eating and when. And so Dr. Ruth Kane has been studying the maintenance, people being successful in maintenance.

And it's about really learning, having the skills and the tools and learning what you need to lose, you're learning what you need to learn while losing weight that enables you to be able to maintain and sustain your weight. That's that lifestyle change that you are talking about. But you're not just rewiring and retraining your brain, you're rewiring and retraining your body

or getting your hormones back on track. Like I just. A hundred percent. Yeah. And you know what? And I, I have always had this with your program and you always laugh when I say this, but it's true.

I really do think that this is a lifestyle program that you packaged and lure people into it being like, but you're going to lose weight because you're going to, but we, you know, and every expert that's on this panel, on these panels, like they will always talk to you about like the reason why we love this is because you are the only person that really takes a step back. And it's like, you guys, like this is, and you've been doing this for 30 years, right? Like now there are like great people like Dr. Sasha, hi, Dr. Sandy Van, like that, that talk about how complex obesity is. And it is a disease, right? And we are talking, our conversations are changing a lot

around like BMI, which is actually the most flawed mechanism that we have in medicine to gauge somebody's body composition and their disease risk and all these things that was actually very much like a lot of things in medicine, only applicable to Caucasian men. And so we were having this conversation and that's actually why even like the menopause, I don't know, so great because

there are a lot of things in medicine that simply don't apply to the same extent or in the same way to women, right? So having these different conversations in tandem and being like, you know, I'm watching my husband that just like added in two snacks and like got rid of like the snacking at bedtime and started sleeping better and he's melting and I've lost 0.3 pounds and sometimes I gained two pounds. Like, what is that? So that you are giving that space to be like, but you guys, this

is a lot more complex than that. I think is not only like fascinating, but like your life's calling. Like I really, really truly think that because I just think it's about empowering men and women of all ages to make the changes that are just going to help them live the life that they're supposed to live. And I think that the hardest part about weight is that it's your social currency to an extent,

right? You can't escape that. And for a really long time, because of the language that we use, not even just in medicine, but in society, we've really demonized people that carry more adipose tissue. And we've always looked at them like, I can stop eating. Why can't you? And now that we understand, it's not even just about the sleeping

and all of these things, but there's a gut microbiome part of it. There's genetics part of it. There's so many areas that we need to start looking into it as medicine. Then we take a step back, exactly like what you were saying with leptin resistance. Now you're like, oh yeah, in a year maybe we're going to talk about leptin and there's going to be another drug or another this or another that.

But you guys, all of the simple things that you're putting in, we just talked about this. When we're talking about hunger hormones and GLP-1, you and I love medication. We're not saying that there's not a place for that, but the simplest thing that you can do is actually make sure that your macros are balanced and you're having your snacks and you're having these things because they target these hormones that you're trying to target with these medications. Anyway, you know, and so I love that word. Sometimes when it's your first program, it can feel so complicated and so overwhelming, but actually when you take a step back, it's actually very simple. It's just trying to give your body what it

always was meant to have in order to thrive. Oh, I love everything you just said. I had a conversation with Lexi. Lexi, I hope you're listening in our live last night and she's like, she just started losing in week seven. And first of all, I love that she's still here. And I explained to her like, week seven is about giving your body more. It's about feeding into that metabolism. And if your body didn't respond before, especially to downsizing, which people think, oh, I'm eating less, I should lose weight, you probably have a metabolism issue. Your body's probably feeling the effects of past diets, your hormones are probably off. And I said to her, like, it's you've done the hard work up into this

point. This is that breaking point, that threshold where your body's been doing the work. If you can imagine, you know, addressing all of these hormonal issues as you as you do the little things each day that add up and make a big difference and just timing wise, seven weeks into addressing that is usually the threshold, the breaking point, where your body's like, okay, like I've had a minute to address all of these things. I feel more like, whoo, I've addressed why it's feeling the need to store fat if it's based on hormonal issues. And now your body's like, okay, all right, I'm feeling good. Maybe, oh, I am carrying this excess fat. I haven't needed to use it in a while. Let me start figuring out how to like release

it, get rid of it. And so, so you know, this is where this is usually why that seven weeks is a breaking point. Um, I love you. And I will say, you know what, I, the only thing that I want to say about that specifically is that, um, you have to know, you know, the vast majority of us that are on this program, this is not our first radio. Like we've tried to lose weight before. And a lot of us that are on this program, this is not our first radio. We've tried to lose weight before. And a lot of us have tried to lose weight in arguably now very unhealthy ways that at some point were the fat or what we thought that was the best thing. Like intermittent fasting, for example.

I know that I'm really pooping on intermittent fasting, but it's like, no, but 100% or whatever like whatever, you know, whatever it is like the HDG diet, whatever it is. There's been so many, I can't even list them all. And so I, there's a very complicated process that happens with this, especially with the hormones that we just talked about, like leptin, right? But what you have to know is that if you go back to the simple, simple concept of your body is just trying to survive, and all of these hormones communicate messages to each other. When you start losing weight that dramatically, what will happen is that your body goes into,

I'm dying of starvation, right? And I'm dying of starvation, and that's going to cause your hunger signals, your fullness signals, your desire for foods, right? Like the dopamine and all of these things, and your metabolism or how much energy you spend by just sitting there breathing or on that Peloton bike and like exercising,

that is going to completely change it. And so a lot of the times you then add in the like insulin resistance piece, which we're gonna talk about on Thursday, you add in the chronic stress response that we're going to talk about on Thursday, right? And like how those, the chronic inflammation, like all of these things. And so what will happen for like, even in this program, is that you're trying to make all of these changes and your body is like starting to feel

better and it's starting to see these hormone changes but it's like, I mean I know, I mean I know you're trying to do this, man, but like you've done this to me before. So like, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't trust you, I don't trust you. Because truly it's in a state of like shock, right? And it holds onto that trauma of what it went through before. And so then it takes a while for your body

to start releasing some of this fat and decreasing the inflammation and balancing your leptin. I mean, if you're 13 years old and you go through this, your body doesn't know any better and your body's just like, oh, amazing. Like you're eating better, like great, like less lose a little bit of weight. But when you're holding on to all of the trauma that you've caused from that, you know, under feeding yourself, over exercising, all of these things, sometimes, not for everybody, right? Because everybody's different.

There's so many things that play a role in how you store weight and how you let go of that weight. But for the vast majority of us, unfortunately, your body legitimately tries to hold on to that excess fuel and that fat because it doesn't trust you, because it feels like you've done this to me and I know where it doesn't trust you. Because it feels like you've done this to me and I know where this is going to lead. You're just going to flip on me and then you're just going to like not feed me. I know we've been here before. And so sometimes it

can just take six weeks. Sometimes it can take a program. Sometimes, legitimate, I know I have a patient that you're listening. Hello. I have a patient that she was I think in like program three and she stuck around for the first two because her energy was better, all of these things were better and then like her friends were just like you should just do it with me. And her third program I think that she lost like 72 pounds. I legitimate, I don't remember the exact number but she just said to me you know if I had just given up I wouldn't have seen this and I would have gone back to my old ways. And I said to her if you think about it and, and she's in her late 60s, and I said,

this is actually over 40 years of unlearning that not just your brain had to do, but your body, your fat cells, your hormones, everything had to do in order to trust you and say, like, oh, we're here for the long run. This is in US. Like, this is nice. I trust you.

We can let go of this. And so this is actually why we love plateaus and why comparison is the thief, like, this is nice. I trust you. We can let go of this. And so this is actually why we love plateaus and why comparison is the thief of joy, right? Because sometimes you see all of these people being like, I lost 17 pounds and you're just like, but you also have to have that compassion to be like, you know what though, we have different journeys and our journey here was very different. And my body's going through its own journey, and that's okay. Your hormones will balance, your fat cells will, like, you know, all of this will work.

Just have the compassion and the patience to stick this out, because this isn't a diet. I might actually cry. Okay. I'm actually cry. I'm going to cry. I'm actually, I'm going to cry. I just thank you for this conversation. I just, I hope people get this, that this is everything you guys, this is just everything that we're trying to share and why I just, I can't, I don't know if I want to get up and dance or I just want to lie in bed for a minute. I'm not really sure.

I wish that like virtual stuff you could just like reach over and like hug. But this is, this is going to be like a giant hug to all of you guys. This is supposed to be the conversation that feels like a giant hug. It feels like, yeah. I can't, honestly. This is what I'm begging and pleading and every day I get in the check in and I have these conversations on the lives. This is just what I want people to know. And when I say I have mad respect for people who stick around when the scale isn't moving, I know what the end result is if you just keep going and I know why, but it is so complicated to try

to explain. And this is why your doctors aren't having this conversation because it's taken us 52 minutes and we're going to have to come back on, on Thursday and continue the conversation. This is why you're not learning this in the little sound bites in on Instagram reels and Facebook reels And this this is this is just why to write the book about this stuff would be so incredibly boring To write it in that scientific way that if someone didn't write it in that way would be ripped apart so no one bothers to try to to tell you and share with you and so I Am just in love with you and our guests

and the time that you share and taking the time to break it down in a way that our members need to hear so they can understand and then relate it back to their own journey. I just, I fucking can't with this conversation today. Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you.

And I mean, the rollercoaster is just gonna continue on Thursday, you guys like. Yeah. Because Thursday's gonna be wild. Once we start getting into like the insulin And I mean, the rollercoaster is just going to continue on Thursday, you guys like, because Thursday is going to be wild. Once we start getting into like the insulin and the estrogen, testosterone, like all of these things, like you guys, if you thought today was amazing, like you just hold up. Yeah, it's just, yeah, it's going to be great. This is our version of fun, you guys. I need a nap. Okay, let's end it here. That was a lot.

Thank you. I love the conversation at the end, right? I think sometimes we need a minute to understand why we're having these conversations so important. Thank you everyone who I hope you love this conversation as much as I did. I don't even care. I just, this is just like fulfilling my soul.

If you thought this was boring, we don't really care. We just had a lot of fun, you guys. Thank you so much for sticking around. Like, we hope you learned something. We hope that you walk away inspired. And we hope that you stick around with us. Honestly, we're a fun group. Like, we're gonna have fun together.

If nothing else, you'll have fun with us. Dr. Alinka Trejo, everyone, you can find her at at Dr. Alinka over on Instagram, you can also reach out to her at or send an email to info at dr Alinka.com. Do you have a website you guys is a dr Alinka.com? There we go. You got it. Got it.

My brain is so creative. I'm no different. All right. Thanks everyone. Dr. link. I'll see you on Thursday. Thank you so much. Oh my gosh. My pleasure. See you Thursday guys. Let's take a minute to hear from our podcast sponsor today because this new year, why not let Audible expand your life by listening kind of like what you're doing right now. So you can explore audio books, podcasts, even exclusive Audible originals that are no doubt going to inspire you, but more so motivate you. All you have to do is open up the app, tap into your wellbeing, and you can hear advice

and get insight from leading influencers, experts, and professionals. Whatever your focus really, or interest, there's a listen for you. You can find titles on better health, like personal fitness, or maybe some relaxation. You can hear ways to improve your relationships, both in your work and personal life. Or what if you're looking to embark on a new career strategy,

or maybe you want to overhaul your financial life? You can hear a smart talk about investing for your future because you'll find that too. Ultimately, it's all about starting good habits. And that is where Audible can help. They can help you reach the goals that you set for yourself and you can start listening today when you sign up for a free 30-day trial at audible.ca. Do you have business insurance? If not, how would you pay to recover from a cyber attack, fire damage, theft, or a lawsuit? No business or profession is risk-free. Without insurance, your assets are at risk from major financial losses, data breaches, and natural disasters.

Get customized coverage today starting at $19 per month at ZenSurance.com. Be protected. Be Zen.