The Livy Method Podcast - Introducing Registered Dietitian Alissa Steinberg - Fall 2025

Episode Date: October 16, 2025

In this episode, Gina welcomes Registered Dietitian Alissa Steinberg to explore how real-life nutrition meets real-life bodies. From breaking down the science behind sustainable health to understanding the emotional side of why weight loss can feel harder than it should, they cover the key factors that influence your journey—like gut health, movement, and the power of protein and fibre. It’s a practical, real-talk conversation about what actually supports long-term weight management and why knowledge—not willpower—is what makes the difference.Where to find Alissa:Instagram: @healthyu_dietitianwww.healthyu.caIf you are in the Fall 2025 Support Group, you can check out the full video here:www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodfall2025To learn more about The Livy Method, visit livymethod.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm Gina Livy, and welcome to the Livy Method podcast. This is where you'll have access to all of the live streams for 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 re-listen 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.

We're focusing on sustainable habits, not quick-fixing. Is it an opportunity to get curious? We're here, help people get to their health goals. One piece it's a time. You build and build and build and build. I could not be more excited to introduce our new guest expert. I have searched long and hard and far and wide. to find the perfect person.

Alyssa Steinberg, registered dietitian. Hello and welcome. That was the best intro. I am so honored, the feeling is mutual. Thank you for having me. Honestly, I, you know, this is such a personal thing. And, you know, everyone's experience is,

it seems like it's profound, personal and profound. And it's such a sensitive topic because we use food for so many things to survive, to show love, to bond, to cope. And it's it's very tricky understanding what we need and why and getting in tune with our bodies and our needs. And it's so scientific as well. So like when science meets real life, that's when things can get a little tricky.

And that's why I'm excited to introduce you today. How does a dietitian fit into helping people reach their not just weight loss? but health and wellness goals with the living method. That's the big question. Okay, great question. So nutrition, as you were saying, it's just a part of it all. So I always think about your weight management journey as a very holistic approach. We need all the different pillar.

We need a team, which love what your program can offer. Nutrition really is the education. So learning a little bit more about when we should be eating, what we should be eating. What are the food groups? How do we navigate a label? Label reading can be very complicated. There's very scientific terms on there. And so once you have the education and you get that kind of foundation,

you can build it into your daily routine and really simplifying it. That's what I love about your approach is it's simple. So when I read your approach, it just immediately is something I can integrate into my day-to-day. But it's that education and then you tailor it to your day-to-day. and really not going too big, but just making those small tweaks that you can build on. That's really the,

that you want that kind of consistency to be able to follow the plan as long as possible. So it's just about the small little, maybe that's a longer answer to your question, but that's kind of where it begin is the education. Well, I'm here for it and I have a lot of questions for you, but first I think people want to know more about you.

Where does your love of helping people come from? When did it start? What drives you? What are you up to? Where can people find you? Give us a little bit of backstory on you. Yeah. So my mom is Italian.

So the kitchen is the heart of our home. So growing up, that's how we show our love. That's how we interact. So I have three other siblings. And if you want to find us all together in our happiest place, it's in the kitchen. So food really started more personally in our own home. And when I was younger, my dad was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. And I was immediately like, I'm going to become his dietitian.

And so I still am. And he's bike riding around the world doing well. But really, it's just about helping people and really understanding the behavior change behind healthier food choices. So my passion really is about understanding the human behavior. applying the science and the nutrition principles, but then when someone I'm working with is doing well, that's my winning moment. So it's a really two-way street and they are they are the driver of all of this. So when I see success, that's what keeps me going.

I love that. Can you share with us maybe some, so clinically maybe how you've worked, some places that you've worked and some of the roles that you've had and how you've helped people that way. I think sometimes people are confused between the dietitian versus the nutritionist versus, I guess me like a weight loss expert or a coach. What's the difference there? Maybe you can share some examples. Yeah. So a registered dietitian, the training is quite rigorous. And dietitians are regulated by colleges. So everything we say and do has a college behind us. And it really needs to be up-to-date evidence-based practice. So you'll find dietitians in hospital settings. I started off working at sick kids for 12 years and I still do a lot of work with my team there.

I work with the faculty of medicine at the University of Toronto designing nutrition curriculum for physicians early on in their training. Unity Health, St. Mike, so that was a big, I was there for a couple of years. So if we could be in hospital settings, different settings, but right now my primary role is private practice. So to see me at sick kids, the wait list could be six months to 18 months. And to help clients a lot faster in this setting. And because dietitians are regulated, we have coverage through most insurance plans. So I'd say 90% of the people I work with actually have coverage for dietitian services.

They just may actually not even be aware. Wow. Okay. Let's get into it now. thank you for that. What do you think people struggle with most when it comes to, well, first of all, when people come to you, do you think it's primarily because they want to lose weight, they want to be healthy, they maybe have digestive issues? What's the main reason that you're seeing people? I know that can vary. Yeah, so I'm a bit more of like a generalist, but most people come to see me for weight management,

but then that comes with a lot of other potential health considerations. So I specialize in metabolic health, cardio metabolic health. So I love blood work. So I'm more of like the science nutrition version where I work a lot with physicians and your health, your medical health team. So if you're cutting me for weight management, I'm also looking at your blood sugar levels. Do you have any insulin resistance that's making this weight loss journey harder for you? Calestero, what does that look like? And if any levels are elevated, you're experiencing more inflammation. So your weight loss journey can be a little bit more difficult. So I like to clear. clean up more of the medical side of things, fatty liver.

So that's just the metabolic stuff, but I also do a lot of work with women. So my world is peeds, but I do mostly adults at this point in private practice and family practice as well. But menopause and just understanding our body and those changes and how that can impact our weight management journey. So I'm more of like the scientific lens on it as a part of as a part of more of a holistic approach. Love that.

We were talking yesterday with one of our guests, Dr. Paul Hercl, about four reasons why your weight can be slower, it's moved. They sort of follow into four umbrellas. So inflammation is one. Food sensitivities is another. What's going on in your gut microbiome and hormones? And can you talk to us a little bit about how, like, is there a lot that we can do in terms of our food choices to address those things? I know that's a loaded question. Yeah.

Yeah. I will do my best to answer. So when it comes to inflammation, inflammation is something that can be detected in blood work, but sometimes not. And the assumption is if something is not really balanced, so stress and cortisol can cause more inflammation. Packaged foods and processed foods can cause inflammation. And so anything we can do to reduce that inflammation will make your journey move in a faster and more effective direction. right so the metatrain eating pattern is something which is a big part of your philosophy is integrating those principles to help reduce inflammation with regards to hormones i'm thinking about insulin resistance insulin resistance is something that we really should be looking into and it's not necessarily a red flag on your blood work as abnormal this is a deeper dive with someone who can help you interpret that um so as an example your average sugar over three months which is your a1c

if that's 5.5 or above. So it's not within a pre-diabetes range. It's not diabetes. But if it's a little bit high within the normal range, you are experiencing a certain degree of insulin resistance. And that means your body's in fat storage mode. So until we address the insulin resistance, which can be done through food and a lifestyle approach, your journey for weight loss might be a little bit more difficult. And you might see some delays. And those discouraging moments can be. difficult, but I'd say thinking about lower glycemic index starches, following, I bring this plate with me everywhere I go, because I'm a huge nerd, but following the proper portions for your starches can kind of give your pancreas that break and help to reverse insulin resistance. Right. Love that. What about food sensitivities? We touched on that yesterday where people are maybe having dairy or gluten that's bothering them and that in itself is leading to inflammation, but people don't know how to how to like diagnose that or you know maybe they're keeping a food diary but not sure is that when you is that where you can help thoughts on that yeah so i think food sensitivities are

important to address if it's causing discomfort the the research on dairy and gluten being pro-inflammatory food sources is mixed so i really say what pattern are can you follow that you can sustain long term. But the gut microbiome needs some love. We all do better with a diverse gut. We want that diversity. So how do we achieve that? We can do fermented foods, eat different foods within our menus, have a bit more of like a cyclic menu. We can also add in like the fermented foods like kimchi, miso paste, kombucha. So different types of ways to diversify our gut are definitely something I would recommend and just fiber in general. But really honing it on a very food specific sensitivity, I try to just follow the lead

of my clients. What about supplements? Are you into supplements? Great. These are all the best questions at 9 a.m. You're ready for action. So supplements, that's a great question. It's always the easiest thing to add. So I always find clients I work with. The first thing that they say is, I bought my supplement. So it's a very easy, low-hanging fruit that makes you feel like you're doing kind of a part of the plan to move your health in the right direction. The two I most often recommend. So always vitamin D. So D drops are the best more easily absorbed form. But we're not getting enough vitamin D in our food supply. And we don't want to rely on the sun to give it to us. So we need to be for bone health and other and other areas of prevention and omega-3s.

So depending on your omega-3 consumption and how much fish you're having, how much flax or walnut or chia seeds you're having, I typically say omega-3s for a top-up. They really help to reduce inflammation. And there's a connection between omega-3s and mood. I call them my happy pills, which is why I think I'm so positive. But omega-3s are a great supplement to consider or top-up within your week. And then everything else, I think, is very specialized. I'm not a big supplement person because food is 100% bioavailable.

So you absorb 100% of calcium from food, but not 100% of calcium from supplements. So if we can maximize the food, I am like right there for it. I have a couple of questions here. And I just saw one from someone who mentioned histamine. So for example, someone is curious, so she can address healing the gut with oxygen. exosalate toxicity and histamine intolerance. I have a history of kidney stones and I'm trying to detox any further issues, but it's tricky business. Now, I know you can't prescribe or diagnose. You don't know this person in their health history, but is this the type of thing that someone would

come to you for? So I do a lot of work with kidney stones. So that would be definitely something I can support. And typically I'm looking at what type of stone it is and really how to prevent that build up. So I would actually recommend some calcium binders. So then the oxalate is, is excreted in your stool versus your kidneys. So and lots of water. A lot of my kidney stone builders, hydration, hydration, hydration. To get to that level of histamine and the, I think again, it becomes very patient specific. But yes, it's good to hear what, you know, your, your medical story. and then I build on that as a part of the work that we do. Let's hear from our sponsor today.

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and she has a fabulous Instagram account full of all sorts of delicious foods, y'all. I think I was going to see one time. Honestly. Yeah, please come on and share some recipes with us. We'll get to that. We're going to have you on every day. You live here now. You are a family, but what do you think about people getting there? Obviously, I share a lot on Instagram. There's a lot of craziness that's happening. And someone who may have like histamine issues or oxalate issues or all, these are pretty complicated issues where they do need some professional advice.

And so what do you think about what's happening out there on the internet? Yeah. What are your thoughts? Yeah, that's so I, the reason why I started my account really was so people can get inspiration and get the right information, that's evidence-based practice. And so it's always changing. But if you're, I think a lot of messaging can get a little bit more traction if they are giving you very isolated advice that makes it seem like it's going to fix everything. So be something that is over-promising or isolating blueberries as the solution for X, Y, and C,

caution those messages because anything that is over-promising and over-simple, it may not actually be the right message to truly help improve those health outcomes. And it can backfire. So, you know, research I just presented at the obesity update conference. And the bottom line for weight management is what's the pattern you can sustain long term? That's the pattern you want to go with. So if you're seeing something that says, remove every food group and essentially not be a part of your Thanksgiving dinner. I would really caution how you interpret that message and what you want to take from it. Hey, great. I noticed you mentioned blueberries. We're all about fruit over here. Let's get into this.

I want to know like your favorite proteins, your favorite food. Are superfoods really a thing? If there's five foods that you would never live without, what would they be? Let's start with that. Five foods I would I would never live without okay I love eggs they're so cost effective and perfect they go into so many different recipes and you could have them on their own um I also love fruit as well so we often think berries are the only fruit that are low in sugar and support our weight management journey but I would defer back to the glycemic index scale so I love apples, oranges, pears. So really those low glycemic index fruit, chicken, I love chicken. And chicken is just an easy protein. And the more spices you can add to it, you can have all

different cuisine. So whether it's Mexican, Italian, you can make chicken so many ways. And I also love legumes. So chickpeas, lentils, kidney beans are the powerhouse. They have soluble fiber that helps with cholesterol. They have protein. They're so cost effective and they're shelf-stable. So I always add a lot of plant-based protein to my menu. And lastly, I do love my sweet so I can't live without chocolate. So a little bit of chocolate, we need it.

We need it to keep going. So I have a place for chocolate chips in different recipes, and that's what I would do. I would imagine it's the darker chocolate, though, the higher cocoa. Yes. Yes, exactly. Yeah. Okay. I love that. Let's talk about protein for a second because there's this big hype out there.

And I think when people talk about making sure you're getting enough protein, it's based on all the crappy, shitty diets people have done before where they're just counting calories and not really worried about where those nutrients are coming from, making sure you're getting enough protein as been a big conversation with women in menopause. Everyone's a little different. But on average, what would you say? What are your thoughts on that? How much do you think people need tips for getting it in? Are there some proteins that are better than others? yes such a good question so uh pro i also want to find questions in there that's the way i know your top five foods also gina okay you were stranded on island what would you take with you um

but i protein is so important so when you're losing weight if you're not prioritizing protein you risk losing muscle mass and so when you're on your weight loss journey you really just want to lose fat mass yeah so if you don't have right protein you don't have protein you're not protein prioritized throughout the day, you really may not have enough muscle retention in your journey. So I typically say 20 to 30 grams of protein with meals and five to 15 grams of protein with snacks. Meaning it's easy. It's easy. Pick your protein first and then build your food groups around it. So the rule of thumb is about 100 to 150 grams of protein daily. And there is such a thing as too much protein during one eating time. That fooding threshold is about 40 grams of

protein. If you're exceeding that, it's no longer doing the muscle repair, the growth and recovery and retention. It's doing other things and it might even be excess calories. So I always say 40 grams of protein at a maximum, but if more is there, that's okay. But ideally 20 to 30 with meals, five to 15 with snacks. And they are different. Animal proteins are more bioavailable than plant-based proteins. They're not as readily absorbed. But we need both.

So I do a lot of cardiac cholesterol counseling. And the portfolio diet is really encouraging us to add plant-based proteins daily. So I'm talking edamami beans and chicken for dinner or roasted chickpea croutons and chicken skewers. So I always do a lot of protein pairing. and it's also cost effective. So if I'm adding chickpeas that are $1.50 for a can with chicken, it's a lot of an easier, more cost effective way to top it up.

Yeah. Okay, I love that. What about sugar? What do you thoughts quickly on sugar? So sugar is something that, so white processed sugar is more pro-inflammatory. So I am more inclined to recommend things like honey or maple syrup because they're more pure, more natural. and they're actually sweeter than white sugar so you can use less.

If you're using a sugar alternative, like a sweetening agent, that your body doesn't count as a calorie, yeah. Yeah, I want to hear this, artificial. Artificial sweet. Okay, okay. So I would say it's really about a personal preference and comfort zone. So a lot of the research on the guidelines for artificial sweeteners are not human-based studies.

So it's a little bit of, it's not the strongest evidence to, us on amounts for safety. But I would say it really depends on what you're having in the home. Monk sweeteners. Stevia, the more natural versions are probably better than the more packaged, like the more chemically based versions, things like aspartane. But I would say I don't add it to people's menu, but I always follow your lead. And I just encourage really a little bit of honey or maple syrup that's more natural.

But it really, if you're having a really tough time with your weight management journey, then we turn it up a notch as time passes, but I don't typically introduce artificial sweeteners if they're not already present. Yeah, yeah, we were like sort of like monk fruit or stevia if you're going to go in that direction, but I prefer the real sugar. But, you know, that's hard for people who have diabetes. And the program works really well. We know this.

It's research. It helps people drop their A1Cs, go from pre-diabatic into normal range. but it can be really scary to make changes in your diet if you're unsure. What is your advice to anyone who has diabetes that is trying to make changes in their diet? What do you think the most important thing is that they can do? I would say creating a really ideal eating schedule. So starting within one to two hours of waking and then every two to three hours thereafter. You're regulating your eating schedule.

You regulate your appetite, your metabolism, and you're not overworking your pancreas. So go all day without eating enough and then you have a bigger consumption in the afternoon or evening, your pancreas is tired and you don't want to overwork it. So it's better to distribute your carbs throughout the day and load up on protein, load up on vegetables and all the fiber that really helps to set the tone for the day. And it's something you can sustain long term as eating regularly. Well, I'm glad you say that. And y'all, I did not pay her nor did I know the answer that she was going to say to that one because people are nervous about eating. eating so often because you're told if you eat so often, it's going to jack your insulin levels and all of that. What you are eating absolutely makes a difference, right? Yes, if you're eating

processed foods and high carbohydrate foods and all of that throughout the day, yes. You mentioned fiber. Yes. I don't think we talk enough about fiber. Well, fiber is a dietitian's favorite F word. So I love fiber also. Fiber is great. Fiber is something we actually do need to maximize. There was a trend called fiber maxing, and I loved it because it was the first trend, one of the first trends, that really aligns with evidence and health benefits. Canadians and North Americans are only consuming half of your fiber daily needs. So we need on average 25 to 35 grams of fiber per day, and we're consuming 13 to 14. So fiber doesn't raise your blood sugars.

It offers a lot of digestive benefit, helps to lower cholesterol, regulates our blood sugars because it doesn't raise our blood sugars. So we are talking vegetables, fruit, legumes, and whole grains. If you're choosing red products, choose versions with more than 4 grams of fiber per serving on the label, as that mimics more of a whole grain profile. What about, do you do fiber supplements?

What's your, do you have faves with fiber supplements? I love, so I do a lot of fiber supplements, mostly for my cholesterol clients, things like celium fiber like metamuseil fiber four if you have any kind of more gut sensitivities that is fantastic for fiber but also cholesterol lowering effects okay love that what about exercise going for walks we're hearing so much more about going for a walk after uh you know after a meal your larger meal how beneficial really is that is it worth like as much as we're dredging it or just tired to put our shoes on and go around the block give us the real real

deal on that? That's a great question. The newest guidelines are really looking at sitting time is it really the implications are quite detrimental. So even if you work out at the gym 30 minutes in the morning and then you sit the rest of the day, that's linked to a whole catastrophic list of health concerns. So the newest guidelines are actually saying to get up every 20 to 30 minutes all day. And that's in the Diabetes Canada guidelines. So we need to be gaining up and even just stretching, going for a walk. So walking really is essential in terms of reducing things like all-cause mortality.

So walking is sedentary time is almost compared to the new smoking. So the initiatives to help people with smoking cessation, sedentary time is going to become that big. It already is, but really that sitting. time is the concern. So we need our steps. Ideally, we're working towards 10,000 steps a day. So I always say when you come home from work or from school or whatever your day has in stores, if you're at 5,000 steps by the time you're home from work, I would say definitely add in an extra workout or movement initiative. And 10 minutes of movement is a thousand

steps. So I always say that's comparable to you get 3,000 steps in one Netflix episode of a TV show. So something to work towards. But I say if you're by the end of the day closer to 5,000, we have to top it up. Yeah, I didn't get mine in this morning. So I'm going to actually walk on my treadmill while I have one of the meetings with my team. So I'm going to be doing that. Okay. You know, I absolutely adore you. I'm so excited about all the conversations we have yet to have. What are you in knowing our community and what they're trying to do honestly working really hard

to just lose weight in all the right ways physically, mentally so they walk away, being healthier in tune trusting when to eat, what to eat, how much to eat.

What is the thing that you are excited because you have a community engaged we are ready to learn and listen. What are you excited about talking about? I think just to compliment

a lot of what you're already doing. I work with a lot of patients who've been through your program and love it. but where I can be more excited about is helping with the very specific health areas of concern. So if cholesterol is high, if you have pre-diabetes, if you have fatty liver, just really, if you're going through menopause and what that means for your bone health and really understanding the tests that you need to ensure your bones are in a good place.

So I'm excited about being able to complement a lot of what you're doing with more of the more of the very specific health concerns that some people do face and just empowering yourself with where what is my health, where am I at with my health goals in addition to my weight management? What else is going on? And I am excited to be able to really offer those complimentary supports. Love it. Love it. Love it. Love it. Okay. Lots of people asking about fatty livers and cholesterol and all of that. This is going to be back and joining us. Today I just wanted you to meet her and get a sense of who she is and her passion for helping people. You can actually go follow her.

She's got to come back and share some of her incredible recipes and such a great story behind how and why she started her recipe account. She has millions, millions, millions of views on her for foods. It's delicious. And that's why Healthy You underscore Dietitian. And my eight-year-old films most of my videos. Yes. Her eight-year-old films most of her videos.

how great is that. And then you can go over to her website if you're interested in working with her, finding out more about her. She's also a speaker. She goes on the socials. You see her at conferences. She's all over the place if you want to go and and listen to her talk. Healthyu.com. Alyssa Steinberg. Thank you so much. You're amazing. I'm so honored. It's over you. Thanks for everyone who joined us live or listening after the fact. Have a great rest of your day. Thank you so much. My goodness. Thank you.