The Livy Method Podcast - Maintenance & Mindfulness: Mindset Mondays - March 9, 2026

Episode Date: March 9, 2026

Maintenance Mindset Mondays is all about cracking open the conversation about what REAL maintenance looks like – beyond the scale and deep into personal transformation. Join Gina and Odette as they dive into the week’s focus, share insights on all things maintenance, and answer your questions. Whether you’re new or experienced, there’s something for everyone!This week, Gina and Odette focus on the role of awareness and self-regulation (and what that ACTUALLY means). As The Program evolves and snacks are adjusted, they explain how these changes help members move away from eating out of habit and toward paying attention to what their body actually needs. They encourage listeners to check in with themselves throughout the day and recognize personal patterns around hunger, routine, and timing. This conversation highlights that lasting weight loss comes from learning to trust your body, tune into its cues, and develop the self-regulation skills that support choices long after the program ends.You can find the full video hosted at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/ginalivymaintenanceandmindfulnessTo learn more about The Livy Method and our Maintenance & Mindfulness group, 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.

Yeah, close enough. Fine. Whatever. What are you eating? Oh, my goodness. So, you know, I'm doing that spinach pie. Yes. Someone the other day was like, it's so a frittata.

I was like, wait, what? No, a frittata actually is something that is eggs, but it is cooked in a skillet and then baked, kind of like a baked omelet, whereas a crustless zucchini. pie has been a coconut flour in it. And so I made this the other day. It took five minutes. Grading zucchini is like next level zen. They're just like swoosh, swoosh, swoosh, yeah. It's just really just zucchini, a bunch of eggs, a bunch of cheese, some powdered garlic and like coconut flour. I didn't put enough cheese in this time though. And last time I had like cottage cheese in there. They were doing cheeses. And so it's a little,

And then I just add some avocado. So it's so delicious. So don't mind me. I'm going to kind of, I was eating. I'll put it aside. But I am so fucking thrilled with myself that I made this yesterday. So I had it to eat today. I'm like, you're amazing.

Because I'm fired today. I hate to dwell on the fucking time change. And I'm tired. But like, can we just for a hot second? Yeah, because I think it's, I'm angry today because of the time change. But I feel really good. And I don't know if I feel good because I'm deliriously tired where I just, I don't really understand what's going on. So I'm just happy.

It's the third coffee I've had today. I was going to say, are you having wine? Did you have bailies in your? Not yet. Not yet. That would make me more tired. Yeah. So my alarm went off at 6 a.

I was telling Jody before we got on. Yes, the time change happened. But my son and my husband were away. They were at West for four days for my son's reading week. And they just got back yesterday. And I said, it's really amazing how quickly you get used to having the bed to yourself. That all you said it when you don't have the bed to yourself. I was just didn't have a great sleep.

You know, he's a big guy. He's warm. And then, you know, so I didn't sleep well. And then the alarm went off really early this morning. So, yeah, the time change does have me messed up. I love the longer days. But everything feels a bit off. You know, like it's.

And I'm. I'm constantly telling myself, oh, but it would only be five or six or whatever it might be. I would be up for like a week. Yeah. So you don't let yourself embrace it. You're like, well, it's only this time. Well, it's really only this time. Yeah, we stayed up late last night because we were like, oh, we were so tired. And then rather than actually going to bed at like, would have been 9.30, we stayed up because like, oh, it's actually really only this. And then 10.30. And I'm like, why didn't we just go to, like, what? Why do we fuck that up like that? And then we were having dinner last night. My son's like, how is it still light outside? But I just want to say hi to everyone who's joining us. It's a busy day in the group today.

Hello. It's week nine. This is such a great week. Yeah. I love week nine because it just, I love the flexibility of it. And I love that it is starting to really mimic your life beyond the plan. Because you're not eating this week, you know, the plan changes up. Even though we're just taking one snack away.

way, it feels like a huge change. It does. So I think this is also getting you ready for what, you know, you're going to need beyond a plan. When you're not following a food plan, you're going to be like, okay, what do I need this afternoon? What does my body need this afternoon? Because you're not going to be eating just out of habits. I think we can fall into this trap. Like, well, I'll just have this because in another hour, I'm going to have another snack because I'm supposed to. But what do you need now? So you're actually like really tuning into hunger and needs versus habits, like that habit of having those two afternox. That's such a great point because if you think about it, and I know if you're new to the

maintenance program, you might not be there yet, but this is all getting you to personalize in the plan, which is ultimately what you're going to follow when you are ready and you can trust when to eat, what to eat and how much to eat, where you every day can look a little different, where you literally just checking in. Like I know I can go really long periods of time without eating. I know that about myself. So I check in with myself and be like, okay, like, or I'll start to get a little irritated if I haven't eaten. But if I'm focused on doing work, I won't eat.

So I know that about myself, right? And so same thing. Maybe you know that about yourself. Like if you don't eat enough during the day that you're going to be extra hungry in the evening. And you're not trying to like control what you're eating or manipulate how your body reacts. You're just trying to really get to know and understand yourself. And then once you put time into solidifying your weight, once you control, trust when to eat, what eat, how much to eat. It's a matter of wake up, look, good, feel good,

go about your day, being in tuned to your body's needs. How am I feeling today to do it at's point, right? So checking in at breakfast, checking in at snack time, you know, lunch time, checking in, you don't need to check in twice in the afternoon, but check in the afternoon, check in the evening, that constantly just retrains your brain to check in on yourself and assess your situation rather than like that food noise of constantly thinking about the next thing. Right? You just know you're going to check in. So, This switch in two snacks down to one is going to help kind of like kind of kick you out of that routine that your body's been so used to enough that it's not stressful, but enough for your

body like, wait, what? And then more flexibility of those snacks. So really bumping up that protein and fat with your morning snack to kind of offset that hunger. Because if you're hungry in the evening, it's not because you're hungry in the evening. It's probably because of something you did or didn't eat throughout the day, right? And then switching up the star of the meal. And I see Karen has a question here.

I still have a hard time figuring out the lunch protein and dinner, veg star. Does that mean we just have less of veg at lunch and less of protein at dinner? So it could be how you're starting out to prepare your meals in general, right? Like at lunchtime, you really want to make sure like half your plate is vegetables. And that's really a focus. And then your protein, leafy greens, any, you know, heavier carbs if you add them in. Whereas dinner, you really want to focus on getting that.

protein in. And yes, of course, some veggies. So if you think of that, that, you know, that if you have that plate that looks like, here, let me dry it for you. You know, you do the half and then you put the rest in like, you know, so it doesn't mean, though, that you want to eat more, more protein than what you need at lunch, right? So this before was your vegetables. This was your protein, leafy greens, healthy fats. And then if you wanted to add in some, you know, heavier carbs, it's sort of on top of that. Now you obviously, it's not like, the size you just need way more protein is just you want to really focus on protein being the main component of your lunch and then add veggies, leafy greens, healthy fats. And of course,

lunchtime still being the place to add any heavier carbs. So you want to minimize those this week. So try to go without those heavier carbs this week. Protein and fat will feed into your satiety hormones. And so yeah. So like for example, today I'm eating, you know, I'm having some eggs. So I know there's a lot of eggs in here. I got my avocado, which is my healthy fats. There's some zucchini in here. So this is more eggs than it is zucchini, right? And then I'm just going to add some leafy greens in on top of that.

So it's really, it's nuanced because then we could break it down into just, you know, there's certain orders you can eat food in and what are you actually hungry for and what appeals to you. It's just like really make sure you're focusing on. You don't need more protein than you need at lunch. Right? Yeah. And I think this is having this protein at lunch is really going to help you transition into that one afternoon snack too, because that protein is going to help you feel longer. So you're not going to necessarily feel like, you know, you could be in your head and your mind already, like, oh, I'm going to be really hungry with only one snack.

What am I going to do with only one snack? But you're going to notice when you're focusing on that protein at lunch, it's going to help you feel sustained longer. So that one snack is going to feel like enough. It will be enough. You might have to get over that mindset of having to. But if you really get into your physical body into your belly, you're going to notice that that protein at lunch, that focus there is going to help you feel satisfied through the afternoon. Yeah. And there's a reason why people on the outside world, and I say that because they don't know that we're doing this kind of work in here are always talking about making sure you're getting enough protein in your diet.

Right. And just making sure you're including protein like you have been up to this point. It's not like you need even more. You haven't been getting enough. That's not it. it is minimizing those two snacks down to one and then, you know, putting that emphasis on protein. Breakfast was always high in protein. Sometimes though at this point, we get a little relaxed on focusing on protein as the star. We get into what we like and what we love. So doubling that down,

right? The extra protein will hold me over until one later snap, right? And that's what that's, that is exactly what that's about. I like this comment from Kim. I think this revamp is great to distinguish the difference between habitually eating and eating according to what your body wants and needs. Yeah, we have to shake things up to get the body's attention and rewire things. Also get you more calm. At this point, you know, nobody needs to be eating five, six times a day. And your hunger levels can change day to day. Now, if you know that if you don't take time and eat at certain times, then you risk not being able to eat at all. Like sometimes the way we've created our lives, we need a schedule. And so sometimes it can look like following the basic, like,

once you've lost your weight and you're just living your life, sometimes that can look like following the basic food plan. But it's also okay to like, you know, not have breakfast, you know, have a snack in the morning, not be hungry for lunch, have a snack in the afternoon, not be hungry for dinner one day, right? You just, that's where we get into when we do personalize this plan. Just make sure you're not going too long without eating. And then, you know, it could be one day I'm hungry for breakfast, hungry for snack, hungry for lunch, not hungry for afternoon snack, and then go for dinner.

So every day can look a little different, but being able to, trust ultimately, are you actually hungry versus triggered, eating out a habit, coping? What are you hungry for? Is it fruit? Is it sweets or is it just fruit or is it, you know, vegetables? Is it a protein? What is it? And of course, the how much to eat part, right?

Yeah. And this is a great week to really understand. So what you might be wanting. Like you said, you know, is it something sweet that I want? Is it fruit that I want? But then also asking yourself as the week goes on. Okay, like I kind of want fruit right now, but I'm going to, you know, how long do I need to stay satisfied for? Am I not going to get dinner until later?

Maybe I really need to focus on having something that's going to keep me satisfied later. And this, again, is going to transition when you're off the program. So when you're not following the plan, you're out there living your life, you're like, okay, I've got, I'm good, I need to eat now. And I'm not going to be able to eat for four and a half, five hours. You know, do I need something that's only going to sustain me for an hour or do you need something that's going to sustain me for four to five hours? five hours. That's going to help you make those choices as well. You're going to know that, you know, having that protein and fat versus just the fruit or just the carb or just whatever it is, it's going to help you go a little bit longer on those days when you need to go a little bit longer.

Yeah. That's all that's setting for the future. It is. It's always bigger picture, right? And we loss, it's about getting to maintenance. And maintenance is about getting to living your life. And it's always big picture. I love Karen reminding us here. I get my lunch. She's listening while getting our lunch ready. Important to take note of not having a bigger lunch just because protein is the focus. Yeah. Yeah. Still asking those four sets of mind bleeding questions, still just enough. There's some interesting comments here about you want to take note of talking about the flexibility of the tweak this week. Sue says this feels more like real life living for me. Love this tweet. Right. And yeah, this is setting yourself up for that. Always bigger picture, right? Mary, I didn't like this week in my first round missed my two afternoon snacks,

but now I find it difficult to fit them both in when we are early in the program. So happy to be here. Adding the protein with fruit is also a bonus. Right? And I love Judy saying, what if you don't want to snack before lunch? So you still want to follow the rhyme and the reason, the routine and the order of the plan. You don't want to just not have an afternoon snack, not have a morning snack. Like you're skipping a step there.

Anytime you have any issues with dieting, all the thoughts and feels and unsure and doubt, you've got to be able to trust the method behind. If you didn't have your morning afternoon snack and didn't have your morning snack, because it's not about what you feel like in the moment, right? That's the thing about this. Because if you don't have that snack in the morning and then you come to lunch and then what if you, then you're going to feel like, oh my God, I need two snacks in the afternoon. It's just going to fuck with your whole brain.

This is about making changes in the least resistant and the least stressful light. If you don't want to follow the, like, if you don't want to follow the maintenance program proper and just want to personalize the plan, choose that, right? Like trying to be like, well, I don't want to do this. I want to pick and choose the things that I'm doing and not doing. Like beyond you just doing another round of this maintenance program to solidify your weight, you're taking into account everything that you've learned, everything that you've done, the whole systems method, all of that up into this point. and now you want to fuck with it, right? Because you're maybe tired. You just don't want to do this.

You don't want to do that. You don't want to do this. So you're fucking with the method and you're fucking with the system. Now, is it going to be the end of the world? No. But it can get really messy real quick. And that's why systems and methods are so important because there's a rhyme and a reason and a routine to them, right?

So you keep choosing not to have breakfast, not morning snack because you're not hungry for it. You're going to second guess the whole rest of the rest of your day. Right. And I think that second guessing can start to spiral. And then what happens is the next day you're like, oh, like I don't have a system in place. I'm not. I don't know what decision to make. What should I do? I don't know what to do. I'm going to do nothing. And then the day after that, you're like, well, doing nothing didn't work. So now what do I do today? And then you're in this like confused space where you are still trying to make change. You're still trying to learn. But you don't have that system. So then that self-doubt starts to come back in. That trust can't be built. So we come into this spiral. So it really is important to understand how the systems are in place. And then if you do choose to do personalized and plan, like you said, be super consistent

and confident in that way. Don't like, like, oh, you know, I'm personalizing the plan, but I'm going to do my own thing. You know, I'm going to, I'm not going to remember the principles that I've learned up until now. I'm just going to do what I think is right because I'm feeling a bit uncomfortable or unsure. So I think that's important to remember that.

The systems are in place to help you build that confidence, help you build that trust, get rid of those limiting beliefs. That's why it's all there. That's why you're following a system. You're following a method. Yeah. Right. And then also it could be popping up and be like, what is this about?

Right? Why my resistance again? I don't want to have another snack. You probably don't want to fucking have another snack. But your body is so your body because your body's probably telling you I'm not hungry. Why are we eating this? And you're like, bitch, listen. I'm giving you this because I want you to know that I'm going to give you more than what

you need and I'm in tune and this is what we're doing and this is routine. Also reinforces the whole back on. track. So it's great that you can tell that you're now, your body's kind of like, I don't always want to eat when I'm like, why can't you just listen to me? But there's this underlying level of trust you got to build. Can you do just token amounts at snack if you're not hungry? Yeah, nothing changes, right? So if you're not hungry for the snack, you still have a token amount. So it's all about reinforcing that routine and making slight changes that aren't too stressful. Because even if you think, oh, I'm not going to have this snack.

Now you're down to two, now you're down from two afternoon snacks to one afternoon snack to only one snack a day. That's a lot of change on your brain and your body. So we want to stress the body out enough, but not too much. And that routine is the foundation of change. You're almost there. We got four weeks. So let's just follow through right to the end.

And then you want to move on. Sounds like, I think it was Judy who made this comment, you might be ready to just personalize the plan and not do another round of the, the maintenance program. Continue to focus on maintenance, continue to show up for conversations, continue to be part of the community, continue to work on your maintenance journey,

but you might not want to, if you've done a few rounds of the Living Method maintenance program, just like you do as many rounds as a weight loss program as you need, if you've done as many rounds as the maintenance program as you need, you might be ready to move on

to that living your life, testing the waters, personalizing the plan stage, right? Yeah, and still be a member of the group. Like still come for support when you need it. Still ask questions when you need it without having to follow the actual program. The conversations will continue. We're going to talk about, you know, like this week, we're talking about self-regulation.

Self-regulation is something that, you know, comes into play even beyond the program. It's, you know, preparing yourself. It's anticipating those lapses that are going to come. It's anticipating those events and those situations that are coming. And, you know, we talk about self-regulation too. And I think immediately the one word that comes to mind. is control. Like self-regulating is controlling. It's depriving. It's restricting. It's being able to say no to things that you in the past have perceived as bad or not aligned. But self-regulation is really about

your mindset and your thought patterns and your limiting and those limiting beliefs. That's really about self-regulation. Like you don't want to go, you don't want to, when I talk about lapses and situations that, you know, can throw you off routine or have you making choices that may you don't align. You don't want to avoid those. You don't, you don't want to avoid birthday parties. You want to avoid going to family events. You don't want to avoid holidays, you know, because you're worried about what's going to happen with your food choices and your indulgences. But what you want to do is be able to, you know, if you have something planned, so I've got a birthday party coming, you know, and a member sparked this in my mind. So I have a birthday party coming. And I'm going to

go to this birthday party and I'm going to enjoy and I'm going to move on. You know, those are, those are lapses, those are situations where that you can see coming. And then there's these unplanned situations where you're like, oh shit, like I have to work late. I have my routine, I can't make the dinner I thought I was going to make. And it's being able to talk yourself and have your mindset through those situations that aren't going to have you spiraling out of, of the place where you, where you're at. So like, okay, I'm not going to have the dinner that I thought I was going to have. That's okay. I'm going to be able to, you know, just finish this day and have another day tomorrow. It's being able to self-regulate your thoughts that way versus like, oh my God, it's like

that food noise. Oh my God. What am I going to do? What am I going to have? How am I going to work through? This is going to sabotage me. I'm, you know, I'm never going to come back from this. That's where that self-regulation piece comes in. Yeah. You said that beautifully. It's an, it's an intentional awareness, right? It's an intentional awareness and then taking action on it. So self-regulation is, that's what that is, as opposed to like you, what you said, like controlling willpower, moderation. You're never trying to control yourself and moderate yourself. You're trying to be in tune with yourself. You're trying to trust when to eat, what to eat, how much to eat. You are always aware of where you are at in what you need. That is a lot different.

that's a lot different. Sorry, I just want to go back to what Judy said, but what if you don't want to snack before lunch? And that could be like you already kind of sensing and you're so in tune with your body that it's like, I'm not hungry for this. Yes, of course, you still want to follow the plan. But that's a good thing.

That's like that's so good if you are aware. So then you want to pick up on that and be, okay, I'm still going to have a small token amount. Check in 10, 15 minutes later. Am I actually hungry? Sometimes I don't think I'm hungry. I'm really just distracted or I got other things going on. And then when I eat, like I'm having a hard time not eating all of this.

And I was just like, oh, I should, I ate this because I should eat something because after this, you know, I got another fucking meeting that Tony scheduled to me. Meeting, meaning, meeting all day. So I'm like, okay, I need something. But now that I, and it wasn't hungry. So then when I started eating in, I was like, well, shit. Like, I'm hungry right now to the point where I'm actually eating this here. So pay attention because you might not be hungry.

So, but then you do eat something and you realize you check in 15 minutes later. Oh, I'm actually, I was actually hungry. And then carry that feeling into lunch, right? Like, am I hungry for lunch now? Well, I had that token amount of snack. I'm still not really hungry for lunch. Like, you know, so don't be like, oh, it's lunchtime. And this is the size of my portion.

So let me go in and, you know, whatever. So that's where you're, you're always, it's always intentional, everything that you're doing. So self-regulation is not controlling. It's not moderating. It's not about willpower, restricting. It's just about trust and being in tune, you know. Yeah. Yeah.

And not, excuse me, and not letting those thoughts overpower you. It's regulating your thoughts more than it is regulating your food choices. Well, I want to, Karen, great question. But if you aren't hungry for snacks, does that mean you're having too much at meals? So this is really complicated because one of the things that's happening is your body is getting better at digesting your foods. So strengthening your digestive system, which means you're actually able to. to get more nutrients from smaller portions. That can be happening. Two, it could also depend on what you are eating, right? Like that's like, for example, and there was a reason why we had fruit on

its own, but you eat like an apple and you get a certain amount of energy from it. Your body breaks it down to glycogen and your body uses that energy, right? Stores it and then whatever. But let's say you have half an apple and then you add some nut seeds, you know, a boiled egg, nut butter or something like to that, you still get the energy from the apple, and then you get the more sustaining energy from the protein and fat that you've added. So technically that snack can now sustain you for a little bit longer. So it really depends. Like if you have fish, fish usually breaks down like 40 minutes in your system. You have steak. You're going to wait like five hours before that food actually is like registering and giving you like the nutrients and energy at need. So that can also

depend on how long certain foods are taking down to break down your system. So this is where you'll notice that. So it doesn't mean that you've overeaten anything. It could be that what you did eat enough of is now giving you more sustaining energy so that when you check in for your afternoon, like say you have your lunch, if you're not hungry for your snack, then don't have your snack then. Push your snack off an hour. Push your snack off two hours. That's where you now have that flexibility. So it doesn't mean if you're not hungry that you over ate, it could be a variety of different things. And this is leading up to personalizing the plan, which is checking in, which is the tweak that's coming down in the next couple of weeks, checking in, am I hungry

and need to eat? And if I am, what's the best thing to eat? And then paying attention to my portions, obviously. If I'm hungry and need to eat, could eat, I'm not really sure I could have a little something, something. So maybe you have a token amount. or a should eat, which is if I do not eat now, I'm going to run the risk of going way too long without eating. Maybe it's my only window of eating. Or I didn't have breakfast this morning. I didn't have morning snack. If I don't have lunch, I'm going to go longer than three and a half, four hours. Really, you can push that four and a half, five hours without eating. So, so it doesn't necessarily mean that you ate too much. It's just you could be just being in tune with your body saying,

no, I'm still fine. Bitch, I'm still good. Yeah. And I think this also goes back to this conversation with Dr. Fung, Jason Fung, that a calorie is not just a calorie. Like, it's not just a calorie. The way your body uses, you know, 100 calories of cookies versus 100 calories of chicken, let's say, is different. Those cookies are going to, they're going to move through your body really quickly. So you're going to feel hungry all of a sudden. You know, you're going to feel like you need to eat something. And where 100 calories of, of, of, chicken is going to keep you satisfied longer because those nutrients are there. You know, your body is getting what it needs.

So not that we want to talk in calories, but when you think about overeating, it's not, like you said, it's not about the amount necessarily of food that you had. It could be the nutrients that you're having that are keeping you feeling more sustained. And if you're walking away from that lunch, not feeling full, not feeling stuck, but feeling just fine and satisfied, chances are you haven't overeaten, but the nutrients that you took in are going to keep you satisfied longer. You, when you eat your food, you shouldn't walk away feeling like you ate food, a big belly, needing to under your pants, feeling like you need a nap.

You know the feeling. You just know you've had enough. So that's where you really want to dig into. You're leaving yourself, remember, having just enough in the moments that that is when you're walking away, feeling satisfied when you're checking in 10, 15 minutes later. So don't forget about those basics, right? We tend to think after that, oh, I over ate too much. So if that keeps happening to you where you actually feel like I eat enough, walk away

to full, eat enough, walk away too full, go back and really work on your cues because chances are you're missing a cue there where you are still overeating. Maybe your habit is, okay, I feel like I've had enough. Let me eat two more bites, right? Like really check your cues. Then this is where, I mean, that's what downsizing does, right? You start off downsizing, you feel like you're going to starve to death. And then, you know, after a couple days of downsizing, you kind of get used to.

leaving a few bites less. So that's where you really want to go back and dig into those four sets of mind-cleaning questions. Can we got to wrap this up? I am dying to finish the rest of this. So I'm going to share that recipe because I know that people are going to be wanting it now. It's so simple. It's so simple. Break some eggs.

Add some cheese. I think it was like a half a cup or something of coconut flour. You could probably use almond flour or something like that. Powdered garlic and some salt and just mix it up. Throw it into a baking pan. 375, 50 minutes. So simple. So simple.

Also, I could just literally grate zucchini all day long. Yeah. And you know what? It's also, it's going to last you a few days. So there you go. I mean, I didn't get for breakfast and lunch every day, pretty much. Yeah, and I agree with you about this grading zucchini. That's the nicest part.

I love it. Zen. Yeah. Yeah. Okay, go eat your pie. Okay, thanks everyone. I hope that you have a great Monday. Yes.

Lean in. into it what you got see what comes out what are the thoughts what are the feels where you what do you still need to work on that's why you're here you want to work on all the shit so you can get to a place where you don't got to work on this kind of shit anymore there'll be new shit yeah new piles of shit that'll drop in your lap for you to work through and work on but let's like the automatic so automatic you just trust you know that's what this week is all about okay have a great uh week everyone i'll see wednesday thanks o'd appreciate it bye bye bye