The Livy Method Podcast - Maintenance & Mindfulness - November 18, 2024

Episode Date: November 18, 2024

Gina Livy's Facebook Live from the Maintenance & Mindfulness group hosted on Facebook. This is the live recording from November 18th, 2024. You can find the full video hosted at https://www.facebook.com/groups/ginalivymaintenanceandmindfulnessTopics covered:The different intentions around following The Program to solidify your weight.The guidelines for Week 10 in maintenance – reintroducing Back on Track.The causes of migraines, and how to manage them.Back on Track, and how it’s not tied into the scale.Scale fluctuations and body changes in maintenance.Cravings and how to address them.How to slow down and practice mindfulness while eating.Hunger levels can fluctuate – why you may not be hungry for afternoon snacks.To learn more about The Livy Method, visit www.ginalivy.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 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 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. Sunday, welcome to the M&M Live. This is where I go live in the maintenance group. If you are listening by way of our podcast, you might not be aware that we have a whole maintenance group and a maintenance program. So if you are in our maintenance group right now, we are rolling through week 10. We run it simultaneously to our weight loss program. Same but different. Same but different is how we do it around here. So when you are doing another round of the program to solidify your weight, you are following through on the same tweaks that we make in the weight loss program, but it's all about having a totally different

intention. Four steps to the Livi method. One, lose your weight, obviously with the Livi method. Two, solidify your weight, put the time into helping your body adjust to your new weight. Three is really starting to understand what maintenance looks like and feels like to you, especially those fluctuations on the scale. This is where you're implementing back on track more often. If you're starting to, this is gonna be more relaxed about what you're eating.

And when, obviously bringing forward with you everything that you've learned about what your body needs, not just to lose weight, but now to maintain and sustain weight. So it's not like you're just, you know, eating whatever you want. You're living the Livvy way for lack of a better term there. And then the fourth stage is really what I've been living in, just live your life. And you know, there are more stressful times in life, there are more, you know, relaxed times in your life. There are times in your life where it's easier to maintain and sustain your weight.

And other times where you have to try harder because maybe you're more stressed or you've got a lot going on in your life. Your weight is always going to fluctuate. That is never going to change. But now that you've lost your weight through the Libby Method, you're in tune with what your body needs. You know how you feel when you indulge. You know how you feel when you're not drinking enough water. You know how you feel when your stress levels are not being managed properly. You know how you feel when not getting better sleep. And more importantly, you know the things that you need to do in order to not just sustain and maintain

your weight, but also to look and feel your best ongoing for the rest of your life. Not to say you aren't going to have moments where you're going to fall back into old habits or life isn't going to test you. But this is why taking the time to solidify your weight is so important. So with week 10, you are following the food plan revamp, a bit more flexibility, especially with those snacks. It's also where we introduce back on track. So back on track, as you know, refers to the basic food plan. Whenever you find yourself going off the rails, you implement back on track for as many days as you to the basic food plan. Whenever you find yourself going off the rails, you implement back on track for as many days as you need till you feel like you're back at it. Obviously you want to minimize back on track when you are losing weight. You also want

to minimize back on track when you are solidifying your weight. The more appropriate time to be utilizing back on track is in that third stage of kind of testing the waters, or if you're just living your life and, you know, whenever you go away on vacation or you have a weekend where you were indulging, just whenever you feel like, okay, I'm really feeling not my greatest time to, you know, do the things that I need to do to help me get back to feeling my best. It's really about getting back to feeling your best at the end of the day. So we have introduced back on track this week. Also, I just want to remind you in the maintenance group as well, you can pop in

at any time and ask all the questions that you need. So very similar to our weight loss program, we have a team of people working in the maintenance program here to help answer any questions that you have throughout the day. Hi, Risa. Hi, Mary. Hi, Judy. How are you? Your thoughts on migraines and plateaus? Of course, good and bad stress too. I've been having for over three weeks. I'm drinking water, sleeping early, eating nutrient rich foods, deep breathing exercises. So I also suffer from migraines. Changes in your hormone. I mean, I've had them since I was young and I got tested from everything to food triggers, light triggers, smell triggers, you name it. I tend to get migraines when I, one, I'm not drinking enough water, uh, two, when I get really excited about things and

anticipating things, I tend to get migraines. Um, and lately I've noticed that I, my migraines. And lately, I've noticed that my migraines have been tied into my hormones, specifically. I got a lot of migraines when I was younger, and then they kind of tapered off. So I get one, maybe one, one every couple months. Sometimes I'll get two in a month, and then I won't have any for six months. I also find things like barometric pressure. So the time of the year definitely play a role. So it's just a matter of sort of figuring out what what's going on. So one for me is for sure when I'm dehydrated. If I'm dehydrated, and I drink too much coffee, that is a recipe for a migraine for sure. The other obviously is barometric pressure. So the change in weather, the ups and downs with the weather, especially

here in Canada, can be pretty crazy. I noticed that actually plays a role. But more so hormones as I'm getting older, I didn't get my menstrual cycle for nine months. And then I started getting migraine, I got a migraine, and then my period came back. And then sure enough, the next month, I got another migraine. My period came back. And I'm feeling I got a migraine at the National Women's Show last weekend. And I can feel my period is coming back. So the National Women's Show could have been the excitement, anticipation. It could also have been not getting enough water in. Who knows, right?

So I think quite who knows, right? So, so, so I think, I think quite emotional too, right? Lots going on. So your hormones, even if you don't get your menstrual cycle anymore, your, your hormones are still fluctuating. So it could be a variety of different things. I mean, this is an opportunity to really look at other areas of your health once you are in maintenance, right? Once you're, when you're no longer looking at what's going on in the scale, because you've lost your weight and you're maintaining, there are certain things you can take like certain herbs and whatnot, supplements that can help with migraines. This is where you can maybe start investigating now that you I get them before my period as well, right? Now that you've lost your lost your weight, you're working on

maintaining sustaining your weight, just're working on maintaining, sustaining your weight, just really looking at other areas of your health and wellness that you can level up. I mean, like, okay, I've lost the weight. I'm much healthier. I'm eating nutrient-rich foods. I'm working on getting better sleep. I'm drinking my water and I'm hydrated. What could it be? Migraines can also be caused by stress and tension, obviously in your, in your neck and your back, which could stem from structural issues with your legs. And so this is maybe if, if you're, you know, if you're thinking, okay, I've lost the way to eat healthy, I'm drinking my water, I'm managing my stress and getting better sleep. I'm still getting migraines. What else is going on?

Right? Hi, Laura, lots of eating the last few days with family responsibilities. Knowing I can get back on track will make me feel better, although the scale didn't move. Yeah, and back on track is never really tied into the scale. It's really about how you're feeling. Whenever you feel like, okay, all right, Gina, you've had some fun, time to get your shit together, time to rein it in. You know, like, it's great to be indulging, whether it's food or alcohol or fun or whatever it is that you aren't so concerned about your health and wellness. At some point you start to feel it and you're like, okay, I need to get back to, you know, taking time for myself, prioritizing my own needs, get back to drinking some more water. Today I'm getting back on my

supplements. So that's something that I've fallen off of. So I just said to Tony right before this live, after this live, I'm going to go upstairs, going to get back on my supplements. So that's something that I've fallen off of. So I just said to Tony right before this live after this live, I'm going to go upstairs, going to get back on my supplements again, because life has been really crazy for me lately. And something had to give and I've been dropping a few balls in order to keep some new balls in the air. And so I got to go pick up those balls and get back to the basics again, right? I have a couple of questions. If you guys have any questions, let me know. So here's a member comment from Polly. After a few months of doing my own thing, I am now re-centered on doing more of the things. Okay. I find that's a really interesting thing because I think sometimes in maintenance, we lose sight of the fact that the things that you were

doing to help lose your weight or the things that you need to do in life to be healthy. Manage your stress, get better sleep, drink your water, eat healthy, nutrient rich foods, like, you know, exercise for not just physical health and wellness, but mental health and wellness. And sometimes I think we look at it as we're doing a diet. And yes, we were specifically looking to lose weight. But the tools that you're walking away with and the habits, the new habits that you've created, are really going to factor into your looking and feeling your best and being as healthy as possible so you can live a long, healthy life. Right? So the first thing I think is what is doing your own thing? So what is your definition of doing your own thing? What does that mean?

Right? I'm now re-centered on doing more of the things. Question about the scale. Is it normal for the scale to have fluctuated up by four to five pounds would feel like more than 10? Yeah, absolutely. So it's normal for the scale three to five pounds. Some people go as high as seven. That's just if you are weighing yourself every day in maintenance, you're going to notice those fluctuations that will never go away. It's just life. It's your body responding to lack of sleep, your muscles being sore, from salty foods, hard to digest foods, a variety of things. Just because you are no longer looking to lose weight doesn't mean the scale isn't going to fluctuate. Always did, always will, never going to stop. Also, if you are being a little bit more relaxed and you are eating foods like breads and pastas,

specifically, your body needs a little bit more water to process those. So your body's retaining a little bit more water on the regular. Again, not real weight gain, not a reason to not have those types of foods and incorporate them back into your diet. Just if you are going to eat those kinds of foods, they take a little bit more water for your body to process through your system. So you'll notice your weight will be up a little bit more. Feeling like Tang could be a variety of things. Feeling like Tang could be eating inflammatory foods. It could be foods that you will have added back in, although your weight is stable or

maybe just fluctuating a bit. Your body is really reactive. If you are eating foods that your body is sensitive to, again, not real weight gain, but can definitely make you feel off and inflammation can definitely have your weight up. It could be also the time of year, cold, flu, virus, your body is struggling with a few things. There could be a variety of reasons why you feel like that. It could also be hormones, Polly. I don't know how old you are, but it could be hormones where you're starting to feel real thick in the midsection, could be dropped from your estrogen levels dropping. And that can be hormones where nothing're starting to feel real thick in the midsection, could be dropped from your estrogen levels dropping.

And that can be hormones where nothing is changing, but you feel just kind of thicker. I know that that happened to me. That happened to me just where your body was redistributing. That happens for a variety of reasons. Drop in estrogen, but can also be from, you know, if you're not maintaining muscle mass, that can as you start to get older, because you tend to drop muscle mass as you get older. So it could be that happening that you're noticing. I'm looking and feeling a lot more sluggish, flabbier than that flabby than actually on the scale that flabbiness was going away nicely previously. And it seems to be settling again,

will more water fixes you can that can be that can be water for sure. Uh, maybe you were being more active. Like for example, in the summer, maybe you're out, you're walking more. I just, I just had this conversation with my daughter. Who's this like, I don't know what's wrong with me. She's feeling a little bit more depressed than usual. I said, you were walking to work every day, walking there and back in the sun, your vitamin D levels have probably dropped a little bit, right? So there's something going on there. You might not be as active as you were. Maybe your stress levels are higher. That can cause you not getting enough sleep. Like really the change, maybe you've been thrown off the last little bit from the time change. Not getting your sleep can make your body feel like it's not able to repair and rebuild and regenerate and rejuvenate like it does when

you are sleeping. Will more water fixes? It can help. Or maybe it's really time to get into a more regular exercise routine. Obviously, moving your body more, getting into a more regular exercise routine will make a difference there as well, for sure. Is it normal for fluctuations not to go back to your lowest weight? Yeah, absolutely. I mean, unless you're trying consistently to see your lowest low,

which is not going to be one day of healthy eating, right? Like if your weight is up and you're maintaining like a five pound up and down type of thing, maybe like that three to seven, right? There could be a lot going on there. So in order to see that lowest low, you want to put like a week, I bet you if you put a week into right drinking your water manage your stress moving your body doing all those things you can get back to like you know the food plan super clean nutrient rich foods really asking those four questions um portion wise like really being in tune to that you can you can go back down to your lowest low like that's but it's not it's not going to be like oh I ate well today why don't I see lowest low? So chances are there's a cumulative reason as to what's going on and why your weight

is up a little bit, but no reason why you can't go back to that. But you have to remember all the things that you were doing when you were trying to see your lowest low. So I'm not, I mean, I don't live a life where I'm trying to see my lowest low every day, right? Like that's, that would be pretty hardcore in order for me to do that. Now, um, if you are doing that and you're not seeing that movement on the scale, or there could, this is where you could be noticing something else is going on. What do I got going on right now? That's causing my weight for it to be out. Um, how long should it take to reasonably curb chocolate cravings once you have them eliminated? Um, this, this, I mean, this is a, so if you have, if you have sugar, your body wants more sugar.

So if you are craving chocolate specifically, it could be tied into magnesium. Maybe you were taking a magnesium supplement when you were trying to lose weight. You're no longer taking that magnesium supplement. One of the reasons the body craves chocolate is chocolate is high in magnesium, good chocolate anyway. So we associate the body so smart, it can figure out how to get what it wants. So if it's chocolate that you want, chances are could be magnesium could also be just be your association with it. It's a dopamine hit, especially coming off of Halloween. And now we're rolling into the holidays, hot chocolate, you know, chocolate Santas, all of that. So it could just be your association. So your triggers, your associations, all of that coming on coming in

hot off off the holidays. In terms of like, how long should it reasonably take to curb, you're not trying to curb your chocolate cravings, you're trying to address them. So am I drinking enough water, chances are, you're probably not drinking as much water now in the wintertime that you did in the summertime or the spring because it's just, it's cold, right? So bump up your tea, make sure you're trying to get that water into you. Sugar, sugar, sugar, sugar. Also, it could be that you're having little bits of sugar, right? Maybe you're having sugar in your coffee, and you're more sensitive to insulin these days. And so could be hormones that are

causing that. And so even that little bit of sugar is causing you to be a little bit triggered. So how long is how consistently you're addressing? That's what I would say, how consistently you're addressing your body's needs. So depending on what you got going on, if you have chocolate in your house, maybe get rid of it. This goes back to that food addiction conversation we had with Sandra Elia. Get rid of it.

So you're not getting triggered by it. Like you could still have, I don't know about you guys, but I know there's still, there's still a whole box of chocolate bars sitting on my, my dresser. And after Halloween, I definitely dipped into it. Now I've just, I'm not interested at all. Like I'm really not

interested. Actually, I think the other day I was like, Oh, maybe I'll have some chocolate. And I was like, no, I'm not because not because I didn't want it in the moment, but because I already knew it would lead me down a path of wanting more and more and more. I could already feel in my brain how it was just going to make me feel like tired physically, like when I have high sugar, I might as well have wine, because I kind of feel very similar. And so that's now sitting on my counter, but I've gotten to a place where I don't want it anymore. Right? Like I've had enough of it, I really dig into the feelings of knowing how I'm going to feel. So I'm just, it's not appealing to me. So it depends, right? I love that chocolate mint tea or pure gum has no splendor and has a chocolate mint flavor. I enjoy that once in a while. It's it's I figure

it's better than real chocolate or sugar. It helps me. If it if that helps, but that could also really trigger just wanting more. That's just perpetuating the situation, even though it doesn't have real sugar in it, your brain still wants the dopamine hit from it. And that's just perpetuating the situation even though it doesn't have real sugar in it your brain still wants the dopamine hit from it and that's kind of like that's not going to help you get over that that's more like feeding into that and so that's never going to it's that if you do that you're never going to get to a place that I just explained where I'm just like no like it's I literally have a whole box of caramel bars, like all of that sitting within, like I can see it every day, sitting there and I just, I don't want it. I don't want it, right? So I think sometimes aids like that can be beneficial in the moment, but at some point you're going to have to sit in the uncomfortableness and be like, why do I want this?

What's going on? Like you can ask yourself right now, right? Like what's going on? What do I need to get to a place where I just don't want it? Have I been having little bits of sugar? Have I been, you know, is it still around? Did I have some? Is it the holidays? Is it nostalgia? Like what's happening, right? Drinking more water than ever. Take Meg, probably dopamine and hormones, right? So cravings won't go away, just need to deal with it. But I mean, they will go away. Like your cravings will, your it's your cravings, if you can look at your cravings as cravings are either your body trying

to communicate its needs, or it's being triggered by dopamine issues and associations, what you think chocolate represents, for example, right? What are you going to get out of that chocolate, that dopamine hit, that sugar high. So in that sense, like I don't have any sugar cravings, for example, I don't have chocolate craving. There's a whole box of chocolates. I don't have any chocolate cravings. Take me back to after Halloween. And yeah, I was like, I want some chocolate. Let's take me back to a couple nights ago where I was like, Oh, maybe I'll have some chocolate. And I was like, No. And it wasn't that I was craving it. It was like, what I was kind of bored.

I was feeling a little down. And I can't have wine. I mean, it could have wine, but I'm choosing not to have wine. And so what was my go to as I'm sitting there thinking I'm really bored, I feel a little bit down, I feel a little unsatisfied in my life. Right now. I feel like I want a distraction. I want to pick me up what I really want is wine. I could taste it my mouth's watering right now, but I don't want to drink the wine and actually don't want the wine. What can I have? And so my brain just went to, it can have the chocolate. I got chocolate. I can have it. But I was able to catch myself and be like, I don't actually want it. It's now right up there with wine. I don't want it. I don't want it. Then Tony was like, well, I got some chips in the garage. And I was like, and then I immediately was like, no, I said, I'm just, I need to make some tea to make some tea and be sad or be, be in my feels. And I put on a Christmas movie on Netflix and did that. Right. So that's sort of what, that's the goal is to get to that, to get that place. I have a comment from Sue. The past few

weeks, I've been really practicing this mind body connection by putting that fork down halfway through my meal and just pay attention to how I feel while eating. I love this because doing this right now, like this is just practicing being in tune, you'll get to a place where you won't even need to do that, right? Far too often, I'm just rushing my meals and I tend to just clear the plate. Yes, yes, yes. These past few weeks, I really noticed that when I slow down and take that pause, I can tell whether I need a little more or to finish my plate. More than often, I don't finish, but there have been quite a few times where I realized I was still quite hungry. I've also noticed I get this sigh, like a feeling just before the last bite of too much. Yes, me too.

Like I swear, I know if I eat it, I will be too full. So to have that awareness on a regular basis is a huge step forward for me on this journey. One more tool in my toolbox. And I love that this is coming through in maintenance. A lot of people try to accomplish this while they're losing weight. And it's so great for people who are able to make that connection while they're losing weight. And it's so great for people who are able to make that connection while they're losing weight. But the reality is this can come after you take that pressure of weight loss off. It really allows you to level up in a whole other way in terms of being in tune to your body's needs after you've lost your weight and you're focused on maintenance.

Just because you lost your weight is a perfect example of the work isn't done. And so I hear you on this side. I am the same. I know full well exactly the moment when if I go and eat one more bite, I'm going to walk away feeling like I ate too much. I know exactly the moment. I never accidentally overeat. I know exactly the moment when if I take one more bite, and that only comes with practice. That comes with practice with asking those four questions so many times and an

awareness, not just asking the four questions, but taking the time to be quiet and in tune. And once you make that connection, it's there for life. It's like you can't unsee it. You can't unsee it, right? You can't unsee it. You can't unsee it, right? You can't unsee it. Hi, Terry, lately not hungry for my afternoon snacks. Yes, I know this isn't good, especially when I have a craving for sweet later on. I wouldn't say necessarily it's not good. It could be like your body just changing the time of year our bodies are starting to go into slow mo hibernation mode. The days are darker. Could be vitamin D, something as simple as vitamin D levels are dropping. So adding that vitamin D

supplement, if you haven't been spending as much time outside or in the sun, our bodies tend to go in that low kind of hibernation-y type of mode rather than these quick pick-me-ups like in the summer where we have that more hunger fueled by like, we want something quick and easy and keeping our energy levels up. I also like, you know, you got a lot of things going on, right? So it could just be like a lot of weighing on you. And you're just like, it could also be too that there's something else going on if your body's in a state of repair and rebuild and heal mode, that you're just not all that hungry for your afternoon snack. So this is where you want to honor that. Like I love the routineness of the food plan and the rhyme and the reason behind why we are following the food plan.

But also you're just instinctually picking up on your body's natural fluctuations in terms of your hunger levels. Cause your body's just probably like, yeah, no, I'm good. Like I'm, I don't need it. And you're and you're bringing awareness to that. So the big thing here is you're aware of the fact that you're maybe not all that hungry, for whatever reason. And so you're gonna have days where you're not hungry at all. And you're gonna have days where, you know, you're hungry, it feels like every five minutes. So what having those small token amounts when you're, you're hungry, it feels like every five minutes. So having those small token amounts when you're following the food plan, if you're solidifying your weight, and you're

following the program proper, just so small token amounts will stimulate your digestive system, just allow the body to know like, hey, there's still some food coming in here, maybe not a lot, but it's still there. It's still there, right? So, so I love being in tune to that. And I would tend to guess, Terry, that your cravings later on probably have more to do if they're sweet cravings, they probably have to do with the fact that you're maybe not getting enough water in. That's what I would probably go with there. Or it could just be again, some triggers rather than actually because there's a difference between hungry and wanting something sweet, wanting something sweet, right? So that's probably why do I wanting something sweet, wanting something sweet,

right? So that's probably why do I want something sweet? Breakfast and lunch and fine. Often I just skip to dinner since I have meals quite late, dealing with knee swelling again. Yeah. So you're, it's kind of like your body's, I don't want to say your body's sick because it's not a good way of looking at it. So your body's in a state of healing and you just might find that your body's getting the nutrients it needs.

Especially as it starts to get darker a lot earlier. Like if anything, we really should be shifting our dinners to a lot earlier, getting up earlier and going to bed earlier, just shifting with the times. And so we're noticing it's a lot darker earlier. So it makes sense that you're really not all that hungry rolling into the later afternoon, evening. So that makes sense where your body's like water was reduced because I had such low sodium.

I ended up in emergency, had to reduce the water. Yeah. So make sure you're getting your sodium in. That's really important. Get your sodium in, whether it's just salting your foods or adding in some trace minerals. It could also be medications, Terry, that you might be taking that can cause low sodium too. So maybe have a little conversation with your doctor about any medications that you're taking. Those can really affect your sodium levels as well. So that's probably what's going on. So

if you're not, if you're reducing water that you're used to, or your body's not retaining the water because of low sodium, that can be an issue as well. And then it could just be that your body is tired and focused on other things. Tired and focused on other things. Okay. Well, that was a fun. Hi, Valerie. Hello. Hello. Hello. I was talking to another past WWE member. I love how much we've learned about our hunger and satisfied cues. Yeah. It's so freeing not to ever have to weigh, but to count calories and points. Oh my God. So much time. Yeah. Medications were the problem. Also. Yeah. That's what I figure as much. Okay. I'm going to go. God, so good to be back. I love this conversation. I feel like once a week is not enough. Maybe I have to do something to change that. I know Odette and I are looking at how do I get into the group more, spend some more time

over here. We're working on that maintenance app. We're working on also a maintenance book, put that information, um, together for you as well. So we're working on that. Uh, thanks everyone. Thanks for joining me today. I hope that you have an amazing rest of your day and I'll see you later. Bye.