The Livy Method Podcast - More Protein Won't Fix It. Here's What Will.

Episode Date: June 2, 2026

You've been told to eat more protein, exercise more, and just try harder. But what if the advice you've been following is exactly what's keeping you stuck?In this episode, Gina Livy gets honest about the protein craze, why a calorie is never just a calorie, and what your body actually needs to focus on fat loss. She talks supplements, sodium, electrolytes, and why your doctor probably wasn't trained in any of this. Plus, if life has thrown you a curveball this season, a surgery, a setback, a body that doesn't feel like yours right now, Gina talks about how to meet yourself where you're at without losing sight of where you're going.This is the conversation your GP isn't having with you. We will though.This episode aligns with day 44 of our Spring 2026 weight loss program. You can find the full video hosted at: www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodspring2026To learn more about The Livy Method, visit livymethod.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm going to be honest with you, this podcast is unapologetically a hot mess because that is what midlife feels like sometimes. Why, though? And how do we make it better? Do we all just need facelifts and JLP ones? I mean, let's talk about it. No bullshit, no wellness wangery here because we're trying to make real change and change is hard. But we're in this together. Welcome to the Living Method podcast.

What do you need to do in order to lose weight? I mean, that's why we're here, right? You want to lose weight. ideally you want to lose weight or it's time assuming a way that you actually keep it off. You've probably lost weight before, gain it all back and repeated that cycle. And that was probably due to eat less calories, exercise more. And it's really interesting. I had a conversation the other day about eat less exercise more.

And I think because we've been told that that's how you lose weight, sometimes we look at eat less as eating less often. when in reality, what I mean is eat less calories move more. And I think sometimes people are afraid to eat the volume of food that you can eat when it comes to following the living method. They're nervous of eating six times a day. And then, of course, when we introduce downsizing, which we're doing another round of this week, people are nervous. They're not eating enough food. And so it's hard to ever feel like you're getting it right. And in order to get it right, it's it's about being in tune with your body and what you need and ultimately you are here to learn

to be able to one day trust when to eat knowing the differences in hunger right you are actually hungry and need to eat versus and that's complicated right because hunger is not an immediate need for food tummy tummy grumbling can be your migrating motor complex um you can be you can feel hungry because you have been conditioned to eat, like, for example, dessert after dinner or conditioned to eat a dinner time each day. So eating out a habit. Then there's eating because you were triggered, you saw something and, you know, you were triggered to eat. And then, of course, there's coping mechanisms in there. So understanding when to eat is actually, you know, it takes a bit of practice to actually be really in tune with that. And then, of course, there's how long it

takes your body to process and digest your foods. That's not even something that we've gotten into yet if you were a new member, but there is a big difference, for example, in how you feel and how you feel and how quickly you'll be hungry after eating fish versus like a steak, right? So fish can break down in your system usually about 40 minutes to an hour, whereas red meat and steak can take like five hours to work through your system. And so how long certain foods take to break down does make a difference. Fruits, for example, 30 minutes before they break down into usable energy. vegetables, like 90 minutes, nuts and seeds, 90 minutes. So it's not just a matter of you ate something and then I'm going to get the energy from that food.

And this is why you're not really eating to give you energy. You are eating to replace the stored energy that your body is using. And then, of course, there's the what to eat and understanding, right, when you need protein, when you need carbs, when you need, when you're not getting enough good fats in your diet to make sure that you're having that balanced diet. And then, of course, there's how much to eat. eat. And that's really understanding and knowing the difference between I'm actually hungry versus, you know, I've eaten too much versus satisfied versus unsatisfied. And so it's different for

everybody. We are all human. You have a body. The living method's going to work for you. We include all the nutrient rich foods that your body needs. You have to take into account your special needs, right? Any health issues that you might have, obviously, any restrictions in terms of foods, food preferences, lifestyle, you know, home environment, work environment, all of that. And that's why it takes a lot longer than what you would like in order to not just lose your weight, but to be able to maintain and sustain your weight in the end. Someone had a question today and I want to get into, if you got any questions, load them up. Someone had a question about protein because there's a lot of chatter out there about protein.

I mean, there's always something that people are chatting about when it comes to weight. loss. The living method has been the same method that I've been offering up for 30 years. It hasn't really changed, right? We first started our first online program in 2018. It hasn't really changed because the body doesn't really change in terms of the nutrients that it needs and the science behind that. Now, the science evolves, obviously, but science is science at the end of the day as well. So the protein conversation has gotten really popular because of the new GLP1 medications where you're losing weight too quickly. That's the difference between weight loss versus fat loss. So we are after healthy, sustainable fat loss where weight loss is not just fat,

it's also water weight and it's also muscle as well. So people are concerned that if you are just eating, you know, low cal foods and not caring about where you're getting those calories from, you're just counting calories, you lose weight quite quickly and you're losing a lot of muscle mass. That's a problem because when your body breaks down your foods for energy glycogen, it stores it in your liver, it stores it in your muscle, and stores it in your fat. And if you no longer have the muscle to store it, then more of it goes to your fat and then more of it goes to around your midsection in midlife. So that's the problem. Plus, it tanks your metabolism, your energy output, how much energy or calories you're burning on the daily, get slower and slower when you don't have that muscle

mass that you're maintaining anymore. So they've come to realize that a calorie isn't a calorie, that 200 calories with a, you know, diet, whatever, is not the same as 200 calories of protein that your body can actually utilize and has nutrients that it needs to make sure your body can still function, maintain muscle mass, and do all the brilliant things that you want it to do. Right. The other conversation, of course, is menopause. As we go through menopause, we tend to also get that kind of midsection. One, decreasing in estrogen, which is very anti-inforging.

inflammatory makes us more susceptible or sensitive to anti-inflammatory foods, wine and whatnot. So it feels like, and as we get older, we also have done every fucking diet under the sun and probably lost a lot of muscle mass because we are not being as active as we once were. And so again, we're noticing that midsection. So, but other than that, so when people talk about making sure you're getting enough protein in your diet, no one knows that you're doing this kind of diet where you are focused on protein for breakfast, you know, you're getting in protein at lunch. You can add protein for your first afternoon snack.

Obviously nuts and seeds are protein and you're focused on protein at dinner. And how you find your protein is just times your body weight times 0.6 or 0.8. That's going to give you a range on average 90 to like 130 grams of protein per day. Again, you don't want to be counting and weighing and measuring because your bodies need to change. And some days you need more protein. Some days you need less protein. And this is all about getting in tune with that, right? You don't need math to figure that out.

Um, okay. Hello, I had been one of those behind the scenes watching the lives, but not engaging in feats. I heard a comment on social, well, I'm glad that you, I'm glad that you reached out today. It's not too late. Start participating in the community. I heard a comment on social page that kind of stopped me in my tracks and just want other viewpoints. Here it goes. Eating too much protein can stop you from losing weight. Is this fact? I do exercise, but not intense. I know my greens aren't where they should be for fiber, which also leads me to another comment. Eating more fiber works better for weight loss. Another. Thought. Okay. When I first started genus, I was successful, which I did eat more fiber foods and and okay average protein intake, but I've increased proteins and now my weights and stagnants for two programs is or truth behind these factors. Yeah, in a sense, eating more protein than you need is just not beneficial for weight loss. And it's not like eating more protein is going to cause more weight loss. And unless you're like a bodybuilder and making sure like, you know, working out six times a day and really trying to build that muscle, you probably don't need as much protein as you think. And probably the protein intake that you were getting on the Libby method following the

first time was more than enough protein. And so that's the thing that's, sorry, I might put on the eye shadow today. It's a little crazy pants. So it's distracting me a little bit. Put it on in the dark. So that's the thing, right? Like people, people who talk about how much you need more protein would never, ever, ever assume that you are following a program like the Livy method. It is different than any other diet out there and ensures that you are eating to satisfaction the kinds of foods that your body needs because you can eat food. It doesn't necessarily have the nutrients that your body needs, right? So that's why calories isn't really effective long term because it doesn't really give your body the nutrients it needs. You're just worried about a certain calorie.

And that's only one input. So there's calories. There's eat like. less, right? Eat less calories. Exercise more. And as we know now, exercise more doesn't really have the impact in terms of like burning calories that we thought it once did. So it's really just eat less. For example, people taking the weight loss medications, they're eating less. They're not exercising more. We're not, we know that they don't eat differently. They just eat less of the same foods. And they don't, they're not more active. And the thought, the thought process is if someone loses weight, that might cause them to be more active, but they're not, exercise is not helping them lose weight, right? They're just simply eating less. They are starving, they're basically their body into forcing it to burn

fat in which they will lose weight. So that's the model that you have been taught. And then there is, yes, yes, what you eat matters, right? But it's how much you eat matters. But what you eat matters more and where those calories are coming from. 200 calories versus cookie versus 200 calories of protein, completely different. 200 calories of a cookie versus 200 calories of broccoli, completely different. So yes, there's the matter of how much, but then more importantly, it is what you are eating. So nutrient rich foods that your body can actually utilize. Then it is the digestive process, right, how your body is able to break down those foods and the nutrients it's able to get from them. then there is the hormonal process of what your hormones choose to do with that food,

like your insulin and where insulin chooses to store that energy from those foods. Right. So it's a much more complicated process when it comes to sustainable kind of weight loss. The other is just simply force your body to burn fat and then it will. And then you're also telling it at the same time, holy shit, we need this fat. So let's store it back plus more every single time. And so more protein isn't beneficial if you're eating more than what you need. And it can actually be hard for your body to process and digest more protein than is beneficial. It can also cause you to be excessively satisfied in which you are not then eating your leafy greens, your vegetables, your other foods in which you need those nutrients from those foods. Eating an abundance of protein can also cause dehydration if you're not drinking enough water because your body needs water to process and digest those foods.

And so if you are upping your protein, not also upping your water along with it, also making sure you're getting in other nutrient-rich foods, that definitely can hinder your body's ability to focus on fat loss. And so, yeah, it's like, I know we'll reflect back years later and be like, oh, my God, that high-protein, you know, kind of whole craze thing didn't really serve people in the way that they thought. And that's really what it's about. You just want to make sure you're getting enough.

And if you are following the Libby method, then you are getting more than enough protein. If you feel like you need more protein, then have more protein because you feel like you need it. Like have you ever craved a steak, red meat? You're like, you're like, I need red meat, right? You're going to go get burgers, get a steak, go to the cake, whatever that is, because you feel like, oh, I need that, you know, because there are elements in steak red meat that you can't get, red meat that you cannot get in other types of foods. And your body will crave that, right? So yeah, in a sense, there's a lot of things, there's a lot of effects to bumping up and having more protein and which could possibly be affecting your body's ability to focus on fat loss.

Right. I would aim, if you ask me for a number, I would say like 90 to 110 grams of fat per day spread throughout the day. They know it doesn't, like just having it in one shot, it's really, it's not it. Right? It's like it's not even like what you eat before you work out or after you work out or anything like that. It's how you are fueling your body throughout the day that matters. So it's the protein that you're getting in throughout the day, not just at any one meal or snack.

So that's where I would focus on spreading that out a little bit. All right. I had to pay $6.99 for three had romaine bags yesterday, but I miss mixing it with arugelow for my green salad. Okay. You know, you might want to look into, we had that grocery saving post that we posted the other day. So there might be some great tips on there. When it comes into your leafy greens, you could also do like frozen spinach and kind of mix that in with like whatever you're cooking up that day or whatever. Also go try other types of leafy greens that can be beneficial that maybe like you like the romaine or you like the lettuce.

But whatever is at a better price that, you know, that day. try to like get a bit of a variety in that but um i know right uh i miss mixing it in with arugula with my green salad yeah you once you get used to your leafy greens you'll start to notice that you really look forward to you'll actually start to crave them especially this time of year they really help support the detoxification process yes they have like somewhat fiber they're more um they're more roughage than they are fiber right in fact we should do a post on high fiber foods so i'm gonna work on that post for high fiber foods for you, more roughage. But they really are beneficial because they support the body's natural detox process. So it's always great to get them in. Try that odd bunch box.

Yeah, that's the one I was thinking of. Thanks, Sandy. So there's like different services where you get odd bunch where it's not the most beautiful looking, for example, produce. It's usually the stuff they throw away, but there's nothing wrong with it other than the fact that you probably will pick a a nicer looking bunch or nicer looking apple than one that, you know, maybe is misshapen or whatever. So we're pretty particular about what our foods look like, but the nutrients is the same. So check out that grocery post. I saw a doctor speak about adding a pinch of salt to water to aid in hydrating our body. What are your thoughts on this? Yeah. So we actually have a post on this. This can be really beneficial. You definitely want, we also, we actually have a post on the

detriments of not getting enough sodium in your diet. When people start to follow a program like the Livy Method where they're eating, I hate to say clean. I fucking hate saying clean foods, but meaning not a lot of processed foods, you know, you maybe not going out a lot to restaurants or whatever where you maybe were getting that added sodium, they tend not to salt their foods as much. So we were taught my generation that salt is bad. Do not add salt to your foods. When the reality is you need salt. You need sodium that is, you need sodium that is, for electrolytes, for your muscles to fire and do the things that they need to do when your heart is a muscle. So you actually need that in your water. And you can do this simply by just salting your food.

You can also, I used to do the rock salt. So I used to have a jar with the rocks, a lunk, a hunk. Still messed up from my migraine the other day. A hunk of rock salt in a jar. And you just kind of let that saturated and then I would just take a tablespoon of salt water every day to make sure I'm getting my electrolytes in. I also like trace minerals. I think I'm just let me just scoot over here. I also like trace minerals. So this is called concentrate. You can store it from Amazon. Trace element drops. So this adds trace minerals into your water. A couple drops to help with electrolytes too. Especially this is also more problematic in the summer when you're sweating a lot. and it's really hot and you're trying to drink a lot of water.

You just feel like it's just sloshy in your guts and it's not, you don't really feel more hydrated. Sometimes it's not about drinking more water. It's just about making sure your body is actually maintaining the water. So back in our day, people used to take water pills left or right and center because they were bloated, but they were really bloated because they weren't drinking enough water. So if you're not drinking enough water, then that's where your body is going to try to retain the water. but one of the things you want to do is actually help the body retain the water and that's why you need the sodium. So yeah, we have a post on that.

If you want to look it up in the app and use the AI feature in that as well. And then we also have a post on and the trace minerals are in our supplements post as well if you want to find more information about the trace minerals. So that's a great idea, especially coconut water is a natural electrolyte. Yeah, I love coconut water as well. Like I would I would pick coconut water over Gatorade. In fact, coconut water, whenever I'm like really dehydrated and let's say like I was way on a trip and I flying super dehydrates you, right? Or if you were sick or you spend a couple days in the heat and you're trying to get hydrated again. Coconut water makes for a really great base.

So this is where I will drink some coconut water and that helps me with those electrolytes and then adding in the water on top of that helps you to stay more hydrated. That's why I also like adding fruits and veggies and whatnot to your water when you're drinking. It can also kind of help it process for lack of a more scientific term of it slower through your system and help it stick a little bit more. Those trace minerals taste horrible though. Sometimes they put them in my coffee to cover up the taste. Yeah. I usually will put a couple drops in a giant glass of water. So I'm not like putting a small glass of water in a bunch of drops.

They're like really diluted and then just put a couple drops throughout the day I find it. It's not so bad. Oh, my goodness. Yeah, Celtic or sea salt is great. Yeah, for sure. Putting in your water works. Let me see here. If you have, oh, so you guys are talking about growing your own lettuce.

Good for you. Oh, my God. I know you can grow it in pot somewhere. I live off a kind of like, I feel like it's like a marsh back there. We have like a little pond. It was an old golf course. So it was an old golf course. an old golf course, and it's since not obviously been a golf course for a really long time,

because it's the wild. There's a deer in my backyard the other day. It's like the Wild West. It's the Wild West out there. So we get buddies and all sorts of things in our yard, but growing your own food can be quite easy. I don't care if it's ugly produce. It tastes good and it's a deal. I mean, I'm right there with you. I'm right there with you, right there with you, right? You chop it up and we use it the other, we use it anyway. So why has it got to look beautiful? I've been really struggling since my knee replacement four weeks ago, suddenly limited movement and appetite is off feeling defeated. Yeah. So, you know, a big part of that too is if you are used to moving your body is like your endorphins. You're not using, you're not getting that endorphin production

that you would get whenever you got your heart rate up and when you were sweating and when you were moving. And this is where you might be realizing the impact that movement has on your mental health beyond just obviously your physical health. And, you know, even just, just the freedom of being able to get out and about and do the things that you want to do, that would be hugely impactful on your mental health. So feeling defeated would be a big part of that. It would feel even more defeated if you had a certain goal, right? Like let's say you have your weight, your weight goal and your idea of how you were going to reach that weight goal has now been severely limited. And so this is why changing your why if just for the week, right, or just for

the next whatever or maybe this season of the spring session for you is about healing, right? Maybe it's about like, I know that's lame. And I'm not saying that you can't lose weight. You absolutely can. Your body is in a state of healing right now. Carrying excess fat causes inflammation and kind of it works against that. So your body still doesn't want this fat any more than you do. so you can still help the body focus on fat loss.

You can still create the environment for your body to focus on fat loss, right? But definitely the defeated part, the limited movement, the appetite being off. If you are taking pain meds, that can impact also how you're feeling. That can impact your digestive system, impact your sleep, and all of those things. And so to help feel less defeated, what can you do? Like obviously having a knee replacement is like a major. And it's also going to be a game changer for you. So this is going to be,

this is going to be good for you. I would imagine afterwards it's just getting through that healing process. And so that's what, if you make your why based more on that, how do I get through this knee, big surgery physically and mentally stronger? Right. And so that might be the mission for you.

and making sure you're drinking lots of water and you're taking your supplements if you're having a hard time getting the food and maybe get in some like, I don't know, greens plus or something like that. If you don't have an appetite, maybe because you're in pain or, you know, pain meds or whatever's going on, or perhaps you have too much of an appetite and it's not kind of meeting your energy output. You feel like you're eating too much. Then, you know, what, how do you, how do you fuel your body in this state that is then also going to be beneficial for helping your body focus on fat loss? what can you do for movement?

Can you still do stretches? Can you do upper body? Is there things that you can do there that can still help you move as much as possible? And that's not to say that you don't still want to lose the weight and everything you're doing will get you one step closer to reaching your goals, but can really help with the mental part is just meeting yourself where you're at. Like this could be a disconnect between what you thought this journey was going to be like, what you wanted this season of your life or season of

the program and it's it's not matching up obviously right so this is sort of where what do you need right now and what what is the focus for the next few weeks that is going to make you feel better feel more optimistic you work on that mental side of things at the same time help you reach your goal help you reach your goal right sometimes it's just that small shift um i had both my knees replaced 18 months ago yes it was rough at first but follow the exercise plan ice elevate you'll eventually feel like a new woman there you go go. It also helps to keep your weight in check as there is less pressure on your joints. I find my 43 pound weight loss has really helped. Right. Right. Like that's a whole vibe. That's why I love

our community. That is a whole vibe. Right. Do your exercises ice afterwards. You know, you are strong enough even if you don't feel it. So there you go. There you go. Right. And that's what, that's what like, again, these, these 91 days or you're able to take like these seasons of your life and be like, okay, okay, great. Last season was that, right? Winter was that. That happened. You had that going on in your life. That's what, you know, that was your journey then. This is a whole new season. Right. This is like, what is, what is this season of your life bringing? And this season of your life is bringing a knee replacement surgery, right? And how is that impacting your life, right? And it could be, it could be a move. It could be a change in relationship. You know,

it could be a lot of things. Obviously, you know, like it's not, you don't have to have a knee replacement surgery to relate to this. But is it matching up? Is your current situation matching up to where you're at and what you need and therefore then also what you are doing, you know? There was also a post on having too much turmeric and omega-3 is bad for you. People need to check the label and dosage and ask a health care provider if it's good for you if you need it. Yeah, like supplements can be really beneficial. You know, and here's the thing. Like this program is $20 a month, right?

And I love that we science. We have qualified guest experts. But what we are really doing here is helping you be an advocate for yourself. And this is a sense of awareness. And there are, there are men, we have our supplements that we recommend and they're usually not what people think, right? Omega 3, vitamin D. magnesium. And everyone tends to take things to an extreme. And there is minimum recommended doses on,

which is like the minimum recommended dose is that kind of a baseline dose. Right. And then yes, some people do there, there have been studies on the benefits of high dosing omega-3 in certain circumstances, right? High dose. I'm a high-dose vitamin D person because I just don't absorb it. It's just I can take it every day and I don't absorb it. So when I do take it, tend to take a larger amounts in less often. And that works a little bit better for me. But that is something that, like, has been advised to me. You always, always, always, always, always want to work with your health care provider,

especially if you're taking any, like, other medications. Because even though they're natural, there could be implications in there. We have listed, if you go through the supplement post, we've listed the ones that have sort of major, like, you know, you don't take omega-3 if you're taking blood thinners because the benefit of mega-3 is one of the things that thins your blood, which is hugely beneficial for most people unless you're already taking a blood thinner. This is the same like medication. So when my ex-husband, when he was sick, it was like the same sickness that he eventually died of. So he had a virus attack his body. He had like major organ failure. And in the end, his

cardiac output was like 19%. And he was on all these heart medications. And I remember one of the Carveta law, one of the medications he was taking was giving him this really bad cough. It was horrible. And we got in to see a cardiologist, a specialist. And I was like, yeah, so this one medication is causing him like massive cough. He's like, okay, just stop taking that one and double up on this one. And I was like, don't you go to do a blood test? Like, don't you just, what do you mean? Just stop taking that one and double up on this one. What do you mean? What? Why was he taking it in the first place if he didn't need it? He's like, well, that's how it is. We know, we know the problem he's having. We know medications that can work. We just basically put them out there, see what works, see what doesn't work. I'm like, okay, but like, now we're just going to double up on this other one. And he's like, well, yeah, like he's just, you know, we don't know how much someone needs until we figure out how their body's responding. And I was just kind of like, what? You know, this is like where you think there's a lot of science behind these medications. And it really, you know, I mean, we're finding this out with hormone

therapy, right? Like, try this, try that. That's not working. Let's adjust this. And let's adjust that. And supplements are no different. Supplements are no different, whereas the dose that you take might be great for you and might not be doing anything for the next person. It might be too much for the next person, right? And so that's where that kind of awareness piece comes in. It's always a great idea. Most of our foundational supplements, like the omega-3, vitamin D, magnesium, for example, they come in all, they come in children's versions because, you know, our bodies need them and they're all pretty much safe for everybody, but there are outlier cases. And this is where if you are an outlier in certain things, you're going to want to know what's going on with your body, right? Like high doses of

turmeric, turmeric can help, curcumin. It can help with lowering inflammation, but excessive amounts are necessarily better or more useful at the end of the day, just making sure you're getting it in. And it's not, I wouldn't rely on turmeric to decrease my inflammation either, right? I'd be making sure I'm also doing all the other things I can do to decrease inflammation, where sometimes people will just rely on that one supplement and do high doses in order to get the benefits that they need. So I just find the internet is full of extremes. That's why I love what we're doing here. You want to lose weight.

I'm really good at helping people lose weight. I've learned a lot about helping people lose weight over 30-something years of my life because it's been my entire career. and then I bring in other people who are also sharing what they've learned through their careers and their area of expertise and sharing that with you in a way that there are takeaways. And that's what this is all about, right? This is why you need to have a place that, you know, I'm not trying to bullshit you. I'm the worst bullshitter, actually.

I could make a shit ton more money just by bullshitting people and, you know, selling you a quick fix and making it feel like your fault that you can't get your fucking shit. together, be like, what's wrong with you? If you really wanted to do it, you could do it, you know, like shit like that. But I also like to sleep at night and I have kids. And I like to be a good role model for my children. But this is why this community is really important. These conversations are so valuable. This is why I like Dr. Paul. You like, you know, we call each other out on certain things. He's always when we first started, he was skeptical of me and he was a natural pathic doctor. I was skeptical of him. Like, let's, you know, let's face it. I was like, really scared.

I'm like, I don't know if I want a naturopathic doctor. They're who. And turns out they're not. And turns out now we are learning because everyone's like, go to your doctor. Doctors don't know shit about supplements. They don't know. There's a lot of science and research. Supplements are beneficial.

But your doctor wasn't trained in supplements. Guess what? Your doctor also wasn't trained in menopause either. That's what we're learning. You know? And a lot of doctors weren't actually trained on women's health in general because a lot of the research and studies were done on men. at the end of the day, too, right? So that sole thing is, I go to your doctor because they're going

to know, especially when it comes to weight. They don't, I go to these, I go to these conferences, those, these obesity conferences where they're teaching the doctors about obesity because the doctors don't know. Doctors don't know that cognitive behavioral therapy and how it's so important and part of making change when it comes to losing weight. Doctors don't understand that there's a difference between a calories, not a calorie, and there's different nutrient values in the way your body processed and digest foods. They don't know that. And this is why you have doctors who specialize in certain things. And unless you have a team of all these specialists, right, it's hard to get the information that you need. This is why there is a benefit in being an advocate for yourself

and doing some of your own research. But obviously, you don't just want to rely on the interweb in order to do that. Or for the love of God, not rely on social media in order to do that either. Right. And everyone out there just wants to sell you something, which makes it hard to figure out who you can trust. Hi, Risa, for me. Hi, Risa. How are you doing? How are you doing?

I know you're having a bit of a hard time. For me, it's what goes in my mouth, though, more than exercise if I want to lose weight. Of course, exercise definitely plays a role, and I love it. So it's a balance of both to lose or maintain. So, you know, I used to have this post that exercise is a shitty tool for weight loss because it is. And then people are like, oh, you're so anti-exercise.

I'm like, no, I'm not. As a personal trainer and fitness expert for years, it's just that I would see so many people pound the shit out of their bodies to lose weight and then not care about what they were eating. And exercise is really great for building muscle, great for cardiovascular health. It's great for stress. It's great for sleep. It's great for so many things. It is not a great weight loss tool. It is not a great weight loss tool. It's a great roundabout weight loss tool in which if you exercise, expend your energy, it helps with sleep. Right. If you maintain your muscle mass, it helps to maintain your metabolism.

them, right? It helps if you are moving your body to help de-stress your body. So in so many ways, it is hugely beneficial, but to utilize exercise in the way that we did before would burn the fat is not beneficial. It's not really beneficial. And you're not really burning calories. In fact, you know, I saw someone did a little bit of a mini study the other day where they did a walk and they did a run. And the run burned like six more calories than the walk did. So it's not, It's not really as effective as people believed it once was. But in a roundabout way, it's the same thing with alcohol, right? Like, you don't have to stop drinking alcohol to lose weight.

Alcohol itself is going to cause you to gain weight. But what will is the fact that alcohol puts your defenses down. We tend to eat more junk foods when we drink. We also tend to, it hugely interrupts our sleep, right? That's why you're like crash, you pass out, then you wake up wide awake at 3 o'clock in the morning, which obviously affects our sleep. When you are tired, it causes you to crave more carbs and sugar, right? Like it causes inflammation in the body.

It makes you feel more bloated. That can make you feel kind of depressed. So in that way, right, obviously minimize your alcohol intake can be hugely beneficial. So yeah, so just sort of like it's, you know, it's, it's, it's kind of depends. My husband had a quintuple bypass last year. So a lot of meds along with also being diabetic, I cannot think. this program enough given he's losing weight and really good with coping if everything I'm doing. Yeah. That's so difficult on the person who's going, like the person going through it is one thing.

But the caregiver is also like there's a there's a lot. Caregiving can be the hardest thing to do, right? Because you do all the stress and the worry and whatever. And a lot of what I've learned from the medical side of things, you know, about sodium, for example, because my, my husband ended up being on dialysis and that they eventually He ended up dying. He actually died of a cancer that was caused from long-term dialysis and then ended up dying because he could no longer do the dialysis. And that's what happened to him. But there was a lot that we learned, you know, high blood pressure, heart issues, kidney issues. So as the caregiver and the wife, I learned a lot, you know, especially about how much water to drink or how much water you can't drink.

And, you know, people will be like, well, you don't know. And it's like, trust me, I wish. I wish I didn't know, but I know a lot. I know a lot from him going through all of that. And the importance also of taking care of yourself and really understand that your body is on your side. Your body is truly on your side. It's amazing what your body can do for you. If you give it the environment and the resources and the time and the attention that it needs, right? The body is absolutely amazing. A lot of chatter on social about anti-inflammatory foods, but no explanation on whole foods, which is best. So confusing. Love your science and teaching us every day. Yeah. We have a post on anti-inflammatory foods. I think it's a one-off

if you ate any of them on its own. Like nothing you do on its own is going to really impact you. Right? It's in combination with everything that you are doing, having it all. Because the problem with weight loss is that people would, like, like, I used to have a friend who would be like, help me lose weight. And then every week she was doing something new. She's like, oh, I'm going to do this. I'm going to try this. I'm going to this. I'm going to that. And just kept her body in a constant state of stress. I'm like, fuck, would you fucking just pick one thing and stick with it. right and then every week she'd be adding something in so your body has a certain chemistry right and you and if you add something new to that mix whether it's like a supplement or a medication you're messing with your body chemistry kind of like blows things up a little bit stressful in a good way not always bad way right and same thing with your like if you know when you exercise you want to change things up so you're constantly challenging your body you don't want to do that with everything else this is why you want to rather than doing bits and pieces is we're trying to get everything that you're doing, be consistent about it under one umbrella.

So it's all working together. And then you're moving forward with that. Right. Like that's the, that's the whole point of that. So when you're adding anti-inflammatory foods to that mix, that is beneficial. You're adding supplements. That is beneficial. Right. So you're adding all these things in there. You're being consistent. And then they all end up working together because your body factors them in to its like inner workings. And that's, that's why, you know, You can see people lose a lot of weight what seems like really quickly on the Libby method in a healthy way because there is a system and a method and this is pulling everything that you are doing, that consistency in the routine of the food plan and then layering the things on top that we're layering.

And that's just in one program. Then you add another program and another program. You're taking the foundation of the previous program and you're building on top of that and building on top of that and building on top of that. right and that's that's the really that's why it's so beneficial when it comes to maintaining and sustaining my goodness i've broken my own rules and got a little too long yesterday and today with the lives sometimes i wonder like what i'm going to talk about and then i jump on there's always something to talk about and always something to learn thank you so much for your comments and your questions today i always appreciate you joining me um give some thought to where you at what you need obviously

summer's coming up it doesn't have to be all or nothing you can absolutely still focus on the things that you can do here be proactive about moving that scale enjoying the summer Right? The little things that you're doing absolutely add up. Tomorrow, Sandra Lee is going to join us. She's our food addiction expert. Maybe I'll talk to her about that. How you enjoy life, how you're going to enjoy summer still focus on your goals at the same time. If you have any questions for her, make sure that you add them to the post. I have no preconceived ideas of what this conversation will be. You create the conversation by adding your questions to that post. So let me know what questions you want me to ask Sandra, anything and everything. And I'll ask away. Have a fantastic rest of your day, everyone. Thank you, and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye.