The Livy Method Podcast - Not Every Habit That Got the Weight Off Is Worth Keeping

Episode Date: September 28, 2026

Losing weight often people try everything: every supplement, every workout, every routine. Keeping it off is different. Gina Livy and Odette make the case that what comes next is getting picky about what actually works for you.In this Mindset Monday conversation, they look at the habits people keep out of "should" rather than results. That includes supplements you never re-evaluated, workouts that drain you, the 10-step bedtime routine and the guilt of a weekend that went fine anyway. Odette explains how narrowing down to a few habits that really help changed her year. Gina looks at why the standard advice about exercise can stop people from starting at all.Maintaining your success isn't always about doing, it can be about knowing what isn't worth doing anymore. This podcast aligns with Day 15 of our Fall Maintenance Program, members can find video in our Livy Method app or Maintenance and Mindfulness Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ginalivymaintenanceandmindfulness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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How are you feeling today? Like legit, like how are you doing? I'm good. I'm good, actually. I had a great like nervous system reset weekend. So it was like just a lot of water and sunsets. So it actually felt really great. And yeah, so I feel good today.

Yeah. It's been a chaotic like what we in 10 months. I mean, a year, really, when you think back to my October, it's been really chaotic. And there came a point this summer where it was like, it's something needs to change. And you're holding on so tight to doing all the things that you think that you need to do. When sometimes, when I just needed to do nothing and just reset and be quiet for a little bit. So that's really where my focus has been, really since we started this group. And even just before it, just trying to reset my nervous system.

I don't even know if I'm doing that, but that's what I'm telling myself that I'm doing. And it seems to be having this, like, trickle effect, this ripple effect where everything just seems to be a little bit, things are just falling into place a little bit. So that's what I'm feeling, to be honest. Yeah. Well, you've been through a lot. I don't know if there's any of our new members, but Odette has lost her father and her sister and your son was having major health issues that I'm sure is still a concern. And you've got a lot. You've had a lot. You've had a lot. going on. Interesting, I was remembering this quote this morning. It was a Bruce Lee, something about, it was from Bruce Lee where he was talking about peace and how you, you don't find peace. You have to, you have to choose, to choose peace by letting things go. And it's interesting because I've had this thing where my mind has been racing a lot lately. And it's just, it's exhausting. And I've come up with a word beautiful where I just say the word and the word means knock it off. Like stop it, right? Like just be in the moment.

And I love that you've come to this realization that you need to. Yeah. You know, I was starting to wish the year away. Yeah. And I was starting to say this year needs to finish. This year needs to be over. And at the beginning of this year, I said to me, myself, this is going to be the best year yet. You know, I'm going to make it the best year yet.

And then now I'm wishing it away. But I'm not going to tell myself that 2027 is going to be the best year yet. It's just going to be the year that it is. I'm not going to wish it away, but I just need to find a way to reset through it. And now, I mean, now we're dealing with my mom who is essentially has a broken heart. And we are trying to navigate what that looks like with her, you know, having to move her out of her home because she needs more care because she really just has this broken heart. And so now we're navigating that. And that could have been the thing that just set me, that just buried me. And I just was like this, no, we're just going to reset. This is just another part of that. I don't know where this even came from. I think it just came

from just time and talking to myself and allowing it to just be there. But and not trying to do. And I know this is going to sound cliche, like I'm trying to make it fit into this week, but it's trying not to do and think about all the things when you can just think about the things that matter and the things that need to. Well, this is a thing we're talking about in the weight loss program and our members of maintenance will remember are maximizing, consistency and maximizing. And consistency isn't perfection. It's not doing all the things every day. It's just not giving up and continuing to show up and doing the best you can. And then, maximizing a conversation that I generally get really excited about because there's so many things

that people can do, whether it's in weight loss or maintenance or working towards a goals. There's all these things that we can do that add up, but how do you not walk away feeling like you're not doing enough? Sure, there are things I could do, but it's really recognizing where you're at and what you need. And I feel like I sound like a broken record with that, but you really need to take stock of where you are at and what you're at. And what you're, you need. And the nervous system thing, I really love that that was your approach because you have to, you have to be really intentional about calming your nervous system. First of all, you have to be aware of it in the first place and like feel it in your body, what's happening in your body, what's

happening in your mind, and then be intentional about that putting yourself in that parasympathetic state where you are just present and here and calm. And you can only do what you can do from that place. Yeah. I was stressing myself. out trying to manage my stress. Like I was like, I'm like, I got to do all the things. I got to do this. I got to do that. It's going to make me feel better. I have to, you know, and it's been, like you said, when you go thinking back to my son, it's been since 2024 with him. He's in remission knock on wood. So everything is good. We're going to get officially in November will be almost November year. But it's like I was trying to think of all the things that I knew that I could do

and trying to do all of them. And that wasn't serving me. So it was really about, taking that minute to reset and doing the things that matter. So yeah, maximizing, you know, you think you're doing to do all the things all the time because those are the things that worked. I tried everything. So I'm going to continue doing everything when now it's just slowly understanding what actually works, what actually makes a difference. And that's what I was going to focus on. So for me, it wasn't like, you know, seeing a therapist, seeing a grief counselor, eating all the right foods, that was a big part, making sure I was hydrated, sleeping, and I was stressing myself out trying to do all the things to make myself feel better.

When I knew there was three things, you know, solitude, a bit of quietness, saying no to some things. Yeah. That really made a big difference. So those are the things that I'm focusing on. And it's been, so it's been emotionally, it's been a game changer. And physically in my body, it's been a game changer. Well, you know, and this ties into,

this week, which is about supporting the new you. For me, this has been a year of doing less, which, funny enough, I've written a book and I've done this and I've done that or whatever, but the stress that I feel like I didn't put that pressure on myself of having to do all the things. I was like, let me just focus on where I'm at right now and the things I'm focusing on within this moment. And somehow I ended up being probably more productive than I have been in a really long time, but felt so much more at ease with the things I was doing because there was a lot that I didn't take on. And this is where, like, and I struggle with us, Odette, because people like hardcore Gina, right? Like, Gina, we need you being hard and kicking our ass and riding our

ass. But do we, I mean, some people function really well like that. I know I function really well like that until I don't. And then just everything goes to shits. And then people who feel like they need something that's more understanding or, you know, being more empathetic with yourself or really understanding where you're at feel like they're trying to find a loophole or if I'm kind to myself or patient with myself or do less, then that's me trying not to do more, which is weird where we almost feel, we feel guilty about doing too much and we feel guilty about not doing it off. I think there's a lot of, maybe guilt isn't the word, but there's a lot of fields that get tied. So supporting, supporting the new you is, it's pretty complicated of a conversation,

but also really similar at the same time. It's not just supporting the new physical you. Like, it's not just, it's not just supporting the new you when you think about, you know, what are my new portions? What are my new, what is my new way of eating? What are my new habits? It's supporting who, who you, who your identity is now. Like, I am somebody now who has lost a parent, who has lost a dear close sister who navigates health issues. And like, that is who I am now. I am a person that pours a lot into my work, but also pours a lot into my personal life. But I also want to be that person that pours a lot into myself again. So it's supporting that as well. So yes, your physical body and what does that look like when you're in your day-to-day actions,

but how do you support that new identity and who you are now? And I think what you said there was like you feel the guilt of, you feel the pressure of doing too much and then the guilt of not doing enough. I think it's also a fear of not doing enough. Like if I don't do all the things, then this is all going to be for nothing. It's all going to come flooding back in. If I don't do all the things, if I allow myself to let go, if I allow myself to, you know, not follow this structure, that fear of like, it's all going to come back again. I am going to be that person again. I am going to do those habits again. And I think that, you know, that fear is there. We talked about it last week, too. It's that, that fear of not doing enough. Guilt, yes, but also, you know, the fear of it.

Yeah, I want to, I want to share something about that. But first I want to read a couple comments from, is it Marcia or Marcia? I'm not sure how you pronounce it. Sometimes when it's all too much, instead of searching for a new tool to help with my situation, I just have to put the toolbox down, breathe and do less. And then here's Bobby. I grew up with a hard-ass mother. No, thanks. I don't need coddling either,

but there is a middle ground. I remember I remember when I was working at the television station and there were older women that just seemed so confident. And they weren't the most glamorous women anymore, right? They were like young, up-and-comers who were like vying for their,

jobs and but they just seem so like calm and confident and I been thinking about that lately and on the weekend I was doing a talk at the plow match and you know I used to say go back and like track your weight journey right know where you've been to know where you are now to know what you need to do to move forward but it's really just going to look for proof that you've already done the hard things you've already done the work. And that's where when I look back at these women who were so confident, not to say they didn't have their own things they were dealing with, but like you get to a point where you're like you've done the hard work. You've put in the time. Like you've proven time and time again. You can do hard things. You can make it through the hardest of times in your life. This, this is like, like you don't have to necessarily have all these new tools in your toolbox. You just got to trust that. that you can do this. And sometimes it's that we don't trust ourselves when we have, we have years and years and years of proof that we've already done it. We've already done it, you know.

And I think we don't trust ourselves because we haven't, because sometimes we look back at that diet history, that diet, you know, where you came from, that's what you know. You know maybe a cycle. You know it coming back. So that trust takes time. It does. You know, to let it happen, to have that we've talked, learned experiences, living through it and proving to yourself. It's like you've got to prove to yourself. So if you look back at your diet history where you've been, don't let the message coming out of that be, well, my diet history is lose gain, lose gain or never be able to lose. But my diet history is, yeah, that did happen. Now I'm creating new proof. I'm creating new situations because I've done that. And so now I'm in this new stage where that doesn't

have to, that's my history, but it doesn't have to be where I am now. Yeah, you don't have to repeat that cycle. Yeah. That's not it. That doesn't have to be the story. Yeah. So when you look back, yes, you lost the way, but we just focus on the fact that we gained it back, therefore we failed. And this time you've lost the way.

You've done it in a different way. And what do you need to focus on in knowing your past and your history to make sure that that doesn't happen? Listen, you don't want to gain your way back. It's very simple. Don't go back to old habits. But that's a lot easier said than done. whole world gets rocked and you want to, you know, your coping mechanism or you just want to,

you want to, your fallback is what is what you know and what's comfortable, whether it works or not. It's so easy to fall back into that space. And that's why this, that's why all of this isn't what you eat and when. It's not losing the weight. It's, it's self-awareness. It really is just this, it's this self-awareness, which is really difficult, O'Dap, because sometimes when you're in it, Like when I look back at the last, I am really just realizing that I did not, I know I've spoken before how there was this time where I walked out of the bathroom and I said to my husband, I did not handle the last couple years of my life really well. And then a few months ago, I had another kind of, you know, realization that this is my life.

I keep waiting for my life to start or I keep trying to get somewhere before my life. But even now, and I think when I said that to my husband, I don't think. I think I handled this well. This is probably back in the spring. Or maybe, I know we've talked about it before on here. So maybe it was even during the winter program. But now, now, now, I look back, back and I'm like, well, shit. Like, I really didn't handle things well in a variety of different areas of my life. Right. Like, I came to that realization, let's say early spring, oh my gosh okay wow but it isn't really until recently that i'm starting to see how i didn't handle it well right whether it's like the handling of discussing things with my team with my friends with

members like oh my god like oh my god so sometimes you're you think you know it or you think you got it you think you're good but then you also have to really remain open at the same time. So I just want to say it's not, we talk about self-realization and awareness and sometimes it comes in bits and pieces. Yeah. And I, you know, there were many times I'm like, I'm good. I'm good. I'm good. Like you try and tell yourself that over and over again. And I remember like being on the phone, I think it was on the phone with Kim. And I was, when I'm on the phone, I put my earbuds in and I'm an active talker. So I walk around or I do something. And I was making my bed talking to Kim. She's like, what are you doing? Because I was like, I'm exhausted making my bed.

Clearly, I'm not okay. Something's missing here. Like, I'm not okay because I was so at a breath for making my bed. And I was like, okay, this is not who I am. This is not what I do. This is not how I take care of myself. And it was that realization where I thought I was doing okay because I was managing and I was coping, but clearly not in a way that was supporting who I was or that person that I wanted to be. Yeah. So it was like, okay, let's, I've had, I have that realization now that this is not doing all the things is not working for me.

I need to find, figure out the things that matter that are going to make a difference and do those things. And I think this is a carryover from, for our members who've been with us in the weight loss program where it was do all the things. what more can we do? And, you know, all of that mentality. And, you know, that you, doing less might be your ticket to success. And I think doing all the things is not a bad thing when you're trying to figure out what actually works. Like, you are trying to make change. You are trying to figure things out. You have to try everything. And that's advice I gave to my daughter, like,

she's at university and she's like, I don't know, I don't know. I said, say yes to everything and then for a month and then decide what really fits and what really works. So say yes to it all, try it all because soon you're going to realize, yeah, I didn't like that very much or that didn't work for me. And I think our members and maintenance have done that. They were in the pursuit of big change. They were in the pursuit of figuring it all out. But now that they've had that experience of trying everything. Now, like, let's just go a little deeper and really decide what works. What do I like? What can help me get better sleep? What can help me feel different in my body? What can help me feel really good? Don't stress yourself out trying to manage your

stress, right? Find what really works. And then you do those things. Do it with more intention. And you're going to get more purpose out of it. You're going to get more benefit out of it. I'm just, I'm curiously making notes. Yeah. No, because, you know, we talk about maximizing and in, in the maintenance group, we talk about optimizing. And I wonder if it's maximizing and highlighting. And what you just said there was really profound.

Don't stress yourself out trying to manage your stress. Like that's, you know, it's big. Bobby, I think I needed to try all the things on my weight loss journey. But at the end of the spring program and all the summer, during the summer program, I've decided to pick and choose what is working for me. I'm so much more relaxed. Yes. Still open to new things, but much more chilled.

Right? And that's it. And this is, you know, the same thing with exercise. And I think we're talking about, again, you know, during my talk on the weekend, I was just like, I was someone to ask something about exercise. And I was like, we have this standard and we're being told what exercise needs to be. right? Like we need three hours a week and we need to get our heart rate up and we need to do this and we need to that. When we're just trying just to keep going throughout our day, we're trying to meet this really unrealistic standard. As good as that is and as much as we might need that,

it's like this is a hard place to start. You know, when just walking around the block, just getting outside, just leaving the house, right? We're always looking for more and setting the bar higher. And I think we get further away from even like beginning to start because, well, if I can't, if I can't get my cardio in or I can't do my weights or I can't go to the gym, then I might as just, I might as well just, I might as well do nothing because I can't, can't do this. And so this is like really keeping your energy directed at yourself and not what other people are doing and be like, where am I at? What can I do? Right? Like what, what do I need to focus on? That's really important. So to your point, it could be stress for someone when it's sleep for someone else,

when it's movement for someone else, you know, where whatever that might be or, you know, even I'll talk about Sonia, you know, Sonia. Yeah. Well, Sonia has been really working on her health and, you know, she quit drinking and she's, her thyroid was way out of check. But way out of check. She needed to get her medications in order. And she was putting a lot of pressure on ourselves because she was tired all the time. And sure, she should exercise and move her body, but she was like, I was so tired. I could not do that. And now, after getting her meds on track, she's like, I finally feel like right now is the time because I have that energy. So sometimes we want to do things, but our body is sending us a different message. And then it's like, are we lazy? Or is

really like last night I I love going at these events but I meet everybody I want to be there in present in the moment and it's and it's draining as much as I love it it is just you take everything I have I'm here to give and when I got back on Saturday night I could barely see straight and plus the excitement and all of that I just God I love it so much and then I was just completely yesterday I'm like I need a day like I'm one of those people that I need my battery recharged And Tony was like, okay, I'm going to take the dog for a walk. And you're going to come? And I was just like, no.

And he's like, oh, come. It'll be great for you. And I almost felt for a second that I should. And I was like, no, I don't want to. I don't want to. I know that if I go for the walk for you, I am going to struggle the whole time. Sure, I'll feel good that I did something. I won't physically feel good. And I know this because the last time I felt like this, he did this. And he's like,

come for a walk. You're going to feel great. I went for a walk. And I just was like, wanted to go home the whole time. Didn't feel good. Got a migraine because I was picking up on the fact that my body was on its last legs. And that walk took me over the edge. And I ended up struggling with a migraine. So you kind of learn these things, right? That's an example of doing less. I felt guilty. I should go. what's wrong with me. I had so much fun, but I'm even Googling like, is it normal to be tired? And of course, it's like, yeah, your adrenaline's pumping. You got a lot of feels like as magical and amazing as it was. Girl, sit your ass down and take a break. All of those feels tied up into that. Yeah. And that's really what this week is about. It's like just listening and figuring out what your

body needs. I just saw this comment from Judy in the corner of my eye. She said, that's exactly how I feel right now. I don't have the energy to work out. And it's almost like, allow yourself to know that, to allow yourself, I don't have that energy to work out. But then, you know, also be curious. Like, is it because you don't want to do that workout that you think that you should do? Or would you be okay, just doing something else? Like, it's almost like this should. What should I be doing? Should this workout look intense? Should this workout be hard? Or can my workout just be a walk? Can my workout just be stretching. Maybe that's what you have the energy for. Maybe that's what how you can support yourself right now, knowing that it could just be a cycle. It could just come back. I think this builds on

what she said. I remember, Judy, last week said, I'm skipping my workouts. You know, it's, maybe it's what you have the capacity for and how you can support yourself right now. It's figuring out what that actually looks like in the moment versus what it should look like, maxing out your workout versus just allowing your body to do what it needs to do. Or it's not even about the workout too, right? Like I love that so much where we feel, yes, I should be working out and I should be doing this and I should be doing that. When why are you feeling like this?

How can you support your body right now where you're at? What is going on with you that you feel like you just don't have the energy to work out? So let's start there. How do we get you more energy? Maybe it's lying in bed all day. Maybe you need a mental outlet and call a friend. Maybe you need to journal out your thoughts. Maybe you need to ask for help.

Maybe you're sick. Maybe we're wondering what's wrong with us. Meanwhile, your body is like, are you fucking shitting me right now? I'm doing my best to keep you alive. You know, it's cold and flu season. Sometimes we're like, what's wrong with us? What's wrong with us? And then we end up bed with an epic flu and we're like, oh, shit.

Yes, maybe that's probably it was wrong with me. So rather than focus on what we're not doing, this is a perfect example of, where am I at? What do I need right now today? Why don't I have, rather than putting all my energy into the fact I'm not working out, why don't I have the energy to work out today? Like, what's going on there? Is it physical? Is it mental? Like, what is it? And I guess that's the moral the story for me yesterday. I refuse to go there with Tony and The Walk. I don't, like, I just, I don't know what it is. I just know that I don't want to do that. That's where I'm at. Yeah. And it's okay. And that's, I think that's also part of, I'm always trying to like think about this week.

That's also part of supporting yourself. I don't want to do that. Like, you know, there's some things you got to do. You got to brush your teeth. You got to drink your water. You got to eat your leafy greens. Yes. But there are some things that you just don't want to do and you don't have to do those things every single.

Brush your teeth every single day. But you don't have to do all the things every single day. As long as you're, as long as you're able to recognize that and know when it's time to, you know, just come back around and honor it. Honor where you are. And that's part of supporting supporting the new year. That is supporting the new year. So how can you support yourself? Because it's not anyone else's job to look out for you, right? You got to show up. You got to support yourself. I know you wanted to talk and for the sake of time about making it work for you. You want to talk about navigating weekends, supplements, workouts. Do we say that for Wednesday?

Yeah. I think, I want to. Yeah, no, we can, we can just quickly get into it. It's really just making the point that take a look at what you have been doing. And, asking yourself, is it really working for you? Like, are you taking, we get this question in law, are you taking the supplements just because that's what you always did? Do they actually make a difference? Are there other ones that could be better for you at this point? Get a little bit deeper about where you are now. Same with your workouts. We talked about that with that last comment. Think about if you're trying to do these workouts just because you should and maybe they aren't the ones that are leaving you energized and feeling great or do you need to change them up. How do you support

where you are now? And navigating the weekends, This post came out on Friday about your mindset around the weekend. You know, I think that we have this belief of how the weekend should go. I should be able to carry on my routines. I should be able to carry on my habits. I should be able to do all the things that align with what's in my mind. And then Monday comes around and you have that guilt that you didn't. But the weekend actually worked for you.

Socializing more, having a few extra bits and bites of where you are now. You know, how do you make those weekends work for you? maybe they are working for you, but you're shitting on yourself because you, it wasn't what you what you're used to. But it actually is working for you. So just allowing yourself to figure out what is actually working for you and making it work for you and allowing it to work for you, allowing your weekends to work for you, allowing your workouts to work for you, allowing your sleep routine.

Listen, I can't do a 10-step sleep routine. I just don't have it in me to do that. But there are two things, three things that work really well, and that works for me. So that's going to be my bedtime routine, not doing the 10 things that I should do, just knowing that that sleep routine works for me. So that's what I'm sticking with. Yeah. You don't, you're not, you're not lazy. I'm not looking for loopholes. You don't need a fucking babysitter. You've done harder things in your life. Right? This is, this is just trusting that you got this. And sometimes you're thinking, again, what's wrong with me?

Think what's going on with me. If you are normally really great at going to the gym and this week you just don't want to go, why? Let's not put any guilt or thoughts into like we're not going. Why? Why do we not feel like doing it? Is it just what? Maybe I'm not into that anymore. Maybe it's just how I'm feeling this week, right?

Go deeper on that. Go deeper on that. Captain should and princess ought to. Who are they? Get them out of here. Yeah, it comes with so much guilt and shame. It really does. Like, we are, we're way past this in our lives. We're way past this in our lives. And way past this in our journey, you've already done so much of the work, just losing your weight in the first place. We don't need to carry that baggage over into this, this part of the journey. And so that I just am such a big believer in your thoughts. That's the work. It's not. It's not.

the it's not the workouts it's not the drinking the water it's not the foods it's the thoughts it's the thoughts it's the feels it's that you know all right before we go on wednesday so um what do you want to say i'll be back um i'll be going laugh tomorrow night in the group but um what do you want to say i i think this week just give your just think about um what we just talked about at the end there and making it work for you take a look at those at at a few things that you've been maybe doing just because you thought you should and are they really working for you? Maybe it's as simple as your supplements, your sleep routine, your morning routine. You know, is it working for you or are you doing it just because you think you should? And be open to really being super picky, like being super

selective of what you do. You know, just get that thought rolling this week and maybe we'll pick it up again on one thing. Yeah. Like even today, I got my work at it. I'm feeling great. Then I'm like, I should shower, put some makeup on what I should do this and should do that. Fuck it. I'm here. You get what you get. Yeah. Your words don't sound any differently if your hair's done, so, right? I tried to put some lipstick on, but lip gloss on the. I only got the bottom lip. Thanks, everyone. Thanks, everyone. Some food for thought for this week as we go into this week supporting the new you. What does that mean now to you? Great conversation, Odette. You know,

I always appreciate the time spent with you. If you are joining us live, thank you. Thank you for joining us live and your comments and your questions. Keep them coming. And of course, most of most of our members are watching your listing after the fact. We also appreciate you. Have a great day, everyone. I'll see you tomorrow. And Odette, we'll see you on Wednesday. Have a great week.

Yeah. Bye, Audet.