The Livy Method Podcast - Spill the Tea - Spring/Summer 2024: Week 4

Episode Date: May 21, 2024

This is the live recording of the Spill the Tea session with Gina and Special Guest Katharina Carnegie.You can find the full video hosted at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodspringsummer2024Topics covered:Introducing Katharina CarnegieKatharina’s story - her successes and challenges and what made it different this timeLooking beyond the scale - medications changed, associations addressed, etc Maintaining weight loss - is she feeling prepared?How did you get here? - Getting real about self-loveSelf-sabotage - Katharina’s tipsOther people’s reactions - the spectrum of things people sayCommunity - the importance of the support of like-minded peopleKatharina’s non-scale victories & changing WhyKatharina’s biggest challenges with The ProgramDownsizing - Katharina’s words of wisdom Final Words - what Katharina wants you to know about The ProgramNext steps - how Katharina plans to transition into MaintenanceFollow our Livy Loser account on IG @LivyLosers and use #livyloserTo 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. Welcome to Spill the Tea. This community is so open and welcoming. People that don't even know you come in and say, you know, I've been there. I know how you're feeling. Hang in there. Losing weight, but gaining so much more. It's time for our very first spill the tea of our spring summer 2024 program. This is where we have very real conversations with very real people. I say that because I think sometimes, you know, you don't think it's real. You see people be successful at weight loss. You're like, that's not how it is. So we are going to have very real conversations with actual, very real members about their very real journeys. I guarantee you, this is not going to be sunshine and rainbows. We are going to get into what real sustainable, maintainable, move on with the rest of your life kind of weight loss is all about. Joining me today

is Katharina Carnegie. She's 62. And I say that because I think it's important to have context on our guest. She is a mother of two, also a grandmother of two. She's been trying to lose weight since her 20s. She's done seven programs with us. She has lost 34.4 pounds. She is only 5.6 away, but you know she's got a story. It hasn't been easy for her. Lots of ups and downs, and then more ups. She even went through two Achilles surgeries,

struggled with motivation, because that happens, especially after seven groups, and sabotage. So should we just meet her and bring her on and get into this conversation? I think so. Welcome, Katharina. hello hi hi i was just looking at your before and afters that we if people have if they are joining us live they're able to see your before and afters on the screen if they're listening to our podcast unfortunately you got to be part of the group in order to see that but wow 34 point what is it 34.4 pounds 35 today 35 today congratulations that looks like a lot more than that my goodness that's healthy weight. That's healthy weight loss, no doubt. Healthy weight loss. Yes, absolutely. I know, you know, when I look at the before photos, I'm just in awe because there's times

where I feel like I get comfortable where I'm at right now. And I pull up a before photo. I'm like, oh, my gosh. Yeah. Yeah. I don't have the back boobs anymore. I don't have the back rolls anymore, I don't have the, the back rolls anymore, you know, and it just, it's amazing. The program is amazing. It works and it's, it's probably,

not probably, it is the best thing I have done for myself. Okay. I want to talk about this because you, I mean, obviously you crushed the program, but you, you've got a real story here. So I want to talk about this because you, I mean, obviously you crushed the program, but you, you've got a real story here. So you did the first program in the winter, 2022, you lost 26 pounds and then, um, you had Achilles surgery and you, you, your weight went up 2.8 pounds. Then you joined us in the fall and you were down 2.2 pounds, had another Achilles surgery. Then you did the winter program, lost 7.6. And then you didn't sign up for the summer program and you gained 20 pounds. And then you joined us in the fall, down 21.8. And of course, the winter 5.6.

And now you're 5.6 away. So what makes it different than any other diet that you've done? Because you've been dieting since you were 20. You've gained and lost before gained and lost before. Why are you still with us seven? Because you know, you know, we got new people in the program. And they they're kind of like, I'm not sure about this diet. And what makes it different from any other diet? So I want to ask you what what makes it different? Oh, my gosh. What makes the GINA program different from any other diet that I have ever done is it's so much more than just about losing the weight. I think, yeah, you can lose the weight. And I did a lot of other diets and I lost the weight, but I didn't deal with any issues.

And so the weight would come back on right away. And what makes this different, and even after seven, on my seventh program, every program, I'll learn something new about myself and my wise change on every program. And this is sustainable, it's it's losing weight, getting healthy. And it's not just on the outside, it's on the inside, where from a doctor's visit, you know, my blood pressure meds have been reduced at the lowest dosage right now. And I'm anticipating going off in my next visit. Thanks. And all my other levels have also decreased. Whereas before on another diet, I wasn't healthy. And I wasn't dealing with the issues that brought me to the weight gain. I

didn't just wake up one day fat. It was over a progression of years and dysfunction and growing up in dysfunction and, and so on. And so weight loss is so much more than for me so much more than just losing the pounds. It's having to deal with all the baggage and the associations that you have with food. And that's what I'm dealing with. And I love, so sorry, go ahead. You love, I love, even though it is really difficult to deep dive into the wise and why do I self-sabotage? Why do I not take better care of myself? Why, why, why? And so your program forces me to look deeper and why did I allow myself to get there? And, and so I have never ever, and I've been on a lot of diets. I've never ever been on a diet where it made me look at why did I allow myself to get there? Now, when you signed up for your first program, cause you were successful, you lost 26 pounds in your first group. Did you

realize this? Like I, I see you have have this realization now and I love that you're able to reflect on that that it is more than what you're eating and when it's those issues associations those habits those beliefs but at what point like at what point did you recognize did you recognize that in the first program or did it take you a few programs? At what point did you recognize that it was more than that? I did not recognize that Gina until the fall of 2023 last fall. So a year, is that a year after you started almost? So this is last fall when I signed up. So yeah, it is, it is over a year. Yes, it is. I had to look at my my notes here. But I didn't realize that there was so much more tied to weight loss and then just losing the number on the scale.

Yeah. You know, and friends would would say to me, what you signed up again? Yeah. Yeah. And I said, yeah, I'm learning so much about why I would do this to myself. And so this winter program, spring winter program, it's been just the biggest eye opener in all the programs that I have done. And I haven't lost a huge amount. My scale hasn't budged a lot. But the NSVs are huge and, and also digging deeper, you know, and looking at the baggage that I brought with me and dealing with that.

And I feel like I am finally on the journey to a better life where I can, like you always say, get up, wake up, look good, feel good. And I think I'm finally on that path now. When you look back, because you've had your ups and downs. And do you feel like you you've got like, because I know you're five pounds away. So you're you're getting close to going into maintenance. And I know what people who go through the maintenance that join the maintenance group 98% of them are feeling confident in their ability to be able to maintain and sustain their weight moving forward. Do you feel like your process is going to do that for you? Do you feel like everything you went through now is for a reason? Do you feel like that? Like what you've learned is going to be the difference between gaining it back again? How do you know you're not going to gain it back

again? That's what people want to know. Yeah. How do I know? I know now what not to do. I have found my why. My why has changed from one program to another. And my why is now really delving deeply into the self-sabotage. And I finally found the answer why I do it. And it's the self-love or lack of self-love where I would put everybody first and take care of everyone and, and not do the same for me. And so I feel really confident moving forward that I won't gain the weight back again. I have found a love for myself

and putting myself first and getting healthy. But it took me a long time. Okay, so I was gonna ask, because that was, I don't know if you listened to the live this morning, but that was someone was saying they're a caregiver for their mother and for their grandchildren

and they're selling their house and all of that. So that's, I mean, it's one thing to say, I love it's so inspiring to hear that, but how did you get there? What was the process for you to, to get to that, to where you are now? To the self-love, definitely opening up the baggage, no matter how hard it was. And I would have to look at it. Why did I do that? And, and then also reflecting back on my journey since I started in my early 20s. And I could really relate to that message that that woman about being the caretaker. And I'm the oldest of six.

And my mother passed away when I was really young. And so I became the caretaker of my five siblings. And so I could so relate to her. But I know looking back now, I wasn't good for anybody because I wasn't taking care of myself. And I carried that on into my relationships, even into my adult relationships. I was there to rescue people, to take care of people.

And now with this huge eye-opener in the last program and in this one here, I've come to the realization it begins with me. I have to take care of myself, And I am responsible for my own health. And I've got one health, I've got one body, and I got to take care of it. And your program, and listening to the lives and to all your experts and your guests and reading the comments has got me there. What do you, what do you, so self-sabotage, what do you do? Do you set intentions, end of day reflections?

You listen to the guest experts, like what are your tips for people? I see people in the comments talking about really struggling with sabotage. And, you know, I know the program itself, it guides people through the program and we have the guests pop up. And, but do you, what's your, what would be your tips for people who are watching or listening right now who are struggling with sabotage? With self-sabotage, I journal. I also set intentions every morning. And, you know, and I definitely focus on, you know, my water intake and following the program and the tweak each week. But I also journal every morning. And I started off probably a year ago or so already with the journaling.

And I would find something about myself that I loved, and I would record that, and I'd write it down. And sometimes I really struggled to find something that I would love about myself. But I did that every day. And also in the journal would write what I loved about myself and what I wanted to do for myself that day. And doing that every day. And I don't journal every day.

I would say every two days for sure. I jot down even if it is something to be grateful for. And also acknowledging, you know, the good and the steps that I have made. And when I do reach another milestone, I write about it in my journal and how proud I am of myself and where I've come from. And, and the self sabotage, it, it's a big and I think a lot of people struggle with that. And I certainly do not just just in my health, and my weight, but also professionally, I would. Yeah. And so it's been huge, life changing. And I would definitely recommend anybody that is struggling with self-sabotage is to really focus on the self-love and start recording, journaling that somewhere. Find a book or an app that allows you to do that and to record. And at the end of the day, reflections, look at, you know, did you accomplish your intentions? You know, what did

you do for yourself that day? And did you do something good for yourself? Or, or did you help somebody else out, you know, and so recording, recording those actions, I think are all small steps to stopping the self-sabotage. Yeah, those are great tips. You mentioned you people were asking you, oh, you're doing the program again. What are you noticing people reacting to you different, differently? Because I know you're doing that mental work. So it's one thing when you've just lost the weight, but it changes who you who I think it changes who you are when you start loving yourself and showing up for yourself. What is, have you had any experience, any kind of reactions from, from people in your life? Yes. Yes, absolutely. A couple of people have asked if I was ill and I'd be, nope, never been better.

Yeah. And I think, you know, if they're uncomfortable with weight or, you know, and I think sometimes people feel, sometimes they're excited for you when you do reach another milestone. And at other times, depending where they're at, they might feel like, oh, another diet, you know? And at first when I, and I've been very quiet up until the last year or so with each program I would join because people would say, again,

like, why do you keep joining if it's not working? And I said, oh, my gosh, it is working. I just have so much to to uncover and deal with. But yeah, to work through. Yeah. It's a journey. It's a life journey, life changing journey. And I've noticed, too, where when I do start to focus more on myself and put myself first, some of the friends that I've had for years and years and years kind of start to fall.

Some of them fall by the wayside and you just feel like there's no, not that I would ever ditch them for anything, but it just feels like we've lost that connection. There's nothing, I'm on a different journey than what they're on, a different path. And so, yeah. Yeah, I so relate to this because when you start being, especially if you're a person who prioritizes other people,

you end up having people in your life where you're always doing for them. Not that, I mean, it does have, life is a bit of a give and take, and not that you're being someone's friend to get something in return, but it does tend to be a little one-sided, and people are comfortable with the you that they're comfortable with. And I really noticed this, that I felt like people in my life were not seeing me for who I was becoming and who I wanted to be. And I would try to have conversations with them. And I'm like, can you,

like, that's not me anymore. That's who I was before. Those are the mistakes that I made before this is, you know, and, um, I lost some really great friends, but now I am so grateful that that happened. Because when you love yourself, you open yourself up for so much love. I'm assuming you felt the same. Absolutely. And I've made some great friends that are, are on this journey as well, you know, and, and just people that are on the same journey and you want to get better, you want to get healthy and you want to have, have a better life. Yeah. I just, I love that community. And that's what I

love about the, the lives is the community. And they feel like, like everybody is a friend waiting to happen, you know, and we can all relate. We're all on similar journeys. And well, I love that. I love that you said that because this is what this is what these spill the teas are like your people are going to lose weight, follow the program. This isn't to try to convince people to lose the weight. It's not trying to convince them that it works. My hope for people who are watching and listening for these, to these amazing conversations is it is very real people on very real journeys, you know, and life is happening and it's about how you are thinking and feeling. And of course what you're doing, you know, to navigate all of it. It's so much deeper. It's not, we're not going to sit, not that there isn't a time and place to swap recipes, you know, and meal ideas, but there's a whole other side to weight more yourself and how difficult that is and the new friendships out there. What I want for everybody is beyond just losing weight, I want them to truly live a life beyond their dreams. And I'm not talking about fancy cars and nice houses. I'm talking

about how they feel inside that they're capable of making change. I love this conversation with you. I want to just quickly give you your props for all your non-scale victories. Improved blood sugar, improved cholesterol, high blood pressure medication been reduced, like you mentioned. Looking forward to coming it off completely. Built a strong mind and body connection where you know what your body likes and doesn't. You have more energy. You're in better shape to do the outdoor activities you love, like hiking.

You no longer have joint pain improved sleep improved skin I'm going to add on there you know um self-love you mentioned your why keeps changing like was that was that on purpose or you just in hindsight noticed what were you intentional with your with your why I I always thought I was intentional with my why's. I mean, when I first first started, I had seen a co worker, we've been off for the summer. And I saw her and I'm like, Oh, my gosh, what happened to you? Where's the rest of you? And she said, I just got healthy. And I'm like, wow. And I said, what are you doing? And she's been a living loser for many programs. And she lost like 70 some pounds.

And so I said, I want in. I want to know what you're doing. And so it started there. And then my first why, and I'm distinctly remember you always talking about what is your why you got to have a why. And initially, it was to lose weight, to lose the pounds. There was nothing else attached to it. And I thought once I lose 2530 pounds, whatever my goal was at that time, I'll be happy, I'll get into a relationship, I'll, I'll get that job, or I'll do this, I'll do that, you know, and, and that was my first why. And then after several programs,

and doctor visits, where, when I reached my highest weight last fall last September my why changed again and I wanted to get off blood pressure medication and also my doctor advised me to to get serious about my weight because I was pre-diabetic my blood pressure was high even with medication and my blood sugars cholesterol were all high and I reached my highest weight I've ever, ever been, even while being pregnant. And I was in a horrible place. And so my why there was to get off the meds and lower my blood work, my numbers, and just to feel better. And I did that. got got that lowered but the other non-scale victories just kept adding up and kept adding up and then when I signed up for this last round

my why changed again and that is to dig deeper into why I had let myself get where I was and how did I let myself get there. And it has opened up a whole new journey and revelation, what I need to do to get there. And I'm on my way, like I said earlier. I just, my why of the self-sabotage and, and just self-love is, is huge. And yeah, I feel like I am, I am there.

I'm getting there. I'm so close. I feel like I'm just on the cusp of, of getting into that finally and forever and living my life, getting up. That's right. That's the goal. You are on the precipice. That is the goal. And everybody's journey is so different.

Some people, it's like a straight line. Some people are like, you know, lose one group, two group, done. Other people, it's just like that's what you're going to, people who are joining us live, you know, this is just the two group done other people. It's just like, that's what you're going to people who are joining us live. You know, this is just the first of many amazing conversations, but that's what you're going to really truly understand is everybody's journey is different. It is so personal and a lot of times profound. Um, okay. So let's get into what was your biggest challenge of the program? What was the hardest thing about it? Oh, I think the hardest thing was the mindset. Yeah.

Definitely. And just getting past that and changing my why you know I'd like I've so many times before I've lost the pounds and and think okay now I'm gonna I'm gonna get into that relationship or I'm gonna get that promotion or whatever the case would be right and that's been the biggest struggle but also I have to say the most rewarding when we get past and open up some of that luggage that I've had buried for so many years and the food associations as well you know when um especially this week downsizing and yeah still i make myself scrape my stuff into the garbage and it's it's and i know you know and other programs i would save it for depending on what it was i would save it for the next meal or the next morning if it was a

breakfast or whatever. But just in this round, I am really hanging on to that mindset of, okay, I am not going to starve if I don't eat this. And I'm not going to starve if I throw it in the garbage and so I do I most of the time I will either depending like I said depending on what it is but most of the time I will scrape the last couple of bites into the garbage and just say I don't need that anymore and I'm okay and yeah probably that's been one of the biggest challenges. Yeah, pushing the limits. Sounds like you're pushing the limits and challenging yourself. Absolutely.

You have to challenge yourself. Otherwise, I feel like I'm not going to get over that cusp, right? And so I want this to be my final and forever. And, and so I got to got to work all the fields and deal with them as they arise. I like that you're being honest about saying what you had, like, when I lose weight, I'm going to do this. When I lose weight, I'm going to do that. You hear me talk about that all the time. And so I feel like, okay, well, if you put that out in the universe, you're going to get, you're going to learn the things that you need to learn in order to, you know, start that

business, start a relationship, you know, whatever that might be. And it's, it's really about, it's, it's not about the losing the physical weight. That's not what it is. It's the stuff you have to work through and go through on your journey to get there. That's the really life-changing part of this whole program. Okay. So here we are, week four of the program, like you mentioned, downsizing. Thinking back to your very first group, because I always like to address our new members you know my goal is to have them stick around long enough right just stick around long enough so you can see it's going to work uh downsizing is very feely for people so any words of wisdom for our members for this week of downsizing oh like record the NSVs and um and really try to find out why there are those associations to downsizing. Yeah. And why does it bother you to throw something out?

Why do you feel like you have to eat everything on your plate? And I know in my generation, a lot of people, you know, it was always common. Finish your plate. Finish your plate before you can go, you know. And, yeah, really look at why you have such a hard time and work on those issues. You know, and like you said this morning, if you stop at a couple of bites and you still find yourself hungry, go back and finish it or get some more and then, you know, save the last or don't eat the last couple of bites. But really look at the why, why it's so difficult to throw that the last two bites in the garbage. And I know in the beginning, my first program. Oh, gosh. And I love my overnight oats and it's and I I found out about overnight oats on my first program and I still

it's my favorite breakfast of all time and I do it every every morning I have my overnight oats and I the first program I would be like oh Oh, I'm not throwing this out. This is way too good. I'll downsize on my snack or I'll downsize at lunch, you know, but yeah, now I can, I can scrape a couple of bites into the garbage and I'm good. It does get easier. I'm in cognizant of time. We do have to go. I can't believe the time went by so quickly. What would be your, like, what do you want our members to know?

What do you want our community to know? If you could give them a takeaway, what would it be? Oh, stick with it. Stick with it. It works. And be open to all the fields and the associations that come out of the program. And listen to the lives and read the comments you know because there's somebody there that you can relate to that has experienced similar backgrounds similar life yeah listen to and ask questions if you do have a question

I've been very quiet in regards to asking the questions, but I read all that. And somebody out there will ask what you're asking, you know, and there's always an answer. The support is amazing. Your team is amazing. And you're amazing. So and I thank you. Well, I thank you. I'm so grateful that you chose our program. I know we were speaking earlier behind the scenes, but it's not an easy thing to, you know, join me up here in front of thousands of people and share your journey. Here's a comment. Thank you for sharing your very personal story. Amazing job and all your hard work.

Yeah, I just I think it's so important to hear from people on their journeys. You know, people, if you're listening to hear from people on their journeys. I'm, you know, people you're not, if you're listening to this right now and you're feeling alone, you're very much not alone. Reach out. We have a whole community of amazing people who are here with you. We're all just trying to live our best lives at the end of the day. Katharina or Tina, can I call you Tina? Is it Tina? Absolutely. Tina absolutely yes Tina what I hear people asking next steps are you nervous about moving on how you feeling like are you excited I'm excited um I'm excited to move on I I have made a decision to to sign up uh for another program and I already have the

the maintenance group I've signed up for that and I do check in there occasionally and but I I have made a decision to to sign up for another program because I have I feel like there might be a little more that I can dig into deeper and and if not if I've reached it by the time this ends, the 91 days are up, then I love the community and I love the support and just hearing your guests. And there's always so much to learn. I've been like, even cause you know, you've been with me seven groups. This is like our 21st group, more, more I'm starting to realize the value and just being part of our community at

the end of the day and listening to our guest conversations. I mean, like weight loss, yes, of course. And doing the program and definitely got to figure out that, like we have our weight loss program. We have our maintenance group. I got to work on that third place where we're all going to go and hang out. We're just living our best lives. No doubt you'll be there with us. Thank you again for joining us. I know there's a lot of amazing comments. You touched a lot of amazing comments. You touched a lot of people in our conversation today, so be sure to check those out. Thank you first. I don't want the conversation to end, but thank you so much for joining me. I'm honestly, truly grateful that you took the time to share. And I'm grateful for you and your program. Thank

you. Okay. Well, I will see you around, no doubt. Isn't she amazing? What an amazing, perfect first guest. And this is what it's going to be moving forward. We have a variety of amazing guests that are going to come and join us and we're going to get into the conversations. I've never met anyone who didn't have a story. Even the person who you think it's going to be so easy for them, sometimes is the person that struggles the most. it's not even about how much weight someone has to lose sometimes someone can have more weight to lose but have that mindset part like down pat it's it's never ceases to amaze me um how individual everyone's journey is and i hope that you resonate with the stories that will be shared in the weeks to come i do want to talk about downsizing this week so So join Kim and I.

We're going to talk this week on Wednesdays, 12 p.m. We're going to specifically talk about downsizing. You're going to have another opportunity to downsize in another couple weeks. So even though it'll be midweek, there's a lot to learn. So please join us for that. And then tomorrow morning, Dr. Dina Kara-Shafer is coming on. She's going to talk about learning. And if that's one of our takeaways from Tina today

is join us for our guest segments. There's so many good tidbits and takeaways really to get into that mental part of things, whether it's your resistance to making changes, whether it's unlearning, relearning, learning new things. And that's gonna be the topic tomorrow. As we start to make these tweaks each week, I love that people get stuck on the previous week,

but it's designed where one week leads into the next, leads into the next. One builds on the next, on the next. And it's very forward moving. And you want to make sure you are moving forward with it. Thanks to Tina again today. And thank you to everyone who's watching and listening. I'm already looking forward to our next spill,

the tea segment. I'll see you then.