The Livy Method Podcast - Spill the Tea - Winter 2024: Week 6 with Nathalie Gallant

Episode Date: April 9, 2024

This is the live recording of the Spill the Tea session with Gina and Special Guest Nathalie Gallant.You can find the full video hosted at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodwinter2024Topics covered:Introducing Nathalie GallantMany of us don’t have a lot of photos of ourselves from the pastLooking back at Nathalie’s weight journey from when she was a childBreaking the trauma bonds from one generation to the nextAt 40lbs down, reflecting back on how Nathalie found The Livy MethodNathalie crushed her first Program, was down 21lbs, and then had to deal with the pressures of a summer of social eating/drinking while campingWhere Nathalie is now, having set her goal and surpassed itThis difference in maintaining her weight loss this time, compared to when she did Keto and other dietsNathalie shares her experiences with the evolution of the last 6 groupsDiscussing the desire for quick fixes and the effects of our children watching our habitsNathalie’s biggest challenge is still the eveningsHow Nathalie addresses each new group, gifting copies of the book to friends each time!Dealing with past traumas and how they trigger old eating habits and ways of copingPlanning ahead for travel and vacationsNathalie’s tips for being successful with the Livy Method - watching the Lives, drinking water from a wine glass, creating an Instagram account and leaning on the Livy communityLooking at comparison, recognizing our differences and how they shape our journeyFollow Nathalie on IG @mamagallant_finallyandforeverFollow 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. my energy, my self-confidence. The cravings are gone. I'm eating things that I haven't eaten in 27 years. It's time to spill the tea. So each week we have these super fun spill the tea conversations with our amazing members who so freely share their journeys and their tips. Real people on very real journeys. Today, my special guest is Natalie Gallant. You might know her on Instagram. She goes by Mama Gallant at Finally and Forever. Just a little bit about her, 58, married for 30 years, four children, so no doubt we're going to

have a lot in common, her and I. Down 40 pounds. This is her sixth program and she is at her lowest weight that she's been in her adult life. And I believe under her goal weight as well. So she's also done keto, intermittent fasting. So you know we're going to get into that. So let's bring her on chat oh I love all those pictures thank you loves her doesn't everyone just love their before photos? Yeah, it's a glow up. I know my husband's been going through the basement. He's been trying to find old photos. And I think I need to do that. But old photos of me are very rare, like everyone else. Right? Well, you're also at that age. And because's like well where's all your oh you only

have like one or two photos I'm like yeah because you youngins forget that I'm at an age where we didn't walk around with a camera in our hand and you'd either like just bring a camera to like a special event and even then when you carried excess weight you weren't like look at me you like you hid in the back. And so people are always like, well, where's your before photos? I'm like, they're kind of non-existent just because of how old I am. Um, did you see that? Um, what was it on Instagram? I follow you on Instagram, Instagram, as you know, um, did you see a couple of weeks ago, they had that post a photo of yourself when you were 21?

It was like one of those you're supposed to everyone's posting it. So you're supposed to share a photo of yourself on when you're 21. And I'm like, where is everybody getting these photos from? Like, I'd have to pull out the old photo albums from I don't even know and search through like 30 old books just to try to find a photo when I was 21. People that were posting were probably between 29 and 40. Any photos of mine in my early 20s was probably I was doing something inebriated. So I don't think I would want to post that. Right. Yeah. OK, so let's take it back when you're younger then, because I saw in

your notes here, you grew up with a mom who was very thin, also very, you know, very weight focused. And let's, let's cut her some slack there. Cause people were very weight focused back then people would freely talk about dieting. It was cool to diet, to do weird diets to, you know, that type of thing. You know, I think that's how Weight Watchers started was, you know, someone, a woman in her kitchen inviting her friends over to do diet stuff at the end of the day. But she's still like that. She's 82. And I'm telling her, girl, you've lasted this long.

Have the piece of cake if you want the cake. But she'll call me. Oh, my God, I've gained two pounds. I can't believe I don't know what I'm gonna do anyway it is what it is right yeah okay it is what it is but the impact that it had on you let's talk about that right um you know your mom you know tried to control maybe food a little bit because did you have a weight issue when you were young I so I mean I I mean, I grew up in the seventies and eighties. Uh, I grew up just to give you an idea. I graduated high school in 85. Uh, I think back then, um,

like the girls were whack thin. The way I looked in high school back then, I would fit into high school perfectly now, right? Yeah. It's just, and I have nieces and nephews that, or I have friends that have kids that had extra weight when they're young, but they grew into healthy, beautiful adults with no weight problem. Right. So I know I give my mother some slack. She didn't have a nice childhood, so she didn't break the trauma bond. I know with my children, I broke the trauma bond. I researched. I did not want them to have the same issues with food. I did stress with grandma and grandpa when they came to visit that they were not allowed to talk about their bodies. They weren't allowed to talk about diets. They were not

to mention anything. Oh, yeah. I thought if I couldn't stand up for myself, at least I was going to stand up for my children. Right. And they have healthy food relationship. It's amazing. Yeah. I think that's, you can break that cycle, that pattern and still be struggling on your own as well. Right. It's just, I'm even, I'm learning so much about how something that is said to you so long ago, whether it's your parents or a random stranger, it can really stick with you and define who you are and the choices that you've made and how you think over years for sure. And I don't even, I'm pretty sure my kids are going to need years and years and years of therapy.

I'm pretty sure, you know, because what I'm learning about parenting now, I definitely didn't get right back then. But I digress. Let's talk about you, 40 pounds down. How did you hear about the, like, how did you hear about the program? Okay, so I had a girlfriend text me. And then I think she called me. And she, so I had a girlfriend text me. And then I think she called me and, and she, so I introduced her to keto, we went through that journey together. And then, of course, we, we stopped doing it for maybe different reasons. I'm not too sure. But then she messaged me and she's like, Oh, my gosh, I'm on this program. It's so amazing. Natalie, I'm eating like chicken Caesar salad almost every day. And I've lost 22 pounds.

So I and of course, she said, listen to some podcasts. Right. And I said, OK, because, of course, I was little. What do you mean? I can't sign up now. I want to sign up now, but I had to wait, which was fine. So I listened to podcasts and you much the same, right? As you can tell from my bio. So I just love the realness, right? You didn't bullshit. You were politically correct.

You were so real. And I love that. Really loved it. Yeah. I love hearing that. Yeah. And so your first program your first program 22 pounds crushed it yes yes crushed it uh I mean of course I wasn't at my goal um and in between you would, okay. So I've got, I don't, I can't remember the break.

Is it a four week break, a six week break between your programs? Was your, it depends on, so there's, um, there's like a four, four, five week break in between the fall and the winter. There's a two week break between the winter and the spring. So the next two week break in between the next program coming up, and then there's a seven week break in the summer. Right. So I think the first program I did was spring summer and I felt great because I was down, you know, 21, 22 pounds, uh, for the summer, which that's what you want. But then you start there. You know, I'm not so much salty sugar. Sugar is my thing. Right. And then you go into camping season. And I was also explaining how social it is.

And there's a lot of pressure and they do the shots and they they bring out the cheesy dips with the the nachos or whatever around the fire. And it was insane. I could not. I was wearing track pants by the end of the summer. My face was a bowling ball. And the worst thing is, is you felt like shit, right? Yeah. the worst thing is is you felt like shit right yeah well then you would start detoxing working out and and I just enough's enough and actually the lot since I've been doing your program because

I'm not much of a drinker um they tease me because I I bring uh water to the fire and that's my thing I'll drink water I don don't care. Right. Cause they have, they have a lot of them have the whole idea. Oh, well, you only live once and we're here for a good time. Not a long time. Well, I want to see my kids graduate. Right. I'd like to have a healthy, be healthy in my old age, not have my hip replaced or my knee replaced and, and be good to my body. Right. And that's where I am right now. All because of you.

Not everyone listens to what I suggest, but you've been here six, this is your sixth program. Correct. 40 pounds down, sixth program. where are you at now and what do you mean like are you done you're done you're done losing no i'm so i don't think i'm done i don't think my body's done so okay mike i don't i don't have a problem talking numbers because the numbers are there but my goal weight i'm 5'8 my goal weight was I'm 5'8", my goal weight was 175. That always seemed to be the sweet spot, right? And then, you know, I couldn't maintain 175. And I thought, obviously, I need to get to a place where I can maintain because what's the deal with doing all this hard work? And it is hard work, right? When I was doing keto and Vysalis and all that stuff. Um, so I don't know, should I try to go to 180? Should I try to go to 75? So I thought with you,

I would, with your program, I would hit 175 and, um, I surpassed it. So right now, shockingly, and I tell you every time I get on that scale, it's like, is this right? I fluctuate between 168 and 167. And, uh, cause then I thought, well, I'm going to set a new goal for myself. I'm going to try 165. So I'm, and I did sign up for your next group, but I'm letting my body, as you say, settle, trying to figure out what its weight wants to be. But I love working out. I have, we have all the toys downstairs. I should be ripped by what we have downstairs. It's awful. But with age, you do get injury. And I did injure my shoulder. And what I want to do now is focus on staying on the plan, keep eating the way I've been eating, which is, I mean, so easy now it's, it's second nature and, uh, start working out, just start firming up. That's my goal now. Yeah. So what do you think is going to be the difference?

I mean, doing resistance training as you get older is so important. I mean, like that's, that's, that's a game changer. Um, what do you think the difference is in, in being able to maintain it this time, as opposed to when you've done keto and all the other diets? Okay, that's a very good question. The difference is mental. Okay, I find your program has taught me so much. And I think that's why it's taken me six groups to get to the weight that I'm that I am. Right? Yeah, because a lot of the other diets, and I don't like using the word diet, I don't think your your program is a diet. But it's, you want instant satisfaction, you want to see the scale move right away. And it is disheartening when I see women starting your program. And I have seen a lot of keto ladies that I know and love be on your program. And because I don't know if they weren't following it correctly, but because they weren't getting the instant results in 91 days, they said, F it, I'm out of here. I'm going back to keto. But you have to realize, I think for the majority of us, there's a reason why we turn to food. And I think

with your specialists that you have, you give us the reasons like we have to. Yeah, it resonated so much. Right. You start realizing why your metabolism sucks. You start realizing why you're overeating. To begin with, like I said to Kim, I said, I find that when as women, we turn to food, when we're stressed, the majority of the men, I think, turn to alcohol, right? But we'll either grab the salt or the sugar, whatever our vice is. And that's what we go to. We've had a shitty day. Yeah, that's what I think. Well, yeah. And the way our bodies are designed, we're more inclined to crave those types of foods as well. As we've learned from our hormone conversation, you get a crappy night's sleep, you're more inclined to crave carbs and sugar. You're losing your muscle mass over

years and years of dieting, which we've done, which means that we're more, you know, we're less sensitive to our insulin. And, you know, there's a whole, there's a whole thing around it. What's, um, you know, six groups, you've seen the evolution even in the conversation with our guests. I mean, Oh, absolutely. I guess over the last six groups have like even the conversations group over group over group. I don't know if people are just getting more savvy or what is going on, but they just become more in depth more like I don't know, I'm, I think I've listened to Dr. Beverly and your conversation about diet trauma three times. And that is probably the number one. When girlfriends ask me what I'm doing, I tell them and then I send them that podcast. Because I know that they've all gone through everything. I've been, I have one friend who's currently on her second time with Dr.

B and I, anyway, I just kind of, and she failed miserably the first time, but she wants to do it again. And I, I, I know she'll come to me one day. Right. You'll have her. Yeah.

Later. Well, it's that it's that quick fix. But then, you know, you've been trying to quick fix for I don't know how many years. It's not such a quick fix. So because you were pretty hardcore into intermittent fasting too. Yes. Kim told you, eh? I used to, um, yeah, I, I got into it and, um, I used to intermittent fast once a month for 60 hours. Wow. Yeah. Yeah. And I think I stopped because here I am trying to promote a healthy lifestyle with my children and my my youngest, who's now 14. Jeez, I, I don't know, I was doing keto 2017 2018. She was way younger, and every night she would ask me,

mommy, are you eating with us tonight for dinner? So I just hated that question, right? I didn't want her to think that I was starving myself, but essentially that's what I was doing. So I thought, you know what? I got to stop this because they, they look up to you. And I just did not want them to start having some negative connotations about it. Yeah. Yeah. For sure. What's been, uh, what's your biggest challenge during the program? Nighttime. Yeah. Oh yeah, for sure. Um, I am great during the day. I'm great in the morning. I'm great during the day. My husband just recently retired and, uh, he'll make me my little egg in the morning, which is, he does it perfectly. So it's like, keep doing what you're doing, honey. Love ya. But, um, and I, and I follow it, but then there's some nights if, uh, I'm up late, uh, I volunteer with a dog rescue. So if I'm doing

work there, you know, you got the devil and the angel, right. But, um, but then you comment so many times that maybe it just means that I haven't had enough of my, my snack. So the next day I have to usually my, my nut content and then I'm, I'm fine, but it is getting better though. I must say, right. Cause there was was there was programs where it was a struggle and then the community is amazing and they'll come and they'll say, OK, have that hot coffee like that decaf coffee or have a sweet tea. And that will do the trick. And that's what I would do. Right. So as long as I stay out of the kitchen at night, I'm good. But if the dogs need out, anyway, yeah. Find another exit. I just want to read this comment here. Natalie, it's so good to hear you validate that after six groups, you've not needed to see the instant results. You keep going,

kept on and understood your body. That is so huge. Honestly, let me read that again. It's so good to hear you validate that after six groups, you've not needed to see instant results. You keep going, you keep on and understand your body. Thank you for saying this. I was just saying today how I had a couple of days off, not feeling well and emotionally made choices not good for me. But today I'm back in the saddle and that's a non-scale victory for me to be all in, uh, so quickly. So proud of you. Yeah. And well, I mean, right back at you, how do you approach each new group? Do you use fresh eyes? Like, are you just kind of building out what you've learned? Like, how do you, how do you keep going through six groups? Another good question. Um, I, you know, okay. So I am going to, I've, I've never done fresh eyes, but seriously, group seven, I have to say that any books that I've bought,

I've given them to friends because they're so interested. I know. Isn't that awful? I give them to friends saying, here, read this, look at this. But I kid you not, group seven, I'm going to get a fresh new book. No one's going to have it. It's going to be mine finally and forever. And this time around, I'm doing it with fresh eyes eyes and I have a few new girlfriends that are joining and I just want to go along the ride with them because I truly believe it is a life changing journey and the way I look at your program to $75 for three months is the cheapest therapy out there. Right, because I truly and I've looked that I've gone through therapy to figure out why I have the issues that I have surrounding food. And the side effect has been weight loss and it's just a bonus. Right.

Cause I'm, cause I don't know if you read the whole file, but there was a group that Kim reached out to me, I think sometime last year around this time to do spill the tea. And my father had passed away and, uh, I was helping my mother pack up the house, sell it, um, move into retirement community. And I was there for nine weeks. And, uh, pretty much when the group just started, I was flying out there. And the first week I was like dialed in, I can do this. But then all the past traumas started coming up. And I started eating like an asshole. Right?

Every night I was back to my teenage years sneaking in food to my bedroom,, ah, anyway. So I got back home and I thought, I put on my big panties, got on the scale. I was, I knew I was up cause you could feel it and you feel like shit. You look like shit. And, um, I hopped on and 10 pounds, I was up and I thought, okay, girl, you're not at your heaviest, right? But let's start doing this again. And it's just continued. And look at me now. Right? Well, you didn't give up on yourself and you kept going. I think this is a important conversation because we need to normalize that you know you're going to have times in your life where you are going to revert back i mean isn't that kind of what you know past trauma we were especially we get around to our around our parents don't we just revert back to like who we were when

we were with them and yeah you know um a big part of Oh, do you still see me? Yep. Sorry. Okay. Can you hear me? Yeah, I'm good. You're good. Can you see me? Yeah, I can see you and I can hear you. Oh, okay. I just can't see you. Yeah. Oh yeah. Sometimes the computer will turn off your screen, but I can hear you and see you just fine. Okay. Perfect. Um, sorry, the question you just said. Oh, well, I was just saying like, we need to normalize that you can lose your weight and then you'll have stressful periods of time in your life where you're co you fall back into old habits and the way that you're coping or, you know, like you revert back to whatever and you need to normalize that. The big takeaway here is that you, you felt it, you recognized it. And then you're

like, okay, enough of that. And let me like course correct it. And you're, and I was coming off a high. I had, uh, we did a family holiday in Barbados. We were there for three weeks. And I just, I had the mind body connection. So I was eating the roti, I was having the ice cream, but I would, and you know, I was, I did talk to Dr. Ruth. And I explained this. And I said, you know, this is gonna sound really cheesy. And maybe there's a more eloquent way to explain it. But whenever I eat, I actually pause. And I kind of do a check on myself. And it's like, like if I'm having a conversation with my stomach, right, I am trying to feel how my stomach feels. And it's like, okay, feels good. It's not hungry. It's had enough. I'm good. You know, and then I can push away. And then I would just

have it at a later time. So to go through all that never felt that I missed out at all. And then to go home and weigh myself and I gained less than a pound. Yeah. And I thought, Oh my gosh, this is amazing. And then whack, uh, BC. So yeah, but I'm going back to BC in June and I'll tell you, I'm only there for two weeks, but I'm going to rock it this time because it's it's it's funny. I think I need it. It was a blessing in disguise for me to to fall off the wagon so hard because everything started clicking for me afterwards. Yeah. Yeah. Mentally. Yeah. I think that when you are falling back, you go back old habits, coping issues, associations, beliefs, whatever it is an opportunity for you to be like, Oh, okay. Yeah. No, that's not what I want. Or, Oh yeah. I still

have things to work through. And that's the whole point of it is working through those things to get to the other side. Um, I love this. I love this conversation. Okay. Um, we're already out of time. I can't believe how quickly the time has gone by. Um, tips, what's your secret sauce? What's my secret sauce? I, okay. So I, your lives, if you can't do the lives, do the podcast. There's many times that I've had to re-listen to your, your lives because there's such conversations going on the side that you can kind of get stuck into that, right? You need to focus, but whatever. I drink my water in a wine glass, right? Instagram. I know a lot of people, I like to say that I'm an introvert extrovert. I'm an open book. You can ask me any, like I'm, I like to think that I'm a private person, but if you come to me and ask me a question,

I have no problem talking to you about it. But I think creating an Instagram account for accountability is so huge. So huge. The Jeannie Levy community is amazing. And if you're having a shitty day, like I said, there's 100 people that are just going to lift you up and encourage you to keep going. Right. So yeah, absolutely. That's my tips. And don't compare. Yes. Do you have a hard time with that comparing? Did you, was that a struggle for you in the beginning? Uh, yeah, there was, I must say there was a few people that I'm like, holy cow, how are they doing this? But then, um, I asked them how tall they are or I asked them their age and it's like, okay, okay. So I have like 20, 25 years on you. Okay.

So I'm going to give myself a bit of a break here. And I tell you, and I said this to Kim, these, you know, this is going to sound so petty and I mean this in the nicest way, but these women that have joined your group in their thirties, holy shit. Like, oh, can you? Yeah. Yeah. And, and they should seriously hit themselves in the forehead if they're thinking of quitting, because this is just a game changer. I would have loved to have found you, you know, 20 years ago, 25 years. I can't even tell you how many times I've heard that. I mean, you know, it's interesting because we talked about the conversation with Ruth, cause you've, you know, you've done focus groups with Ruth. She talks about that as you get older and you've done the program and she's saying like, what's the difference, how are you going to maintain it? And it's because like, cause I'm not going to do that diet thing again. You know, you just know enough that you've done that and you're just done with it. It doesn't mean you're not going to still fall back into habits

or old habits or whatever, but it just seems like you've, you've had enough of that. Like, you're just ready to just move on from it. Whereas, you know, I've arrived. I just can't believe it. You know, I'm 58. I feel fantastic. I love it. Um, and age is just a mindset, right? And, um, yeah, thank you. Thank you and your team and all your guests because they are just amazing. Just amazing. Yeah. Well, thank you. Thank you for joining me today. Um, thank you for sharing your story. Cause I know it's not an easy thing to do. And I know so many people are resonating. You never know, like the one little thing that you say can make can be like make or break a game changer for someone who's like hanging on by the skin of their teeth today. Make all the difference. And, you know, in terms of them following through and finishing. So thank you so much. I know I'm going to see you around because I see you every day on Instagram anyway. Your Instagram handle is mamagalant. mamagalant at underscore finally and forever.

If you want to give her a follow over there, show her some love. Thanks everyone. Yeah, wow. That went by fast. I know. Didn't it go by fast, you guys? Thank you. Thank you for everyone. Yeah. Wow. That went by fast. I know. Didn't it go by fast? You guys. Um, thank you. Thank you for everyone.

Here's one. I'm 73 and I wish I found Gina 50 years ago, but never too late. Yeah. So if you're, you're 30 stick with us, this is exactly where you want to be. Oh yeah, for sure. I love it. I absolutely love and adore you. Uh, Natalie, thanks so much for joining. I do too, Gina. I love you and adore you. And if I ever see you at the mall, it won't seem too stalkerish. I'll be, I'll be composed. I can't wait for the day. Thank you.

Okay. Come on. She lives like close, not too far away away we could actually potentially meet up at the mall i hope we do um one day um natalie's amazing i just love her whole vibe i love that every one of our guests brings something a little different uh to these conversations um i do want to talk about our amazing livey loser community it is. And if you are not already following our Livvy loser account over on Instagram, so there's my account that I have on socials at Gina Livvy, Facebook, Instagram, but we have our whole Livvy loser account over on Instagram. That's all community content. You can use the hashtag Livvy loser and find amazing members like Natalie,

who are just so freely sharing their journeys. They're like really, like really personal, intimate shares their tips and whatnot. I highly suggest use that hashtag Libby losers, find our members hook up with our community or follow us over on Libby losers, where it's all member driven content. Uh, tomorrow, join us, Kim and I, we're going to talk about the tweak this week, which is downsizing, of course. We're going to get into the portions. Some of you are concerned your portions are getting too small. That's why you want to still eat often.

And then more importantly, we're going to look ahead to next week's tweak because it's a whole other tweak that we have coming down the pipeline. So I will see you then. Have an amazing day, everyone. Thanks for joining. Bye.