The Livy Method Podcast - The Secret to Success on The Livy Method with Dr. Beverley, Dr. Deena, Dr. Olinca & Dr. Paul - Winter 2026

Episode Date: January 6, 2026

Introducing some of our guest experts!In this episode, Gina and the experts shift the focus from doing it all perfectly to simply showing up with presence and purpose. Dr. Paul Hrkal opens the conversation with a powerful reminder: success starts with being here now, not stuck in the past or worried about the future. Dr. Deena Kara Shaffer sheds light on learning styles and the value of starting where you’re at, while Dr. Beverley David invites listeners to lead with self-compassion, not pressure. Dr. Olinca Trejo flips the script on weight loss wins, showing how staying present helps you recognize real change beyond the scale. And finally, the crew reveals what really drives success on The Livy Method. Get ready to take notes on this one.You can find the full video hosted at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodwinter2026Contact info:Dr. Beverley David:IG - @drdrbeverleywww.yourpsychologycentre.caDr. Deena Kara Shaffer:IG - @awakenedlearningwww.awakenedlearning.caBooks - Feel Good Learning, Raising Well LearnersDr. Olinca Trejo, ND:IG - dr.olincaemail - [e-mail]. Paul Hrkal, ND:IG - @drpaulhrkalwww.paulhrkalnd.comTo learn more about The Livy Method, visit livymethod.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 for 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. We're focusing on sustainable habits, not quick-fixing.

Is it an opportunity to get curious? We're here, help people get to their health goals. One piece of time. You build and build and build. Yay! And just like that, we're back. And just like that, we're back. Honestly, I'm so excited.

for our new members who are yet to discover you because my goodness they do not know what they are in for. Thank you guys for joining me again. Okay, I'm going to go into some really quick intro so we can get to the good stuff. Here we have Dr. Beverly, David. She is a clinical psychologist and sleep research expert. We're going to talk about things like your diet history, how sleep impacts your brain, your self-talk, your mindset, body image. Then we have Dr. Dina Kara Schaefer. She is a world-renowned learning strategist. She's going to talk about how to make the most of the program, building habits, supporting and achieving your goals, embracing change. Then we have naturopathic doctor and queen of hormones, Dr. Alinka. We're going to talk about

hormones, weight loss, menopause, sleep, stress, and of course, hormones again. And then we have our OG, our OG, Dr. Paul Herkel, supplements, reasons your weight is slower to move, inflammation, leveling up your health, like just how to get your shit together, how to do everything, how to make the most of the program, and so much more. Thank you all. Oh, my goodness. Thank you. Brilliant. I've been here, everybody. Brilliant. Yes, happy new year. And happy new year. I've been telling, can you tell how excited I am? Geez, I've been telling

people what's really great about you is, one, you all really care. two you know how hard people are working to really make a difference and three you you know the program so well that you know where people are at you know what they need and you really speak from that place when you come on in the program and i think that's really special because you just don't get access to experts in the way that they get access to you talking specifically about things that they need to know right um okay so enough about me let's get into um I was thinking today about the living method. You know, we've had this conversation before. It's like, what do people need to know on the, like, it's the second day today? So whether a new member or a returning member, what do you think? Oh, I wish people would just know this about the next 91 days. What do you think?

What would that be? Whoever wants to go first can go first. Well, I mean, you know what? I always go last. Maybe I'll switch it up and we'll go first today. I love it. guys. There's so many pearls that you are going to hear throughout this program. So as I reflected on 2025, I always kind of reflect on what are things that went well, what are things that

need to improve? And what are some of the themes that I want to kind of focus on myself for 2006? And the word that kept coming back up for me is presence. I really wanted to focus on being present. And I think that is the perfect thing that I want to share with everybody about what do they really need to know. It's like, I think the first thing is just maybe make one commitment that you're just going to show up. You're going to show up and be present and you're going to listen. You're going to leave all the things that you think you know about weight loss that you've tried before. We all know. You're all thinking about it right now. And when you think about a lot of that is baggage because a lot of people, you're in this program because you haven't reached

the health goal and the weight goal you want. So I encourage everybody just to be present. And then that's going to allow you to be opened up to the fantastic change that may happen both on and off the scale. So think about being present. Oh, love that. That's a good word.

That's a good word for 2026. Okay, great. Dina, do I censor? Do I sense you're going to go? No, I was going to pull Paul and be like, I always go first because I'm so excited. And I'm like, student in class, like, oh, there's so much already I want to talk about. So I was going to try to go last, but okay, I'll go a second.

So my position here, my, like, how on earth am I part of this conversation as a learning strategist? I help people who are having a hard time learning or doing the thing that they want to do. And that thing could be a program. That thing could be a project or a goal, could be a career change, and certainly when it's hard. in school. And we are, and all the folks here, are like students of the living method. That's what we're doing. This is a big life project. There's a lot of learning and a lot of unlearning in the next 91 days. So as a person who works with folks who have, say, ADHD, or there's procrastination, or there's overwhelm, or there's perfectionism, I encounter folks who are having that tough time, like the inner roadblocks, the outer, roadblocks. So what I want to say to folks is please, please, you don't have to do it all and you don't have to do it all in one go. You provide so many pathways, but not in the spirit of like, oh, I have to do this and this and this and this. No, no, no. You provide those pathways to allow

all participants to engage. You provide access for all brains, all ways of being, all stages of life. So my advice, my suggestion is don't try to do it all. It's the podcast that are like, yes, that makes sense. It can fit in with my life. Yes, the journal. That makes sense. Oh, maybe it's the Facebook lives. What is the modality or the stream that's going to be the easiest bridge in? given the context of your life and the other responsibilities. That's my, that's like, so you've got presence and you've got access. Yeah, a presence and access. And give yourself time to figure that out too, right?

Give yourself time. Dr. Dina's actually joining us later this week and talk about kind of getting yourself organized and set up and all of that. Dr. B, Dr. O, who's going to go? Dr. B, do you have an acronym ready? I feel like you're like itching. inside to be like, I come up with. A phenomenal acronym for the end.

Phenomenal. Oh, okay. Maybe, maybe, maybe. If it fits, maybe. But let's start at the start, first of all. I don't want to go to the end. I, as a psychologist, I love how Dina sets her character and the why she's on this stage and what is her part in this.

And my part in this program with you is to bring the psychology. So that is what we are as human beings, how we have our thoughts, our emotions, our behaviors, what we do, what we don't do, and how our body responds to that, and how our brain may or may not interpret something as threatening. So I love that Paul said, yes, let's be present. And I love how Dina said, let's start the learning and the unlearning. but let's first of all remind ourselves of how we feel right now, day two, maybe even how we felt at the weekend before it was going to start, because this is already messaging. And I want to invite you to begin doing something different immediately.

Start with kindness. A lot of us will have already started, you know, programs and things like that. And we start with pressure. And I want you to start with kindness first, because that will help you have a self-compassionate tone, that there is no all or nothing here. I don't want you to shame yourself. I don't want you to think that I have to be perfect. I want you just to be kind.

Because what you're going to learn over these weeks is our mindset is the most powerful tool you have. And Dina and Gina and Alenka and Paul will remind you, this isn't a food plan. It's a mindset shift. you're going to be addressing the thoughts and the feelings and our drives for behavior and going to invite you to be curious over how you feel about food, what you feel and think about when you do or don't do something, and just bring that kindness to these moments. Don't rush this. This is day two and this program is built in layers. Do not rush the process. This is a layered learning approach. Just like Dina said, this is like going to school or learning something. And we don't rush a semester. A semester starts in week one. And we build and build and build.

We haven't graduated yet. We're here to be learning. And I love that Paul said that, be coachable, be an apprentice, let go of the things you think you know, and just have open ears and an open heart. So I'll leave it there for now so that lovely Elinka. can also share her wisdom. It's so hard going last, you guys. Always.

I was like, boy, Paul's had to be last the whole time, poor, poor. He's so good at it, though. Okay, listen, I think it's so tough to follow the amazing advice that everybody said already, but I think so much can change in 91 days and so little can change in 91 days. And the outcome of that is completely,

up to you. And I think you, I want you to remember the person that showed up to this program yesterday. And I want you to remember that person for 91 days. And I want you to love yourself enough, be kind to yourself enough, be brave enough, and be disciplined enough to be present, to be open, to be curious, and to understand also that progress is so much more. more than the number that you see on the scale because this program is multi-layered and there's so many things about it that are so amazing but it's just

it's not just a sorry about what you shed it's actually about what you gain that's I think the most amazing thing and I think that if you overfocus on the number that you see on the scale a lot of the times you end up missing all of the

greatness around it and I think that being present and being kind and being curious, being open, being brave, all of these things allow you to pick up all of those little treasures that maybe don't show up on the scale, but maybe little by little are actually changing your narrative. They're changing your story. And eventually they will change, not just your scale, but like your life. Oh, my gosh. We could just end it here. Okay. Thanks, everyone. No, but we have an acronym. We have a question. I know that's true. that felt good that felt good that felt good that gave me goosebumps that gave me goosebumps

that was a feeling that was yeah yeah i mean you know i feel like we could end it there because like that's so much good information i god i just love you guys and i truly love how this program has evolved right because you know paul you've been with me for a while it was very much, eat this, do this, take your supplements, whatever. And it's really become this whole like journey in self-love, self-discovery and actually being able to make change. You guys all work with people who are trying to make change. You've worked with a lot of our members. And we're going to keep you all updated on where to find them, what they got going on. They all have their own things going on outside of the living method. And we'll keep you up to date on that.

But I guess, you know, when I talk about what's the secret, what do you think is secret to success is in the living method. I don't know how it'll differ really from what we all just talked about. But I'm going to ask you anyway, what do you think the secret to success is when it comes not to just following the living method, but I guess maybe reaching any goal or trying to make any kind of change in your life. Let's do that. I had one answer. And then you just, well, I think it's not a secret. I think that the difficulty is with any change is we know it's not a secret. It takes work.

It takes effort and intention and we know that. And then when we feel like we're not doing well enough or when we think that we failed, we sometimes are scared to look into ourselves, that metaphorical mirror or the literal mirror to think, okay, what do I need to do? How do I need to just make one small step forward instead of retreat so that we've got to think, okay, the secret is, what do I want to feel like? Where do I want to be? Why do I want to be there? This isn't for other people. This is for you. And the secret is it does take work. You know, if somebody wants something, they have to plan it. have to set an intention and they have to help themselves succeed. If I want to go for a run,

I need to get my things ready. I need the sports bra. I need my trainers at the door. I need to find that time in the day and I need to organise the family to be able to carve out that time, even if it's a five minute jog. Whatever it is, start small, but that's the secret. And sometimes we struggle with that because it is effortful and there are going to be setbacks but we've got to think hang on I know that I want to be the driver of my own bus I want to drive myself to the destination

nobody else is going to do it for me and it's okay to have stops along the way and to have people to support us along the journey and people are going to struggle along the way I just want to add that too right like not to put a downer on it, but it's, it is, it's work and sometimes it's hard work. For some people, it's so easy, peasy one and done. Other people, it's so much more.

And that's why our guests are going to be here throughout the entire process, really understanding the kind of things that you're working through. And we're going to be speaking more about that. Thank you. Who's next? I'll go next. I'll piggy. I don't want to go last again.

Listen, I, I'm, I'm going to piggyback on what Dr. Beverly said. And I think, I think most of us. are used to thinking that we need the motivation and we need the willpower and there's going to be this like magic day when both of them are going to find us and the reality is that I don't think that happens for most of us. I think that it is in the really small habits that then become your normal that then help you create the consistency to work through the good times and the hard times Because, listen, consistency is great when everything is going perfectly. Consistency is hard when you're busy and things are falling apart, right?

But it's, and that's actually when it's really hard to find the motivation. And when you feel like there's something wrong with you because you don't have the world power in order to do that. But the reality is that your brain is just going to fall back on whatever habits feel the safest, right? And this is, I think, so much about unlearning and relearning. and a lot of the concepts of like, you know, shifting your mindset and that neuroplasticity you can't create a new reality. You just can't create it with the old mentality that you came into this with, right? And so I do think that it is hard work and it is consistent hard work, even if that means

that, you know, on the days that you can't run 10 kilometers, like Dr. Beverly was saying, you run two because that's all you have time for, is that consistency that that then your brain falls back to you be like, you know what? We're just, we're runners. We are people that run. Yeah. Yeah. Woo.

Okay. I drop the mic, but it's too heavy and it costs too much. You will be pissed off in me. I love that. Who's next? Go ahead, Dina. I'll, uh, round the road at the end. Closer.

The closer. I'm back to the spot. Okay. So, um, Gina, you started with one question. And it was like, the secret of this program. And I was like, oh, yeah, yeah. And they were like, no, no, no, actually. What? Like, what about anything? All right. So I'm going to go ahead and answer both. And I'm going to do it in like 90 seconds. So, well, can I just, can I just preface? Because I believe that the things

people are doing on this program to achieve this goal are the same things they need to do to achieve any goal. Heck yes. Heck yes. So, but I will. But I will. say that what makes this program so special is number one, community. You are providing community. You are providing a sense of belonging for people and many ways to engage with them. And in a school setting, belonging is actually the number one variable that accounts for persistence, meaning a student dropping out or not. So you're bringing that here and you're facilitating it in a bunch of different ways and encouraging folks to take that offline. Go walk together. Find folks in your community. I mean, the livy losers are everywhere.

You'll find them everywhere. So, I mean, I was stopped in winners with my kids. Oh, my God, she was on. Yeah, that everyone was beautiful. You guys are superstars, man. Buying shampoo. I was not looking my best. That's fine. Whenever I meet anyone, I am not. I do. Real life. Real life. Real life. So community is something. that will help you in any program, but it is really special here. I would also say, I mean, something is like the unspoken magic in the room. Gina, it's you. You are, like authenticity is a key component and ingredient of this. So yes, we can talk about what gets people through

any program towards any aim and aspiration, but we also have to name the specificity of you. you swear you bring your whole life you tell us about your kid like you are you TMI no perfect perfect I like it's there is a realness and so that is part of what is what is the alchemy of this but then to Alenka's point which is like I mean I circle when you when you when you added that it was like that's the thing motivation it's not going to be with you every day might not even be with you most days but action precedes motivation yeah you show up whether or not you want to because the want to is fickle the want to is passing the want to is like how how did your kids speak to you this weekend what email did you get yesterday from your boss

what's the weather outside so our inner weather changes that motivation is not going to be on your side every day. That doesn't mean you can't do the things. You can do the things even if you don't feel like it. So that is the like specific and the abstract and sorry. It took more than 90 seconds of it. I love you all. The inner weather. If someone was to ask you what's the weather inside right now? I mean, that is one of the opening questions most times, right? Like what is your inner weather and it's helpful to name i feel that foggy i feel unground windy can be helpful no matter the weather you can still take action what if it's like a tornado like an f5 for tan tornado every day i'm with you we might lie down on the ground a little bit but i will say this an athlete with someone who's

training for something doesn't say like well it's a little bit rainy out it's hot i don't feel like it. It's don't feel like training today. So we can show up even if we're not big fans of the weather, even if we don't feel like it. Because decide your climate. Like climate and internal weather, like it's okay to have the storm and then, you know, freezing rain because the climate can be, that can be your little thermostat. I think this is what I also am. I swear Dita just imitated me to, I didn't want to rent today. I know, I know. With love.

You know, I've been doing this for like five years with Gina and I'm going on my six. So it's a pretty, I have a pretty sweet vantage point to answer this question. You know, you, you know, you said, like, what's the secret to the living program? You know, we started off when we were like 5,000 people in the program. Now there's much more. And there's all the things you, everyone said, is. absolutely bang on you know but I'm going to take a little bit of like a practical route because I have patients coming in and they tell me exactly the this this

question you know what do you like with a Gina program I always ask how's it going for you that's one of my key and I hear all sorts of different things but I hear a lot a few things very often number one Gina they they mentioned I love Gina you know so that's a big one and and you know you guys Gina you do have a you have a personality that I think a lot of people resonate with. But it's obviously not, you're not going to make everyone your best buddy. And people still like the program.

So I think what you represent is you are here every day and you show up. And so that was something that everyone's reiterated. So in a sense, you're like a bit of a beacon, a bit of an example for everybody. You know, the first thing, if you're like new to this program or you're somebody that this is their fourth program,

you still just have to show up every day where other weight loss programs that people have gone through it's like you go to this clinic you get this injection you get the super restrictive meal plan and then you're like where you just have to do it yourself

you're like on an island right so all the things that were said about things like community that's something that's really important but I think you know it's worth saying that you know people do resonate with your authenticity they resonate that you show up and I think that motivates them to show up

and if they don't like me they don't have to you know what I mean we got you we got great information solid program too that's okay too i'm not everyone's cup of tea that's all right exactly and i would say the second biggest thing not to toot our own horn is that you know even people are like oh yeah you know what you know this is my fourth program but i keep coming back because of the info from the guest experts and all the things that are like coming on so that's part of the community is that you kind of have some leaders and guide posts that you know i have to say all of you included especially all of you is that you know you generally are are really really

authentic, genuinely authentic. And I think people really resonate with that. And I think that they really see through that. There's not a, hey, I'm trying to sell you something. There's not a fakeness, because people see through all of that. In the world of AI, everything is like, you know, this is like real deal. You know, this is not like a, trust me, I can hit myself. I'm not, I'm not electronic. I'm not an AI avatar. Very handsome, though. Very handsome. This time of the day, not so much. But so I think the guest experts are huge. And you know what?

Like I think the last thing I'm going to say is that it's the program is flexible enough to meet you where you're at. That's a huge secret, I think. That's very obvious. I think when you're going to the program is that, you know, I have a lot of patients coming in. They say, you know what? Well, Dina didn't say I have to be like gluten-free, you know, air-free. and everything's free, and then I'm going to lose weight. You know, like, it's, it was just, it's like, you know what?

I could have my glass of wine because, like, Gina sometimes does that. But then you're also really honest with the conversations that even we've had where you're like, hey, there's some downsize to some of these habits. And then it's not like, hey, you have to do this. People come to that conclusion with all this amazing information that they're provided themselves. They realize, oh, you know what? Well, you know what?

it's not banned, it's not restricted, but you know what, maybe that doesn't serve me. And we almost like end up incepting them, you end up making the changes yourself rather than being told, hey, you do all this stuff. And it comes across like restricted because that's the most powerful way of making changes when you actually make that change yourself. So I think in that way, it's like really approachable and it's flexible to your schedule where a lot of people are used to extremely rigid programs. And in fact, that's traumatizing in a lot of ways with some of these other diets.

So I would say those are my like three kind of not so secret things about the Lively program that keep people kind of like really engaged and coming back. I love what you said there about being authentic. Yeah. I mean, it's too hard to not be authentic. And you're right. You guys are all. You just show up, you know, who you are, sharing what you know.

And I love that. That's all I'm doing here is sharing everything that I've learned. And it's a topic obviously I'm passionate about. That's what's fun for me. But it's also about our members being authentic and true to themselves. And when you talk about community, the Facebook support group especially is, and a lot of people are just following along with our app. Hopefully it's working better for them today.

But it's a safe place to do that, right? And it's about, I think, people knowing where they are at, knowing where they've come from, knowing where they're at, what's going on in their lives, what's going on in their bodies, and really being able to connect with what they're. need right now in order to get them to where they want to go so oh my goodness i'm going to leave that right here i think that's um yeah i think we i think i'm going to leave that right here i think that's enough for people i would suggest you go back if you're listening now go back and listen again

grab a coffee grab a tea grab a pen make some notes um and you don't have to make notes this isn't really a to do this is just kind of opening up your mind and giving you a little bit a tidbit of some of the conversations that we are going to have over the next 91 days. It feels weird leaving it there because I just want to talk to you guys all morning, but I'm going to do that. Thank you, everyone, for joining me. I'm so excited for our conversations. Dr. Dina's going to join us on Thursday.

If you want to join us for that conversation, they're going to be out throughout the program. Attached to this, you'll be able to find where to find them on social media, as websites, reach out to them as well. And like I said, we'll keep you updated on everything that they have going on so you can join them outside the group. Thanks for joining me today, everyone. I will be back tonight for the 7 p.m.

If you want to join me then. Otherwise, have a fantastic day, and I'll see you later. Bye. Thanks, everyone. We didn't get the acronym. We didn't get the acronym. Next time. Next time.

Okay, thanks.