The Livy Method Podcast - There’s Nothing Wrong With You

Episode Date: May 25, 2026

In this episode, Gina Livy gets honest about why weight loss can feel so hard, especially when life is already heavy. This conversation goes beyond the food plan and into the real work: navigating stress, grief, overwhelm, old habits, and the deeply ingrained beliefs shaped by years of dieting. Gina shares personal reflections on resilience, self-awareness, and why struggling doesn’t mean you’re failing. She breaks down why the journey isn’t linear, why quick fixes never address the root issues, and how sometimes the most important thing you can do is simplify, stay present, and keep showing up.This episode aligns with day 36 of our Spring 2026 weight loss program. You can find the full video hosted at: www.facebook.com/groups/livymethodspring2026To learn more about The Livy Method, visit livymethod.com. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I'm going to be honest with you. This podcast is unapologetically a hot mess because that is what midlife feels like sometimes. Why, though? And how do we make it better? Do we all just need facelifts and GLP ones? I mean, let's talk about it. No bullshit, no wellness wangery here because we're trying to make real change and change is hard. But we're in this together. Welcome to the Living Method podcast. Here we are. I was just talking about why it's so hard. we have this expectation that, you know, weight loss should be easy and it's just a straight line down. And, you know, it's, it's, it's so much more complicated than that. One, the oversimplification of just eat less exercise more. We know that is not it. Right. And then if you think about what's going on in the diet industry right now, especially with all these super skinny celebrities, like we forget, right? We think we just saw them last week, but there's a lot of time that goes by. So chances are they're not losing all their weight in a weekend.

But I was thinking about it this morning as I saw someone talking about how we're seeing all these super skinny celebrities who are obviously taking weight loss medications, right? It's like not just a coincidence that everyone is losing all their weight at the same time. And then we look at all the body positivity experts and a lot of them who were like, you can be healthy and live in a larger body and absolutely you can. And this is where obesity as a disease, right? So obesity is a disease. So carrying excess weight is a disease if it is causing health issues.

You can absolutely live in a larger body and be a healthy person. But this is where you're seeing those body positivity people that you followed before, that love yourself the way you are. And absolutely you need to love yourself right now today as you are. But you can absolutely make change where you're seeing all the body. body positivity people who are now losing a lot of weight at a rapid rate. Chances are taking a lot longer than what you think it is because time goes by so quickly. And we think, oh, my goodness, they've lost weight so fast when in reality, it's actually taken

them a while. And we are made to believe that is just so easy because what we are seeing out there is the success stories. And this is one of the reasons why I talk about struggles and frustrations. And we highlight that. That's why I like, I'm not really selling the program by being real and talking about how frustrating it is to lose weight, right? So I'm just like speaking of, I'm just seeing this comment here that I'm going to get to. So no one is having these real conversations. All you're seeing is all the skinny photos and all the success stories and not the people actually talking about the struggle and how long it actually takes. So I started off the first time I went live this morning saying like,

you are still watching and listening and you are still here, good for you. Like that's amazing. The Living Method, although we do these live 91 day sessions to keep you motivated, guided in real time, guest experts, community, we're all in it together. That's super fun. That's motivating. All of that. It's 365.

It's every single day until you reach your goal. There are times in your life where it's going to be easy, easy, and things are moving and grooving. And then there's times that you're just really struggling. You got stress. You got grief. You got financial issues. You got other things that are seemingly.

a lot more important than you just trying to fit your ass into your jeans. And that's one of the things that if you can really wrap your head around all the things we're doing here or all the things that are going to help you in life. Right. It's the same thing. It's trying to be as healthy as possible while you're going through a stressful period of time in your life. It's trying to make time for yourself when you got other things to focus on. Sometimes something has to give and it's you. And then sometimes the program is less about losing weight and it's about maintaining your weight and not gaining weight when you.

normally you would have done that, right? Let's see if I, big struggle for me the last three weeks, I have to stay motivated and just follow. I want to say about that. Yeah, we have to keep going. We have to keep going. But you're allowed to also recognize the struggle, like name it to tame it. Like, what is it the thing that you are struggling with right now and why? And then have that like mass appreciation for that and that awareness. Okay, how am I navigating that? How am I managing that? So for example, tomorrow is the third anniversary of my kids dad dying. Gosh, I just saying it out loud. And I have been so consumed, I've just been tired, so tired.

And I love what I'm doing. And I've been so consumed with how my kids are navigating it that while I'm drying my hair today and I was like, what is like, what is up with me? Like, what is going on? I'm so tired. And it's because the whole thing was so traumatic. And I still obviously three years later, not clearly handling it well, right? Not handling it well. And so that is sort of like what I'm dealing with this week. Now, is it going to affect my food choices? It probably had a pizza party last night for my kids, you know, 19th birthday. My eating has been a little off. I had some drinks on Thursday. It was nice to see some friends. I hadn't seen for a while. Just kind of chat with the girls, you know. So this week is definitely a struggle for me.

And I didn't actually clue into that till this morning. I'm just not even aware. So sometimes we're struggling with things that we're like, why can't I stop eating at night? Why can't I get my water in? Why can I get to the gym? Why can I whatever? And we're just kind of like barreling through life,

not really taking a minute to be like, okay, what's like, what's going on? And so that's, it's about taking a minute. And rather than, I don't know about you, but I'm like the berate yourself, the berate yourself generation where we're hard on ourselves. And we think that's going to motivate us. It doesn't motivate us. We also don't need motivation.

We know how to work hard. We know how to get shit done. Like we, like, what is it? And so they could be your why. Like your why, we look at our why is this thing that we set before we do the program. Like my why is, uh, you know, my son's getting married. I want to be healthy. I want to, you know, go on vacation.

I want to like, whatever that is. We talk about making it deep, real deep, real deep. real deep. Right? Like it's not just, it's not just you want to be healthy. You want to, you know, not die. You know, you want to be able to be active in life, do the things that you want. You want to be able to spend time with family. You're tired of, you know, feeling like shit every day. Like, pick a why and make it really, really resonating. Pick a why and then ask three more questions as to why you want that why. But also your why can change. Your why can change. Like your why for this week can change. Right. Like, what's my why for this week?

My wife for this week is to not drink wine every night and eat like shit because I do want to be there for my kids. Right. And I want to have this memorial time of their life to be something that it becomes something that is less full of grief and more of being able to, you know, remember and and teach them how to navigate that through their life, not teach them. This is how we deal with grief. We drink a bottle of wine every night and chips for dinner. that's my, that's like sort of my motivation. My motivation. Why?

Well, I want to teach them resiliency, right? Because they are, they are going to have to deal with their grief. So that's my why for this week. That's my why for this week. So kind of like going like deeper and also remembering your why and your motivator can change. Who is saying that? That's, that's me. I'm the struggle.

I've lost count on how many, how many I've been here. Take full ownership of falling off. However, let me. sometimes I read it when it online it goes off. That's me. I'm the struggle. I've lost count of how many I've been here, how many rounds you've done. I take full ownership on falling off.

However, I keep coming back because I believe that one day I will stick through it until the end. I love the guests, the lives, and especially you. Let's break this down though, right? You want to reach your goal. So I know people who had weight loss memberships for 20 years with Weight Watchers. And think about that.

There was no rhyme or reason or structure to them. that. It was like just chaotic, count, weight, measure. Right? Like, it was like, there was times you did well, you lost weight, times you gained weight back, times you, like here, you're, you're, you are being self-aware and you were working on and working through these things. These are the conversations we're having, because it's not just losing the weight. It is being able to maintain and sustain your weight. And for some people, for many people that I've talked to, their issues run deep. How you were raised as a child to clear your plate, how you were, you know, food, used as a treat to treat you, how food was, you know, taken from you,

have food waste issues, food scarcity issues, those raised, you know, where food wasn't readily available all the time in our fridge or our cupboards or whatever. Then you add dieting, dieting to that and diet culture to that. Oh my gosh, there's a lot of shit to work through. It's like anything in your goal. And that's one of the things that's like ebbs and flows. It ebbs and flows, right? And this is where my weight. has always been a range. So I was about 119 to about 130 after I lost 100 pounds. Really after I lost my weight, I kind of stuck. There are times of my life was on the lower range and times where it's on the higher range. A couple years ago, you guys know, I've shared. My kids dad died. I was going through

menopause, you know, a lot of stress in my life. My weight went up to like 146, 147, you know, and I'm a weight loss expert. I know what I need to do, but I was doing the things, right? I was doing a lot of things. I know what to do. I know what to do. I know what to do. I mean, my weight just went up and up and up because I was, I was stuck on the things that I had always done. And what I needed to do was stop drinking wine for a bit. I needed to go for walks, not pound the shit out of my body with cardio. I needed to say no to all the things that I was overextended on. Right? I needed, like those were the things. The things I was avoiding doing were the very things that I needed to do. And this changes. I hear this all the time, right? Leslie,

people come up to me like, I need a kick in the pants. I'd this. I'm like, no, you don't. You need to recognize what's going on in your life. So what was going on in your life, those times that you perceived that you failed because you fell off. You couldn't follow. The thing about the living method, and what I love about the program is that it's the things you are doing are making you healthier physically and mentally. You didn't just starve and deprive yourself to lose weight. Right? And then you stopped doing that and you gained a back. Like these are tools and skills that are going to with you forever. And let's face it, for some people, their experience, like, it's, you know, it's, it's,

it's, it's more traumatic. You know, I was thinking about, again, with my kid's dad today, and I think that there's, I can't even talk about it. There's definitely some trauma there. Three years later, three years later, and I've had therapy, I've had therapy, right? And it's probably a whole other layer of trauma that is coming up. And because, again, we use food for so many things. And if you use it to cope and for, you know, dealing with traumas in your life, it can run really, really.

Also, you can just have a bad run of life where this fucking thing's happening, that thing's happening, this thing's happening. You're just trying to survive. So if you just drink your water when you're in a mode like that, good for you. If you're just popping in and you're, you know, being part of community, good for you. If you just watch some of the guest experts, you know, and you learn something, good for you. Like that's the thing about it, you know. That's the thing about it. You're not alone.

Here's Lucy. Talk about community. I lost two pounds this, this round, but realize I have gut issues, sleep issues, and movement issues. What I need to do, what I need to work on. Yes, right? Like that's, that's, this is it. The diet industry makes you think it's so freaking simple. And yeah, okay, the food part, you know, eat this, eat that, whatever.

But that's not the part that's, that's not the part that people. people really struggle with at the end of the day, right? It's, it's, it's, it's this part. This is the hard part. I got to figure out how to get back to my comments and questions. Am I still here? Okay, yeah. Here's what I do know. We're all in this together, which is why we're having these conversations and we are talking about it. Let me see if I got an another comment I wanted to share today as well that Kim sent me this morning. Um, so we got a, Dr. Paul's coming tomorrow. We're going to talk about physical reasons why your weight is harder to use, hormones. we're going to talk about that.

And hormones relevant to everybody, not just menopause. We're going to talk about gut issues and your microbiome and why that can affect you. And inflammation, which is another big one. So this is where we get into that. At this point, five weeks into the program, you should start to notice your body is changing, your weight is dropping. And if you're really feeling like nothing is happening, there could be an underlying issue there, which, of course, we're going to talk about.

And just by following the program, you're already doing so much with that. Kyle Buchanan's going to come on. We've taught, you know, Kyle Buchanan is really interesting. He's like our wellness guru guy. I'm not sure he would like that title. But I love him. He's a hoot. He's great.

He has a different perspective. The first time I spoke with him and invited him on, he's like the global morning show, wellness host. He hosts his own radio, feel good, radio show on Sirius XM Radio, has his podcast, feel goodery. First time I talked to him, we talked about anxiety and weight loss. And that's something that not a lot of people are talking about. Just the anxiety that you have day to day that a lot of people struggle with.

And the anxiety of trying to lose weight, trying to reach this goal, the choices you're making, not making. Social situations, how food fits into your life. There's a lot. There's a lot there. That goes on with that. I'm trying to find these questions. Kim today, all over the place today. But you know what?

That's okay. That's okay. that is okay. Good morning. I haven't really been present in the Facebook group, so I'm going to start trying. The goal for Monday and the rest of the week is to stick to the food plant and hydration. This is the first time on the program and sticking to the food plan and timing is hard for me. Yes, it is. It's hard. So you don't have to be perfect, right? Like the food plan is a guide. It's like you don't want to skip meals and snacks because then what happens if you skip your one snack, then you end up being extra hungry and you overeat later, right? And then it just, messes with your mind. Did I eat enough? Not eat enough. Oh my God. I'm still hungry. Let me, you know, have a snack. Like that, the routine is really important because it causes your body to be really calm. We're going to be making changes to that food plan as well, which is going to make a lot easier for you to follow. So that's where we want to keep that routine. But you don't have to be like, you don't have to be, you know, whiz in the kitchen to keep up. So keep things super

simple, right? Like your fruit snack in the morning, grab an apple, grab a banana. Make it really simple. Throw some carrots in a bag, you know, throw some nuts and seeds in another baggie or, you know, container, glass container, fin on into plastics these days because that's a whole other thing. Keep it super simple, right? Body loves a routine. It doesn't need a huge variety. It just needs good nutrient foods. Yes, you can make your food choices to be nutrient rich. You can add, you know, a boiled egg or some cheese or like something to that, you know, those carrots if you want. You can also just keep you really simple. Super simple is better than nothing. And same thing with your breakfast, right? Like you hook up some boiled eggs, do some overnight oats or chia seeds. Super

simple. You know, lunch, same thing. So make some, make some of those, on Thursday, Alyssa Steinberg showed us some one pan, sheet pan recipes. Really easy. You can make it. And then, you know, I have it a couple times for the week. Make a couple of those. Like, what can you do? What is your pain? What is your pain point? So what is your pain point with doing the things that you, I was going to say need to do, but you want, you want to do them too, right? The things that you want to do. Because this is also about, this is also then, okay, the other thing I'm going to say is like, what, what's happening in your life that it's hard for you to find time to eat foods? And it could be like your work schedule. It could be like some very real things. And then so how do you navigate that? Long periods of time, high stress, lack of sleep. That's a recipe for vaguely. So if you live a life where you have high stress, lack of sleep for long periods of time without eating.

That's like, that's not going to get any better. That's going to get worse, right? So let's take a look at your life and what can I do and where can I make space. For some people, that that's like the, so these 91 day sessions, right? Like you're on this diet until you reach your goal. But ideally, that's what you want to do. Then you want to make sure you maintain your weight.

So I would sign up for or keep following long if you're on our membership to our maintenance program. It's a whole other thing. Right? Like who are you now, you lost your weight. But it's not, the 91 days are to keep you motivated. It's for you to commit to 91 days, to do it in real time, to do with community to keep you motivated. But this is your own timeline. It's your own life.

And so this period of time in your life could be just about learning the things that you need to learn. It could be about doing some of the things. It could be like seeing how your life is. Okay, I want to, I know the life I want to live and how I want to feel physically and mentally. Am I living that environment right now? And sometimes there's nothing you can do. Your job is your job. I'm not going to tell you to find a new job, obviously.

If you're taking care of aging parents, if you have young kids. There are some things you just can't change in your life. So it is what it is? So then what can I do to fit in some of the things that I need to do to live that life? You may not be able to do all of them, but what can I do? And so that big awareness piece, what's going on in my life right now? Can I do this? Can I do that?

What can I do? I may not be able to do all of it, but what can I do that's going to move the needle and get me closer, make my body healthier, how to rewire how my body's can function, you know, rewire my brain, my relationship with food, my relationship itself. Like, what is your ultimate end goal? And are there things right now you could be doing that are so, of so much value because it's laying the foundation of the community. You know? I mean, it sounds like I just said a whole lot of nothing, but. Listen, if at any point during this conversation today, you're like, oh, oh, oh, okay.

That's the whole point of it. That's what you know what you need to do. It's just like sometimes we can't see it. We can't see the forest from the trees or know what to do with it. And that's what you have the structure of the program that you're following. That's that foundation. That's the routine the body loves. And this is where all the rest bubbles to the surface. Because the thing that you're struggling with, right, the thoughts and feels that you have, that is the work.

That is the work. You know, when I talked about, you know, sort of what's going on, let's talk about the body positivity, you know, conversation I was just having, which was great, but the issue with the body positivity movement was that it was tied into weight. You know, love yourself right now. You're allowed to, though, also want to make change. Right. And of course, weight loss medications are a big part of this conversation. And a lot of people right now are just going for skinny, let me lose the weight and not understanding the impact of that. And we know when people get off the medications, they gain that weight all back, plus more. Or we know it gets to a point where it stops working for them and they don't have a fix for

that. And that's because that's the work you're doing here. That's the conversation. So, you know, because I know sometimes in the back of our mind, people are, you know, contemplating, well, if I just took weight loss medications, that would just, that would do it. It wouldn't do it. Like, medication is great. And if you're on medication, obviously, you're super welcome when it comes to fall in the program. To me, it's not the easy way out because the hard part of the work is the inside work. It's the changing of your lives of the routines. We know people who take weight loss medications, for example, they eat less food, but they eat less of the same food. They don't exercise more. They don't move more, even though they say, well, if you lose the weight,

it makes you more able to move. But it's, you're not going to find time to go to the gym if you couldn't find time to go to the gym regardless of what you weigh now. So this is it. This is that work. So sometimes we get hard on ourselves, like, of like why I'm struggling or what's going on with me, not what's wrong with me, what's going on with me. And I can't this and I can't that and I feel like this and I feel like that, like that's a problem. When reality, that's, that's the word. Okay, so before I go this week, I'm going to be back tonight for Q&A if you want to join me. Sorry about our little glitches this morning.

I'm trying to learn to roll with it. It happened for whatever reason. I don't know. Maybe we caught someone somewhere and the message resonated with them. So this week we are bringing it back to satisfaction. Super in tune. Make time. Take a pause.

Ask those mindfully eating questions. right how do you feel get out of your head get into your body when it comes to the food it comes to the food get into your body out of your head be in tune to those portions um remember you're already doing so much with that basic food plan dr paul tomorrow uh we're going to chat with him let me know if you have any questions you want me to ask him um Thursday called you hey uh Thursday or Wednesday call Buchanan and then Greta Greta is joining Greta Podletzky where's her book uh the author of uh every salad ever yum yum yummer uh Looney Spoons. She's fantastic. She's going to be joining us to share some easy recipes. Have a fantastic Monday. Have a good day. And I will check in on you

later. Maybe I'll see you tonight. Maybe I'll see you tomorrow. Have a good day. Bye. Oh, wait, before I go, I want to talk about how you want to save the date. So you might have saw that post in the group. So save the date where our fall program is going on sale next Monday. 25% off, like 75 bucks. If you're already on the membership, that's a great deal. You don't have to worry. Everything's included. But if you have any friends or family or anyone who's interested in doing the program, you can send them to the website next Monday. They don't need to code, anything like that.

Sign up and save. It's great for people who are new to the program. Okay, now I'm going to go. Have a fantastic day. See you later. Bye.