The Livy Method Podcast - Why Slowing Down Makes You Feel Guilty

Episode Date: September 30, 2026

If you feel guilty when you're not busy, you're far from alone. Odette flies solo for this midweek conversation and starts with how busyness has quietly become a measure of self-worth, and doing less can feel like not doing enough. With a surprise visit from Gina, she shares the feeling with some practical advice about how you can support the new version of yourself by having and doing less. "Just because I can doesn't mean I should."This podcast aligns with Day 17 of our Fall Maintenance Program, members can find video in our Livy Method app or Maintenance and Mindfulness Group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/ginalivymaintenanceandmindfulness Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

New season, new name, bigger conversations. Welcome to Live Lighter with Gina, because lightness isn't something you find. It's something you create in your body, your mind, your home, and in your life. Real conversations, no bullshit. So let's lighten things up for you. If you're looking to lose weight and you want to keep it off, you have got to check out better than ever, easy to follow. We have the most incredible community and it works. head over to liby method.com to sign out today.

Oh, here we are Wednesday, midweek motivation. So it's just me today. So thanks for joining me. So I'm not here talking to myself. I see a few of you starting to load up some of your comments. And I just wanted to say, so Gina is not here today. As you know, she didn't go live last night as well. She is in Quebec.

We know that her new book, LiveLiter, is coming out so soon. So they're at the printer, making sure that all goes smoothly. So she'll be back with us next week, though. But let's get into it today. So her not going live last night means we have some great questions to get into. But before that, I just wanted to talk about what we've been talking about this week. So is really supporting the new you and what that means. And it brought up an interesting conversation comment in the group about that busyness being part of our self-worth.

And if we're not busy and if we're not doing all the things, then. we don't feel like we should be accomplishing things or we can't accomplish things. And where does that come from? Where does that, where does feeling busy and that all or nothing mindset and having to do all the things come from? And how do we slowly start to let that go? You know, it can be easy to think I need to be moving in all the ways, having the perfect sleep routine, being able to manage my stress in all the ways. If I'm not go, go, go and always thinking, then maybe I'm not doing quite enough. So just some food for thought about that. And thinking about that for yourself, if that rings true, that if you are not busy,

if you're not in this place of doing all the things, if you're not in this place of all or nothing, does that make you feel guilty or not worthy or that you might or that you should be doing something more? So just some food for thought there. So hello to everyone joining Lisa, Judy, Sue. Judy, I still feel guilty if I'm not busy. Yeah. And I think you're not alone in that. I think that that is a common feeling.

It's a common thing to feel like if we're not doing all those things, then, you know, there is that guilt there. I should be doing more. And that could also come from a place now that I think about it. It could come from a place when we are trying to make change. We are doing all of the things. We're trying everything. You know, we want to make sure that we are maximizing what we can to get the results that we want. And I think this is not just a part of weight loss.

I think it can be part of anything feeling like you have to do something. thing all the time. So Judy also said, I think my word for the year 2027 will be balanced. I think that's a great word. I think that, you know, we talk about alignment and hustling, but really we just want to feel balanced. We want to go with those ebbs and flows. And sometimes going with the ebs and flow is what is going to help us feel balanced. We know there's going to be ups. We know there's going to be downs. We know there's going to be times where we're more busy when we are doing all the things. And then there's going to be times when we're not quite as busy. And those times are just as important. Okay, so let's get into some questions from last night. So I wanted to just address a member

who was asking, can I lose weight in maintenance? I did not reach my set goal, the last program, coming close around two to three pounds. I've switched to maintenance as I truly believe my new set point is probably where I am sitting right now. Maybe I will get lower, but I feel pretty good in my body. so am I in the right program? So I just wanted to say only you will really know that you're in the right program. And what I want to just expand on that is whether you are in weight loss mode or in maintenance mode, you want to be all in there. And I know that sounds super vague. But what we mean by that is if you are here in the maintenance program, you have to know your weight is going to fluctuate. We know that's something we need to get comfortable with. We know that it's going to go up, it's going to go down.

And often we do see members in maintenance continuing to lose weight. But this is part of their maintenance journey. It's not part of their weight loss journey. So if you are actively trying to lose more weight, then the weight loss program might be where you want to be. Those conversations are going to help you maximize. Those conversations are going to help you be in that mindset of losing weight. But if you are happy with where you're going to be, you're going to be in that mindset of losing weight, but if you are happy with where you are, you are feeling comfortable with this set point. If you are starting to understand those fluctuations of two to three pounds, then the maintenance program is probably the place for you. This is where we're just kind of settling into that new set point. We don't really

know what that is yet until we start getting to know our own patterns, until we start getting to know what the scale is going to look like with those fluctuations, what causes those fluctuations, then that's when we're really going to start to know what our real set point is. So I think it's just a matter of just sitting with it for a minute and deciding, you know, are you really truly looking to lose more or are you truly just looking to figure out what your set point is? Because I think that's going to help give you that answer. The other one is from another member who's struggling with the two afternoon snacks and do we have any suggestions. So I think this also comes into asking yourself where you are in your maintenance journey and what's struggling with those two

afternoon snacks means, is it mean the choices? Is it means trying to fit them in? Have you been personalizing the plan and you're still holding on to those two afternoon snacks because you think that's what you should be doing? Or is it just you're not hungry for those afternoon snacks? Is it because you feel like you don't want to follow the structure of the weight loss program of the, excuse me, the maintenance program? I think it's really figuring out where you are at this point. So if you are new to maintenance, if you are following that 91 day program as, laid out, this is the first time you're solidifying your weight or if maybe you know that you are not quite ready to start personalizing yet and you're here for that part of the program

following it for 91 days as laid out, then yes, you want to make sure you get those afternoon snacks in. The body loves routine. It loves to know what to expect. It loves to know that those two afternoon snacks are coming. So you want to make sure that you are squeezing those in, even if it's just those token amounts. Now, if you are personalizing the plan, and you are holding on to those two afternoon snacks because you feel like that's what you should be doing or that's because what you need to be doing. You really just want to take a minute and sit with where that might be coming from because as you know, personalizing the plan in your maintenance journey, you still want to be checking in with yourself. You want to make sure that you're still following those

principles, so not going too long without eating. If you are looking at your day and you see your afternoon has the time there where you only need to have one afternoon snack because your next meal is just a few hours down, then you don't need to force those two snacks. But really take a look at where you are in your maintenance journey and what is going on for you. And think about why you're struggling with those two afternoon snacks. What is it? Is it the choices? Is it just trying to fit them in? Or is it that you are ready to move on from that part of your journey and really start personalizing? I think that's the key. Not a question, but I did see a comment come in about there was a member who has just started

to lift weights more intensely. And I know a lot of our members here in maintenance are starting to think about that now. They're adding in those heavier weights. They're adding in more strength training. They're adding in more fitness. And they're really seeing that effect, the number on the scale. And feeling a little bit nervous by it, really trying to understand where is this coming from. and I know we talk about it over and over again, but those fluctuations are going to come.

Yes, you already heard me say that. But especially when we start adding in something new, like those resistance training workouts. So our muscles are, will be in repair. They're going to be inflamed. They're going to retain a bit more water. So in the beginning, that's probably why you're going to see that fluctuation on the scale. It takes a lot to build muscle to really gain weight from that muscle mass. So in the beginning, that's where you're going to be going to be going to going to see that number on the scale fluctuate from that water retention, the muscles, from the inflammation from those muscles repairing and rebuilding, and just from your body being generally pretty sore. So if this is you and you are noticing that, the scale is fluctuating

by adding in more movement, then that's exactly as it should be. That's what should be happening. Okay, let me just see what members are saying. Um, okay, I lost, this is from Tracy. I lost the weight and didn't conquer the maintenance program, so I gained a bit back. I am now still trying to lose, but am in the maintenance program to learn it before I am getting here. I feel like I understand the weight loss program, so feel better learning more about maintenance. Okay, Tracy, so I think, I think this is great. I, we say this all the time. If you are still on your weight loss journey, it's okay to be a member. of the maintenance group as well. It's nice to have a roadmap. It's nice to see what is coming down the road.

It's nice to see where you will land when you do hit that goal. I think that if you are still trying to lose, the waters can get a bit muddied if we're just hanging out in the maintenance program because the conversations here are a little bit different. We are focused on maintaining that way versus doing all the things to get that scale to move. So if you are happy here and you are, you know, learning what there is to learn about maintenance, you're feeling good being in this lane, then you have to really switch that mindset, switch that conversation you're having with yourself about still actively trying to lose because this is where we can have our feet on both sides, but not really working either one. So if you are still actively trying to lose,

having those conversations, being engaged in that weight loss program is probably, like I said, off the top with that first member, probably where you want to be to help you reach that goal. And again, pop in, see the conversations we're having here. See the kind of posts that we have in here. We have a bit of fun in here, too. It's a bit, it's a bit looser in here. It's a, we have a few more engaging posts. So the conversation is different. But if you are so actively looking to lose your weight, then you might want to consider just spending a bit more time in the weight loss group. Okay, um, what's Sue saying? So Sue, the veg snack is pretty much the only thing I dropped in personalizing the plan. Big salad at lunch. So veggies, again, right away was too much. Yeah. And I think that's

all about getting to know yourself, getting to know that that is what works for you. Now that you're here personalized in the plan, you're still checking in with yourself. You're having those veggies at lunch. One time for that afternoon snack to come around. And you're like, you know what? I don't think I need it. I think I'm going to be okay until my second snack. And at that second snack time, when you're checking in, you might actually find you want those veggies instead of the nuts and seeds. You don't have to be held to those nuts and seeds at that time. It's really about being in tune, checking you with yourself, what do you want in the moment, and making that decision there. So it really is about, you know, finding what works for you. And, you know, we say that this is what this week is all about,

finding out how to support yourself, finding out what works for you. And we talk a lot about those learned experiences. And the more you do it, the more you have those learned experiences, the more that you follow through, the more that you gather that data and learn. about yourself, the more that those learned experiences are going to come back and actually become part of your plan and part of who you are. Another thing I wanted to just talk about this week, we've been talking about, you know, making this part of your journey work for you, really optimizing instead of maximizing. We're going to continue that conversation into the rest of the week. We're going to be talking sleep tomorrow. We're going to be talking stress tomorrow.

And I know we said this earlier in the week, but are you stressing yourself? out trying to manage your stress. Are you trying to do all of those things when really there's just one or two things that work really well for you? So we're going to get deeper into that conversation. Also, I'm talking about sleep. You know, are we losing sleep trying to have the best sleep routine? And oftentimes it's just, again, finding those things that work well for us. So and, you know, this week is all about collecting all of that data, like I said, really about getting to know yourself and moving on from there. So if you guys have any more questions, load them up.

I'm really loving seeing how honest we're being about our routine. Oh, hi. Hi. You're here. I wasn't sure if my connection would work. I was like, can you hear me okay? Yeah. Yeah.

I wasn't sure if my connection would work because I tried to go live this morning. I still don't have Wi-Fi and I'm like in the middle of nowhere. So I have like one little board. But hi, I wanted to stop in. I was like, oh, let me see. We just finished going, hi, everyone. Sorry, I don't mean to interrupt. interrupt.

But we just finished going for a whole tour of the plant. So I'm in outside of Bowesville, Quebec. And we, so we're overseeing the printing of the book, which is really cool because we know there was a bit of mistake on the first book and then we're reprinting it. But we just had this cool tour. Do you remember those videos how it works where they would take you into, like it was exactly like that. We got the whole tour.

Oh, there's Lynn. Lynn's. say hi then so they've given us like we're because yeah say hi so there's a debt we're in a maintenance group you've been you've been in maintenance yes you know a thing about two yeah what did you do the program um my first one i did in 2020 yeah and then went into maintenance after two then that yeah ever since and i'm still maintaining she's she looks great looks great so lyn lynn let's the people know lyn is the one of your um there's the Live lighter. Yes.

Just the book. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So Linda, the home section because I wanted to do everything we've learned from our experts. Why is this not here? Everything we've learned from our experts about the lifestyle part of it, not everything, but not the what to eat and when. And whether you're in maintenance or lifestyle, it's really about understanding the weight that we carry.

That's not the physical weight. And you know, it's so interesting because so much of this book has seeped into conversations, not just in the weight loss program, but even with you, Odette, like or on the weekend when we had an opportunity to meet so many people everyone's just carrying so well you know this so much be it grief or you know stress or finances or family or just your life not being what you thought it was going to be like you you let's use weight loss as an example so you lose your weight you reach your goals you think oh my goodness okay finally there and then you realize you're dealing with the same shit yeah different pile different pile in it in smaller jeans

Exactly. In smaller jeans. And so this book was really, it's not, we want women to feel. So one of the things we're doing now is color correcting a lot of the photos. And when it first printed, they came out really dark. And we're like, we don't want women to feel like they're in a dark basement reading this book. We want them to feel joyful and calm and light and bring lightness to their lives. This originally stem from that, that, remember we did that marketing where we had women flying through the air?

Oh, the clouds. It's the clouds, and it was called Live Lighter. And that, because that stem from women talking about how they were feeling less guilt, less shame. They were doing things in their lives. And so that's what kind of came up with the idea for the Live Lighter book. And we didn't walk in the top, haven't we? Like, we have, yes. Living Lighter.

Yes. Writing about Living Lighter. Yes. And we want the book to be lighter. And we want the book to be lighter. All of it is. Sorry, interrupted. But no, no, no.

But then did the home section, because, you know, she's a. incredible designer. And what I love to Lynn, she's super real. And it's not like, oh, you know, just spend a million dollars and redo your home. That's not what this is about. It's but finding peace and joy. And, you know, it's small. Yeah, because this week is supporting yourself.

So this is actually a good week for this conversation. Because this week is all about supporting the new you. And there are so many other ways besides food and supplements and stress and exercise and whatever. We don't think about supporting yourself in your home. home. Yeah. Right? Like how does your home? You need your home to support you and all the things that it's your wellness partner. It's your, yeah. Well, I originally was like it's your your home as your wellness partner, but your, your description of it was way better. Yeah. Like you want to walk into your home and

feel calm. You want not just feel calm about the the food you eat and the space you live in, but that's your safe place and you feel good in it. Yeah. And I think you want to walk into your home and feel like it's you. Like this is this is the place that I curated with the things that I love, with the things that make me feel who I truly am versus, oh, I need to buy this piece because it looked good in a magazine or someone else has it and it looked good in their home. But I want to create this space that is about me, that feels like me, that that you walk into it and you're like, this is just an extension of who I am and where I want to be and how I want to feel. I think that's what I love about that whole idea of your living well in your home. It's not just about

living well in your fancy things or living well in your pretty things. It's about living well in a home that is you and brings you that sense of being home, of being in the place that you want to be. Living lighter too, right? Having less around. We've talked a lot about, we've talked a lot about that, about like not having things everywhere all around your home. I'm glad you can't see my desk right now. Oh my gosh. I mean, we all have that. Like, that's same. Real. But if you have, if you collect less and you have less all around you, it doesn't mean that your place needs to be naked and your table needs to be absolutely perfect. But the things you love, yeah. Yeah, but have the things out that bring you joy. Yeah. Yeah. Or if they're not bringing you joy and you, you know, it's something's

pissing you off. For me, it was like when my kids started leaving the house, I wanted to reclaim my space. I want, like, I want my home to be about, like, I love my kids. Oh, I want to have a nice home for them to come back to. But I want to reclaim my space. So much of my everything has been given to my children and has been made about my kids. And I want to like, I want to see your sofa again? I want to have a sofa that Tony's not afraid to sit on. It's been barfed on and who knows what on it.

Four kids, all their friends, two dogs and a cat. I'm afraid to sit on it. You only buy so many throw blankets. But it's more than that. It's more than that. It really is just great. Well, Lynn has been dealing with so much with her family and her husband, Michael,

going through cancer and your home being calm is like next level important. And you perfected the art of that. So I'm excited. I'm excited to see it all together. I'm glad you guys are there and making sure it's all going smoothly. Yeah, it's so cool. So what are you guys talking about here today? What is everyone said?

So we were talking about, I don't even remember now. We were talking about just exactly that, supporting, supporting the new you, who you are now, and how this, how this busyness has also almost become a virtue. Like if we're not busy, if we're not doing all the things, if we're not striving for more and more, then it affects, it starts to affect our own self-worth. We start to feel guilty. We start to feel like I'm not doing enough because I'm not busy enough.

or if I'm not doing all the things all the time. There's no way that I can accomplish what I need to accomplish. How can I live well in the body and the mind that I want if I'm not doing all the things, if I'm not striving for more and more? So that was a real, it came, the theme that came up a few times in the last few days, because we've been talking about not doing all the things, but doing the things that matter with intention. Then they're like, oh, but if I don't do all the things, I feel guilty that I'm not

busy enough, that I'm not contributing. Get out of our heads, right? We were literally just discussing this because we're like, we're way too busy. We have too much going on because Lynn had like, we're wearing these vests and earplugs and stuff. And Lynn like piled hers all neatly in the corner. And I'm like, oh, she's like, I just, I need like, I need class chaos. I'm like, right? I think we're way busier.

And I don't know if social media or technology has made us busy or whatever this is. But I just, I could, I said to her, I could move to Italy and just be in the middle of nowhere and just live a quiet life. I'd probably then start a business. and do something and make myself busy again. I think we're all feeling this. We're feeling like it's all just become too much. And I think we got a taste of the pandemic, as awful as it was.

We got a taste of doing less, although... And having quiet. And having quiet. And then having to go back to that pace and then some with all this new technology, it's like, it's too much. We weren't built to be machines and have that much going on.

We should go back to somebody had Encyclopedia Britannica. Oh, my gosh. Remember if you wanted to know somebody. thing, you just opened a book. It wasn't like going on your phone and checking and Googling and chat jubit and all of that. And it's a book does slow you down in a beautiful way. It does calm you down. Yeah, yeah.

Well, we were talking about that with making books here because the one guy was saying, well, people love their readers. We're really big and reading on your phone. But then you're also bombarded with notifications and ads and all these things. And that's why, like, having a real book, even when you think you're having a, downtime and doing less, you're actually bombarded with more. Yeah. So sure. Yeah, I think reading on your phone, too, like you said, your notifications or even if you don't get a notification, you're just like, oh, I'm going to check this next tab. I'll come back to this line in a minute. 10 hours later. That constant distraction is always

there. Yeah. Exactly. Well, and that's been one of the things with this week where we always talked about maximizing, maximizing, maximizing. I don't think that's the conversation anymore. I love that we're talking optimizing. Like there's so many things, I feel like it broke in record saying there's so many things you could do, but it truly is about figuring out what works for you. And doing more in certain areas only to add more stress to you. I don't, you know, I think this is where actually doing less and being more mindful and intentional about the things that you are doing.

Yeah. Mm-hmm. Yeah. And I think maximizing, you know, does its time, has its place where when you are trying to figure things out. Did I lose you there for a minute? Oh, maximizing does have its time in place. When you are trying to figure things out, when you are trying to get to know yourself, when you are trying to figure out what works for you, try it all. Why not? Say yes to everything once. And then you can start curating what really

makes sense, what's really intentional for you. Or say no. Or see no to everything. Do the opposite. And that feels so much more sustainable than having to have this high, hustle, you know, this hustle every day, this hit the ground running, this do this, do that every single day. There's a time in place for it. And then there's a time in place for like you said, saying no, choosing what matters. Otherwise, you'll hit the ground literally. Yeah. Yeah. And then you'll burn out and you'll feel paralyzed by all the choices. There's so much choice out there. I've been talking about doing less, this, all this last year. And it was really, Lynn, you got me that because it was her husband, Michael, because you were doing a dinner party.

or something. stressing. And her husband had the nerve to say to her like, do less. I'm like, all these things

to get done. And he's like, you can just do less. And then we were like, what? I thought, you're an idiot. And then we're like,

we love this. And then we're like, wait a minute. You're not an idiot. Maybe there's so, yeah, maybe there's something to do less for being more

intentional about what you were doing and have what you do be more meaningful to you. And like, if you don't have the capacity to do all these things, start with one thing.

Yeah. Like I love Atomic. habits because it says take the things that you're doing and improve by 1%. So your sleep, your movement, your food, your water. But also that can still feel like a lot. So if you could only pick one thing, then make a difference. Pick one thing. Yep.

Sue just said, just because I can doesn't mean I should. Yes. Yes. I'm going to leave you, Odette. I don't know where we're at with time. We're going to go grab something. We have to give me back at 2 o'clock and do another review of the pages. But I want to stop and say hi.

You're doing great without eating me. I'm glad you did. I think we should all just go at this point. I mean, we should just drop the mic and close it on Sue's comment. Just because I can, doesn't mean I should. I love that. I think that's the one thing that we can all just take away from this today. I love it for the rest of the week.

So let's all say goodbye. Bye. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Thanks. Thank you. Bye.