The Livy Method Podcast - You're Not Spiraling. You Just Need a Plan.

Episode Date: June 22, 2026

Life doesn't pause for your health goals. A week where everything feels sideways and suddenly you're wondering how you got so far off track. Today, Gina Livy and Odette break down self-regulation: what it actually means, why it has nothing to do with willpower or discipline. Life still happens and your routine being disrupted doesn't mean you need to completely start over. If you've ever felt like one off day means you've messed it all up, this one's for you.This episode aligns with day 64 of our Spring 2026 maintenance program. You can find the full video hosted at:https://www.facebook.com/groups/ginalivymaintenanceandmindfulnessTo learn more about The Livy Method and our Maintenance & Mindfulness group, 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 JLP ones? I mean, let's talk about it. No bullshit, no wellness wankery here because we're trying to make real change and change is hard. But we're in this together. Welcome to the Livy Method podcast.

Hi. Hi. Hi. How are you doing? Good. How are you doing? Oh, no. I got rained on this morning, so that's how I started my day. Oh, well, it seems appropriate.

Right? Yeah, I mean, it was like not raining, and then I stepped outside with my dog, and it was like, down for. Weird. I live like, what, an hour from you? It's, it seems fine. Yeah, I think I have a Father's Day hangover, just, you know, I'm sure you do too, all the feels, right? like kids celebrating Tony, who's this amazing dad presence in their lives,

but mourning the loss of their own dad. I don't really, my dad sucks. I don't know how else to put it. And then Tony's dad, we didn't get a chance to see them because his mom's not feeling great. So just kind of a lot. I have a kid upstairs in my bed.

I'm like, are you okay? She's like, no. You know, and then, yeah, it's just, you know, I know this is your first, is this your first father's day without your dad? Yeah, first one. First one. We, yeah, it was interesting. I mean, we didn't have a super close relationship. I was really close with my mom and my sisters, of course. And, you know, it was a traditional Portuguese house where he was, you know, ruled the ruse, very, like, just like machismo, like that kind of it didn't. And it didn't like flow down so well with us. So we didn't have a super close relationship, but he was still my dad. He was still around. He, you know, was around a little bit more than my mom when I was little because she um worked he was more of a seasonal worker anyway it's the whole like thing we can go into but yeah he did take care of me really well and we had a relationship it wasn't like

the closest loving relationship but it's it's a weird dynamic because you're like oh like all those father's days that went by and you celebrated them but didn't really celebrate them and now you don't have that option anymore you don't like yeah that was weird anyway i i wonder like that's a generational thing Like, we do a lot of talking in our house. Like, we discuss feels and talking, which I think is new to Tony. Never would he have dreamt like having four, you know, kids. Yeah. And we're all very talky.

Whereas, you know, I think about my dad and his dad. Yeah. Like, they went through the war. And, you know, they just weren't big communicators, I don't think, you know. Whereas, like, I think now we're more open to. more conversations and how how Tony is feeling about things. And actually, we just talked to him a few weeks ago. We went to a business thing and he was like, you know, I might guard it or like,

he just felt, I'm like, you're a little bit. He stuffs his feelings deep down inside and doesn't really discuss his feelings, which is interesting. Yeah. It's funny. Like I say that about my husband now too and, you know, I have a daughter who's 18 and And she has her own like little struggles with anxiety and just growing up and things. And I remember looking at him and thinking like she would be if God forbid, knock on what something

happened to me, she would be totally fine with her dad. Yeah. Where like I don't know if I ever felt that way. Like if something happened to my mom be like, oh my gosh, I just have my dad now. Like where she would be totally fine. She talks him about everything. She says everything. And so hopefully like that.

And now I'm hoping that trickles down to my. son who sees that and it's that yeah that generational thing like we talk about things bring things up so well things change right um that i i sort of i know it's a weird way to start the conversation today but this week is really you know knowing where we're headed like trying to be even more in tune and connected with yourself and understanding how your food choices affect you and whatnot and and this is like just how because i was saying in the weight loss program this morning how in maintenance we realize like once you've lost your weight there's different seasons, right? Like different seasons bring up and then there's different seasons of your life,

obviously that you're dealing with and whatnot. And it's so important to understand how to lose your weight and have the tools and skills to be able to maintain and sustain. But now that you're in maintaining, like you're actively maintaining and sustaining or working on that, I hope you can kind of see how moments like this weekend maybe threw you off a little bit, right? Maybe it was being in a social setting. maybe it was just the feels that you have popping up.

And it wasn't yesterday. Yesterday we had a great day. It's today, right? Like all the kids slept in and told me. It's like, what the fuck are the kids? Like, get up. I'm just like, I bet you that they're dealing with some big feels today that they didn't deal with yesterday. And just kind of like being in tune to that because that's going to dictate how your feeling is going to dictate the choices that you're making.

And doing this kind of program puts you not only in tune with Wendy, what to eat. and how much, but everything going on in your life and where you're at, you know. So, yeah, I just understood that was interesting. What I was thinking about this morning. Yeah, and I think it's a perfect time. This week, week nine, you know, we, of course, it's the food plan revamp and that tweak and everything that comes along with that and how important that is to your journey. But it's also, this week we're talking self-regulation.

And it's not about like controlling food and willpower and discipline. it's about it's about self-regulating your mindset and your thoughts around things like this weekend around events around you know times where something planned is coming up that you know you're going there might be a lapse in your routine or elaps and be able to make choices that you want to make or those unplanned things what's your mindset around when something does pop up unexpectedly oh my gosh how am i going to navigate this where am i going to you know how am i going to keep myself from spiraling back. How do I let go of the mindset of having to start over when something like this happened? So I think it's, it is at perfect time, though, us feeling like we just came off this

weekend, how do I, you know, regulate my mindset to be able to move on from that? So that's really what that self-regulation piece means, not just around food and everything, but just being able to understand that those are going to keep happening, those lapses, anticipate them. They're going to keep, I use the word lapse because that was actually roots word lapse. She said, members who are maintaining they know these lapses in routine and everything are going to happen. So how do we, you know, plan for those and get through them when they are unplanned as well? Yeah. This is where I used an example of this of my bedroom because I was, there was a time I organized my

room not too long ago. I was making my bed every day. It was great. It made getting up to move my body workout easier. It made my nighttime routine better. Like I just slept better. Like it was just a game changer in my life. And then what happens, right?

I get sidetracked with this. I'm dealing with that. I drink too much wine. I, you know, just things pile up. And even though I have the time, I've watched like, I don't know, five seasons, The Game of Thrones in like the last couple weeks. I have the time. And you're watching that again?

Yeah. I love it. Oh, you love it. I love it. Even though I clearly have the time, I did not have the capacity for it. And, you know, now I'm working on organizing it again. I'm doing all that and I'll get back and I'll probably maintain that for a while. But your weight is very similar.

in that your life is like that where maybe you get into you go away on vacation and then you get into bites of bits or there something happens in your life then you're using food to cope and but really what was the reality of my reality was I I dip back into old habits and coping mechanisms so rather than life was happening to me and I doubled down and up kept the making my bed every day the routine what that was all new to me so I fell back into my old habits and ways of coping and my room is a disaster and reflection of that. Like weight loss is no different, right? And that's that when you gain weight back is because you dip back into old habits.

Like my room got messy again because I dipped back into old habits. I just thought that was an interesting way of looking at it. That wasn't so personal in terms of your weight. But I, in order to keep my room clean and then have it easier for me to do my workouts in the morning and my nighttime routine and make me sleep better and more calm mind, all those things, there are things that I need to do. in order to upkeep that. That's the, that's the new lifestyle that I've created, but quite frankly, I love and want. But there's things I need to do in order to maintain that. I can't just go back

to the way I was before or that's the result. My room was the result of that. It's a very similar with weight. Yeah, very similar. I think it is that snowball effect where if you're feeling a little bit chaotic or unsettled in one area, it's going to snowball into another area. Like, oh, well, I'm already feeling unsettled. I'm already feeling chaotic. I'll just have my room, you know, reflect that as well. Or I'll have the inside of my fridge reflect that as well. My messy counter in the kitchen reflect that as well. So it is that snowball effect. And oftentimes when we just can do one thing, it'll lead into that ripple effect of, you know, moving on to the next thing. Yeah, I see Sue here, my only self-regulation or self-soothing it could be for years and years with food.

I'm like an eight-year-old learning these skills, right? Well, and we revert back. Like, that's where we revert back to what's familiar and what we know too when we have traumatic events. We cope probably now the way we coped when we were young and food was a big part of that. So that's why like this is like next level. It's not a to do list of things. It's I think the next level to all of this is awareness. Yeah.

and recognizing, oh, like, I don't feel really motivated to eat healthy today because I feel just kind of, I don't know what I feel sad, tired, hungover of emotions. What is that about? Right. It's not that I have no willpower or that I'm just, you know, can't do. Like, this is, this is that next level of part of that regulation needs to be meeting yourself where you're at knowing what you need, you know? Yeah. Knowing what you're need and knowing, you know, being curious. I think we say this is a lot, being curious and being able to talk yourself.

through it. Like just Sue said, like her self-regulation was food for years and years. Okay, how are we going to change that now? Now that you said that out loud, how are we going to change that now? What's the next step? How do you move forward from that? Yeah. Well, I love your notes here. This is not about food, controlling, willpower, or restricting. It's checking in before you wreck yourself. Check before you check yourself. Check yourself. Thoughts and behaviors, managing impulses, compensating for lapses, a plan to regulate your actions to avoid a spiral or start over mentality. Planned, in a sense, these may be a bit easier to navigate. You can decide ahead of time what your plan is.

Unplanned, these are going to happen and shake you up. Acknowledgment, it may be surprising, but if you don't need to, you don't need to make yourself go into like this downward spiral. Yeah. I think we have, we have something that's unplanned, like something that pops up, whether it's, you know, a new project at work or somebody falls ill or whatever it might be. or whatever it might be, it's that unplanned, that unsettled feeling, that chaotic feeling like, oh my gosh, what do I do now? Where do I go from here? How do I handle this? How do I cope? You know,

it's those thoughts that we're trying to regulate, those thoughts that we know are going to happen and going to come. And then it doesn't need to be that way. It doesn't need to be this spiral. So I think that acknowledgement, like, okay, here we are. I have some, this has popped up. Now what do I need to do? How am I going to handle this? How do I see it? So asking yourself those curious questions, how am I going to do? You know, how do I do this now with who I am now? Yeah. You want to maintain the hard work.

Oh, what did you do last week preserve your progress? What did you say? Protect your progress. People love that. Yeah. Because it's true. That's really what we're doing. Like I think when when we talk about maintaining Wade, it's like, oh, my gosh,

I have to maintain for the rest of my life. People are starting. They can couple that. heavy feeling with it. It's something that you have to do. I have to maintain my way to have to do this forever where no, you're just protecting what you've already created. You're protecting what you've already done. You know, when you think of like protecting, if that feels powerful, that feels, yeah, like empowering. That feels like strong. It feels like a decision and a choice that you are making. I'm here. I'm the protector. I'm taking care of this versus like that to do list of like,

oh, I have to maintain. I have to, you know, have that weight of it with me. Well, that's got me thinking about our summer club that I know you wanted to bring up. I'm just writing up down because we were introduced our summer club today. So we did this last year as well. It was an opt-in buy-in because, as you know, we're not running a maintenance program in the summer, nor are we running a weight loss program. Now, for our membership people, the summer club and continued support, use of the app, tracking AI, new content, all the MECONs, and a positive you want all that stuff is going to be accessible to our members if you're in maintenance. I honestly just want to reiterate because people might not know this.

If you are on our membership and doing maintenance, you do also have access to the weight loss program, all the conversations. If there's any guests experts you want to watch live, you can switch back and forth in the app. But after the 91 days of the maintenance program, we're going to, if you're already on our maintenance, your membership, you'll roll right into our summer club. And so last year we did this. Those of you who are on our like just you paid one price got in for the support group. You can opt into that if you want.

You can purchase that as well. So that's available to. And I don't like to rush the last four weeks of the program. But you do want to start thinking about what's your plan for this summer, right? Because everyone's, we have people who've been in maintenance for like four years now. What they would choose to do might be different than someone who's just new to maintenance. This is your first maintenance session. Yeah.

start making a plan for that. So what did you want to mention about that? Yeah. So just about, we've had a few questions coming in about summer club. So it was amazing last year. And so the questions that we've been getting is, is it for everybody? Is it, is it a weight loss program? What is it? So it's a group for everybody, whether you've been just starting to maintain, whether you've been maintaining for a long time. It's also for our weight loss members. So I'd like to say, think about it. It's a little bit less structure, some structure, but a little with a bit more sunshine. So, no, it's a different experience. We're just going to take things lightly, but you're going to feel supported.

You're going to feel inspired. We're going to, you know, there's going to be posts. There's going to be check-ins. There's going to be lives. So it's a place for you to be able to come in, but not feel like you have to come in if you have these amazing summer plans or you're feeling great. You know, it's not like you have to come in every single day, see what's going on. What do I have to learn? What do I have to do?

what do I have to think about? It's a place where you can come, feel supported when you need it, check in every day if you want to, read through it when you want to, and just still be part of the community, feel connected. I know that sometimes it can be a long gap, that eight weeks can feel like a long gap without any live connection with the community.

So you're going to be able to come in and do that. So it's for everybody. Like you said, if you're on the membership, you're just roll right into it. So members that are in maintenance, not on the membership. It is just you can join the membership, and that makes it nice and easy and smooth, seamless.

You'll roll right in, or you can do that one-time fee and just join for the summer and then come back to the maintenance group after. So it's really. Yeah. And if you do join for the summer, you'll have use of the app and you'll all the content all day. So we are going to be working on personalizing the plan. That's going to be the focus for members. So we're not going to do a guide. It's not going to be a 91 day with the tweaks and anything.

It's a place where we're going to talk about personalize the plan, which, of course, we're going to be introducing in the next couple weeks. where so if you're new to the maintenance program, if you go back to the last couple weeks of the weight loss program where I did personalize in the plan where you're checking in at every single meal and snack time and assess your situation. That's what we're going to be focused on, which is a great, which is actually I think it's going to be super valuable to people. I do though, because that is a ways of way I want to talk about the tweak this week, which is, yes, where we are revamping the food plan, a lot more flexibility in terms of meals and snacks. Because I did see that you had some questions. here in regards to this. One from Karen. I still have a hard time figuring out the lunch, protein, and dinner, veg star. Does that mean we just have less of veg at lunch and less of protein at dinner? I find this is really interesting. This is kind of overthinking a little bit.

It's a great question. And that's why we want to talk about that. So if you look at the infographic, right, of what was lunch last week versus what was dinner last week, where vegetables were the star of the show at lunch and protein was the star of the meal. All you're really doing is kind of switching those around. Yeah. And so this is where I think the overthinking comes because protein is protein, veggies, veg, carbs are, you know, like leafy greens and leafy greens, healthy fats or healthy fats. So it is in a sense portioning out more protein for you than vegetables. So your plate is

going to look a little different. So your plate would be more protein, less vegetables, leafy greens, healthy fats and whatnot. But here's the thing about the protein too. It's not going look like that full plate that we introduced in the beginning because last week when you were splitting up your meals and snacks, how much protein were you having in order to feel satisfied with those veggies, right? And if you eat the vegetables first and then the protein, that would look a little different because if you, and not that you need to eat all your vegetables first or your protein first. You don't need to do that, but give some thought to what's happening with those portions after last week. Yeah, I think it's interesting. We often have members say it's so much more

protein this week. I'm eating so much more protein. It's not at all. No. And the only place you're adding a little bit of protein is to the mid-morning snack. That's the only place. You've always had it in the afternoon for those snacks. You've always had it at lunch and dinner. Just maybe like it looked a little different on your plate. You're just swapping those. So it's not having so much more. You're only adding it in one place and then doing that that like little switch with lunch and dinner. So it really isn't any different. I mean, it is in the sense. But it's not because protein. was always a focus at breakfast, but some people get into what they like, love,

eating oatmeal every day rather than like thinking high protein. The fruit, you can just keep fruit snack and you can take what was your nut snack and add it to your fruit snack, although it's not like that portion and this portion. You still want to be in the moment with your portions, right? You're not taking like two, what you were eating at each one,

having it together in one larger portion. So if you think about that, though, let's pull our nuts and seed snack and pop it in with our fruit snack. Then for lunch and dinner or nothing, is changed, except we just changed what the star of the meal is, essentially. And then you're down to one afternoon snack instead of two. But there are people who are having vegetables with protein and fat already. So there's people having vegetables with dip, vegetables with a boiled egg, for example.

And so really, what really changed there? And it's amazing how that small change your body notices. What happens in this tweak is that people tend to find that they feel heavier, more sluggish. I think people stop asking the four sets of mindful eating questions. I think the switch up alone is enough. They don't double down on the portions. You forget about what you learned last week, and then you just go back to eating the same amount of protein that you had last time. And that's where you really wanted to dig into that. Yeah, I think what we want our members to be super mindful of, too, is not getting stuck on the, like, the clock in the time. Because having a bit more protein at lunch or having protein is the focus at lunch. Yeah. It's going to have you feeling different through the

afternoon. So I think it's really important that we're like, okay, if someone is like, I always have my lunch at 12 and then I always have my snack at my first snack at two, if two o'clock rolls around and you're not feeling quite ready for that snack yet, you don't have to have it at two o'clock. You might still feel satisfied. That's a great point. Having that extra, I keep saying extra. It's not more. It's just just that different focus. Maybe having that different focus of protein. You might feel satisfied longer, which is why you might only need, you know, one afternoon snack now. So don't get, don't get hung up and like, well, if I have

my snack at two and I don't have my dinner until six, you know, maybe your snack is going to come later because you are feeling satisfied. So be open to that and really double down on mindfulness and checking in with yourself and not being like so stuck to that routine. We want you to have flexibility. We want you to have a bit more freedom with your time. We want you to be open to that and understanding how that protein at lunch makes you feel satisfied. Yeah, you will probably miss that second afternoon snack. Some people love it because they're like, oh, I only have to worry about one snack now. But you might feel like you miss it, but is it mental or is it actually physical? Is it just that you're used to that routine? And of course, this is the setup and lead up for our

final two weeks, which is personalized in the plan, which is really getting into the fact that your bodies need to change every day. And it's great that we have the structure of the program to follow. There's a rhyme and a reason to everything that we do. It fast tracks everything, including being able to maintain and sustain your weight. But it is about like learning to be in tuned to that. So if you notice that second afternoon's time, pay attention to that. Is it just, are you actually hungry for it or is it just the routine of having it or is it a deprivation mindset that you now can't have it? Like, what, which one is it? Before we go any further, someone was asking about check-ins. Yeah, well, Odette and I will both be checking in

throughout the summer. So we'll be checking in. We'll be going live. We'll still be doing a lot of the things that daily content, a lot of the stuff that we do already in the programs to keep you supportive. Yeah. What else do you want to say about this tweak? This week, I think, is a really great way to, like you said, you know, your mindset around that second snack, do you miss it as a deprivation? I think it will really bring into light eating out of habit being versus eating because you actually need to. You know, I think, again, tied to that time, I have to have my first snack at two o'clock.

I have to have my second snack at four o'clock. It'll really help to break that habit of just eating because you should versus being really in tune. And this is also that move on mindset. You know, like we want you to have a mindset that you're going to be moving on into personalizing the plan, into making more like choices with freedom and flexibility. We're not going back to the basic food plan. You know, after the revamp is done, we're going to personalize even more. So have that move on mindset.

Don't have it like, oh, I'm just doing it for this week and for next week. You know, you're having it to build on to the next few weeks. That's really what we want people to focus on. on. And yeah, and I think I want to say, I mean, I keep talking about the clock and timing, but really be open to that. You might even find with your mid-morning snack, your lunch is going to get pushed out because you're feeling more satisfied. So be open to that. And, you know, we talk about autopilot and routine is important, but routine doesn't mean same time every day. Routine is same action throughout the day. Yes. Yes. Yes. Your body loves routine. It likes the structure. Again,

there's a rhyme and a reason to the tweaks that we do each week and making sure you are consistent with that. But remember, we are making change. In the pursuit of change, you need to make change. And we're building on everything that we've done. That's why every time you do another round of the weight loss program, right, you're bringing a whole new body physically, mentally. And every time you do another round of the maintenance program, you're pulling off layers and

you're going deeper and you're reinforcing that routine and reinforcing those, the reconnecting of how your body's function, the reconnecting of your mind too. So, yeah, it's automaticity is not the same as, follow that same routine. Automaticity is when, like, you don't have to ask the four sets of mindful eating questions because you just automatically are in tune with that portion by looking at it. Right. Automaticity is, you know,

it's just like brushing your teeth in the morning. This is like getting up and going for my walk or doing my meditation or my evening routine becomes automatic. That's different. That's different. Yeah. Yeah. So it's brushing your teeth in the morning.

Some days maybe at 7 a.m. Some days maybe at 9 a.m. So you still brush your teeth. It's just, you know, don't be tied to the exact same motion every single day. Yes. The change. And that's also part of regulating, you know, regulating your mindset.

Oh, gosh, I can't brush my teeth at 7, but I can still brush them at 9. So it's, you know, it'll still get done. So that's a good point. Yeah. That's a great point. Okay. Our takeaway, I'm going to do a Q&A, tomorrow,

No, we're back on Wednesday. I'm by myself. So come hang out with me, y'all. Yeah. So come hang out with me and I'll answer some of the questions and talk about how we're making out with the tweak this week. Yeah, that's right. So I'm sure you won't be talking to yourself. I'm sure lots of people will come and hang out with you. I'm used to talking to myself anyway. What's your homework for this week for people? I think the homework is just to be, I think I wanted to say that again about the timing. Really pay attention to how adding that that protein and fat to your morning snack really does play into satiety coming into lunch and then how your lunch plays into that satiety in the afternoon really pay attention to that don't just go through those motions be like okay protein's the star of the show end of story no

protein's the star of the show at lunch how does it make me feel going into the afternoon how does that influence my decisions of what i'm going to have for my snack and and forward so really play and show show um pay attention to that great all that all right all right Yeah. Okay. Well, thanks. Yeah. So good.

All right. Anything else we got to add for people? I don't think so. I wanted to talk summer club to make sure everybody felt good about that. I know that our members, we have a lot of, I love this week because everyone loves their nut butters. Yes. Yeah.

And if you're asking, if you're thinking you're having too much nuts and nut butter, you probably are. Interesting. Watch of saturated fats with this, right? So we had Alyssa Steinberg come on and she used zero fat yogurt for, a recipe and someone was like, oh, are we into calories now? And I was like, no, that's not it at all. So I said to her, why? What was your choice behind zero fat yogurt? And she's like, well, it's so easy to get saturated fats in your diet that, you know, and people are not getting enough omega-3s, right? Which is your fish and whatnot. If you're not eating a lot of fish, salmon especially, you're probably not getting enough omega-3. You know, you can get it flax seeds and other things as well. But it's much harder to get. And so this is where if you are having cottage cheese for breakfast, you may be don't want to have a bowl of yogurt for your snack, right? You do want to be mindful of your saturated fats when it comes to the choices. Nut butter also the same. Also got great fat in it, but it is also

a saturated fat, fats from meat and whatnot. So you do want to be mindful of your side. Not that, you know, eating good fats makes you fat. It does not. But especially midlife. And as you get older, we have to really be, because we're losing that, you know, anti-inflammatory properties of estrogen. So we do find our cholesterol levels going up naturally, even myself. And so this is where one of the things that you can do that is just make sure you are mindful. So if you think you are eating too much cheese, you probably are. You are thinking you are eating too much nut butter. You probably are.

Because if we're just honest with ourselves, right? Yeah. Something to keep in mind with that. Yeah. So that's another point I just wanted to make about that is just being aware of that. Yeah, sounds good. Yes. And so that afternoon snack is not eat more.

Be mindful of those portions, right? I love that. It's down to one snack as well. So again, if you take the nuts and seeds and have it with your veg, that's great. But it's in, it's that portion in the moment. So back to just enough in the moment so that when you are checking in, your body's had time to process and digest, that is when you're feeling satisfied. So or if you want to number that down, eats about 80%. So that when you walk away, you're feeling 100% satisfied, not full.

All right, cool. All right. Thanks, everyone. Appreciate you. Thanks, Annette. I won't see you Wednesday, but I'll see you the following. Yeah. I'll pop into your text a few times this week.

too. Okay, sounds good. All right. Thank you, everyone. Have a good day. Bye.