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In an inspiring heart-to-heart, Gina is joined by Pamela Woods to discuss Pamela's remarkable transformation with The Livy Method. Shedding 72.4 pounds wasn't just about her physical change—it's boosted her mental and emotional well-being too. From grappling with health challenges like lupus to overcoming past dieting setbacks, Pam found hope and support in the Livy community. Her journey is a testament to resilience and the power of positive change!
You lost 72.4 pounds by following The Livy Method. Do you feel like a completely different person?
Pamela: I do. Not just physically, but mentally, emotionally, health-wise, everything! I’ve learned so much.
Gosh, I hope I don't break down. Most people don't know all of the story. People know that I have lupus because I mentioned that often. I just feel so much better, SO much better.
You were scheduled for a gastric bypass and I think starting the liquid diet that you need to go on in order to lose the weight to have the surgery. How did you hear about The Livy Method?
P: So because I have a few little heart and high blood pressure things I am working through, I go for occasional echoes and stuff, all the things.
At my echocardiogram, they found an ascending aortic aneurysm. When you hear aneurysm, you think it's something that's already happened. The aneurysm just means it's an enlargement. It doesn't mean that I've had like an attack or anything like that, but it really scared me and I just sat there thinking “I've been trying everything!” As most of us have over and over and over again, you know, losing weight and gaining back. And I just said, “That's it!” This is life or death, I knew I needed to do something. So I told my cardiologist that I was ready to talk to the bariatric surgeon. He set up my appointment and I was waiting for it.
In the meantime, my friend Michelle had just signed up for the winter program, She kept saying, “Oh, Pam, you got to do this!” I said, “Who's Gina Livy?” I noticed my friend had changed, she was happier and just so positive about life. But, I still wanted to go for the surgery. I decided I was going to go for the appointment and see how it goes. I went for my appointment with the surgeon and he said, “Well, you've got a couple options. You can go for the surgery, or you can do the preliminary liquid diet first to prep for it and see how it goes.”
My problem has never been overeating, so I wasn't concerned about that. Like a lot of us, I have discovered I've had some binge type eating over the years where I would hide eating in front of people and then pig out on something disgusting. For example, before pre-menopause I’d have KFC or Popeyes like once a month. What the heck was that? As I got older I started getting sugar cravings like my mom had. But I never had it when I was younger, just occasional binging and stuff like that.
Anyway, I said yes to the surgeon, “I can do the liquid thing. No problem. Let's get it started!” He did also asked if I had ever tried Weight Watchers. Of course I have, many times. And he's like, “Okay, well, there's other diets out there and programs you can do.” And I said, “No, I can't, I'm tired.” I’ve done them all. I was done, finished, done.
I got together with my friends and Michelle was there. She looked slimmer, everything about her was different, her aura and her attitude. And I just said “Okay…give me the information!” She told me it was only $75. I thought to myself think of all the thousands, tens of thousands of dollars I've spent on diets over the years. So I thought, okay, I'll do it. We'll see how it goes. On April 23rd, I started my first session and the rest is kind of a history.
"I FEEL LIKE I CAN REACH MY FINALLY AND FOREVER. IT MAY TAKE A WHILE, I'M PROBABLY GOING TO HAVE A DEW MORE GROUPS AHEAD OF ME, BUT IT'S OKAY. I'M ENJOYING MYSELF ALONG THE WAY AND I'M NOT WORRYING WHEN THE SCALE GOES UP!"
Lupus, multiple sclerosis, depression, and vertigo are some of the things that you're dealing with while following the program and you were successful. Let’s talk about some of the improvements that you’ve seen since starting The Program?
P: Lupus is an autoimmune disease for anybody who doesn't know, it's a disease of a thousand faces. It affects everybody differently. For me, it was more of a joint issue and hair loss. Actually, I have to tell you my hair is so much better. I had balding issues, I have very fine hair. My hair is now healthier! Anyway, lupus is an autoimmune disease in which your immune system over acts. It goes into overdrive. So if you get sick, your immune system kicks in to help heal you. Well, with lupus, your immune system just decides to make you sick whenever it feels like it. And it can attack different parts of the body, including any organs inside and joints. A lot of people talk about the lupus rash, which I don't get. I do have a reaction to sun, but I still go out in the sun. The joints was the big thing. In the mornings when I woke up, it would take me about an hour before I could start moving. And with walking throughout the day. I was walking, but I was holding on to things. I couldn't get up out of bed without holding on to the night table first and just constantly holding onto furniture to get around. Now I wake up with the exception of not wanting to get out of bed, and I'm up! I get up, I get out and I don't have to hold on to anything.
I'm sure you've had quite a few plateaus. What motivates you to keep working towards your goals?
P: I was the person that would get on a scale and if the scale went up for a couple of days in a row or stayed the same, whatever I was on, I just wanted to stop. I would think “Okay, this is not working. I give up.” I felt like crap all the time. So I didn't know what feeling good felt like because I have chronic pain. I thought, I can live with it.
Now I understand why my scale goes up. I get bloodwork done every three months. They check my CRP levels all the time. My CRP levels are always high, which is a inflammation trigger. Now, depending on whether or not I've recently had some symptoms, some joint issues or whatever, they can be high. In the Fall program, my levels had dropped to 14, which is high for normal people. But for me, normal was 45 to 50. So the drop in those levels was amazing, I was feeling great!
Going back to the question how and why I’m still here? Because I understand why my scale is going up. This round I've been up and down nonstop, but I've also had a diverticulitis flare. I've had a lupus flare up, nothing major. It was just a couple of days. I didn't feel good. I’d look at my graph in the app and it would really bounce up. But I know that I'm not gaining five pounds, like five real pounds in three days, you know what I mean? And I'm also not losing five pounds in two days. It's just the effect of things that are going on with my body and now I understand why, thanks to you, the Science Saturday articles, all the guest speakers, and the community.
It's giving me the self-motivation to continue. I feel like I can reach my Finally & Forever. It may take a while, I'm probably going to have a few more groups ahead of me, but it's okay. I'm enjoying myself along the way and I’m not worrying when the scale goes up!
When people say they're frustrated, I've been there. I was frustrated. I was frustrated in round two. In this round, when the scale goes up I’m not so frustrated.
A lot of the members share that they’re still working at it but have learned a lot and are happy with where they are at. How do you embrace knowing that you’ll need a few more groups to reach your goal?
P: I think because it's realistic now. In the past, I always wanted something fast. I’d say “I need to lose 80 pounds in three months.” In my first round, I did lose 8 pounds in prep week. I tend to lose quickly at the beginning and then taper off and I think that's why with everything you provide to us here, I'm eager to learn. I'm still learning in this round.
There's always something new in the guest expert segments, I have so many aha moments that keep me going!
Each program I set mini goals. I am embracing and learning and it's a mental thing. I'm telling myself it's hard to lose weight, it's not going to happen overnight. I don't know if it's my age, but I've finally realized that it works. It takes determination.
I want to be completely off my blood pressure medication. I had hoped to be off it by the end of this round, but it didn't work out and that's fine. It's going to be on my next goal. I'm setting different goals, it’s not just about the weight.
Recently, I went to Winners and I had a gift card I've been holding onto since Christmas. I was able to pick up XL outfits. I used to be 3x, 4x, 5x, and at one point in my life, a 6x. The fact that I could get into an extra large top with zero issues, these are the things that I'm focusing on, the non-scale victories! These are the things we need to focus on: focus on the baby steps, the small accomplishments or big accomplishments along the way, no matter how long it's going to take you to get there. If you work hard, if you trust in the process, read the Science Saturday articles, listen to the lives, you're doing it for you!
You're no good to anybody if you're not healthy. You're not going to be there for your kids or your grandkids if you're just going to continue with what you’ve been doing. I'm determined to stay here no matter how long it takes.
Is this a new mentality for you when it comes to dieting or did you have the same mentality when you did all the other diets? What makes The Livy Method different than any of those other diets that you've done before?
P: That's a good question because you know what, I did go into the other ones with that same mindset, but why am I still here? It is the program. It's the community. The community is a huge part of it. The fact that we can go into the Facebook Support Group at any time and just say something and have somebody come back and support you.
There's so many people that have been through similar things as you and they're still here too. I watched a special last night on a specific weight loss program and the thing that upset me was them saying that they were there as a group and there to support you. And I thought to myself, “No, you weren't!” We had meetings. That was it. It's so difficult. I really have a hard time explaining what The Livy Method is to people because there's just so much.
I've always been somebody who tries to encourage self-love with other people, but I wasn't always good at doing it to myself. I used to get on the scale at night, this was my routine, I would get on the scale at night before I go to bed. I go to the bathroom about four or five times a night just because that's me, regardless of how much water I drink. Every time I went to the bathroom through the night, I would get on the scale and think “Okay, how many pounds do I have to lose to get to that next number?”
That was really an obsessive compulsive disorder type thing that I didn't even know I had. That's something that I did all my life. The scale was such a major thing for me. Now I know that the scale is just a tool. I know when it goes up or down, the things that are happening!
What's been your biggest aha moment in the past year?
P: My biggest aha moment was the scale. I focused too much on that number. I do want the number to be lower, however, I don't even know what my final goal is. I haven't decided yet, because it's been so long since I weighed under 200 pounds. But I know I’ll get there.
I have to say the biggest aha moment is that this is not just about weight loss. It's not just about losing weight, but about gaining so much more confidence and knowledge, the Livy way. There's nothing like this out there, Gina. And I say this to everybody. There's absolutely nothing like it.
"YOU'RE NO GOOD TO ANYBODY IF YOU'RE NOT HEALTHY. YOU'RE NOT GOING TO BE THERE FOR YOUR KIDS OR YOUR GRANDKIDS IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO CONTINUE WITH WHAT YOU'VE BEEN DOING. I'M DETERMINED TO STAY HERE NO MATTER HOW LONG IT TAKES."
What's the hardest thing about the program?
P: For me, the hardest thing is food boredom.
Leafy greens are really difficult for me, even though I know I can put them in my soup so they could do all that. But I think it's because I have an allergy to iceberg lettuce, if you can believe that. So when I eat any other kind of green, I'm very careful. I subconsciously think that I'm going to react to it, which I do react to cabbage now I've discovered. I wouldn't have known that had I not been feeling better, right? I'm gonna go look at the recipes again. I also don't have an oven. I only have a little hot plate to cook, but I do have a Ninja, which I can do everything in. The cooking for one is boring, but, I think it'll be better in the next program again.
The hardest thing this round is my meals in the winter. I'm a meat and potatoes person, I grew up in England. Yorkshire pudding, gravy, you name it. Nothing was healthy when I grew up. That's just how we ate.
I want to circle back around to all the amazing things you've accomplished with your health and what your conversations have been like with your health care providers?
P: I see my lupus specialist regularly. He and I are super close. He's just absolutely blown away at everything because when I was diagnosed, I would go in and I was slim when I was diagnosed. I had lost a lot of weight, but I wasn't eating healthy foods. It was because I was having gastrointestinal issues. I didn't know what was wrong with me, so I couldn't eat. I had no appetite. I would get full after two bites of food, I was slim when I first started to see him. Over the years, he's just seen me deteriorate with the weight gain and the lack of energy and even more flare ups.
My flares are minimal now. I'm sure it's a combination of the medication I'm on, but I do believe it's the food that I'm eating too. It's giving me the nutrient value and I'm not eating the crap. I occasionally have the crap, but not all the time. He’s so encouraging. I don't think we have doctor's appointments anymore, we just talk about life whenever I go visit him, but he looked up your program. I've told him, I know he does prescribe weight loss medications, I am aware of that. He has mentioned it to me.
My GP is, he's one of those doctors that has always said everything is because of my weight. He's a firm believer in Ozempic, although I did go see him and I gave him all of your information. I don't know if he's going to look, but I hope he will. My doctors are very good.
"IT'S NOT JUST ABOUT LOSING WEIGHT, BUT ABOUT GAINING SO MUCH MORE CONFIDENCE AND KNOWLEDGE, THE LIVY WAY. THERE'S NOTHING LIKE THIS OUT THERE, GINA. AND I SAY THIS TO EVERYBODY. THERE'S ABSOLUTELY NOTHING LIKE IT."
72.4 pounds down four groups in, you are so inspiring! Do you have any advice for our members when it comes to navigating the next couple of weeks of the program?
P: I was so scared at the end of round one, I had so many nerves anticipating the gap between programs. It was the first time you introduced bridging the gap. And I kept thinking “I don't know what I'm going to do!” I was very nervous, but you know what, once you've been following along and doing everything, you'll be fine, you're going to realize it's not as difficult as you think!
Just trust your intuitions. You're gonna know when you are eating good. You’ll start craving the healthy things. Even though I have a hard time with leafy greens, once I was feeling better after my recent flare, I was craving my salad. I get addicted to Caesar salad every now and then, because I couldn't touch it during the flare. So, if you go off track, if you've been doing really well and you're scared that you're going to slip up, go ahead, have it. You're either going to have it and feel okay, or you're going to feel like shit. I'm almost at the stage where I open the fridge and I know what I'm going to get.
Anything that you would like to say to the fellow Livy Loser community?
P: Number one, I love you all. Believe in yourself. Listen to Gina, she knows what she's talking about, she's been through crap herself.
I just want to thank everybody for your continued support for me too. And for cheering me on. I'm nobody special: I’m just like you, but I do like to share my journey.
If there is one tip, I'm going to say, if you don't have an Instagram account, go open one! Do it for the Livy Losers, because when you share anything, like when you're feeling down (because trust me, I have a lot of down days) those little comments and likes, they give you that extra little boost. And it's not that you're looking for attention or anything like that. It just makes you feel better because even though you may not see the progression and that you're doing well, just the fact that somebody else does, it always feels good when someone tells you that you look good and you're doing good!
Having the external boost and love just makes you feel better. Try to share, don't be scared to share it even if you're quiet. Don't worry about it. Just post pictures. Get involved. I was very quiet in my first round. Can you believe that? You don't have to chit chat in the comments during the live, because there's so much important information that you'll miss if you talk too much. Sometimes I'd have to go back and listen to them again. Getting involved with the community, they’re all amazing people.
Thank you so much to your team for everything that you've done. I can't name them all because there are too many. And Gina, of course you were very humble because I had the chance to meet you. I guess you don't realize how much you changed my life. And so many people's lives out there. You are a huge part of why I'm still here.
I adore you. We're going to follow up on you and your journey over the next little bit. You are a rock star, truly. You can follow Pam on her Instagram: @_pamwoods_
And, Just for Fun...
What inspires you to keep going on your weight loss journey?
P: My fellow Livy Loser friends and community have been encouraging and help keep me focused, especially during this lengthy plateau. Reading others stories of success or struggles, helps me know that I am not alone on my journey and that I will reach my finally and forever, no matter how long it takes.
Also, my "why" keeps me going. As you can see, I don't have many lifestyle photos to send, as I have been too tired, in pain, or always felt too large to enjoy even the simple things in life in the past. I want to be able to do things that others may take for granted, and I WILL! My journey is not over yet...
If you could give advice to your younger self, what would that be?
P: Do not worry so much about what others think about you. They love you for your kindness and compassion and no one even thinks that you are overweight to be honest. Be kind to yourself and look in the mirror and see the true beauty that you are on the inside and the outside.
Describe what it means to be a Livy Loser in three words.
P: Community, Support, Life-changing
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