#36: Why Doing Everything “Right” Still Isn’t Working (And What Your Body May Need Instead)

Eating well, exercising consistently, and trying to “do all the right things” does not always lead to the results high performers expect, especially when it comes to weight, energy, hormones, and metabolism.  But what if the issue is not a lack of effort?

In this episode, Dr. Livesey breaks down why health outcomes are often more nuanced than “eat less and move more.” She explains how stress, underfueling, changing hormones, unrealistic expectations, and all-or-nothing thinking can quietly interfere with progress even when you are genuinely trying.

You’ll also learn why some “healthy” habits can unintentionally backfire, how perfectionism becomes its own stressor, and why the strategy that worked for your body ten years ago may no longer fit the season of life you are in now.

If you’ve been feeling frustrated, discouraged, or wondering why your body feels different lately, this episode will help you think about your health with a little more clarity and hopefully a lot less self-blame.

What You’ll Learn

• Why effort and results are not always perfectly proportional in health
• How stress can quietly interfere with weight loss, energy, and recovery
• The “healthy” habits that can unintentionally backfire
• Why your strategy may need to change in different seasons of life
• A better question to ask instead of: “What am I doing wrong?”

This episode is for you if:

• You feel like you’re doing everything right but not seeing results
• You feel frustrated that what used to work no longer works
• You are struggling with energy, recovery, weight changes, or motivation
• You are balancing a demanding career, family life, or changing hormones

If you want a physician-led framework to help you think clearly about weight loss, hormone care, and modern health advice, you can download The Metabolic Clarity Guide .

Connect with Dr. Marie today!
Instagram: @dr.mlivesey
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/drmlivesey
Website: https://www.livelyholistichealth.com

This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice or establish a provider–patient relationship.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Have you ever felt like you're doing everything right? Getting 15,000 steps per day, minimizing your intake of processed foods, hitting the gym, and somehow your body still isn't getting the memo? Because if that sounds familiar, this episode is for you. Hello and welcome back to the Vitality Formula. I'm your host, Dr. Marie Livsey, physician, metabolism, and hormone health expert, and I help physique professionals take back control of their health in ways that actually fit real life. And today we're talking about something that I see all the time. People who are genuinely trying, like really, really trying. They're eating better, they're working out, they're cutting out fried foods, buying the supplement, drinking the protein shakes, and yet their energy still feels low. They don't feel like themselves, and their weight is barely moving or moving in the wrong direction. And usually at some point, they start quietly wondering, what am I doing wrong? Why am I even trying at this point? Which is so sad because the issue is not that someone is failing, it's that the story they've been told about their health is incomplete. One of the hardest truths about health is that effort and outcome are not always perfectly proportional. And I know that is frustrating, especially if you are somebody who is successful in other areas of your life. Because high-performing people, usually, like people myself, we are used to this formula. Hard work gets results, put in effort, things improve. And unfortunately, health just doesn't always act that way. Because your body is not a simple math equation. You don't input perfect behavior and automatically receive a predictable result. Your body is complex and has a context that matters more than most people realize. Sometimes the body is under more stress than you think. One thing I see often is people unknowingly asking too much from their body when it already feels overwhelmed. And the frustrating part is they usually think they're being healthy. They're waking up extra early or staying up late to work out, running on caffeine, barely moving from a seated position during the day, eating clean and maybe even underfueling without realizing it. With all of this going on, they come into my office wondering why their energy is constantly crashing and their weight isn't changing. But I will tell you, it is no wonder to me because sometimes what looks healthy on paper feels super stressful to the body in practice, especially when we're in seasons of high demand in our lives. Think busy kids, career pressure, changing hormones, aging parents. Your body doesn't and cannot separate life and emotional stressors from physical stressors. Your body cannot separate those two. It is just stress that it experiences, period. Emotional stress hits your body the same way that physical stress will. And if you are somebody with a lot of stressors, your strategy may need to shift. Your body failing to change is not necessarily a sign that you are lazy or failing, but it may be a sign that your body is asking for something different. There are many healthy things that can quietly backfire on your body because I've had people come in saying a combination of the following. I completely cut carbs. And they're expecting me to wave a magic wand and fix their problems since they're doing everything right as they know how. I say that twice because I think oftentimes we'll we'll go to whether it's a doctor or whoever we're going to to fix our problems and maybe feel shamed or put down. And the reality is so many of us, we're just doing the best we can with the knowledge that we have right now. And no one should ever make us feel bad for that. And if they do, you need to find somebody else because there, there should be and needs to be a lot of compassion and compassionate education within health and wellness. So yeah, we can only do the best that we can as we know how in the moment. But that doesn't mean that when you come in, people aren't trying to hide their faces, like whether it's your doctor or your nurse practitioner, your nutritionist, that they're not trying to hide their face while they're internally screaming a little bit, because sometimes we can unknowingly be a part of the problem while we're trying to do everything perfectly. This lifestyle of trying to do it all is culturally rewarded, but is not actually supportive to our physiology. Restricting food and going too long in between meals leads to more hunger, less muscle, and terrible recovery and sleep. And being a constant, being a constant stress monster and always going leads to your sleep getting even worse and more weak. And this is where I find people blaming themselves because the plan isn't working when in reality the plan didn't match what their body needed to begin with. So this is a little message, especially for my high achievers, because many of you are incredibly disciplined and can follow through on a plan with little support. But health can very easily become all or nothing. You miss a workout or feel behind or have one weekend off plan and you think you've ruined everything. This is when I see y'all get frustrated because progress slows down and the constant pressure to do everything perfectly becomes its own stressor. The irony is that sustainability of a health plan and results come from flexibility, not perfection. Consistency that can survive real life is 10 times better than a plan you have to white knuckle your way through just to stay on track. Instead of asking yourself, what am I doing wrong? I want you to ask yourself, what might my body be trying to tell me? Maybe you need more recovery, some nutritional changes, hormonal support, better stress management techniques, or a totally new strategy due to adaptation. The answer is rarely shame or just trying harder in the exact same way. I can think of a particular patient who was doing everything right and was very disciplined with her workouts, but her weight was still stuck. We discussed a GLP1 medication, but she wanted to lose weight and work on balancing her hormones without medication. And I am somebody who is always going to respect your wishes. Even if I think your choices to not treat certain things may not be in your best interest, I'm going to and I have to respect your wishes. I will educate you and we move on in the relationship. I think that's something that makes me very, very unique as a healthcare provider because I really do believe in patient autonomy. The only time where your autonomy is stopped, if you will, is I am not going to prescribe something that I think will harm you. We then dove into this patient's routine and found her meals had a lot of sneaky fats and quick acting carbs and not enough protein or complex carbohydrates. We also found that the timing of her meals were not supporting her recovery or her activity. We made strategic changes together, which ultimately led to better, more stable energy levels. Her body composition improved and responded well to the workouts, and her sleep got so much better. Big takeaway here is the solution was not more exercise for her or less food. It was food that was better aligned with her health and fitness goals. I think one of the hardest parts of health right now is that people are carrying around so much unnecessary self-blame. And I just want to say this clearly: if you've been trying and feeling stuck, that doesn't mean you're broken. It may simply mean your body needs a different conversation and perspective, more support, more nuance, and more expertise for things to start to shift. If you take anything away from this episode, let it be this. Sometimes doing everything right still doesn't lead to the results you expected. And that doesn't mean you're failing. It just means that your strategy no longer fits your body and its current physiology today. And that is something we can work with. Your body is always responding to the environment you give it. The question is whether what worked before, what worked 10 years ago, still fits the season of life that you're in now. Thank you so much for spending this time with me today. That's it for today on the Vitality Formula. Until next time, take care of yourself, give yourself a little grace, and as always, I'm cheering you on.