In this episode of Conversations with Kate, I sit down with Gina Correy to talk about the courage it takes to truly change your life.

Gina shares her journey of leaving behind unhealthy habits and stepping into a lifestyle centered around nourishing food, movement, and intentional living. Together, she and Tim reflect on how making these changes as a couple shaped not only their health, but their relationship.

This conversation is a gentle reminder that transformation is possible—with support, consistency, and the willingness to choose differently.

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Conversations with Kate is like a conversation with your friend, hairstylist or therapist, where we will talk about music, life stories and everything in between with interviews and guests sprinkled in. I am your host, Kate. Let's get into this episode.

All right. Welcome into this episode of Conversations with Kate. The courage to live differently. And I have a very special guest, my sister in law, Gina Correy. Welcome in, Gina.

Hello, everyone. Hello.

We are going to talk today about what it looks like for you to live differently. What did life look like for you before you decided something needed to change?

Well, I was living a terrible, horrible life. Choice of lifestyle. Not only was I drinking heavily, but I was also drugging in private. And I thought nobody knew. And then I.

Not only did I try to get clean, upon getting clean, I learned that I had a heart condition. Nothing to do with those former abuse, mind you. It's just normal wear and tear. I was blown away when I found that out.

But that ultimately led me to eating better, which led me to exercising. So I've been doing it for quite some time. It's been almost five years now.

That's awesome. Was there a specific moment or was it a slow build that led you to shift your lifestyle?

Yes. Yes. Because old habits are very hard to die.

Yes.

So it was trial and error and try and try again. So just kept trying.

And then the good news about everything is that my husband now is on board, health wise, that's never had a drug problem or he never had a problem with drugs or alcohol, thank the Lord. But yes, eating habits, we had to get that under control.

You can apply everything that I have applied to my drug and alcohol abuse to any kind of bad habit, honestly.

Really? Really. And truthfully, you can. Yes. Yes.

Right. Discipline comes in all shapes and forms.

You know, let's talk about your personal transformation. What was the hardest habit to let go of and why?

Drinking.

Okay.

Drinking was the hardest one.

Okay. Why was that?

Why? I guess because it had become like a ritualistic thing.

Like, you come home from work, you want to unwind, and that was really the only way I knew how to. This was before I was exercising and all those things had lain dormant in my head. I exercised long ago in a previous life, like in the bipolar days.

Right.

And that had been, like, kind of on the back burner. I had forgotten all about it.

Right, right.

And then I just kind of like, you know, started with walking in the backyard during COVID days.

Yep.

You know, I'm like, well, I have a pretty big backyard back there. I could Just walk the fence line. It started with that, and then from there, you know, before I know it, I was walking five miles in an hour.

That's so cool.

I had built up so much stamina. And then I thought to myself, you know what I. I always want, kind of wanted to do a marathon.

And then my sister and I signed up for a marathon, and we did that.

That's.

And I developed pain. Pain in my left hip had developed, and I couldn't figure out what it was. And they told me, you need to stop running and walking.

Broke my heart because I had become. I'm like, you know, I'm going to be this marathon girl. That was going to be my whole shtick. I'm going to be a marathon runner now.

And then that was stopped medically because I have now osteopenia.

Okay.

So I had another brick wall. And I'm like, oh, my God. This. This thing that I had loved to have replaced walking with drinking, I guess is what I'm trying to say, right?

Yes. Yes.

I found a healthier habit than drinking. When I work, I would walk.

Right.

And then. So now. This is now taken from me.

Yes.

And so what. They told me to do weight bearing exercises, and I'm like, what the heck is a weight bearing exercise? What does that mean?

What does that mean?

Oh, let's wait. Let's wait. And that also was laying dormant in my head. I remember doing that back with my first husband.

Right.

So I kind of remembered. And it's things I wasn't sure of because now I've aged. I can't do the things I used to back in my 30s.

I'm now in my 50s, so I just resorted to YouTube videos, you know, exercises for women in their 50s with barbells. And then I just started from there. And then, you know, you just. You branch off from one thing to another.

But I never, ever want to go back to replacing my healthy habits with my unhealthy habits. It's very easy to do.

What did courage feel like in those early days of making different choices?

Oh, well, I don't know if it was courage, but it was like I almost felt like I was having a rebirth.

That's awesome. That's like a healthier.

Like, I literally was like a person coming out of a cocoon. And like one wing sprouted, and before, you know, I'm gonna cry, the next wing sprouted. You know, it's just like.

So you're kind of like a butterfly or a phoenix.

Right?

You know, how did your Relationship with food evolve over time.

Oh, gosh. Well, I had to learn to put down the popcorn.

Popcorn? I thought popcorn was good for you.

No, no, no, no, dear. My dear. Oh, God, no.

But what. Okay, now I make popcorn at home with olive oil. Is that bad too?

Well, I mean, you gotta worry, you gotta think about seed oils. Okay? And corn, Corn is a seed. Right. And it's. I mean, I could be wrong.

I've only just now gone into all the science of it because we now have this guy that's been helping us, guiding us on a food journey.

I love that.

But I just know I couple my fatness and my love handles and my double tin with all the popcorn I was eating.

Okay.

When I see that marked popcorn, that white cheddar specifically, and I'm not hating on it, don't be. You know, but I'm just saying I was going through a family sized bag of that every other day.

Oh, wow.

And I. And I had to put that down and pick up like sugar snap peas to snack on or something.

You know, this is what I was trying to get when I was trying to get sober still. These are the things that I was picking up, trying to get back.

And that's a good substitute.

I'm also trying to get sober and I'm trying to get the food under control at the same time. Plus, menopause was going on, the pandemic was going on, I was working, we had moved, I had just gotten married.

I mean, all these big, big life changes were happening at that time.

Well, now that you say that, let's talk about emotional and inner work. What internal shifts had to happen before the external changes could stick?

Well, I had a relapse. I guess I had a relapse and I was out of state and I made some really life threatening choices.

Okay.

And I guess that's what internally shifted and made me change altogether completely.

Did you ever feel like you were losing a version of yourself?

Yes, I grieve her. Okay.

How did you navigate that?

Well, I still sometimes visit with her. I sometimes joke that she's in a coma. Like a self induced coma?

Yep.

And that's how I dealt with the grief. But she's really, really not dead. Dead.

Yes.

Tim doesn't like when my husband says he doesn't like when I say this. He goes, no, she has to be dead. But I'm like, I grieve too much for that person when that happens.

Yes.

When I think of it that way, yeah.

How did you learn to trust yourself through the process Trust myself. Mm.

I just gotta show up for me to thine own self be true.

Yes.

I mean.

Yep. How did you and Tim support each other when one of you struggled more than the other in this lovely new journey?

Well, we never give up on each other, for one. We never ever give up. Give up. Yeah.

I do too.

And as long as we keep trying, then that's not really a failure.

Yes.

Congratulations. That is a wonderful achievement. I am so proud of you for that.

And he has been clean, food wise, all year long.

That's great.

We do eat some dirty food every now and then, but he's a fries. His stomach can't handle it now that he's been eating clean all year.

Oh, gotcha. Were there moments where you. You two weren't aligned and what did that look like?

Yes, there were a few times in our relationship that we weren't aligned and it looked like either I move out or you do.

Okay. Okay.

We've worked through all that though. Now we're on same board now.

Good, Good.

But that was. That was due to my former choices and with substance abuse. I love that I own that wholeheartedly. I own all that when that was going on.

Yeah, that was my sickness.

Yes. I love that you own that. How has your relationship deepened or changed through the whole journey?

Well, it's deepened through food now because we both like to experience new things. And he helps me in the kitchen making this and that. Or he's always eager. He'll call me or text me and say, is this okay for me to eat?

So we've come closer over food health wise. He now knows what it's like to have a kind of an addiction.

I always expect to say he didn't have substance abuse, but you don't know what you don't know. And his food choices were almost like an addiction he tried to learn through portion control and me helping him with that. I guess that's how we bond.

That's good. That's good. What are some of the less glamorous parts of the lifestyle shift that you have found?

Well, I mean, I don't know. I really don't know how to answer that. I really don't think it's glamorous as it is.

Well, that's what I mean. Like, what are the aspects of it?

I don't think it's all that glamorous. Right. Now as it is. So I don't know how less glamorous it can be.

Gotcha. How did you handle your setbacks now versus before?

I rely on myself and my inner self rather than a substance or even sometimes a food or a sugar. Sometimes I would reach for sugar. Has been the past.

Okay. Yeah. It's that trust in yourself, self reliance.

I gotta depend on myself to show up.

Yep. Yep. Did you face any judgment or resistance from others?

No.

That's so good.

No. In my 50s, judgment or anybody else's judgment doesn't even faze me. It's amazing. It's like a superpower.

It is a superpower.

It is a superpower. I don't know about menopause. Something to do with menopause. I don't know.

Yeah.

But something about going to my 50s. I just. I just don't. It really. I don't walk around like I don't care attitude. It's not that at all. It's just. I just don't. I really don't.

It's kind of like the water droplet on a duck's back, basically.

Yes. Correct, correct, correct. It doesn't even fade. And it doesn't have any ego about it. It's just. It is what it is because I am.

Yes. What has been the most surprising outcome of choosing this path?

My husband's transformation, really. I honestly secretly didn't think that it was going to happen as quickly as it did, number one, or even at all.

Watching him become the butterfly, me watching him, it's just so amazing. It's the most amazing part.

Oh, I love that. And I love that for him and for you, both of you.

Thank you.

What does living differently mean to you now?

Everything. It means the future. It means we have a future. I don't have to question whether or not his blood work is going to be good, you know.

Right.

I feel like I have security in the future now, health wise. I mean, yes, we could get hit by a car tomorrow, but if all goes as planned, we're both going to be as healthy as we can for as long as we can.

And that's what I lean on.

Yes. Yes. If someone feels stuck in unhealthy patterns, where would you suggest that they begin?

Whether they're related to any of the subjects that we've covered.

Just set an attainable goal for yourself. The smallest attainable goal. Just one day at a time. I know that sounds as cliche as it is, but it's so true.

Yeah. It's baby steps.

If you're a sedentary lifestyle and you feel like you need to do a change, get up out the chair and walk to the mailbox and back one day, and at the end of the night, you feel accomplished because you set a goal for yourself and you did it.

Yeah.

And then the next day, set another one and so forth. Yeah.

That's a great piece of advice. What would you say to someone who feels like change is too overwhelming?

It's not just take it one second or even five seconds at a time, but you got to do it. Only you can do it.

What is a nourished life?

You gotta wanna. I kept doing this to myself.

I agree with you.

You just gotta wanna. And I know that that sounds cliche too, but it just so true.

It is so true. I agree with you.

I'm gonna do this for you. You have to do it.

Yes.

And it's like, oh, my gosh, I'm just gonna paint my toes today because I've been putting it off for too long. Paint your toes and feel so much better about yourself.

Yeah. It's. It's funny how something so simple is just like setting a goal and achieving it. Whether it is as simple as, like, you know.

Absolutely. Absolutely. And I must say, also, if you have the expensive perfume and you're feeling down, put some expensive perfume on.

Even if you're just sitting in your home, enjoy it.

Yep, yep. I like to go.

Tiny little change can make a difference.

Absolutely. I like to go to coffee shops and treat myself to, like, fancy coffee. Even if it's just plain pour over coffee.

And that's, you know, that type of thing. Or, you know, it's very, very simple. And it is. There's a. One of my paintings actually is a page out of one of my favorite books.

And it says to everyone else, it looked like this big leap, but really it was just a million baby steps.

Yeah, that's what I'm talking about. Just tiny, little attainable goals. And before you know it, you're like, oh, my God, I've done all this.

Exactly, exactly. You look back and you're like, oh, my gosh, I'm currently doing that. Like, with my degree, I'm graduating and doing commencement.

And I look back and I'm like, thank you. Thank you.

You too. I even look back on your life and how long I've known you and all the things that you've been through and where you've gone and where you're going.

It's just. You didn't blow me away.

Thank you. What does A nourished life feel like to you today?

Whole. I feel whole, but I always, I always feel like I can improve.

That's good.

You know, I feel like I'm whole, but I don't feel like I'm done yet.

Right.

There's always room for improvement. So I'm always trying to find new ways to nourish our life, whether it be spiritual or through food. I'm always looking for better ways.

Right. What are you still learning or growing into currently?

Yoga. I'm still learning a lot of yoga because I'm, I'm more like freelance.

I get out here and just do some poses because I, I've always been someone to not be told what to do. So I really just need to put some more and do them correctly because I'm getting in a habit of doing things I know it's probably not correctly. So.

Okay.

Right now I'm focusing on my yoga poses.

Yeah, that's. Yoga is really good for you. And, and it will.

I try to get Tim, but I might. Tim, get down here with me and stretch. So he's tentatively. He has his little toes in the water. He'll, he'll, he'll do some things with.

Yeah, that would be, that would be pretty cool to see my older brother doing some yoga.

Maybe even lift some barbells with me a little bit. He did a couple push ups and his back was tore up for two days.

Oh, no.

See, that just lets you know that those muscles need to be worked out more. He's strong, but he's strong in ways that he's in move. He's like, he's like work strong, you know what I mean? Like the same mechanics.

Yes.

He's mechanic stone, but yeah, I need to, you need to focus on muscle groups.

Like, you know, your muscles, your tendons, your fascia.

Right, right, right, right. And deep tissue. He needs to do some deep tissue massages and stuff.

Absolutely, absolutely.

He's getting there. I'm so, I'm so, I'm just so elated that this year he's on board with all this.

Yeah, he's transformed quite a bit. I love it.

And I also love that like every once in a while out of the blue I'll just get like little videos of him DJing or like songs that he's got on the turntables. It's so wonderful.

Right? Yeah. He gets a little burst of energy and he's like, I'm going to put some music together right now and I. Yay. Do it. Yeah.

Yes, please. Yes. Do it. Okay. I have three questions that I'm going to ask you that are unrelated to the subject matter.

What experience changed the way that you see the world?

The birth of my son.

The birth of your son. Yeah, that'll do that. How did it change the way you saw the world?

I. I just wanted to be. I wanted it to be a little bit more PG for him. Longer. Because it's so cool, you know? I wanted his innocence to last longer.

Yes.

And when he was born, I knew at that time, even.

Yes.

That it was. It's just. It's just an awful place.

Yes. Yes. What brings you the most joy in ordinary life?

Just being alive every day because of my checker passed. By all means, I should not be here right now.

Okay. What do you hope people remember about you?

That I led the way for others to get clean and sober.

That's wonderful. That's a great way to be remembered. And then what is the best piece of advice you were ever given?

That I have choices.

What's the worst advice you were given?

Once an addict, always an addict. That wasn't advice. That was a parenthesis.

A statement.

Yeah, I don't know. I really can't think of advice someone's given me that was bad. That's a tough one, I'd have to think.

Okay. Okay. Well, thank you so much for coming on and chatting with me about your lifestyle change.

I'm so proud of both of you and Tim, and I admire you both for the courage and the execution. Really, I love you both so dearly.

Oh, thank you, Katie. It is definitely mutual.

Wonderful. Wonderful. Thank you again. And I look forward to the next Conversations with Kate episode.

All right, sounds good. I love you.

Love you.

Thanks for listening to this episode of Conversations with Kate. You can find more information on LCC Connect's site as well as all social platforms, Facebook, Instagram, yes, TikTok as well. Big love..