Meet Stephanie Lyn

Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephanie Lyn.

Stephanie, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
It’s been a long journey! As a child, I always felt I was a bit of a free spirit, but never had that spirit nourished or encouraged to shine, and actually I suppressed it for a really, really long time. As a result, I became the opposite. I was an overachiever, independent, type A person throughout my years of college and medical training.  These aren’t necessarily bad qualities, but they didn’t feel authentic either. The environment in which I was raised also had a significant influence on my career path, relationship with food, and body image. All of my experiences shaped me (literally and figuratively) and helped me arrive where I am today.  Let me explain a little bit more.

My parents divorced before I was one year old and my sister and I were raised by my mother and Italian grandparents.  This was amazing in so many ways, but anyone of Italian heritage knows that Italian culture presents a number of challenges as well. For example, we would scream over each other to be heard at meals, overeat, use food to solve problems, and be trapped by Italian mom guilt (I love you Mom). It was in this environment that my relationship with food began. Every event, holiday, or day that ended in Y was focused on what and when we were eating. Any problem could be solved with homemade pasta and meatballs or a fresh cannoli. I was always encouraged to finish my plate, and asking for seconds was a way to compliment the chef.  While I know that their desire to solve problems and make things better with food came from a loving place, but it still did some damage to me and my relationship with food. As a result, I was an overweight child and there was no real acknowledgment by my family and friends of my weight issues. While I was always supported and loved by my family, regardless of the way I looked, I was acutely aware of my body and my unhappiness with it.  I knew I wanted to be “skinny” and that’s where my issues with my body image began.  Since than I can’t remember a time that my body image was not a prominent thought in my head.

As I grew older, food became a comforting tool that I used to deal with issues and stress. Even in high school, I remember crash dieting for proms by only eating fruit and drinking water for days before the dance. Things continued in college with more organized forms of dieting including Atkins, South Beach Diet, and Weight Watchers. I never seemed to achieve my desired weight.  I also started really making exercise a part of my weight loss plan. During this time, I never really thought about health as my goal- it was always weight and body image/appearance. I was too busy listening to that negative voice in my head telling me that if I could just lose weight and “look better” than I would be more successful in all aspects of my life.

My need to succeed took me down a road toward medicine. High standards in every aspect of my life were a common theme. I created an atmosphere of constant stress and needed to be the best. I was, and can still be, very hard on myself in both personal and professional ways. While in medical school and residency, I was very conscious of my weight and health, but I didn’t have the time to prioritize it the way I wished I could. The stress of my training was compounded by the stress I felt with relation to my body image. I continued with up and down weight loss, paleo and macro counting, and different forms of often intense exercise. I told myself that when I was done with my medical training all these things would get easier and it would all come together and work itself out. I would finally be able to achieve my ideal goal of being “fit and skinny”.

However, once I got my first job out of training, and was living in my dream location in Venice, I realized nothing had changed. I was still subscribing to restrictive diets, emotional binge eating, intense exercising, living with high stress, sleep deprivation, and feeling unhappy with my body and my weight. It wasn’t until I had an accident while doing Olympic-style weight lifting (I dropped a barbell on my neck and shoulders) that I realized something needed to change. I needed to evaluate how I could improve my overall health and wellness and stop focusing trendy quick fixes and intense extreme workouts, focused on weight loss, that were not getting me the results I wanted and needed.  Stepping out of my comfort zone, I went to see a naturopathic doctor to examine how my body and mind were functioning. It was here that I had my first experiment with an elimination diet, and the results were mind-blowing. I felt so much better overall that the focus was no longer about weight, and I made a commitment to feeling and being healthy long-term.

After this, I submerged myself in the wellness world including multiple types of holistic and alternative methods of health and healing.  I explored more spiritual aspects of well-being and attended workshops, seminars, training, and read countless books. After going through medical school, you become really good at absorbing a lot of information, and I learn well through action, so that’s what I did. I realized I needed to clean up my life, not just my diet. I started to focus on how the stress of my busy professional life was not only affecting my weight, but also my sleep, happiness, and energy.  This stress was also putting me at risk for a number of chronic diseases. I knew that I also had to do a lot of work on myself in regard to mindset and self-talk. I have really focused on creating mindfulness practices to address stress, anxiety, weight, and emotional eating. What I learned was that the best way to get a body you love is to create the healthiest body you can and that isn’t accomplished by achieving a specific number on the scale. Ultimately the way to do this is through combining holistic and western medicine approaches, because neither one alone has all the answers.

On my own personal journey to health and wellness, I started getting a lot of questions from family and friends about what I was doing, how it worked, and how I felt. I kept getting random compliments on my skin, my glow, my weight loss, and my hair. My friends and family started using me as a resource for inquiring about new wellness trends they heard about and asking for my opinion. No longer was I just the doctor to call when someone is sick or has a pain (although I do still get that). I realized that I honestly loved sharing my knowledge and experiences with all of them. But the best part was being privy to seeing the significant changes that occurred in their health, mindset, and confidence as a result of information and guidance I provided.

It was with this realization that I decided to obtain training to make health coaching my career. While I love helping all people, I have currently designed a new program specifically for busy, professional women who are struggling with weight loss. This program uses a holistic approach targeting stress reduction through mindfulness and working on resetting the body with respect to food and sleep.  We need to ditch the diet mentality.  The third component is creating a better relationship with yourself and fostering a supportive community.  Sometimes we all just need a little help, accountability, and fresh perspective. It is rewarding in a different way than my medical specialty, and I truly enjoy helping people be the best, healthiest versions of themselves.

Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
I would love to say yes, it’s been smooth, and every day is a reaffirmation that I chose the right path for myself- but I would be lying.  I never envisioned starting my own business and had no background in that field. I expected to do my medical training and then get a normal “doctor job” and be done. In addition to the training, financial investment, and learning how to “run a business”, that I needed to start this new venture, I am also continuously fighting off feelings of doubt, insecurity, and fear that creep in and hold you back.  Entrepreneurship is challenging in ways I never imagined, and I feel like I’m on an emotional rollercoaster almost daily. One minute I feel motivated and excited, and the next I am second guessing myself.

It is difficult to be vulnerable and put yourself out there to be judged, for sure.  This process has taught me that everyone is going to have an opinion about your practice and business and they often have an overwhelming need to share it, but you cannot take it personally and it’s just an opinion, not fact.  Truly believing in what I am doing has helped me to not get distracted by negative or judgmental opinions from others. It would be great for things to be easy, but honestly challenges build character and may be a better coach and business owner.  Going through my own struggles and challenges in life and business definitely help me understand and relate to my clients and their own personal wellness struggles better.

Stephanie Lyn Health and Wellness Coaching – what should we know? What do you do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
What I do is help people achieve their personal, individualized health.  I am there as a partner to listen, to hold them accountable, develop a solution and plan, and to provide knowledge.  The goal is to give them the tools to make sustainable lifestyle changes and avoid the quick fixes that don’t last. My coaching style incorporates my background in medicine, which gives me an intricate knowledge of the body (and the long-term physical effects of maladaptive behaviors), and my experience and education in more holistic and spiritual practices.  I emphasize mindfulness, including not only meditation and gratitude practices, but also in relation to food choices, eating habits, and physical activity. A huge part of being successful at making sustainable ifestyle changes includes working on the mind, what we tell ourselves, how we feel about ourselves, and who we are surrounding ourselves with.

I have a few different programs that entail month-long food cleanses, spiritual practice building, stress management, weight loss, and 1:1 personal coaching. My programs are a combination of online and in-person or phone coaching. There are also individual and group programs, both of which provide different and unique advantages to help people reach their goals. Currently what I am most proud of with my company is my new program, the Stress Less Program, which is designed to help busy women achieve weight loss through focusing on reducing stress, resetting the body, and connecting to self and their community.  This program shifts the focus from diets, restriction, and endless exercise and addresses the real issues women are not getting results.  This ideas and methods presented in this program are things I truly believe are essential to create significant changes in the lives of women.  I want to help give them the tools they need maintain the changes they make throughout their life.  The fact that I struggled through my own health and wellness journey for most of my life is something that sets me apart.  Having a healthy relationship with food, being fit, and loving myself and my body did not come easy or naturally for me, so I understand through first-hand experience where many people struggle.  I also still work as a physician, in addition to my health and wellness coaching, so I understand the time constraints and challenges that a busy lifestyle presents to maintaining my own wellness.  Wellness is a life long journey, and even I still work on myself daily.

I feel that I am a relatable and genuine person who can hold space for people who are struggling, no one should go through this journey alone.  I am definitely not afraid to be honest and feel it is important to make people face their problems and the real issues that deep down are holding them back from succeeding. I offer a unique perspective as a result of being trained in western medicine and wellness practices.  I am not an extremist when it comes to health. Every person is different and everyone’s lives are different so no one way of doing anything works for everyone. The goal is to create a maintainable healthy lifestyle.  I am open-minded, but I also do my research to form educated opinions.  I feel this helps foster trust with my clients since they know I am prioritizing their health. Ultimately, I want to get people interested and excited about their bodies, their wellness, and make them feel empowered to make life-altering changes.

What moment in your career do you look back most fondly on?
I actually have a few that come to mind, but ill share one.  One of the programs I offer is a detox program that helps people reset their bodies and figure out what foods disagree with them.  This strategy helps decrease inflammation and cuts out the addiction we have to certain foods (especially sugar). As a result of the limitations on which foods are acceptable to eat during the detox, people are forced to be really aware of what they are putting in their mouths and they have to look at labels.  This helps them realize how much of the food we eat is processed and contains a form of sugar; sugar is in nearly EVERYTHING.

One of my clients made this realization and said, “I now pay attention to what I am eating and look at labels and I realize how much sugar I was eating. I can’t believe it. I don’t even want to eat that food anymore, because I feel so much better without it!”  Hearing a client say this and really get what it is all about just made me so happy! A lot of people are looking for weight loss when they sign up for the detox, which is understandable, but the benefits and the real reasons for doing food detox are much more comprehensive.  When clients start to “get it” and change their mentality it’s really amazing because you know their priorities and goals have shifted and I LOVE that!

Contact Info:

• Website: www.stephanielynwellness.com
• Email: Stephanielynwellness@gmail.com
• Instagram: stephanielynwellness and stephanielynmd
• Facebook: stephanielynwellness

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