For millions of people across the country, losing weight and building healthy habits is one of their major goals, and one of their most challenging. Taking control of your health can be a transformative decision, but for most, it’s far easier said than done. While some of these struggles are certainly external– everyone knows what it feels like to have a week where you’re simply too busy to cook healthy meals– many of them are far more internal. Addressing these problems is what Jessica Kishpaugh of LoYo Wellness does for a living.
“I practiced law in the city for about ten years,” Kishpaugh said, “and was kind of going through my own personal transformation and physical transformation. I realized that I really wanted to study nutrition, so I went back to school. Towards the end of that, I said 'Oh my god, I really don’t like what I’m doing… I could start my own business, I could be a health coach!' So I sort of got inspired to do that. I developed a program and have been working with clients ever since. I really started to niche down into emotional eating behaviors: binge eating, disordered thinking, that emotional connection to food. I really took a mind-body approach to not just nutrition, but a total healthy lifestyle.
“Even before I knew that I wanted to focus on this aspect of self care in that emotional space, like emotional eating, binge eating, and all that, this notion of self-care was always really important to me, and this is something that I believe is really the core foundation of health: loving yourself in body, mind, and soul. How you treat your body, what you put in your body, how you talk to yourself, how you talk about yourself, it all matters. Healing emotional eating and binge eating and those problems requires a lot of self-compassion.”
That core concept of self care even went on to inspire the business’s name, LoYo, short for Love Yourself. “My husband and I were out to dinner many years ago, and we were just brainstorming names, and he came up with it!” Kishpaugh reports. “He said ‘It’s kind of like ‘YOLO,’ and I said ‘Well, that’s cheesy and very silly,’ and it sort of stuck.”
For Jessica, guiding people on their journeys of self-betterment is more than a job. “Hands down, the most rewarding part is to work with clients, having really deep conversations, really big a-ha moments, and talking about really intricate, emotional, important parts of their lives. That’s what becomes life-changing for the women that I work with. I get off my client coaching calls and I’m like 'I just love what I do.' It lights me up so much to see the emotional healing and transformation that’s happening with these women.”
Working up close with the wellness journeys of so many individuals has helped Kishpaugh to gain a detailed understanding of what isn’t working for people. “The diet industry is a huge industry, and in my opinion, it’s so flawed. It flashes shiny objects at people who just want to lose weight yesterday, and it’s really easy to feed on people’s vulnerabilities. But the quick fixes don’t last– it’s putting bandaids on broken legs. I see that happening a lot, and it’s holding people back. I hear a lot about motivation, but I really don’t think it’s about that. People use those terms, they feel it’s about willpower. 'I have no control. I need more willpower, I have too many cravings. I have no motivation to work out.' But it’s so much more than that! I take a self-compassionate approach to weight and to health, and it’s about ‘How do I love myself through the process of change?’ You’ll still get to the same place you want to get to, it’s just a different way of doing that. It may be slower, it may be different, it may be scary! It’s not a quick fix bandaid approach that’s going to give you an overnight solution, but you’re actually going to have sustainability.
“It’s 100% an investment in your future self, and it’s an investment in yourself right now, too. I talk about this concept of so many people saying ‘I want to lose the weight so I’ll be happier.’ They’re using that as a contingent on their happiness. ‘When I lose the weight, I’ll be confident.’ Basically what they’re saying is ‘I can’t be confident now, I can’t be happy now.’ They’re putting their happiness on hold. I really hope people lean into this concept of 'Well, let’s find the confidence now and let’s find the happiness now,' and have it as you make changes to your health.”
For more information about transforming your health and your mindset, visit loyowellness.com.
"It’s 100% an investment in your future self, and it’s an investment in yourself right now, too."
I get off my client coaching calls and I’m like 'I just love what I do.' It lights me up so much to see the emotional healing and transformation that’s happening with these women.”
