Luisa, a 7-figure entrepreneur, transformed her food and health habits

Hi, this is Nagina Abdullah and I'm so excited today to bring you a conversation with myself and Louisa Jo, a seven figure entrepreneur and online education, online education specialist. I am so excited to have her here. Louisa, please say hello. Tell us a little bit about your background, about what your lifestyle is and about your results from working on health coaching with me.

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you for having me here. I'm so excited to be sharing and talking about this because I just can't believe during our time working together, in just a few months, everything that has changed. So a little bit about me. Like you said, I run a seven figure business, so it's pretty, I'm pretty busy. My husband is doing his medical residency, so I don't have a lot of time with him. And the time that I do have with him, I didn't really want to be spending cooking or, you know, just worrying about things that weren't necessarily as fun. And so I was in a place where I was kind of just. We were ordering takeout all the time. We both felt really unhealthy. I was starting to gain more weight and just feel, feel not good about myself. And I wanted to kind of figure out, well, what can I do? I'm not going to be the person who cooks every day. I'm not going to be the person who is spending hours trying to figure out what to eat, what not to eat. I'm not going to be the person who's depriving myself because I love my food. And so I kind of wanted to have it all. And that's the mindset and where I was when we first started working together.

I love that. And I mean, it's so true. It's like you have a business, you're busy, you don't have like you, it's like even it's all on you because your husband is not there, you know, he's working as well. And I love how you said you want to have it all, because what I feel like is as an entrepreneur, as an ambitious woman, we want to have it all. But what ends up happening is that we end up working so much. We end up thinking about our career goals and trying to get there. And what happens naturally is that we put ourselves and our bodies and our energy or the way that we feel last because we're trying to drive to those goals. So did you, you actually thought it was realistic. You knew that there was this thing that you, that you wanted to do that was not happening as efficiently as everything else in your life, right?

Exactly.

Yeah. Yes. So tell me, what was the exact moment that you decided that you needed health coaching? And what was the like why? What was the thing that kind of drew you to working with me?

Absolutely. So, I mean, it was so interesting because I remember very clearly the moment I decided, all right, let me email Nadina. And it was after I just done a big launch and during my launch I had kind of just everything else had been deprioritized. My sleep, my health, my self care. And I just felt really bad, like I'd done well financially, but I didn't feel good about myself. And I just thought, this is not okay anymore and I need to do something about it. I'm not going to do a crash diet or anything that I can't sustain because that just feels horrible and I want lasting results. And I just remember at that moment thinking, all right, this is something I've actually been thinking about for a while and something I've really kind of struggled and been on and off with all my life. And this is it. I don't want to be looking a year, a month, whatever from now and kind of telling myself, wow, you could have started earlier, but you still feel crappy because you don't even know what to do. And it was kind of in that moment when I just made myself not available to, to struggle, to not feel good, to not eat well anymore. And so the moment I decided that I emailed you and I really wanted to work with you specifically for a few reasons. First of all, you know what it's like to be busy and to have to manage all of this instead of being the person who's like, well, let me teach you how to cook in a way that's going to take you three hours a day. When I grew, as I was growing up, my mother was a stay at home mom. And she spent I her spending 2, 3, 4 hours in the kitchen every day. And I just remember telling myself, no, I hate that I'm never, you know, that's not gonna be me. And so I loved that you were a busy working woman. I love the way you share on your website, how you incorporated into your family and you just always look so healthy. Like your pictures look amazing. You look even more amazing in person. And I just remember thinking, holy cow. I didn't know it was possible to look that vibrant and be glowing like that and look so fit and still eat what you want and still have this family. I mean, you had two children too. So I was just blown away. So I just remember thinking, I want to look like that and you understand the constraints I'm working with. So let's see if we can make it happen. And so that's why I really. You were kind of the only person who came on. I was like, nadine is the one. I have to work with her.

Oh my God. Well, thank you, Louisa. That is so incredible to hear. That means so much. Thank you. And I'm so glad you actually, you took the initiative to know that you could change that, that it was an area that you weren't happy with and you actually took the steps to improve it. And I feel like, right, like post launch, it kind of like everything comes to terms. I mean, yes, if you made money, it feels amazing if you. But there's like all these other things that you can finally start thinking about, you know, And a lot of it is to grasp that moment, take advantage of it, and start down the path of those other areas that you haven't addressed while you have the time, because something's going to come up and you might not have the time later on. And you did that, like you did that right away. So I loved that. And I feel like from our work together, you have transformed so much in the way that you conduct your days, in the way that you know what to eat, in the way that you know what to go for, the way that you eat out. So tell me a little, like, just tell me a little bit about kind of how you feel like your eating habits shifted because that's really a lot of what we talked about eating, the connection with food, with other things in our life, kind of. How did you change?

Yeah, I love that you asked this. And I think this example illustrates it so beautifully. So I just came back from a business trip last night, and all my life I've grown up just loving sweets. I'm the person who has like cake, who has ice cream before dinner. Just like all of that. And the biggest change I found was, well, two things. Before we started working together, I didn't really know what portion size I should be eating, what I should be eating, because growing up in a very Asian household, it was kind of like, like eat all, everything you can, you know, stuff yourself and just eat lots of vegetables. And so that's the kind of mindset I'd grown up in. And so every time I traveled where I went anywhere, I would overeat, I would order a lot of sweets and then I'd feel really bad about myself, but I would kind of rationalize it as well. I just am treating myself Because I've been working so hard when. Well, on this last business trip, I'm so proud of myself. I was so good, and it didn't even feel like I was depriving myself. Like, I knew to eat certain types of protein that would satisfy me. I got a healthy, like, shake with one of the recipes you prescribe. Instead of getting a chocolate cake. I just remember sitting there and having eaten this, this entree, asking myself, it's been a really long day, do I want that dessert? And knowing that if I ate it, I would feel really bad. It would be delicious, but I would feel bad. And then consciously deciding, wow, I don't really want it that much. And walking up and going to bed and feeling great about myself. And that has never before in my life, before we started working together, been the case.

Oh, my God, I am so proud of you, Louisa. To hear that, because I know what it was like before, and to hear that you did that and you actually connected with yourself. Sometimes you just have to ask yourself the question, because like you said, we use cake and we use cookies and we use sweets and other things a lot of times, because it is our treat. Like, we have been working so hard. We have been doing, like, we have been giving it our all all day. We have been so structured and had such discipline in all areas of our life.

So when it comes to food, food.

That'S like our treat, but it doesn't have to be. And also, are we really treating ourselves? You know, sometimes it's like really getting to know what. What really makes you feel good and what actually makes you feel bad, you know, in the long run or even. Even an hour later. So it doesn't happen overnight, but it is possible to do that. And I'm like, I'm so amazed. I mean, now I feel like every business trip that you go on, it's.

It's not going to be.

You're not going to be fighting with yourself. It's more going to be like, okay.

I know what to do.

I actually want to do these things. And it's just, like, mindless. Like, you don't think about it as much, you know? So I'm happy. I'm so excited for your future business trips because it's like, you have to.

Travel, you have to go out to.

Eat, you have to be dining. That's part of our lives. We can't just sit at home and be a recluse to get healthy and to feel better about ourselves, you know, that's like, not going to make us feel Better overall.

So.

Yes. Oh my gosh, that's amazing. Okay, and then tell me a little bit about like your, your, your habits at home, like around what you've been able to do, like what you do now versus before. And I know like when we were first getting started, you like, you were even getting started with cooking. Like, that's not something you were doing all the time. And it's not like, like I don't think you're cooking all the time, like every single day, you know, second right now either. But in the beginning you were really getting started. So what kind of happened that and how do you feel about like eating at home and making food for yourself now?

Yeah, absolutely. So before we started working together, I wasn't really eating at home because I didn't know how to cook. The only things I knew how to cook, I had to spend three hours following a recipe, doing. And that was obviously not going to happen every day. And I told you that. And so what happened was you just gave me this list of these are the basic instruments you need. These are the basic foods and recipes that you're going to start with. And hey, you know, if you don't want to cook every day, that's fine, I understand. Here's a list of things to buy for the week and then you can go off and make them once or twice and then be done. And so before working together, my husband and I had never eaten any home cooked meals together ever. And now we pretty much eat, I would say 80 to 90% of our meals at home. And it's just we cook together on the weekend. I order all of the groceries delivered, so it's not even any amount of time required. We have the list of things we're going to cook and then we just follow the recipes and we do it. And to cook for basically an entire week takes us at this point about two, two and a half hours during Saturday or Sunday. And that's it. Everything else goes in the fridge or the freezer and then we just take it out when it's time to eat so that we have these delicious meals. We're never tempted to go out and just eat delicious but bad food that makes us feel bad. And it's just, I just can't, I can't even believe the difference, to be honest.

Yes. And I'm like so excited hearing you say these things because, I mean, just for you to be able to pull out your lunch, pull out your dinner during the week because then you don't want to think, think about that when it's like a Wednesday and you have maybe client calls, you're doing launch planning, you're doing, you know, you're thinking about all of those things. Who wants to think about, like going to cook anything, you know, and that's usually when you go to the takeout. Like, you start looking at your takeout and then you say, well, maybe tomorrow I'll change. Maybe tomorrow I'll do it differently. But now, like, you don't have to think about it, you just have it in your fridge. And I love that you and your husband are doing it together. Like, I love that you're doing that. And that reminds me of some of the conversations we had as we were working together. And something that's really important to me is I grew up similar to you. As we've talked about where food was a really big part of our family and having home cooked food was really meaningful, but it's just practically having the time to do it. So now that you are able to.

Have a home cooked meal with your.

Husband versus getting takeout, how does that feel like? Does it feel different for you to eat like that?

Yeah, it feels so different. First of all, it feels a lot more adult, like I will say. But beyond that, it feels a lot more like we have a home. You know, this was personally just something I really wanted to be able to do, to be able to sit down at our dining table and to eat together, because that's how I'd grown up, where everybody waited until everybody was home, dinner was an event, we weren't on our cell phones, we weren't paying attention to anything other than each other. And I always wanted that with my husband because it used to be kind of, well, we order takeout, we'll put on something and then we're just eating and watching TV and not really spending time with each other. And now it just feels like it feels really amazing to be able to share food that we've cooked together and to do it at our dining table and to be able to do it consistently as a habit versus, oh, it's just a once in a while blue moon kind of thing. And it just has. It just feels really special.

Oh, I love it. So he likes it. Like he likes eating healthier kinds of foods with you. He's open to that.

He loves it. I mean, it doesn't feel healthier because it's so delicious. He. I mean, whenever he's home, he's always going to the fridge to sneak in some bites of the food and he's Just like, oh, my gosh. You know, I. Because there was this one specific recipe. It was, I think, lamb kebabs or something where literally we had made it, and we were going to have it later in the week, but by the time we were going to eat it, he had already finished them all because he was like, they were just so good.

Oh, my God. I love that.

I love.

I know those lamb kebabs go fast. They go fast every time. That's a consistently good, good dish. Oh, my gosh.

So, and then you felt comfortable, like.

Using some spices in your food, adding some flavors, like, you were good with that?

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I really love any type of food, as long as it's delicious. And added on top of that, when you said, hey, these spices will help you lose weight, I was just like, all right, I'm just going for it. I've never heard of pretty much any of these, but let me just see what happens. And it just tastes so good, I don't even think about it anymore.

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Awesome, awesome, awesome. And then, you know, one thing I remember is, like, I think it was your husband's birthday, and you went to a really nice restaurant. I think it was your husband's birthday. Maybe it was another occasion. But I remember you told me that you did have, you know, you ate what you wanted. You did have dessert. I mean, why wouldn't you? If you're going to, like, an amazing New York restaurant, you have to try everything. But, like, when you go out, like, for a special event or even once in a while, how do you, like, do you feel like you're depriving yourself or do you feel like you are? Like, how do you go about it? Will you try the cake? Like, how do you do that?

Yeah, I absolutely do. Just because I feel like I would live my life with regret if I didn't. And so what really helped was, like, I savor my food. Now, I think that's the best way to describe it. When we were. Again, it was his birthday, when we were at that restaurant, this was a full tasting menu with a really big dessert. But what I knew was, I'm gonna. I don't need to eat everything. I don't need to order more. I'm just going to enjoy what I have. When I'm full, I'm going to stop. And that's exactly what I did. Like, I ate what I wanted to of each dish. I wasn't thinking, oh, my gosh, I need to finish this, because I'm never going to have it again or it's just so good I can't not eat it. It was really mindful. Like, this is good. I'm done. I don't need or want anymore. And I feel happy that I was able to have it. And I feel good that I didn't eat all of it. And I ate the perfect amount for me. And that I think has been just really powerful, being able to have the best of both worlds, which, to be honest, before we started working together, I never thought was possible.

Yeah, like, you needed to eat. Like, it seemed like enjoying the food equaled eating a lot of the food.

Right. Stuffing yourself until you just felt horrible.

Yes, that is so true. It is like portion sizes. But the mindset around the portion size is also key because it is like.

Well, if I am having a smaller.

Portion size, it doesn't mean that I am depriving myself. It means that I have eaten what I need and what I want. And then also, as a great bonus, I am going to start feeling and looking the way that I want, you know, even more.

So. Yes.

Okay, so what are some things that. How do you feel now versus before? And what are like, are you able to wear anything now that you couldn't wear before? Like, as a result of changing kind of your eating habits and the way that you're kind of thinking about food?

Yeah, I'm really happy you asked that because there was one thing specifically that I started working with you so that I could wear, and that was skinny jeans. Because I've always been super conscious about my lower body and I just never thought I would be the kind of person who could wear skinny jeans and look good in them. And nowadays though, that's pretty much my uniform because I had this vision of me being that cool girl who just wears skinny jeans and something nice on top. And like, I can do that now. I don't feel self conscious. I can also wear like capris to the gym, which I never was able to do before. I'd always wear really baggy clothes and still feel really confident about myself and not worry. Like, does my trainer think I'm out of shape? You know, silly things like that. And so that I think has been just so powerful externally, I mean, internally, just like some other benefits as well. Like, my skin has cleared up, my overall health is better. I'm definitely sleeping better as well. And just I never waste my time or my energy anymore feeling guilty. Like, I don't dread stepping on the scale in the morning. I don't worry about going out to Eat and wondering, wow, am I going to gain five pounds from doing this? And just having that peace of mind. I think. I mean, going into this, I had no idea that that was what I was going to get out of it. But that's just been so transformative, both internally and externally, that I just really felt. Feel like. I feel like when I came into the program, I was like, Lisa 1.0, and now I'm like, Luisa 2.0.

I love that. Oh, my gosh. I know. It's so, like, it's so amazing how many other benefits come along with getting control of what you're eating, enjoying what you're eating, like, figuring out how to. Just how to be comfortable with the food that you have in your life without overdoing it, but still being happy with it. There's so many other benefits. It's so true. So skin, I mean, sleep the way you feel, and, I mean, obviously, like, being able to button your jeans and not feel, like, uncomfortable when you sit down or feel like, oh, my God, are people looking at me? Because do these look like skin tight? You know, that's, like, awesome. That is really good. Oh, my God, that's really good. I have to actually. Yes. I think I've seen you in your skinny jeans, and you looked really amazing. So I'm hoping to see you again in that. So since it's your uniform now. Yes. Okay. So one quick last question, Louisa, what do you think surprised you the most about going through, about getting health coaching, about focusing on the things that we worked on? What surprised you through this?

That it worked. And you know what I mean by that is just that. I mean, just throughout my life, I'd been trying all sorts of things, diets and just things to lose weight. So there was this part of me in workouts, and there was this part of me that thought, my body can't change, my eating habits can't change. And I kind of thought, I mean, I had this dread at the back of my mind, well, what if the only way for me to lose weight is for me to not eat? And I'm just so grumpy when I don't get enough food? I don't want to live like that. And so I went in just to seeing all the amazing results that you'd helped other women get and knowing that you yourself had gone through this amazing transformation and kind of being like, yeah, I'm not sure I see how it'll work for me, but I trust that you see it, and that's enough faith for me. And just the fact that we approached it in such a scientific manner in a way that really was kind of, do this, do this, do this. So I didn't have to go out and figure anything out. Just following it, not really even thinking about, oh, my God, is it working? Is it working? I just remember, like, focusing on each time we had a call or anything. Just focusing on following the steps and spending my time doing that. And then just a few days, a few months, weeks, whatever, looking back, writing down my measurements and being like, oh, my gosh, you know, these are so different and so great. And I didn't really even have to, like, do anything crazy. I didn't feel like I was dieting. I felt amazing. That really, I think, was the biggest thing.

Oh, awesome. Oh, my gosh. I, like, know exactly what you mean. It's like you. That it worked. I mean, because also sometimes maybe you've tried other things or you've heard of other things, and it's so ingrained. Like, the way that we eat, the way that we. It's just part of our everyday life, like, multiple times a day. It's sometimes hard to think, oh, can I change? But you were able to. I love that. And it's absolutely possible. I mean, because it's like we focus on so many other things and getting education in other areas of our lives to improve ourselves or to get to the next level, but we don't really focus on what we're eating. We just think we know from what.

We grew up with.

But there is a way that you can change that. You can still eat the food you love and, like, feel really amazing about it, too. So I'm glad. I'm so glad that you. You knew that was possible or you actually were willing to be open that it was possible. And then. And then you. And then you tried it, and you really, like, followed the steps, did it, and look at where you are now. Luisa. That is just awesome. Oh, my God. Well, thank you so much for talking with me, for telling me about your experience.

I'm so happy where you are now.

I really feel like this is a transformation for. For you. Like, this is something you can continue doing. It wasn't like, just while we were working together. It's something that you can take with you, and that's what I was trying. That's what I was hoping you would get from it. So, any last final words? I mean, we talked about so many things, but any last, final words?

Yeah, I mean, yeah, we did talk about so many things. Just because it was such a powerful change that felt so easy while I was going to through it. I would say that to your point that it's going to be a lifelong change, I absolutely agree. Just because now when I think about what I eat or like at that restaurant, it's so natural. There's no like, oh, let me get that cake. And then feel bad. It was kind of, hey, I really enjoyed what I had and I don't need it anymore. And so I know that that alone kind of having like, well on top of the knowledge of what actually I need to eat and how much is actually good for me, this other knowledge as well is just making me so powerful when it comes to taking care of myself, eating right and looking and feeling good.

Yes.

Awesome.

Oh, my God, that is so good. Yes. I mean, and now you really are taking care of yourself. Like, you're successful in your business. Successful taking care of yourself. Like, I really believe you can have it all. Like, you really can have it all. You have to just focus on the different elements and that's what you. That's what you've done. So congratulations, Louisa, thanks again for being here and have a fabulous day.

Thank you. You.