Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jenny Eakes. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jenny , we’re thrilled to have you on our platform and we think there is so much folks can learn from you and your story. Something that matters deeply to us is living a life and leading a career filled with purpose and so let’s start by chatting about how you found your purpose.
Hello! I’m so happy to be here. I like to say that my purpose found me.
Today, I’m a health coach partnering with clients to help them implement the diet and lifestyle shifts to… lose unwanted weight… ease digestion… recover from chronic stress and overwhelm. And what feels purposeful about it – what inspires me daily, is working alongside someone to discover what works for them and their life as opposed to plugging in a “diet” mentality or assigning a set of food rules to follow. Within this process I get to witness my clients develop a new, personal, and supportive relationship with food and stress, and one they carry with them beyond our work together. It’s so much fun and truly is a privilege.
My career as a coach was ultimately born of my own health crisis – during a time when I wished for the guidance and support which I now have the chance to offer others.
My trouble came soon after my daughter was born. Like so many new moms, I felt overextended, exhausted, and stressed. Then I noticed my body wasn’t behaving like it used to – I was bloated after eating, and in massive gut pain by the end of each day.
Eventually, I was diagnosed with a digestive disorder. My doctor suggested significant changes to my diet and lifestyle. I was overwhelmed and not at all prepared to make these shifts.
But my pain and bloat were very strong motivators.
In my coaching practice I share the importance of powerful motivators to inspire the change process, and ways to increase motivation – like identifying your “why” for making a change, and then digging deeper for your “why behind your why”. This is likely the emotional benefit you’ll experience once you follow through with making a desired change.
For example, if your reason for making diet and lifestyle changes is to lose weight, ask yourself this follow-up question… “Why does losing weight really matter to me?” The answer to your follow up question will likely spark more passion and motivation and help you take new actions in the direction of your goal.
My reason for making difficult diet and lifestyle shifts was to get out of gut pain, and my “why behind my why” was to have the energy to be the fun mom I wanted to be. That made a significant impact on me.
The problem was – I loved food (still do!) and I didn’t want to live my life on a diet. I mean, who does? Right? So, I knew I needed to shift my mindset about what a “diet” was, verses what “health” was, and ultimately – this became the foundation for my program.
Today I coach individuals through my Partner Program – a personal and customized 6-month virtual plan, where I assist in co-creating a path to feeling better and reaching the health goals that are most important. This one-on-one coaching relationship is near to my heart because it’s the very support I most needed when I was trying to find my way back to a healthy gut.
We focus attention not on a “diet”, but on creating health, and on adding-in all the delicious foods that work – as well as lifestyle choices that feel good, like gentle morning and evening rituals, a personalized sleep schedule, movement that’s enjoyable (and doable), and purposeful relaxation. All within a capsule of immense support.
We spend time developing the choices that feel specific and actionable to the individual – changes they can get excited about.
Then there are the logistics, like…
… “how do I fit my new choices into my busy life? What will eating out look like? Will I feel like a weirdo at the party justifying my gluten-free crust? What about family dinners? Girls’ night? The holidays? Cravings?”
Cravings (no surprise) are a common concern. Between us, I was addicted to ice cream – I mean truly obsessed. Each time I tried to eliminate it cold turkey, I’d find myself with the freezer door wide open and a large spoon in hand. For all you ice cream lovers out there, don’t’ worry – I can totally enjoy ice cream again, but now it’s without the all-or-nothing panic.
To help manage cravings and the complexities of food rituals, I offer a free audio training on my website called “How Not to Let Food Rules Rule Your Life”. You can download it at www.jennyeakes.com/healing.
All these scenarios became my trials and errors, and as it’s turned out – my research.
In solving my pain and bloat, I was given these unexpected gifts – an improved relationship with food, tools for managing my stress beyond sugar, and an idea – to help others find their way back to feeling better.
Now, I’m a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. Recently, to learn more about functional and integrative approaches to health, I’ve completed Dr. Allison Siebecker ND’s SIBO Professional Course, and graduated Dr. Aviva Romm MD’s, Women’s Integrative and Functional Medicine Professional Training Program. I’m also a Registered Yoga Teacher.
For anyone interested in learning more about working with me, I offer a free consultation. You can schedule time on my calendar at www.jennyeakes.com/programs.
Appreciate the insights and wisdom. Before we dig deeper and ask you about the skills that matter and more, maybe you can tell our readers about yourself?
I grew up dancing in a small Alaskan town. I had a large poster of the New York City skyline in my bedroom which served as a beacon, and after college I moved to New York to make dance my profession. I loved it, and I won’t lie – it was a grind.
I took classes, auditioned for commercials and dance jobs, found theatre, waited tables, catered for posh parties – including the party at Macy’s following the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade. A couple years later I would perform in that parade as a Radio City Rockette – a job I never anticipated but I found exciting and satisfying. It was awesome to get to experience both sides of New York – the service side, and the more glamorous side. This gave me such a valuable education on humility and kindness and on how I wanted to be treated, and how to treat others. I made my best friends during that time of my life, and I wouldn’t trade that experience for anything.
A career in dance left me with a big question… what next? I moved to Los Angeles where many of my friends had migrated. (Dancers and actors seem to love the coasts!) I met my husband, continued working as a commercial actress and started a boutique at-home Pilates company serving clients in homes throughout Los Angeles. I went from auditions to client sessions multiple times a day, often changing clothes in the car between appointments. I had taken my highspeed schedule from NY to LA. It was exciting, but again – a grind.
That’s when stress began having a bigger effect on me, and fortunately, around that same time, I found yoga. It was so impactful for me personally, I began incorporating it into my client Pilates sessions and soon thereafter, I received my certification as a Yoga Instructor.
Many of the stress relieving practices I offer in my Partner Program are influenced by the yogic principles of breath, relaxation, and awareness.
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Body awareness is an area of knowledge that has had a significant impact on my health, and the good news is – we all can build it.
The body is always communicating with us through feelings, gut instincts, symptoms, syndromes, and sometimes, disease. When we can tune in to our body and notice its messages – what feels good, what’s working, what doesn’t feel good, what’s not working – we create the opportunity to make new choices based on that information and this can have a profound effect on our health.
One technique for building body awareness around the foods that leave your body feeling good, and the foods that may be causing symptoms, is to take note of how you feel before and after you eat what you eat. Notice (or write down) how you feel physically, emotionally, mentally before eating, and then again after you finish eating… then two hours later… and even the next day.
For example, did you get stuffed up, phlegmy, tired, energized, bloated? What were your digestive patterns and bowel habits? We simply want to gather data as though conducting an experiment. (Because we are!)
The next area of knowledge that has helped me positively in my health and my career is resilience. I’m calling it an “area of knowledge” because I do believe this is a skill that can be learned, honed, and strengthened. It’s the ability to try again – to get up when you’ve “failed”, and to choose determination over decided defeat. It’s what fuels you to make another attempt at a desired goal, even when you’ve experienced disappointments, and it’s a necessary ingredient for making purposeful changes in health and in life.
During my first audition for the Radio City Rockettes I was cut after the tap dance segment, while my two best friends both got hired. I was so disappointed and embarrassed, and I remember wallowing in self-pity for a bit before making a new decision – I would spend the summer studying tap with the belief that I could build this skill and re-audition. The following September I did and was offered a spot on the kick line where I danced for 7 years. To this day, this serves as my personal reminder that when belief is combined with purposeful action, desired change becomes possible.
Then there is laughter. Laughing (and a sense of humor) just may be the best medicine for stress, and a key ingredient for a happy life. It’s why I fell for my husband – he makes me laugh. If laughter isn’t happening in your life daily, find simple ways of inviting it in – maybe through a comedy podcast, or a favorite sitcom, or by connecting with a friend who tickles you (figuratively, or literally). 😊 In the words of Oscar Wilde, “Life is too important to be taken seriously”.
How would you describe your ideal client?
An ideal client is looking for personal support to figure out the foods and actions that leave them feeling good, and to gently push past the obstacles that have kept them stuck in habits or symptoms they wish to change. Instead of a health goal feeling too out of reach – hard, confusing, or unrealistic – clients desire a sustainable and customized approach to diet and lifestyle changes – one that takes their life, schedule, stressors, symptoms, and even cravings and emotions into account.
(Because eating is emotional, and so is changing what you eat.)
I work with clients suffering from food sensitivities and desiring assistance in the elimination of a food group or frustrated with unwanted weight and needing guidance and support as they find the way forward to the results that they’ve envisioned for themselves. I see doing-it-all “wonder women” who realize that, somewhere along the way, they’ve left themselves off their to-do list and want to make space for their health and well-being again. (That was me!)
Often, clients will come to me unsure – not knowing how to trust themselves or doubting their ability to follow through and make the changes they most want to make. Resistance, cravings, or external obstacles may be keeping them stuck, and they feel like their past “failures” at previous attempts are too defeating to try again.
This is all totally okay, and it’s exactly why the coaching relationship can be such a powerful aid in the process of change.
On my website I offer this to curious prospective clients, and I’ll share it here:
Envision this… for the next spacious six-months, you’ve enlisted a partner equally invested in your health and in your goals. Together, we’re co-creating the way forward that works for you and your life, and you’re seeing desired changes happen with greater ease. No more holding your breath until the diet is done – no more stress eating (or stress starving) – no more squeezing gigantic lifestyle changes into a pdf file. This time is different. This time you’ve got an ally who listens to your needs, understands your life’s demands, and knows how to help.”
To sign up for a complimentary consult, visit www.jennyeakes.com/programs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://jennyeakes.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jennyeakes/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennyeakeslive
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jennyeakes/
Image Credits
Michael Pool @michaelpoolphotography, Michael Campbell
