We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Jenny Lee. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Jenny below.
Hi Jenny , thanks for joining us today. When you’ve been a professional in an industry for long enough, you’ll experience moments when the entire field takes a U-Turn, an instance where the consensus completely flips upside down or where the “best practices” completely change. If you’ve experienced such a U-Turn over the course of your professional career, we’d love to hear about it.
When I initially left my 1st job in another industry to go back to medical school, my heart was set on being a primary care doctor because I wanted to help educate people about healthy lifestyles and prevention of chronic disease. That was certainly not the reality of what is actually possible for primary care doctors to do – the appointments are too short and there are so many other medical problems to deal with, there is no time left to discuss prevention. Med school and residency were focused on diagnosing and learning what to prescribe patients. Fast forward to finishing residency and then starting my first real job as a physician, when I took care of very sick people in the hospital; I started think more about the root cause of medical problems and what we can do to help. Seeing what people succumb to after years of these chronic conditions (most of them lifestyle related) made me even more passionate about learning about healthy living. That’s when I discovered the field of lifestyle medicine, which is a specialty focused on using lifestyle interventions to treat and prevent chronic medical conditions – with plant predominant nutrition, physical activity, stress management, sleep, positive social connections. This is still a new specialty, but there has been decades of research already showing the benefits of plant based nutrition. I love seeing that people are more willing to learn about this new lifestyle and wanting to improve their health. There are countless more healthy food options and ways to exercise, compared to just a few years ago!
Jenny , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?
In my wellness coaching business, I help women take control of their fertility journey by empowering them to make lifestyle changes (plant-forward nutrition, getting rid of toxins, stress reduction). This is completely separate and different from what I do in the hospital (my day job). We went through our own fertility journey years ago (including multiple rounds of IUI and IVF over the span of 1 year). I was the typical resident, eating poorly and sleeping few hours and working A LOT. I knew that I wanted to be a mom more than anything in this world, so I decided to take things into my own hands and change my lifestyle. I did a lot of research, changed to a plant predominant diet and eliminated as many household toxins as I could, focused on stress relief – sleeping more, meditation, exercise, acupuncture. Within a few months, I was able to get pregnant with my son and then 11 months later I got pregnant again. Now that I am a mom, I feel like everyone should have the opportunity to be a parent (if they want to) and I feel drawn to help people to this!
I believe that because I went through the process myself, I can empathize and guide my clients through the process better. I understand when friends/family say things that hurt your heart. I understand the crushing feeling people get when they get a negative pregnancy test. I also bring science/evidence into my work with clients. I won’t recommend things that are not based in science/research.
I guide my clients through an 8 week program where we first assess multiple areas of wellness, and work through each domain week by week. We discuss the “why” behind lifestyle changes and then I help my clients set attainable weekly goals (and also keep them accountable of course). We work through limiting beliefs and barriers that are keeping them from making these changes, reframe the limiting beliefs and move forward together to create new habits. I love the coaching relationship; to me, it means that we are partners, rather than me telling my client what to do. We get to work together towards the client’s goals.
If you could go back, would you choose the same profession, specialty, etc.?
Yes, absolutely! I feel so honored that my clients allow me into their lives during this vulnerable time. I get to celebrate their wins but also I’m there for support when things don’t go the way as planned. I can’t even describe in words the joy I feel when a client tells me that they are finally pregnant!
Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?
Being a good listener is so important especially when you are working with people through their fertility journey. It is an emotional rollercoaster and just being there for someone and not judging them is so important – it can make such a significant impact on their emotions, stress level and ultimately the outcome.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.jlwellness.org
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/jenny.lee.MD
- Other: Email: [email protected]
Image Credits
Marie Holmes