#BEYOUROWN MEETS LISA CALLAHAN

Lisa Callahan has been teaching women how to have a healthy relationship with food and with their life since 2004. She was a Weight Watchers coach for 14 years before becoming a certified health/life/transformation coach through The Health Coach Institute.  She is the founder of Transformation for Real, as well as a success coach with The Health Coach Institute.  

Through her 90-day ‘Total Transformation Program,’ Lisa provides support and accountability, where women reach their goals faster and end up with the self-confidence they had been yearning for.  

She imagines a world where women no longer guilt themselves on their most basic need, eating, by labelling every food “good or bad.” She empowers women while nurturing them, to trust themselves and the decisions they are making.

Hey Lisa, can you introduce yourself to us? 

My name is Lisa Callahan and I am a transformational coach living in Los Angeles, California. My husband Darren and I have been married for almost 22 years and we have been together for almost 32.  We have 2 kids and son, 17, and a daughter, 13. When I am not coaching I am a proud stage mother.

Can you talk us through the path you have pathed to where you are now as a life and wellness coach? 

Sure, I started my journey back in 1998 when I first joined Weight Watchers as a member. At that time I just wanted to lose some weight.  I came back to Weight Watchers in 2003 to lose my baby weight but after I accomplished that I realised I needed more.  My motivation became making sure my kids didn’t grow up in a household where their mom worried about food all the time.

I was hired by Weight Watchers in 2004 after losing 30 lbs, eventually becoming a Leader/Coach.  In 2014, after a weigh-in where I had a bit of a meltdown, my then 9-year-old daughter looked up at me and asked if the meltdown meant I “didn’t love myself anymore” and I realised I had lost my way. I started thinking about leaving WW and going out on my own to reconnect to my “why” which was helping people, women in particular, to stop judging their day and their self worth as bad or good based on whether they ate a brownie or a salad.  My purpose was to teach women how to have a healthy relationship with their food as well as their life.

How did you launch Transformation For Real and how has the journey been so far? 

After moving to Los Angeles in 2017 and completing both my Health Coaching and Life Coaching certification with The Health Coach Institute, I opened my practice, Transformation for Real, in Sept of 2017.  The journey has been more amazing than I could have ever imagined.  To work with women and see them go from wanting to lose weight all the way to going back to school, or opening their own business, or travelling the country, because they now have the confidence to make their mark in the world, honestly, there are no words to truly describe it.

Can you tell us why you are so passionate about teaching women how to have a healthy relationship with food and eat without guilt? 

We have to eat and yet so many of us have such guilt around the food we put in our mouth.  The problem with not having confidence around food is that the way we do one thing is the way we do everything.   When women lack self-confidence we are so vulnerable to the next “Jack” or “Jane” who wants to tell us what we are worth.  We are already fighting that battle with advertising, social media and diet culture, we have to stop fighting ourselves.

I start at the micro-level of teaching women how to fuel their body.  What foods give them energy, what foods take it way, and over time we move into other areas of life.  I have clients tell me all the time that because they no longer second guess their food choices, their bodies feel better, their minds feel clearer, they can look out and see what they want next and know, with support and accountability, that they can achieve it.

Where can you see yourself within the next 5 years and how are you planning to grow?

I have a lot of exciting things in the works.  I have just completed 2 years of study and have added my certifications as a transformational coach and a master coach to my resume.   Along with my own practice,  I also have a position with The Health Coach Institute coaching other students.  I am prepared for a full slate of personal clients as well as continuing to help the next generations of Health and Life Coaches change the world.  Right now my growth is through social media and networking here in LA, along with the referrals I get from friends and clients.

What avenues are you exploring to promote Transformation For Real?

I just hit my 10k mark in followers on Instagram so I am leveraging and growing that as well as face to face networking here in Los Angeles.

What gives you both ultimate career satisfaction?

My satisfaction lies in being of service. My whole life has led to this point and I could not be more pleased. I believe in Divine Right Timing and that is now for me and for Transformation for Real.

What challenges have you seen to have been presented during the growth of Transformation For Real?

My only challenge has really been getting out of my own way.  I was so blessed when I opened my practice to start out with so many friends as clients,  I relied on that and have been so happy to work with them year after year. Now I am ready to get out there and spread the word far and wide so more women can stop telling me they had a “good day” because they ate a salad or they “were bad” because they ate a brownie.

How do you define your own success?

I am successful because I wake up every morning with an amazing family that I have worked hard to cultivate and a job that I absolutely love. When clients tell me how much better they feel that is just icing on the cake (that I hope women will eat with no guilt)

What does #BEYOUROWN mean to you?

#BEYOUROWN means be your own best friend. We would never talk to our friends the way we talk to ourselves. As a coach, it is literally my favourite thing when I get to reframe for a client what they just told me about themselves. I start every session wanting to hear “something good”  so we start from a place a strength. I love it when my daughter tells me how good she feels when she is kind, or runs a mile, or gets a good grade.  She sometimes tell me that she is proud of her looks but it is not the thing that defines her at 13 and that is pretty cool.

Finally, what are you working?

I am so excited for the rest of 2019 and beyond. Currently, I have two spaces available to take on new clients. I am looking for women who want to laugh while they give up dieting and instead learn how to eat without guilt.I have a Total Transformation program and you can choose from 90 days, six months or a year at a time to be supported and have loving accountability as your life changes.

I will be running my first workshop in October 2019 in Chicago, where I lived before LA.The theme is having your best 4th quarter ever to go into 2020 strong. I am co-facilitating it with another coach and good friend and when that one is successful we hope to expand into Los Angeles and New York in 2020.

Instagram: @transformationforreal_2019

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/transformationforreal

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lisa-callahan-health-coach

Website: http://www.transformationforreal.com