Lynette Patterson had me at the top of our interview.

“I grew up thinking you went to school, got married, had a family, lived your life and eventually retired,” Patterson said. “Two years ago I attended a weekend class [through Newfield, a coach training program]. I’d never heard the word ‘transformation’ before. Life coaching is new terminology here in Eastern Tennessee. I realized I had more to offer the world.”

Now Patterson is one of three life coaches on staff at Chrysalis Weight Management, a center in Greeneville, Tenn.-- under the direction of Dr. Jo Lynn Hawthorne -- that is cutting edge in its thinking. While most weight loss programs focus on primarily food and exercise, Chrysalis has figured out that there’s more to it.

“You know what? It’s not about the food, it’s about the behavior,” said Patterson.

Halleluiah and amen. Allow me to repeat for emphasis – it’s not about the food. Typically with life coaching clients, a weight goal can be difficult to navigate because they think it’s about eating salads for the rest of their lives. Patterson knows the difficulties of this issue firsthand. She’d had weight struggles all her life, including bulimia, and had even been divorced by her husband because of her weight. Now she’s on a healthy road back, happily remarried and a full-fledged life coach helping others with their “road.”

Chrysalis officially opened in February after a pilot program in October. The idea is for clients/patients to begin with a complete physical ($250), so right off the bat there’s a medical component courtesy of Hawthorne, an obstetrician/gynecologist. Then, for $25 a week thereafter, they can weigh in with a nurse, attend a 12-week course (support and education, taught by a life coach), get one-on-one sessions with a life coach, and work out with a personal trainer twice a week. A lot of value for the price, I’d say.

“I’m in Appalachia, don’t forget that,” Hawthorne said with a laugh when me and my Northeast mentality called it a bargain.

Chrysalis is the brainchild of Hawthorne, who brought the Newfield coaching program to Greeneville and then applied it to the American epidemic of obesity in a way that is comprehensive and therefore rarely seen in more “popular” weight-loss programs.

 “Short of delivering babies, this is the most fun thing I’ve ever done,” she said.

It became a crusade of sorts for Hawthorne because, during her 18 years with a thriving Ob-Gyn practice, she noticed her patients’ weight creeping up. She repeatedly told them to eat less, exercise more. Then, as she was close to turning 50, she noticed that she was experiencing the same problem.

“We eat for a whole lot of reasons,” Hawthorne said. “My real passion is to see people get medically healthy, not to get people to a size 8.”

In fact, there are over 80 patients at the center, they’ve collectively lost over 1,000 pounds, and people are coming off diabetic and hypertensive medicines. This is because they are not only learning how to eat but figuring out why they’re eating. For example, the 12-week course that’s currently running at Chrysalis is called, “Language is the Key to Weight Management.” I asked Patterson what that meant.

“Language is probably the most vital commitment,” she said. “To other people and to ourselves. If you start the day saying today is the day I’m going to eat a salad for lunch and I’m going to take a walk and have chicken for dinner and then by lunch you haven’t walked and so you decide to have Mexican food for dinner because you feel bloated anyway, you’ve broken your commitment to yourself. It’s linguistic.”

Indeed. Changing negative self-talk is the key to shifting our moods, emotions, actions. Addressing that component is what makes Chrysalis unique. Hawthorne is so delighted by the results to date that she’s made it her goal to take the message beyond Greeneville through webinars.

“My theory is we were all put here for some reason and if we’re tapping into our passion we’ll make the world a better place,” Hawthorne said. “It’s a shift in consciousness.”

One that Patterson shares as well.

“I feel so incredibly blessed to be a part of other people’s lives this way,” Patterson said.

She had me at hello.

Nancy Colasurdo is a practicing life coach and freelance writer. Her Web site is www.nancola.com. Please direct all questions/comments to FOXGamePlan@gmail.com.