Deep Dive on Health:
An Interview with Laura Ingalls
by Colleen Faltus
If we were given a medicine, with the power to reshuffle our genetic deck of cards and positively impact the route of our own health and longevity, would we use it? Would we use this medicine, with its bountiful resources and minimal risks, frequently enough to make an impact?
The answer to these questions seems like it should be an obvious ‘yes’ — and yet, looking at current sickcare trends and data, it seems as though we’re saying no. Lifestyle medicine- changes in lifestyle that lead to positive health outcomes- provides a wide array of prescriptions that assist us in leading a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle. Although most prominently known for its exercise and nutritional components, lifestyle medicine encompasses and provides a diverse range of solutions for achieving optimal health and longevity while collaborating with feet and fork approaches. This wide array of prescriptions aids in bridging the gap between knowing and doing while developing our sense of self-efficacy and intrinsic motivation. From community support and sleep management strategies to stress reduction and meditation, you have the flexibility to start your journey wherever you see fit. The beauty of lifestyle medicine lies in its flexibility, void of a timeline and defined starting point. There is no strict, specific order for where you need to start. Whether you decide to incorporate more wholesome, nutrients in your day or reduce work-related stress, choose a starting prescription that best suits you and provides an optimal vehicle for change. You decide where you want to start what outcomes you are looking to achieve.
Lifestyle medicine enables people to take control of their health, but we aren’t using it effectively. Regrettably, the prominent use of pharmaceutical impositions encompasses a mindset of disproportional dependency on unhealthy living rather than capturing the prominent benefit of sustainable, quality living. However, such a mindset and outcome can be mitigated through the frequent use of lifestyle medicine strategies that impact long-term behavior while optimizing our longevity. In a culture dependent on pharmaceutical interventions to extend years of morbid health, the necessity for substantial and prominent lifestyle medicine strategies is more critical than ever.
Here at TEDxBeaconStreet, these practical and sustainable strategies for optimal health, well-being, and personal development are embodied by our talented and passionate Speaker, Laura Ingalls. Laura, a dedicated holistic health coach, certified running coach, and personal trainer, meshes her background in theatre with her own personal and trying journey towards optimal health and well-being. While moving beyond our culturald infatuation with numbers on a scale, Laura applies meaningful and experimental applications of keystone habits (Ref: “The Power Of Habit” by Charles Duhigg) that lead to positive lifestyle modifications and professional growth. With a little bit of love and humor, Laura helps her clients improve their lifestyle while moving towards personal and professional success. We welcome you to take this opportunity to learn a little bit more about Laura Ingalls: her story, her drive, and her passion to help people live happier, healthier lives!
CF: How did the evolution of “F Skinny” come about?
LI: When I was a young girl, growing up in the 90s in the diet/weight loss culture, I was constantly seeking dieting tips and tricks to keep my weight in check. Over one whole decade (from approximately the age of 13 to the age of 23), I toggled between calorie restriction diets, ultra slim fast, Herbal Life, a vegetarian diet, and Atkins. These dieting sequences became even more prevalent during my time as a performing artist and actress, where a mounting and heightened sense of pressure is placed on body image and weight. Over that decade of time, between adolescence, my college years, and my professional career as a performing artist, I cycled through periods of food deprivation and misery. During this time, I was unable to understand why it was so hard for me to attain my “ideal” weight, a weight oftentimes scattered across the covers of magazines. It was not until my first introduction to a health coach at a party that I realized this long, arduous, and completely miserable journey I have put myself through was totally unnecessary. I yearned to learn more about proper self-care, nutrition, and fitness and extend this education out into the community. This is where my health and well-being journey really started and how F Skinny came about.
CF: What role do you believe exercise and nutrition played in body image when you were an adolescent and young professional? How has this role changed since you became a holistic health coach and certified personal trainer?
LI: During my adolescent and young adult years as a performing artist and actress, I always equated the potent and overutilized word “Skinny” with health, beauty and confidence. In my perception, the only avenue to embody these intangible characteristics was to attain an unrealistic size. To me, skinny equated to success and I was willing to endure food deprivation and misery to attain such success. That was back then. Now, after my education from the Institute of Integrative Nutrition and Wellcoaches, I was able to not only rewrite the script on how I felt about my own body but now empower my clients to do the same. This new rewritten script has less to do with the numbers on a scale and more to do with the comfort you should feel in your own body and new energy associated with health-promoting lifestyles. This includes a refreshing night’s sleep, increased focus and decreased stress at work, the ability to pursue a new career, and the overwhelming sense of power and confidence you now possess. These new-found, qualitative glories encompass more about optimal health and well-being than any scale could ever allow and allowed me to see that skinny is not a prerequisite for health, confidence, or success.
CF: For individuals and clients struggling with body image and weight, what strategies do you recommend to assist them in feeling comfortable in their bodies and seeing the larger picture beyond the scale?
LI: The strategies that I coach my clients on are as follow:
1) CRYSTALIZE: Be crystal clear on where you want to go and what success looks like for you. When you understand this pertinent information, you can understand how to get there and take action immediately.
2) EXPERIMENT: Formulate your goals into mini experiments. By doing so, you are able to hypothesize what you are capable of achieving with realistic expectations. For example, maybe you hypothesize that you will eat 3 servings of fruits and vegetables/day. By experimenting with various serving sizes each week, you will be able to truly hone in on what sustainable lifestyle practices work best for you.
3) ACCOMPLISHMENT: Work towards something that feels like an accomplishment. Select a personal or professional ambition that provides just enough of a challenge to keep your persistence and confidence moving in the forward direction. For instance, these accomplishments may take the form of running a 5K, asking for a salary increase or promotion at work, substituting your soft drink consumption with water or tea, or aiming to increase your sleep by a half hour each night.
4) SUPPORT: When going after your big, hairy, audacious goals, you want to make sure you enable proper support structures and teams to keep you honest and accountable. Whether you receive encouragement and motivation from your work colleagues, best friends, or family, social interaction and support are potent cornerstones for attaining and sustaining long-term personal and professional growth.
5) ME, MYSELF, AND I: In the midst of hard work and dedication towards your short and long-term objectives, there must be time set aside for rest and relaxation. During this period of rejuvenation, you are able to come back stronger and maybe with a new-found perspective on lifestyle practices that truly will improve your overall health and well-being.
CF: Do you believe there are similar qualities or commonalities that all humans possess that could lead to lasting, positive change?
LI: Yes. Absolutely! All humans possess time and patience. If you truly leverage the maximal capacity which time and patience hold, you will see change. It is this transformation that requires time and patience. If you give yourself this, you are more likely to succeed.
CF: What message would you like to send about F Skinny to your clients and those listening to this talk?
LI: The biggest and greatest message I would like to send to all of my clients and those listening to this talk is to trust and love your body. There is a much greater story about your holistic being than what is presented on the scale. The positive changes you see in energy, confidence, sleep, nutrition, stress, and happiness are not in direct correlation with skinniness. In other words, you do not have to be skinny to attain all of these things. I want those listening to this talk to have the courage to shift their mindset from the scale and look at the much bigger picture which tells a much greater story about our health and wellness triumphs.
