The LYLAS Podcast
If you know what LYLAS stands for, then this podcast is for you! Two besties since middle school turned moms and psychologists dish on "the good, the fun, and the yucks" of life! We're tackling all things mental health, "mom balance" (whatever the hell that is), transitions in life (divorce, career, aging parents, parent loss, loss of friendships), self-care, travel, healthy habits, raising kids, and allllllll the things us midlife mamas are experiencing. We hope each week listeners feel like they just left a good ol' therapy session with their bestie! We'll dish on all the tips and tricks to keep your mental health in check and enjoy this thing called life! Meet your life's newest cheerleaders-- Sarah & Jen! LYLAS!
The LYLAS Podcast
The LYLAS Podcast, Season 4, Episode 77, Holistic Wellness with Lacy Davidson Ferguson, Part One
Lacy Davidson Ferguson, Holistic Practitioner, Registered Dietitian, and Yoga Teacher, is here—and boy, is she providing an awakening! Listen in as Lacy's warm spirit and practical, real-life principles can help guide you and your family toward ultimate wellness!! "Our bodies have an innate ability to heal and that bliss is our birthright!"--- Lacy Davidson Ferguson.
This is a two-parter (!!!) so grab a notepad and be sure to checkout Lacy's website for taking your first steps!
https://www.lacydavidsonferguson.com/
Please be sure to checkout our website for previous episodes, our psych-approved resource page, and connect with us on social media! All this and more at www.thelylaspodcast.com
Welcome to Lylas. We are so excited we have a special guest with us today and we are excited to welcome Miss Lacey Davidson Ferguson to the Lylas podcast. If you don't know her already, she is a holistic provider in the West Virginia area I'll say West Virginia and she's got a lot going on. But basically, just to give you a little bit of a background here, lacey is a registered dietitian. She is currently working on her PhD through WVU. She owns and operates a farm in a rural part of West Virginia called Elmcrest Farms and she also has a storefront called 12 Pole Trading Post, and so we're going to talk a lot about how all of these things fit together and really get into this holistic lifestyle.
Speaker 1:I'm going to go ahead and apologize because I think Sarah and I are a little bit of fangirls of you, lacey. You're the real deal and I think a lot of things that we talk about on this podcast you're living it, you're doing it and I really admire that, especially where we come from in West Virginia. I really admire just you're. You're doing it and and and really, I think, trying to help the community that you live in to see how we can better our lives by this more like holistic approach. So thanks for coming on. We're excited to have you like holistic approach, so thanks for coming on.
Speaker 2:We're excited to have you. Oh, you guys are sweet. I am so pumped to be here. You two are my favorite people. I love what you guys are doing and what you're sharing it's, it's so needed.
Speaker 3:So thanks for having me on. We're pumped. We both know you from different intersections of our life, and so to be able to share this moment with you, I think really, really special, and especially with our listeners as well. Again, because so much of what you bring to the table is a very holistic approach to life, for yourself, but also for your kids, like you model and live this with them, and then with the community too.
Speaker 1:so we need all the things so I don't know if I did a great job of explaining this, but tell us a little bit about your, your brand and kind of how you got into this holistic lifestyle.
Speaker 2:Yeah, wow, well, that's a really great question. You know, I've, I think, looking back on my life, I've spent the majority of it outside, you know, in nature, and so nature has been my greatest teacher, whether I realized that or not, you know, as an athlete growing up, just because that was what you did. So I spent a lot of time outdoors, you know, on the ball field or just in the woods or you know whatever. And then, as life went on, I started to realize just how vulnerable our bodies are and how much of an impact what we consume, you know, whether it's through the foods that we eat, or the water that we drink, or the air that we breathe, or the things that we watch, or the things that we hear, you know all of the consumption that happens really has an impact on our physical, body and and as well as our mental. And so, you know, somewhere during my, my undergrad schooling, I started to embrace that more and realize, like, maybe this is what I want to do with myself. You know, this is what I want to be when I grow up, and and so, you know, I was pre med, and and when I was doing the internship part, and and I was with a practitioner who maybe wasn't at that time just like super ecstatic about what he did or how he did it.
Speaker 2:It had an effect on me and I realized, like this is not the path for me. And so some mentors in my life suggested that I become a look into registered, becoming registered dietitian, and so that's the path that I took. I moved as far away from West Virginia as I could at the time. I landed in California, so I lived in California for a few years. That's really where I fell in love with and found yoga. So this time in my life, where I'm kind of shape-shifting and learning who I am and what I want to be, I discovered the power of nutrition and the power of yoga like simultaneously, and those two pieces really provide the framework of like who I am and and what I believe and how I try to live my life day to day. So yeah, that's maybe a little bit. Does that answer your?
Speaker 1:question that is, and I think really in talking about what you all have created and what you've started with your farm and your businesses, and how you're kind of connecting all of these things, that's sort of my perception being, you know what I see on social media, but you are and I visited the trading post and you're kind of you know, not only are you bringing this to a, you know, rural community, but but you're really trying to embed this and and help to educate people on these things and I just would you call it sort of like a grassroots effort or how it felt when you were starting all of this.
Speaker 2:Yeah so. So what we tend to say, park is my husband, park and I, we we've co-founded all of this together and with our whole families involved. Like this is by no means like the Lacey show or the Lacey and Park show. Everything we do is a group effort from our family and our. You know folks in our community who rise up to be as crazy as we are, but anyway, we all of this has kind of just happened organically.
Speaker 2:You know, we initially decided that we wanted to eat really good quality food, and the only way that we knew that that would happen is if we raised it ourselves, because we live in what the USDA would classify as a food desert. So you know, access to high quality, nutrient dense, wholesome food is not great. We do have a Walmart where we are, but some people who live in Wayne like, even Walmart is an hour or hour and a half away from where they are. So anyway, we decided we would start farming and we hadn't a clue what we were doing. We both were raised on farms and so we knew a little bit enough to be dangerous. But we found a really great community of other farmers who, you know, were more than happy to show us the ropes, and we learned a lot along the way, like we probably don't do more things that we've tried than we currently do. So we figured out you know what we're good at and what we're not good at and what what mother nature wants to support us on in this, this journey.
Speaker 2:But anyway, we we just wanted to eat really good quality food, like it all starts with us and at home, and so in doing so we ended up realizing well, now we can, we're raising more than we can consume, um, and we want our, our friends and family to to benefit as well. And so we started um. We turned what had been parks, families, farm um business into more of a um, a customer facing business. You know, it had been established as a business for a really long time but we kind of cranked it up a bit and took it to the next level and started doing farmer's markets and pop-up events and eventually building what is now the 12-pole trading post. So it's just kind of evolved over time. And none of it came with a business plan in tow, like we just winged it and figured it out as we went.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it wasn't like a masterminded plan here that you had this vision. It just really grew organically, it sounds.
Speaker 3:Yeah, well, I think that the community was hungry for it too, though, to have options, because, you're right, whenever you go to different stores around here, you're really you don't know what you're consuming, you don't know what is being put into the meats or anything else, and you know we've lost connection, I think, with the fact that we do have a fertile earth. You know it's maybe not the best for farming and other things here, because the mountains or the peaks or the valleys, but we can still be resourceful, and I think one thing that I've seen from you all is that you really do focus on teaching people to go back to the land. The land that you do have, even if it's minimal, can still provide, and you teach people that as well as part of your all's outreach right.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, we do. We since the. Actually, I think before the inception of the 12 hole trading post, we partnered with Berea College. So backstory a little bit on that. So Sarah and I think became really close during our trail running days and I think you're back to trail running. All I'm chasing are kids.
Speaker 4:Maybe until Perry. Menopause Jenny.
Speaker 2:I'll pick it back up. But so Park and I started a nonprofit called Access West Virginia I don't know, I'm going to say 2015, 2016, something like that because we were hosting trail races, we wanted to promote outdoor recreation and, at the same time, our local food systems and just being outdoors and plugged into nature. And so, as a part of that, we were eligible for a grant with Berea College and it was called Grow Appalachia is called Grow Appalachia. We no longer run the program but we've handed it off to some really great folks and it's grown exponentially. So check that out if anyone's interested Grow Appalachia.
Speaker 2:Anyway, we invited anywhere from 30 to I think at our peak we had like 60 families to come in. They got growing supplies, they learned about organic gardening, they learned about organic food preservation, how to prepare foods, and it was such a need. And so we still, while we no longer run that program, we still try to do outreach and education through the trading post and workshops and just trying to promote what other people are now doing as well. So, yeah, super important to us.
Speaker 3:What have you noticed just as in your position as a professional and then you know in the community as being, like, the biggest deficits that we're facing, no matter where we live, whenever it comes to nutrition and food? Like where are we just missing the mark on this?
Speaker 2:You know, I think it all starts with awareness. Seen the mark on this. You know, I think it all starts with awareness and there there is no better time than now, like I think, now moving forward, like everybody knows what red dye is now, and and if you would have asked people, like even five months ago, about red dye, no one not I won't say no one, but a lot of people would have been like what, what are you talking about? No one not I won't say no one, but a lot of people would have been like what, what are you talking about? And so awareness is key, just realizing that there is a connection between what we consume and how we feel, and it all starts there. And so having that perspective and then knowing where to go for more information, I think is really key. Where to go for more information, I think is really key.
Speaker 2:Beyond that, you know we raise a lot of what we consume, but we also shop at Walmart. So I think the resources are there. It's just harder for some of us in some places to put them together. You know, time and income aside, because those are two big factors that are limiting resources for a lot of people. But, yeah, I would say awareness is the biggest key, and so the more conversations like this that happen, you know, the more that we have folks that stand up for the greater good and speak out and say this isn't right, like we can't keep doing this, we're making ourselves sick as a, as a society, like the better. You know, that's my perspective anyway.
Speaker 3:Well, with that like, what is your advice then? Like, if you know, we are all becoming, like you said, more aware of the importance of reading labels, understanding that some of the foods, some of the crops that we're eating from, are, it's just not real food, it's not the real food that was eaten in 1950s or, you know, earlier, within generations. What is your advice then? Like, if I'm going to go to the grocery store tomorrow to pick out things for my family, where should my eyes be going in order to prepare, you know, a nutritious, well-balanced meal that's also affordable? Like, what am I doing?
Speaker 2:Yeah, great question. I would say first, start small, right, and anyone I talk to like creating minimum opportunities to fail, because the first time that we set out to change our lifestyle, most of us try to change all of it at the same time. Like we decide that we're going to start going to the gym or, you know, even just walking outside, but we're also going to start eating cleaner and we're going to start, you know, buying a fewer product. You know all of the things. So I would say, pick one area and focus on that. And if I had to pick one area, I was working with someone to encourage them to pick one area.
Speaker 2:Of course, there would be some conversation about priorities and and time and money. But, um, proteins you know, your, your meat, your eggs, your fish, your, your, um, dairy those, in my opinion, are are the best places to start in terms of food. Um, just because, by and large, they're the most nutrient, dense, they're the most satiating and they can either be incredibly nutritious or really not nutritious, and so that's the place that I encourage people to start and keep it simple. Just flip the package over and read the label. You know, the fewer ingredients the better. There's nothing wrong with buying it frozen. You know, buying it fresh is great. Even buying it already cooked for you is not that bad. Just know what's in there and to me that's a really good place to start.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've noticed with my kids, instead of saying, well, you can't have, have that or we shouldn't have that, if I say, well, let's look at the package, let's see what's in this, you know, because they'll start to try. My son can read, my daughter, she's learning. But, you know, jack will look at something and he'll be like I don't know what these words are and I'm like right, do you want to put that in your body? I do manage some of the most of what they eat, but I also want them to try things because I think they need to experience that.
Speaker 1:Oh, I ate this. And then I felt terrible two hours later, like I, I want them to kind of make that connection themselves. And so my son, you know he's, he'll be 10 soon, but he, he makes that connection. He'll be like mom, I drank that Gatorade and I felt terrible afterwards and I'm like, yeah, because that had more sugar than you should consume over multiple days, you know. And so, just like I think sometimes, you know, letting kids experience it and kind of see it for themselves, versus just being like, well, we don't eat that, because that's not a whole food, like you know, that's not true. They're going to be exposed to all these different types of foods throughout their life. They need, we need to. I think we should be preparing them to make those, those choices themselves of this. You know what's in this and do? Do I really want to put this in my body, like you said?
Speaker 2:Bravo, mom, that's, that's the perfect strategy in my opinion, and in fact that I would say that's what propelled me back to grad school to work on my doctoral degree.
Speaker 2:You know, I was realizing with my patients that knowledge was never enough, and oftentimes it was never about knowledge, like some. Some folks that came in that I worked with or have worked with knew more about nutrition than I did, you know, like they were really, really savvy, but still they struggled to change their behavior. And so one of the things that I've started to uncover is exactly what you just said that it really has to come from this place of I'm ready, I want to and I'm autonomously motivated to do this right, like I read the facts, I know what it feels like and I am ready to change. Then the knowledge just does its magic, you know. It just sinks in and the action takes over. But I think that's one of the best strategies that you can employ with children, and I've been toying with that myself. You know it's lead by example, for sure, but letting them come to their own conclusions is really the best teacher in my experience.
Speaker 1:I think that's so important because I've had I only have one friend, so sample size of one here. But you know, her mom was very strict in what they ate. They weren't allowed to have sugar, they weren't allowed to have any processed foods, and so she was like I would go over to a friend's house and, just like you know, like as much as I could because it wasn't allowed, like you know, like as much as I could because it wasn't allowed. And I think that's where for me it was like a aha moment of if I keep this from them, they're going to want it more, it's going to take them even more. Let them have access to it. You know, in small quantity, you know in a kind of controlled way, but let them access it and decide for themselves what they like and what feels good to them.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, I have to agree. In our house we try to not keep a lot of junk, but we also have my kids eat plenty of junk, like Cheetos and whatever is available. You saw them chowing down on whatever they could get their hands on when we were at the trading post and so, um, you know, we, we try to have a philosophy that all food fits but at the same time, they can realize, you know, my, my five-year-old is is so intuitive. He knows like, oh, this bellyache is because I just, you know, ate two chocolate chip cookies and and I haven't drank enough water. So, um, know it's, it's. In my experience it's.
Speaker 2:A lot of us were were raised on probably the standard American diet or the sad diet, and and we turned out okay. Is it the same? You know our food supply today as it was 30 years ago? No, not at all, it's it's. You know the same products might still exist, and, and you know at all it's it's. You know the same products might still exist, and, and you know the formulas have probably changed quite a bit, but we're still here, right, like, like, we survived it, and I think you know finding the path forward that makes the most sense for you and your family is is what it's all about, because stressing over it is is only going to make things worse. Worse Right.
Speaker 3:Yeah, yeah, I agree with what you're saying and I know that even from a research kind of standpoint, and correct me from wrong ways, but it's like we did survive it, but if we look at obesity rates, generation, generation, it's increasing. So we survived it but we're not doing well, right, and and I think that that's the difference and I hear people talking about this a little I did this whenever I was a kid and I'm okay. What is your mark for being okay? Because I guarantee it's not the same as what your labs are or what would be. You know where you could be from a like a health-based perspective, and so we may be surviving, but we're not necessarily thriving because of all of this stuff that's now within our, that we're consuming, just overall.
Speaker 2:Right yeah, my take on that is moderation leads to moderate health, right, like do you want to feel amazing.
Speaker 2:Like, do you want to know that when you're 70, you can get on the ground and crawl around with your kids or, you know, dance at your, your granddaughter's wedding when you're in your eighties? Like then, maybe you need to be a little more extreme, you know, maybe you need to be tighten things up and and pay more attention and be more aware and be more discerning about what you put in your body. Moderation, you know, leads to moderate health, and so what are you satisfied with? You know what makes sense for you and your family.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I love that. I'm going to steal that that moderation leads to moderate health, because that's such a great point. Like, if that's your goal, that's okay, right, like everything in moderation. But if, like you're saying, I want to be like my mother in law, skiing with my grandkids well into my 60s, you know, down, down, down the mountain, so I'm gonna do that. I have to. You know, I'm gonna do whatever they did because they, to me, are the example in many ways. But growing up because I know you grew up on a farm did you all raise a lot of your own food growing up, or would you say you mostly consumed what you could buy at the store?
Speaker 2:Yeah, so that's that's interesting. We definitely my grandma, my dad's side of the family we lived on that family farm and so you know we always had a huge garden. My grandmother was like the garden extraordinaire, and so we ate a lot of food fresh from the garden during the summer season, but it was never like a thing Like that was just what she did, you know. That was just like what we ate. It was never glorified in the way that small farming is today, I think. And we raised cattle.
Speaker 2:I don't remember. I mean honestly, we, my brothers and my dad all hunted and so we ate more venison than we did beef and didn't know the difference as kids. I didn't anyways, maybe my brothers did, but it was a mix. It wasn't like my parents weren't super. You know we're only eating what we raise. Super. You know we're only eating what we raise. You know they just did what they could do to feed a house full of kids and and get on to the next activity. Like food was never really a big part of our day. It wasn't something that we spent a lot of time thinking about or talking about.
Speaker 1:Wow, it's so interesting to me just how, because you know, like now I live in the suburbs, right, and so I don't have a farm, I've got my little kitchen garden out to the side and same thing.
Speaker 1:It's more of like, you know, yeah, we eat what we, what we grow, but it's, you know, it's certainly not like sustaining us by any means, you know. But I just find it so interesting because a lot of the food that I ate, at least at my dad's house, he had raised a lot of the proteins and things like that. And so, just in what you were talking about, how you spent the majority of your childhood outside and and all of these things, like my kids, I do feel like we tend to focus or we don't focus, but we talk a lot about food and exercise and health and things, because kids just don't spend as much time outside as they used to. And it's and I'll be honest, like I don't love it and I it is something that we struggle with to get them to go outside and stay outside, like our parents had a hard time getting us inside, if you recall, you know like it's yes.
Speaker 1:You know if it's hot, or you know I live in Charleston, so in the summertime my kids are like beating on the back door like let us in. You know sweat pouring down their face Like please, I have a hard time being like stay out there in the hundred degrees. Mom will be in the AC, you know it just. But it is something that I feel like we have to almost pay more attention to, just because kids aren't running around for eight hours a day outside. I don't know, maybe that's just me. Your kids probably are, because you live right there with you.
Speaker 2:I agree on that point. I think it's, you know, similar to sugar in the house. It's like creating the environment to facilitate the change. You know, like making a reason, or creating a reason to be outside and not creating as many reasons to be inside. You know, just same with the food approach. It's like we're all creatures of nature and, by design, our design is to seek high calorie, ideally nutrient dense food right, and to and to conserve as many of those calories as we can like. That is our innate blueprint, that is our design. And so now our modern lifestyles like don't really support us in in maximizing that right, as we've got this genetic mismatch of of our bodies are designed to prevent starvation, and now we're in this, this world of abundance, where we don't have to do a whole lot, and so that's a real struggle for most of us.
Speaker 3:And by design our bodies were supposed to move. They were not meant to be sedentary. Sedentary, yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, sure.
Speaker 3:And so I mean going back a little bit. You kind of talked about how you found yourself in this beautiful transition, where you were, you know, out in California learning about food, but that's also where you found yoga as like a foundation for things. So how you know yoga is the yoking of two things. So how did you find that yoke to kind of build who you are, and how do you incorporate that as part of your holistic wellness plan too?
Speaker 4:Pump the brakes. If you want to hear more from Lucy, Sarah and Jen about how you can lead a more holistic lifestyle, stick around and come back for part two next week. This episode ran a little long, but there was just too much good information that we couldn't cut out, so keep up with us on all of our socials and make sure to check out the podcast next week, where we will pick up our conversation with Lucy Lylas. We out you.
