Meet Ingrid

I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 2011, and I found Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis (OMS) in an online forum about MS. It didn’t take me long to order the previous version of Overcoming Multiple Sclerosis: The Evidence-Based 7 Step Recovery Program, from Dr. George Jelinek so I could learn more about the science and successes of this recovery program. The program is based on a low saturated fat diet as well as exercise, meditation, and supplements. I always liked food, specifically desserts and sweet treats. Learning that almost all the things I loved were not on the OMS diet was a devastating moment. The first time I read about a low saturated fat diet, the Swank diet, I wasn’t ready. A few months later I found OMS, then I decided quite quickly to follow the program. This worked out — with struggles — for almost one year until it didn’t anymore because a piece of chocolate just seemed so darn delicious. I continued to eat things off the avoid list for various months, and despite every evening wanting to get back to the diet 100% the next morning, it never happened the next morning. A few months passed by and I tried to stuff the cravings with bread or other food until I went to an OMS retreat in the UK. I can’t say I was following the diet perfectly after that 5-day retreat but what I can say is that something started to shift and I realized more and more the emotions that were linked to the food I ate. I also realized how valuable it is to have a community and I didn’t feel alone anymore on this path.

Lesson 1: Food and Emotions

I always liked food, specifically desserts and sweet treats. Learning that almost all the things I loved were not on the OMS diet was a devastating moment. Still, I decided quite quickly to follow the program. This worked out — with struggles — for almost one year until it didn’t anymore because a piece of chocolate just seemed so darn delicious. I continued to eat things off the avoid list for various months and despite every evening wanting to get back to diet 100% the next morning, it never happened the next morning. A few months passed by and I tried to stuff the cravings with bread or other food until I went to an OMS retreat in the UK.

Lesson 2: Community for Support

I can’t say I was following the diet perfectly after that 5-day retreat, but what I can say is that something started to shift and I realized more and more the emotions that were linked to the food I was craving. I also realized how valuable it is to have a community and I didn’t feel alone anymore on this path. I stayed in touch with some of my new-found friends and we were holding each other accountable to stick to the program and emailed each other when we were feeling down.

Lesson 3: Understanding the science didn’t help for applying it daily but having delicious healthy recipes that fit my diet did.

After the OMS retreat I got a Vitamix and found a few recipes that, with mild adaptions, would fit my eating lifestyle, and I started to get curious about what I can make for myself that would taste delicious again and would be part of my diet. I think the combination of realizing food wasn’t only about putting nutrition into my body for fuel, but also the enjoyment and love I had fostered over many years that I needed to rethink, made it more possible for me to stick to the diet. I understood that food has played such a big part of my life and this wasn’t a short diet but a lifestyle change for good. This was committing to eating a certain way for the rest of my life, and I needed to make it work and wanted to enjoy the food I ate.

At that time the idea for an OMS cookbook was born because there were very few recipes that were OMS compliant without adaptions. Working on the cookbook and collaborating with so many fellow OMSers from around the world left me fulfilled and happy. The process of working with the entire community was a great experience and the result is a book that was published in the spring of 2017, which was well received by the OMS community.

In the process of cooking and thinking about recipes and nutrition, I believe my attitude has changed over the past years. I don’t only think about food being only OMS friendly anymore but also if it is nourishing for me, how processed is it, how much sugar the meal or treat has, and am I getting enough servings of fruit and vegetables daily?

I believe on this journey I realized that food is medicine and also enjoyment and part of my social life. Sometimes, it’s both and I am trying to organically gravitate towards it being mostly nourishing.

I love and am passionate about what I do, especially working with amazing people on a more meaningful level (I so prefer that over small talk).

My holistic approach in working with you towards your health and wellness is the same way how I approached my own health: We will work together to figure out the root causes, why you are not feeling as healthy as you would like to feel, and guide you towards feeling healthy, grounded, confident, and beautiful in your body. In the process, my clients often realize how implementing new lifestyle changes is much easier than they thought, and the joy and happiness that comes out of it is well worth the work.

From working with me, my clients share with me that they crave healthier food, that they sleep better, that they feel calmer throughout the day, and some start to meditate. Most continue with their new-found habits based on the results they see and feel, and many continue to work with me past the initial program.

As I am on this OMS lifestyle for over a decade now, I had my ups and downs. Through pregnancy, my hormones were probably shuffled around which caused my MS to become more active. Then the 2020 pandemic happened. My gym closed and at first I took long walks and did HITT workouts and yoga at home but after a month, I had probably a relapse. As going to the hospital and other reasons didn’t happen during that time, that led me to some limitations in my health as well as eventually in 2022 taking medication which I didn’t the first decade on my MS journey. I am continuing to learn, to read, to connect with people which results in tweaking my lifestyle. OMS is the foundation of it all and I continue to believe that it is the best base for my healthy living. When I started in 2011, it was “strange” to follow a low saturated/low oil vegan-ish diet (plus food and egg whites, minus tropical oils and cooking/frying in oil) but now the research is so strong and there are many resources that make living this lifestyle easier and support how living and eating that way promotes living healthy and avoiding many Western diseases. I still live a happy life with my family even when I must take more breaks than someone without MS limitations. One of my believes is that hope dies last and so I hope every day that my health can improve and improve…

If what you read here resonates with you, I would love to connect and chat about the changes you want to implement in your life.

To your health,

INGRID’S TRAINING

Creighton University, Omaha, NE
Master of Science in Integrative Health and Wellness
August 2017 – December 2019

National Board for Health & Wellness Coaching (NBHWC) 
National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC)
June 2018

Health Coach Institute
Certification
May – November 2016

ISHTA Yoga, New York, NY
July 2016
Yoga Alliance certified 200-hour teacher training

International College of Healing Arts, New York, NY
January 2012 – February 2013
Certificate awarded: Basic Kinesiology Program

Huntington College of Health Sciences, Knoxville, TN
August – October 2011
Understanding Nutrition I

University of Applied Sciences for Management & Communication, Vienna, Austria
Master in Hospitality and Tourism Management (Mag.)
September 2000 – June 2004