Tara Yeager had a background in finance, as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for 15 years, but she had a yearning to do something that fit in with her lifelong interest in a healthy lifestyle.
By Robin Jovanovich
Tara Yeager had a background in finance, as an equity analyst and portfolio manager for 15 years, but she had a yearning to do something that fit in with her lifelong interest in a healthy lifestyle. A presentation she heard at Wainwright House on the connection between eating processed food and chronic disease got her moving in a new direction personally and professionally.
In the past few years, Yeager has eliminated dairy, and gluten to the best of her ability, from her diet, as have her two teen-agers. “My kids eat pretty much anything I make, including vegetable stew. At my kids’ school, I’m known as the mom who’s a health freak. I helped get funding for the Middle School Garden.”
The Yeager family subsists quite happily on whole grains, fresh fruits and vegetables, legumes, and fish. When Tara buys meat, she buys grass-fed. She’s excited that the new Whole Foods will be “practically across the street” from her home, which is near Rye Country Day School.
Three years ago, Yeager went back to school, at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition in New York City, and is a certified health coach. But she wanted to reach more people, so she founded a company, Foresight Wellness Solutions, to do just that.
Yeager goes into small to mid-size businesses and helps their employees and staff on the path to healthier lives. One of her first clients was the Stepping Stone Museum in Connecticut. “I was working with them as a volunteer, and pretty soon I was helping them change the café menu. We got rid of soda and the pizza they serve has a whole wheat crust.”
Before taking on an assignment, she does her research. “I do an assessment — what’s the culture of the organization, do they encourage exercise and smoking cessation — and then I determine a plan that’s in their budget and a timeline.” Yeager said it’s helpful if she can create a wellness team. “I have a great network, including David Walker for massage, and ours is a holistic approach.”
What’s popular right now at mid-size businesses and nonprofits are team challenges, especially nutritional ones — tracking sugar intake, drinking more water.
“Changing behavior isn’t easy, but people feel so much better when they do,” emphasized Yeager. “I encourage people to think of their health as an investment. To protect that investment, they need to get out of their chairs in the middle of the day. I have people at workplaces making that effort together and it’s working. One of the first steps toward wellness is replacing those bowls of candy on the counter with bowls of fruit.”
