Driven to Care: Natalie Stein, Head of Clinical Product and Research

Lark is pleased to announce our new Driven to Care series that will interview Larkers across the organization on what drives them to improve the health and wellness for Lark’s members. 

As the very first interview in the series, Lark is pleased to feature one of our longest tenured employees, Natalie Stein, Head of Clinical Product and Research. Natalie plays a fundamental role in the health education of our members. From managing our health coaching team and online communities to training Lark’s AI with the most current and accurate health information for more personalized coaching, Lark members rely on Natalie’s expertise to help them achieve their health goals.

Learn more about Natalie's role, her passion for nutrition and living a healthy lifestyle, and get some tips for a healthier holiday season.

Tell the audience a little about your upbringing and what role did health and wellness play in it. 

I grew up in a really healthy family. My parents didn’t ever say “do this or don’t do this, because it's healthy or not.” It was just part of their lifestyle.  My dad would always read labels when we went to the grocery store. My parents would just take a walk. That's what you did. You go outside every day. You do something every day. Of course, as a kid growing up it felt normal, but in hindsight, I was really fortunate to be raised that way. 

So how did your upbringing inspire your career?

I was always really interested in health and nutrition, especially nutrition. As I mentioned earlier, I didn’t think twice about it growing up. But once I started learning more about nutrition and learning about other peoples’ experiences with nutrition, it was eye-opening to discover how many people had no idea on how to even check a nutrition label to know what ingredients or how much they were eating. That really drove me down the path to major in public health and nutrition. 

How does your role at Lark align with your passion for health and nutrition?

Oh, it aligns in so many ways. I really love my roles here. I love contributing to our coaching conversations in the Lark app and to our Member Blog. I manage our human health coaches, online communities and member-facing webinars.  I like seeing what people think. I like seeing their victories. I like seeing when somebody's struggling and then 20 other people jump in with their own ideas to help them.

I also help train Lark’s AI to be sure Lark provides the best possible coaching experience to each individual member.

Something new I’ve been working on is a curated collection of healthy recipes that are available on our website. That’s really exciting to make something that’s been traditionally in-app and member-only, available to a larger population. In general, writing has always been something I’ve been passionate about. 

Here’s the link for anyone who’s interested in the recipe collections. 

What do you think an overlooked area of health and wellness is? And why do you think it might not get the recognition that it deserves?

It's underrecognized how important lifestyle is and how significant lifestyle changes can be for long-term health. It’s something like two-thirds of chronic conditions can be prevented by simply making lifestyle changes. 

Why do I think that is? So many reasons. One, it's easier to take a pill. Two, the changes take time and effort. You don't get instant results. I mean, if you already have a condition, it’s possible that you can get results pretty quickly. But if you're basically healthy and you’re making lifestyle changes to prevent chronic conditions, you're not going to see the results for 40, maybe even 50 years. And then you may not know what the alternative would have been if you hadn’t made those changes! So that makes it a little more challenging. 

Lastly, there’s a lack of access to proper education or guidance for the people who want to make these changes. It really is an effort for people who have unhealthy habits ingrained in them. I think one aspect about Lark that makes it so special is that we try to make it easy. It’s really important for people to realize that it doesn't have to be difficult. You just have to figure out how to make it part of your life and fit it into your life. Healthy lifestyle doesn’t mean changing your life and being miserable.

How can you compromise a little bit or how can you make the right choice, the easy choice? It can be as simple as putting the healthy food on the counter and putting the unhealthy food wrapped up in the pantry or getting a small order of fries instead of a medium order of fries. I mean you’re saving 200 calories and they still taste great. I think a lot of people think that health is difficult and I think Lark believes it can be pleasant.

What's one wellness practice that's part of your personal routine and why is it important to you? 

I run about 70 miles a week. I've been running pretty much forever. It's important to me, because it's been there for me at different stages of my life for different things. I used to compete and then it just became kind of a constant force in my life. And now, with my son, it’s my “me” time. 

Revisiting the concept of lifestyle, when it’s a habit, you don’t need to break a personal record everyday. And the more you do a habit, you’ll develop mental tricks to get you through the rough days. For example, if I'm having a bad run, I don't look at the watch. I simply know I’m not at my best that day, and regardless of my time, I know that I'll always feel better after. And if there's maybe three weeks in a row where I don't feel better after my runs, I’ll skip a day and sleep in. That's okay too, and I’ll definitely feel better after some extra sleep.

With the holiday season approaching, what is a general nutrition ship tip you'd share with folks who are looking to stay a little bit more mindful of their eating during the holidays.

I think my biggest tip is to pick the days you want to enjoy yourself and stick to your healthy routine the rest of the time. The holidays shouldn't be a month long holiday. Going back to my point earlier that living a healthy lifestyle doesn’t have to be miserable, maybe you have a Christmas dinner or a Hanukkah party with your family. Maybe there are one or two parties that are really important to you. Circle those days and go for it!

With this approach, you don't feel deprived and you get the food you want. You're more motivated because you’re eating well, exercising well, and it's all because you’re looking forward to that day that’s a reward. That's better than ending up in a month-long guilt trip of “I shouldn't have this. So I'm just going to have a little bit now and then I'll make up for it. And at the holiday party, I'm only going to eat a little bit, but I'm not going to have the stuff I really want.” I just think that that causes so much anxiety, conflict and angst.

Keeping on the holiday nutrition theme, do you have a healthy hack for a common unhealthy holiday food you'd like to share?

Gosh, honestly, I think whipped topping is really a magical thing. Instead of a scoop of ice cream for ~300-400 calories, just add a big dollop of whipped topping and it's ~50 calories with the same level of satisfaction. 

Last question, what is one of your favorite holiday cheat foods that you will not make a healthy exception for? 

I’ll probably end up overeating and also nibbling on leftovers as I clean up. It’s something I look forward to every year!