Meet Lindsay Ronga | Founder OutshiningED | TEDx & NEDA Speaker

We had the good fortune of connecting with Lindsay Ronga and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Lindsay, how did you come up with the idea for your business?
I had an eating disorder for over seven years. I tried so hard to recover and it wasn’t working. The frustrating part was that in every other area of my life, if I put my mind to something, I could figure it out! I was at Harvard Business School, just got a job to be CEO for Gary Vaynerchuk. I was training for marathons. I was goal-oriented and driven as heck!

I wanted to be free from the eating disorder but for the life of me, couldn’t figure out HOW. I went to therapist after therapist, residential treatment, dietician appointments, tried medication and meditation. You name it, I tried it. At some point I thought something must be wrong with me.

It wasn’t until years later that I saw it: something was glaringly wrong with the treatment system, not me. There were so many obvious gaps in the current approach to eating disorder recovery and millions of people with eating disorders continued to suffer as a result.

I started OutshiningED to fill in these gaps and approach eating disorder recovery in a new way. Specifically, we offer 24/7 accountability and support for each client. They can reach out to their recovery coach, who has lived experience with ED and found freedom, at any time of day or night because eating disorders don’t operate between 9a to 5p. We offer intentional customization for each person in the program and expect each client to participate in co-creating their own recovery action plan. We assign homework on every call that takes a client from A to B and B to C. Most important, we offer structure and frameworks in our program with a step-by-step guide on getting to total freedom from the eating disorder.

What should our readers know about your business?
I’m most proud of the six other coaches on my team that I’ve trained and hired. All of them had eating disorders and at one point didn’t believe they’d recover. Four of them went through the OutshiningED coaching program and had a personal coach. The program transformed them in ways they never imagined and months or years later, they reached out to say they wanted to do this work of helping others overcome their eating disorder. I am highly selective in WHO I hire and each coach goes through a rigorous training program. I have so much confidence in my coaches and I’m thrilled they’ve chosen this career to take the pain they experience and use it as purpose to help others.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
We’d start with a hike on the greenbelt in the morning, maybe a dip at Barton Springs. The botanical gardens is gorgeous and family friendly. For dinner we’d do a night in the city at Uchiko and walk the South Congress shops. Another night, I’d take them to the Oasis for amazing views of the sunset and some tex mex.

Outside of that, I value just walking and talking or ordering Thai takeout and sitting on the couch and catching up. There was a time in my life where I wasn’t a good friend because I was consumed with the eating disorder. Now, it doesn’t matter where we are or what we are doing as long as I am present. I value being in the moment and really hearing my friends and being there for them!

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
There are MANY people who helped me build a successful business.

First up, my mom. She never stopped believing in me. Not once. Even when I had lost belief in myself, her confidence remained. Finding someone who believes in you is priceless. All of us are human and have doubts about our own abilities. I doubted I’d ever recover from the eating disorder. My mom didn’t. I doubted myself when I quit my job in private equity to start an eating disorder coaching business from nothing. My mom didn’t. She encouraged me and built me up.

Second up, my business coach Trevor McGregor. He helped me put the systems and habits in place to build a program that served others with eating disorders in a meaningful way. He challenged me to improve my program and offer incredible value. The reason I’m such a big believer in coaching is because I’ve experienced it myself. My husband and I have invested a LOT in coaching for ourselves and it’s the best investment we’ve made.

Finally, my husband. Quitting my financially secure job when we had a toddler and newborn was a crazy idea. This required enormous sacrifice and we went from a place of feeling comfortable financially to living beyond our means. It wasn’t an easy ride, but he gave me TIME to pursue this. Sunday nights I attended my coach training program for two hours and other weekday nights I had calls with my business coach. Especially during COVID when our schedules and home life was flipped upside down, he took on a lot with our family. He takes the kids to school now so I can do early AM calls with clients, he takes the kids to their activities and doesn’t complain. I’m incredibly grateful for WHO he is and his support.

Website: http://www.outshininged.com

Instagram: https://instagram.com/rongalk

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/lronga/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/outshininged/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-uTAB2J-1Y3at4B6Hg3e9A

Other: Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@rongalk?lang=en