Eating Sensibly with Katie French

We asked Katie French, creator of The Well Kit, a personalized health, wellness, and life coaching service, a few questions about what health and wellness means to her.

Here’s what she had to say!

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Q: How important is nutrition?

A: Nutrition can affect our physical health and emotional well-being, and so much more. Fueling our bodies really fuels our lives.

Foods affect our moods, energy, and so much more. So nutrition is very important, and misconceptions around food can also be problematic or detrimental.

Q: We all have different nutritional needs. What does “eating sensibly” mean to you?

A: Great question! For me, eating sensibly is about giving myself space to enjoy food and also making highly nutritious foods easily available. It’s about balancing my desire to care for myself with realism.

I am still growing and healing my relationship with food, and a big thing I’m learning to embrace is that all foods can fit, and that my diet should have plenty of healthy fruits, veggies, proteins, and fats.

Q: How do you prioritize health and wellness in your life?

A: I plan health and wellness into my schedule; when will I sleep? When will I exercise? What veggies will I buy to have standbys that fuel me? For me, I have to schedule things in to make them happen — so I schedule in healthy habits.

I ask for help and read the science. No one knows everything so I try to use good research and stay up to date with health research. I love learning from the science and then watching others who have established healthy habits as well and are a step ahead of me.

I set goals that I can break down into reasonable steps. I try to make sure the goals are SMART, meaning they are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic, and Time-Sensitive.

I created a free retreat guide on my website that I use every few months to really check in with how I am doing, and how I want to grow in the coming months. Taking intentional time to really reflect gives me knowledge for the future.

Q: What’s one thing you’ve learned recently about health and wellness?

A: I think for a long time I sort of thought that if I had more self-compassion I would let myself “off the hook” and end up not exercising or eating veggies.

But I actually end up eating better and enjoying movement much more when I do it from a place “I love me, this is fun, I love caring for myself, I can eat cake and salad” instead of “I NEED to do this, I’m BAD if I don’t” type of punish mentality.

Remembering that nutrition and movement are part of my self-care regimen helps shift my perspective.

About Katie:

Katie holds a Masters in Public Health Education, is Certified in Public Health, and a certified Real Balance Wellness and Health Coach. She launched The Well Kit in 2019, a Health, Wellness and Life Coaching business that is focused on helping normal people take their next step in their lives. From time management and relationships, to meal planning and self-care, Katie uses proven methods based in behavior research to help you succeed and enjoy life.

You can find her on Instagram or learn more about her on The Well Kit website.