Developing a healthy relationship with food is just as important as other aspects of a healthy lifestyle. I am not simply here to provide meal plans and education. I am here to help you develop sustainable behaviors that support YOUR healthiest body long-term. Not for one special event, vacation, season, or year. No quick fixes. No snake oil.

1). Keep It Simple— Focus on ADDING more nutrient dense foods, rather than REMOVING foods. Eating in a health promoting way doesn’t need to be complicated. It just needs to be consistent and support our personal needs (physically and emotionally). Health promoting behaviors are much less about what you DON’T do and much more about what you DO. Food is neutral. It doesn’t rob banks or beat people up. It’s just food. Some foods provide our body with more nutrients (“nutrient-dense”)— and these foods are important for our body to function as well as they can. Other foods may be lower in nutritional value, but serve other important purposes in our life: culturally, emotionally, spiritually, socially… “Nutrition” isn’t the only thing food is about.

2). Eat to Satiety— Honor your personal appetite and needs. Our appetite can vary greatly from day-to-day. This is why food/diet plans can be difficult to stick to without dismissing either hunger or fullness cues. Satiety doesn’t mean “stuffed.” But eating to the point of being “stuffed” happens sometimes and it is OK. Overeating is usually the result of food restriction, going too long between meals, or simply, a meal being really freaking good. Try to honor your needs, in the moment, with self-kindness and compassion. Get curious, rather than self-critical.

3). Never Skip Meals— Aim to eat 3 meals-a-day (plus snacks if you’re hungry or active). You need to eat consistently and regularly throughout each day to keep your blood sugar, hormones and metabolism in harmonious balance and working as optimally as they can.

4). Nice Self Talk— Talk kindly to and about yourself. You can make all the “healthy” choices in your life, but if your mind isn’t on the same page, the physical benefits become less beneficial. Work on liking yourself through every day and decision, however subjectively “good” or “bad.”

5). Exercise— Move your body most days of the week. It doesn’t need to be intense. A simple walk can yield many physical, emotional and mental health benefits. The key is to choose activities you enjoy, and to perform them because you enjoy them. Not to achieve some arbitrary aesthetic goal (especially if this goal is not realistic or sustainable).

6). Rest—Perhaps the most important tenet of the Kenner Method. If you aren’t sleeping 7-9 hours a night (a definite no-no to high intensity workouts when sleep is less than 7 hours—wreaks havoc on immune system, hormones, and more), taking days off, slowing down to recharge, saying “no” to things that don’t add value to your life…you aren’t caring for yourself in a way that is truly beneficial. Despite what Social Media often portrays, you don’t need to be all of the things. It’s ok to be still.