Kirsten Wright-Cirit is a local wellness consultant who works with individuals, groups and companies to improve their nutrition and overall health. In 2014, she founded Your Wellness Scout, and it's her mission to help people fit wellness into their busy lives.
Kirsten and her husband have been Boston Organics customers since they moved to Boston over five years ago, and she agreed to chat about how she helps people live healthier lives and how regular deliveries of organic food helps her with her own nutrition.
How did you decide to get into wellness consulting?
I've been passionate about wellness for 20 years starting from when I would come home from college breaks and cook "healthy" meals for my dad who had been diagnosed with high blood pressure. From there, I had my own food/weight challenges and my mom had some serious health battles, which deepened my knowledge and passion for understanding that what you eat affects your overall health and well-being. I followed certain fads, read up on diets, and eventually wellness permeated my life so much that I realized that I needed to put that experience and passion to a career that enabled me to educate others on finding their own wellness path to living their most balanced and energized life. We want to eat to live, not live to eat!
Why do companies typically come to you?
They enlist my services because my corporate experience resonates with them. I've been on the employer and employee side in HR and have been that employee who has worked over 50 hours a week sacrificing health.
They also come because I tailor my programs to their needs. I'm not prescriptive. I implement my programs with a listening, compassionate and non-judgmental ear, enabling me to spend the time that employers may not have, working on integration and application of wellness solutions. I come with innovative topics that engage the employees beyond just simple facts about nutrition.
How has the industry changed since you started?
When I started there wasn't even the concept of health coaching unless you lived in a major city like New York or San Francisco. Now health coaching and the idea of employee well-being has come to the forefront of worksite wellness and wellness programs. Proactive health change and individuals taking charge of their health care is growing. Alternative health practices have doubled, as has the understanding that health is more than just eating fruits and vegetables -- it's a behavior. 15 years ago as an office administrator, I devised and implemented health fairs at a Fortune 500 company's remote office. Now companies outsource those services to certified consultants.
What is the most common advice you give to your clients?
Addressing your health challenges (energy, weight, chronic pain or other issues) isn't always about eliminating, it can also be about adding in and crowding out! Do you eat a salad or greens everyday? Are you incorporating five minutes of "meditation/you time"? Also, are you setting realistic goals; especially with meal planning (my specialty)? Sometimes we overachieve without realizing that's setting us up for sabotage. Also, it's not 100% health....life is about indulging in simple pleasures as well!
Why did you join Boston Organics?
Organic vegetables delivered to our door is an AMAZING MUST and this coming from someone who is a little irked by all this online delivery services. I believe in tactile. But vegetables should be like toothpaste and paper towels. You get them regardless. This was an easy way to ensure we were eating our vegetables. So this removed one less pain point to lugging vegetables back home each week. Plus it forced me to eat more vegetables. Also the variety. I probably wouldn't buy napa cabbage unless I picked out a recipe and I might not even pick out a napa cabbage recipe. So my palate and nutrition has diversified. Result = improved health. Plus there's a cost savings buying organics through Boston Organics vs. at the grocery store.
What is your go-to short-on-time dinner?
Salad with Pan Seared Salmon or Sauteed Chicken. I use pre-chopped greens, so I can just mix and match with lots of olive oil, avocado, miso dressing and cheese. Sometimes I cook some quinoa and toss it in the salad (the heat melts the cheese).
Do you have any guilty food pleasures?
Cake and scones. I'm a sucker for a good baked good.
What are you currently working on in the health space?
Currently I'm focusing on the Working Parents Survival Guide, which helps employees (individuals) understand how to balance all the balls while working on a career and taking care of a family. Topics range from meal planning, sleep, spousal communication and connection, identity crises and more!
