Meet Kate Dovak, a passionate fitness and mindset coach who’s all about finding balance and keeping it real. Kate believes wellness is about meeting all your health needs—physical, mental, and emotional—every day. She shares how listening to your gut can guide you to a healthier lifestyle and why consistency is key. Kate’s journey, shaped by her love for travel and helping others, brings a unique and refreshing take on wellness. In this interview, she opens up about her approach to fitness, staying motivated, and how to cut through the noise of conflicting health advice. If you’re feeling overwhelmed by fitness trends or just looking for some practical tips, Kate’s insights are sure to inspire!
Your Wellness Journey
TBN: Kate, what does wellness mean to you, and why do you think it’s important to have a balanced approach to fitness and well-being?
KD: To me, wellness means that all needs of my health, may that be physical, mental, or emotional, are being met on a daily basis. One area of my health cannot be prioritized over the other two on a regular basis. It’s important to have a balanced approach because one aspect of our health does not work without the other.
For example, someone with a top-notch fitness routine and outstanding body fat percentage may be obsessed with training, living in the gym 24/7, and not allowing themselves any time to rewind or enjoy the simple pleasures of life. You may say that they are really healthy, but overtraining and worrying about one’s physical appearance so much can affect someone’s mental and emotional health. So, you have to make sure all three aspects of your health get the same kind of attention.
TBN: How do you define a healthy lifestyle, and what key elements should people focus on to achieve it?
KD: A healthy lifestyle is not picture perfect. I think it has a good balance of regular exercise, nutritious food, socializing, a sense of purpose in life, and some ‘me time’. Regular exercise and nutritious food to keep the physical body healthy, and the rest to keep the mind and soul thriving. So, the key element to focus on here is to find time for all of the above on a regular basis. Even if we can only spare 5-10 minutes a day for each, nurturing these elements of health daily is the essence of healthy living. We need to move away from the ‘all or nothing’ mentality, consistency will always be your biggest key to healthy living.
Finding Balance and Personal Philosophy
TBN: How do you find balance when it comes to fitness and well-being, and how do you help others figure out their own balance?
KD: It sounds like a cliche, but I really like to go with my gut when it comes to balance. Our natural instinct is extremely intelligent, we can rely on its wellness advice. When we are overworked and burnt out, it tells us to slow down. When we have a weekend of fun and indulge in food and drinks, it craves nutritious food and movement. It takes time to get in rhythm with one’s intuition, but once you have that figured out, it offers so much freedom. As a first step, I help clients figure out what balance means to them. Helping them define this is our golden compass to figuring out their version of a healthy lifestyle.
TBN: Can you share a time when you helped someone discover their own “magic” in their wellness journey? How did that feel?
KD: There are a few, but I think I would have to say any time someone tells me they felt more empowered or confident because of the work I do, I know every single effort I made was worth it. A lot of the time when people think of a healthy lifestyle change, they think of the physical benefits of it, toned abs, reduced body fat percentage, etc. But I think the strength, resilience, and self-confidence that also come with an improved lifestyle are the biggest bonuses.
Mindset and Motivation
TBN: How do you help others stay positive and motivated, especially when they hit a rough patch in their fitness journey?
KD: I allow them to experience that, especially the lack of motivation. That’s when your true commitment and decision-making skills will show. Motivation is overrated, it comes and goes and no one can feel motivated 24/7. So, the sooner my clients realize that the sooner they can understand that healthy living is a commitment.
TBN: Kate, what’s your personal “why“ for keeping up a healthy lifestyle, and how do you keep yourself motivated?
KD: My biggest ‘why’ is how I feel. The impact my daily healthy habits have on my mood and how I feel are superior. They say how you do one thing is how you do everything, and I think that is so true, how I look after my health is how I do everything else.
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Holistic Approach and Philosophy
TBN: How do you bring emotional and mental health into your fitness coaching? Got any stories or examples?
KD: It’s funny because I don’t even have to think about bringing those into my fitness coaching. As I said, anything that you do for your physical health impacts your emotional and mental health too, so I just have to make sure that clients keep up the daily healthy habits and watch their emotional and mental health respond.
TBN: How has traveling influenced your view on wellness and the way you coach?
KD: Absolutely! Traveling has played a huge role in helping me find balance. Especially spending a lot of time in the Mediterranean, I picked up some of the best daily habits like slowing down, looking out for the quality of my food, and making sure that I enjoy what I eat are all parts of my everyday life now. I also understand that while there are some great guidelines out there, balance really does look different for everyone. So, my goal is not to push one agenda but to allow my clients to express what balance would look like for them, and we take it from there.
Personal Goals and Inspirations
TBN: What’s your life goal? Has it changed over the years?
KD: This is an interesting question, as I see myself changing careers every 7-8 years. As much as I am passionate about healthy living and finding balance, there are also other things I would like to pursue. But to be honest, everything I want to do in life kind of falls under the same categories: creating value, bringing people together, helping others see and experience their full potential, and creativity.
TBN: What would you say to someone who feels totally overwhelmed by all the conflicting fitness advice out there? How can they start finding their own balance?
KD: Pick your battles. This is something that one of my friends likes to say a lot, she also works in the industry. As simple as it sounds, the easiest way to go about this is to pick something that you want to do for your health. The reason why a lot of people feel overwhelmed is because they feel like there are a million things out there they could be doing for their health. But it is impossible to try every single trick or to listen to every type of advice. So, after making sure that your information comes from a reliable resource, just pick what works for you and what makes sense for your lifestyle. There will always be something new on the horizon, don’t stress trying to listen to everyone.
Click here to check all the interviews from our “Empowered Women Empower Women” series.
