My name is Julianne Hensley, and my journey as a Registered Dietitian has been a fulfilling blend of science, passion, and purpose. From my early fascination with nutrition to the transformative moments spent helping individuals discover the power of food, each step of my career has deepened my commitment to promoting health and well-being. Growing up, I was captivated by the impact of nutrition, and this curiosity led me to a profession where I could make a meaningful difference. In this, I invite you to explore my experiences— the challenges faced, and the lessons learned— as I navigated the exploding landscape of dietetics.
Growing up in a family of six was so much fun. My family was very traditional when it came to Southern foods. We had regular dinners together around the table, which included spaghetti, chicken and mashed potatoes, fish sticks, and of course, pizza at least once a week. One important detail is that I am the youngest of four children, and my mom always told me I was the one who ruined her body. I was the trigger that made my mother’s intestines start to reject gluten, so she has been gluten-free for almost 25 years now. With this new diagnosis, my mom really didn’t know how to manage it, and she went on several “yo-yo” diets since she couldn’t quite lose the baby weight. This forced my whole family to join her in these diet escapades since she was the one doing all of the grocery shopping and meal preparations. As a result, we developed not-so-healthy relationships with food, and each of us has some strange concept about food that we try very hard not to let control our lives now.
Now, this is where the story truly begins. One night when I was about 14 years old, my mom told me we were going on a surprise outing. I loved spending time with her, so I got dressed and ready, thinking we were going to see a new movie that had just come out. The anticipation built as we finally arrived at our destination—the Weight Watchers clinic. This devastated me; my own mother thought I was fat and that I wasn’t good enough. Yet, in reality, this was one of the best moments that could have happened for me. After crying in the car, ruining my makeup, and feeling mortally embarrassed that a stranger had to see my weight, my mother and I attended Weight Watchers meetings together for about two months, and I did see progress in weight loss. (Here is a picture from that time before Weight Watchers.)
Seeing the progress I made during my time at Weight Watchers was very encouraging. I loved seeing how much I was eating compared to how much I should have been eating, as well as learning about the nutritional content of foods. However, during this time, I developed some disordered eating patterns in an effort to keep my weight from climbing back to my highest. I noticed that people were nicer to me, treating me differently, and some didn’t even recognize me as I lost the weight. At my lowest, I lost about 60 pounds, which was not sustainable, as I was only eating about 800 calories per day—less than what a toddler needs! I became scared to eat even one Skittle because I didn’t know how many calories I would have to track for it. I was cold all the time and felt horrible, and on weekends, I would binge—eating large amounts of food to the point of sickness.
Finally, around age 19 or 20, when I met and married my husband, I discovered the concept of eating for joy and eating to get stronger. I became very invested in the gym and weightlifting, which eventually led me to obtain my Group Fitness Instructor Certification. After six years of studying nutrition to earn my Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees, along with my Sports Nutrition Certificate, I have finally found peace with food and now eat to live!
Now that you know my story, I want to hear yours too! Head over to my services page to book your first session!
Full on Faith 