Leah Hendrix

About Leah

Hello! My name is Leah and I'm a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist specializing in weight loss and bariatric nutrition! I graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham with a Masters in Nutrition Sciences, and have extensive experience in weight loss counseling and bariatric psychiatry through my career as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner over the last 13 years. I'm so proud to work for Nourish as your dietitian, and look forward to helping you on your journey to improving body image, optimizing nutrition, and repairing your relationship with food! I'm also a bariatric patient who has lost 159 lbs, and I know how hard it can be to lose weight without sacrificing your emotional well-being! You deserve to feel good about yourself and your body no matter where you are on your weight loss journey, and I'm here to help!

Approach to care

I believe all foods fit, but for many of us, it's a question of how much and how often we eat them! Because every body is different, this requires a highly individualized approach to meal composition and planning. I believe the key to success lies in knowing yourself, being realistic about the changes you're wanting to make, and understanding where your beliefs about food and eating originate. I use Motivational Interviewing (MI) techniques to help you discover what works best for you, and principles from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) to help strengthen your coping skills as they relate to food, and to regulate eating behaviors.

Your first session with Leah

I'm looking forward to finding out about your relationship to food and eating, and will start our visit by asking some questions about your nutrition goals and current eating patterns and preferences. We'll review any prior experiences with nutrition counseling, and determine if there are any emotional or environmental barriers to reaching your health goals. We'll explore any negative beliefs about food, eating behaviors, and weight loss, and create a sustainable and appealing nutrition plan to get you started on your journey!

Location

📍 Birmingham, Alabama

Education

University of Alabama at Birmingham

Hobbies

swimming, traveling (especially to the beach!), reading, singing in my church choir, baking, jigsaw puzzles, painting

Licenses and Certifications