Today we’d like to introduce you to Kate Hendley.
Kate, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
Born in Charleston, SC, and raised in Charlotte, NC, I am the oldest sibling of two, and a child of divorced, but devoted parents. Despite my southern roots, I managed to fall in love with figure skating at the age of six and competed in the sport for nearly a decade. Immersed in this solo and competitive endeavor, I quickly developed an anxious need to please, perform, and perfect – a compulsion that was evident on and off the ice. Even as I traded in my skates for running shoes in high school as a track and cross-country athlete, this consuming drive for success and self-induced demand for perfection remained evident in my training, studies, and caring for my mother during her cancer surgeries and recovery (my junior year of high school).
In 2010, I was accepted & attended East Carolina University in Greenville, NC to study in their Exercise Science program. With my love for athletics, sports performance, and the desire to help others, I had dreamed of becoming a physical therapist or an athletic trainer for a sports team. While enrolled at ECU, I pushed myself to make Dean’s List, become President of my sorority by Sophomore year, and declare my major as quickly as possible. Chasing impossible standards and turning a blind eye towards my mental health, I went into hyperdrive on training, studying, and performing and quickly developed a serious eating disorder.
My disordered behaviors became extreme in the Spring of my Sophomore year and I became physically and mentally sick. Despite concerned questions and stern looks, and obvious health symptoms I was ignoring, I continued to severely restrict my food and over-exercise until it was time to return home to Charlotte for summer break. To reduce any suspicion, or unwanted conversations, from my family, I busied my schedule, lied, and deceived until it all came to a head in July. Having finally agreed to seek help by means of in-patient treatment, I had begun the process of therapy, doctor’s appointments and applications to be admitted to a center in North Carolina. During a routine appointment, I had a cardiac event that resulted in my heart stopping for 10 seconds. I came to and was transferred to a hospital in downtown Charlotte where I remained for one month to monitor my heart and re-feed my body. I wasn’t allowed to get out of bed and all of my meals were prescribed. A harrowing reset, I remember feeling depressed and terrified, but so incredibly fortunate to be alive. Laying in the hospital bed day after day, I was able to reevaluate who I wanted to become and made the choice to start healing my mind, body, and soul. Once medically cleared, I was transferred to a treatment center located just outside of Asheville, NC where the true road to recovery began.
Out of recovery and at home in Charlotte, I slowly started to regain a sense of the “real world”, but yet had no idea how I was supposed to fit into it and what my “purpose” would be. Coming back to Charleston felt like coming home in a way, but also gave me a sense of newness. I transferred to the College of Charleston and graduated with a Communications Degree in 2016. Knowing that I loved helping others, but was wary of the exercise/athletic world, I tried my hand at hospitality working with Hilton Worldwide in London before settling into a 5-year career with Wild Dunes Resort on the Isle of Palms.
On a continued path of recovery, and motivated to make more of an impact in the field I truly loved (health, wellness, & exercise,), I went on a professional hunt; researching and interviewing anyone willing to talk with me. I attended different gyms, classes, workshops, and retreats and talked to anyone and everyone in an attempt to determine what a potential career path could look like for me.
Taking a bold step in 2019, I left my job at Wild Dunes Resort and transitioned into the health and fitness space joining a local fitness startup, HYLO. I managed the Mount Pleasant studio before becoming the Director of Experience in late 2020. I loved helping members find balance and empowerment in their healthy lifestyles, and I was empowered in my ability to rejoin the health & fitness community in a healthy, recovered way.
Having gotten a taste of what I was capable of in the health and wellness space, I was feeling more aligned with my purpose and desire to work with others in a one-on-one capacity to truly make an impact in their health journey. Ready to make and ride some waves, I enrolled in the Institute for Integrative Nutrition’s Accelerated Program and graduated in April 2021 – right around the time I made the decision to leave HYLO and start taking on Health & Nutrition coaching clients full-time. To further my education, credentials, and business ventures, I reenrolled with the Institute for Integrative Nutrition for their 3-month Coaching Intensive Practicum. This course prepared me for the National Board Health & Wellness Coaching exam that I will sit for on May 16th of this year.
I survived and recovered thanks to a strong support network and access to many health and wellness resources. It is now my mission to help deliver the same accessibility and support to others. Since April of 2021, I have been fortunate to work with men and women on their personal health journeys. I have created a business and a platform that celebrates and promotes all bodies, all abilities, mental & physical health, and accessibility to wellness resources.
Personal in my approach, I am against the one-size-fits-all mindset and reducing humans to numbers or food groups. The answers to our stressors and health concerns aren’t found in fad diets, strict exercise regimens, or medications passed off as a “quick fix”, but rather by leaning in to understand the root cause of symptoms. While working together, my client’s wellness expands far beyond the media trends of kale smoothies and gym memberships to become their truest lens of self-knowing, loving, and healing as we build healthy, sustainable practices together to pursue goals on and off the plate. We keep it real.
You can currently find me working with clients one-on-one either virtually or in-person and I am also the Nutrition Coach for Rhapsody Fitness (a CrossFit gym in downtown Charleston). Clients of Three Seeds Wellness Studio & The Art of Hustle and Heart also have access to health & nutrition coaching with me on a one-on-one or group basis. I have also been known to teach a few Bootcamp-style fitness classes here and there!
If I’m not meeting with clients or studying for my Boards, you can find me doing CrossFit at Rhapsody or Ethos Athletic Club, experimenting with oatmeal recipes (food truck goals in the making), dancing to live music with my best gal pals, off on a backpacking adventure with my brother, and continuing to make Charleston her permanent home.
I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle-free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
Of course not, but where’s the fun in a smooth road, right?!
Mental health awareness and education are steadily growing in our society, but still nowhere near what they should be. Things they don’t tell you about mental health: everyone struggles with something. It may get easier or better over time, but it never truly goes away. There isn’t a bandaid, perfect pill, or magic wand to make it disappear.
My eating disorder and anxious tendencies to perfect and perform very much work in the same way. Though I am recovered and healthy, I must make a conscious decision to stay recovered every day. There have been relapses, medications, doctors’ visits, and continuous work with therapists, coaches, and my support crew throughout the years. I am the healthiest, happiest, and strongest I have ever been and that comes from knowing when to ask for help and learning how to manage my stress and anxiety in a productive way.
As I have continued to grow into my purpose, the person I am today, and my new business, I have lost friends and romantic relationships along the way. Healing and growth take time, and they are an evolutionary process. We meet different versions of ourselves every couple of weeks and it’s easy to settle into groups, relationships, jobs, activities, etc that are only meant to serve us for a time (or not at all). Not all of these losses are easy to face and certainly weren’t easy for me. At least until the next phase of growth began and I realized why they could not move forward with me. The beautiful thing is, the more I honored my growth, and became comfortable being uncomfortable, the more connected I became to the people and things truly meant for me.
Growing into my first year of business has been rewarding, exciting, and terrifying. I have battled imposter syndrome, doubts, fears, and have almost ‘thrown in the towel’ a few times out of stress and overwhelm. Again, there’s no magic wand to wave when it comes to living your dream. It may appear easy online with filters and positive captions but running a business (especially alone!) takes discipline, trial and error, support, humility, and really good sense of “winging it”. I have called my brother from the floor of my bedroom in tears, debated getting a second job, and walked away from partnerships and opportunities that weren’t a good fit. However, despite the ups and downs that make this baby business so fun, nothing beats living in alignment with my purpose and experiencing the growth, success, and connection that comes with it.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Kate Hendley, Holistic Health & Nutrition Coach?
I work with men and women in one-on-one or in group settings in regards to their personal health and wellness goals. I am available for workshops, events, and speaking engagements (and working on a book in the next year!!!). I also run an active Instagram account that features recipes, health tips, body positivity content, and eat disorder support. (@katenotcate)
In my sessions, I help clients create and achieve goals on and off the plate. I encourage them to think of their health & wellness beyond the scope of “just nutrition or “just fitness”. Steering away from fad diets, strict exercise regimens, quick detox fixes, or the one-size-fits-all approach, I guide my clients to an intuitive place to interpret, understand, and heal the root cause of their symptoms.
My ED (eating disorder) experience and recovery sets me apart from others in that I am able to rely on both educational AND personal experience when it comes to coaching and supporting others. I am able to empathize with what it’s like to struggle with mental and physical health and understand what type of support is needed to move forward. I also position myself as someone who is open to working with all different types of clients from all different backgrounds. There is no prerequisite or a “certain level” of health & wellness that needs to be achieved before working with me. Health and balance look different for everyone, and for some, it’s just knowing where to start.
I pride myself on meeting people where they are and holding space for what they need. I am known for my calm, present energy and my positive, impactful way with words and coaching, I am also known for (and pride myself on) keeping things real. I have used my journey and my story to create an authentic, truthful platform and reputation. My followers would happily tell you that I love to takedown a toxic social media health/wellness trend just as much as I love to share my reality as a recovered ED patient. As always, my goal is to be an accessible and relatable wellness resource.
I specialize in intuitive eating, gut health, fitness, body empowerment, eating disorder recovery, balanced living, and general holistic health practices.
Contact Info:
- Email: katechendley@gmail.com
- Website: https://linktr.ee/katehendley (website coming soon!!!)
- Instagram: @katenotcate
Image Credits
Andre Hinds
