Fueling Health from Within

The Functional Nutrition Approach of Kristen Fuller

Kristen Fuller’s path to becoming a functional dietitian began with a personal transformation. After the birth of her first child, she found herself immersed in the complexities of postpartum recovery, unsure how best to nourish both her baby and her own changing body. Like many new mothers, she turned to the internet and social media for guidance—but was quickly overwhelmed by a flood of conflicting advice, extreme dieting trends, and unrealistic expectations around health and appearance.

Rather than accept the confusion, she became determined to understand how nutrition actually works. This pursuit led her back to school and into the field of dietetics, where she combined academic training with lived experience to build a science-backed, compassionate approach to food and wellness. What began as a desire to feel like herself again became a professional calling to help others do the same.

Today, Fuller serves as a functional dietitian at Wasatch Wellness, where she specializes in gut health, intuitive eating, weight management, and nutrigenomics—the study of how genetic variations influence nutrient processing and health outcomes. She focuses on helping people reconnect with their bodies through personalized care, practical strategies, and an approach that favors nourishment over restriction.

Her academic journey started at Arizona State University, where she completed a degree in Dietetics and a minor in Business Marketing. Since then, she has continued to expand her knowledge through ongoing education, particularly in the areas of gut health and genetically based nutrition. Before joining the Wasatch Wellness team, Fuller ran a private practice called I Choose Healthy, where she held lectures, hosted workshops, and collaborated with schools and communities to deliver nutrition education that was both approachable and actionable.

Throughout her work, Fuller maintains a clear philosophy: nutrition should be empowering, not overwhelming. She emphasizes whole, nutrient-dense foods while creating space for real-life preferences, emotional connections to food, and cultural eating patterns. Her approach encourages flexibility and sustainability, steering clients away from rigid food rules and toward more intuitive habits. Rather than promoting elimination diets or glorifying discipline, she helps clients find a rhythm that honors their bodies, goals, and lifestyles.

A key part of her practice involves guiding people through the noise of health trends. While she acknowledges that some trends—like the rising awareness surrounding gut health—are rooted in important science, she is cautious about others. In her experience, methods like intermittent fasting can sometimes lead to under-eating, hormonal imbalance, and strained relationships with food, particularly for women. She encourages consistent, balanced eating as a more effective way to support metabolism, mood, and energy throughout the day. For her, food is not about control—it’s about care.

Fuller also recognizes that nutrition is rarely just physical. Many of the individuals she works with could be navigating emotional and psychological relationships with food, often shaped by early conditioning, past trauma, or internalized guilt. Instead of just prescribing meal plans or calorie counts, she prioritizes getting to know the full person, understanding the emotional drivers that influence behavior, and helping clients explore the “why” behind their food choices. This kind of work, she believes, is where real transformation begins.

In many cases, clients come to her after trying everything—following macros, counting calories, restricting carbs—without seeing lasting results. Fuller’s approach looks deeper, often uncovering chronic stress, digestive imbalance, or emotional eating patterns that have been left unaddressed. She frequently collaborates with therapists and trauma-informed providers to ensure that clients receive truly comprehensive care. Healing the body, she believes, must go hand in hand with healing the mind.

At Wasatch Wellness, Fuller is part of an interdisciplinary team that shares this philosophy of integrated care. Nutrition is viewed as one vital piece in a broader system, and every patient receives a care plan designed to reflect their unique needs and goals. Whether someone is working on hormone balance, recovering from chronic illness, or simply trying to feel more energized, Fuller works in partnership with other wellness professionals to ensure a thoughtful, collaborative approach.

Beyond one-on-one client work, she is deeply involved in community outreach. She will switch with the other providers at Wasatch Wellness monthly to share their expertise with free classes for those who want to learn, she partners with local organizations to provide nutrition education, and works with youth programs to promote healthy habits early in life. One of her current projects includes collaborating with a local dance studio to teach young performers how to fuel their bodies for strength, stamina, and recovery. Through these efforts, she brings her down-to-earth style and evidence-based insight to a wide audience, making the science of nutrition easier to access and apply.

In her practice, Fuller offers clients simple, sustainable tools to navigate everyday choices. She teaches them how to shop smartly, avoid marketing gimmicks in grocery stores, and approach all foods—yes, even desserts and comfort meals—with neutrality. Instead of labeling foods as good or bad, she helps people learn how to pair them in a way that supports blood sugar stability, digestion, and overall satisfaction. This balanced approach allows for consistency without deprivation and helps dismantle the all-or-nothing thinking that often derails progress.

While much of her work focuses on women’s health, Fuller’s expertise spans all demographics. She has worked with men, teenagers, athletes, and families, tailoring her care to their individual needs regardless of gender, age, or activity level. Her approach adapts to the person in front of her, not a predetermined standard.

For those recovering from disordered eating or struggling to meet basic nutrition needs, Fuller focuses on rebuilding a healthy, peaceful relationship with food. She uses education and structure to remove the fear and confusion out of eating, while offering compassionate guidance along the way. Small, consistent steps—like introducing breakfast again or honoring hunger cues—often create the biggest breakthroughs.

At the heart of her work is a commitment to shifting the narrative around health. Fuller views true wellness not as a destination defined by weight or appearance, but as an evolving process built on curiosity, respect, and trust in the body. She helps her clients move away from punishment and perfection, and toward self-awareness and resilience.

Whether in the office, the classroom, or the community, Kristen Fuller continues to redefine what nutrition means in everyday life. Her work serves as a reminder that lasting change doesn’t come from restriction or control—it comes from reconnecting with what the body needs, making peace with food, and choosing care over chaos, one nourishing step at a time.

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