What Julianne Hough (38) Eats When She Wants More Energy

Between hosting Dancing with the Stars and keeping up with a schedule built around actual dancing, Julianne Hough needs more from her meals than most people ever ask of theirs. Energy isn’t an abstract wellness goal for her, it’s a practical requirement for getting through the day.

What she actually reaches for looks less like a strict diet plan and more like a handful of consistent habits repeated meal after meal.

Her Day Starts With Water, Not Coffee

Before coffee, before breakfast, before anything else, Hough has said her routine begins with a simple glass of water. It’s a deliberate choice about feeding the body from the inside out before adding anything else into the mix.

That small ordering swap, water ahead of caffeine, sets a tone for the rest of the morning rather than reaching for a jolt of energy right away. She’s mentioned carrying a water bottle with her consistently throughout the day, treating hydration as a baseline rather than an afterthought.

A Green Juice Fuels Her Before Early Workouts

On days when a workout comes before breakfast, Hough skips solid food and reaches for a customized green juice instead. Her go-to blend leans sweeter rather than bitter, built from green apple, spinach, and kale, with ginger and lemon added depending on her mood.

That juice gives her something light enough to move on before intense activity, without the heaviness of a full meal sitting in her stomach during a workout. It’s a small adjustment that lets her train on an otherwise empty stomach without running out of steam halfway through.

Steamed Eggs and Avocado Handle Recovery Afterward

Once the workout itself is done, Hough’s preferred way to refuel is steamed eggs with tomato and avocado, a combination she’s described as her regular post-workout meal. The combination pairs protein with healthy fat right when her body needs both to recover.

That meal choice reflects a broader pattern in how she eats around activity, treating food as fuel for whatever comes next rather than just something to get through. Steamed eggs in particular give her protein without the heaviness a fried version might add right after a workout.

Protein Shows Up at Nearly Every Meal

Hough has been direct about how central protein is to keeping her energy steady throughout an active day, describing it as honestly key given how much her schedule demands physically. Salmon and chicken are her go-to sources, usually paired with vegetables like asparagus or Japanese sweet potato.

That consistency matters more than any single meal does on its own. Building nearly every plate around a protein source keeps her energy from dipping the way it might on a day built mostly around lighter, carb-heavy food.

A High-Protein Smoothie Fills in the Gaps

For moments when a full meal isn’t practical, Hough co-created a smoothie line built around six grams of protein per serving and inflammation-fighting ingredients like turmeric, designed to support recovery on busier days. It functions as a backup option rather than a replacement for her regular meals.

That kind of built-in flexibility matters for someone whose schedule doesn’t always allow for sitting down to eat on a fixed timeline. Having a protein-forward option ready to go means energy levels don’t have to depend entirely on how well a day happens to go.

A Rough Morning Sets Back the Rest of the Day

Hough has been candid that how her morning starts tends to determine how the rest of her day feels, saying that eating poorly first thing leaves her feeling like she’s playing catch-up for hours afterward. That’s part of why she reaches for eggs and juice over something sweeter like banana cake in the morning.

She’s also acknowledged her own weak spots, admitting she can’t keep certain snacks around the house without finishing the whole bag in one sitting. Knowing that about herself is part of what keeps her stocked with foods that actually support her energy rather than working against it later in the day.