You've done everything right.
So why does your body still feel like it's working against you?
You're eating well. You're moving your body. You've counted, cut, tracked, and tried— and still, something's off. Your gut. Your energy. The number on the scale that won't budge no matter how disciplined you are.
I'm Mel— a registered dietitian and yoga teacher who's convinced your body was never meant to be this disconnected from its own rhythms. I work like a detective, not a meal-plan machine: testing what's actually happening in your gut, your minerals, your hormones, instead of guessing. Then I help you get so grounded— literally— that your body can finally stop fighting you.
It feels like health whack-a-mole— you fix one thing, and another pops right up.
Weight that won't move, no matter what you try.
Your inputs don't match your outputs. Trying this hard and barely getting rewarded for it isn't a discipline problem.
Your gut never really settles.
Bloating after meals you thought were "safe." Unpredictable digestion. A low hum of discomfort that's become your normal.
Energy that doesn't fully come back.
You wake up tired. You crash by 2pm. Coffee stopped working a while ago.
Cycles, moods, and hair that don't feel like your own.
Periods that are irregular, painful, or unpredictable. PMS that hijacks your mood for a week. Losing hair where you want it— your scalp— and growing it where you don't, like your chin.
Labs that come back "normal"
— while you feel anything but. You've asked your doctor. You've been told you're fine. But you know you're not.
When it's this hard to do the right things for yourself, something bigger is usually at play.
The R.O.O.T Method
Conventional medicine treats symptoms in isolation— the gut here, hormones there, fatigue somewhere else, like separate problems that happen to share a body. Your body is one system. I dig into all of it before I make a single recommendation.
Reflect.
We map everything you've already tried, so we never repeat someone else's dead ends.
Obtain.
We capture where your body actually is right now, starting with Hair Tissue Mineral Analysis (HTMA).
Optimize.
We rebuild your foundation— meals, sleep, circadian rhythm, nervous system regulation— one sustainable shift at a time.
Transform.
Small wins compound until the changes hold themselves up, on their own.
You're a human, not a machine— "eat less, move more" was never going to hold your whole story. Energy begets energy: once your body has what it actually needs, it tends to keep moving in the right direction. Weight loss, when it's part of your goal, is a byproduct of this work— not the starting point.
Quick Questions
What is functional nutrition, and how is it different from what my doctor does?
This is the whole idea behind the ROOT Method above— your body as one connected system, not a list of separate complaints. A typical doctor's visit gives you about fifteen minutes to address the one thing you came in for. I have the time, and the testing, to actually connect the dots.
My labs came back "normal"— can you still help?
Often, yes. Standard lab ranges are built to catch disease, not to catch "not feeling like yourself." Functional testing looks at a narrower, more personalized range and catches patterns standard labs are built to miss.
Do you diagnose conditions like PCOS or Hashimoto's?
No— as a registered dietitian, I don't diagnose. What I do is investigate, connect the dots your other providers may not have had time to, and build a personalized nutrition and lifestyle protocol around what we find. If something needs a formal diagnosis, I'll help you advocate for that with the right provider.
What if I've already tried everything?
Most of my clients have. This isn't another meal plan or willpower fix— it's root-cause investigation, which is usually the piece that's been missing.
Do you work with clients in person?
Virtually only, so you can work with me from anywhere.
Why does yoga come up on a nutrition website?
Because your nervous system state affects digestion, hormones, and blood sugar just as much as what's on your plate. I don't separate the two, and I don't think your body does either.