Find safety and peace with food.
Hello, I’m Mel.
I'm on a mission to create a warm and welcoming haven where you will find inclusive and personalised support. My approach is rooted in genuine understanding and empathy because I believe in individuality and that your needs matter.
I'm here to help you work through your food and body issues with a genuine sense of connection and support.
Who I support
I specialise in distressed eating, eating disorder recovery, menopause nutrition, and facilitating body image healing through the application of non-diet nutrition and counseling. My focus is on assisting neurodivergent individuals who experience challenges due to eating differences and anxiety related to food and the eating environment; who struggle with all-consuming thoughts about eating and grapple with guilt and shame post-meals.
I also support other Nutritionists!
I am passionate about changing the way providers work with their clients; to respect and understand eating difficulties, differences, preferences and specific needs. This is why I offer professional supervision.
Are you a nutrition or allied health practitioner working with neurodivergent clients with eating differences or disorders? I offer a safe space to bring your cases, questions and doubts, for exploration, guidance and accountability.
We will create an effective support framework that takes care of your needs whilst developing your professional skills and improving client outcomes.
My Professional Experience
I’m a proper nutritionist; a registered one. Not just someone who pretends to know it all and calls themselves a nutritionist after reading a few books and completing a £15 online course.
I've worked in nutrition for my entire career; my first lecturing position began in 1997 and my last was in 2017; then I went solo.
I've gone from teaching the A, B, C's of vitamins and minerals to undergraduate nutrition students, to being a curriculum lead and course director for a BSc. (Hons) nutrition degree. I have advised competitive athletes and worked with numerous organisations, helping them develop their nutrition and wellness programmes. This variety has certainly fulfilled my ADHD brain’s need for stimulation and dopamine!
Over the last 5 years, I’ve collaborated with Talking Menopause, delivering online master classes and presenting at organisational conferences as an associate. I deliver professional online training for NEDDE (Neurodiversity, Eating Disorders & Disordered Eating) Training in addition to that delivered solely under Wakeman Nutrition. My work is absolutely in my top three special interests and I feel very privileged to share my knowledge and insight and hear the experiences of others.
I've done A LOT of media work as an expert nutrition and health commenter. This has taken me to the BBC Breakfast red sofa, the World Service, Radio 5 Live, ITV and numerous newspapers and magazines. I’m not someone who particularly likes attention, but cutting through misinformation, finding my voice and meeting some cool people along the way has been a lot of fun.
But the thing I'm most passionate about? Helping folk heal their relationships with food and their body.
Autism West Midlands
“I absolutely loved Mel's training.We all said how great it was and how it's the best training we've had at AWM. She's so inspiring and I felt at ease whilst listening to her.”
My Personal Story
My education and qualifications are important. Decades of study, assessment and professional development; you are in safe hands.
But so are my lived experiences. It really helps doesn't it, when the person you are speaking to you gets it - they don't think you're stupid or broken. You feel heard.
I value honesty and so will share with you some of my own story…
I controlled food to the extreme and compulsively exercised. This started in my teens when having no sense of who I was peaked. I didn't feel I fitted in. Friendships and relationships felt nothing but false and awkward. My family fell apart, school was not somewhere I wanted to be at all and an “it was only a joke” comment about my 'thunder thighs' tipped me over the edge.
I was in a constant state of worry, fear, and dread. Feeling out of control, I began obsessing about everything I ate. Rules about what and when to eat became more and more rigid…but nobody really noticed. I still look back to this time and think how sad that was. The 80's was after all, the decade of low fat eating and aerobics on VHS. And everyone told me I seemed fine. And looked OK. Until I really didn’t.
I saw myself as the problem. Focusing on numbers not feelings was a survival strategy I got stuck in. It helped me avoid reality. And people. And I was in complete denial that I was harming myself.
But I eventually acknowledged I needed help. Mostly because I was so sad. I remember my first therapist asked me what I wanted. “I want to feel happy” I replied, not really remembering the last time I laughed. I’ve seen several different therapists over the years. The parental absence, abusive relationships and bullying at work all made sense as to why life had felt more than hard going at times.
But I knew there were other pieces missing. Things that didn’t make any sense at all. Why did I feel like I was still climbing a mountain that had no summit?
This answer didn't come until much later on. I discovered I am ADHD and Autistic. Bloody hell that was a shock. But then again, it wasn't. It marked the beginning of truly being able to make sense of myself; to find the real Mel…but I realised, no-one really talks much about that bit - the going back over your life, the re-living, the processing, the WTF now what?!
But I’m working on it. To work out what my needs are, and to respect them. Learning how to validate myself and to foster a positive neurodivergent identity. I have learnt to restore trust and confidence with my body; to chuck out the ‘normal’ rule books and do things in ways that affirm my unique needs.
Food no longer rules my life. I don't worry about what I can and can't eat. Not because I don't care but because I trust what works for me. And as I’ve come to realise the extent of my sensory differences, learning to self advocate and not give a sh!t about what other people say.
I see food as something that brings me so much more than fuel; stimulation, comfort, connection, self regulation and safety.
Accommodating my needs means I don't have to miss out on things that involve eating. Unless I'm just not feeling peopley, which to be fair is a lot of the time!
I never thought I would eat without anxiety, resentment and shame but I do.
It's so liberating to be authentically here. As my fidgety, heat seeking, crunchy loving self.
And THE most rewarding part of my work is when I help others to find themsleves too.
Please do contact me if you'd like to find out how to rewrite your food and body stories too.
Mel x
What people are saying…
“Mel is a fountain of knowledge and wisdom which she is happy to share with anyone who is ready to listen. She presents it with humour whilst at the core of her material, there is a strong evidence base from both the literature along with her personal and professional experience and journey over many years..”
Ian
“I am so relieved to be on a steady, peaceful path that does not involve food restriction but does include eating – and enjoying – a wide range of foods that satisfy; regular, enjoyable exercise; regular “checking in” with my feelings and just enjoying life and myself much more. I would urge anyone with similar issues to take that first step and have a chat with Mel.”
Jill
“I went from eating 10 basic ingredients in my meals to a much great variety of food thanks to Mel who helped me to understand my body better and overcome my fears.”
Paola