what people are saying

A few testimonials from clients over the last 5 years

“I knew I needed some help to add healthy habits back into my life. I needed to know how to do that without falling back into the diet trap. I had spent so much time doing what I thought was “healthy” and now I’ve come to see how damaging that behavior was.

I had done my own work to identify it but I didn’t know how to fix it. I picked Melissa mostly because I felt a connection with her. She’s kind and encouraging but skilled at pointing out flaws in my logic (whether it was old diet speak or new confusion about IE). I appreciated that so much because I needed someone to keep me on this new track. Some bumpers to keep me in the lane so to speak. She was great at that.

I was afraid the program was the next diet in disguise (like Noom). It was scary and overwhelming but I knew I needed help so after voicing my concerns in the discovery call I jumped in.

Ultimately though, the group program was truly lifechanging for me. I only wish I had done it sooner. I definitely feel more at peace around food. I still have a way to go on my journey but I feel like I have the tools to do so. I don’t obsess about food anymore and I care for myself with kindness instead of frustration (most of the time).”

– Lauren P.

“I was bouncing back and forth between IE and dieting for years. I didn’t know why and was exhausted. I chose Melissa because she recognizes what I already knew: dieting is traumatic and it is generational. 

She’s a dream to work with. She’s able to take the big messy jumble of thoughts, emotions, and actions and tease the threads apart so you can work with them. I was afraid to let anyone in to “mess with my food” after decades of diet trauma. But Melissa’s emphasis on generational diet trauma made me trust her. 

I thought, if anyone can help me, it’s her. I am now able to enjoy all foods in the way that serves me best. I am thrilled to be able to live according to my vegan values without feeling restricted or like I need to be perfect. And I just got a blood test back from my doctor that shows my thyroid hormones have gone from an unhealthy range to a healthy range in the last six months!”

– Summer R.

“After deciding once and for all to never diet again and studying intuitive eating, I was still struggling with occasional bingeing, detecting fullness and overeating, and body image. I was in shame spirals that I couldn’t get myself out of and that was making everything worse. I follow a lot of IE providers on Insta, and I took my time deciding from whom I would seek further help. 

If someone asked me what Melissa is like to work with, I would highlight these things: 

(1) she’s so good not just at listening but also at distilling and reframing what I’d say–there were so many times that I felt understood in a really profound way; 

(2) she use a structured approach that really worked for me–the guiding document that goes through stages of the work (assessment, goal-setting, session notes, reassessment, etc.) is excellent–it’s good pedagogy, good thought management, and good accountability; 

(3) but along with the structure, she was extremely flexible, so when something different came up, she never hesitated to pivot–this was very helpful and comforting because I did have some sh*t come up; 

(4) she’s compassionate and caring but also good at keeping boundaries–I appreciate that because that balance is hard to achieve! (5) she explains challenging, complex concepts very well–this stuff is nuanced, individual, and loaded with emotion, and there were so many times that she said just the right thing to help me learn. Nutshell: amazing. 

I think my biggest fear was that I’d invest time and money that wouldn’t pay off. It’s a leap of faith to jump into this, but I knew I needed help, so I decided to leap and trust the process. I had decades of built-up shame about eating, dieting, weight, etc., and once I committed I could feel some of the pressure releasing, even before we actually started. It was like “Help is on the way!”

In so many ways… Melissa taught me how to acknowledge my emotions, shame, and struggles as the first step in reducing the pain–it releases the valve that keeps all that inside, building up. I had learned in therapy about “name your feelings,” but learning to apply this basic therapeutic concept to my eating and body image issues has been so profound. 

I can’t believe how far I came with figuring out fullness cues. I just couldn’t do this before I started working with Melissa, but she helped me connect this to mindfulness and embodiment and one day it just happened (like getting up on water skis lol). 

The most important improvement has been in how I feel about my body. Not gonna lie, I still have moments of negativity, but they’re moments not days. I think the coolness thing about all this is how I now see the interconnectedness of all it–how body image, movement, eating, gentle nutrition all work together in subtle and not-so-subtle ways. Big picture: I have confidence that I have tools I need and I also know where I can get more help if I need it!”

– Patrice T.

“I was introduced to Melissa on IG. I liked her content and she seemed to be very genuinely caring about helping people learn about IE and body love. I wasn’t sure if I really needed the group program or if I could do it on my own. I would rather have saved the money if I could just do this process by myself. I can learn from books and absorbing content in other ways, so I was uncertain whether I really needed a coach. 

I was already practicing IE before group started, but was struggling with body image. Going through all the steps with the group was good reinforcement for the steps I had already taken on my own, and I did learn some new things from listening to others. 

I can finally have food in my house and not worry about eating it constantly until it’s gone. I bought a donut the other day and ate half one day and half the next, because that’s what I wanted to do, not because I was deliberately restricting myself. 

Listening to your body is deceptively hard, particularly your satisfaction level, but the discussion of the concepts during group have helped attune me to myself. Seems like the hardest thing in the world is to love your body, whatever its size, after a lifetime of programming from society telling you to be smaller smaller smaller. 

I have made such huge strides in my body image since the beginning of group. I cried during our first call when Melissa talked about getting to a point of accepting our bodies, loving our bodies, because I just couldn’t imagine feeling like that. 

I don’t love my body every day, but I feel so much better now. I wore a bikini at the beach the other day! I feel strong and appreciate my body’s ability to carry me through my life. 

Using Melissa’s framework to come up with a vision statement was HUGE. It pointed me right toward what I really want in the long term, which had nothing to do with being skinny, but only about appreciating my body as an instrument in doing things that bring me joy, and keeping it healthy for my long-term quality of life.”

– Claire W.

“My main struggles before working with Melissa were the restrict-binge cycle and discussing dieting/diet culture/losing weight/food with my coworkers and family. I was looking for help because I knew the dieting I was doing was not working and not healthy. I also sought help because anytime someone would bring up any of the above, I would break down and cry, it had control over me. I wanted neutrality.

I followed Melissa on Instagram for a long while and loved every post, it felt like she was personally speaking to my specific problems and when I reached my breaking point, I had no idea where to start to get help. I remembered her account and checked to see if she offered any services and thankfully she did.

After the 1×1 program with Melissa, I have stopped dieting and no longer feel the need to. I have learned to trust my body, a concept that baffled me during our first call.

I have talked about my journey and healing my relationship with food with others, being vulnerable about something that would normally cause me to put up a wall. I’m learning my boundaries and how to cope with negative and positive emotions more than ever before. 

Melissa helped me change my life and learn to take care of my body after over a decade of learning to do the opposite.”

– Amanda S.

podcast episodes featuring my clients

“I was somehow led to Melissa’s podcast in my search for another answer during a terrible night where I knew I couldn’t continue and also didn’t know how to change. I liked what she had to say and how kind she sounded in her approach to pretty much everything. 

I can buy clothes without panic, walk around with paralyzing self hatred, and eat real and delicious food like one of those normal folks.

I can say honestly I am closer to the person I want to become every day because i’m taking right steps every day. I’m a better mom, a better woman in the world. I’m a better model of what is true and good.”

– Ana W.

“I was desperate for help with emotional eating and binge eating, as I’d realised I was using food to hurt myself and wanted targeted help in repairing my relationship with food. 

I found Melissa’s free webinars very intriguing and informative – that’s what first caught my attention. When I followed more of her posts I found Melissa herself to be such a warm, supportive, knowledgeable person and I felt safe with her. 

I struggled to understand how I could undo decades of damage in just three months (though this was mostly doubt in myself, as I had “let myself down” time and time again from failing at diets). I didn’t understand how this could be different. 

I was also apprehensive about the cost, which did stretch the limits of what I could afford, but Melissa was very accommodating and understanding in this regard and she worked with me to find a way I could afford to make this investment in myself. 

I am so much more at peace. My struggles with binge eating and emotional eating are a thing of the past; when I’m stressed now it’s rare I even think of turning to food first – I’ve learnt other coping skills that I tend to look to first for comfort. The occasional episode of emotional eating is now just part of my self care toolkit and I no longer feel out of control with it like I did for decades before.

Melissa’s coaching has restored the connection I feel to my body, and although I still have much to learn, I’m much more aware of body cues now and that’s helped me in all areas of my life, not just with eating. I also have learnt the enormous benefits of having a supportive community, it has helped so much with my learning. 

My course finished a few weeks ago and I have remained very good friends with my group (in fact, we just had a video call earlier today to catch up with each other!) and I’m so grateful for Melissa for bringing these wonderful friends into my life.”

– Rachel W

“I was tired of continually dieting and my toxic relationship with food and myself as a result. 

I love how Melissa takes the science and research and helps us to understand these concepts. She’s so smart—able to help you figure out your struggles as you talk. She’s engaging and asks you to engage, which is scary but also it’s the best way to learn. 

She’s hugely supportive—she’s on your side and you feel this support from day 1. 

I was afraid it would be just another diet go-around and here I was, plopping money down on some quick fix once again. But I follow her on Instagram and this just seemed different to me. More hopeful. You know that expression: when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. That’s what happened here. 

This is an ongoing process and I am developing a more satisfying relationship with food.

I’m listening to my body cues more and I’m less afraid to put the “yum” or forbidden foods back on my plate. Most importantly, I understand the process and that’s comforting. I have better ideas on how to handle situations that would have totally thrown me in the past. And I have a clearer sense of my next steps.”

– Susan G.

“The biggest factor was that Melissa explicitly says that she works with women in bigger bodies. It’s SO HARD to find someone to work with who says that right in their Instagram profile. So many practitioners who say that do HAES and body positivity do so to an extent—once a person is a certain size their framework no longer applies. 

I never felt like Melissa would tell me my body was wrong or I was too big to benefit from her framework and I was right. Having someone who has my back and sees value in me no matter my size was extremely important to me. 

I’ve had poor experiences in body image/ED groups in the past primarily because I’ve always been the biggest member and I feel so different from the other girls. Even though the struggles are the same I still allowed myself to feel alienated because I felt “othered” and different. 

In this group, the majority of the girls are smaller than me. This does get to me occasionally but Melissa never treats me differently or like my concerns are any less valid. My biggest fear was being dismissed because of what I look like because it’s happened before and that’s never happened to me here. 

I don’t think about food anymore! I mean I do because I like eating and I’m pregnant and always hungry BUT in a different way. Now I think what do I want for dinner? Before I thought what do I want for dinner? How many WW points do I have to work with? How many hours/days will I feel guilt after I eat this? Food just feels simpler. 

One of my 3 month goals was for my relationship with food to be easy. It’s still not always easy of course, but it is easier. I feel like I have brain space freed up for so many other thoughts. It’s just weird. I’ve been to so many ED programs and read so many books but this is the first time after 6 years of treatment and 17 years of dieting that I feel like I can eat what I want and the world won’t end. 

And I feel confident that I can still be healthy in my body size, something no professional has ever told me before. That’s life changing and worth the cost alone right there. Validation. 

– Kelsey S.

“Negative body image, shame, food guilt, stuck in the diet cycle since I was about 13 years old (I am 30 now!). I was looking for help because I wanted to break the cycle for my almost-2-yo daughter and foster a healthy relationship with food and her body. I thought the best way to do that was to set a good example for her by healing my own issues with food and my body. 

I followed Melissa’s instagram for several months, always kind of suspicious (like “is it really that simple? we can’t really just give ourselves permission to eat, right?”) and it felt kind of aspirational – like applying for coaching and going through the framework was something great for other people to do, but it wouldn’t work for me. 

I attended a free webinar just to get a sense of what the program would be like and I ended up crying just from the relief of hearing a total stranger (Melissa) speaking my truths and telling me that I wasn’t broken and I was worthy of respect. I signed up for the guide that very evening. 

I was afraid that I would fail at it, just like I have failed at every diet I’ve ever tried, and I would end up back at square one – miserable, unhappy with my body, and beating myself up mentally. It really took some adjusting of my mindset to understand that this is NOT a diet, and that by investing in this program, I’m not throwing my money away like I did with WW (3 times!). I took the leap because at the end of the day, what did I have to lose? If it didn’t work out for me, I wouldn’t be any worse off than I already was. 

And if it did work… wouldn’t I be so much happier? It felt like time to take a chance on myself. 

I still have a relationship with Melissa and can reach out to her with my struggles. She is kind and accessible and I am so grateful that I stumbled across her Instagram and joined this community. It has truly changed my life. 

I am 2 months in, and I still struggle with bad body image days and “diet talk” triggers, but I feel equipped to combat those negative thoughts and emotions and move through them without falling back into harmful patterns.

Honestly, I didn’t expect to participate in the Facebook group much, just lurk and move through the framework on my own. I am so very happy to say I was wrong about that – the Facebook community is one of the most valuable pieces of NMG for me. 

I feel so seen and supported in the community, and I am sometimes just in awe of the women there. They are inspirational and supportive and human and they just “get it.” I’m so very grateful for the support I’ve received there.”

– Kelsey B.

“I’d spent decades trying one diet after another, losing weight only to gain it all back and then some once I went off the diet. I was restricting and bingeing on a regular basis and generally just sick and tired of the whole diet world. 

I started following Melissa on Instagram and really liked her approach. She was warm and compassionate and when I looked at her program online it sounded like a great match for what I needed. I really liked her group format. I wasn’t convinced it would work, but once I talked to her I felt confident she could help me gain the type of freedom around food I was looking for. 

My whole approach to food and eating has changed for the better! I’ve now made peace with all of the foods I previously considered “bad” or “forbidden.”

I’m working on trusting my body to guide me through hunger and fullness. I now recognize all the ways diet culture tries to derail my progress and can ignore it. The program has given me the tools I need to break free from diet culture and trust my body.”

– Nancy P.

“We did some work surrounding simplifying cooking and meals which made eating at home way more appealing and doable. I cook way more at home now and prefer to cook now because I can fully customize my meal to my needs and wants for that moment.

Once reason I think I have done a 180 on my meal choices is because I stopped “marrying” foods (eggs and bacon, rice and chicken, cheese and crackers) I pull together what sounds good and meets my needs even if it doesn’t “go together” example: ate a few slices of pepperoni and then some apple with peanut butter for snack today. Fully satisfied and energized.

Also, my time at NMG definitely improved my ability to sense and honor hunger and fullness. My time with Melissa definitely changed the trajectory of my food journey and made everything much more sustainable and doable.”

– Antoinette B.

“Melissa is not pushy with her coaching approach and is able to meet me where I’m at. Some coaches tend to be pushy with the gentle nutrition and body movement aspects of intuitive eating but she respects the choices and pace of the clients.

My mind feels free-er (whoops that’s not a word but go along with it please). I don’t think about food with labels anymore.

I can focus on what food sounds or helps me feel good without it feeling like I’m being restricted. 

What once used to be a significant part of my day is now just mundane. I get to be present with my friends and loved ones instead of worrying about how the food will affect my weight.

– Afiqah M.

“Before working with Melissa, I was in constant worry of what to eat, when to eat, how much, what were the calories/points/macros and could I work it all off later? Why was my body the way that it is and how can I change it and force it to be what society ideals tell me it should be. 

I was constantly seeking acceptance for my appearance and my dedication to changing my appearance, rather than loving myself and caring for myself in the way that I need.

Now I am not in constant obsession with food and thinking about how to restrict now to get what I want later. My brain is free to do other things. Engage more meaningfully with the people closest to me. Ultimately, I get to model healthy behavior for my children. And be more mindfully present in my marriage.

Melissa is honest and open, her approach to changing is not forceful. She walks alongside you on the journey and has insight into behavior and thought patterns related to food and body image that are unique and helpful.

– Erin S.

“Six months ago, I was stressed and anxious constantly and turned to food as a coping mechanism pretty consistently. I knew this wasn’t the right answer, but couldn’t change it, kept gaining weight, and kept beating myself up for it. My mental health was declining because I made myself feel like a failure for my lack of will power and self esteem around food.

Through this program I was able to learn why I chose food to cope, determine alternative strategies, and manage my binging and over eating in healthier ways. While not completely confident in my current body image, I feel empowered knowing there is a body positive community out there and if I continue to apply body positive strategies, I will one day be content in my bigger body.

I feel free! I no longer feel the pressure to be thin, restrict my food, and view food as “good or bad.” Food is just food, and it has become very freeing!

Melissa is FANTASTIC! I don’t know how she does it, but she was so skilled at started with the basics and gradually advancing my progression. Melissa was able to ask the right kinds of questions where I was able to connect the dots myself through her guidance. 

Looking back, this journey could not have been done myself through reading and self study. There is just no way I could have come to the same conclusions and felt this content. My mental health is so much better – all through changing my beliefs around food and body image! 

I know for a fact that without Melissa’s ever-ready advise and support, I would still be struggling with restriction, binging, guilt, and the urge to lose weight. 

Melissa was a light in the dark and I am so pleased I invested in myself to work with her! There really is no substitute for the framework Melissa provides. Melissa felt like a friend who I could confide my deepest, darkest secrets related to food and body image around. 

Trust me, I pushed her and she handled it all like a champ. I wasn’t comfortable telling friends or even a therapist the same things I told Melissa, because she was so transparent and competent with this material. There is no reason to wait or delay taking care of yourself, the investment is worth it 100%.

– Jill T.