Mel’s Very First Blog Post

Hi and welcome!

I’m Mel, a registered dietitian and certified health coach from a small town in South Georgia.

Mel Harris Nutrition is all about crafting evidence-based nutrition and healthy living through recipes, blogs, online education and one-on-one coaching (virtually and/or face-to-face). To put it another way, it’s my passion to help you navigate nutrition to nourish your body in a real, practical, life-changing way.

Life Is Busy

I get it — I’m a wife, mother to 2 tiny humans, 2 dogs and the list goes on. Life can be, well, completely crazy (sometimes? often?). My goal is to help you find your groove — that’s right YOUR groove, that works best for your life — so you’re better equipped to take on each crazy day feeling your best, inside and out.

You may already have plenty of friends, but I’m about to become your new best friend. Imagine me walking alongside you in your health journey. Next to you, I will help you build confidence in yourself and the food on your plate. One step at a time, we’ll figure it out together. My approach is the food to plate connection, incorporating whole foods that will make you feel better.

I Learned From the Best

My childhood is full of happy memories in my grandmother’s kitchen, I grew up with a love for cooking. Additionally, my mother has spent her career working as a home economist, so suffice it to say – food has influenced my life. But that doesn’t mean I have always been educated about it. This southern farm girl definitely got a few wake-up calls as I embarked off to college to follow my passion for food down the path of nutrition.

Here’s what I’ve learned — and what I want to share with you!

Food should not be complicated or intimidating (even though it sometimes feels like it is) and we all need the occasional grace period. While you might often find yourself feeling overwhelmed and stressed, possibly even exhausted, about how you can improve your personal and/or family’s meals and overall nutrition. It is my promise to you that we can put the pieces together.

How will we do that? Well, firstly, I’ve been where you are. Those who feel disconnected from the food you’re buying and feeding yourself and your family. To the new mom who’s feeling overwhelmed. To the postpartum mom who just wants to feed her family better. To the busy entrepreneur who feels like there’s never enough time. I feel you.

I Can Relate

Over the past decade, I’ve experienced acne, migraines, high stress, digestive issues (just to name a few) and I thought those were normal things. The reality was, my diet was impacting each of these parts of my life. My goal is to help you learn what makes your body feel better, and provide the education and nutritional insight to get you where you want to be, and help you achieve the tools you need to stay there! My blog readers will find new topics each month with “myth busters” to help dispel some of the nutritional marketing myths around healthy eating. Having grown up in a farming community, going on to become a Registered Dietitian, I have learned so much! Now I look forward to sharing my expertise with you so you have all the facts you need to make educated decisions about the foods you put into your body.

What I’ve Learned

As I embarked on my own educational journey, I began exploring the world of nutrition science through academia and self-experiments. As I began to feel better, other day-to-day habits shifted. Suddenly my diet was positively impacting stress management, increasing regular exercise and improving my overall self-care. These were all amazing! Then I became a wife and mother and a “balanced life” suddenly looked completely different. My timeline for becoming a registered dietitian took longer than expected, but my passion never waned. What I learned throughout these experiences are things I want to share with you — life shifts, and so must we. Building the right habits for your nutrition, movement and mindfulness will help you carry a healthier you through all of life’s ups and downs.

I simply had to relearn what my balance is, and what self-care looks like for me.