Nutrition By Mel LLC

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Nutrition By Mel LLC

Contact information, map and directions, contact form, opening hours, services, ratings, photos, videos and announcements from Nutrition By Mel LLC, 303 Monroe Ave. NW, Grand Rapids, MI.

You’ll find me here working hard to make sport safer for the next generation of female athletes while supporting mother athletes in a life that is forever postpartum.

05/02/2026

This morning, Soli helped me open our boxes as I start getting organized for some Mother’s Day events.

Tiberius woke up, took one look, and decided he was opening his own “Brodo shop.” Fully unprompted. Fully committed.

And honestly… that made it even better.

Brodo has been a staple in my life for years, so getting to build community around something I genuinely love has felt easy in the best way. But what’s been most special is seeing how much of these conversations get absorbed without me even realizing it.

Watching Tiberius connect to it, play with it, make it his own, it’s just really cool.

Can’t wait to take him to the real Brodo shop in the coming weeks.

Anyway… Brodo. It’s for everyone 🧡

Xx Mama Mel

04/29/2026

Save the date!!

Join me and Dr. Elena Ivanina for a 30 minute conversation breaking down what actually matters when it comes to building your baby’s gut health, followed by a live Q&A where we’ll answer the questions every parent is thinking but not always asking.

This will be ✅practical, ✅science backed, and ✅rooted in real life. ❌Not perfection. ❌Not fear.

We’ll cover: • What the microbiome actually is (and why early life matters) • Feeding, solids, and fiber (without the overwhelm) • Antibiotics, modern life, and what’s in your control • Why pediatric gut issues are rising and what you can do about it

To join us live + access the Q&A, sign up through the link in bio with a suggested $25 donation to the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation. As a thank you, we’ll be raffling off a box of Brodo to those participants who have made a donation.

Can’t donate? You’re still welcome - this will be streamed live on IG.

📍 May 6th ⏰ 12–1 PM

Come as you are, bring your questions, and leave with a clearer understanding of what actually moves the needle.

04/21/2026

The work isn’t dramatic. It’s repetitive, uncomfortable, and mostly invisible -> and it is here where everything shifts.

If this resonates, save it for the days it feels like nothing is working, share it with someone who needs the reminder, and let it be proof that the quiet work counts.

Here for you always🫶🏽
Xx Mama Mel

04/03/2026

I miss fast.
Or maybe I miss what fast used to feel like.

Because this version?
She’s sprinting on broken sleep.
Fueling a human.
Training in the margins of a life that looks nothing like it used to.

And still… there’s this pull to find it again.
Not just for performance, but for identity. For connection. For feeling at home in my body.

This is the tension I hear from women every day:
the comparison,
the pressure to perform the same (or better),
on a timeline that doesn’t match real life.

Motherhood.
Aging.
Injury.
Life shifts the baseline.

It’s not about getting back.
It’s about building forward.

This week, choose effort over expectation.
Show up, move your body, and let it be enough.

Because coming home to your body doesn’t happen by forcing it,
it happens by meeting it where it is and staying there.

In it with you,
Xx Mama Mel

03/17/2026

Postpartum isn’t a phase where your body just “bounces back.”
It’s a phase where your body is being asked to do more than it ever has before.

Healing. Feeding. Functioning on broken sleep. And for many women, trying to train again on top of it.

And yet the messaging is still: eat less, do more, get your body back.

But here’s what’s actually happening:

Your body is in a more catabolic state.
It’s breaking down faster than it’s building (especially if you’re breastfeeding).

So if you feel weaker, slower, or like your body isn’t responding the way it used to…
that’s not failure. That’s physiology.

Stop trying to shrink a body that’s trying to recover.

The shift isn’t pushing harder.
It’s supporting better.

→ eating enough (yes, more than you think)
→ prioritizing protein
→ consuming adequate carbohydrates (yes, the starchy ones)
→ strength training to give your body a reason to rebuild

Because your body can feel like “your body” again.
It just needs the right inputs.

If this resonates, share it with a postpartum or active mama who needs to hear this.

And if you’re in this phase and want support rebuilding in a way that actually works with your body - you know where to find me 🌞.

Xx Mama Mel

03/11/2026

For the past 10 years, the International Society of Sports Nutrition conference has been one of the most meaningful spaces in my professional life.

It’s where I’ve grown as a clinician.
It’s where some of my closest friendships were formed.
And yes… it’s also where I met Rob.

This summer I’ll be speaking alongside my dear friend and colleague Dr. Katie Hirsch about what happens when research and real world practice truly collaborate.

In women’s health and sport, data alone isn’t enough.
We need the lived experience of athletes, clinicians, and researchers asking better questions together.

Our session will explore how hormone informed nutrition, practitioner insight, and academic research can move from working in parallel to working in partnership. Because when we connect lab and life, we don’t just advance science… we humanize it.

If you care about sports nutrition, women’s health, and being in a room with some of the most curious, generous, and brilliant minds in the field…

Come to ISSN this summer.

Truly, why go anywhere else?

Hope to see you there!
Xx Mel

03/03/2026

An eclipse. The eve of 36.

I didn’t ask for more.
I asked for clarity.

Clarity around what matters.
Clarity around what drains me.
Clarity around what I’m no longer willing to trade for growth.

This year I’m choosing presence.
More wife energy.
More motherhood without a camera.
More building in rooms where I don’t have to prove I belong.

Release is its own kind of power.

02/25/2026

Eating Disorder Awareness Week feels incomplete if we don’t talk about pregnancy and postpartum.

We talk about recovery like it’s a straight line.

But pregnancy and early motherhood are massive physiological and psychological events.

Research shows relapse rates between 25–67% during pregnancy and up to 50% postpartum for women with prior eating disorders.

That doesn’t mean recovery isn’t real.
It means this season is uniquely activating.

If you are:
* Restricting “just a little”
* Body checking more
* Obsessing over weight gain
* Feeling panic about postpartum changes
* Or telling yourself you should be “above this”

Please know:
You are not the only competent, high functioning woman quietly navigating this.

This is not about willpower.
It’s about support.

If this resonates, reach out.
To someone.
To your provider.
To a therapist.
To me.

You deserve care in this season, not just a healthy baby.

Xx Mama Mel

02/22/2026

FINALLY got to present with Soli. And of course, in true Nutrition by Mel fashion, we spoke (she was communicating 😉) to the mamas and the ones who support them.

This talk was about why the performance framework that built you as an athlete often breaks in motherhood, not because you’re weaker, but because the stress recovery equation fundamentally changes. We unpacked what it means to nourish in a season where workload increases, recovery decreases, and capacity must come before performance.

Having spent a great deal of time reflecting on my own capacity lately, I found that in preparing for this I gained clarity around where I need to be more protective of my own energy and restoration. The irony of teaching this while actively learning it is not lost on me.

I’m learning. We all are.

Thanks for being here for the ride. Cheers to more presenting with my girl. More to come.

Xx
Mama Mel

02/18/2026

Tiberius was throwing up Sunday night and totally fine on Monday, which of course meant Monday I was sick.

As I stepped outside of my attempted sauna session to vomit, this phrase popped into my head:

“I’m one stomach bug away from losing the last 5 lbs.”

I’ve heard it countless times.
And the truth is, it isn’t harmless, and it isn’t funny.

Sitting in the adirondack chair, head between my knees, it felt obvious:

Nothing about illness feels like a shortcut.
It feels like loss.
Loss of energy, strength, patience, training, presence, and honestly a little dignity too.

And yet we joke about it because we’ve been taught smaller is worth almost anything.

This post is the rant that came out of that moment.

If you’ve ever caught yourself saying it (or laughing along), you’re not broken, you’re conditioned.
But we can also choose to retire the joke.

Read if you want the unfiltered version.

Also: please keep your kids’ germs to yourself. Respectfully.

Xx Mama Mel

02/13/2026

Honest question:

Did anyone actually explain to you how hard it is to lose weight while healing, breastfeeding, and barely sleeping?

Or were you told the weight would just… fall off?

Many postpartum women aren’t struggling with discipline.
They’re navigating competing biological demands.

If you’ve ever felt like you were “doing everything right” but your body didn’t respond the way you expected, you’re not alone.

Comment “ME” if this resonates.

And if you support mothers (partner, clinician, coach, friend) share this to help shift the conversation from willpower to support.

Xx Mama Mel

01/31/2026

Pregnancy metabolism is complex.

Add athletic training, and the physiology gets even more nuanced.
Nutrition recommendations should reflect both.

If this post resonated, you’re not alone and this is absolutely something that can be worked through with the right support.

I’d love to hear from you:
Have you ever been told to cut carbohydrates after a glucose test or lab result while training consistently during pregnancy?
Drop a comment or share this with someone who might need to hear it.

This post is part of a larger series where I’ll be breaking this down further, including:
• A real life case study
• What “adequate carbs” can actually look like for pregnant athletes
• A practical script for talking with your OB, midwife, or medical provider if you’re given a blanket recommendation to cut carbs while likely underfueling

Stay tuned and keep the conversation going.

Xx Mama Mel

Address

303 Monroe Ave. NW
Grand Rapids, MI
49503

Website

http://www.nutritionbymel.com/

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