FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH / FUNCTIONAL NUTRITION / FOR DEEPER DOWN HEALTH
Hey, friend. I’m Michelle
Shapiro, Holistic RD.
AKA THE QUEEN OF THE MIDDLE GROUND
Basically, it’s where you can eat based on two things: What you want to eat and what individually makes you feel best.
This is what I want for you.
There’s a world where you can eat intuitively but also lose weight. There’s a world where you can use food as a healing agent for chronic issues but also enjoy your damn life—cookies and all.
The Middle Ground is where your brain separates the morality of eating from the science of eating. And uses both to make food decisions.
The middle ground is for you if:
You want to ditch dieting while still making true changes in your health
You don’t want a practitioner to say, “all weight loss is disordered eating”
You want to lose weight in a loving way
While some nutritionists (unfortunately) recommend obsessive dieting or excessive restriction, others have swung in the complete opposite direction. Practitioners now are recommending clients completely abandon nutritional science in the name of “making you happy” or conforming to societal norms. (You are allowed to want to lose weight and eat foods that heal you!).
The Middle Ground is where you find genuine compassion for your struggles, goals, and symptoms—but you’re not encouraged into dangerous behaviors. You’re also not coddled to believe your issues aren’t real!
To heal, you need compassion. Not coddling.
Nicki Parlitsis, MS, RD, CPT
meet the team
Hi! I’m Nicki, a Registered Dietitian and Certified Personal Trainer who believes in using a highly individualized approach to nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle to help guide you toward a more healthy and enjoyable life.
I graduated from the University of Miami with a Bachelor’s degree in Exercise Physiology and a minor in Sports Medicine, moving on to work as a Cardiac Device Specialist with pacemaker and defibrillator patients. I eventually shifted gears to pursue my lifelong passion for nutrition and fitness. I received my Masters in Nutrition from New York University and became a Certified Personal Trainer through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM).
Throughout many years of research and self-experimentation to fix my own health barriers (SIBO, anxiety, hypothyroid, acne, eating disorder), I've always had the most success when working with a team of providers who truly understood my conditions. It's my passion to be that guidance for you on YOUR health journey!
Food, movement, and lifestyle habits have a huge impact on our physical and mental health. I understand what it’s like to feel like your body is working against you. My goal is to help you discover how simple and revitalizing it can be to finally work with your body and feel in control of your life again!
Not diet trends. Not the latest supplement on Instagram. Not misinformed assumptions about what the industry thinks you “should” want.
How you feel dictates our entire journey.
Our journey together is like a road trip where you’re always in charge of the destination. I’m there to help navigate, fuel up, and provide excellent snacks.
Consider us your backseat drivers.
Jason S.
“I was at the very end of my rope, battling stubborn belly fat and hemorrhoids. My lifestyle was healthy. I went to the gym regularly and thought I was eating extremely well according to morning news shows and magazines. But I wasn't satisfied by anything I was eating and also didn't see any results after intense workout routines.
Michelle immediately identified many symptoms I ignored and explained why my body was acting this way. When she gave me my meal plan I could not believe how amazing it was. [It has been] the best investment I’ve ever made for my health, body, and peace of mind.
I immediately implemented the meal plan and within 24 hours felt a difference. Less bloated, I slept better and had much more energy during the day. I began to lose inches from my waist, and gain muscle mass where I wanted it. I had great energy and the intestine discomfort completely went away. All of these results while I was enjoying the meals.
Aside from the success I felt and the enjoyable nutrition options, I felt a deep connection and understanding with Michelle. She is a ray of light and made this journey fun. We laughed through most of my appointments. She was extremely accessible for all of my needs and hand crafted a simplified version of my plan for long business trips.
I can't say enough great things about her and her practice and I have the results to prove it. If you are even considering it, give it a try. ”
“I was at the very end of my rope, battling stubborn belly fat and hemorrhoids. My
lifestyle was healthy. I went to the gym regularly and thought I was eating
extremely well according to morning news shows and magazines. But I wasn't
satisfied by anything I was eating and also didn't see any results after intense
workout routines.
Michelle immediately identified many symptoms I ignored and explained why my
body was acting this way. When she gave me my meal plan I could not believe
how amazing it was. [It has been] the best investment I’ve ever made for my
health, body, and peace of mind.
I immediately implemented the meal plan and within 24 hours felt a difference.
Less bloated, I slept better and had much more energy during the day. I began to
lose inches from my waist, and gain muscle mass where I wanted it. I had great
energy and the intestine discomfort completely went away. All of these results
while I was enjoying the meals.
Aside from the success I felt and the enjoyable nutrition options, I felt a deep
connection and understanding with Michelle. She is a ray of light and made this
journey fun. We laughed through most of my appointments. She was extremely
accessible for all of my needs and hand crafted a simplified version of my plan
for long business trips.
I can't say enough great things about her and her practice and I have the results
to prove it. If you are even considering it, give it a try. ”
“Michelle has become a staple for maintaining my health, just like a doctor or a dentist should be.”
“Michelle has become a staple for maintaining my
health, just like a doctor or a dentist should be.”
Dr. Robert Kachko, President, American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
Dr. Robert Kachko, President, American
Associationof Naturopathic Physicians
So many RDs can help people follow a healthy food and nutrient plan. Michelle’s approach is different because it aims to discover the root cause of each person’s condition. Whether you’re looking for help with digestive issues, anxiety, or lifestyle change, her approach is the same: understand your true needs, body, mind, and spirit. She’s helped so many of my patients change their relationship with food and lifestyle choices in a way that helps them get on the journey of sustainable health for good, finally.
Michelle has the rare ability to help people work through their past traumatic relationship with food in a way that helps them to understand themselves better without ever feeling judged. Simply put, everyone loves her and working with her.
So many RDs can help people follow a healthy food and nutrient plan. Michelle’s
approach is different because it aims to discover the root cause of each person’s
condition. Whether you’re looking for help with digestive issues, anxiety, or lifestyle
change, her approach is the same: understand your true needs, body, mind, and
spirit. She’s helped so many of my patients change their relationship with food
and lifestyle choices in a way that helps them get on the journey of sustainable
health for good, finally.
Michelle has the rare ability to help people work through their past traumatic
relationship with food in a way that helps them to understand themselves better
without ever feeling judged. Simply put, everyone loves her and working with her.
Michelle is the only food and nutrition specialist I ever refer to.
"Michelle is the only food and nutrition
specialist I ever refer to."
Jillian Greaves, Integrative and FunctionalRegistered Dietitian, Women's Health Expert
Jillian Greaves, Integrative and Functional
Registered Dietitian, Women's Health Expert
Michelle is an incredibly compassionate and skilled functional dietitian. She is able to support clients in navigating the physical AND emotional aspects of different symptoms and disease states. She does not shy away from discussing important topics that are controversial or polarizing and she is able to have tough conversations without bias.
Michelle is incredibly empathetic, she's a listener, she leaves her ego at the door and she is dedicated to bringing the power back to her clients so they can achieve optimal health and wellbeing. Michelle is the ultimate patient advocate and there is no one else you'd rather have on your side as a healthcare provider. She is a brilliant functional dietitian that is honest,
authentic, and that practices with the utmost integrity.
Michelle is an incredibly compassionate and skilled functional dietitian. She is able
to support clients in navigating the physical AND emotional aspects of different
symptoms and disease states. She does not shy away from discussing important
topics that are controversial or polarizing and she is able to have tough
conversations without bias.
Michelle is incredibly empathetic, she's a listener, she leaves her ego at the door
and she is dedicated to bringing the power back to her clients so they can
achieve optimal health and wellbeing. Michelle is the ultimate patient advocate
and there is no one else you'd rather have on your side as a healthcare provider.
She is a brilliant functional dietitian that is honest, authentic, and that practices
with the utmost integrity.
Michelle is the only food and nutrition specialist I ever refer to.
Michelle helps her clients navigate the complexities of our
broken healthcare system and find the sweet spot of pursuing
health changes while also learning to respect their body.
Functional nutrition is a holistic (whole-body) approach to nutrition and addresses the ROOT cause of health ails. Instead of just giving a client a pill to mitigate symptoms, the goal of functional nutrition work is to find out WHY something is happening in the body and work to reverse or prevent it (when possible), not just manage it.
Functional nutrition relies on learning about someone's bio-individuality and acknowledges that everyone’s chemical, mental and spiritual identity is different. It focuses on creating health and peace in the body by addressing underlying imbalances and supporting them.
Let’s use the example of acid reflux. A Conventional Dietitian would give a client a list of foods that cause reflux symptoms and tell them to avoid them.
A Functional Dietitian would ask the question, “why are these symptoms happening in the first place?” Then, the functional RD would find out why and when the body started producing reflux symptoms and work to support the body in reversing the condition through lifestyle, food and supplement recommendations (maybe like having a great posture, restoring stomach acid, or addressing stressors!).
IT’S ALL CONNECTED, BABY
What does Functional
Nutrition mean, exactly?
Cookie cutter meal plans
Treats the symptoms instead of the root cause
Focuses on avoiding symptoms
Categorizes the body as a disease state and treats the disease
Conventional Nutrition
Highly individualized approach
Treats the client as a whole person, not as a disease
Works to reverse and prevent conditions, not just manage them
Looks at the body as a whole
Functional Nutrition
A side-by-side comparison of each approach
Conventional Nutrition vs. Functional Nutrition
There’s no throwing out remedies to temporarily manage your
symptoms here. Instead, I focus on reversing the condition.
This means we look at when the issue started. I listen intensely
first and see where you’re at. Only then can we implement a
food, supplement, and lifestyle strategy to reverse it.
This isn’t to say I believe in magic. But, time and time again, I’ve
seen clients heal their guts, stress levels, and other chronic
issues from functional nutrition and lifestyle changes and a
holistic approach.
There’s no throwing out remedies to temporarily manage your symptoms here. Instead, I focus on reversing the condition.
This means we look at when the issue started. I listen intensely first and see where you’re at. Only then can we implement a food, supplement, and lifestyle strategy to reverse it.
This isn’t to say I believe in magic. But, time and time again, I’ve seen clients heal their guts, stress levels, and other chronic issues from functional nutrition and lifestyle changes and a holistic approach.
Slow and steady’s the name of the game
Conditional Reversal vs.
Symptom Management
Because, if we work together, I’ll never let you forget the greatness you deserve. Even if you don’t think you’re ready for it.
Okay, ready to sign your life away?
• Rocking out to the Beatles, Lana Del Rey, and Brand New
• Spending time with my friends (who have been around for 95% of my life)
• Tablescaping (Interior designing for tableware. Seriously, check it out.)
• Going to museums & parks around the city (as every New Yorker should)
When I’m not joining you on your health journey I’m probably…
1. Do no harm. Every recommendation I give is with extremely careful consideration that incorporates my clients’ full being.
2. Your consent is key. I ask for consent before every recommendation I give, whether it’s physical, mental, or spiritual.
My most important principles are...
• Over seven years practicing as a Registered Dietitian
• Worked with over 1000 clients
• Certified Functional Nutrition and Lifestyle Practitioner
• Bachelor of Science from the University of Delaware, with an RD Degree
• Seminars delivered to over 10,000 people
