PCOS Dietitian Melbourne
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Tired of the constant "cut carbs" or "lose weight” PCOS advice?
You’re in the right place
If you’ve landed here, I want you to know, you’re body is NOT a problem to be fixed. You’re not a failure. And, most importantly PCOS is not your fault.
Weight Inclusive PCOS Dietitian
Diagnosed with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS) and told, “You need to lose weight"?
It’s time to leave that outdated advice behind.
Here's the truth
Focusing on weight loss to improve PCOS by restricting food, cutting carbs, and exercising excessively isn’t just unhelpful advice. It can make your symptoms worse
There are so many helpful and effective ways to improve your PCOS symptoms without focusing on weight loss.
At Balance and Bite, we want to help improve your PCOS symptoms without causing (or flaring up) disordered eating/eating disorder behaviours.
My Approach to PCOS Management
I take a bottom-up approach, with my clients focusing on quick wins first. Are you eating regularly? How are you managing stress? Do you need medication or supplements to start? These foundational steps are all about seeing some early wins, giving you that boost of confidence and energy you need to take on more comprehensive PCOS management strategies like nutrition and movement.
My goal is all about empowering you to feel control of your health in a way that feels sustainable and right for you.
My mission? To free people from body hate, unrelenting food standards, and noisy diet culture because, IMO, you’ve got *way* more important things to do with your one freaking fabulous life!
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Oh Hey, I'm Erin
Like most Dietitians, I started my career providing weight loss advice to “improve people’s health”, but it didn’t take long for me to realise this approach created more problems than solutions. I’ve spent years unlearning my traditional weight-centred education and now adopt a weight-inclusive, HAES & non-diet approach.
Experienced Non-Diet PCOS Dietitian
I’ve absolutely loved working with Erin. She made me feel safe and comfortable to open up straight away. I have a habit of talking too much, but nothing I said ever felt like too much, I always felt like she was listening to what I was saying.
Gemma, 36 - Australia
I was very nervous to start working with a Dietitian again, but Erin calmed my nerves immediately. It’s been nice to build my trust in health professionals again, and I actually look forward to our sessions each week
Steph, 29 - Australia
PCOS Dietitian
But oh-so much more
FAQ's
For many people newly diagnosed, one of the first questions they ask is, "What is PCOS"? It stands for Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS) and is a hormonal condition common among women (or AFAB people) of reproductive age. It's characterised by multiple small follicles, often called 'cysts,' on the ovaries. These are not true cysts but undeveloped follicles where eggs mature. In PCOS, these eggs usually fail to release properly, contributing to irregular menstrual periods and visible cysts on the ovaries.
PCOS leads to hormonal imbalances, particularly elevated testosterone levels, which can block the release of eggs and cause symptoms like irregular periods, excess hair growth (particularly on the face), acne, weight gain/difficulty losing weight, thinning hair, reduced fertility, depression, anxiety and mood changes.
To be diagnosed with PCOS, you must have at least two of the following symptoms and other conditions that might cause these symptoms must be excluded:
1. Irregular periods - This could look like an absence of periods (amenorrhoea) or irregular periods (oligomenorrhoea—fewer than 6-8 periods/year). If you have regular periods but your doctor suspects PCOS, you might have a blood test to check your menstrual hormone levels (more on that later).
2. Biochemical or physical signs of hyperandrogenism e.g. physical signs include hirsutism (presence of facial/body hair that's darker, thicker or in areas you might not expect it), severe acne or alopecia (hair thinning/ loss from the head)
3. Polycystic ovaries - These are the 'cysts' we were talking about earlier. This is usually assessed using pelvic ultrasound in people who are not going through puberty.
A PCOS dietitian can help manage PCOS by giving you advice to regulate your periods, improve insulin resistance, and improve your gut health with a varied diet without restriction.
While I understand and appreciate the desire to lose weight to manage your PCOS, (especially if your GP has recommended weight loss) however as a binge eating disorder dietitian, I do not prescribe/focus on weight loss. I can, however, help you improve your symptoms and quality of life by concentrating on non-diet and health-promoting behaviours and fostering a positive and long-lasting relationship with food and your body.
