Hi, I’m Mikaela
Nutritional Scientist. Metabolic Balance Practitioner. Someone who has lived what she teaches.
About Me
I understand what it feels like when your body stops making sense.
For years I carried around 25 extra kilograms and dealt with hormonal imbalance that nobody around me could adequately explain. I tried what most women try: different diets, different approaches, different levels of effort. Nothing produced lasting change. What I eventually understood was that I didn't need another protocol. I needed to understand what was actually happening in my body at a biological level.
At 30, I went back to study. I earned an Honours degree in Nutritional Science, completing a dissertation on the epigenetics of methylation in PTSD. What started as a personal search for answers became the work I now do every day.
I am also 5'11", curvy, an endurance athlete, and currently navigating perimenopause myself. My labs are optimal by functional medicine standards. I run ultramarathons. I wear a size 16 to 18. I say this for context, because I think it matters that the woman guiding your metabolic health understands, from the inside, that health does not look one way.
The training behind the work.
I hold an Honours degree in Nutritional Science and am a certified Metabolic Balance Practitioner, trained under European medical standards that most practitioners in this space never reach. Metabolic Balance is a strictly practitioner-only programme: it cannot be purchased as a course or self-directed. Working with me means working with someone who has completed the full clinical training and applies it individually to you with your unique biochemistry.
I am also certified in NLP, CBT, and Sports Nutrition, and I bring a background in lifestyle medicine to every client relationship. The science is always the foundation. I believe in testing when you have not been able to get the right answers by guessing or hoping one of the strategies will stick for good.
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Seven one-on-one consultations plus support during business hours. You won't be navigating this alone.
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Your program includes private blood pathology and a personalized Metabolic Balance nutrition plan tailored to your unique biochemistry. Metabolic Balance is a strictly practitioner-only program—you're working with a qualified Nutritional Scientist, not following a generic course.
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Twelve modules covering fat metabolism, hormone health, sleep, and the psychology of lasting change
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Access to a private Wellness Hub where we collaborate, share insights, and track your progress in real time. Video content, reading recommendations, cooking and flavors and much more
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Each client receives a curated welcome gift box, personally assembled to support your journey from day one.
WHAT SETS MY WORK APART
The StoryA life lived across borders
I was born in South Africa, raised across Europe as a German citizen, and I now live in Christchurch, New Zealand with my partner Matt. My son lives in Australia. This global life has shaped how I think about women's health: the biology is universal, even when the culture around it varies considerably. What I have learned, working with women across different countries and life circumstances, is that the desire to feel well in your own body is not particular to any one place or season of life. It is one of the most consistent things I encounter.
Why I work with a small number of women each year
I work with 6 to 8 women per year through Sérenité. That is a deliberate choice.
The work I do requires full presence. Building a nutrition protocol from your individual blood work, understanding your hormonal history, your stress load, your training context, your relationship with food: none of that is possible at scale. When I take on a client, I am genuinely invested in her outcome. The programme is designed so that by the end of 24 weeks, she no longer needs me. That is the only result I consider a success.
If you are looking for a large group programme, a general meal plan, or a practitioner who works with hundreds of clients simultaneously, I am not the right fit. If you are looking for someone who will read your blood work thoroughly, build something specific to your biology, and stay present with you through the full process, that is what I do.
What brings women to this work
The women I work with are typically in their late 30s to mid-50s. They are active, intelligent, and have usually already tried a considerable amount. They are not looking for someone to tell them to eat less and move more. They have done that. They are looking for someone who can explain why things feel like they have stopped working, and what they can do to feel better again.
Perimenopause is the most common context, because the hormonal shifts of this transition change the metabolic landscape in ways that most standard advice does not account for. But the underlying theme across every woman I work with is the same: she wants to understand her own body well enough to make genuinely informed decisions about it. That is what precision nutrition, done properly, makes possible.
A note on my own journey
I want to be straightforward about something that I think gets glossed over in a lot of practitioner bios.
I have not arrived at a fixed destination. I am still learning, still adjusting, still navigating my own health in real time. The reverse dieting work I write about on the blog is something I am doing right now. The perimenopause content I produce comes from a place of genuine personal engagement with this transition, not just clinical familiarity with it.
I think that matters. The science I bring to your work together is grounded in research and clinical training. It is also paired with the kind of understanding that only comes from living through something yourself. Both of those things are present in every client relationship I have.
If you want to read more about my personal experience, including my genetics, my lab results, and my own history with restriction, the blog is the place to do that. I write there honestly and at length.