MEET YOUR DIETITIAN

Shay Poulter, B.Nutr.Sc, Mdiet
Dietitian and Founder

Shay is a dancer and dietitian who understands the balancing act between passion, performance, and proper fuelling. She has trained in a wide range of styles including ballet, pointe, contemporary, hip hop, pole, trapeze, and lyra. Through her years of dance training Shay experienced but also noticed how common it is for dancers to struggle with body image, feel unsure about what to eat, and experience patterns of underfuelling that affect health and performance. Seeking answers with nutrition education, she has seen how the right fuelling can directly impact performance, recovery, and overall wellbeing.

Shay began her career in private practice, supporting clients with hypermobility, Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, neurodivergence, eating disorders, and dysautonomia, including OI and POTS.

She now also works as a clinical dietitian in a Melbourne hospital, providing care across a broad range of patients and conditions. Shay values supporting people at all stages of life and enjoys the contrast between clinical work and her role at The Dancers Dietitian.

Qualifications and Education

  • Accredited Practising Dietitian, Dietitians Australia (APD)

  • Masters of Dietetics, Deakin University

  • Bachelor of Food and Nutrition Science with Honours, Deakin University

Experience and Memberships

  • Dietitians Australia (DA)

  • International Association for Dance Medicine & Science (IADMS) Medical/Healthcare/Wellness Professional member

  • Health professional listed on The Ehlers Danlos Society

“I knew there had to be a better way for dancers to fuel their bodies without sacrificing their health recovery, or performance.”

Book a consultation

Speciality Areas

RED-S / Underfuelling

Recognising and addressing underfuelling before it impacts performance and health is key for longevity in dance. This includes identifying low energy availability, fatigue, frequent injuries, and disrupted recovery.

Women’s Health

The Dancers Dietitian supports ALL dancers. Recognising dance is a female dominated industry we focus on providing nutrition for females dancers managing PCOS and endometriosis.

Performance Nutrition

Performance nutrition is tailored to support your training, recovery, and competition demands. This includes structuring meals and snacks around classes, improving energy levels in sessions, and optimising recovery between training days. .

Eating Disorders

We support dancers in improving their relationship with food and their body in a way that feels realistic and sustainable. This includes breaking down food rules, reducing anxiety around eating, and rebuilding trust in hunger and fullness cues. .

Helping Dancers Fuel Their
Dreams

  • Our mission is to redefine the dance nutrition standards and have dancers recognised as true athletes.

  • We support dancers of all levels and disciplines. Our approach looks at the whole dancer, combining evidence based care with lived experience to reflect the reality that every journey is different. We focus on helping you build confidence in your food choices while also learning how to care for your body in a way that supports both your health and performance.

    • Recreational to professional dancers

    • Aerialists

    • Pole Dancers

    • Circus Performers