Monika Saigal RD & ms nutrition

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Monika Saigal RD & ms nutrition

I specialize in dance nutrition & the prevention and treatment of eating disorders/disordered eating.

I'm passionate about building a better dance world and helping individuals develop nourishing and peaceful relationships with food & their body 🩰❤️🌱

01/20/2026

Loved this convo with Dr. Chelsea Pierotti. Hope you'll have a listen: https://open.spotify.com/show/4olsIzenZrcVqyvWwbCq1T

01/16/2026

My💓 is full as I head home from presenting a Head to Pointe® Nutrition Workshop to a lovely group of dancers . We covered A LOT today including:

🥨Strategies to stay well-fueled during busy dance days

🥤Water vs. sports drinks for hydration

🕜Meal timing to support performance and recovery

🩷Improving body image by changing how we think about, evaluate, & care for our body

🩰How to honor your unique needs as a dancer

The world is pretty dark right now which makes me all the more appreciative for moments of joy and light like today (even got some 🌞on this freezing day in NYC).

Thanks so much to for having me back and to all the dancers for your participation, questions, and vulnerability. You give me hope for the future of our dance world🌟

01/05/2026

It’s January - Time to put on your diet culture armor 🛡️! Have you noticed that as soon as the calendar strikes January (and often in the weeks before), diet culture messaging gets louder and harder to escape?

⚠️Diet culture tells us that thinner/leaner is better, eating less is virtuous, and hyper-controlling our food and body will make us healthier, happier, and more successful - common messages in the dance world too 😢.Repeated exposure to these myths–and the behaviors they encourage–moves us further away from true health and well-being and is especially harmful for dancers given their high risk for under-fueling, body dissatisfaction, and disordered eating.

So, new year, new opportunities to be intentional about what you let in and what you push back against. Here are a few mantras to help–diet culture armor to protect your mind, body, and dancing. As always, take what you find helpful and leave what you don’t.

✨My body deserves nourishment, care, and respect, even on the days I feel uncomfortable in it or let down by it.

✨Food is meant to be nourishing and enjoyable. Sometimes it’s more of one than the other and that’s ok.

✨My body is wise–I can trust and honor my body when it tells me what it needs (like nourishment, hydration, and rest).

✨I am grateful for all that my body enables me to do (tip: make a specific list that resonates with you).

✨I matter and have unique gifts to share with the world. I will not let diet culture define my worth.

Happy 2026! Wishing you a year filled with peace, joy, connection, good health, and dance!

12/12/2025

🎁Still searching for that perfect gift for a dancer, dance teacher, dance parent, or dance provider in your world (or for yourself 😁)? You’re in luck!! Nourishing Dance is on sale NOW! It’s currently 40% off on Amazon and 20% off from the publisher Routledge. Don’t miss out…I’m not sure how long these sales will last.

Visit nourishingdance.com for more info, book reviews, and links to order (link in bio) 🩰🌎❤️🌱

12/02/2025

Here are 5 Tips to help you stay well-fueled through this BUSY Nutcracker/Winter performance season beyond!

📌Remember, when you are dancing more (hello Nutcracker season!), you need to eat more.

🍽️Rather than relying solely on hunger cues to tell you when to eat and how much, use a combination of strategic & intuitive eating.

🕧Consistency is key. Aim to have a meal or snack every ~2-4 hours to make sure you are giving your body the energy and nutrients it needs regularly throughout the day.

💪🏻Prioritize recovery. Consuming carbs + protein (eg, chocolate milk, crackers + cheese, fruit + yogurt) within 30-60 minutes after dancing helps replenish energy stores and repair muscles so you can bounce back quicker for your next class/rehearsal/performance.

🍪Food is more than just fuel–it’s also pleasure, culture, connection, celebration, & more! Including your favorite foods in your fueling plan is a great way to meet your energy needs while also helping to nurture a peaceful & nourishing relationship with food.

Optimal fueling will look different for every dancer. Working with a dance dietitian to get an individualized plan and tailored strategies can make all the difference to help you thrive on and off the stage (dancers, don’t settle for merely surviving the season!). Get in touch to learn more about how we can work together (link in bio) 🩰🍏

11/10/2025

That's a wrap on my first conference in beautiful Montreal 🇨🇦 ❄️

It’s been a short but sweet couple of days filled with presenting, chatting about my 📗 Nourishing Dance, learning from dance colleagues, reconnecting with friends and making new ones 💕. I always feel invigorated after sharing space with people who share my passion for improving dancers’ health and well-being (and wow the wellness philosophy and approach gives me so much hope) ✨

Pictured:
🥨 Presenting on optimal fueling in dancers

🌷Loved this panel discussion with Maria Tanielian, , , and the wonderful Jo-Anne Laflèche on what it means to be well-nourished (this convo also provided the perfect set-up for my talk!)

📚Getting better at this book-table thing!

👏🏻Would it be a dancer health conference without dancing? I loved all of the performances, including this piece titled Rang: The Colour of Community danced by

🩷So lovely to catch up

🙏🏻Merci to for hosting and to everyone from who put so much work into this event. Hope to see you again soon!

😬Side note: my flight out of Montreal was cancelled last night. Please send good travel vibes my way. Hoping I’ll make it back home to NYC today 🤞🏻🤞🏻🤞🏻

11/06/2025

I'm so looking forward to presenting and being an exhibitor at the Healthy Dancer Canada Conference this weekend! Hope you'll stop by my book table on Sat to say 👋🏻! I'll only have a limited # of books available, so DM me to reserve a copy! Can't wait to be in beautiful Montreal and connect with everyone ❤️

10/29/2025

Friendly reminder about Halloween candy 🍫🎃🍬

Candy corn goes in my avoid pile (strong dislike!) and Kit Kats go in the “I love these and am not sharing pile” 😂

What goes in yours?

10/22/2025

I ask this question in the Epilogue of Nourishing Dance 📖:

Are we willing to do the work of challenging our biases to protect the humans without whom there is no art?

But there are also MANY other things dancers need to better support their health and well-being. To protect the humans without whom there is no art, is the dance world willing to:

🌿Pay dancers a living wage?

🌿Provide dancers with nutrition and mental health resources?

🌿Challenge harmful traditions and norms?

🌿Create schedules that give dancers enough time to eat and rest?

I could go on and on...

How would you fill in the blank?

10/16/2025

My first time presenting at the conference and I'm so looking forward to it!! Let me know if you're planning to attend in person or virtually. Hope to see you there 🩰💕

10/07/2025

Feeling full of gratitude from my afternoon at my alma mater New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (NOCCA) , last Friday. This school holds such a special place in my heart and was instrumental in my training and journey to becoming a professional dancer. So many touching and full-circle moments being back here to do a Nourishing Dance book event for the dance and musical theater students and faculty:

✨I LOVED my conversation with these bright and thoughtful students who give me so much hope for the future of our dance world. Thank y’all so much for your insights, energy, and openness to discuss these important topics (pics 1 & 2).

🎭With Kesha McKey, who I was in the dance program with at NOCCA and is now Director of Arts at the school! Kesha - it was so wonderful to see you in person again..These students are lucky to have you at the helm!

💫With my first ballet teacher, Melanie Ryan. She was a huge part of the early steps that paved the way toward my dance career. Hearing her say she’s proud of me… I’ll be riding that high for awhile 🥺

📚Personalizing and signing my books does not get old!

⚜️I attended NOCCA before they moved to this location. Was so fun to see the new school and gorgeous studios (no crumbling ceilings for these dancers!). These artists are lucky to train here, though I’m not sure I would trade my my time at the old NOCCA on Perrier St. - the peeling layers of colorful paint, sounds of jazz filling the halls, and even the coat closet we crammed into to change were all part of the unique magic and energy of the school.

Coming home is always special. Thank you NOCCA for making this trip extra special for me 💕

09/23/2025

It’s Weight Stigma Awareness Week - Understanding it is the first step to ending it.

Weight stigma refers to weight-based discrimination and stereotyping. It is the result of weight bias –negative beliefs, attitudes, and assumptions related to body weight and size.

Why it matters: Weight stigma is prevalent in our society and in dance and can harm dancers’ health, affect their livelihood, and impact the quality of health care they receive.

Ways weight stigma shows up:

Telling a dancer to reduce food intake and/or exercise more based on their body size (without considering they may be undereating, over-exercising, or might have an eating disorder).

Only flagging dancers with low weights for concerns about under-fueling or disordered eating.

Dismissing concerns about missed periods because a dancer’s weight is “normal.”

Body shaming

Praising weight loss

Using “fat” as a negative descriptor or insult

Want to learn more so you can help end weight stigma? Check out these resources:

➡️WeightStigmaAwarenessWeek.org

➡️allianceforeatingdisorders.com

➡️My book, Nourishing Dance (link in bio)

Address

39 West 32nd Street
New York, NY
10001

Telephone

+19175664699

Website

https://nourishingdance.com/, https://msnutrition.com/

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About Us

Monika Saigal, MS, RD, CEDRD-S, CDN is the founder of ms nutrition, PC, a New York City based nutrition counseling and consulting practice that specializes in: eating disorders/disordered eating, nutrition for dancers & performing artists, and a non-diet approach to health and wellness. We love helping clients Learn to Nourish so you can Live to Flourish!