Now Accepting All Major Connecticut Insurance

MS, RD, CDN · Founder & Owner

Monica Marcello

I was a competitive gymnast for ten years at CATS Gymnastics in Cheshire. For a whole decade, Route 10 was the most important road in my life, driving 30 minutes each way from Middletown to train. Fifteen years later, that same road became home to the first Dietitian Driven office.

When injuries ended gymnastics, diving gave me a second chance and took me to UConn. Movement is still my happy place: flipping, running, biking, hiking, swimming, rollerblading, yoga. (Full disclosure: I’m terrible at most of them. Gymnastics and diving are my only two tricks.) Outside of work, I love my husband, my dog, and anything that keeps me connected to community.

My Path

10 years

Competitive Gymnast

CATS Gymnastics, Cheshire, CT
2014–2019

UConn Diving

2x team captain, 3x school record holder, NCAA All-American
2019

Master of Science

2020

Registered Dietitian

RD, CDN
2023

Founded Dietitian Driven

First office on Route 10 in Cheshire, CT
2026

East Hartford Office

Our second location
Education & credentialsMilestones

Why I Started Dietitian Driven

Early in my career, I worked the typical RD jobs to gain experience. I loved the field. I just hated the job. And I kept thinking:

“I can do this better.”

I wanted everything
To help people.
To build community.
To love the work I do.
To create something better for patients, employees, and myself.
So I set out to
1Make individualized nutrition counseling affordable, accessible, and effective.
2Integrate it fully into the traditional healthcare system.
3Make life better for dietitians while doing it.

What I Believe

I believe in healthcare as a right, not a privilege: access for all, and doing everything I can to help people live better, fuller lives.
I’ve always been intrigued by the life cycle of food, from farming and growing to cooking and connection. Food grounds us in the earth, in culture, and in each other.
And yes, I’ve got a little wellness girly in me: colorful meals, cozy kitchen routines, and dreamy smoothie bowls on Instagram.

My Personal Health Journey

Years of injuries left me battling unwanted weight gain, body distrust, and periods of disordered eating, especially during transitions in and out of sports. Like a lot of people, chronic stress eventually caught up with me: I developed a sticky, painful case of IBS, H. pylori, and SIBO.

With a strong emphasis on nutrition and collaboration with other providers, I worked through it. But the visceral hypersensitivity stuck. It wasn’t until I did gut-directed hypnotherapy (yep, an actual therapist for my gut) that I finally started living 98% symptom-free.

That experience, the real-life understanding of where pain, physiology, and psychology meet, changed the way I think about care.

It shaped the kind of care I wanted to give: thoughtful, connected, and well beyond “eat this, not that.”

Why We Do Things Differently

Not prescriptive

We don’t toss you a handout and hope for the best.

More than food

Evidence-based nutrition, behavior change, and a more peaceful relationship with food.

Not siloed

We work alongside your other providers.

No false promises

If we can’t help you alone, we’ll tell you. Always.

Where I Am Now

I’m not currently accepting new patients, but the rest of our team is. As Clinical Supervisor, I stay close to every patient’s care and to the dietitians who provide it.

We’re a small business building an insurance-based, patient-centered nutrition practice here in Connecticut, now with offices in Cheshire and East Hartford.

New East Hartford Location Coming July 1st, 2026