Evidence-Based Recommendations to Optimize Nutrition and Workouts: 55

Cheryl McColgan is the Founder and Editor in Chief of Heal Nourish Grow, where she has published evidence-based health and nutrition content since 2018.

With over 30 years of experience in fitness, nutrition, and healthy living, and nearly 20 years of professional editorial and journalism experience, she brings both subject-matter depth and trained editorial judgment to everything on the site.

Cheryl holds a degree in Psychology with a minor in Addictions Studies, completed graduate training in Clinical Psychology, and is a NASM Certified Personal Trainer and E-RYT Certified Yoga Instructor and trained in Yoga Therapy.

She is the author of 21 Day Fat Loss Kickstart, Make Keto Easy, Take Diet Breaks and Still Lose Weight, The Grain Free Cookbook for Beginners, and Easy Weeknight Keto.

Read more about Cheryl and the journey that created Heal Nourish Grow on the about page.

Cheryl McColgan is the founder of Heal Nourish Grow, where she writes about protein, body composition, healthy aging, and evidence-based nutrition and wellness along with the everyday habits that actually make those things work in real life.

With a background in psychology and graduate training in clinical psychology, plus nearly 20 years of experience in editorial and publishing, Cheryl approaches health from both a research and real-world perspective. She’s also been immersed in fitness and nutrition for more than 25 years, which gives her a practical lens most purely academic content tends to miss.

Her work today focuses heavily on protein intake (especially for women), muscle retention, metabolic health, and sustainable fat loss, along with topics like sleep, wellness, recovery, and wearable health tech. You’ll also find a mix of high-protein, low-carb recipes designed to make hitting those goals easier without overcomplicating things.

Cheryl’s interest in health and nutrition became more personal after navigating her own health challenges, which pushed her to dig deeper into how lifestyle, diet and daily habits impact long-term health. That experience continues to shape how she approaches everything on this site: practical, realistic, and focused on what actually works over time.
What Cheryl Covers
Most of the content here falls into a few core areas:

Protein & Muscle Health: how much you actually need, especially for women and how to use protein to support strength, body composition, and aging
Fat Loss & Metabolic Health: sustainable approaches that prioritize muscle retention and long-term results
Healthy Habits & Lifestyle: sleep, movement, strength training, consistency, and the small things that compound over time
Wearables & Recovery: real-world testing and comparisons of tools like Oura, Whoop and others
High-Protein & Low-Carb Recipes: simple, realistic meals that support your goals without feeling restrictive
Travel & Lifestyle: wellness-focused travel, outdoor experiences, and a slightly more elevated take on healthy living

If you're new, here are a few good places to begin:

30 Day Healthy Habits Challenge

Protein Foundations

High Protein Recipes

About Cheryl & Heal Nourish Grow

Coaching and Programs