About Carbs & Cals
A quick intro about Carbs & Cals, and keep scrolling to meet the team!
Where it all began…
Carbs & Cals began in 2009 with the original Carb & Calorie Counter. As a Diabetes Specialist Dietitian, Chris Cheyette knew just how hard it could be to get to grips with carb-counting, nutrition, weight management and other realities of diabetes. He joined forces with Yello Balolia, an experienced photographer, and the two set out to create a much simpler system that everybody could use.
Today, Carbs & Cals features an award-winning collection of books and an app, trusted by health professionals and customers all over the country.
The Mission
- To improve people’s lives by making nutrition and carbohydrate counting accessible to everyone.
- To produce products that are both scientifically accurate and easy to understand.
- To meet the health needs of all our customers, no matter their age, ability or circumstances.
- To strive to always improve our products by listening to our customers and welcoming their feedback.
- To build relationships with charities and health providers to further their goals and serve more people.
- To support health professionals in delivering more impactful consultations and educational sessions.
- To give healthcare teams the tools they need to empower their patients.
The Founders
CHRIS CHEYETTE BSc (Hons) MSc RD
NHS Diabetes Specialist Dietitian
Chris is an experienced diabetes specialist and a passionate advocate for accessible diabetes care. He’s led several projects aimed at improving diabetes education, including an award-winning DVD for young people with diabetes. Chris is also a published researcher, frequent guest presenter and media contributor on the topic of diabetes care provision.
Yello Balolia BA (Hons)
Entrepreneur and Photographer
London-based Yello is an accomplished entrepreneur with a first-class honours degree in Photography. He founded Chello Publishing in partnership with Chris, and uses his creative talents to translate Chris’s scientific knowledge into the visual, easy-to-follow system behind Carbs & Cals.
Our Healthcare Collaborators
Salma Mehar BSc (Hons) PG Cert RD
Diabetes Specialist Dietitian
Salma has been in community diabetes care for over 15 years. She currently works with the Diabetes Transformation Programme, developing educational resources for BAME populations to improve health literacy and outcomes across the globe. Salma has been featured in many South Asian radio and newspaper interviews, spreading vital health messages to a wider audience.
Dr Joan St John MBChb MRCGP MSc
GP with Special Interest in Diabetes
Joan was one of the first Diabetes UK Clinical Champions and has always maintained an interest in health conditions that disproportionately affect BAME communities. Her driving force is promoting education and knowledge to empower individuals about health and wellbeing. She has worked with the Sickle Cell Society, Culture Dementia and the Alzheimer’s Society.
Will Hadfield MNutr RD
Specialist Dietitian
Will is a dietitian specialising in diabetes and complex weight management, and is passionate about educating and empowering people to self-manage their health. Will’s experience in the NHS, not-for profit, private and academia settings support his passion for innovative and evidence-based education enabling long-term behaviour change whilst informing research. Will is co-founder of WE Nutrition, providing clients with tailored, holistic and sustainable solutions.
Emma Jones BSc (Hons) RD
Senior Specialist Dietitian
Emma is a senior specialist dietitian working in diabetes and diabetes technology, endocrine disorders, maternal health and weight management. Since graduating from the University of Surrey in 2013, Emma has worked in large NHS teaching hospitals, research teams and not-for-profit organisations.
Dr Paul McArdle RD MBDA
Lead Clinical Dietitian, Deputy Head of Nutrition (NHS), Freelance Dietitian
Paul is an experienced clinical practitioner and respected academic in the dietetics field. With 18 years of expertise in type 1 and type 2 diabetes care, he’s passionate about advancing both patient and professional education. His proudest achievement so far has been receiving the highly competitive NIHR Clinical Doctoral Research Fellowship in Applied Health Research.
Victoria Francis RD
Specialist Dietitian
Experienced dietitian Victoria has worked in the NHS and private sector for over 20 years, specialising in gastrointestinal disorders. She currently works in private practice, where she strives to help clients build a positive relationship with food via evidence-based nutrition, intuitive eating, and behavioural change.
Our Design and Digital Team
Maxine Gregory BA (Hons)
Graphic Designer
Graphic designer Maxine has been working with Carbs & Cals since 2013, creating the gorgeous graphics for our books, posters, flyers, and flashcards. Also a mum of three boys, keen crafter and gym lover, Maxine brings natural energy and organisational superpowers along with her design talents!
Louise Sinclair BA (Hons)
Copywriter & Content Writer
Louise comes from an NHS behavioural marketing and comms background, and now works as a freelance content and copywriting consultant for global medical and dental consumer brands. She’s working with Carbs & Cals on website copy, blog content and email campaigns, so you’ll be hearing more from Louise soon!
Astrid Wood & Will Knight @ Tower View Media
YouTube Video Production & Channel Management
Tower View Media has worked with some of the world’s most recognisable brands to create quality videos, animation and graphics. Astrid and Will worked their magic on the Carbs & Cals YouTube channel, creating engaging educational videos to support the Carbs & Cals resources.
Justine Rose
Communications & Social
Media Manager
Justine is married to Chris and has been involved with Carbs & Cals from the start. She staged some of the first product photoshoots on their dining table, and was the chef behind many of the desserts in the first book (most notably the very precise pancakes!). Today, she manages the social media accounts and liaises with customers and HCPs. In her spare time, she blogs about her passion for all things sustainable as Little Green Duckie.
Yoshi Balolia
Editor & Proofreader
Yoshi uses her teaching and education background to make sure the Carbs & Cals content is understandable and accessible for our wide audience. Her passion is empowering people to live vibrant and healthy lives, which she achieves through Carbs & Cals and her personal endeavours as a breathwork and wellness coach.
Alex Vickers & Oliver Smith @ Design Thing
Website Design & Development
Design Thing is an award-winning Essex-based agency and the creative brains behind our brand new Carbs & Cals website! Tech genius Alex heads up the frontend development, while graphics whiz Oli is responsible for the eye-catching design.
Tobin Harris, Matej Képeš, Anna Scandella, Judit Salvadó & Matteo Gheri @ Pocketworks
App Design & Development
Pocketworks is the design and development studio behind the brand new Carbs & Cals app. They live and breathe mobile, and we think it shows in the highly effective and engaging app they’ve created for us! Managing Director Tobin oversees the project, while product designer Anna and developers Matej and Matteo bring the app to life to ensure our users have a great experience.
Our Healthcare Partners
Carbs & Cals is supported by Diabetes UK and a number of other charities, NHS trusts and health organisations. We regularly collaborate with our healthcare partners to create innovative new products, and our Carbs & Cals resources are used in NHS and private healthcare settings all over the country to deliver quality diabetes and nutrition care. Here are just a few of the health partners we’ve worked with…
