ACS Nutrition & Fitness

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Brisbane, QLD
ACS Nutrition & Fitness

Weightloss Dietitian (APD) I offer consultations to private clients, out of North West Physiotherapy Everton Park as well as Jetts Fortitude Valley.

I provide a high quality, client-directed service, focusing on the development of individual strategies to assist each client in meeting their dietary and lifestyle needs. I also offer Telehealth appointments. I specialise in the management of:
- weight loss/weight gain
- chronic diseases including diabetes, high cholesterol and high blood pressure
- food allergies and intolerances
- disordered eating
- sports nutrition
* Rebates available for private health insurance. In addition, I offer mobile dietetic appointments to NDIS participants - self and plan managed. I have worked with a range of disabilities including:
- ADHD
- autism
- intellectual disability
- anxiety disorders
- depression
- paraplegia
- cerebral palsy and
- motor neuron disease. I provide support and tailored lifestyle recommendations in relation to:
- medical nutrition therapy in conditions such as diabetes, obesity, low weight, malnutrition, gastrointestinal (stomach/bowel) difficulties
- food allergies, intolerances and gut health
- assistance in fussy/picky eating
- nutrition for pressure ulcers
- meal planning, recipe development, cooking classes and supermarket tours
- carer education and support
- education and guidance managing feeding regimes

09/07/2024

My sustainable weight loss program REVITALISE YOU is finally here!🥳

Are you:
❌ Frustrated with trying to lose weight but not getting anywhere?
❌ Ready to improve your relationship with food and combat emotional and stress eating for good?
❌ Wanting to improve your health, energy and overall wellbeing?
❌ Sick of yoyo diets and following restrictive diets?
If you answered yes to any of the above, I have the solution for you!

Comment READY and I will send you a link to more info, or alternatively send me a DM and we can book in a FREE 20 minute discovery call to talk more about whether you would be a good fit for my program!

There’s only 5 spots available, and the price will never be this low again, so what are you waiting for?!

11/09/2023

Nutrition on Instagram, and really all forms of social media is rough.

Whenever calories are mentioned, there will be people who will be saying ‘THERE IS MORE TO NUTRITION THAN JUST CALORIES’ which is true. But calories are still important. And if you think they aren’t important, that is just as silly as thinking they are the only thing that matter. Instead we want to aim to have a level of awareness of calories as well as other factors that are relevant (see list below). And then put that into context in a way that aligns with your goals and lifestyle. Instead of black and white thinking, be aware of the shades of grey.

Factors to consider alongside calorie intake: macronutrients, micronutrients, meal frequency, meal timing, antioxidants, food intolerances, allergies, dietary fibre, polyphenols, certain chemicals, food volume, prebiotics, probiotics, types of fat and levels of satiety, to name a few🤯
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02/08/2023

Are you struggling to hit your 5 serves of veg per day? The answer is likely yes, as it’s proven that only half of all Australians are hitting the recommended number of served of veg per day.

Why are they important?
There are SO many benefits of eating veg: including but not limited to them being rich in vitamins and minerals, rich in antioxidants and containing lots of dietary fibre. In addition, they are super low in kilojoules (excluding starchy veg) and as they are so fibre rich they will help you keep full, which can aid in weight loss!

How many vegetables should we be eating every day?
The current recommendations suggest most adults should eat at least 5 serves of vegetables every day.
A standard serve of vegetables is ~75g, however this can look different depending on whether you’re eating raw, cooked or canned vegetables.

I’ve listen below 5 ways to up your daily vegetable count:

1️⃣ Bulk up your breakfast: vegetables make a great pairing with savoury breakfasts. Add some spinach and sliced avocado to your eggs on toast, or perhaps grating some zucchini and carrot into your scrambled eggs. You could also add some veg to your morning smoothie - try adding a handful of spinach to your protein smoothie, you won’t even taste it!

2️⃣ Build your meal around the vegetables (rather than as a side to a meal) - this can be a great way to increase your intake. Try a vegetable soup, a tasty salad or some vegetable fritters, patties or even a vegetable lasagne.

3️⃣ Find ways to sneak in extra vegetables: there are loads of meals which can easily be bulked up by some grated or diced vegetables. Try chopping or grating zucchini, carrot, onion and capsicum into a Bolognese, lasagne, frittata or casserole.

4️⃣ Meal prep some tasty veg to add to any meal throughout the week - roast off some pumpkin, potato, mushrooms, zucchini etc

5️⃣ Include veggie snacks! Cut up some carrot or celery sticks and pair them with hommus or a salsa dip!

You really can’t go wrong with adding more veg into your diet, so choose a way which is tasty and reap the benefits!
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20/07/2023

The alkaline diet is based on the notion that replacing acid forming foods with alkaline foods can improve your health and reduce your risk of chronic diseases.

What is an acid forming food? A food with a lower pH – examples include wholegrains, dairy, sugar, meat products. Conversely, alkaline foods generally have a higher pH – examples including nuts, legumes, vegetables and low sugar fruits. Studies have shown diseases, such as cancer to thrive in an acidic environment, therefore by eating more alkaline foods, it is thought that the body’s pH will become more alkaline, and you will have greater health outcomes, right?

Unfortunately this isn’t the case. We cannot significantly change the body’s pH through diet. Our kidneys and lungs stabalise our pH levels very tightly, so if both of these organs are functioning optimally, the body’s pH will remain between 7.35-7.45. If the body’s pH was to fall outside of this range, your cells would stop working and you would become very unwell. Our urinary pH on the other hand, can change pretty dramatically, and this is based on the food we eat. Excreting acids in urine is one of the main ways the body regulates its blood pH. Eat a large steak, and your urine will be more acidic for several hours, as your body removes the metabolic waste from your system.

BLOOD PH DOES NOT REFLECT URINE PH, THUS MEASURING URINE PH IS NOT AN INDICATOR OF HEALTH!

If you have gotten this far, you now know that we cannot shift our body’s pH to be more alkaline through diet, however is it harmful to follow such a diet?

In my opinion, any diet that unnecessarily eliminates certain foods is harmful, as you will be missing out on nutrients required for optimal health. In the case of the alkaline diet, you will be cutting out acid forming foods – some of which are beneficial to health.

My recommendation? Include both acid and alkaline foods, and rather judge a food based on its general nutrition properties. As always, choose whole foods (wholegrains, lean protein, fruits, vegetables and dairy) and limit processed foods!
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06/07/2023

Fad or rash diets just don’t work long term. Please don’t do it to yourself. Don’t follow an unrealistic regime which will end in failure and disappointment. Instead, learn how to live a healthy and balanced life day-by-day, and reap the long-term wellbeing benefits. I always tell my clients, if you can’t see yourself doing what you are doing everyday for the rest of your life, happily, then it simply will not work.

A few reasons as to why rash diets fail:
1️⃣ The focus is short term gain, not long term sustainability
2️⃣ Most are unbalanced, and unrealistic to be maintained longterm.
3️⃣ Majority are approached with an all or nothing mindset. Start forbidding certain foods, and it is a recipe for disaster.
4️⃣ Most of these diets are very low in kcal, which will result in you feeling hungry, weak and lethargic as hell
5️⃣ Most are focussed on the negatives - what you ‘can’t’ have, rather than what you can have
6️⃣ Often, they are lacking in protein, good quality carbohydrates and essential fats, which can affect many areas, including hormonal and brain health. There is a good chance you’ll be irritable, experience mood swings and headaches due to lack of calories and nutritious food. The brain needs glucose for fuel and a lack of it causes mental fatigue and brain fog.
7️⃣ When we are hungry, our sleep can be affected, and this plays a vital role in controlling hormones, in particular ghrelin (the hunger hormone) and leptin (satiety/feeling full hormone). Lack of sleep causes ghrelin levels to rise and leptin levels to fall, making you feel hungry
8️⃣ Most of these diets end up leaving people feeling unhappy, sad and often depressed as they often end in failure because very often you weigh more than you did before you started

A healthy diet is not a diet. It’s a healthy way of eating and adopting a lifestyle that is achievable and supports you physically, mentally and emotionally. You should feel energised, happy, have a clear head, feel full of life and feel your best. That’s what you should be aiming for✌🏻
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14/06/2023

Losing weight doesn’t qualify you to provide weight loss advice to others.

Recovering from an eating disorder doesn’t qualify you to coach eating disorder recovery or mindful eating.

Eating food doesn’t qualify you to teach others about nutrition.

Recovering your period doesn’t qualify you to teach others how to balance their hormones.

Of course there is merit in experience, however if you are looking for someone to help you lose weight, treat medical conditions or anything of a similar nature, please give your hard earned money to someone who is actually qualified to give you that advice.
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05/06/2023

1️⃣ Hydration - over 60% of your body is made up of water and thus your hydration status will impact each and every cellular and metabolic function in your body.

2️⃣ Consistency - I’ll say it until I turn blue - consistency really is key! You need to come up with strategies which allow you to be consistent, because without consistency you won’t get anywhere!

3️⃣ Eat more colourful foods! Try to get as many colours on your plate as possible! This food will nourish you, energise you and help build your immune system to stay fit and healthy for life.

4️⃣ Eat less processed food. This doesn’t mean never have it, but make a conscious effort to reduce your intake. Eat more whole, fresh, colourful food rather than anything with a label.

5️⃣ Move more! Humans were not made to sit. We were made to run, jump, swim etc etc. Find a way to do something to move your body every single day and you will feel more energised and alive! -
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29/05/2023

PORTION SIZES

Portion size guidelines are not there to provide feelings of restriction. Rather they are there as a guide - to help us get the best out of food to satisfy our appetite, fuel us for training, recover post training, assist with concentration etc.

🥔 Carbohydrate: on this plate is potato, but other sources include wholegrains, other starchy veg, legumes etc.

🥩 Protein: a good amount of high biological value protein to assist with satisfying appetite and repairing muscles post training. On this plate is lamb blackstrap, but other sources include other animal meat products, dairy or plant based sources of protein.

🥗 Vegetables: aim for colour, this means a variety of vitamins and minerals. Also dietary fibre.

🥑 Unsaturated fat: EVOO was used in the salad and in cooking the potato in this case, but other sources include avocado, nuts/seeds and oily fish. These provide many beneficial components, including anti inflammatory properties.

The recommended amount of each of these will differ from person to person and will depend on many different factors. It is recommended to see a dietitian to work out what you need and in what amounts, however in summary, always include variety and aim for satisfaction rather than fullness. -
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17/05/2023

Less is not always more when it comes to dieting

It is pretty common knowledge that the key to weight loss is being in a calorie deficit - so consuming fewer calories than you expend. It is all too easy to assume that the more calories you drop, the more results you will see. To a point this is correct - you will see results, and probably quite quickly, however you will plateau at some point, and when this happens, you will have nowhere to move. In addition to this, eating in a severe calorie deficit will eventually down regulate metabolism, will lead to poor training performance, lowered NEAT (non exercise activity thermogenesis), increased cortisol levels and will simply result in you hating the whole process.

Rather, by placing yourself in a small calorie deficit, you will still see physical results, but will essentially reverse all of the above factors - less chance of down regulating metabolism, less chance of decreasing NEAT, you will be less hungry and thus more likely to comply to the plan, you will be less likely to binge and therefore will be creating a better relationship with food. And most importantly you will enjoy the whole process a lot more!

The exact number of calories to place you in a deficit will vary from person to person, and it is probably best you get this information from someone who works within the health and fitness realm, but just remember - eating less is definitely not the answer!
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02/05/2023

Let’s talk alcohol.

Now if you’ve been following me for a while you will know I’m an advocate for everything in moderation, including alcohol (if that’s your preference). Having said this it is important to keep in mind that alcohol will 1) make fat loss very hard (pending on the quantity and frequency in which it is consumed) and will 2) more than likely be detrimental on sporting performance.

1️⃣Alcohol is empty calories (providing no nutritional benefit), containing 7kcal/g (keeping in mind carbohydrate and protein contain 4kcal/g - almost double!). A few drinks will quickly add up to a meals equivalent worth of calories, and that’s before the food you consume along side it. These additional calories will more than likely place you into a calorie surplus, making weight loss near impossible.

2️⃣Alcohol is a diuretic. Excessive consumption will more than likely result in dehydration, which when coupled with trying to workout (additional fluid losses through sweat) will only result in further dehydration and be detrimental to performance in the gym or on the sporting field. In addition, alcohol consumption plays a role in impairing the recovery process post training, thus you will not be able to bounce back as fast, particularly if you are injured.

At the end of the day there is nothing wrong with having a drink from time to time if that’s what you enjoy, however be aware that the quantity, frequency and type in which you drink will affect how you progress in achieving your health and fitness goals.
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19/04/2023

I see this all the time in the health and fitness industry. People stressing about the small, usually fairly insignificant things and placing much less emphasis on what they should really be focussing on.

People stressing about the numerous vitamins and health supplements they think they should be taking, when they aren’t even close to consuming the recommended 2 serves of fruit and 5 serves of veg each day.

People stressing about getting in a protein shake 30 mins post training, when they aren’t even close to hitting their overall protein intake during the remainder of the day.

People stressing about how they need to be taking a ‘gut health’ supplement to help with digestive discomfort when they eat next to no dietary fibre.

People stressing about which juice cleanse to go on to ‘detox’ and feel better, when they aren’t consuming a balanced, healthy diet.

These supplements/diets are designed and marketed to try and get you to believe they are the answer. So if you have been fooled in the past, you’re not stupid, these companies have just done their job! Rather than focussing on these small, insignificant details, worry about the important stuff, like consuming a healthy, wholesome, balanced diet, drinking enough water and moving your body. And if you want more specific answers, flick me a message👍🏻
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17/04/2023

There is actually no evidence to suggest that either of these negatively affect your health or your weight.

You may have watched a YouTube video, a blog, or even an instagram story which may put forward an individual’s opinion suggesting differently. You may have heard that gluten and/or dairy cause ill health, inflammation, weight gain etc, but remember that this is just someone’s opinion, it is not scientific evidence.

They are perfectly safe and perfectly healthy to consume regularly.

And if you choose to not eat them, this is also fine, but please do not do this as you think it is a decision which will improve your health.

Obviously there are some medical conditions which require these food’s to be reduced or eliminated, however this should be done with the help of a professional, not from someone on social media!
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06/04/2023

The low FODMAP diet involves strictly eliminating all 6 FODMAPs. Which is actually not great for your gut health.

Which is okay, as it is a short clinical intervention designed to establish a baseline from which we can enter the reintroduction phase.

Following a completely low FODMAP diet for an extended period of time (with no reintroduction phase in sight), is likely to result in decreased gut bacteria diversity nutritional inadequacies and straying into disordered eating. Not to mention, you will very likely be consuming a super bland, boring diet which will be mostly unenjoyable.

This is why incorporation of the ‘reintroduction phase’ is so important. This is where we test your intolerance to these FODMAP foods and help you identify which specific ones you may have an intolerance too, and which ones you can consume without a worry.

So if you have eliminated all FODMAP foods, and are enjoying your bloat free, IBS symptom free life, regardless of how tempting it is to continue to do so, please do not. Commence the reintroduction phase, and give your gut bacteria a fighting change of staying healthy.

Confused? Not to worry, I have completed the course and can help guide you through all stages😊
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29/03/2023

Just a few of the many bouts of terrible advice which exist in relation to dieting. Can you think of anymore? List them in the comments!
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27/03/2023

Contrary to popular belief, this is not a thing.

It is something I’ve heard from friends/family, from clients, hell even from other fitness professionals.

Not eating enough for fat loss is simply just bu****it and something you will hear from trainers when they probably have no idea why you are not losing weight.

Not eating enough to lose weight is similar to an oxymoron, perhaps it’s to prevent clients taking calories too low, but nine times out of ten it’s utter rubbish.

Starvation studies have proven that people don’t gain weight during the process. It’s rather usually due to clients misreporting their food intake, either intentionally, or not.

So if this is you thinking “maybe I’m not eating enough”, perhaps rather start thinking “maybe I’m not actually in a calorie deficit” and focus on changing that.
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15/02/2023

There are many misconceptions about health professionals, and dietitian’s in particular. Contrary to popular belief we don’t regularly prescribe restrictive and convoluted meal plans/diets, and eat chicken and broccoli three times a day.

Unlike most people believe, we make nutrition recommendations that are tailored to the individual, comply to their food likes and dislikes/preferences and are also relevant and realistic! We also are usually massive foodies who get around all food, whether it’s deemed ‘healthy’ or not! I’ve listed a few points below which might even surprise you!

‘Enjoy your food without the guilt’ - if you are going to indulge in that chocolate mud cake, at least enjoy it! Guilt is one of the most distressing emotions which affect humans, so if you do make the choice to consume something you wouldn’t normally, ditch the guilt and enjoy it. If it is rather indulgent, simply ensure it is not a super regular thing!

‘You can have your cake and eat it too’ - you will rarely hear a dietitian refer to a food as good or bad. Rather we use terms like ‘sometimes’ food and ‘everyday’ food. An apple might be consumed daily, whereas a chocolate cookie would be recommended to be consumed just occasionally. Moderation and frequency are key always.

‘Make the correct food choices most of the time’ - yes you will probably lose weight more quickly by following a fad diet, however this is usually done in an unhealthy manner and is more often than not, unsustainable. Rather become educated on which foods to consume regularly and which to consume less often. A client who feels empowered to make the right food choices majority of the time will usually have the best outcomes in the long term.

Also please remember that dietitian’s are also human too! - so yes, you might see me enjoying cake, or a chocolate bar or a glass of wine from time to time. Just because we are educated on these topics does not mean we don’t also enjoy them!
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31/01/2023

I actually can’t believe that this is still talked about. But it is.

Coconut oil and butter are not healthy. They are extremely high in saturated fat. And including regular/large quantities into your diet will very likely overshoot your saturated fat recommendations. Which we know increases your risk of cardiovascular disease.

If you do enjoy the taste of these foods, then adding a small amount into your diet is probably going to be okay. But they are definitely not something to be added in excess.

So please ignore those who are suggesting you should load up on butter, coconut oil or fatty cuts of meat. They are either clueless or looking to somehow profit.
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Address

Brisbane, QLD

Website

https://acsnutritionfitness.my.canva.site/acsnutritionfitness

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