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TSN 1040 Interview with Cristina Sutter

Cristina gives away secrets to building muscle and losing weight

1040Mike and Jason got my top tips on gaining muscle, losing weight, and what I think about the latest diets. Listen to my interview with Halford & Brough on TSN 1040 on eating well to stay in shape during covid self isolation:

 

https://www.tsn.ca/radio/vancouver-1040/cristina-sutter-if-you-can-t-follow-your-diet-the-rest-of-your-life-have-to-be-able-to-sustain-it-1.1475775

 

 

Now Offering Online Sport Nutrition Courses and Resources!

Cristina is now offering Elite Dietitians, a virtual library of Online Sport Nutrition Courses for young athletes, sports clubs and teams including soccer, hockey and swimming! 

Each course has short videos that are easy to follow with key messages for young audiences.  

Included are free downloads including:

  • Sport Nutrition Summary
  • Sport Nutrition Tips and Checklist
  • Quiz
  • Goal setting worksheet
  • Recovery snack ideas
  • Lunch ideas
  • Meal plans for practices and games

 

Her courses are focused on everyday foods and practical suggestions to fuel young athletes for training and performance.  

If your young athlete is open to learning from an expert in a casual way, check out her courses here: elitedietitians.thinkific.com.

U16 BC CUP 2023 GAME7 5697 KBPb

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yes, We Now Offer Direct Billing!

Ask if your plan allows direct billing for dietitians

We can now offer direct billing for these extended health plans: GreenShield, Chamber of Commerce, CINUP, ClaimSecure, Desjardins, First Canadian, Canada Life, Industrial Alliance, Johnson Group, Johnson Inc, Maximum Benefit. 

insurance 2022

If your  plan does not allow direct billing for dietitians, you will receive a receipt for your appointment that you can submit to your plan directly for reimbursement.  The following plans do not accept direct billing from dietitians: Group Health, Group Source, Manion, Manulife, Pacific Blue Cross and Sunlife.   

Now Launching Sport Nutrition Courses Made for Athletes

courseIs nutrition holding back your performance?  Find out what you need to know about protein powders, recovery and how to fuel your best performance.  Save time and money by knowing the difference between gimicks and real sport nutrition strategies.  Get your information straight from an expert, in the comfort of your own home, at the press of a button.

Learn from top sport dietitians Cristina Sutter and Kara Marshall, who have coached professional and Olympic athletes, about the most common sport nutrition mistakes and habits that are holding you back from reaching your goals.  We know that you are busy, so we have made all our courses short - all under 30minutes - with tip sheets, easy meal and snack ideas, meal planners and goal setting workbooks to help you get the results you deserve.  

See all our courses at https://westcoastperformancenutrition.thinkific.com/WC ATHLETES 4

 Not sure yet?  Sign up here to get our free guide to lean out and  join our quarterly newsletter.

Cristina is Now Hiring Elite Dietitians to Join Her Team!

Searching for Best Dietitians in Vancouver and across BC

girl typingDo you love working with motivated clients?  Are you an expert in your field and know you can give clients the best service?  Do you have a passion for helping people develop a healthy relationship with food AND reach their goals?  Do you want to work alongside a seasoned dietitian with a successful private practice? 

Cristina Sutter is looking to expand her team with another top dietitian with strong counselling skills and specialized clinical experience.  This is a virtual position, hours are flexible and pay is very competitive.  This job opportunity is open to dietitians living in Vancouver or elsewhere in BC and registered with the CDBC.

This is not an entry level position.  If you are a top dietitian with the CDBC and have 7-10 years experience in outpatient counselling in any area of expertise (obesity, eating disorders, pediatrics, diabetes, sport nutrition), please apply to: info(at)cristinasutter.com.  

New study uncovers high prevalence of undiagnosed Celiac Disease among family members

downloadA new study just published by the Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research earlier this year, found that 44% of the immediate family members of patients with celiac disease had undiagnosed Celiac Disease themselves. 

The vast majority of the family members with undiagnosed celiac disease either had no symptoms (28%) or non classic symptoms (66%).   This supports the fact that symptoms do not correlate to the presence or severity of celiac disease in the body.  Fortunately, the TTG blood test is an excellent marker of celiac disease and will identify 95% patients with the active disease.  This study points to the need for the first degree relatives (parents, children and siblings) of individuals with celiac disease, to be screened for celiac disease when a family members is diagnosed. 

Before taking gluten out of your diet, it is important to talk to your family doctor to get a diagnosis.  This is because the test will only diagnose celiac disease if you eat a serving of gluten every day for one month before the test.  

Sometimes, a person can develop celiac disease later in life, so it is also recommended for family members to get screened every few years or if you start to feel symptoms.  

Undiagnosed celiac disease has long term health consequences including osteoporosis, bowel cancer and malnutrition if exposure to gluten continues over a lifetime. 

Fortunately, there is a strong network of people living with celiac disease in Canada and lots of support on the Canadian Celiac Association (CCA) website and the CCA facebook site.  

 

Cristina is Moving to the North Shore

Cristina Sutter is Moving to Vitae Health and Sport

Cristina Sutter will be moving to Vitae Health and Sport in North Vancouver as of October 17, 2019.  Her rates, hours and and services will remain the same. After 6 rewarding years at Optimal Performance Clinic in downtown Vancouver, she is looking forward to continuing to support the community in their health and fitness goals from her new location on the North Shore.vitae map2

 

 

 

Interview with Cristina Sutter

Middays With Jody Vance - Cristina Sutter Radio Interview

listen to the interview

Jody speaks with dietitian Cristina Sutter from downtown Vancouver's Optimal Performance Clinic about carbohydrates and how we can best control our carb cravings.

Cristina talks strategy, timing and techniques for handling carbohydrate intake. Refined carbs, the best way to start your day and the difference between the concept of fueling your day with "kindling" foods, or "logs" to start your day.

Cristina tackles cravings, protein, fiber and more in this fascinating interview with Roundhouse Radio's Middays With Jody Vance. Have a listen!

How Do You Sabotage Your Diet?

Tips to Overcome Our Patterns or Habits that Sabotage our Diet.

If you feel that you struggle with your diet, I invite you to consider what you are doing to sabotage your nutrition.  Most of us have good intentions about our way of eating and do make lots of healthy food choices, but we often have one area of weakness that sabotages our success.  Often, we don’t need a total diet overhaul or to follow an extreme diet, we just need to identify and neutralize our pattern of sabotage. 

Everyone’s area of weakness is unique and addressing our Achilles' heel is the key to enjoying a healthy relationship with food.  Ask yourself which of these problem areas or “sabotage” is an issue for you and devise a plan to overcome it.  

Identify Your Sabotage:

Tips to Overcome this Challenge:

1.     PICKING UP TAKEOUT TONIGHT? Do you go for takeout and restaurants often?  

·         Cooking your own meals will reduce your portions, Calories, fat and salt.  

·         Plan simple meals for the week.  

·         Go grocery shopping with a list.  

·         Have food prepped and ready to cook when you get home.

·         Use a slow cooker, batch cooking and leftovers to save time.

2.       CRAVING CARBS ALL DAY: Does your sweet tooth beg for treats all day long?

·         Include protein and whole grains at each meal.  Whole grain toast and eggs for breakfast gives lasting energy.

·         Avoid having white flour or sugar especially in the morning.  Skip the bagels and croissants.

3.       HEAPING PORTIONS: Do you have generous portions at lunch and dinner?

·         Have nutritious snacks between meals to reduce overeating at meal times.  Try greek yogurt and fruit or veggies and hummus.

·         Fill half your plate with vegetables so you don’t overeat on the starch or meat at a meal.  

4.       MINDLESS TV SNACKING: Do you eat while watching TV?

·         Turn off the TV when you eat.  Unplug all electronics while eating.  Eating mindlessly while watching TV always makes you eat more, even when you are not hungry.  

5.      GOING OUT FOR LUNCH: Are you buying your lunch every day?

·         You’ll feel better, save money and calories if you make your own lunches.  Whole grain sandwich with fruit and salad leaves you satisfied and energized.

6.      TREATS AT THE OFFICE: Do the free donuts and chocolate seem to be in steady supply at the office?  

·         Try to avoid the office dessert table.  Out of sight, out of mind.  Bring your own snacks instead.  

7.     FAST AND FEAST PATTERN OF EATING: Do you skip meals when too busy?  

·         Fuel your body with regular meals and snacks to keep you energized all day long.  This will help prevent overeating later.  

8.       SOCIAL LIFE INCLUDES WINING AND DINING: Are you going out for lavish dinners and beverages on weekends?

·         Enjoy alcohol in moderation.  If you have a couple bottles of wine on weekends, try to cut back your drinks to half your usual intake.  

·         Order simple grilled meals at restaurants or share a dish with your date.  Avoid appies and the bread plate.  

·         Look up the menu nutrition information on the restaurant website ahead of time, to help inform your choice.  

9.       THE COFFEE BREAK: Are you having a Frappuccino and muffin every morning?

·         Try a latte instead.   Pass up the baked goods and enjoy fresh fruit instead. 

·         Your breakfast probably is missing protein if you are hungry at morning break.  Have eggs, cottage cheese or greek yogurt at breakfast to reduce hunger mid morning and cravings late afternoon.  

10.  THE ALL OR NOTHING DIET: Do you alternate between a “perfect” diet and a total binge?  

·         Try not to eat so “perfectly”.  This pressure is hard to keep up with and encourages an “All or Nothing” approach with your diet.  Enjoy moderately balanced meals that have some carbs and occasional treats to reduce your cravings.  

 

 

SportMed InTraining: New Regulations on Food Labels

Week 12 New Food Labels in Canada.

From now on, reading food labels will be easier. Read my SportMedBC article that explains Canada's new regulations to nutrition labels. We can look forward to improvements in the list of ingredients, the Nutrition Facts table and serving sizes. Serving sizes have been standardized and reflect amounts that we actually eat. 

 

The changes have targeted sugar, making it easy to quickly find added sugars and to see how much sugar is in a food. Until now, manufacturers could mislead us by using small amounts of a few different types of sugar, so that each one is listed separately on the list of ingredients, which hides the fact that sugar is the first and predominant ingredient. Now all the types of sugars must be grouped together in the list of ingredients.  The example below shows how the new way of grouping sugars together makes it easy to quickly find the sugars and to see how much sugar is in a food, compared to other ingredients.


You can read the full article here.

SportMed InTraining: When Should We Eat Protein?

Week 10 Sun Run InTraining: Protein Timing

ProteinThe timing of our protein intake throughout the day is just as important as how much protein we eat.  Although most of us actually do get enough protein in a day, studies have consistently found that we tend to eat most of our protein at dinner and have very little at lunch and almost none at breakfast.  In doing so, we miss out on the opportunity to build muscle throughout the day by carb loading our daytime meals.

Several studies agree that consuming 25-30g protein at every meal maximizes muscle building in both young and older adults.  We can get this much protein in:

-       2 eggs + 1 cup milk
-       ¾ cup greek yogurt and whole grain cereal
-       Sprouted grain bread ham sandwich
-       1 can tuna
-       1 small chicken breast

When it comes to timing protein around resistance workouts, we get the greatest muscle recovery benefits from taking a small amount of protein with carbohydrate within 30minutes after exercise.  Want to continue to build muscle while you sleep? Some early research supports also eating a serving of protein immediately before sleep to stimulate overnight muscle building after exercise.

For the full article, click here for the SportMedBC news.

SportMed Training: How Much Protein Do We Need?

Week 8 Sun Run In Training: Nutrition Tips

Protein-rich FoodsScientists have some new answers to the popular question of how much protein we need to build muscle. Researchers are now using a new method of estimating protein requirement known as IAAO (Indicator amino acid oxidation), which estimates our protein needs at 1.2g protein per kg of body weight.  This amount is 40-50% higher than the current Canadian protein requirement advised by the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA).  The RDA was calculated using an imperfect method called nitrogen balance, which is known to underestimate our protein needs.  Further, the RDA level was designed to avoid overt deficiencies and new research is demonstrating that this underestimates the optimal amount of protein needed for sustaining and building muscle mass.  We now know that our Canadian protein recommendations fall short of promoting optimal muscle mass.

Both young and older women tend to consume less protein than their male counterparts.  For an average 50 year old woman who weighs 154lbs, she needs 1.2g protein X 70kg = 84g protein per day to maintain and build muscle.  She can get this much protein in one day from:

-       2 eggs (16g protein)
-       1 cup milk (8 g protein)
-       1 can tuna (30g protein)
-       100g chicken or 2/3 of a chicken breast (27g protein)
-       ½ cup yogurt (4g protein)

Unfortunately, we lose muscle mass and function as we age, which can limit our mobility in our golden years.  A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition found that we can prevent and reverse this aging process with ... Read the full article at SportMedBC here.

SportMed InTraining: The Healthy Plate

Sun Run Training Week 7: What is a Healthy Meal?

VCH-healthy-plate-header

Following strict diets might help us lose weight in the short term, but they tend to leave us feeling hungry and deprived. This can boost our cravings and sets us up to overeat later and inevitably, regain all that weight afterwards. For long term weight management, we can use the “Plate Method” to enjoy all of our favorite foods in balanced proportions, without having to follow a restrictive diet.

The Plate Method was first introduced to help people with diabetes control their blood sugar. We now know that everyone can really benefit from the Plate Method to maintain a healthy weight and optimal nutrition and health. The Plate Method suggests that we fill half of our plate with vegetables, a quarter of our plate with whole grains, and a quarter of our plate with lean proteins. Aim to have 3 fruits a day and 2-3 servings of dairy products for snacks or with meals as well. 

When we serve our meals this way, the fibre from the fruits and vegetables and the protein from lean meats, fish, legumes, dairy products and alternatives keeps us full longer. We don’t have to cut out the carbs, we can choose whole grains more often and keep the portions relatively small. Having a small portion of whole grain on our plates gives us energy, without carb loading our plates with heaps of bread, pasta or rice. 

Next time you serve yourself dinner or make your lunch, try to load up on vegetables and lean protein and include a small portion of whole grains. Your plate will be full with a meal that keeps you full for longer, without weighing you down.

SportMed InTraining: What to Eat Before and After a Run?

Sun Run Training Week 6: Sample Meal Plan

bananasFueling yourself well is key to training for a 10K race. Eating the right foods at the right times makes all the difference. Four to six small meals a day is great for optimal energy and to avoid getting too hungry and overeating later in the day. When we forget to eat and skip meals, our muscles are broken down for energy and our metabolic rate slows. Eating a small meal every 3-4 hours helps you build muscle and fuels your training and recovery. 

Plan a snack 1-2 hours before a run - good examples include fruit and yogurt, crackers and hummus, fruit smoothie, toast with nut butter, banana with nut butter or oatmeal and milk. At this stage of your training, fresh fruit is a great recovery snack after your runs. When your training sessions become longer and faster, a fruit smoothie, yogurt parfait, or half a sandwich are great options for your recovery snack. Chocolate milk is a popular recovery snack because it’s convenient, but you can make your own recovery smoothie with plain milk, frozen berries and yogurt. Make sure to have your next meal within 1-2 hours after your run to promote muscle recovery and maintain your stamina at your next training run. 

Here is a general sample meal plan that would work for most moderately active middle-aged women. If you are younger, very active or male, you will need to boost the portions of these meals and snacks. 

Sample Meal Plan:

  • Breakfast: Whole grain toast, egg, milk
  • Snack: Greek yogurt, fruit
  • Lunch: Whole grain chicken vegetable wrap, raw veggies
  • Pre-run snack: Crackers, hummus, fruit
  • Post-run snack: Fruit
  • Dinner: Vegetable fish stir-fry with brown rice and salad

Latest News

  • Now Offering Online Sport Nutrition Courses and Resources!

    Cristina is now offering Elite Dietitians, a virtual library of Online Sport Nutrition Courses for young athletes, sports clubs and teams including soccer, hockey and swimming! 

    Each course has short videos that are easy to follow with key messages for young audiences.  Her courses are focused on everyday foods and practical suggestions to fuel young athletes for training and performance.  

    If your young athlete is open to learning from an expert in a casual way, check out her courses here: elitedietitians.thinkific.com.

    U16 BC CUP 2023 GAME7 5697 KBPb

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    Included are free downloads including:

    • Sport Nutrition Summary
    • Sport Nutrition Tips and Checklist
    • Quiz
    • Goal setting worksheet
    • Recovery snack ideas
    • Lunch ideas
    • Meal plans for practices and games

Book an Appointment with Cristina today

 

Want to book an appointment with Cristina immediately? Call 604-987-4060 during business hours. 8AM - 6PM, Monday - Friday or book online today:

BOOK ONLINE TODAY

Questions before getting started? Please feel free to use the form below to get in contact with Cristina for any questions you may have, or to schedule your next individual or group consultation or writing project.