Meet Cristel the Dietitian nutriFoodie’s Founder YOUR Coach
Vancouver Dietitian and Nutritionist
Cristel brings her personal and professional experience to coach clients to have a healthier and more peaceful relationship with their food and body, as well as to have a better, more fulfilling and satisfying meal balance throughout their busy schedules.
At the end of the day, Cristel does all it takes to redefine your relationship with food, where food is not meant to be a source of stress and agony, but rather, joy and nourishment.
Cristel is a registered dietitian in the lower mainland with an Intuitive Eating, non-diet, weight inclusive and trauma-informed approach.
Professional Background
Hey! I’m Cristel. I’m a Registered Dietitian with the College of Dietitians of BC, and the founder of nutriFoodie. I completed my dietetics degree at the University of British Columbia in June 2014.
I have quite the diverse experiences in clinical nutrition, foodservice management, community nutrition, and business administration. I fully embrace opportunities that cover nutrition, food, counselling, entrepreneurship, education and people!
I’m located in the lower mainland and have a passion for helping women through Intuitive Eating and Health at Every Size®.
Personal Struggles
I was just a child when I had to take steroids to deal with inflammation. Unfortunately, my parents did not receive education on what steroids would do to my health and body.
The impact is so great on blood sugars, blood pressure, weight gain, etc… and instead of a preventative plan for my well being at a young age, my body kept changing, and I kept gaining weight from there on.
I was chubby, and I quickly learned that was not okay with society or anyone in my surroundings.
So, like many others, I was bullied by close and distant people in my life with comments that affected me deeply in my younger years.
Fast forward to when I was a very young teenager and was sent to get a prescribed “weight loss diet” from an endocrinologist (…What?!). I walked in, got some anthropometric measures done, was given a handout of a restricted-calorie diet, and sent away.
That was the first of many diets that would follow me for years to come. Many ups and downs… and many more struggles with my food and body.
The results of this extreme diet cycle lead to temporary compliments… only to add fuel to the fire (physically, mentally and emotionally).
I started associating weight loss with being worthy… of attention, of eating without judgment, of being cared for and loved, of feeling “beautiful”.
That only spiraled into having a disordered relationship with food and eating, terrible body image, low self-esteem, all of which later developed into an eating disorder. I used to feel so guilty and shameful for eating altogether – restricting my food, and then end up bingeing in secrecy when no one was around.
All that because… I felt like my body was not good enough.
A Happy Ending, A Better Beginning
Fast forward many years… I finally recognized that I can’t help others get better in a way that I haven’t done for myself. I decided, I either seek recovery, or I quit being a dietitian all together!
I met with a dietitian and counsellor in my young adult years and learned how to embrace my body, love my food, enjoy eating, and certainly remove judgment from all that.
This meant that no one could beat my self-esteem or put me down with their comments, thoughts or beliefs encompassed by diet culture because my worth and value was no longer connected to their approval. WHAT A RELIEF.
With my education in dietetics, my passion for intuitive eating, my advocacy of body liberation and my compassion driven by lived & professional experience, I have come to help others create a PEACEFUL relationship with their food and body that can withstand the ups and downs.
THAT’S my big WHY behind nutriFoodie… and I’m so blessed to get to share it with the world day after day.
My Philosophy
My philosophy and vision are translated in how I get to help you by bringing you counseling, education and coaching around intuitive eating, body respect, nutrition education through food-literacy, and multi-cultural cooking skills.
My services are more like coaching programs, in which we work together closely and I help you with the following:
- Accountability & Consistency
- Practical Advice & Personalized Support
- Accessibility of Support in Between Sessions
- Respect of Your Beliefs & Values
- Non-judgmental & Trauma-Informed Space
- Well-rounded and Holistic Assessment
To learn more about HOW you can work with me, click the link below!