Indeed! The postpartum period has very specific needs for the body and its tissues to recover, regardless of whether it was a vaginal or belly birth, or whether you are breastfeeding or not. On top of that, there is your individual experience of how was your birth, what symptoms you are feeling postpartum and what type of support you have so that you can nourish yourself. Having adequate nutrition tailored to your needs means replenishing exactly what you need, to speed up your own personal recovery.

No. Dieting with the purpose of weight-loss has shown time and time again to not be a sustainable way to approach someone’s journey to health. Yo-yo dieting tricks people into thinking they will get into a certain shape if they suffer for a certain period of time as long as they deny themselves cravings, starve themselves or skip meals their body needs, and then their life can “return to normal” once the diet is over, which means introducing back all the foods they considered “bad”. This creates a terrible relationship with food where there is no balance and the body ends up suffering through endless stress - mental, emotional and nutritional. On top of that, diet programs made for the general public never take into account the biochemical individuality of your body. Each individual’s metabolism, gut, reaction to foods, etc is very different from that of their neighbour, partner or a relative. If one of your health goals is to lose weight, we will find out together the specific way that YOUR body needs to feel healthy and comfortable while burning fat that you do not want. But remember, you are beautiful, and your body wants to be cared for to be healthy and comfortable in its own skin - that is the body’s priority. 

When it comes to the postpartum period specifically, we are looking for replenishing and getting your health and energy back, not looking a certain way.

No. Many people equate health and healthy food with tasteless vegetables, specially the ones they hate - that couldn’t be farther from the truth! Personalised nutrition includes not only finding the foods that would be best for your biochemical individuality and current health goals, but also lifestyle. We work together to find out how to merge those two, and if you experiment with new things and expand your palate along the way, it’s a bonus. Forcing food on others creates an unhealthy relationship with food. 

Similarly to the question above, meals should merge body needs with lifestyle needs. It is true that most good meals are not as fast as a 5-min microwaveable dinner, but you would be surprised of all the amazing things you could do in 10-15min! Another option I offer is to plan meal preps, where clients cook once or twice a week in batches that can be stored in the fridge or freezer. 

Clients should ask their insurance company if their coverage includes any of the following: Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Holistic Nutrition Practitioner, Certified Holistic Nutritional Consultant, or Holistic Nutrition Counselling/Coaching. Some insurance providers offer a Health/Flex Spending Account. If that’s your case, holistic nutrition services may be covered under that category BUT please confirm first with your employer. Reach out to your insurance provider and ask them what information would they require to verify my credentials and approve the service beforehand. Although I include all pertinent information on my invoices, it is always best practice to have pre-approval from the insurance company to avoid any surprises.

The following companies may cover holistic nutrition services: Manulife, Canada Life, Green Shield, Blue Cross, League, Industrial Alliance (iA). Some Sunlife employers have a Personal Spending Account covering nutritional counseling. Nevertheless, always ask first.

In the case your insurance package does not cover holistic nutrition, I encourage all my clients to send a letter to their employer (HR)requesting that holistic nutrition services be added to their insurance coverage. I am happy to provide the template for such letter.