Why Choose Motivate Nutrition 

You are the CEO of your health, and your dietitian is your VP of nutrition. Every person has a unique set of skills, preferences, challenges, and motivation when it comes to managing their health. We respect those perspectives and uniqueness. Motivate Nutrition Dietitians are part of your team of health professionals who support, encourage, and equip you to make informed, evidence-based health decisions and guide you with the tools to achieve your health goals. Our job is to build you up so you can feel confident in choosing and making the best food choices for you to meet your health goals. If this approach resonates with you, then we think we would be a good fit in working together.

You won’t have “food police” or disciplinarian types of dietitians here at Motivate Nutrition. You take the lead, and we are here to help facilitate, guide, and support.

Philosophy

The driving focus of Motivate Nutrition is the motivate people to not just know how to eat healthfully, but be MOTIVATED to improve their NUTRITION and health through understanding.

 

Meet Your Dietitians

 

Sally Ho

Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist (RD)

Certified Diabetes Educator (CDE)

BSc in Biological Sciences & BSc in Nutrition and Food Science with Integrated Internship

Certified Craving Change Facilitator

 
 
 

Specializing in

  • Pre-Diabetes

  • Type 2 Diabetes

  • Weight Management

  • After-Bariatric Surgery Nutrition

  • Emotional Eating and Cravings

About

Sally Ho has been practicing as a Registered Dietitian for over a decade, and as a Certified Diabetes Educator since 2012.  She graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelors degree in nutrition science, and University of Calgary with a Bachelors degree in biological science.  Sally has worked in various hospitals and clinics in Alberta, and was the Alberta coordinator for two nation-wide nutrition research studies.   She is a Certified Craving Change TM facilitator, and certified with the Home Support Exercise Program for the elderly.  She is passionate about making the latest nutrition research simple to understand since she believes the best way for people to take care of their health is if they understand how food affects their body.

Sally loves running seminars, workshops, and one-one-one sessions because she can interact with real people with real-life questions and figure out how to make healthy eating work for them. 

Sally loves to eat just as much as anyone else, and believes the two keys for happy, healthy living are: balancing healthy food with treats, and giving yourself room to explore and learn from challenges or “speed bumps.”  She loves flavourful food, and will try almost any cuisine.  It is said “The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach”, which also applies to this food-loving dietitian. 

 
 

Ginette Markham

Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist (RD)

BSc in Nutrition and Food Science

 
 
 

Specializing in

  • Pre-Diabetes

  • Type 2 Diabetes

  • Weight Management

  • Perimenopause

  • Sports Nutrition for Youth and Adolescents

About

Ginette Markham has been helping people navigate the world of food and nutrition for over 20 years. She has worked with clients across the lifespan, in various settings from hospitals, clinics, classrooms, sports facilities and virtually too.

Being raised in a family of educators, Ginette is also passionate about teaching; sharing her knowledge of food to help people navigate their health and wellness.

She loves connecting with people and showing them that small and simple changes can have a big impact on health and that change does not have to be overwhelming. She loves supporting, sharing ideas and educating to help you find the best balance in life.

In her spare time, Ginette can be found either in a gym, a hockey arena or a sports facility cheering on her kids in sports. She loves spending time in the kitchen trying new recipes and sharing her love of food and good recipes with everyone.


“The doctor of the future will give no medication, but will interest his patients in the care of the human frame, diet and in the cause and prevention of disease.”
— Thomas A. Edison
 

Our Process

 
 

1

FREE DISCOVERY PHONE CALL (10 MINUTES)

Book a free 10 minute call to ask questions about how your dietitian can help you, and to get help choosing the right personal nutrition counseling package to suit your needs.

2

GET ACCESS TO YOUR SECURE “PRACTICE BETTER” PLATFORM

After chatting with your dietitian, book your nutrition counseling package and create your online profile for your secure “Practice Better” platform. This platform will be your one-stop dashboard where you can:

  • book your appointments

  • upload documents

  • chat your with dietitian via secure messaging

  • and log your food and mood journal

3

INITIAL NUTRITION ASSESSMENT (60 MINUTES)

Book your Initial Nutrition Assessment via your dashboard on the secure platform and some intake forms will be automatically sent to you. Fill in your forms via the dashboard (or the email link sent to your email inbox). At your Initial Nutrition Assessment you can expect to have all your questions answered, and your health goals and priorities discussed. Your dietitian will ask about your health history, supplements/meds, what you eat/drink regularly, allergies/sensitivities, lifestyle habits (ie. exercise, sleep, stress, work/life balance), and what’s sabotaging your health goals. At the end of the appointment, you can expect a summary of nutrition and lifestyle recommendations that can help you achieve your health goals.

4

UNLIMITED SECURE MESSAGING

Immediately after your initial nutrition assessment appointment you can start sending your dietitian secure messages via the platform website or platform phone app. You can ask questions, seek clarification on what was discussed, and check-in with your dietitian to keep your accountable to the nutrition and lifestyle changes you’ve decided to try out. You can also upload screenshots and photos of your meals/grocery run if you wanted to. It’s like having a dietitian in your back pocket 24/7. The duration of your unlimited secure messaging feature is based on your chosen nutrition counseling package (ie. 1 month, 3 months, 6 months), but you can also extend your secure messaging feature as package add-ons after it expires.

5

FOLLOW-UP APPOINTMENTS (30 MINUTES)

Depending on the nutrition counseling package you choose, you can have zero to five follow-up appointments. You can also add more follow-up appointments any time up to one year after your Initial Nutrition Assessment. Your follow-up appointments are meant to be phone calls or video meetings where you where you and your dietitian can have focus on a specific topic such as:

  • Emotional Eating/Cravings - What’s Sabotaging Me? and How Do I Crush These Cravings?

  • How Do I Choose the Best Meals for Me? And When Should I Eat Them?

  • How Do I Pair My Proteins and Carbs to Make the Most Satiating, Yummy Snacks?

  • Grocery Shopping - What To Look For?

  • Managing My Symptoms

    • GERD/Heartburn

    • Constipation, Diarrhea, Bloating/Gas

    • Stagnant Weight/Weight Plateau

    • Low Energy or Super Hunger at Mid-Day or Late-Night

    • …etc

6

optional add-on: Meal Planning Session (45 minutes)

You can schedule a meal-planning session any time as an add-on to your nutrition counseling package through your secure platform dashboard. Sometimes we just need a visual 1-week meal plan as an example to follow. At your 45 minute meal-planning session, your dietitian will ask about your likes/dislikes, food sensitivities/allergies, cultural food preferences, cooking skills/appliances, and number of people using you want the plan for. Then within 24-48 hours after the meal planning session, you’ll be sent a PDF of your 1-week meal plan, complete with a grocery list, recipes and nutrition information. You can give the meal plan a try, and have a chance to switch out some recipes/meals that just don’t quite fit your taste buds so you can have a meal-plan that fits your personality while meeting your nutritional needs and health goals.

Frequently Asked Questions

  • Great question! Short answer: no difference…but depends on which province the dietitian/nutritionist is working in.

    Longer answer: Registered Dietitian is a government protected title in Canada, so only professionals who have completed a University program in Human Nutrition, internship in various locations such as hospitals/medical doctors offices, and complete yearly professional development and competency programs governed by regulatory Colleges (such as the College of Dietitians of Alberta) can be licensed as Registered Dietitians.

    In Alberta, the term Registered Nutritionist is also protected by law. But unfortunately, it’s not the case with many other Canadian provinces. So, if in doubt, always ask to see a regulatory College issued permit and registration number, and look up your “nutritionist”’s registration number on the College of Dietitians of (X province’s) website.

  • Edmonton Alberta, but providing all services virtually online or via phone.

  • No. You can self-refer by simply booking a free phone call or package here.

  • Yes! Many major insurance companies provide coverage for Dietitian services, including meal plans, courses/workshops run by dietitians, virtual services by dietitians. You would need to check with your insurance plan to double check the amount covered and what you need to claim it under (if we can’t direct bill that particular insurance provider).

    Yes! We can do direct billing to these major insurance providers:

    -Alberta Blue Cross

    -CanadaLife (formerly known as London Life)

    -Claim Secure

    -Desjardins

    -IA Financial Group

    If we cannot direct bill your insurance company, we can issue you a receipt to submit for reimbursement from your insurance company.

  • Direct billing to insurance companies, major credit cards ie. Visa, Mastercard via Square, and e-transfers at sally@motivatenutrition.ca.

  • That can be a complicated question to answer since everyone’s learning style and desire for nutrition support/accountability is different.

    But generally the “Bronze Package -Just the Basics” is best suited for people who just want to fine-tune their nutritional health, get an assessment of how their nutritional health is doing, and have some questions answered without much further fanfare and support.

    The “Silver Package - Get Started” package is usually best suited for people with newly diagnosed health conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, IBS, constipation, or want to try a new nutrition and health lifestyle such as starting vegetarianism. It’s usually the most effective package for people who are needing information about a health condition and want some short-term support to get going/get used to managing a new nutrition routine. It’s also helpful for those who struggle with “losing that last 5-10 lbs.”

    The “Gold Package - Motivate Me” is usually best suited for people with diagnosed chronic health conditions such as diabetes, obesity (BMI over 30 - you can calculate your BMI here), Celiac’s disease. These conditions tend to require a bit more support due to the complexity of the conditions, the amount of nutrition information to absorb and implement, and the time it takes to see clinical results (ie. in your blood work) take longer from weeks to months.

  • If you are a resident of Alberta, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland, then yes we can help you with your nutrition.

    Unfortunately, if you are a resident outside of Canada (ie. in the United States), then we cannot provide personalized nutrition counseling with or without customized meal plans; however, you can still sign up for our newsletter to receive periodic updates, nutrition tips and hacks for general information purposes.

  • Out of consideration for other clients who could book in your appointment slot, please provide 24 hour notice to cancelling your appointment. Otherwise a $50 late cancellation fee may apply.

 

Still have questions? Get in touch with us BY ContactING us here.