The Registered Dietitians at Sööma use therapeutic approaches to inform their nutrition interventions within their scope of practice. Learn more about how we incorporate various therapeutic styles in our nutrition counseling for eating disorders and disordered eating.
Elsa Chu
Registered Dietitian
Location: Plateau Mont Royal or Virtual
Approach Inspired By
- Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT)
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT)
- Intuitive Eating
- Health at Every Size®
Specialties
- Eating Disorder Recovery
- Sports Nutrition
- Meal Management and Planning
- Wellness and Prevention
About Elsa
Background
Elsa is a registered dietitian with a Bachelor’s degree from McGill University and is part of the Ordre des diététistes nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ). Always an engaged and active listener as a child, she used her skills to cultivate strong relationships in her life and grew to love being of service to those she was close to. She comes from a Chinese and French background, so food has always had a significant emotional and cultural importance to her. Intrigued by how our bodies and minds are affected by the different food choices we make – she decided to specialize in nutrition as a way to explore that relationship.
Approach and Training
Elsa started working as a dietitian in private practice in 2017 after graduating. Over the years, she saw that much of her clientele had the mindset of temporary weight loss. She developed a practice using behavioral psychology and motivational interviewing to help people implement and sustain lifestyle changes. Elsa’s strength in bonding with her clients and forming strong relationships was fulfilling, but often felt like the practice of prescribing weight loss was misaligned with what she valued. Today, she uses her background in private practice to empathize, motivate and empower clients to lead lives that are more in line with their own values.
Who She Works With
Elsa is an elite competitive ultimate frisbee player, currently playing with the Quebec provincial women’s team. She has competed at multiple national and world championships. Elsa has a great interest in sports nutrition, and has worked with many athletes and several sports organizations to share her knowledge. She strives to help athletes construct lives that allow body acceptance and food flexibility to coexist with the pursuit of excellence through their sport.
Elsa uses active listening to form strong client relationships, and helps clients access their own power to better achieve their goals. She has a talent for simplifying complicated topics into simple analogies, accompanied with visual aids and practical tools that are personalized for each unique lifestyle. Elsa is bilingual in French and English and provides insurance receipts.
A quote that resonates with me
“It was my life – like all lives, mysterious and irrevocable and sacred. So very close, so
very present, so very belonging to me. How wild it was, to let it be.”
Cheryl Strayed “Wild
Other Services Offered
Presentations and Workshops for Sports Teams
In addition to her clinical work, Elsa collaborates with various sports teams to provide training and workshops.
Outside of Work You can Find Me
Competing and training for ultimate frisbee
Spending time with my cat (AKA the love of my life)
Organizations that I’ve collaborated with
Elsa has collaborated with a variety of organizations to offer training,workshops and presentations. Given her passion for sports and frisbee, she specializes in assisting coaches and teams to create better training environments through adequate fueling and increasing performance through nutrition education.
Fédération québecoise d'ultimate
Ultimate Canada
SSMU
Pour3points
- Fédération Québécois D'ultimate
- Ultimate Canada
- Student Society of McGill University
- Pour3Points