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Meet Registered Dietitian, Wan Xu

Registered Dietitian Saskatoon Alison Friesen Online Nutritionist

Wan Xu BSc, RD

Calgary Registered Dietitian & Online Nutritionist

Specialty: Disordered Eating, Mental Health, Emotional Eating, Intuitive Eating, ADHD, Asian Diets, Weight Concerns, Chronic Disease, and Women’s Health

Pronouns: She/Her

Wan is a non-judgmental, client-centered and weight-inclusive Dietitian. She enthusiastically believes that everyone can eat healthfully and soulfully (but how we define this will look very different from one person to another). She’s proud of being a practical Dietitian who’s skilled in simplifying complex science into easy-to-understand ideas and strategies you can take home and implement seamlessly. She enjoys connecting with a wide range of clients, especially those who struggle with mental health concerns, eating disorders and those that have a complicated or stressful relationship with food and their body. Validation, compassion and empowerment are ways Wan engages her clients to help them move forward on their eating and health journey at a pace they can manage. You can count on her to obtain feedback so that she can adjust her approach to best meet the needs of her clients.

Wan was born and raised in Shenzhen, one of the biggest cities in China and is fluent in Mandarin and English. She came to Canada alone to pursue her nutrition degree at the University of Saskatchewan. This unique experience was indeed challenging but has also inspired Wan to support others from different cultures on the best way to bridge healthy eating with their favorite cultural foods.

Wan completed her accredited dietetic internship through the Saskatoon Health Region and has experience working with both adult and pediatric populations.  She has worked in Saskatchewan and Alberta as a Mental Health and Eating Disorder Dietitian supporting people with anorexia, bulimia, binge eating disorder, ARFID, yo-yo dieting recovery and emotional eating support. She has also supported people with other mental health concerns such as anxiety, depression, ADHD, OCD, trauma, bipolar disorder and personality disorder, to enhance their nutrition and health.  Given Wan has experience working in both hospital and community settings she has facilitated care collaboration among a range of healthcare providers such as physicians, pediatricians, psychiatrists, mental health therapists, nurses, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists and pharmacists.

Wan is registered with the College of Dietitians of Alberta, the College of Dietitians of British Columbia, and Dietitians of Canada. Because of her special interest in mental health, Wan has also completed various levels of trainings such as intuitive eating, mindful eating, Health At Every Size, as well as continues to deepen her understanding in therapeutic treatment methods used by therapists she collaborates with including cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior therapy, family-based therapy, trauma-informed care, motivational interviewing, acceptance and commitment therapy, narrative therapy, and solution focused therapy.

Wan lives in Red Deer, Alberta with her partner, who is also a Dietitian. In her spare time, she enjoys traveling, dancing, swimming, berry-picking, and of course, being a foodie and exploring the tastiest foods in town. For fun Wan likes to show her pediatric clients images of her adorable collection of stuffed animals to show them they can still be a kid at times in a grown-up world. Despite missing the ocean and humid warm weather she grew up with, she has embraced winter in Canada and enjoys sledding (if checking out Christmas lights doesn’t count).

Success stories

"I am a psychologist in private practice and it is very important to me that my clients have the best care with other health care professionals. For that reason Health Stand Nutrition is my only source for exceptional Dietitians. Andrea and her team provide highly knowledgeable, compassionate, and real world support to my clients who require assistance with food lifestyle. I trust my clients to them and you would be in excellent hands making them part of your health care team."
Adele Fox, Psychologist
“This is the first time I feel satisfied; my cravings have diminished dramatically and I have a whole new relationship with food. I am eating guilt-free for the first time in my life. My energy has also dramatically increased and I feel great!
Rhonda Jenkins, Nutrition Counseling Client
“The Dieticians at Health Stand Nutrition help you to take action on the science behind eating well by making it practical, understandable, and fun. Their office is cozy and not at all clinical or intimidating. I felt like I was sitting down with a really smart, caring friend who wanted to help me make the best choices for my lifestyle and food preferences. They really are the best in the business.”
Marty Avery, Nutrition Counseling Client
“I have come to think of the program as a one stop shopping excursion for everything one needs to know about creating a joyous relationship with food and our bodies. In a single word, the course has gifted me with freedom from the punishing rigidity of disordered eating, old stories that never were true, and body dysmorphia that did nothing but make me lose sight of a body that has done everything I've asked, despite my careless dismissal of her needs. Now when I look in the mirror I find myself shifting from harsh criticism to gentle gratitude.”
Lynn Haley, Pursuit of Healthiness Online Course Participant
“I spent 3 hours when first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I learned more from my Dietitian about food in those 3 hours than I had learned in all the years of my life. I also love the newsletter, there is always something to learn.”
Peter Whitehead, Nutrition Counseling Client
“I didn’t realize how strong my “diet mentality” was, and all the rules I had in my head about food. I was in a cycle of reward/punish/binge/cringe. I booked with your business very reluctantly, on the repeated advice of my doctor, to get my slowly rising cholesterol levels in check. I thought I knew everything about food, and my behaviour with food, but I was definitely re-schooled. My weight is creeping down, I feel good about my diet, exercise, body image, and lifestyle.”
Amy Floyd, Nutrition Counseling Client
“Thanks Andrea for an amazing presentation, I have heard all positive remarks from attendees and the evaluations show the same sentiment. It is really gratifying when a speaker does their “homework” and weaves in our profession’s day to day challenges within their content, you did an awesome job of this! You truly took the “die” out of Dietician! Your information on healthy eating and simplifying how we can work towards this as we are all so busy really hit the mark. Andrea connects very well with her audience; she is energetic, funny, and very approachable.”
Carole Ann LaGrange, Transfusion Medicine Safety Officer

Event Planner for Laboratory Diagnostic Imaging Annual Event

I am a family physician who sees patients with a myriad of eating concerns – from wanting to know how to plan healthy meals for active families, to weight loss, to eating disorders, and so on. I cannot recommend the Health Stand team highly enough. I have worked with (and been to!) other Dieticians in the past and too often find that they just ask for food logs and make suggestions that are easily obtained online or in books. The Dieticians at Health Stand offer much more than just telling clients what they “should be eating.” In contrast, the team really does more of a counselling practice, and they work hard to help their clients learn more about why their eating habits may be off track and not optimal for them, as well as helping people to effect change at a deep level that, most importantly, is sustainable for lifetime health.”
Dr. Deb Putnam, Family Physician

Nutrition Counseling Client & Referring Physician

“I am a busy mom, with kids in high level sports, working full-time downtown, and running our home acreage outside the City. I now have the knowledge and tools I need to plan for and manage the chaos of meal planning.”
Gillian Gray, Pursuit of Healthiness Online Course Participant
“As a construction company, we select speakers who can relate to our industry and its employees. Andrea’s message was delivered with humor and empathy. She makes people feel as though they can make changes without leaving behind every favorite food. Andrea focused her presentation on healthy eating as a way to keep energy high throughout the day. This message and the way it was delivered resonated with our predominantly male, blue collar culture. I would highly recommend Andrea as a speaker for groups such as ours. She will get your message across without alienating anyone in your audience – which is a huge hurdle when trying to introduce a wellness program in the workplace!”
Stephanie Wood, HR and Safety Manager

Fisher Construction Group, Burlington, WA

I found my Dietitian warm, funny, and skilled at teaching nutrition concepts without the overwhelm. The general approach of each session was to mix science with emotion, which was exceedingly effective in helping me shift my perspective on food from one of anxiety to one of joy and curiosity.”
Erin Kronstedt, Nutrition Counseling Client
“Excellent presentation! What a refreshing change to have a speaker inspire rather than “lecture” about nutrition. Your captivating stories, tips and overall approach to healthy eating uplifts and puts people at ease. It was great to hear we don’t need to strive to be perfect eaters, and that small changes really can make a difference in how we feel and in our health. Thanks to Andrea, we have solutions to our everyday nutrition challenges that can actually work in real life!”
Tina Tamagi, Human Resources

ARC Resources Ltd.

“Had I not joined this course I would have struggled with no focus, low energy, and mindless eating. Excellent teaching and motivation. This is not just a course, it is a nutrition club with mentorship, support, and connections with other people with similar situations.”
Lorri Lawrence, Pursuit of Healthiness online course participant
 

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