Senior Specialist Dietitian
Hello! I’m Juliana.
I’m your go-to dietitian for all things sports, performance and… the planet!
That’s right. I’m big on helping you to build the best version of yourself through positive eating habits and the latest in sports and performance research while also making sure our little blue dot is not overlooked.
I’m a sports dietitian and sustainability dietitian, working in dietetics and behaviour change since 2009. I have worked with individual athletes, state sports institutes, professional teams, solo adventurers, recreational athletes, and those allergic to physical activity altogether.
With a background in biology and psychology and a passion for supporting the well-being of people and the planet, I want to transform your relationship with food and performance into one that is positive and strong, and that goes from person to community to the planet. I want you to feel happy with your food choices, knowing that they’re supporting your efforts right now and into the future.
Often, clients will reach out to me because:
- They are struggling with poor eating habits that crept up over the years, and these are clashing with the way they want to live their lives
- They have been working hard at the gym or in the field, but there’s something missing, as their efforts are not translating into better performance
- They love being active and want to continue doing so for a loooong time, so they want to build the skills that will help them extend the longevity of their sporting career in a way that matches their values
Juliana can help you with:
General Health and Wellbeing – healthy eating, weight maintenance, weight loss or weight gain through balanced and healthy habit changes, managing nutritional deficiencies, malnutrition, healthy ageing, HAES (healthy at every size) and weight neutral practice, body image work and vegetarian and vegan eating.
Special Diets – balanced and evidence-based support for keto or very low-carb diets and intermittent fasting.
Gut and Digestion – maximising and improving gut health, digestive issues (diarrhoea and constipation), diverticulitis, coeliac disease.
Chronic Disease – support for heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular disease, lowering cholesterol and/or blood pressure, type 2 diabetes management, gestational diabetes management, reducing insulin resistance, treating and preventing gout, fatty liver and other liver conditions, food and inflammation (anti-inflammatory diet), osteopenia and osteoporosis.
Mental Health – eating disorders, disordered eating, managing emotional eating, support for depression and anxiety, food anxiety and stress, building a healthy relationship with food.
Family and Kids – healthy growth management for kids, healthy eating for families, introducing solids to your baby, feeding fussy toddlers and kids.
Sports and Performance – endurance sports performance (running, cycling, rowing, dancing, etc), power-based sports performance (weight lifting, soccer, football, netball, HIIT, etc), healthy strategies for making weight in weight category sports (boxing, weight lifting, wrestling, etc), race day and competition nutrition, training and recovery nutrition
Juliana’s Qualifications:
- Masters of Nutrition and Dietetics, University of Sydney
- Graduate Diploma in Sports Nutrition, International Olympic Committee
- Graduate Diploma in Psychology, Deakin University
- Bachelor of Biological Sciences, Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (That’s in Brazil by the way)
Q&A with Juliana!
What’s your favourite food?
Beans! Such a typical Brazilian dish, who would’ve thought they are also an excellent source of protein and iron, incredibly beneficial for our gut microbiota and a sustainable crop for the planet? Win, win, win!
What’s your favourite cooking method?
Pressure cooker! How else could I get those beans cooked? Luckily I don’t need to use the old cookers my mum had in “the old days” – I hope she doesn’t read this. I feel a lot more comfortable with the modern ones, that give me delicious beans and pull apart meat in no time, plus a heap of safety features so nothing goes bang in my kitchen.
Why did you become a dietitian?
I was after the perfect diet. HAHAHA True story!
The reason why I became a dietitian is not the reason I am a dietitian today.
In the quest for the perfect diet to give me the perfect body, I learnt a whole heap about what good nutrition can actually give us and, believe me, it’s a lot more important and powerful than I first imagined. I learnt about the nuances of each individual, how there is no one right answer and how that question was all wrong to begin with.I learnt that aesthetics has nothing to do with health and wellbeing, and all to do with diet culture. I learnt that being an athlete was not synonymous with being healthy, and many got lost in this pursuit. I learnt that there is an enormous difference between what is edible vs what is nutritious and the impact that mass agriculture and the production of ultra-processing food has on our health and on the planet .
I am a dietitian today because in this journey I became deeply passionate about inspiring people to ditch diet culture and build a new relationship with food, one that is good for you and the planet. Let’s go?