Angel Luk is a registered dietician who counsels patients, athletes and ordinary people on diet and nutrition. So lecturing family and friends on the benefits of blueberries and perils of pepperoni must be a staple of Luk’s dinner parties.
“Never,” she laughs. “Not even if I see someone licking butter like a Popsicle. People are already self-conscious enough eating with me.”
Luk serves as a clinical dietician with Vancouver Coastal Health at Richmond’s Garrett Wellness Centre, where she helps patients before and after surgery. She is also a nutrition consultant at the Richmond Olympic Oval, where she dishes advice to high-performance athletes and also hosts public workshops on healthy eating.
Coming this summer is her book, You Can’t Out-Train a Bad Diet, which she describes as a simple guidebook in performance nutrition for all athletes.
“It was inspired by young athletes. Working with them made me realize just how amazing these athletes can be in their sport and yet how little education they may receive about how to fuel well,” says Luk, 29, from the oval’s O Cafe patio. “Most athletes start at a young age and if they don’t receive that education about how to eat well and properly, they might give way to a lot of misinformation.”
The Steveston High grad says she always knew she wanted to be a dietician. Well, she did have one other career in mind.
“Let’s backtrack,” she allows. “When I was young I always wanted to be a janitor. I think I read a book in elementary school about a really friendly janitor. I felt that I like to clean things, I like to organize, I’m friendly — I think I can do this.”
A clear shift to dietetics came in high school. She loved home economics class and knew she wanted a career structured around food and health. She went on to graduate from UBC. with an honours degree in dietetics.
So how about a nugget or two of advice for those looking to trim a few pounds’ worth of cheesecake? Luk suggests small, frequent meals.
“Don’t cut carbs; don’t stop eating just because you want to lose weight. It’s so prevalent that people want to lose weight so they skip lunch or if they’re not hungry they don’t eat. But really, the key thing is you’ve got to keep your metabolism up. So, every two to three hours, it’s either a main meal or it’s a snack.”
Luk also suggests drinking two cups of fluid at each mealtime during summer — even for those in climate-controlled workplaces — keeping the body hydrated throughout the day. Important, she says, because the brain doesn’t always recognize the difference between thirst and hunger.
That first small meal of the day for Luk is usually plain yogurt mixed with half a cup of frozen fruit, a teaspoon of maple syrup or honey, granola and a tablespoon or two of fibre cereal.
And lunch?
Today, it was a wholegrain flatbread with cheese and tomato, homemade yellow split pea vegetarian soup and water.
“It’s not always like that though,” she laughs. “I eat Church’s Chicken. You will find me at McDonald’s I swear — and I’m not wearing sunglasses and a hood.”
The key is to keep McChickens in check. Luk suggests following the 80/20 rule — strive for healthy food choices 80 per cent of the time, and eat guilt free for the rest. For athletes, she suggests a stricter ratio of 90/10.
Luk recently entered an athletic competition of her own. In March, she completed her first short triathlon after only learning to swim in January.
“Setting goals is important,” she says. “For my age and gender I was close to dead last, but to me it was still such an accomplishment because I’ve always wanted to swim since I was a little girl, and have never been able to do it. For me to do it for this, I’ve already won. I’m a better version of myself now.”
Luk’s upcoming cooking workshops at the oval include “Fuel for Gold: You Can’t Out-Train a Bad Diet” on June 15 and “Viva Parents: Skip Cooking and Washing Dishes for One Night” on July 13.
Registration is available through the oval’s website.
