Optimum Intake Dietitians

10/10/2026

Need access to wheelchair scales? We can help!

Getting an accurate weight can be challenging when standing on traditional scales isn’t possible or safe.

At Optimum Intake Dietitians, we now offer a dedicated wheelchair weighing service to make weight monitoring more accessible.

Our portable wheelchair scales are available for:
📍 Clinic appointments in Tuggerah and Broadmeadow
🏡 Home visits across the Central Coast, Newcastle and Port Stephens

Our 30-minute appointments are conducted by an experienced disability dietitian and can be used for one-off or regular weight checks.
A few things to know:
✓ No referral required
✓ Available to new and existing clients
✓ NDIS funding may be available where appropriate, or you can pay privately
✓ Written weight records available on request
✓ A support person is required to assist with the wheelchair

Whether you need a weight measurement for medical monitoring, a specialist appointment, nutrition care or another health-related reason, we’re here to help.
Want to book or find out more?

Call 0499 008 451 or visit our website.

🔗 https://www.optimumintake.com.au/services/wheelchair-weighing-service/

Please share this post with someone who might benefit, including support coordinators, allied health professionals, carers and disability support teams.

CentralCoastNSW NewcastleNSW DisabilityNutrition

09/10/2026

Does your stomach have other plans when you exercise?
You’re halfway through a run when the cramps start.
Or perhaps it’s nausea during a hard training session, bloating, reflux or that urgent need to find a bathroom!
Sound familiar? 🏃‍♀️

Gut symptoms during exercise are surprisingly common, especially for runners, cyclists and endurance athletes.

There are several reasons your gut might be struggling, including:
Changes in blood flow during exercise
What and when you’re eating
Hydration and sports drinks
Fibre and caffeine intake
Exercise intensity and competition nerves

When symptoms keep happening, it’s tempting to start cutting out foods or skipping meals before training.

But this can leave your body without the energy it needs to perform and recover.

The good news? Your gut and your fuelling strategy can be trained and adapted.

At Optimum Intake Dietitians, we help athletes identify potential triggers and develop personalised nutrition strategies that support gut comfort, adequate fuelling and performance.
Because your training deserves a nutrition plan that works for you.

Read our latest blog via the link in our bio, or book an appointment with one of our sports dietitians.

GutHealth

09/10/2026

ou’re halfway through a run and your stomach starts cramping.

You feel nauseous during a hard training session. You get reflux when you exercise. You urgently need the bathroom every time you run. Or perhaps bloating makes training uncomfortable enough that you’ve started changing what you eat beforehand.

Gut symptoms during exercise can be incredibly frustrating, particularly when you’ve put time and effort into your training.

And when they keep happening, it’s easy to start experimenting.

Maybe you stop eating before training. Cut out dairy. Reduce gluten. Avoid fibre. Try different sports drinks. Change your breakfast. Or accept that having an upset stomach is simply part of your sport.

There can be many reasons why gastrointestinal symptoms occur during exercise, and the solution will depend on what is actually contributing to yours.

Working with a sports dietitian can help you identify likely triggers and develop a nutrition and fuelling strategy that supports both your gut comfort and your performance.

Read out blog post for more info or contact us :

Bloating, cramps, nausea or diarrhoea during exercise? Learn what can cause gut symptoms in athletes and how a sports dietitian can help.

07/10/2026

When managing a Compulsory Third Party (CTP) claim, the focus is often placed on medical treatment, physical rehabilitation, and psychological support. However, nutrition is another critical component of recovery that can significantly influence healing, functional capacity, rehabilitation participation, and long-term outcomes.

For individuals recovering from serious injuries following a motor vehicle accident, dietitians can play an important role in addressing nutritional risks and supporting progress towards rehabilitation goals.

Learn how dietitians support CTP claims after motor vehicle accidents, including malnutrition, enteral feeding, rehabilitation and functional recovery.

29/09/2026

Did you know you may be able to choose who provides your dietitian support through Support at Home?

Choosing your own dietitian means you can find someone who takes the time to understand your health, your appetite, the foods you enjoy, your routines and what matters to you.

At Optimum Intake Dietitians, our experienced aged care dietitians provide practical nutrition support to help you stay nourished, maintain strength and continue living well and independently at home.

We can support you with concerns such as poor appetite, unplanned weight loss, maintaining muscle and strength, managing health conditions, making meals easier, and finding realistic ways to eat well.

Our dietitians can provide home visits in the areas we service, as well as clinic appointments. We work with you, your family and your Support at Home provider to make nutrition care easier to access and suited to your needs.

If you would like Optimum Intake to be your dietitian, speak with your Support at Home provider and ask whether you can choose us for your dietetic services.

Or contact our friendly Client Care Team and we can help explain the next steps.

Your care. Your preferences. Your choice.

NutritionForOlderAdults HomeCare CentralCoastNSW NewcastleNSW OptimumIntakeDietitians

27/09/2026

What if we screened for malnutrition as routinely as we assessed mobility, falls risk and function in older adults?

Working in community aged care, our dietitians regularly meet older people who have been referred for services to support their physical rehabilitation and independence.
Physiotherapy. Exercise physiology. Occupational therapy. Home supports.

Yet sometimes there is another piece of the rehabilitation puzzle that has been missed: nutrition.

An older person may be losing weight, eating poorly, experiencing reduced appetite, losing muscle mass or becoming increasingly frail, without having been connected with a dietitian.

We cannot expect someone to rebuild strength, improve function and maintain independence without also considering whether they are getting the nutrition required to support that recovery.

As an aged care provider under CHSP and an Associate Provider under Support at Home, we see a significant opportunity for routine malnutrition screening to become part of aged care assessment and review.

A validated screening tool can be simple and non-invasive. When risk is identified, it can provide the gateway to an Accredited Practising Dietitian for assessment and early intervention.

The pathway can be straightforward:
Screen → identify risk → refer to an APD → intervene → reassess → monitor

Earlier intervention can support strength, function, recovery and independence, while addressing risks associated with malnutrition including falls, frailty, hospitalisation and increasing care needs.

We already have dietitians working in communities with the skills and experience to provide nutritional rehabilitation.

We need aged care systems that consistently identify who needs that support, create clear referral pathways, and provide appropriate funding for intervention and monitoring.
We welcome the focus on malnutrition within the current Senate inquiry into the Support at Home Program.

Nutritional rehabilitation needs to sit alongside physical rehabilitation if our goal is to help older Australians remain stronger, healthier and independent at home.

22/09/2026

🤩 Meal Planning done different 🤩

At Optimum Intake, meal planning is about giving you useful structure while helping food feel practical, achievable and manageable in everyday life.

Depending on your individual needs, your dietitian may develop a personalised meal plan that includes:
🥣 meals and snacks across the day
🍓 colourful images of real, familiar foods
🥪 practical meal and snack ideas
🥛 recommended serves or amounts where appropriate
🍝 variety and options to help you put the recommendations into practice

But the piece of paper is only one part of the process.

Your dietitian will work with you to understand why particular foods, amounts or eating patterns have been recommended, how they relate to your health or nutrition needs, and what you can do when your day doesn’t go according to plan.

Because real life includes busy mornings, eating out, family meals, changing routines, low-energy days, celebrations, travel and days when the planned meal simply doesn’t appeal.

For some people, a detailed meal plan provides helpful structure and reduces the mental load of deciding what to eat.

For others, a more flexible meal framework is a better fit.
We tailor the approach to you. Your health, nutrition needs, lifestyle, preferences, routines and goals all matter.

Our aim is for you to gradually build the knowledge, skills and confidence to make food decisions that work in your own life.
Meal planning with structure, flexibility and real-life support.
Want to know whether personalised meal planning could be helpful for you? Get in touch with our team or book an appointment with an Optimum Intake Dietitian.

MealIdeas CentralCoastDietitian NewcastleDietitian OptimumIntake

18/09/2026

A very proud moment for Optimum Intake Dietitians 💜
This week, I travelled to Canberra to officially accept the Dietitians Australia Quality in Primary Care Award on behalf of our OI team.

What makes this recognition particularly meaningful is that this is the second time Optimum Intake has received this award, having also been recognised in 2021.

For us, that represents something incredibly important: consistency.

Year after year, our team continues to uphold high standards of dietetic care. We keep learning, reflecting, improving our systems, supporting one another and looking for ways to provide an even better experience for our clients, referrers and communities.

Quality in primary care is created by a whole team.
It is our dietitians bringing their knowledge, care and commitment to every client interaction. It is our Client Care team supporting people from their very first contact with us. It is our team leaders supporting our clinicians and strengthening how we work. And it is every person behind the scenes contributing to the systems, culture and standards that underpin the care we provide.

To receive this recognition once was incredibly special. To receive it again, four years later, says something very meaningful about the standards our team continues to uphold.
I may have been the person accepting the award in Canberra, but this recognition belongs to our whole OI team.

I am incredibly proud of what we have built together and, more importantly, how we continue to grow and improve it year after year.

Thank you to Dietitians Australia for recognising the work of our team and our ongoing commitment to quality in primary care. 💜

QualityInHealthcare AlliedHealth

16/09/2026

A little extra energy. A little extra protein. A whole lot of deliciousness!

This week, our Optimum Intake team celebrated Malnutrition Week with a High Energy, High Protein Food Day, putting some of the strategies we recommend to clients into action ourselves.

On the menu were protein curry puffs, peanut butter and oat balls, high-protein caramel slice, cookies, cheese, yoghurt and UP&GO. Plenty of tasty ways to add extra energy and protein across the day.

And behind the food is an important message:
Malnutrition can occur at any age and in any sized body.
You cannot always tell that someone is malnourished simply by looking at them.

Dietitians play an important role in identifying malnutrition risk, understanding the factors affecting someone’s nutritional intake, and finding practical, individualised ways to help people meet their energy, protein and nutrient needs.

For our team, Malnutrition Week is also a chance to celebrate the difference dietitians can make through early identification, nutrition assessment and practical food-first support.

And yes... taste-testing the caramel slice was an important part of the day’s activities!

Dietitians Nutrition AgedCareNutrition OptimumIntakeDietitians