My name is Maria Tanielian and I am a Registered Dietitian in the province of Quebec with L'Ordre des Diététistes-Nutritionnistes du Québec (ODNQ). I graduated with Honors from Université de Montréal with a Bachelor's Degree in 2019.
I am also licensed in and can provide virtual services to the provinces of British Columbia (College of Dietitians of BC), Saskatchewan (Saskatchewan Dietitian’s Association) and Ontario (College of Dietitians of Ontario).
Though I was always interested in food and how it affects our well-being, I only discovered that I could turn that passion into a career during my second semester of college (CEGEP). That was my lightbulb 'ahA!' moment. Everything made sense, and I felt more than ever that I was aligning with my purpose. I have never looked back.
I am currently specializing in Sports Nutrition with the International Olympic Committee. Though I can guide all kinds of sports, my personal favourites are endurance sports, aesthetic sports and team sports.
Hi there!
My values
Nutrition is so much more than ''what I eat'' + ''what my body looks like''. Our bodies are much more complex than an equation as simple as ''calories in - calories out''.
Compassion and non-judgement are some of my most important values. It is crucial to actively cultivate compassion and non-judgement with others and ourselves if we want to create sustainable changes in our lifestyle.
Nourishing our bodies is also a very multi-dimensional experience: it is physical, social, psychological, emotional, and cultural. All these factors need to be taken into consideration when providing nutritional guidance.
My approach
Nutrition is not and should never be a one-size-fits-all kind of science. Through experience with my clients, exploring my own relationship with food, and optimizing my own sports performance with my nutrition, I've learned to adapt my approach to respond to every single one of my clients' individual needs, with evidence-based recommendations. Like nutrition, we as human beings are multi-dimensional. That is why I’ve branded myself as “The Protean Dietitian”: though I don’t claim to do it all, some of my greatest strengths have always been my versatility and my adaptability.
Having been a flexitarian dancer and generally a physically active person for most of my life, I have found a passion for Sports Nutrition, though I include many other specializations in my practice, such as:
Intuitive and mindful eating (emotional eating & cravings management);
Busting nutrition myths;
Working on creating positive relationship with food and body image;
ADHD nutrition;
Overcoming restrictive and disordered eating;
Dietary management of chronic illnesses such as diabetes (including gestational diabetes and pre-diabetes), hypertension, high cholesterol and other components of heart disease;
Healthy eating and healthy weight management;
Bone health;
Disordered eating habits;
Gastrointestinal intolerances and other digestive complains (bowel irregularities, heart burn, gas/ bloating, IBS, Crohn’s, colitis, Coeliac disease).
