About Tatiana
“Eat responsibly. Eat for sustenance, pleasure, health and self-care. Be gentle with yourself, yet take control of what goes in and on your body. We need to eat to survive, not try to survive our eating. Our food choices are our CHOICES, not food manufacturers’ or yet another “diet guru’s”.
I am here to help!
Do you want to be in charge of your health and wellness, or would you let the Big Food, Big Pharma, and Big Business decide what you should eat, how you should get treated, and how you should spend your money just so they can get the most profit? Being picky, selective, and inquisitive is now required when it comes to devising our meals and wellness approaches. Even dietary guidelines for Americans cannot be fully trusted due to the many conflicts of interest they possess.
Eating healthy does not have to be complicated, and it doesn’t mean going into a battle against food companies manufacturing highly-processed unhealthy foods. It simply means choosing quality foods for your body, to invest in its health and your quality of life.
MY PHILOSOPHY
We have lost touch with the simple process of eating and feeding ourselves the way nature intended. We were never intended to consume large amounts of processed, preserved, and chemically-engineered food-like substances that are now available at every corner - grocery stores, convenience stores, pharmacies, office vending machines, and gas stations.
Our bodies have a natural ability to hold onto excess energy in the form of fat, and given the opportunity, like overeating highly-processed foods, they are very efficient at doing just that. By continuing depriving ourselves of whole, fresh foods, we drive our bodies into a state of nutrient malnutrition, which in turn promotes more hunger in search of missing nutrients.
Large quantities of sugar, fat, white flour, and taste enhancements act on the brain chemistry by making us crave more of these foods. Our gut microbiome changes to produce metabolites that are harmful for our bodies. This altered microbiome now presents with more bacteria that are capable of extracting higher amounts of energy from the foods we consume, leading to weight gain.
The brain-gut connection, facilitated by natural internal hormones and neurotransmitters is disrupted leading to ever so growing appetites that are impossible to combat with will power. The vicious cycle goes on until we put a stop to it by changing what and how we eat.
Dieting makes “forbidden” foods ever more desirable, making you lose control around them. “Undieting” is the first step in learning to listen to your body and its true needs, discerning physical hunger from emotional, and building self-compassion as a firm foundation to health and wellbeing. You don’t need a diet to succeed at weight loss; you need a mind makeover to responsibly respect your body and health and treat them with care and dignity.
We are not helpless against the food environment we live in. We are not bound to make poor food choices. We are capable human beings fully responsible for our actions and their outcomes. Take matters into your own hands for change to happen.
EDUCATION • EXPERIENCE
EDUCATION & EXPERIENCE
Master of Science in Education in Nutrition
for Health and Human Performance
Licensed Dietitian Nutritionist, Florida
Dietetics and Nutrition Practice Council
Certified Nutrition Specialist by the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists, national credential
MB-EAT Qualified Instructor — Mindfulness
Based Eating Awareness Training by Mindful
Eating Training Institute
Certification in The Low FODMAP Diet for
Irritable Bowel Syndrome by Monash
University
Early Head Start Nutrition Manager for Early Learning Coalition of Miami-Dade and Monroe working with children and families to provide nutrition assessment, counseling, and education
eMedihealth — independent writer/contributor of nutrition and wellness content link
PRESENTATIONS & PUBLICATIONS
Mindful Eating in Preschool Setting
presentation and training session at Region IV Head Start Association annual conference in Atlanta, GA link
Mindful Eating in Preschool Setting Poster Session attendance at Association of SNAP Nutrition Education Administrators winter conference in Arlington, VA link
Compassionate Communication — workshop on non-violent communication principles along with mindfulness to foster professional and personal relationships, staff training series
Mindful Eating in Workplace — presentation and training on mindfulness and mindful eating as components of corporate wellness program
Mindful Eating in Preschool Setting Module — was included by USDA SNAP-Ed Toolkit as an evidence-based intervention in Obesity Prevention Interventions and Evaluation Framework link
Mindfulness & Mindful Eating in Early
Childhood Education — training on mindful eating for ECE teachers and staff for all ages and its implementation for young children
Small World, Cultural Diversity School Lunch
Program — designed and implemented school lunch program at select preschools in Miami, FL with focus on cultural diversity and world cuisines
Nutrition, Focus on Women’s Needs — series of presentations for school staff and parents
Food and Brain Development — series of
presentations for parents on children’s
nutrition
FREE DOWNLOAD
What stops you from getting in your best shape?
- Do you spend hours searching for the latest, most effective diet?
- Are you exhausted from using up so much energy and mental space on dieting and weight solutions?
- Are you uneasy around food and can’t seem to trust yourself to eat just enough for your body?
- Do you deal with challenges getting in the way of your healthy eating goals?
I’ve compiled this free tool - a list of 10 Obstacles Sabotaging your Health and Weight Goals that will help you pinpoint challenges you are dealing with that stop you from moving forward.
MY SUCCESS STORY
As a young child growing up in a remote small town in Russia, I always enjoyed food. Most food came from our garden; the diet was primarily plant-based due to the abundance of veggies and fruits during summer and early fall months and economical and political turmoil in the country at the time that resulted in food shortages. Food was valued and enjoyed; people were very creative in experimenting with recipes to make all foods appealing and delicious. Picky eating wasn’t a thing among children, nor was forgoing veggies. There was a true culture of food and eating — home-cooked meals shared by the entire family daily, void of distractions and on-the-go eating, reliance on fresh, whole foods most times. And yet, there was nothing special about it — just a traditional approach to eating quality foods in a quality way.
When I first moved to the United States, I was overwhelmed by countless choices of boxed and packaged foods on the shelves of supermarkets. I remember asking myself while staring at endless cereal boxes - Is it even possible to try them all?! At first, I was fascinated by all the tastes, flavors, colorful packages, combinations, and affordability of all these ‘goods’, like a kid in a candy store, no pun intended. I came to realize these foods were not designed to support my health and weight the way my body needed. My eating habits at the time did not match my lifelong striving for a slim body which led me to develop disordered eating behaviors that lasted almost a decade until I came to senses and got scared for my health.
We get set on behaviors and the beliefs we possess. Repetitive actions and thoughts become habitual and are very difficult to change — difficult, but not impossible. I searched for ways to become “normal” again, often getting frustrated at how hard it was. I struggled, but came out on top at the end, for the most part. I know what it takes; I’ve been there. It is possible to change, eat well, get healthy, and back to normal! Sometimes we need to redefine “normal” for changes to take place and learn to embrace the new norm.
My natural curiosity and lifelong interest in nutrition and wellness not only lead me to my current career path, but also to an epiphany that not all that is called food actually is food.
It is my passion and purpose to be an advocate for eating for health and wellbeing and to provide education, counseling, and support to people who need it. I am convinced that with proper guidance everyone is capable of reaching their true health potential. I want to help people create a food culture that is focused on quality and body needs, not on convenience and hijacked taste choices. I want children to enjoy healthy meals with their families at a dinner table, not a fast-food drive-through in the back seat of their vehicle. I am here to help.
Blog
Nutrient Spotlight: Folate
Any mom out there may recall that folate or folic acid (most common form of supplemental folate) was one of the first and foremost recommendations by their doctor right before or during pregnancy. The reason being – inadequate consumption of folate may lead to neural tube defects in infants, which are defects of the brain,…
Nutrient Spotlight: Selenium
Certain nutrients like vitamins and mineral are essential, which means our bodies can’t produce them on their own and require their intake through food or supplements. Selenium is one such mineral. It is vital for our health, immunity and optimal function of some organs and systems. Selenium is necessary for robust metabolism, thyroid, and reproductive…