MARIA CARMELA MARTENS

she/her

Maria is from Oakland, California. She earned a master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan. After relocating back to Oakland and realizing she had gained a lot of weight and adopted poor eating habits while in grad school, she decided it was time to put her health first and joined a gym. She loves all things fitness and has experience running half-marathons, spinning, weightlifting and CrossFit.

In 2015 Maria was diagnosed with Ulcerative Colitis, a type of Inflammatory Bowel Disease that attacks the colon. Doctors kept telling her that her nutrition was not a factor in her flare ups, though she was convinced otherwise. Through her own research and working with different nutrition experts, she learned which foods would be better for her and which foods to avoid. While this was an unexpected curveball, she knew how to manage finding alternative foods to meet her dietary needs, as she also has navigated living with many diagnosed food allergies.

It was at her local CrossFit box where she was introduced to “tracking macros” as an option for a nutrition challenge. Having no idea what it was she opted to try it and was totally confused. A year later while planning her wedding, she knew she wanted to dial in her nutrition so that she could feel great in her wedding dress and signed up with Black Iron Nutrition. Yes, she hit her goal of losing some weight and feeling amazing in her dress, but the lifelong tools she gained were even better. She has had the help of various BIN coaches over the years to help her find balance and achieve her various goals.

Maria knew she wanted to be able to help others, how BIN coaches helped her, so she signed up for the Precision Nutrition Level 1 certificate as a starting point. She is currently pursuing the Nutritional Therapy Association’s online program in holistic nutrition. Maria interned with Coach Marisa Mullen, a fellow NTA graduate and is forever grateful for her mentorship. Drawing upon her background in social work and NTA program, she believes in a bio-individual approach and truly meeting clients where they are at, to make the biggest impact in their lives. Ultimately, she wants others to have a healthy relationship with food and feel great in their skin.

CERTIFICATIONS/EXPERIENCE

  • Precision Nutrition Level 1

  • Nutritional Therapy Practitioner

PROGRAMS MARIA COACHES

FOLLOW MARIA ON INSTAGRAM