MEET
MARIE-ÈVE
CEO, Head Coach
Bonjour!
My name is Marie-Ève (pronounced muh rEE Ev) and I am the owner and founder of ReNu Wellness and creator of the Gagné Formula.
My friends often refer to me as “the rocket scientist”, “doc”, or “nerd”. This is because I have a Ph.D. in Physics and I worked for many years as a space scientist with the Canadian Space Agency (including collaborations with NASA and ESA).
So how does someone become a nutrition coach with such a background?
Health history
I first dabbled with the world of nutrition and supplementation to heal myself from stress related health problems, leaky gut and adrenal fatigue among others, during the stressful graduate student life. Thanks to my first experience in functional and integrative medicine, I became aware of the power of a whole-foods diet and natural supplements. The doctor I worked with whose specialty was in orthomolecular medicine introduced me to an ancestral diet and suggested some key nutritional supplements that eventually solved my lifelong digestive issues and improved my health considerably.
At about the same time, I decided to address my worrisome and anxious nature, and I completed the 8-week Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) program that changed my mindset and helped me heal from insomnia and anxiety, which, along with a better nutrition and the adequate supplements regimen, led me to return to a normal adrenal function and an optimal metabolism.
Nutrition education
Over the following years, I became passionate about nutrition and supplementation as a healing tool. Being a scientist, I delved into the world of nutrition and sought out the answers and test theories. After I graduated with a Ph.D. degree from the University of Toronto in 2013, I pursued an education in nutrition and in 2015 I started to coach fellow crossfit athletes at my local crossfit affiliate.
In 2017 I had a blooming nutrition counseling practice and took the hard but right decision to quit my research associate position at the University of Victoria to focus all my time on helping more and more people thrive! Since then, I have transformed the lives of hundreds of people from athletes to entrepreneurs, and anyone who desires to live at their full potential, mentally and physically!
Nutrition qualifications:
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Certified Nutritional Counselor (CNC) from Alive Academy
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Certified Eat-To-Perform Level 1 & 2 coach
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Certified Poliquin® BioSignature Modulation Level 1 & 2 practitioner
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Certified Precision Nutrition coach
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Certified Sport Nutrition Consultant (CSNC) from Alive Academy
Athletic background
I have been active all my life, from dancing, to playing soccer, and later long-distance running. In 2011, I tried CrossFit after being challenged by my running instructor. Although reluctant at first because of the competitive nature of the activity and the emphasis on weight lifting, I fell in love with the sport and started to compete in local meets in 2012. From 2013 to 2017, I competed in the CrossFit Games Regionals, the second level of three-tier worldwide competition
After five seasons of competing in the demanding and grueling sport, I switched my efforts to powerlifting. In my first year, I placed 2nd at the British Columbia Powerlifting Association Provincial Championship, then 3rd at the Canadian Powerlifting Union Western Regionals Championships, to go on and compete at the national level.
I love balancing the heavy weights with yoga to work on my flexibility, and attend the occasional spin class to get some high intensity back!
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Certified CrossFit Level 1 Trainer
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Certified CrossFit Olympic Lifting Trainer
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Certified CrossFit Gymnastics Trainer
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Continuing education with the Clinical Management of the Fitness Athlete from the Institute of Clinical Excellence
Other interests
Outside the gym, I am passionate about extreme weather (I even chased tornadoes in the U.S. Central Plains on several occasions!), space exploration (my original dream career!), traveling (I have visited 18 countries so far!), dining out, drinking third wave coffee, and simply enjoying life!
