Nutrition Counseling 

  Maria Tsakalis, Registered Dietitian, Nutrition & Body Image Specialist  

 The Wellness Center's Registered Dietitian is available for free nutrition consultations for all current undergraduate and graduate students. The Dietitian provides dietary education for all Rice students focusing on nutrition for a healthy lifestyle, as well as specific physical conditions and athletic training.

Sessions are offered for individuals by appointment on Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday each week.

• Your first appointment will be a one-hour assessment, followed by hour-long followups. The first three appointments are free for students. 
• Students will learn how to plan their meals and control portion sizes so that an optimum level of nutrition and energy can be obtained.
• Sessions can provide counseling and referral for clients identified by a nurse, physician, or psychologist as needing individual nutritional counseling for a specific health concern.
• Athletes and fitness enthusiasts are encouraged to discuss concerns that affect their performance and how nutrition can optimize their goals.
• Students may check out educational materials and books (including cookbooks) from the Wellness Center for further reading.
• Call (713) 348-5194 today to schedule your appointment!  

 BodyGem Consultations    

 The Wellness Center is pleased to announce the arrival of our new BodyGem.  BodyGem is a revolutionary, hand-held device that measures a person's resting metabolism easily and accurately. Understanding your unique metabolism, or burn rate, is vital to managing your weight. Because people burn calories at different rates, it is important for you to determine the amount of energy (or number of calories) your body burns each day at rest. This is called resting metabolic rate, or RMR. It’s important to measure your metabolic rate because age, activity level, diet, genetics, weight and hormone levels are all factors that can influence resting metabolic rate.  BodyGem appointments last 30 minutes for the measurement (10-15 minutes) and basic walk-through of the results by our Dietitian (15 minutes). 

• For a more in-depth consultation including a meal plan, a full hour-long nutrition consultation should be scheduled. 
• Appointments utilizing the BodyGem are $10 which covers the cost of the sterile mouthpiece.  Payments may be made by cash or check.
• For appointments, please call (713) 348-5194, ext. 2 and specify that you are interested in the BodyGem. Click here for more information on Nutrition and Body Image