Who am I

My name is Ana Rita Faria or, to make it easier, ARF. I could say I always felt passionate about health and nutrition, but that’s not true. In fact, not that long ago, I would call my mother every time I needed to cook rice and my idea of a light dinner was cereals and milk or pre-cooked raviolis with tomatoes.

Some health challenges made me reevaluate my relationship with food and emotions. In my search for a healthier lifestyle, I began noticing changes in my body and in my mind, and that reassured me I was on the right track. But I needed more. I wanted to learn about nutrition and health and, particularly, give structure to this new world, where new diets emerge every day and there’s conflicting information everywhere.

I found in the Institute for Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), in New York, the right place to do that, and I also found a new life purpose: help other people achieving their own transformation process and regaining control of their physical and emotional health.

Supported by my training as an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, I co-create with my clients completely personalized programs, based on their goals and ideals of health and wellness. It’s a bio-individual and holistic approach, which takes not only nutrition into account, but also other key areas, like relationships, career, physical activity or even personal finances.

I’m 34 years old, I’m from Coimbra, but I have been living in Lisbon for the last 12 years. I first graduated in Journalism, and I worked as a journalist for five years, in the daily newspaper Público, before I decided to go for another challenge: the aviation industry. Since 2013, I work as a flight attendant. Being a part of this new world – which means working many hours in an artificial environment, losing many nights of sleep and suffering the adverse effects of jet lag, sleep deprivation and the “wonderful” plane food – made me realize, more than ever, that I needed to have a healthy lifestyle.

Like many other people, my unconventional lifestyle doesn’t allow me to follow strict diets or take drastic approaches. I don’t want that for my clients either. My goal is to align your ideal vision of health with your unique body, lifestyle, preferences and resources. Only then we will create a sustainable path, that will stand for life, instead of a “yo-yo diet”, where you lose some extra pounds, but they will come back as soon as you eat that stupid chocolate bar!

I graduated as a Health Coach from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, where I learned over 100 dietary theories – Ayurveda, gluten-free, Paleo, raw, vegan, macrobiotics, and everything in between. But the biggest added-value of this course is to connect nutrition with a bio-individual and holistic approach of human health.

Each body is unique and there isn’t a one-size-fits-all diet that works for everyone. Besides, as important as the food we put on our plate, are the “foods” in the shelves of life: our relationships, physical activity, career, finances or spirituality. In the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, I learned practical lifestyle management techniques and innovative coaching method in order to address those kinds of issues.

I studied with the world’s top health and wellness experts, including: Andrew Weil (director of the Arizona Center for Integrative Medicine), David Katz (director do Yale University’s Prevention Research Center), Deepak Chopra (expert on holistic medicine), Joel Fuhrman (leading expert on nutritional healing), Geneen Roth (bestselling author and expert on emotional eating), Mark Hyman (founder of The UltraWellness Center) or Walter Willett (chair of nutrition at Harvard University).

My training has equipped me with extensive, cutting-edge knowledge in holistic nutrition, health coaching, and prevention. Drawing on my expertise, I work with my clients to help them make lifestyle changes and choose health-promoting ways that produce real and permanent results. Together, we will find the food and lifestyle choices that work best, get rid of unpleasant symptoms you usually feel and improve your energy, balance, health and happiness.

Each session will leave the client feeling inspired and motivated, knowing there is someone guiding each and every step along the way.