Today we’d like to introduce you to Ana “Latina” Aristizabal.
Hi Ana “Latina”, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born and raised in Colombia and originally built my career in technology. For almost two decades, I worked in engineering, project management, and business growth, leading large teams and complex technology initiatives for companies like Disney and other global organizations.
From the outside, things looked great. I had the career, the titles, and the opportunities I had worked so hard for. But behind the scenes, I was learning a lesson that so many professional women eventually face: success at work doesn’t automatically translate into feeling good in your own body.
Health and fitness have always been personal to me. I struggled with my weight for many years and, at one point, was over 80 pounds heavier than I am today. Like many women, I tried diets, quick fixes, and approaches that weren’t sustainable. Eventually, I realized that what I needed wasn’t another diet. I needed to understand how my body actually worked and build habits I could maintain for life.
That journey sparked a passion for nutrition, fitness, and behavior change. I became a Certified Nutrition Coach and started helping friends, colleagues, and other women who were facing the same challenges I had faced: low energy, weight gain, stress, hormonal changes, and the feeling that they were constantly taking care of everyone except themselves.
Today, I’m the founder of Latinas Fit & Strong, where I help busy Latina professionals create healthier, stronger, more energized lives without extreme dieting or unrealistic expectations. My mission is simple: help women feel confident, capable, and powerful in their bodies so they can show up fully in every area of their lives.
What started as my own personal transformation has grown into a community of incredible women who are proving that it’s never too late to prioritize themselves and create lasting change.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
Not at all. In fact, most of the meaningful things in my life have come from periods that were anything but smooth.
One of the biggest struggles was my own health journey. For years, I battled my weight, my confidence, and an unhealthy relationship with food. I was constantly looking for the next solution, the next diet, the next thing that would finally “fix” me. It took a long time to realize that lasting change doesn’t come from perfection. It comes from understanding your body, being patient with yourself, and building habits that you can actually sustain.
Professionally, I also faced challenges that many women can relate to. I immigrated from Colombia to the United States, built a career in a highly competitive technology industry, and often found myself being one of the few women, and sometimes the only Latina, in the room. There were moments of self-doubt, moments when I questioned whether I belonged, and moments when I had to learn to advocate for myself.
More recently, starting my own business has been one of the most rewarding and humbling experiences of my life. Going from the structure of a corporate career to building something from scratch requires a completely different mindset. You wear every hat, make mistakes, learn quickly, and keep moving forward.
Looking back, I wouldn’t change any of it. Those struggles gave me empathy, resilience, and a much deeper understanding of the women I serve today. They remind me that growth rarely happens in a straight line, and that sometimes our greatest challenges become the foundation for the work we’re meant to do.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
Today, I am the founder of Latinas Fit & Strong, a nutrition and wellness coaching company focused on helping busy Latina professionals improve their energy, confidence, and health through sustainable habits.
What makes my work unique is that I understand both worlds. Before becoming a nutrition coach, I spent nearly two decades in technology, leading large teams, managing complex projects, and working with global organizations. I know what it’s like to sit in back-to-back meetings, travel for work, juggle competing priorities, and put yourself last on the list.
Many of the women I work with are highly accomplished in their careers but feel frustrated because their health isn’t where they want it to be. They often think they need more willpower, more discipline, or another diet. In reality, they usually need a strategy that fits their real life.
I specialize in helping women create simple, science-based nutrition and lifestyle habits that improve energy, support healthy weight loss, build strength, and reduce the overwhelm that often comes with trying to “do it all.”
What I am most proud of is helping women reconnect with themselves. The scale may move, but the bigger transformation is seeing someone regain confidence, have more energy for her family, feel stronger in her body, and realize she doesn’t have to choose between a successful career and her health.
I believe my background as both a corporate leader and a nutrition coach allows me to meet women where they are. I don’t coach from theory. I coach from experience. I’ve lived the challenges many of my clients are facing, and that creates a level of understanding and trust that is hard to teach.
At the end of the day, my mission is simple: help more women realize that taking care of themselves is not selfish. It’s one of the most powerful things they can do for their families, careers, communities, and themselves.
What would you say have been one of the most important lessons you’ve learned?
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is that success and health are not supposed to compete with each other.
For years, I believed what many high-achieving women believe: that if I just worked harder, had more discipline, or found the perfect diet, I would finally get the results I wanted. What I eventually learned is that most diets are not designed for women with demanding careers, families, responsibilities, and real lives. They often require perfection, and perfection simply isn’t sustainable.
I’ve also learned that it’s not normal to feel exhausted all the time. So many women have accepted low energy, brain fog, poor sleep, cravings, and constant stress as the price of being successful. I know I did. But just because something is common doesn’t mean it’s normal.
Perhaps the most important lesson of all is that taking care of ourselves is not selfish. As women, especially as Latinas, many of us were taught to put everyone else first. We take care of our families, our teams, our communities, and our friends, often leaving ourselves at the bottom of the list.
What I’ve learned, both personally and through working with clients, is that when a woman takes care of herself, everyone benefits. She shows up with more energy, more patience, more confidence, and more capacity to serve others.
Today, I believe health should support your life, not take over your life. The goal isn’t to be perfect. The goal is to build simple, sustainable habits that help you feel strong, energized, and fully present for the people and opportunities that matter most.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/analatinacoach/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61573449811159
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/analatina/
