Over the past 30 years, we have certified over 130,000 health, nutrition and fitness professionals. We regularly recognize graduates who use what they learned to inspire others and make a difference.
Meet one of our distinguished alumni, Sarah Salain, AFPA Certified Holistic Nutritionist.
Tell us about yourself.
Hello! My name is SARAH. I am a Registered Nurse & Holistic Health Coach specializing in holistic nutrition and hormones. I help empower women on their health and wellness journeys by educating and guiding the importance of nutrition for overall health, as well as balancing hormones. I absolutely love holistic health, the beach and spending time with my husband and two puppies. It is truly my mission to provide the best care, guidance and support to all clients I serve.
How did you first become interested in health and wellness?
I’ve always been interested in health, but it wasn’t until I got sick myself that I looked deeply into what holistic health and wellness means. After completing the AFPA Holistic Nutritionist course, I began to delve into holistic health and my body began to heal and feel better. When I started implementing more nutritionally dense foods, changing my lifestyle and habits, and becoming more aware, my entire life changed and a new passion for wellness began. Although my times of illness were extremely frustrating and frustrating, it fueled a new passion to serve my clients to the best of my ability to finally help them find the root cause of their health struggles.
What AFPA certifications have you earned and why did you choose these certification programs?
I personally chose the Holistic Nutritionist course and certification for a few reasons. As a nurse, I was taught very little about how nutrition supports the body and how it can be used as medicine. I feel that nutrition is one of the most critical aspects of health and wellness, relating to every part of our mind, body and soul. When I started learning and applying the information I was being taught in the AFPA class, I was overwhelmed. I felt like I had stumbled upon a new version of health and wellness that the whole world needed to know about. I knew it would become my mission to spread awareness about whole foods, holistic healing, and simplifying diet and lifestyle to help change people’s lives.
Get your free guide to becoming a holistic nutritionist
Tell me about your business and how you serve people.
SimplySarahHealing it truly is my whole heart and soul. My mission is to empower women on their health and wellness journeys by understanding their cycle, supporting their hormones with nutrition, healing their gut, and truly aligning with their bodies. I have created three programs that help women lose weight, heal their gut, reduce their toxin load, and truly understand their cycle phases while balancing their hormones.
What are your favorite parts of running your business?
There is absolutely no better feeling than having my clients share their victories with me. Every week I just want to jump up and down when I get messages about their achievements. Whether it’s reaching their goal weight, feeling more confident in their clothes, feeling stronger in the gym, getting a positive pregnancy test after struggling with infertility, or just knowing and understanding their body’s specific hormonal cues in certain phases of their cycle. It is so important to me that each and every one of my clients leaves me empowered, confident and much more knowledgeable than they came to.
What has been the most difficult part of running your business and what have you learned from it?
My clients truly become my friends, so I celebrate their wins and feel their losses. Health journeys are not always 100% linear. Sometimes we get stuck, hit a rough patch, or have a bad week, so when my clients are struggling with their health and wellness journeys or even a difficult time in life, I really feel for them. I, too, am still on my own personal health and wellness journey, so I can understand how hard it really is to change your lifestyle one day at a time. Some days can be hard and defeating, but that’s why having a coach is so important!! I feel confident that my clients and I can navigate their own unique and personal journey together!
How has getting certified with AFPA affected your life?
When I signed up for the AFPA Holistic Nutritionist course, I had no intention of ever becoming a health coach. I was just desperate for a solution to help me on my personal journey. As I read, studied, and continued to learn, I felt like I was relearning a completely different system of health and healing. I became so passionate about spreading awareness about the importance of nutrition. After I started living the information I was learning and started feeling better about my health, I knew it was my mission to help other women do the same. I was SO tired of meeting women who were constantly rejected for their symptoms, told how they felt like they were “just a woman”, who were devastated, defeated, helpless and at war with their bodies. I wanted to heal it, help them find the light and help them regain their health.
Do you have customer success stories you’d like to share?
MANY MANY. I’ve helped countless women get pregnant, have pain-free periods, heal their gut, lose weight without drugs, find sustainable routines and habits, lower A1C, navigate PCOS, learn to be non-toxic, and do cycle sync, empower their hormones and cycles instead of throwing it to the side, lower cholesterol and make long-lasting, forever lifestyle changes. My clients are the real deal!!! They truly inspire me every day. I feel so honored to be a part of their health and wellness journeys.
What advice would you give to others considering certification through AFPA?
Do it!!! There were many things that challenged my mindset about health, fitness, nutrition and lifestyle in the AFPA course. Without this challenge, I would never have learned about holistic nutrition or functional medicine. If you have even the slightest spark of interest in a course, dive in! The content is AMAZING, packed with lifetime information. I also enjoyed all the studies and research provided in all the courses.
Why should people work with you?
As someone who has had a health coach in the past, I encourage you to do your research and “interview” your potential coach! Make sure your coach is truly passionate and interested in your unique and specific journey. Find someone who may not have all the answers but will work with you to figure them out, someone who has an open mind and will be your biggest cheerleader! I personally keep my schedules tightly packed so that I can devote all of my time, passion, education and purpose to my 1:1 clients.
Of all the programs I’ve come across, I haven’t been able to find one like mine. My Simply Aligned Program it’s one of my favorite programs of the three I offer. Hormones and cycles are largely uneducated and most women live their entire adult lives without really understanding what their bodies are going through. Some may struggle with emotions, painful periods, feeling out of sync, low energy, fertility issues. The list goes on and on. The Simply Aligned program is specifically designed for YOUR unique cycle, where we work as a team to learn how to support the body in each phase whether it be with recipes, nutrition, emotions, workouts, reducing your toxic load, even mindset. We go into each phase with a plan and intention so you can finally learn how to balance your hormones and live in full hormonal alignment!
I was once in a place where I was really struggling with my health, so it’s important for me to “give”. Even if you’re not exactly looking for a 1:1 coach, it’s my mission to offer as many as possible free resources and training as much as I can, so follow them for everything!
How can people find you online or work with you?
You can find me at www.simplysarahhealing.com the @simplysarahhealing on all social platforms. On my website you can find my blog with lots of free resources, my podcast and information about three programs I offer.
