Sports dietitian · Lisbon
Beatriz Lima
Registered with the Ordem dos Nutricionistas since 2016, and I have spent most of the eight years since inside football — three seasons at a Primeira Liga academy and five in private practice with players who mostly arrive having already tried something they read online.
I sell no supplements and take no commission from anybody who does. That sounds like a small thing and it is the reason I can tell you when something is a waste of your money, which is most of the time.
How I work
Assess before advising
The ABCD framework, in full, before a plan exists. Anyone writing you a meal plan in the first session is writing it for somebody else.
Fit the plan to the week you actually have
A plan that assumes you cook twice a day will not survive a Tuesday. Most of my job is finding the version you will still be doing in March.
Say what the evidence does not support
Including when that means telling you the thing you came in asking for does not work. It is the whole reason to see somebody registered.
Questions
Do you sell supplements?
No, and I never will. I have no commercial relationship with any supplement company, which is the only reason I can tell you when one is a waste of your money — which is most of the time.
Can you work with my club's staff?
Yes, and I would rather. If you have a coach, a physio or an S&C coach, bring them in. A nutrition plan that ignores the training week does not survive contact with it.
Is this suitable for under-18s?
Yes, with a parent present and the club informed. Growth changes the advice substantially and it is one of the areas where advice written for adults does real harm.
Will you give me a meal plan?
After an assessment, yes — and it will look less like a meal plan than you expect. Fixed daily menus almost never survive a real week, so what you get is a structure with options.
Do I need bloods?
Not to start. If something in the assessment suggests it is worth looking, I will say what and why, and you get them through your doctor. I do not order tests and I am suspicious of anybody who sells them to you.
What if I just want to lose weight?
Then I may not be the right person, and I will tell you on the first call. This is a sports practice — most of what I do is stopping athletes under-fuelling, which is the opposite problem.