Meet the Founders

Ritva – Medical Doctor & Founder of Havu Health

Five years ago, I sat across from yet another patient who was “doing everything right” and still felt like she was failing. She was smart, capable, and endlessly giving to everyone around her, but deeply frustrated and quietly falling apart.

I recognized the look in her eyes.
Because I had been there too.

My education as a medical doctor, combined with continuous studies in the field of obesity, provided me with the scientific foundation. However, my own weight management journey gave me the real expertise and empathy.

I know what it’s like to try the old strategies — eating less and moving more — only to watch them stop working. And I know the deep frustration of hearing “you just need more willpower” when what you actually need is understanding, healing, and a new way forward.

The truth is, quick fixes have never fixed what really matters. A medication might blunt your hunger, but it won’t quiet the 3 p.m. sugar cravings born from stress and exhaustion. A diet might drop the scale by ten pounds, but it won’t rewrite the beliefs that send you back to old habits the moment life gets hard.

That’s why I founded Havu Health. Not to chase before-and-after photos, but to help women create transformations so real and lasting, they outgrow the identity of “the overweight version” of themselves. This is about healing the root causes: the hormonal shifts of perimenopause, the weight of unspoken stress, the coping patterns formed decades ago — not just managing the symptoms.

In my world, success is not measured only by weight lost, but by the moment you walk into a room with excitement bubbling over, your head higher, your energy steadier, and your heart lighter. When you start hearing your own voice over the noise of diet culture. When you finally feel like yourself again, only stronger.

This is the work that lights me up every single day.
And if you’re ready for a change that lasts a lifetime, I’m here to walk every step with you.

Outi - Psychologist & Co-Founder of Havu Health

I’m a psychologist specializing in nutrition, the psychology of eating, and lifestyle change coaching. Over the years, I’ve worked with women navigating all kinds of challenges: from long-standing struggles with weight and emotional eating to the physical and emotional shifts that come with perimenopause and menopause.

What’s always fascinated me most is the body–mind connection — how our thoughts, emotions, and experiences shape the way we care for ourselves, and how food often becomes much more than just fuel. Before my career in psychology, I worked as a chef and wrote three books on mental well-being and nutrition. The kitchen taught me that food has a story, and therapy taught me that so does every person.

Today, you’re most likely to find me in a yoga studio, teaching or guiding a client through the stillness and strength that yoga offers. As a yoga teacher and yoga therapist, I see daily how movement, breath, and mindfulness can help someone reclaim their calm, their clarity, and their confidence.

In everything I do — whether I’m sitting with a client in deep conversation or leading a class through a gentle stretch — my goal is the same: to create a safe space where even the biggest challenges can be transformed into victories. I believe, with absolute certainty, in each person’s ability to change, to succeed, and to discover their truest self. Sustainable well-being isn’t about following someone else’s rules. It’s about uncovering the tools, rhythms, and rituals that work for you — and building a life you feel at home in.