Welcome and thanks for checking out my blog! I’m looking forward to sharing all about my adventures and some nutrition lessons I’ve learned along the way.

For my first post, I’ll tell you a little about how I got here, what I’m working on now, and what’s to come.

How I got here: past adventures

Fitness and nutrition have always been a huge part of my life ever since I was a little kid. I remember climbing trees with my dad in the park, and first watching the “big kid” 4th graders playing volleyball then joining them when I was finally in 4th grade. I kept playing volleyball (middle blocker) all throughout grade school and into college intramurals, and added a few new sports and activities along the way: springboard diving (so fun!), cross country running (not for me), yoga, snowboarding, rock climbing, surfing, and stand up paddle boarding, too.

Nutrition has always been a big interest of mine; I would read every nutrition article I could find in magazines and then the big game changer, the Internet. It’s such a fascinating topic, how nutrition can affect everything we do: our energy level, our health, our sports performance, and our mood! It was an easy choice to declare nutrition as my major going into Cal Poly San Luis Obispo.

Getting a bachelor’s degree in Applied Nutrition taught me a TON of science background in microbiology, organic chemistry, biochemistry, metabolism (two whole classes JUST on metabolism) that has proven to be extremely useful when it’s time to decide which online articles are legit and which are blowing smoke up your you-know-what. Knowing how to read nutrition research is SO important in this field! Cal Poly is also where I fell in love with psychology; I loved learning about why we make the choices we make and what else is going on in those crazy brains of ours. For me, a minor in psychology was a natural choice to go with nutrition.

Becoming a dietitian was a whole adventure on it’s own (more details in future blog post). I completed my supervised practice hours at Cal Poly and a variety of locations around San Luis Obispo, plus some electives in Seattle since I knew I was moving up here. After studying for way too long (don’t psych yourself out like I did… or get food poisoning the night before your test, like I did. Oops), I passed the RD exam on my first try and made it official!

In Seattle, I started out my career as a health coach working with corporate wellness programs at Healthways. I worked with huge companies, helping employees improve not only their nutrition but their overall wellness: reducing stress, quitting smoking, increasing exercise, and getting preventative health exams (are you current on your teeth cleanings, physicals, and eye exams?). This was great experience in putting together the whole picture of wellness, since there is not just one single area to focus on, but a wide range of things that effect the quality of our daily lives. I have also taught nutrition and health classes to low-income families in Seattle.

What I’m working on now: current adventures

Right now, I’m on an airplane headed to Hawaii for a little bit of adventure! Camping, rock climbing, hiking, surfing, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, and snorkeling, I can’t wait to get started! Before I go on a trip I always like to brush up on sports nutrition, make myself a nice list of ideas of what to eat, and make sure I’ll have enough water. Running out of water on a day hike in hot weather is no fun.

Outside of this current moment, I’m working as a clinical dietitian, a consultant dietitian for corporate wellness events, and starting my business! In my private practice, I specialize in wellness, exercise nutrition, maternal nutrition, and disordered eating. I emphasize a non diet approach, which means that I’m not into counting calories, or grams of carbs or fat, either. Instead, the focus is internal: learning to listen to your body’s natural cues. We carry a lot of guilt around food and my passion is helping my clients break free of that guilt. You can enjoy food! Food is very personal so there really is no one size fits all “diet” … Diets don’t work! I choose to focus more on the big picture, and individualize any recommendations I have to improve your overall quality of life. Nutrition is a big piece, of course, but so are fitness, sleep quality, stress, and more!

What’s to come: future adventures

The next adventure for me is becoming a Certified Specialist in Sports Dietetics (CSSD). It takes five years to build up experience to apply to take the exam. After passing the exam, CSSD’s must re-certify every five years (by practicing sports dietetics, taking continuing education courses, and retaking the test) to stay current.

I love to travel! My bucket list is pretty long but right now my top places are Europe and Peru. Closer to home, I always try to make it out to some great outdoor rock climbing locations around Seattle, and since winter is coming up (well, winter is here but we are still waiting for more snow!), we have a great trip out to Whistler planned. We like to keep busy with fun activities. In the winter you’ll find me snowboarding or snow shoeing, and in summer, hiking, rock climbing, paddle boarding. Year round I like to add in some yoga, barre, general strength training, and fun circuit classes.

On my RD adventures blog, you can look forward to reading about all my adventures with some helpful nutrition tips along the way. Fueling, recovering, hydrating, cooking, eating  and anything related to nutrition and wellness.

I’ll try to keep from being super corny and calling everything I do an adventure, but that just might not be possible! Naming stories as adventures makes it more exciting: we weren’t lost, we went on an adventure!

Hope you enjoy reading! I look forward to hearing from you in the comments or on social media: find me on Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.

❤ Amanda