PHOTO GIRL GETS FIT

Welcome to my little slice of the interweb.  Allow me to introduce myself; I’m Amanda – a photographer, certified holistic health coach and personal trainer with a serious love for beautifully plated foods, paddleboarding, and great danes!

 

//MY STORY//

My journey to health and wellness wasn’t a lifelong dream.  In fact, my lifelong dream was to graduate from the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and move to New York City and become a fashion photographer.  I did graduate from AIFL in June of 2003, but New York would have to wait, the universe had other plans for me. Shortly after I returned to Pennsylvania I met my husband and opened a boutique photography business that allowed me to travel the world.

 

When my photography business opened in 2003, I had a lot of quick success and my business grew quicker than I could manage.  Majority of my days were spent sitting in front of a computer for hours on end editing- often until the wee hours of the morning.  I ate, slept, and breathed building a photography business that I had dreamed of since I was a little girl. Workouts had become non-existent with the exception of an eight to ten hour wedding day or running to the door to accept a FedEx delivery.

 

My body functioned poorly on highly processed, packaged, carb-ified foods.  I used my business as an excuse until the excuses had excuses. Surrounded by a pile of designer duds that no longer fit, shit hit the fan, and I had an uncomfortable heart to heart with myself.

 

Several weeks later, I found myself walking into a local gym filled with shame, guilt, and embarrassment for the person I had become.  Hidden in layers of fat and excess weight, I knew the women that I dreamed of being somewhere inside. She just had to fight like hell to reconnect with her. Twelve weeks later, my life changed.  

My weight dropped, my business was restructured, and I was beginning to find me. Two years later, my love for health and wellness continued to increase and I decided to enroll at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition and become a certified holistic health coach.  

 

As I create this website in June of 2018, I am doing this to share my journey - the good and the bad - the glamorous and not so glamorous process of living your best life possible.  I hope that you enjoy this raw and honest approach to health & wellness.