About Me
Hi! I’m Amanda Pargament, Founder of Health by Amanda Robyn and an Integrative Nutrition Health Coach through the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN).
As a young adult, I have struggled with my weight. It all started at age 17 – the freedom that comes with a driver’s license and a car was enough to cause a drastic shift in my eating habits. My after-school snack went from a piece of fruit or a small package of “Little Bites” to ‘froyo’ dates with friends, followed up by late-night diner runs on the weekends.
When I look back at pictures from that time, I see a happy and healthy me, but the memories of being uncomfortable at pool parties, or on vacation never fade. What’s worse is I never understood why my friends would eat the same food that I did, but without the consequences.
Of course, going off to college only reinforced these negative habits. My friends and I routinely drank three nights per week – and whether it be a night out or a tailgate, it was sure to end with a greasy, sugar-filled food binge. My relationship with food and my body had gotten to such a bad point that it would take me longer to get dressed to go out, than the actual time spent going out!
Four years and 30 pounds later, I left Syracuse with a diploma, a corporate job, and a mindset that the weight had to come off now! Restricting my calories, working out excessively, and staying away from foods so-and-so said would “make me fat” allowed me to lose weight in the short term, but also created several diet phobias that only added fuel to the fire.
Like many post-grads, I’ve tried every diet that helped a friend of a friend lose 20 pounds. Some of these diets worked, others didn’t – but even the diets that did work, only worked until they didn’t. I would lose the weight in the short term, only to gain it back (and then some) time and time over. The scale only reflected where I was at in my diet-to-binge eating cycle.
Until, one day during my IIN training I decided I was done cycling (unless a bike is involved) and was eager to make a positive change. I have worked to strip away my preconceived, irrational food phobias only to realize that the key to success is quite simple. It’s not about fad diets or trendy workouts, it’s about listening to your body. Unlike a “quick fix” (or “bandaid” as I call it), my new way of life (eating clean, real food, and balanced meals) works because it's sustainable.
My approach to wellness is not “one size fits all”. Everyone has different needs and goals, and my approach to achieving your goals is to look at all aspects of your life: nutrition, movement, relationships, career, and self-care.
My strategy as a Health Coach is not to give you strict guidelines that will only loosen over time, it is to empower you to build healthy habits and live a balanced life. I want to encourage you to live your best life filled with delicious food, love, family, friends, travel, night outs, positivity, and body confidence.
Throughout my page, I show you that eating healthy and living well is easy, delicious, and enjoyable.
You can find more information on my services by visiting the “services page”. Thank you so much for visiting Health by Amanda Robyn!
Love Always,
Amanda