9 Things I've Been Doing "In Real Life"

all that stuff you prob haven't been seeing online but that I've struggle with, brought in, or nourished my soul with this Spring 🌿

Gals, I recently had a revelation

I’ve been struggling with Instagram for a while.

And whenever I share that, the response is usually, “But it’s doing so well!” or “Everyone goes through ups and downs.” And in some ways, that’s true—engagement fluctuates, the content performs decently, and the waves always level out.

But I’m not talking about metrics.
I’m talking about my relationship to it.

Lately, I’ve felt like I’m constantly playing catch-up—trying to be trendier, cooler, more consistent, more something.

And then it hit me:
I feel like I’m back in high school.

In school, I wasn’t exactly popular, but I hovered on the edge. Cool enough for the occasional invite, but never fully “in.” And it left me constantly wondering:

What do I need to do to belong? How do I become more like them? What don’t they see in me that they’re looking for?

I look back at lil Amanda and want to hug her so tight 🥹
And all of a sudden now, here I am, living out that same story—just on a different platform.

Every post has started to feel like a quiet audition for relevance:
Is it funny enough to be sent to your group chat? Inspiring enough to be saved? Personal enough to comment on?

It’s my voice and my heart on the page… and yet, even when something lands, I still feel on the outside.

I find myself looking at creators I admire and thinking, “Hey, I’m here too! Look at my content—isn’t it good? Let me in.”

That realization hit hard.

So I’m rethinking how I show up here—and what my actual intention is. I’m still navigating the tension between being a health professional and a “content creator”—two very different roles with very different goals.

But maybe it’s time to let go of the boxes altogether.

Because what I want now is simple:
To share things that feel real.
Less performative, less curated, more me.

And what better place to start than here, on Substack 😏

So here we go:
9 Things I’ve Been Doing This Spring—behind the scenes.

*PSA: This will be a bit less nutrition related - a bit more, whole body health.

The good, the bad, the uncomfortable.
Because the ‘gram? It’s just the highlight reel.

I was having a tough time about “when” I’ll get engaged

…because even when you know it’s coming, the not-knowing when can really mess with your head.

For me, it came down to two things.

Part of it was control—I didn’t like being on someone else’s timeline for something so personal.

But more than that, it felt strange not to be a co-creator in the process. My partner and I make every decision together, so being left in the dark—intentionally—felt out of sync with how we normally operate as a team.

The whole experience took more emotional energy than I expected. It stirred up questions about partnership, patience, and trust.

And while it wasn’t always easy, it became a mirror—reflecting things I’m still unpacking.

My new mantra when these things come up? What an opportunity to dive deeper.

Engagement, Bridal Body Image and What I'm Doing to Prep 🤔

I’ve spent more time with the women in my life

…which has been healing for me

PSA: not my wedding dress

My sis Lili showed the heck up when I got engaged—she is singlehandedly the reason I have a wedding dress.

My friends have been so incredibly thoughtful—the sweetest engagement gifts, checking in, and holding my hand through both the joy and some quiet challenges.

Then there were my sisters (all 5 of them) at my engagement dinner. I looked around that night and felt so held. We’re not perfect, we’ve had our ups and downs, are from blended families, but man, do we show up for each other.

And it made me think—
The power of women is unmatched.

It’s in how we witness one another—not just in the big, shiny moments, but in the quiet, complicated, and vulnerable ones too. It’s how we rally. How we show up—again and again—with full hearts and open hands.

To be surrounded by women who want to see you thrive, who celebrate your joy as if it were their own, who ground you when things feel shaky…
That’s not just friendship.
That’s the magic of sisterhood. Of feminine strength. Of collective care.

And it is one of the greatest gifts this life has to offer.

I read a book my grandmother wrote about her life

…and felt inspired and have been using her quotes with my clients.

After a year of gathering her stories, it finally arrived. I’m sharing a tidbit that completely resonated with me:

“In my opinion, children should be treated the way you’d like to be dealt with…if you love them, which is a given to me, you do not yell or threaten. You just do what you need to do calmly, confidently, respectfully.

These tools get better results than yelling, which either scares them to the point of rebelling, hiding their true self or getting “even” with you somehow

I treated them the way I did my students…with love, which to me implies respect, and discipline which helps them learn boundaries. Love and discipline should never be exclusive of each other.

while this wise woman is talking about raising children, I realized how this can applied to how we treat ourselves.

So many of us are quick to start an internal dialogue rooted in fear, shame, or anger - never noticing how we are *actually* speaking to ourselves and the cycle it creates

We need to foster a relationship with ourselves rooted in love *and* discipline

if you were to talk to yourself as you would a child, how would it shift that inner dialogue?

I started physical therapy and realized what has been leading to a lot of my health issues

…it’s been a journey—and apparently, wisdom teeth and being double-jointed are at the center of it.

I’ve had physical discomfort since I was young—chronic neck and upper back tension, never able to sit still or feel settled in my body. Then came a strange hamstring issue that no PT could figure out (for the past four years!).

Turns out: it was weirdly connected to an inherited disorder and my teeth (??)