Meet Amanda

Amanda can be described as easy to talk to, warm, and passionate about wellness. Amanda respects your openness in nutrition sessions because she has had her own personal nutrition journey with weight, health, and athletics. Opening up about your diet and lifestyle can feel a little uncomfortable at first; however, Amanda’s style is like discussing your lifestyle like an old friend as she is nonjudgmental or cruel. Amanda is not afraid to be honest with you or provide you with tough love when needed. She is driven to make each and every client feel supported, welcome, and confident in applying personalized recommendations.

My Story

Amanda is a born and raised Long Islander from Suffolk County. She played competitive sports throughout her childhood up until college when she attended the State University of New York at Oneonta . Amanda graduated Summa Cum Laude and was awarded the Outstanding Student Award for the Nutrition Department her graduating year. She had also been awarded the Academic Achievement award for her graduating class and was NCAA All Tournament Women’s Lacrosse GoalTender for the SUNYACC Conference. She was the President of her University’s Food and Nutrition Association, a member of Phi Upsilon Omicron Honor Society, and volunteered her time for the Oneonta State Emergency Squad. After college she went on to match with the Sodexo New York Compass - Dietetic Internship where she rotated at Stony Brook University, Jamaica Medical Center, & Lenox Hill Hospital.

From there she earned her first job as the Stony Brook University Campus Dietitian where she built the new on campus nutrition program for Compass CulinArt. On campus she assisted students with complex food allergies/GI considerations to maneuver eating healthfully in college as well as division 1 athletes. For the majority of her career she has spent time as an outpatient Registered Dietitian for the Stony Brook Medicine - World Trade Center Health & Wellness Program where she and her partner built the first nutrition department for the program. There she worked with a wide variety of patients including those with chronic metabolic conditions like diabetes, heart disease, chronic kidney disease, obesity, hypo- and hyperthyroidism, and those who have PTSD, depression, anxiety, and various cancers; due to their exposure from their time working at ground zero during/after the attacks our nation faced on 9/11. To better provide for her patients she assisted in the coordination of a randomized control trial and was recently published:

Mediterranean diet intervention among World Trade Center responders with post-traumatic stress disorder: Feasibility and outcomes of a pilot randomized controlled trial

https://doi.org/10.1002/osp4.725

For her work she was awarded the Long Island Dietetics Association Excellence in Practice Award in 2022 and last year she was awarded the Stony Brook Dietetic Internship Class of 2023 Mentoring Preceptor of the Year Award.

She earned her Master's Degree in Nutrition from Stony Brook University with a concentration in Integrative & Functional Nutrition to which she applies her knowledge of functional nutrition here at Functional Nutrition Rx. Amanda has been working part-time for us at Functional Nutrition Rx for the past year and is excited to join our team full time. She enjoys helping clients balance their hormones, reduce their inflammation, improve their body composition, lab results, sports performance, gut-health (gut-permeability), manage food triggers, and overall lead a happier, healthier life.

Counseling Style

Amanda's practice is not to lose weight quickly and gain it back in half the time, “diet-culture”, approach. She does not place her clients on “diets” but rather builds healthier relationships with food. She wants to get to know you so that as a team you two can come up with individualized solutions targeted to help you to efficiently achieve your goals.

Guiding someone to enhance their lifestyle; causing them to lead a higher quality of life is her mission. As a Registered Dietitian, she implements an evidenced-based approach to medical nutrition therapy and incorporates key pillars from the American College of Lifestyle Medicine (Nutrition, Sleep, Exercise, Substance Management, Social Support, & Stress Management) into her counseling. This is done through the selective use of laboratory testing to then use food and the judicious use of supplements to optimize health. In doing so, she acts as a filter for nutrition research to her clients so that they can be empowered to understand the why behind nutritional recommendations. She will get to know the patterns around your food choices and will utilize motivational interviewing, behavior modification counseling, and cognitive behavioral therapy to explore your food environment. Amanda’s clients are led to becoming an enhanced expert in their bodies and to feel their best selves.

Hobbies/Interest

In her free time you can find Amanda typically doing something active like biking, yoga, snowboarding, stand up paddle boarding (SUP), running, hiking, or lifting weights. She has completed two half marathons and has a lifelong love of physical activity. To unwind she enjoys cooking which her fiancé and two dogs, Xena, a 90 lb Rottweiler and Riley, an 80 lb German Shepherd/Labrador (Shepador) do not mind a bit.