How to Find Me

I started my blog 5 years ago to share my journey with my friends and family. For a long time it was just that, a way to share what was happening in my life with the people I love. After a while though, it grew, and people outside my little circle found their way here. I love that what I’m saying resonates with so many people!

As my readership has grown, people have asked me to offer coaching. I’ve tried a couple times to figure out how to incorporate private coaching services, but it just hasn’t worked well. I have two jobs, kids with busy schedules, a household to manage and a marriage to keep healthy! I am now offering single session coaching and consulting services for individuals and other health professionals, but am not able to offer more formal coaching at this point. The demand is there though, I get requests daily, so I have put together a couple resources for people in lieu of formal coaching services.

First, my ebooks and workout programs. I’ve written several workout programs for people at various levels of fitness, including one for absolute beginners. I’ve priced them very reasonably to keep them accessible. I also have an eBook called ‘Taking Up Space’ that is my guide to healing your body image and eating to support a healthy weight. You can check out all these programs by clicking here.

I also have two facebook groups dedicated to supporting these programs. The ‘First 100 Days‘ group is rather quiet, but if you have a question or concern about the program, it’ll be addressed there. My ‘Eating the Food‘ group is HUGE, and very active. There you will find support from people who’ve been through what you’re going through and can throw you a rope to help you find your way. I stay active in both groups to answer as many questions as I can, and there are many wise people who help me do that there. Please join us!

I get dozens, sometimes even hundreds of questions every day on my blog, on my facebook pages and facebook groups, and via email. There’s no way for me to answer every single one of them, so I’ve done my best to gather wise and experienced people together to help support those with questions. I appreciate all the support I have received, and am hoping to help this community grow in healthy ways. Thank YOU for helping me with that!

I offer one-on-one and group personal training at the Downtown Oakland YMCA.

My Mailing address is:
3542 Fruitvale Ave#107
Oakland, CA 94602

57 thoughts on “How to Find Me

  1. Hi Amber, would you ever consider going way back…way back to your earliest thought processes when you first began this journey (mentally, financially, time management-wise in regards to children/husband, friendship tending…if there was even time for it, et.al.)? Also, perhaps listing food products you swapped with what you WERE eating/preparing for meals for the family, and for yourself? Stores you shopped, restaurant/bar food/drink considerations when you went out? I know it would be a HUGE endeavor, but so helpful for those of us still “on the couch” :0)

  2. Great blog! I’ve read only just a bit and already my self-motivation is benefitting from your story! And you look great. '? Hope I make it there too, I’m starting today!

  3. Amber, your story is so inspiring!!!! I always wanted to be able to do unassisted pull ups. I would love to follow your program you post on facebook, but I don’t belong to a gym. Is it possible to effectively weight train if you dont’ go to the gym (using your own body weight, perhaps)? What would you suggest?

    Thank you,
    Olga

    • You can get a GREAT workout at home using just your bodyweight! The key is balancing each workout with an upper body push (like pushups), an upper body pull (like inverted rows using a table or low doorway pullup bar) and a lower body move like squats, step ups or lunges. Wearing a heavy backpack makes all those exercises harder. Check out my youtube channel, I have a playlist of just bodyweight exercises, and have started posting bodyweight workout videos once or twice a week. There are also lots of bodyweight workouts on the ‘Fitness’ page here on my blog. Hope that helps!
      Ps, thanks for the wonderful feedback! '?

  4. Hi Amber,
    Your story is so inspiring – thank you for sharing it! We are the same height, but I carry an extra 20lbs (at least!). I am 47 and had pretty much given up until I found your site. You have recharged my attitude! Thanks!

    I am anxious to start your green smoothies and I already order org. fruit/veg from a site http://www.azurestandard.com. They carry SunWarrior natural, raw, vegan protein powder https://www.azurestandard.com/shop/product/9860/ Do you know anything about this one (taste/quality)? I know nothing about protein powders, no matter what the source. I think I have a long learning curve ahead of me. I only ask b/c it is about 1/2 the price of the one you like. Any input is greatly appreciated.

    Thanks!
    Terri

      • I just found your website and it is amazing! I saw this question about Sun Warrior and thought I would add my opinion. I love it! It is what I use daily. I have it for breakfast with my quinoa and then again at least twice more in a green smoothie. You will love Sun Warrior Terri!

    • With reference to the avrdet placed in The Workplace , Pretoria News, 18 August 2010, i would like to submit CV. I’ve been trying the fax no. 0822347290 but it returns a transmission no answer, fail, busy’ please advise.Thank you and regardsPenny

  5. Hey Amber…love your site! Question…you have mentioned that you have some favorite veg’n cookbooks or even perhaps sites? I am specifically looking to get out of my veggie rut….I need to get more creative with my veggie sides! Unfortunately, I can’t eat dairy, eggs, gluten or wheat…so I don’t want to get a cookbook that is focused on that…just veggie side dishes. Can you point me in the right direction? Much appreciated if you can! I love your blog…keep it up and thank you for being so inspiring!!!!!

  6. Hi, been a while since I asked any questions. So now I’m back and ready to move forward. How do I get a password for the Lifting ll
    Thanks so much.

  7. ok, now i am going to start following your blog. you had me fired up yesterday when you stated that all of the diet gurus say that carbs are the devil, when you didn’t specifiy the carbs. yes i cut out all of my grains and processed foods out and amazing, i feel fabulous. vegetables and fruits are the main part of my cooking and i throw in a little meat, some days i do go meet free. i am slowly adding more exercise back in to my lifestyle. eating clean and feeling good. yes there have been a few hiccups here and there. so keep up the good work!!! Thanks, Andie

  8. I just wanted to say thank you for your blog and facebook page! I started my weight loss journey a year ago when I hit my top end weight. I had always said if I hit 200 pounds that will be it I will I have to change something. I grew up feeling and being told I was fat, always on the verge of an eating disorder. Though looking back at old photos I now realize I was quite thin. In college when my health got even worse I put on a lot of weight and since then my as my health has gone up and down so has my weight. After a really bad year in my life I hit 206 lbs. I started focusing on my food choices then started using an app on my phone and got my calories down to 1,200 a day. I got down to 183lbs. doing this. My doctor told me I really need to lose even more. She suggested I try the Hcg diet and I did my first round and lost 13 pounds. I kept going on and off this diet from last august until a month ago. My weight loss started to slow down and I started to gain. So I decided in April to take a longer beak give my body more food and exercise more. My body loved it! I was feeling good, lots of energy and putting on lots of muscle. But I saw the scales creeping up and panicked. At the end of June I decided to diet again. Even though others were telling me how good I looked and saying I must have lost more. Big mistake, I started to pass out get weak and lost all my energy. I had to stop the diet. I have spent the next month spiraling out of control food wise. Now I am doing better and that’s is in part due to you. I found you site and a few others and I has helped me get past the whole dieting and scale and weighing mentality. Past the whole instant weigh loss mentality. I have stopped trying to cut my calories way back, forgiving myself or not beating myself up for eating what I want, enabling me to make better diet choices, and have a healthy mentality about food and I have stopped weighing my self. I am focus on getting stronger and healthier not on my weight. So I wanted to say thank you!

  9. I discovered your site a few weeks ago and have really enjoyed it. Over the past 10 years or so I’ve definitely become a yo-yo dieter, something I never thought I’d do. I’ve done HCG…twice, and am currently seeing a doctor for weight loss. I tried a paleo/primal approach for the past year, and just continued to gain. Nothing I’ve been doing seems to work for me. That being said, on the doc’s plan, I’m losing again, which is exciting. I’m eating fairly clean, focusing on good, whole foods, not necessarily carb restricting (as suggested by doc), working out daily but not to excess. The main thing I’m doing is staying within the LOW calorie range. They told me 1000-1200. Based on all the research I’ve done over the years, I increased that to 1200-1500. So, it’s working, but I’m living in fear that I’m completely screwing up my metabolism and will be forced to eat 1200 cal/day for the rest of my life!! I expressed my concerns and was shown that my BMR was about 1580…so then 1200 seems reasonable. Sorry this is so long, I’m just afraid of what I’m doing to my body, I want to reach a healthy wait once and FOR ALL. Just curious what you think of these restrictions, based on my current BMR (which was taken by a machine that shot little pulses through my body, measure lean mass, body fat, etc..).

  10. Hi Amber. I just read your post on Facebook about how your diet helped you get rid of your panic attacks. I suffer terribly from anxiety/panic attacks, have for the past 13 years. I refuse to take medication for it and would love to learn a natural way to get rid of them.
    I would love it if you could pass on some advice on how you managed to overcome yours. You can email me directly if you wish. Thank you so much and I love following your page!

  11. Hi Amber!
    I have been following you on FB for a while, as well as heavier weights & more halthy calories into my lifestyle. Today I was once again reminded by the Univere on why it’s so important to be strong…
    My clients’ house I was watching has a solid wooden garage door, weighing around 500 pounds. The power went out this morning, thus no garage door opener. In order to get out & get to my business on time I had to manually open & close this beast of a garage door. Had I not been lifting heavier weights & maintaining a healthy body,

  12. A friend referred me to you yesterday. She mentioned seeing a very useful calorie/activity/intake/body-type converter on your site, I haven’t found it yet (but have found all sorts of other interesting posts!). Does this sound familiar?
    Please could you share the link?
    Thank you
    Laura

  13. Thank you so much – love what you’re doing here, very inspirational. I’m co-facilitating a plant based cleanse right now and am finding a lot of my assumptions being challenged (assumptions I hadn’t even realized I was making). The title of your ebook is right in line with my question of why do women desire to be so small? to shrink away into nothingness… rather than focus on what we gain and add to enrich our lives by eating healthy & training our bodies. In my 20’s I heard a woman call herself an “instinctavor”, she too didn’t subscribe to any particular dogma when it came to food, she simply ate what felt right. I love that! Of course if one is addicted to fast food and the instant gratification that comes from eating it they might be somewhat disconnected from their instincts… Anyway, I ramble. Thanks again.
    Laura

  14. Hi Amber,
    I don’t live in the Bay Area, I so would pay to see you! And I don’t like paying for anything. '? You should consider charging for a Skype session or something like that. I feel bad asking you any questions on your blog, because you should be compensated.

  15. Hi Amber,
    I just read your book. It has really put me at ease and given me confidence that I can be successful. Thank you! I do have one question… I have a small separation due to diastasis recti. I know crunches and planks are not good for me to do. But, do you know of any resistance moves I should avoid? I want to get back in the saddle, but don’t want to make my diastasis bigger. Thanks!

  16. Hi Amber, I’m reading your book now and loving everything about it. I’m trying to get my Mom to read it as well. I’ve tried for some time now to encourage my Mom to have a healthier relationship with food. One argument she consistently gives me is that because of her age and being post-menopause that she needs less calories. She was excited to report that her doctor gave her ‘permission’ to eat more. Going from her average 900 calories a day to 1200. UGH!!! She runs 3 miles a day and is now incorporating light strength training. Do you have any suggestions or have you done any research on the differences in required caloric intake pre versus post menopause? I can’t believe it would be so different. I will continue to encourage her to read your book. '? '?

  17. Very respectable of you to avoid spreading yourself too thin. You take up less space that way, and it’s a mistake far, far too many women make. Good on ya, Amber!!

  18. I just found your website a few weeks ago and haven’t read the entire archives, but want to both comment and submit a question. First, I have been on an 15 month journey toward better health, and find your blog empowering, I love your philosophies regarding food. I am still reading about the fitness component to gokaleo and will implement those components over time.

    My question is how do these philosophies apply to men. I appreciate that your blog is so focused on supporting strong women and improving female health and body image. I have a husband that has similar weight struggles and always seems to go for the fad diet solution- no carb, juice fast, you name it, he’s tried it. He can’t seem to understand what this does to his metabolism or that it doesn’t support long term weight loss. And, no, he doesn’t make the connection that if he eats like me, he will have similar results. I understand most of your research and all of your first hand experience is with women, so if you could even direct me to a resource with the same philosophies, but with a male perspective, I would appreciate it.

  19. Hi, Amber! I recently discovered your blog and site, and I wanted to thank you for all the valuable information!

    I was very glad to see a fuel needs calculator that doesn’t assign a starvation diet. This is extremely helpful to me!

    One thing I was wondering is whether you know of any nutrition app or website where you enter your dietary targets (protein grams, calories, percentages, etc.), enter a list of foods you are likely to eat, and it turns out sample menus.

    The only one I know that does any such thing is Sparkpeople, and I do NOT agree at all with the kinds of foods it selects for the suggested menus. Too much processed stuff and too slanted towards the low fat dietary paradigm.

    Any clues, or will I have to team up with an app developer to come up with this product?

    Keep up the awesome work!

  20. Amber-
    You don’t know me, but being involved in fitness in one way or another over the past couple of years, I’ve see links to your blogs here and there. I’ve been on my own journey and I’m struggling right now. So I spent a couple of days researching online and I read one of your blogs and something touched me….I am also a mom of a daughter. A few months ago I decided I needed to be a better role model for her, so I needed to change my approach to fitness. And what you wrote rang true for me.

    So I joined your FB group page, the Eating The Food group.

    And I asked my question.

    And you have no way of knowing I was at a very dark spot. But I asked for help and I reached out.

    I sought your group because your philosophy seemed different.

    What I got was a brush-off and a “well that’s what you get for fad dieting” lecture.

    Basically, I heard the same thing that every other know-it-all body builder on SparkPeople or MyFitnessPal says. “You did it wrong” without any constructive help, which is what I asked for.

    You made me feel like shit.

    Part of the paradigm shift you want to be a part of includes marginalizing other women and making them feel worse about their bodies?

    I deleted my post because I’ve heard it all before. I get it…I’ve been looking at stuff online for fitness for almost two years now and I get that most people want a quick fix. Most people don’t want to put in the work. But I told you and your group I’d been doing this for over a year now. I work my ass off, literally.

    For all the connection I felt with your words on this blog, I feel like they were false and misleading.

    However you want to judge me, at the end of the day I came to your group for help and got none. And your comments made me feel worse about myself. Maybe you don’t care.

    The app on my phone was left on your group page and I saw your new header and maybe that snark wasn’t directed at me or people like me who get hurt by your words. But if that’s what you want to put out into the universe….if you want to take liberties to hurt your peers and then be snarky about it……..I’m glad I didn’t stick around.

    I’m a boot-strap-puller-upper and that’s what I’m doing this morning. But lots of people aren’t. And words can damage. So next time you chime in with “advice”, maybe consider that everyone is doing the best they can with what they have and they don’t need one more voice telling them they aren’t good enough.

    • Yes, I could tell by the way you replied to my comments that you didn’t like what I was saying. I was saying it with love though. What you’re going through is very normal, when you restrict your calories as low as you did for a long time, and then increase them, there will be weight gain. That’s why I rail tirelessly against fad diets and undereating. I wasn’t lecturing you for ‘doing it wrong’, I was letting you know that what you are going through is normal and many of us have been there and are here to support you. I think this is a case of not liking the message.

      I’m sorry you feel unsupported, but you are NOT unsupported. We are here for you when you are ready.
      With love,
      Amber

      Ps, no, the ‘snark’ wasn’t directed at you, I changed it weeks ago. You are in a very vulnerable and sensitive place right now and are perceiving slights where none are meant.

  21. It’s not a case of not liking the message. But even if it was…………that’s makes it ok to hurt other women?

    Plainly, I know your wrong. I was brief for the sake of the internet but maybe I should have written my life story. But you don’t know either of those things. You don’t know what my diet is or was like or how I raised my calories or any of that. You simply dismissed me as a fad dieter and your comments were not only unhelpful, they were hurtful.

    And that’s my only point, really. You hurt me. Your words seemed to contradict everything I’ve read here and it was hurtful and disappointing.

    You can’t know anyone’s life story from a blurb on the internet and I don’t think it’s ever helpful to assume the worst.

    But I’ve seen this before. You can dismiss it further by saying I didn’t like the message and feel ok being detrimental to other women so………I guess it is what it is.

    Thanks for ….listening.

    • You said you restricted to 1200, that was the information I was basing my comments on. I don’t think you’re being fair, you accuse me of assuming the worst, but what are you doing? You’re assuming I intended to hurt you, when my intention, and my words, were of support and commiseration.

      Like I said, we’re here for you when you’re ready. Many of us have been through this and come out on the other side.

  22. It’s a pretty safe assumption based on 20 years on the internet. It’s pretty common for people on the internet to use more hurtful words than they would in real life because “it’s just the internet”. It happens.

    • So you made assumptions about me based on experiences with other people. You’re not being fair. My words were not intended to be hurtful, and I think if you reread them without that base assumption you will realize that they weren’t hurtful. I didn’t say ‘you did it wrong’, I said ‘this is normal, and many of us have been through it, and we’re here to support you’.

  23. Hi Amber!

    I admire your passion and honesty, and your willingness to share those things on the internet, which must be difficult. Actually, I wanted your advice on how to deal with other people’s reaction to body change.

    In college, I was a competitive runner, and I have since then gained about 15 or 20 lbs. When I was competing, I was really obsessive about my diet, and I did not menstruate for about 3 years. There was a period in which I binge ate/vomited. After I graduated, I spent about a year exercising very sporadically, with occasional bulimic periods. I went on antidepressants, and now I’m doing great! I exercise moderately, and I really enjoy the exercise that I engage in and the feeling of power and accomplishment that comes when I do put in a good workout. I eat like a sane person who is reasonably concerned about health, and I don’t feel tired and hungry all of the time! It’s wonderful.

    I am not an unhealthy weight, but having gained a lot of weight, I feel weird talking to my old teammates. Some of them seem to think I let myself go or something, because I am not as thin as I used to be. I wasn’t actually good friends with some of these people, and I don’t really want to go into a long description (like I just did) so that I could ‘justify’ the way that I look now (example: do I have to tell everyone I used to be bulimic? That feels really invasive). Pointers on dealing with this challenge?

  24. Hi Amber —

    I was looking for a way to contact you privately but couldn’t find one, and thought that this page might be a good place to approximate privacy on the web.

    A nice if impossible thought, anyway.

    There’s a whole lot of hullabaloo on my blog right now on this post about cellulite that you got dragged into… Then I made the mistake of commenting on your personal statements and life rather than on the content of your blog. Big time mistake, big time. I wasn’t — goodness. I wasn’t trying to be offensive (though perhaps pre-emptively defensive, as the internet is prone to make me) by any means. I just wrote on that post that the only reason I mentioned your name / philosophy / lovely body at all was to point out that body acceptance is easier said than done. Yeah, yeah we should keep doing it! And yeah, we should keep encouraging it! I just wrote a 300 page book on it. … anyway, that’s a conversation for a much longer and bigger forum. I just wanted to write to you to explain to you that I meant zero judgment on your personal character on that account, and I am so sorry, I am certain that it came across that way, and I have nothing but love and regard for the work that you do and this blog I have just perused and found to be so lovely.

    Anyway. Thank you, Amber, and my biggest apologies and love.

    Stefani

  25. I must be blind. I’m trying to subscribe to your blog via an email link but can’t find one. how do i get notified of your posts? I’ve never found it so hard to subscribe to someone. Thanks for informing me. '?

  26. Hi there – I know you’re very busy but I would really appreciate a response. I looked for a way to write you privately but couldn’t find one…
    Since September 2012 I began losing weight and effectively got from 160 to 121. I am roughly 5’5 and 21-years-old.
    I’m sad to say I got to that weight by restricting my calories to 1,400 a day and loads of cardio only. When I got to 121 I found I couldn’t lose any more weight but still hated the way I looked…so I started searching for solutions. I started strength training 3 – 4x a week. I found your website. But now I’m stuck.
    I found that I can no longer tell if I’m gaining fat or muscle. I work a job that keeps me on my feet for 7 hours straight, 3 days a week…and exercise for 30-60 minutes 4x a week. Otherwise I keep busy with housework and life. I am eating somewhere around 2,000 calories a day.
    The problem is that often I find myself being driven for more food. I’m hungry. Or I feel this unstoppable compulsion to eat. I believe my calorie restriction for so long created an ED as I’m completely obsessed with food, calorie counting and heaven forbid – gaining back the weight I lost.
    I truly don’t know what else to do. I was hoping you could help me but I thoroughly understand if you’re too busy.

    Kindest regards, and thank you for taking the time to read this.

  27. Hi Amber – I’m a huge fan. I recently read your book and have been following your blog. After literally 27 years of dieting (since the age of 10), I stopped five weeks ago. Since I was super low carb beforehand (I wasn’t restricting calories the last 2 years or so), I added those back in (mostly unrefined, but some ice cream and pancakes here and there). I’ve also started working out with kettlebells and walking. I’ve gained weight rapidly (15 pounds in 5 weeks!) and my acne has gotten terrible. I even have acne on my body now. I have PCOS and I’m starting to worry that your method may not apply to me. You do say in your book that if you have certain disorders you should talk to your doctor (and they tell me low carb). So what do you think? Thank you!

      • Are you working with an endocrinologist? That would probably be the most important thing. Rebound weight gain after restricting for so long is very normal, and a good chunk of that is water, so I wouldn’t worry too much about that yet.Once you improve your insulin sensitivity with exercise (and likely a little weight loss) your carb tolerance should improve, but being mindful of them now isn’t a terrible idea…once again I’d recommend working with an endocrinologist here, and perhaps a dietician with IR/PCOS experience.

        • Thanks so much for your response – I know you’re busy '? I worked with with an endo years ago and she prescribed metformin which I had my gp recently prescribe for me again. So I did just start that back up – hopefully it will help. It’s nice to hear that maybe my carb tolerance will improve eventually. I already limit sugar and refined carbs so I’ll keep at it and hope for some change in the coming months. Thanks so much!

  28. Hello Amber, I have been a runner for the past few years and I do not do any weight or resistence training. I purchased your ebook Taming The Weight Room through paypal becuase I need a book for beginning. My question is how do I download the book? Thank you.

  29. Amber,

    Every time I see you post on Facebook or read you posts, I love them. They are gold. I have a blog for moms and a blog for my private training studio in Northern Minnesota. I would love to interview you for the sites if you have time.

    Talk to you soon.

  30. Hello AR,

    I’ve been following you for a little over a year now. I also tried online coaching for a minute with Sean a few months ago. I’d like to ask you a question on fitness/calories/pregnancy. I’m 12 weeks pregnant and I have been working out putting in 75% effort, 6 days a week (because that’s what I like) and I have been told by my doctor to keep up an 1800 calorie intake. I’m wondering with all the working out do I need to up the calories or do I just continue to follow what my doctor suggested? I started my pregnancy a little overweight and so, I’m thinking the doctor knows what he’s doing? I’d like your opinion tho. Thanking you for your time in advance.

    V/r,
    kg

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