My name is Amanda Shahmoon. Welcome to my blog…I want to share a little background on me, my passion for nutrition, and my motivation behind setting up this blog. I am currently 26, studying the Nutritional Therapist Diploma course at the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) in London.

Hi,

My name is Amanda Shahmoon. Welcome to my blog…

I want to share a little background on me, my passion for nutrition, and my motivation behind setting up this blog.

I am currently 26, studying the Nutritional Therapist Diploma course at the College of Naturopathic Medicine (CNM) in London.

How did I end up here?

For the majority of my life, my understanding of nutrition was a simple case of THIN vs FAT. Thin people were nutritious and healthy, fat people needed to lay off the junk food…

Let’s rewind 7 years…

I'm living in a student house at University, lying across my sofa in my PJs with a 1L bottle of Diet Coke in one hand, and a giant box of Kellog’s Frosties in the other, watching yet another episode of Greys Anatomy.

I ended up graduating with a BSc in Business Management, an extremely bloated belly and an addiction to soft drinks.  

I moved back home to London, started working in property development, and found that my concentration levels were horrendous, I constantly felt dizzy and weak, and was physically unfit to the point that walking down the street I was short of breath. 

I realised something had to change…

I took the year off work and studied the MSc in Real Estate at Cass Business School. 

This time around student life was different. I was living at home again, my friends were all in full-time jobs, and didn't have the time to sit around eating pizza all day. With my university workload increasing and exams on the horizon, I desperately needed a form of procrastination.

Enter: the gym.

…the cafe, the classes, the music, the social... I could spend hours in this place!

Becoming physically active felt great – it was the perfect outlet for stress and anxiety, and gave me space to think. I quickly started to feel the positive effects it was having on all aspects of my life. 

Naturally, my nutrition had started to get a bit better over this period as I was back home, living in a house where vegetables existed.

I started experimenting in the kitchen, and reading ingredients labels at the supermarket, and was shocked at the number of words I couldn't even recognise. This was beyond a case of calories, I noticed how foods were making me feel.

This wasn't a fad diet. This was simple. More fruits and vegetables in, more highly processed artificial rubbish out.This was a lifestyle... a lifestyle I wanted to keep living. 

Of course, I did end up losing some weight in the process, but at the risk of sounding generic, it was so much more than that. I felt healthy – a feeling unrecognisable to my former self.

I finished my masters, and returned to the office, but my heart was no longer in Real Estate. I was spending my free time reading up on recipes that I wanted to test, and the role of insulin in the body. I wanted to work in nutrition.

In fact, I was most engaged at work when I set up an office fitness contest, where everybody competed on their average weekly step count using the Nike Fuel Bands. Success!

Fast forward a few years; I spent the summer at the Natural Gourmet Institute (NGI) in New York, on the Culinary Nutrition Certificate Program, which was my first real taste of studying nutrition, and I loved it!

Nowadays – I regularly attend talks and workshops on various topics, such as mindful eating, and nutrition in the workplace. 

I could not be happier with my decision to study at CNM, and turn my hobby into a career!

What can you expect from my blog?

I want to keep it simple, fun and useful!

Expect reviews on my favourite restaurants, fitness classes, courses and workshops, travel guides, and helpful information on health and nutrition. 

...I will keep you posted!