Hi! I’m Amber.
I’m here to sort through the misguided cancer nutrition and the diet culture nonsense in order to help you find that authentic piece of yourself where you get to eat for both nourishment and satisfaction without compromising your health goals.
I’m here to turn what you believe about your body, food choices, and their impact on cancer on it’s head.
Come with me on this journey. I’ll act as your guide, back to yourself. To live fully.
My Journey
The Beginning
I went to college to become an athletic trainer. To this day, I don’t know why. I don’t watch sports, I’m not competitive, and I really didn’t have great experiences with sports growing up.
I’m pretty sure I picked that field because my sister loved sports and I wanted to be like her.
Luckily, someone from the athletic training program pulled me aside and recommended I double major as a teacher to increase my odds of finding a job after college.
NOPE! Teaching!?! NO WAY!
So my minor in nutrition became my major, but I wasn’t passionate about nutrition. I cringed at the thought of prescribing diets to anyone, and I didn’t know if I wanted to continue.
But I stuck with it. And over time, I realized my calling as a Registered Dietitian found me.
The Calling
Both of my grandfathers died from complications of cancer before I graduated college. My uncle, a hard-working farmer with a young family, died from stage IV lung cancer at 48. This was a year after I finished my internship program to become a dietitian.
I remember being confused and afraid after each diagnosis. And how everything felt so uncertain.
The constant wondering.
What could we have done differently? Why did this happen? How can we stop it from happening again?
I wanted answers. Everyone did. I made it my mission to become an oncology dietitian.
I searched for those answers, but over time and through meeting thousands of other cancer survivors, I realized I needed to ask different questions.
Those first questions led to a lot of shame, guilt, and fear.
The Moment of Change
Over the course of a decade, I began to notice a pattern. People would come into cancer treatment, scared mostly, but sometimes excited. “Finally!” they would say “I might be able to lose the weight they’ve been trying to for decades!”
Many people would either brush me off or get annoyed when I explained time and again how a small amount of weight loss during treatment could affect how well they tolerated their treatment and therefore their outcomes.
I began meeting with women who, after completing their chemo and radiation, wanted a list of good and bad foods. They wanted something to put on their fridge to remind them they had to be good to prevent the cancer from returning.
I was to be their Food Police. It felt like punishment. That’s when I found Intuitive Eating.
And it clicked.
Food & body trust after cancer
I’m not the expert in the room.
While I’m well-versed in cancer nutrition research and can list pages of tips and strategies to handle any cancer treatment side effect, I don’t know your inner body signals or your lived experience. Unless you work with me, I don’t know your relationship with food and your body.
And YOU are always the expert, no matter what.
Using the principles of Intuitive Eating, I act as your guide to help you find your way to food flexibilty, to trust yourself to make choices that align with your values, and focus on the way you want to nourish your body and mind.
My Core Beliefs
Weight Neutral Care
All bodies deserve nourishment and care, regardless of their size. My mission is to support you and help you take care of yourself through health-supporting behaviors.
Weight is not a behavior, but an outcome. And despite what many believe, your weight may not be something you can control long-term. In fact, focusing on weight loss can negatively affect both your physical and mental health.
All Foods Fit Approach
When you truly believe you can eat any food without self-judgement or fear, food choices transform from should eat to attuned eating. You may ask yourself how you want to feel during and after mealtimes, what textures and flavors are most appealing in that moment, and what will help you feel your best now and long-term. Get ready to leave food obsession behind.
Embrace Imperfection
There is no perfect way to eat. Chasing after perfection ultimately leads to perceived failure, increased fear, and guilt around food.
About Amber
I’m a Colorado native. I grew up in the part of Colorado that looks like Kansas: dry, flat, and lots of farms. My town was 500 people, 1 mile square, and practically all dirt roads. I graduated high school with 7 other kids.
I’m a passionate traveler and explorer. I’ve lived in Ireland while attending University, explored counties in Africa while training to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro, traveled many parts of Europe, hiked through the Annapurnas in Nepal, and trekked through the Andes in Peru.
I married my best friend and have 2 wonderful boys who keep me on my toes.
In my free time, I love making bread and digging in the dirt. I’m still trying to perfect my French baguette recipe.
Give it a listen!
Professional Bio
Education & Experience
Amber obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Northern Colorado in 2001. She then completed a general internship program through Purdue University in 2003. After her internship and passing the dietitian certification exam in 2003, she went on to work in a variety of settings, including home health, hospitals, and cancer clinics. In 2019, she left to pursue her own private practice, helping men and women nourish their bodies during and after cancer treatment.
Amber has been a board certified specialist in oncology nutrition (CSO) since 2010, and is considered an expert in her field. She mentored fellow dietitians and nutrition students while working at the cancer clinic. Amber also precepted for dietetic interns in the Denver area.
Amber is now pursuing certification as an Intuitive Eating counselor through the Original Intuitive Eating Pros (Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch) and learning more about polyvagal theory and somatic work. She believes the principles of Intuitive Eating are so valuable for the cancer survivor, and is excited to use a somatic approach with her clients.
Amber is an experienced public speaker, and loves to share her passion and knowledge of cancer nutrition, body compassion, and intuitive eating with patients, clients, and colleagues. She has given well over 25 formal lectures and presentations, from 1 attendee to over 500. Examples of presentations include:
in-person lectures on cancer nutrition topics to community members, cancer patients, and their family
in-person cooking classes, highlighting seasonal produce and herbs, to the community and cancer patients
virtual lectures on nutrition myths, side effect management, and more
in-person workshops on feeding tube placement, care, and enteral nutrition to colleagues (other dietitians, nurses, radiation therapists)
Amber specializes in:
helping clients maintain their weight and strength during tough cancer treatments
addressing treatment side effects with a nutrition approach
guiding clients toward body repect during and after cancer treatment
using the principles of Intuitive Eating to help clients recover a peaceful relationship with all foods
Credentials & Certifications
Registered Dietitian Nutritionist credentials (RD or RDN), license number 897519 (2003 - present)
Board-Certified Specialist in Oncology Nutrition (CSO: 2010 - present)
NPI number 198295315 (2012 - present)