Hi friend,

Welcome back to our Meet Our Dietitians series. Next, we'd like to introduce you to Amanda Paltzer, MS, RDN, LDN.

Amanda has been working in nutrition for over 20 years. She earned her Master's from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, has lived across two countries and five U.S. states, and is a certified health and wellness coach.

Her patients describe her as calm, encouraging, and supportive. (Just watch the video! 🧘‍♀️) Her specialties are lifestyle nutrition, intuitive eating, mindfulness, restoring healthy body image, and pregnancy nutrition.

This month, Amanda is talking about something that affects every part of your health: stress.

🎥 Watch Amanda's video here → [Click here for our Facebook group] or [Click here for the Instagram link]

Why stress matters for nutrition:

When stress becomes chronic, cortisol stays elevated — and that has real consequences. Cortisol raises blood glucose, reduces insulin sensitivity, and suppresses digestion. It also changes how your brain perceives food, driving cravings for high-calorie, sugary options.

You can do everything "right" with food — and chronic stress will still work against you.

That's why Amanda's tool this week is box breathing. Inhale 4, hold 4, exhale 4, hold 4. A meta-analysis of 52 studies found it reduces cortisol by 32% and improves heart rate variability — just 5–10 minutes daily.

Try it before meals (game-changing for digestion), mid-afternoon, or before bed.

🚶‍♀️ A note for our May Miles Challengers:

If you're walking with us this month, try box breathing on your walk. Stress reduction plus movement is a powerful combo — and it makes the walk itself more enjoyable.

Keep going. You're doing great. 💛

💚 -Team SDG

P.S. Amanda is currently accepting new patients in Arizona, California, Michigan, Colorado, and Virginia. If stress has been quietly sabotaging your health goals, just reply and Val will get you connected.