How She Eats to Fuel Up

By Ashli Findley


Amanda Hiner is a fitness enthusiast whose everyday life consists of advocating for health and wellness. The 38-year-old is the owner of and an instructor at The Barre Code Middletown, a franchise of the Chicago-based women’s fitness studio. She and her husband Ben also own all of the Edible Arrangements franchises in Louisville as well as two in Lexington.



Between working at Edible Arrangements 30-plus hours per week and teaching three to four classes per week at The Barre Code, maintaining a healthy lifestyle is simply part of it all. She loves fitness so much that even with the demands of work and family (she also has three kids), she still makes time to take classes at The Barre Code when not teaching.

Amanda eats dairy free yogurt with fruit, honey, and granola for breakfast or a snack. Photos by Melissa Donald  

Amanda says she’s long been health-conscious in terms of her eating habits. A normal day of eating for Amanda includes: a breakfast of overnight oats or eggs, an avocado with extra virgin olive oil, and toast; a salad for lunch; a dinner of seafood or poultry with vegetables; and raw foods as snacks every couple of hours in between the meals, like a handful of nuts, a banana, or an apple.

“I eat the way I do to basically nourish my body and to be able to feel my best and be at my best 100 percent of the time,” she says.

Amanda believes “food is fuel,” adding, “We’re going to feel how we fuel.”

Eating raw and unprocessed foods is also something she has devoted herself to in the last eight to nine months, admiring the researched medical benefits of it.

Amanda prepares homemade guacamole, meatless chili, and uses plantain chips in place of tortilla or potato chips. 

“Eat the rainbow,” she says. “Eat organically when possible…really eating the raw, natural ingredients that come in the food without adding any processed ingredients to them.”

To keep up with her busy schedule, Amanda does a lot of meal prepping. She may also adjust her eating habits based on how rigorous her workouts are.

“Supplementing with a protein powder is a great option, too.”

Of course, she indulges in dessert every once in a while. For her, that may be bananas with organic honey, chocolate chips, or a glass of red wine.

“As your lifestyle changes in terms of what you eat, your taste buds change also,” says Amanda, admitting that she doesn’t have much of a sweet tooth.


For those who are unsure of how to begin a more healthy eating life, Amanda encourages, “Don’t be afraid to jump in and try it.”

She suggests both online and local groups as a way to get connected, and recommends fitness studios as great places for people to get fitness and eating instruction from trainers.

“Don’t get overwhelmed. Just take it one week at a time. It’s about finding balance in your life and still enjoying life at the same time.”