Jama Pantel: Unfiltered

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Seventy-nine episodes sounds like a number you can brush past, until you realize it’s almost two years of showing up every single week and telling the truth into a microphone. Today we slow down and finally let that land. I didn’t make a big deal out of 75 when it happened, which is honestly very on brand for me, but I’m making space now to say it clearly: I’m proud I kept going, even when I wasn’t sure I was ready to share what I was sharing.

Then we get to the most honest part. I need a break. Not a dramatic reset, not a perfectly packaged “season finale,” just a real pause because my gut is telling me I don’t have anything left to give right now. If you’ve ever wrestled with creator burnout, pressure to stay consistent, or the fear that rest will derail your momentum, this conversation will feel familiar. We talk about why listening to your body is a skill, why pushing through can dull the work, and why stopping can be the most responsible move you make for yourself and your audience.

We also leave you with a roadmap so you’re not stuck wondering where to go next. If you want to dive into the human design series, we tell you exactly where it starts, and if you’ve been following the health updates, we point you to that starting line too. The back catalog is still there, ready when you are, and when I come back, I want it to be with a full tank and something worth saying.

If this resonates, subscribe so you don’t miss the return, share the episode with a friend who needs permission to rest, and leave a quick review telling me: how do you know when it’s time to take a break?

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

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Texas heat has a way of turning a normal week into a survival story, so I finally asked the most honest question possible: where can I go where it’s not 100 degrees? That late-night search sent me down a short list of cooler escapes, and I landed on a last-minute Lake Tahoe trip because it promised maximum relief with minimal planning.

I share what the timing really looked like coming straight off a work trip, unpacking and repacking, and trying to feel human while living out of a bag. Tahoe delivered the reset I needed: 50 degree mornings that made my run feel effortless, sunny 75 degree afternoons for swimming and beach time, and the kind of fresh air that reminds you your body isn’t supposed to be tense all day. Along the way, I talk about why running and taking photos calm me, and how social media habits can quietly change what we choose to share and why.

We also hit the practical travel highlights if you’re planning a Tahoe long weekend itinerary: the hike down to Sand Harbor, sunset at Inspiration Point near Emerald Bay, why I chose South Lake Tahoe for more food options, and a quick casino detour where I learned I’m still not a gambler. Then there’s the twist: my Garmin still flagged me as strained, which opened up a real conversation about sleep debt and how recovery doesn’t automatically happen just because you’re somewhere pretty.

If you’re craving a true break, steal a few ideas from my Tahoe reset, then tell me what kind of weather you’re chasing right now. Subscribe, share this with a friend who needs a cool-down trip, and leave a review with your favorite quick getaway spot.

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

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I was parentified before I started school. Cooking meals for seven, getting my sisters out the door, reading the room before I could read a book. That pattern did not stop when I grew up. It followed me into every job, every relationship, every corner of my business. And it turns out it is written directly into my Human Design.

This episode is about Channel 21/45, the Money Line. The tension between Gate 21, the control piece, and Gate 45, the Abundance Queen. And the night in 2021 when I finally opened my hands and let people in and something magical happened that I have never been able to replicate since.

The more you grip, the less flows. You can only create the conditions and then get out of the way and let magic happen.

Pull your free chart at Tracy Hill's site: abeautifulfix.com/pages/hdchart

Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

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When you know, you know. Five words. That is the whole definition of Sacral authority in Human Design and I could not explain it better than that.

In this episode I am getting into one of the most personal pieces of my chart. My inner authority. Specifically what it actually feels like when your gut is right, what it costs you when you override it, and why choosing the feeling over what looks good on paper is one of the hardest things a Sacral being will ever do.

We are talking about a parking lot moment that proved my gut right in the worst way, a dark morning run that I believe saved me, the jobs and people I stayed with way too long, and the gut health connection I still think about.

When you know, you know. The work is learning to trust it.

Pull your free chart at Tracy Hill's site: abeautifulfix.com/pages/hdchart

Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

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Almost 27 years ago I landed my first job out of college at the Texas Capitol. I stayed human with the people I met. About twelve years ago I needed a job badly and one of those old relationships became eleven or twelve years of employment. My current job came the same way. I did not even apply for it. Someone who knew me and my work asked me to come on board.

Every significant opportunity in my career has come through someone I already knew. That is not luck. That is my Human Design 2/4 profile at work.

In this episode we go deep on the Hermit and the Opportunist, the two sides of my profile that should not be able to coexist and somehow do. We talk about the gifts you cannot see in yourself, why big networking events drain you, how sports became my secret relationship strategy, and what it actually means to build a career quietly through people who already know you.

Pull your free chart at Tracy Hill's site: abeautifulfix.com/pages/hdchart

Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

Send us Fan Mail

You're always so busy. I have heard that my whole life. Not as a question, more as a statement. And for the longest time I did not have a good response. I just knew one thing would never be enough for me and I genuinely thought something was wrong with me for not being able to just pick one thing and stick with it.

And then I found Human Design. And it finally explained everything.

This is Episode 1 of my Human Design series. I am not an expert. I am someone who discovered this relatively recently and is still unpacking it. But what I found described me so specifically and so accurately that it kind of made a believer out of me. In this episode I am sharing what Human Design actually is in plain language, the first thing I read that stopped me cold, and how it completely changed the story I was telling myself about doing multiple things.

We are also getting into the gut health and alignment connection and why I do not think it is a coincidence that my gut issues disappeared when I finally stopped overriding my Sacral authority.

Want to pull your own chart? It is free. Go to my friend Tracy Hill's page at abeautifulfix.com/pages/hdchart and all you need is your birth date, birth time, and birth location.

Listen and subscribe:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

Send us Fan Mail

I photographed a client in 2022 who said something offhand that stuck with me for three years. This week she showed back up in my inbox out of nowhere. I do not believe in coincidences.

This episode is about why I have never been a one style photographer and why I never want to be. Thirty years behind the camera means I can shoot studio, natural light, editorial, motion blur, bluebonnets, Capitol staircases, and everything in between. I am a Manifesting Generator, more on that soon, and doing the same thing on repeat would drain me to death. A challenge energizes me. A client with a vision is my favorite kind of session.

We are talking about the Pinterest board process, the Laguna Gloria and Capitol session that inspired this episode, and why range is actually a brand strategy, not a lack of one.

Links in the show notes for senior portrait and headshot inquiries.

Senior Portrait Photography: jamapantel.com/senior-photographer-austin
Editorial Seniors: jamapantel.com/editorial-senior-portraits-austin
Headshots: jamapantel.com/headshot-photographer-in-austin

Listen and subscribe:
Apple Podcasts | Spotify

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

Send us Fan Mail

My mom told me to get my bone density checked. I did. And when the results came back, I understood exactly why she said it.

The 11th percentile. That is where my bone density landed. In this episode I am sharing what the DEXA scan actually found, why it probably did not start with perimenopause, and what I am doing about it right now.

We are talking about the vitamin D piece nobody told me about, the thread that goes all the way back to college, and the connection between RED-S and bone health that I am still piecing together. I am also giving you the most current update I have, one month on HRT, second iron infusion, and what I am actually noticing and not noticing yet.

This one is still unfolding. I am sharing it anyway.

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

Send us Fan Mail

I gained fifteen pounds in roughly ten weeks. Not over a year. Ten weeks. And I was logging nearly a thousand miles of running, hundreds of miles of walking, and over a hundred hours of strength training during that same stretch.

The math made no sense. So in this episode, I am breaking down what was actually happening in my body and why everything I thought I knew about weight management stopped working almost overnight.

We are talking about RED-S, Relative Energy Deficiency in Sport, and why active women in perimenopause are almost never told this is a thing. We are talking about hormonal fat redistribution and why sizing up does not actually solve the problem when all the weight goes to one place. And I am being honest about where I am right now, because I do not have a tidy resolution for you yet.

If your body is doing something that does not match the math, this one is for you.

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."

Send us Fan Mail

Running was the first place I was ever truly free. In college I had nothing. I ran everywhere...to class, to work, everywhere. Not because I was training. Because it was how I got through. And when you are sweating hard enough, it is easier to hide the tears.

This episode is about what happens when perimenopause threatens the one thing that has always been yours. The unpredictability nobody warns you about. The 7 minute mile days that make you feel alive. The quarter mile days where the freedom just is not there. And why that goes so much deeper than paces and miles.

Honolulu, December. I am going back.

Enjoyed this episode? Subscribe to Jama Pantel: Unfiltered wherever you listen to podcasts and leave a review — it helps more women find the show.

🎙️ Listen and subscribe: https://www.jamapantel.com/jama-pantel-unfiltered/

📸 Photography: https://www.jamapantel.com/

📩 Work with Jama or book her to speak: https://www.jamapantel.com/contact/

Follow along: https://www.instagram.com/jamapantel/

"I decided to stop performing and start telling the truth."