Check out my YouTube Channel “Healthy Habits With Shannon” to see all my latest body-positive weight loss content! This Is What Finally Made A Difference: My 100-pound weight loss has been a defining moment in my life—truly a moment I never thought was possible for me. For many years, I stared at my reflection, wishing to see someone else. Back then, it wasn’t about being thin or fit; I simply dreamed of feeling comfortable in my own skin. Over time, and after countless weight loss lessons, I achieved a natural weight loss of over 100 pounds, transforming from a size 20 to a size 4 at my smallest. This wasn’t just a physical change; it was an incredible personal victory. It hit me how unusual my transformation was (to lose so much weight without dieting and restricting), and it got me thinking deeply about what made this time different from all my previous weight loss attempts and from what others seemed to experience. After much reflection and numerous conversations, I pinpointed the critical difference: it was my mindset. This post contains affiliate links #ads. See Disclosure for details. I receive a small commission from Amazon purchases at no extra cost […]
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It might not be December yet but I’m already planning my holidays. And if you’re like me, you’re thinking about gifts for your family and friends long before the holiday season. But getting the perfect holiday gifts for everyone on your list can be hard. So, I’m here to help you out! Do you have a mom in your life who is obsessed with fitness? Do you draw a blank at the thought of getting her a present? No worries. I’m here to let you know what every fit mom really wants for the holidays (you know, other than privacy, sleep, and strong coffee). This post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. Holiday Gifts For The Fit Mom For The Mom Who Lifts Do you have a mom in your life who likes to lift weights? Whether they prefer to tone or lift heavy here are some great holiday gifts every lifting mom would love. Every heavy lifter needs a good resistance band. And when you’re lifting heavy, the last thing you need is some plastic bands curling around your thighs. A fabric resistance band is […]
If you follow me on Instagram, you know I’m a super fan of home fitness. Don’t get me wrong, I’m one of those freaks who loves the gym, but the gym just isn’t convenient. Plus, I’ve learned that for me personally, I need to be following a program to see real results. Every time I try to do things “on my own” it never works out the way I want it too. For example, the pic below. The picture on the left was from the end of 80 Day Obsession and the picture on the right was taken after doing random fitness for the summer. Clearly, I’m more fit in the first picture. So, I’ve learned that home fitness programs are just something that has to be a part of my life for me to achieve the fitness goals I want. And I’m definitely okay with that! So, Why Choose a Home Fitness Program? A home fitness program, such as 100 Morning Meltdown or 80 Day Obsession, is like having a personal trainer in your own home. You get all the knowledge and intensity of having a trainer, but you can press pause if you need to take a breath. […]
This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. My weight loss journey began in 2014 not long after I had given birth to twins. I was at my highest weight ever, coming in at around 249 lb. I remember the day that I stepped on the scale and saw that number. It made my heart sink to my feet. And it felt like it couldn’t be true. But when I looked in the mirror I didn’t recognize myself. I felt like I was trapped deep inside my body. And I had no idea who I was anymore. It was an exceptionally low point in my life. But thankfully the person who I was back then didn’t give up on herself. She took that dark time and turned it into something completely different. I made the decision to take control of my life. That meant taking care of my mental health, my emotional eating, and getting over my aversion to exercise. With the help of my supportive husband, some fit friends, exercise programs and anti-depressants, I was able to lose over 100 pounds. And so far, I’ve maintained that 100-pound weight loss for over a year. […]
This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. Gym anxiety is a real thing. And it prevents so many people from starting their health and fitness journey. I get it, I let gym anxiety (and just anxiety in general) stop me from reaching my goals many times. I have a very long history of anxiety at the gym. All stemming from the time when my parents thought it would be a good idea to force a sixteen-year-old to get a gym membership and a personal trainer. We won’t even get into that at the moment but I’m sure you can guess where the anxiety comes from. I stilled joined many gyms over the years. Always going a few times before quitting altogether. Because at the end of the day, I always let my insecurities get the better of me. Eventually, I learned how to move past my gym insecurities. Now, I find the gym to be a place where I can relax and simply workout. But it took a change in mindset and that’s what I’m going to share with you. Overcoming Gym Insecurities Do you struggle with endless worries at the gym? Worrying about […]
This post contains Affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. It’s Important For Runners To Strength Train So to be honest, I ran for a long time before I added strength training to my fitness routine. And if I had known how important it was to strength train, I would have started much earlier. Especially when I was training for big races like my half-marathon. But I didn’t and lesson learned! Strength training is not just for people who are looking to tone muscles or bulk-up. It can play a big role in your running and your run performance. And if you truly want to be athletic, you need to do more than just run. Strength training has me focusing on other areas such as balance, flexibility, and strength. All of which makes me a much better runner. So, do you find yourself getting the same running injuries over and over? Or have you been running for a while but not getting any faster? It’s time to start strength training. Help Tight Muscles Due to the nature of running, it is really easy to overuse very specific muscles. This overuse is what leads to cramping, often in […]
Running a half marathon is my greatest physical accomplishment to date. Honestly, just thinking about all the training and effort that went into preparing for that run can still make me feel a little emotional. I went from being a non-runner to running a 10 km race and a half marathon in the same year. And doing that took a lot of work! Before I started running I had already had a weight loss of about 60 lb. I had done that weight loss mostly through nutrition and some exercise here and there. I talk more about my weight loss in this post if you’re curious. But I knew that if I wanted to take my health and weight loss even further that I needed to add consistent exercise. So to make sure I didn’t quit exercising, I signed up for a 10 km and a half marathon. I know, I’m crazy. This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. For a full year, I made running my obsession. Everything I did was because of running. I focused in on my nutrition for the first time in my life because eating crap made my runs […]
This post contains Affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. When I first started working out I worked really hard to turn fitness into a habit. I’ve mentioned it a few times in earlier posts, but health and fitness do not come naturally to me. In fact, I spent two decades very overweight and didn’t become physically fit until I was in my early thirties! Things finally changed for me when I realized the truth about why I wasn’t losing weight. Which I talk about in this post here. Anyway, one of the things I finally realized was that I wasn’t burning enough calories each day. At least for me, healthy eating is a long road. I couldn’t rely on that as my primary way to lose weight. I needed to become more fit and burn more calories each day if I truly wanted to hit my weight loss goals. And I had huge weight loss goals. So, it came down to finding new ways to be active each day. Finding New Ways To Be Active Aside from starting a fitness program, I started trying new things to add more fitness to my day. I had kind […]
This post contains Affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. Maybe it’s because I started running in the summer that I enjoy summer running as much as I do. Because despite the heat, I enjoy it much more than running inside on treadmills with the A/C. Summer running can be really enjoyable if you know how to keep yourself comfortable in the heat. I’ve talked about my first few runs and that experience in previous posts. But basically, I went into that first run without a lot of thought. It was a hot day and all I did was put on a pair of random shoes and off I went. I didn’t really think about the heat, the sun, how far I was going, and whether or not I’d get thirsty. Honestly, none of that really entered my head, I had just wanted to try running. I had a good playlist so I felt ready to go. And that would have been fine if I had been running on a treadmill. But a little more consideration needs to go into summer running. Read my tips and enjoy running outside this summer! Wear A Hat It took me […]
Back when I was overweight (read about how I lost 100 pounds here) I would often wonder, what the hell were other people doing differently? What were they doing that they were healthy and fit, and I was obese and stuck? I spent forever following fit women on Instagram and pinning on Pinterest trying to figure out their healthy habits so that I could do the same. For most of my life, I blamed my genetics. I thought I was destined and designed to be overweight. And I know so many other women feel the same way. But it could not be further from the truth! I know now that I am designed to be active and fit. But it took me forever to figure out how to get there. This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. Over a couple of years, I finally started to figure out the secret. Which really isn’t a secret at all, to be honest. Long term, large weight loss comes from developing strong healthy habits. And there are certain habits that all fit women do almost every day. It is these fit habits that helped me lose 100 […]