A Whole New Fitness Journey! Next year I turn 40! I’m in ready to make it the best decade of my life. And to kick it off, I’m starting a new fitness journey that looks totally different from my original weight loss journey at 32. Like many women, I’ve noticed changes in my body over the past couple of years that I wasn’t entirely prepared for…thanks to perimenopausal weight gain and the lasting impact of past injuries. But these aren’t obstacles that hold me back instead I see them as new challenges to overcome. I’m excited to share this new chapter of my life with you, and I’ll be documenting the whole journey on YouTube, beginning with a 21-day fitness program that I’m modifying to fit my current place in life. If you’re tackling your own fitness and weight loss goals in midlife, or if past injuries have made getting back in shape feel overwhelming, this post is for you. I’m sharing what’s driving me and how I’m adapting my approach to fit my aging body’s constantly changing needs. Perimenopausal Changes One of the catalysts for this new fitness journey was the realization that my body is changing as I […]
Walking is one of the simplest, yet most effective forms of exercise you can do, no matter your age or fitness level. Not only is it free, but it’s also very gentle on your joints, flexible to fit into any schedule, and can be done pretty much anywhere! If you’re looking to kickstart your fitness journey with a simple and enjoyable activity, or if you’re just aiming to get more active in your daily life, a walking challenge could be just the thing for you! My walking journey began when I adopted my first dog, Gigi. At first, our twice-daily walks were just a way to give her the exercise she needed, but the walks quickly became my favorite part of the day (and hers too!). Walking Gigi every day inspired me to push past my comfort zone, and before I knew it I had the endurance and confidence to begin running. What started as simple walks with my rescue pup led me to train for and successfully complete a half-marathon. This post contains affiliate links #ads. See Disclosure for details. I receive a commission from Amazon at no extra cost to you. Why Walking? Before we dive into the […]
In a world obsessed with dieting and calorie counting, you may be surprised to learn that many healthy people don’t follow a strict diet at all. Instead, they adopt a lifestyle that promotes health, balance, and the enjoyment of food. So, let’s dive into the 3 simple things that healthy, non-dieting people do differently so that you can apply these habits to live your life without the stress of dieting. 1. They Listen to Their Bodies One of the most significant differences is that healthy people who don’t diet tend to have a very tuned-in approach to their bodies. They listen closely to their hunger and full cues and eat accordingly. This practice is commonly referred to as intuitive eating. Intuitive eating is about trusting your body to tell you when it’s hungry and when it’s full. It means eating when you feel hungry instead of waiting for a set meal time and stopping eating when your stomach feels satisfied. This might sound simple, but in a culture where we’re constantly blasted with messages about what, when, and how much to eat, learning to listen to your own body can be a challenge. Here’s how you can start: Listening to […]
Check out my YouTube channel for weight loss info and updates! Reflecting back, 8 years ago, I weighed in at 250 pounds. Fast forward to today, and it’s been six incredible years since I achieved—and maintained!—a 100-pound weight loss. My journey hasn’t been about strict diets or intensive surgery; instead, it focused on nurturing my body, transforming my eating habits, and incorporating joyful movement into my daily life. For a deeper dive into the beginning of my journey, check out an early blog post here. Six years down the line, my healthy lifestyle has evolved far beyond simple weight maintenance. Today, it’s all about healthy active living, eating mindfully, and finding joy in body movement. Here’s how I’ve tweaked my routines to maintain a healthy lifestyle I love: Tips for Sustaining a Healthy, Active Life: Living Positively While Embracing a Healthy Lifestyle Keeping off a huge amount of weight over the years isn’t just a matter of staying physically fit—it’s really about staying positive and truly loving the life you live. I’ve found that the key to long-term weight loss success lies in maintaining a positive outlook on the future and making sure every day is as enjoyable as it […]
Don’t Forget To Check Out My YouTube Channel “Healthy Habits With Shannon”! Short-Term Weight Loss or Long-Term Healthy Active Living? If you’re starting a weight loss journey, it might feel like it’s all about the numbers—the scale, the calories, the steps you count every day. And while keeping track of these things can be important, there’s a much more exciting and fulfilling way to look at changing your lifestyle. In this post, I’m exploring the differences between trying to lose weight for short-term weight loss and living a healthy, active life for long-term weight loss. What’s the Difference? Many people think of weight loss as a goal to reach, like hitting a certain number on the scale or fitting into a smaller clothing size. This usually means eating less and moving more with a focus mainly on how we look. But this can sometimes lead to quick changes that don’t last and might not even make us healthier. On the other hand, healthy active living is about so much more than losing weight. It’s about taking good care of your body, making choices that keep you feeling strong and happy, and doing things that are good for your mind and […]
Do you have body intuition? Let’s talk about the importance of body intuition. When it comes to knowing your body, who would you think is the expert? Your doctor? Maybe your family or friends? Or even all those voices from society and diet culture telling you what you should look like? Guess what? It’s none of them. Surprise! The real expert on your body is—you guessed it—YOU. That’s right, you are the one who knows your body the best. You are the true authority when it comes to your health and well-being. So Why Do We Ignore Our Body Intuition? So, why do we often ignore our insights about our bodies? Why do we listen to everyone else’s opinions instead of tuning into our own feelings and needs? Often, it’s because we’ve lost touch with how to listen to our bodies. This isn’t really your fault, though. From a young age, many of us are taught to ignore our body’s signals. Think about it. Parents might tell us to wait until mealtime to eat, even if we’re hungry earlier. They ask us to finish everything on our plate, even if we feel full halfway through. Over time, these habits can […]
Sometimes, I still can’t believe it’s true. Because almost seven years ago, I weighed about 250 pounds. And four years ago, I hit a huge goal: I hit my goal of a 100 pound weight loss! I hit this huge goal by focusing on being kind to my body, changing my eating habits, and moving more—no strict diets or surgery. If you want to see more about how I started, you can check out that post here. Now, four years later, I’m still maintaining a 100 pound weight loss! But what I’m doing nowadays is starting to look different. As I’ve gotten older, my body doesn’t lose weight as easily as it did when I was in my early 30s. So the process of maintaining my weight loss has begun to change over the past year. Even though my body is changing and aging, I’ve found ways to stay on track and manage these new challenges. Here’s how I do it, and maybe these tips can help you too if you’re facing similar aging challenges: Five Tips for Staying Healthy as You Age: Staying Positive and Enjoying My 100 Pound Weight Loss Maintaining a 100-pound weight loss isn’t just about […]
Before I learned about mindful eating, food was never just food for me. I used to gobble down my meals incredibly fast, eat way more than I needed, and just keep eating until my plate was empty—no matter how full I felt. It was like I was in a race to finish everything on my plate, and honestly, for the longest time, I thought this was the normal way to eat. Like a lot of people, I first tried changing how I felt about food by dieting. But honestly, diets just didn’t work for me. They felt far too restricting, and I knew deep down that I couldn’t keep up with a diet for the rest of my life. I wanted to have a true healthy, happy relationship with food. Why Diets Didn’t Work for Me I’ve been on more diets than I can count. Seriously, I’ve tried just about every diet out there. I started my first diet when I was around 13 or 14 years old after my parents suggested I try the Atkins diet. That was my first time feeling like a total failure when it came to my health and weight. Dieting made me dislike so […]
A 100-pound weight loss plus the amazing, healthy lifestyle that I have today didn’t just happen by luck. It’s a life I dreamt of, created, and manifested. I went from wishing for things in my life to get better to focusing on making my life better. I started taking my dreams seriously, and began manifesting! You might have read my posts about changing how I think and act to improve my mindset and health. But the first and most important thing I did was fully believe in myself. In the past, I used to doubt if I could achieve my dreams. But I learned that doubting was like not trying. I had to stop doubting and start believing 100% if I wanted to change my life. Believing in Myself The moment I decided to trust in myself and my dream of achieving a large weight loss was a turning point in my life. Before this, self-doubt often took over my thinking, making it difficult to see what I was capable of achieving. I would constantly question my abilities and second-guess my decisions, which only held me back from reaching my full potential. But once I chose to push these doubts […]
Like most people, I first started exercising to lose weight. At the time, I weighed just under 250 lbs and I was consumed with weight loss. Everything I did centered around losing weight or trying to lose weight. I had zero appreciation for my body or what it could do. So, when I picked up my first exercise program, weight loss was the primary goal. But even as I went into my first fitness program, I had my first big mindset shift. I promised myself that I would complete the entire program even if I didn’t lose a single pound. I told myself that my goal was to complete the program without quitting. If there was weight loss, great, if not, I would prove to the world that I could start and finish something without quitting. And shifting my mindset even slightly away from my body and weight loss put me on the path toward loving fitness and exercise. More Than Weight Loss When I committed to doing that fitness program and committed to completing it whether or not I saw “results”, my mindset began to shift away from weight loss for the first time ever. Over the course of […]