By Mark Fisher as told to Shannon Clay Hey! My name is Mark Fisher and I’m 29-years-old from Barrie, Ontario, Canada. Currently, I’m the healthiest I’ve ever been in my adult life! But that wasn’t always the case. A few years ago my life looked very different. I was unhealthy and miserable and I knew I needed a change. Overall, it took me roughly three years to lose 90 pounds. And I’ve kept that weight off for over two years! This post contains affiliate links #ads. See Disclosure for details. I receive a small commission from Amazon purchases are no extra cost to you. Thank you for supporting Shannon Elizabeth Fitness! Why a change? The truth is, I just wasn’t happy with myself. When I looked in the mirror, I didn’t like what I saw looking back at me. That wasn’t the person I knew myself to be. And I reached a point where I just didn’t want to feel like crap anymore. I knew I had to address my self-image if I wanted my life to be better. I realized that the only thing I can control in life is myself. Who I am and what I do is […]
Starting a fitness journey can feel like standing at the base of a gigantic mountain, looking up and wondering how you’ll ever make it to the top. Your goals seem large, distant, and maybe even a little scary. Believe me, I’ve been there! But here’s the thing—I eventually realized that reaching the top of the mountain isn’t about taking giant leaps; instead, it’s about one small step after another, mixed with a good dose of determination. My transformation didn’t happen overnight. It involved a lot of trial and error, learning from my mistakes, and, most importantly, figuring out that success in fitness is as much about building resilience and staying motivated as it is about the right exercises or diet. So, if you’re feeling a little overwhelmed by your fitness goals or not sure where to begin, don’t worry! I’ve got you covered with some simple strategies that worked wonders for me—and I’m excited to share them so they can help you too! Struggle and Breakthrough: For so many years, I struggled with my weight loss goals. I tried again and again, but despite my best efforts, I always found myself falling short of my dreams. However, I finally found […]
I’ve learned a lot about emotional eating over the years. It’s something that I’ve come to realize will always be a part of my life in some way. It’s something that will always keep me on my toes. For me, one of the hardest parts about emotional eating was the feeling of powerlessness that I always felt. I didn’t feel like I had control over my emotions or any control around food. Which is why I’m sharing some of my emotional eating tips to take back your power. Just a reminder that these are tips that have work for me. At the end of the day, if you feel you need extra help to deal with emotional eating therapy is a fabulous tool that I highly recommend. But if you want some emotional eating tips that you can start implementing right away then keep reading! This post contains affiliate links #ads. See Disclosure for details. I receive a commission from Amazon purchases at no extra cost to you. Emotional Eating Tips To Take Back Your Power Sit With Your Negative Emotions For 5 Minutes For me, 9 times out of 10 if I’m feeling the urge to eat emotionally, it’s […]
I talk about how key mindset changes were a part of my huge weight loss in another blog post, but here I want to discuss the mindset changes that transformed me as a whole person. Changing your mindset is about taking ownership of how you experience the world around you. Choosing how you react to your own thoughts and feelings can be a very powerful practice. But it is important to remember that mindset is like a muscle and it needs to be exercised regularly to be effective. So what are some of the key mindset changes I made that completely transformed my life? Check them out below. This post contains affiliate links #ads. See Disclosure for details. I make a small commission from Amazon purchases at no extra cost to you. Thoughts Aren’t Facts When I first read that thoughts aren’t facts I felt like I had been smacked in the face. It was like glass shattering in my brain. Honestly, I think my jaw fell open a little bit. It was so obvious and so simple yet not something I had really ever thought of before. Why do we automatically assume our thoughts are true? And that if […]
If you’re a regular reader of mine, you know how much value I place on a healthy mindset. I truly believe that it was changing my mindset and how I viewed my life that helped me lose over 100 pounds. Changing how I viewed my problems and situations was what made my final weight loss journey truly stick. Prior to my weight loss, I had spent two decades dieting and trying anything to lose weight. I literally tried every diet you could imagine. And doing all these things with little to no results was soul-crushing. For many years, I was stuck in a very dark place. Unchecked, my depression and anxiety started to reach new depths. My mindset was stuck in a vicious cycle of self-loathing, being a victim, and low self-esteem. I would beat myself up, binge eat, and beat myself up again. If I exercised, it was always as a punishment or because I disliked my body. There was nothing positive about how I was treating myself and my health. So what changed? At one point, I remember looking in the mirror and just being tired of hating myself. I literally remember looking in the mirror and being […]
So, we’re living through a pandemic. And when you’re living through a pandemic it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the frequent changes, updates and the general unknown. Personally, I feel all over the map and its tough. But at the same time, that is just reality right now. There are going to be a lot of changes over the coming weeks and we’ll simply have to move through it. And I’m confident that we will. But in the meantime, it’s important that we focus on staying safe which means staying healthy. Right now, most of us are either practicing social distancing or are already self-isolated. It is super easy to fall into the habit of lazing around the house, watching Netflix, and eating food. This is a natural pattern for people to want to fall into especially when they’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed. However, it is during this time that we should take the opportunity to focus on our health. Not only is it important to our long-term health but being in your best health helps your body fight off colds, flus, and viruses. Which is super important right now. And if you’re over here wondering if it’s too late […]
This post contains affiliate links #ads. See Disclosure for details. I receive a commission on Amazon purchases at no extra cost to you. Most people make some kind of New Year’s resolution whether they like to admit it or not. And most often, those resolutions are based around health and weight loss. In fact, in 2018 45% of Americans listed lose weight or get in shape as their weight loss goals. So needless to say, it’s a common resolution for many people. Unfortunately, not many people actually meet their New Year’s resolutions. Stats suggest that only 8% of people actually end up achieving their goals. But it doesn’t have to be that way! I truly believe that the percentage of people who meet their New Year’s resolutions can be much higher! And I think it comes down to proper planning, and setting detailed and realistic goals. Saying simply that you want to “get healthy” or “lose 20 lbs” doesn’t really say anything about how you plan to accomplish those goals. So that’s what I’m here to help with! I’m going to give you 10 weight loss goals that are realistic and achievable. Plus, I’m going to share how to get […]
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 […]
Over the past year, I’ve put a lot of work into personal development and building positive habits. I realized a while ago that if I wasn’t happy then that was my problem to deal with. Because for too long, I had relied on others to bring happiness to my life. And when you rely solely on others to bring joy into your life, that means you tend to accept all the other things they bring to your life as well. And those other things may not be so positive. So I made it my mission to learn how to foster my own happiness without having to rely on others. And while I still have a long way to go, I’m working hard on letting joy come from within. In doing all this, I’ve adopted a few habits that have completely changed the way I approach life. And overall, I think these habits have simply made me a better person so I want to share them with you! This post contains Affiliate Links #ads. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. A commission is earned on Amazon sales. Positive Habits = Positive Mindset Adopting positive habits, even when you don’t […]
Now, I’ve called this post, 8 Insanely Easy Weight Loss Tips When You’ve Tried Everything Else, but that’s not to say that weight loss is a completely easy task. And it’s not a quick task either. Regardless of how you choose to lose weight, it’s going to be a journey. So while I can’t deliver tips that will have you dropping 10 pounds in a week, I am here to give you super easy tips that will help aid in real, meaningful weight loss. But remember, at the end of the day, it’s up to you to implement the tips and make them work for you. This post contains affiliate links. See Disclosure for details. Opinions are my own. If you’re new to my blog, you may not know that over the past few years I’ve naturally lost over 100 pounds (check out my Instagram for before and afters). And I did that without any crazy diets, pills, shakes or surgeries. What I did do was a ton of tiny steps that all led up to huge results. I had patience, I respected my body and I never quit. And I think those three things; patience, respect, and endurance, are […]