Shannon on 15 Feb 2010
About Shannon
Hello! My name is Shannon and I am a full-time working mom of a busy family of 4 in the Atlanta area. My son plays sports year round and keeps us busy running from practices to games and my toddler – well she just keeps us running! Still, I am committed to eating “clean” and staying fit. I started this blog to stay accountable to a healthy diet, but realized from speaking with many of my friends that I could share my story of eating clean, staying fit and managing an active family.
Here is my story…….
Back in January of this year (2010), my husband and I adopted a clean eating lifestyle. Since then, I lost 20lbs and he lost more than 50lbs. I’m now in a maintenance phase of focusing on building muscle while reducing bodyfat.
The change to “eating clean”
I think I have a story similar to a lot of people. My mindset was that to lose weight I was going to have to eat less food and workout by doing a bunch of cardio everyday and that was the only way I could lose weight. Although this had worked in the past, it didn’t ever result in keeping the weight off and I never gained the muscle tone I desired. I didn’t have a lot of weight to lose – just those last stubborn 10-15lbs.
So, a year after my daughter was born, I was tired (baby didn’t sleep well) and was really having a hard time finding the motivation to get up at 5am every morning to head to the gym and run on that treadmill! I was unhappy with how I looked and frustrated with my inability to stay motivated with eating and exercising. I spent a lot of time beating myself up about all of it.
I then decided to sign-up for a bootcamp in September. I knew I would be accountable to the class/trainer since I had paid for the class . I really enjoyed it, but still had a hard time getting to class consistently. It was at bootcamp that I learned the concept of “eating clean”. So, I looked into it and found there was a whole world out there eating clean! I got a cookbook – Tosca Reno’s “The Eat Clean Diet for Family and Kids”. My husband always said I was trying to “starve” him when I attempted diets in the past – this looked like a way to incorporate healthy enjoyable food into our diet. We eat a pretty wide range of foods at our house, but the number one rule is that they have to have flavor! So, right before Christmas, I started trying out these recipes and my husband was on board.
It wasn’t until January though that we decided to completely embrace eating clean. I participated in a 90 day challenge at bootcamp and became serious about my diet. It has made a big difference! Now that the weight is gone and people are asking what I’m doing differently- I point out my food choices as being the biggest driver to my change. I spent 4 months at bootcamp and barely lost 5lbs. As soon as I cleaned up my diet, the weight fell off without really trying -it was literally that easy. When I look back, I was probably spending more time depriving myself of food and then making poor food choices later when I was starving.
Today, I eat lean proteins (chicken, turkey, fish and an occasional steak!), lots of veggies at every meal and I mix in whole grains and a bit of fruit. I eat ALL of the time (6 times a day) and look forward to all of the foods that I eat. I don’t spend a lot of time counting calories, worrying about fat grams or carb counts. Since I’m choosing clean food, I focus more on worrying about getting the right foods for energy for my workouts as well as a busy life working full-time and a mom of 2 little kids!
Exercise – well, obviously exercise is still part of the formula. I initially started with a weight loss goal and thought that muscle definition would just come along with it. As I’ve learned, the weight loss could happen by changing my diet to whole, clean foods. However, I needed to focus on weights to build muscle (and eating protein!). I didn’t have to do a ton of cardio to make this happen. So, although I enjoy a good run or other cardio – 3 or 4 miles a day isn’t necessary! I still do the bootcamp 3 days a week and I join my husband for a round of P90x on the other days. I get so much energy from starting my day with a vigorous workout that I have a hard time taking a rest day!
As I mentioned, my husband has joined me through this process and he dropped over 50lbs! He has embraced eating clean and really enjoys all of the food we eat and doesn’t feel hungry. We both feel like we have made a lifestyle change rather than gone on a diet.
I hope you enjoy my blog. I’d love to hear from you. I hope to use this blog to not only share my days with you, but hear about what works for you too!
Shannon