Shannon's Nutrition Coaching

Bio written Feb 2016

​

Since I can remember I have always been on a diet, counting my calories, avoiding food that would make me fat. Sound familiar?
This was probably since the age of about 13, which looking back now seems very worrying, kids shouldn’t be worried about if they are fat or not but unfortunately that’s the society we live in. I was always a sporty kid growing up and exercising 4 or 5 days a week, playing on various sports teams or going to the gym, but liked most kids I loved junk food. I was never happy with my body and also idolised stick thin models in women’s magazine, I thought that I needed to look like that to be attractive. I remember looking at my BMI and realising that to be classed as underweight I had to be under 8 stone, so this became my aim. I started to skip meals and do as much cardio as possible, from 14 I was allowed to join the gym and I would run on the treadmill for over an hour. This lifestyle was not sustainable and I would get so hungry I would just binge eat and put loads of weight back on. From the age of 14-19 my weight would fluctuate anywhere between 8 stone and 10 stone. I was never particularly over weight, but I didn’t have the skinny figure I wanted.
I had a love-hate relationship with the gym and kept constantly joining and quitting. In December 2012 I decided it was time to have ago at this again, I went back to constantly running on the treadmill and killing myself on the stair master, but this time I started using some of the weight machines, not having a clue what I was doing. I always avoided weights in the past because I was told I would look ‘manly’ or bulky’. I felt intimidated going to the weights section, thinking that people would stare at me and laugh. Even though I was only doing light weights I noticed a massive difference in my body and I started losing a lot of weight. So I added more weight training with my cardio but was still eating stupidly low calories to diet, probably around 1200-1400. I remember people telling me I’m getting too skinny but this made me want to lose more weight, I liked that I was ‘Skinny’.
I don’t know what changed but I remember making an Instagram account and started following ‘fitness girls’ who posted healthy meals and shared dieting tips. At the end of 2013 I came across a few accounts of some strong looking girls, they had big bums and legs but tiny waists and they looked amazing. I started to look at what they posted and they were all weight training. This is were everything changed, I no longer idolised the weak skinny frame of celebrities and super models, I realised they looked ill and unhealthy, I wanted to look like these women on Instagram, I wanted to be strong. I reduced my cardio dramatically and did more weight training. A guy I worked with at the time suggested squatting but I had no idea what to do, so he organised a ‘leg session’ with me were he would give me some advice on how to train. That day I could barely drive my car home from the gym my legs where aching that much, but I loved it.
After falling in love with weight lifting I gave up cardio all together and just focused on weight training and being as strong as I could be, I loved trying to beat myself each week. My body weight was going up but I started taking progress pictures and I realised that I was looking leaner but thicker and I looked so much healthier. My dad and brother did some powerlifting training at a different gym to me and suggested trying the deadlift and bench press with my squat. Within a few months I signed up to my first powerlifting competition. My first competition was in May 2014 I hit a 90kg squat, 45kg bench press and 107.5kg deadlift. 2 years later I am 2x British champion (2014 & 2015) and so much stronger. I no longer have an unhealthy obsession with food and no longer want to be skinny. I am actually trying to gain weight to increase my muscle mass, even though I am at the heaviest weight I have ever been. I love that powerlifting allows me to eat loads and not put on fat, I now eat around 2700-3000 calories a day. Yes that right I went from 1200 to 3000 calories. I now train with weights 5 days a week and never do cardio, I absolutely love powerlifting and have met some great people in the process. More girls need to stop fearing weights and just do it, they won’t make you manly or bulky, they will make you lean and toned, with an awesome booty.

​

'Now' image below is Feb 2016