Weight Loss Success Stories - Shon Lost 80 Pounds

First Name: Shon
Age: 34
Family Status: Married
Occupation: Musician
Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Pounds or Inches Lost: I lost 80 pounds!
Height: 5'8"
Starting Weight: 222 pounds
Current Weight: 142 pounds

Shon's Weight Loss Story!

When did you become unhappy with your weight?

All my life. I yo-yoed as a teen into adulthood because I didn't really know much about the proper way to eat and exercise. I had to be my own trainer.

What made you decide to lose weight?

The fact that I was tired of not seeing the person I saw in the mirror everywhere else. I thought I was OK until I saw what the world saw (in pictures, on videotape, etc.) Plus I am a singer so I want my image and fitness level to be par none.

What were the most important changes you made to lose weight?

I don't eat out much! I do not have sugar, butter, and regular soda in our house. Fried food is once in a blue moon. I drink water with almost everything. I work out at least four times a week (now really cranking up that resistance training). I also brush my teeth late in the evening to ban hitting the fridge.

What was most challenging about losing weight?

Getting up in the middle of the night to eat something! That still is a tough one! That is a lifelong habit. But just doing that alone helped me to plan my day better and taught my body to accept scheduled eating.

How long did it take you to start to see results?

A week, only because when I started taking small steps to eating better, I contracted a stomach virus. So I lost 10 pounds that first week. I liked how I started to look, and that motivated me to get serious.

How long did it take for you to reach your current weight?

This has been about a decade in the making but I didn't break my last plateau until two years ago. I was frozen at 180 for the longest until 2006 and from there I came down another 20 pounds.

How long have you maintained your weight loss and how do you do it?

I have maintained it in total for about a decade, with the last 20 pounds for two years. I have no worries about going back because I am more knowledgeable, and plus the way I used to eat, there is NO WAY I can eat like that now! Thinking about how I used to eat grosses me out.

How has your life changed now that you've lost weight?

I have done videos, pictures and TV appearances. I anticipate them with confidence now. I LOVE buying clothes! I find it funny people don't recognize me sometimes (I used to be even a little heavier than 222 pounds, but I have no documentation for it because I LOATHED taking pictures then!) I ponder ideas of being a fitness model and running marathons. My theory about weight loss applies to anything in life. If you are not happy with yourself or your situation, pray, and then do something about it!

How did ShapeFit help you reach your weight loss goals?

I enjoy looking on ShapeFit.com and reading before and after weight loss stories. I want to be as big an inspiration as the people I read about.

Shon's Weight Loss Tips!

Weight loss tip #1:

Brush your teeth when you crave food!

Weight loss tip #2:

Don't let your progress on your journey be underestimated by how many times you have stumbled along the way.

Weight loss tip #3:

I stick sugarless gum to the roof of my mouth and taste the flavor a long time before I chew it. Then my jaw isn't as tired and it lasts longer. Weird, I know!

Weight loss tip #4:

Have water with everything! You will feel more satisfied.

Weight loss tip #5:

Don't be extreme with your regimen so quickly. Going from doing nothing to even the smallest bit of something will show you results. Take baby steps.

Shon's Weight Loss Eating Plan!

Breakfast:

A cup of a high fiber cereal with skim or 1% milk. If that's not in the house, oatmeal with either a banana or a tbs. of honey to sweeten it. I workout in the morning, so post workout I have a protein shake or bar.

Lunch:

Sometimes a deli cut sandwich with lettuce and tomato, low-fat mayo, fat free cheese, and wheat bread. Sometimes a 6" chicken or roast beef from Subway with veggies, no cheese and honey mustard.

Dinner:

Sometimes a chicken breast with a boatload of veggies, or a low cal frozen dinner. I always add vegetables or lentils to them. Or, sometimes I eat oatmeal for dinner. I can never get tired of oatmeal.

Snacks or Mini Meals:

I crave the sweet more than the salty. I love sugar free Jell-O or low-fat frozen yogurt. My favorite mini-meal is a protein bar and an apple, it's like eating a candied apple.

Shon's Weight Loss Workouts!

Weight Training:

45-60 minutes of free weights at least three times a week. I use about twenty pounds or less on most of my body. My calves get more because I love how muscular they have become! I use a resistance ball on my abs. Plenty of squats and lunges at the moment.

Cardiovascular:

40-60 minutes of cardio at least three times a week (elliptical trainer, bike, and/or step aerobics, sometimes running on the treadmill).

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