About Me

Drew and I, August 2015

Hello and welcome to my blog!  My name is Shantel and I'm 33 years old!  I'm married to my best friend Drew,  and I have 2 amazing, energetic little boys who keep me on my toes every minute of every day!  In addition to being a Mommy, I am a High School Spanish teacher and a Health and Fitness Coach.  I feel so blessed!  I have never been great in social situations.  I have always kept a very small group of friends, and don't mind spending a majority of my time at home!  My idea of the perfect evening is a pajama night/movie marathon with my husband and boys!  I love spending time shopping with my mom.  She is one of by bffs, and I cherish the time we spend together.  

I have recently developed a passion for fitness and developing/maintaining a clean and healthy lifestyle.  I have a strong belief in the importance of clean eating and taking care of yourself to live a long, happy life.  For the first time ever, I feel like I'm living a healthy life, rather than just focusing on a quick fix for a short time, followed by reverting to my old, unhealthy habits.  I love helping others.  My whole life has been based on serving and teaching others.  This new journey with health and fitness just makes sense.  If I can help even one person to change their life the way my life has been changed, then this journey will have been totally worth it!
My journey towards a healthy lifestyle started about four years ago - but it was a slow start with many setbacks.  I was the definition of the yo-yo "healthy" person.  Let me back up...

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For a majority of my life, I have not necessarily been very healthy.  I broke my femur bone at the growth plate in the fourth grade, and needed several surgeries as a result over much of my middle school career.  I used this as an excuse to not be involved in sports.  I was very inactive.  Although I always loved riding my bike as a child, and tried t-ball and basketball in elementary school, that was pretty much the extent of my activity.  I was much more interested in reading, practicing my handwriting (yes, really...I couldn't make this stuff up :) , shopping with my mom (some things will never change) and playing cards with my grandparents.  I really did not enjoy the outdoors.  In high school, I was involved in the band and marching band, so that gave me some activity, but not as much as I should have been getting probably.  I knew NOTHING about nutrition.  My ideal breakfast was a large frozen Coke and a giant Little Debbie brownie from the neighborhood gas station.  At lunch, I would eat an entire bag of Little Ceasar's breadsticks with a giant cookie on the side.  My dinners were nutritious, but the damage I did to myself during the day really added up, and I was always a bit overweight.  I never felt good about how I looked (pretty standard for most teenage girls).  When I went to college, I would go through spurts of trying to be "healthy" but still really had no idea what that meant or how to achieve it.  Our country does a great disservice to young people when it comes to nutrition...but that's a topic for a different day.  

This is me, Summer 1999

After I graduated from college, I was eventually engaged to be married.  This seemed to give me motivation to actually start exercising.  I saw Chalene Johnson on QVC advertising Turbo Jam.  It looked like so much fun so I ordered it and used it pretty consistently.  I was able to get in decent shape for our wedding, but still wasn't eating a balanced diet.  I now know, the missing piece of the puzzle was that I was not a part of a challenge group.  It's so important to choose a program and work with a coach so that you have the support you need.  During this time, I was eating foods full of artificial everything.  

                                                                                              

Drew and I, October 2008

Almost immediately after our wedding I was able to get pregnant with my first son, Andrew.  I gained A LOT of weight during my pregnancy (about 60 pounds)...unfortunately he only weighed 9 lbs 3 oz, so I had a lot of extra weight to lose!  I struggled with high blood pressure after having Andrew, and was put on blood pressure medication (which really didn't bring my blood pressure into a safe zone).  My cousin-sister, Shannon, had been taking a nutrition class in our area so I decided I needed to try it.  I still had about 40 pounds to lose and really wanted to get my blood pressure under control.  The class taught me how to eat clean for the first time in my life.  What an eye-opener this class was for me!  With changing only my eating habits (no exercise), I was able to lose 30 pounds!  I felt better than ever and was able to get off of my blood pressure medicine.  The class changed my life.  It's amazing what a difference putting good fuel into our bodies can do!

This was me with my mother-in-law and sister-in-law in May 2009
(about 6 months pregnant with my oldest)

Fast forward two years or so, and I was pregnant again.  Again, I gained another 60 pounds.  Again, Blake did not weigh 60 pounds at birth...only 9 lbs 11 oz this time...still a lot of weight to lose.  About two weeks after Blake was born I was laid off from my teaching job.  All of my life I have been a worrier...it's just how I am wired.  Well, being a worrier, combined with post-partum hormones and losing my job was a lot to handle.  I started having what I now understand was anxiety.  I knew I was obsessing over things that were beyond my control, but there was nothing I could do about it.  I would just get so wrapped up with the worry, I was in a very difficult place.  The funny thing about anxiety is that it's all internal, so it's easy to hide.  I liked that I could put on a happy face so others didn't see me as "weak," which of course now I understand is completely ridiculous. 

This was me in 2012, at about 7 1/2 months pregnant with Blake (my youngest).

This was Blake's newborn session in April 2012

I was blessed to find another job, but it was not my choice to be changing jobs and I just really struggled with the change.  I cried every single day on my way home from work.  I still had a lot of my baby weight (Blake was only 3 months old when I returned to work), my anxiety was getting worse, and my job was so much more difficult than the job I had the previous year (or it seemed that way at the time).  I stayed in that school district for a couple of years, then an opportunity arose for me to make a change to a new district.  I think the fact that I was CHOOSING to make the change made me feel like it was the right decision for me.  I had started eating better, but still wasn't really committed to a healthy lifestyle and I was still struggling with my anxiety.  Luckily, I have an amazing family who always stands by me and helps to make difficult times seem easier.  I truly don't know what I would do without the support from my family.

This is me with my mom and grandma in June 2014

This brings us to July 2014.  I was gearing up to start at a new school district and was really excited about the new opportunity, but I was still a nervous wreck.  I just couldn't seem to get my anxiety under control.   My friend Krysta was a Beachbody coach and I kept hearing her talk about this new exercise program, PiYo.  It was Chalene's latest program...and I love Chalene!  I talked to my husband about it, and as always he is my biggest supporter and told me to order it!  I asked him if he wanted to get a program too...he decided he wanted me to order T25 as well.  So I did that.  Krysta added me to her online accountability group, and I started PiYo.  I loved the program!  I felt leaner after just a couple weeks of doing it!  The problem for me was that once school started I didn't always have time for the PiYo workouts.  I did have time for T25, though.  So, I switched to T25 for awhile...but the truth is, I just wasn't committed.  I will tell you, though, that for the first time in over two years I finally felt like I was starting to have a handle on my anxiety.  It's incredible what those exercise endorphins can do for the soul!

Family picture taken in October 2014

Old habits sometimes die hard, though, and I "fell off the wagon" in October 2014.  I made a million excuses why it was harder for me to exercise and eat clean than others.  "I work full time and have two kids at home," "This is my first year at a new job and I have so much to learn again," "My husband works second shift," blah, blah, blah...

So, I fell back into eating terribly and not exercising...by December 2014 I was starting to experience my anxiety all over again.  I felt awful that my clothes were too tight and I had zero energy for my boys by the time I got home at night.   

Well, once again I started seeing Krysta posting about a different program on Facebook.  It was the 21 day fix and she had a new program starting up in January.  New Year, New You is what she called it, and it just spoke to me!  Once again I talked to my husband about it.  Once again he supported me 100%.  This time I decided to go with the Challenge Pack...I was all in!  I was going to do the program, eat clean, and drink my Shakeology and I was going to be COMMITTED.  So I did, and I felt AMAZING!  I started getting up early to do my workouts before work.  This made me feel more energized and level-headed for my whole day.  I had more energy.  I was happier.  I was healthier.  I was getting STRONG!  Most importantly, my anxiety was almost completely gone!  I was settling into my new school district and felt like a whole new me!  

21 Day Fix Results

I did two rounds of the 21 day fix, then ordered the 21 day fix extreme as soon as it was released.  I loved it!  I looked forward to my workouts.  I LOVE the accountability in the private Facebook groups.  To this day, my accountability groups keep me going.  I have done too many rounds of both the 21 day fix and the 21 day fix extreme to count.  These programs, Shakeology, and accountability groups have changed my life!  I am in the.best.shape of my life.  I feel amazing.  I feel proud.  That's why when Krysta contacted me to see if I was interested in coaching, I ultimately decided to go for it.  If I could help even one person make the changes in their life that I have made, then putting myself out there and sharing my story would be totally worth it!  It was my turn to pay it forward!

August 2015

I truly believe that everything happens for a reason.  I am extremely happy in my current school district, and have been given so many amazing new opportunities! I am even leading teams within my district, which I never would have had the confidence to do in the past.  I am also running my own challenge groups, helping others find their journey, and holding myself accountable at the same time.  I feel so blessed to have been given this opportunity.  Since becoming a coach, I have completed many of the other workout programs that Beachbody has to offer, and seem to love every single one as much as the last!  I just finished the Hammer & Chisel program, and am on week 2 of 22 minute Hard Corps!  A workout program that only takes 22 minutes and is extremely effective?!?  This momma is LOVING it!  

I feel so passionately about being called to help others find the happiness that I have found.  I have let fear hold me back from so many things for so long, but I'm going to keep moving forward.  I realize that as long as I am happy and not hurting anyone else, it really doesn't matter what others think.  We only have this one, short life to live.  Living in fear of what others think is a complete waste of the time we have.  That is not the purpose of me being put on this earth...I am here to help others, and that is what I intend to do.  My cousin Shannon has been a HUGE inspiration to me.  She had some big, scary dreams and she is chasing after them and accomplishing such amazing things!  I am so proud of her and so thankful that she continues to be like a big sister to me and inspires me to be a better me every single day.  

Shannon and I, Easter 2016

Because of the changes I have made in my life, I no longer avoid mirrors, I no longer dread getting dressed in the morning.  I don't feel ashamed of my body.  I don't dread social events because of how I look (and feel).  Wife, mom, teacher, health & fitness coach...how in the world did I get so lucky?!?  

Drew and I with the boys, Easter 2016