Your Quiz Results:

THE DYNAMO

When It Comes To Taking On Anything In Life You Embody These Traits:

01. You're A Hustler

You seriously don't mess around - like are we soul mates? You just get it done, you work hard, (play hard too?), and are always on the go, but you're finding it more difficult to find the energy to even keep up with your latest Netflix obsession.

02. You're Diligent

You work stinkin hard in all aspects of your life and want it straight when it comes to your health (your pretty sure the peanut butter diet ain't gunna cut it) and don't have the time to sift through all of the conflicting info that makes your head feel like its stuck in the spin cycle!

03. You're Altruistic

You've been putting everything and everyone first for so long which is admirable, but along the way you've neglected yourself and your health in the process (there's no Sophies Choice here), you can choose you too boo!

You Just Need To Put Yourself First And A Clear Path That Can Fit Into Your Busy Lifestyle.

Even when some days it feels like you're crawling to get to the finish line (is there one?) you keep going. Always on the move, gettin it done, taking care of everyone, being there for everyone - it could be juggling a family, kids, friends, and/or a career...or all of the above ya'll.

Buuuuutt.....What about you?

"Bueller? Anyone? Anyone?"

You've got some serious superpowers when it comes to habits for work and family, (you're a multitasking maven), you just need that secret sauce of how to apply your stealth skills to your health.

(BTW, my fave is a really good Chipotle Lime Fraiche, just sayin).

It's like life is a drive by,

with food on the go, quick meals that aren't as healthy as you'd like them to be, you'd like it to slow down so your brain can unscramble long enough to figure out how to make eating uncomplicated and quick and simple.

You want to find a way to eat healthier, but don't have the time or energy to cook a healthy meal at home. So you dream of the day you win the lottery and hire the chef you've always dreamed of.

You just want it simple. Why can't it be, you ask? To know what to eat that's not only healthy, but easy that will satisfy yours or the families taste buds (they're a tough crowd).

You want to exercise, be in better shape or lose weight, but when is the million dollar question? The crack of dawn doesn't sound too appealing and there's no way it'll happen at the end of the day when you're exhausted. The struggle is real y'all.

You've got some seriously fierce work habits that make you a force to be reckoned with.

Remember, like I said, you're a multitasking maven, and good at taking care of others.

You're a badass, but you're leaving yourself out of the equation.

You wanna know HOW to do it all. How to also take your go-getter habits and apply them to a better diet, getting in exercise, and taking time for yourself so you can feel like you're actually living your life rather than feeling like you're watching a movie on fast blast.

Your new mantra should be: If I don't care for myself, then how can I be there to care for the ones I love?

Lets take a deep dive into just how you can be a little more self-ish and take care of you!

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"In order to be there to care for others, you must first take care of yourself."

- Shannon

Explore Your Story

Yes indeed! You love to be needed, to serve others, to care for those you love, to be in the mix, to have an active social life, or on top of that, attend to your career goals. Exhausted much?

If you're serious about making some much needed change to your health habits, you have to take a look at why you leave the needs of yourself behind.

Do you have an old story replaying in your head telling you that you're undeserving?

Sometimes this need to go go go can be a form of avoidance of other parts of ourselves, past trauma, a need to please others, old patterns from our childhood that play out in our lives in the form of people pleasing, avoidance, a negative self-concept, or keeping ourselves busy out of fear. In addition to the steps I give below, it's important to get in touch with your old story and make a commitment to yourself to change it.

Because you are enough, you are deserving, and allowed to take the time to care for yourself.

The question is are you ready?

In order to meet all of those goals you're wanting to get to, but put off because of your hectic go-go life, you've got to do some pruning. Like a tree, in order for it to grow, and sprout new branches it has to be pruned back. If not it won't grow. This is just like your life. In order to expand, you need to prune.

So get the shears ready......

Yes you're really good at all you do, but it can't be at the cost of your health. You're stressed to the nines with zero attention to yourself, but you're ready to make some much needed changes, the question is how and where to start?

Well I've got you friend, read on....

Here's the absolute musts to get this started.

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Live By This Mantra: Self-care Is Not Selfish:

In order to achieve what you desire in the health department, you must make time for it. Without guilt or apology.

You deserve and MUST take time to attend to your physical, mental and emotional health.

How? Do this: take a moment and think about all you do in a day. Write it all down from the mundane to the important (this includes, phone time, tv time, chores, work, obligations appointments etc)

Note those actions that move you away from your goal of getting healthier.
Add up all of that time. Now you should have at least 1 hour.
Use this time to add in your exercise, meditation, journaling or a soak in the tub.

This time is NOT for obligations, kids, work, or friends - just you.

Write down your current health goals and prioritize. Start with number one and work your way through the list as you begin to build in some much needed me time.

Set Guilt Free Boundaries:

This can be done a couple of ways:

Your time: it's your God given right as a human to take time each day for yourself. With the result of the exercise above, make this time yours and yours alone, no exceptions. There's a saying, if it's not scheduled, it's not real and it won't happen.

Say NO more often: sometimes those of us who are busy tending to others, as I've mentioned, also have a hard time saying "No". It's ok for you to put yourself first, and not take on everything that comes your way. If you diligently attend to scheduling that time in the day for yourself, then you're less likely to schedule other things in its place and you can more easily navigate your ability to be selective, prioritize, and attend to all things important to you.....including your self-care.

So I'm giving you permission to stop trying to do it all, enjoy your life, and say yes to saying - NO. In order to decompress, rejuvenate, relieve stress, and work out the stuff from your old story, you need time alone, just for you and you alone. You can use this time for what ever your top priority health goals are.

The question is what matters most to you?

Use Time To Save Time:

Since you're a person who's needing extra time to attend to your health goals, particularly around meals and eating healthier here's some sure fire tips that work.

On Sundays use time to meal prep. I'm not talking about packaging 100 meals into containers - fear not! (and I don't do this, not my jam)

Instead, after you've got your goods from the grocery store, take the veggies and fruit and prep it and store it. For example if you've planned a meal with carrots, peel, chop and store in a non-plastic container. Then when it's time to cook your meal, this time consuming part is done and makes gettin dinner on the table beyond easier, especially when your'e tired and don't want to hang in the kitchen for hours. Yeah no.

Prep your meats. Prep your protein of choice and store in a freeze safe container. I like Stasher Bags - made of silicon you can freeze, store, and boil foods with this safe plastic alternative.

Manage Stress Like A Boss & Get Active:

You know that time you were able to uncover with your stealth detective work from exercise #1? Here's how you can use it.

Since you're most likely in need of some stress relief STAT and a great sweat sesh read on....

Stress plays a major role in our developing disease. The chronic stress that most of us live in these days takes a toll on our bodies. So it's important to take purposeful action to reduce it as much as possible.

Ways to reduce stress:

Exercise. This is one of the best ways to reduce stress and improve mood. Follow suggestions from below on how to get started.
Meditation: start with just 5-10 minutes a day sitting cross legged on floor, breathe deeply and focus on breath.
Take time for you and enjoy a 20 minute soak in an Epsom Salt bath 3 times a week. The magnesium from the salt helps detoxify. Add lavender essential oil to help you relax.

It's important to move your body at least 150 minutes a week, this is the recommended minimum. If you find it hard to get started or just simply don't like exercise here's some simple tips to help you integrate some movement:

Just start with one day a week for 30 minutes and work your way up to 2-3 days as you go. The more you integrate activity slowly into your lifestyle, the easier it is to sustain it for the long haul.
Do something fun that you enjoy. The plain and simple truth is that if you find it a pain literally and figuratively, you won't do it.
If you need accountability and encouragement, partner up with a friend or join a group workout.

Remember exercise is the best way to relieve stress, gain energy and improve mood. Choose what you love and have some fun!

You've Got This

I know you wanna get out there and rock it. So take the first step.

In order to fulfill your health goals you've gotta make it a priority. The question thus far is why not?

If you follow the steps I've layed out above, you'll be on your way.

Evaluate your time, prioritize you, lose the guilt to put yourself first and take the first step.

You only have this one precious life and you deserve to feel your best, live vibrantly.

And if you haven't already, subscribe to my newsletter where I give weekly tips, recipes, info on health, and everything in between.

Annnnd, come say hello on the gram @shannoneswanson, I'd love to connect!

With much gratitude,

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Hey! I'm Shannon

When I'm not slaying my own Hashimotos dragons,

I'm creating real health habit forming on-line courses for women to feel good again, get their groove back, and realize their power to do anything they want (well, because you can).

I'm a fierce combo of independent thinking rebel and tireless problem solver, and my passion for real (no fads) accessible health writes the road map for creating habits that work.

I'm a former therapist turned Health Coach and Personal Trainer who was able to *FINALLY* discover that food was making me sick. This led to changing my diet and a few other tricks to heal my thyroid.

A fire was lit in me to help other women tired in their search, finally get answers. My method of madness is about real true to life strategies without the BS, showing up authenticity with a dash-o-sass.

When I'm not helping warrior women slay their health goals I'm busy with my family, my dog, dancing in my kitchen or taking a minute to indulge in my latest Netflix series obsession.

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