Check out our Momsanity Sister!  Shannon is a wonderful woman who cherishes her family and values her health.  Read all about her and a recipe she loves!

I live in Lewisville, married, have 2 boys (6 and 8), work full time (as long as you consider Monday through Thursday full time) as a dental hygienist in Clemmons. For as long as I can remember in life, I have struggled to control my weight, have gained and lost 10-15 lbs repeatedly for years. Exercise was never a regular part of my life until about 4 years ago when I signed up for a beginner’s 5K program at Fleet Feet. I fell in love with running, and eventually worked my way through almost every training program they offer (10K, half marathon, women’s triathlon, coed triathlon) ever since. Along the way, I picked up road biking which I love dearly.

Distance running has not been kind to my body, so I knew I needed to expand my repertoire to stay injury-free which is how I got into biking/swimming/eventually joined the Y and started classes and ME class. I loved the idea of a great workout in 30 minutes, because it’s not like I have unlimited time on my hands. A friend of mine that I met through Fleet Feet started doing Momsanity (Jen Wilkins) and I was curious. After I found out all the “6 degrees of separation” connections through neighbors and friends with Debbie, I decided to give it a try. I started by going to Debbie’s Friday morning workouts and loved the supportive environment.

That lead to joining the Sisterhood, which after 5 short weeks, I can tell has impacted me greatly. As a lifelong carb-lover (hey I’m the daughter of a Merita bread man, can you blame me?), I was wary of changing my eating habits to drastically cut back on my love…bread/pasta/SWEETS!!! But seeing the scale start to creep up and bathing suit season rapidly approaching, I knew I had to do something different. I am so happy to report that I can see such amazing results so quickly. Not only do my clothes fit again and I can see muscle tone where I didn’t have it before, most importantly, I AM NOT CRAVING CARBS AND DESSERTS LIKE I DID BEFORE! That alone has made me a true believer. I cannot honestly sit here and say that I follow the nutrition guidelines 100% of the time, but at 95% I consider myself a success. I love the workouts because I can do them at home quickly and not feel guilty about leaving my family after being gone all day at work. I am loving taking regular walks with my boys…that is becoming our time to catch up on our days and talk about what they want to talk about. I feel like I have more energy, and look forward to being successful every day with eating and exercise. I am still trying to figure out how to integrate longer-distance running and biking into the plan, because I do still enjoy those things as well.

My favorite cleaned-up recipe is

super simple (i.e. very easy to fix and quick…most important to me for work night dinners). “Pasta” and marinara with meatballs…

1 lg. can crushed tomatoes,

¼ c.marinara sauce spice mix, simmered for about 10 minutes.

Add cooked turkey meatballs and simmer another 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, sautee thinly sliced zucchini with a little fresh garlic, olive oil, and Italian seasoning until soft but not mushy.

Serve the sauce over the zucchini “pasta” alongside a big salad!