SPOTLIGHT ON: Emerald Coach Leona Shell

Have you been to that point in life where you just knew looking back, “I gave up on myself.” The good news is that there is still hope! No matter how many times you’ve given up or thrown in the towel, THAT does not define you! Embrace today! Don’t look back! Here’s Leona’s story of how she overcame giving up on herself! She’s back and better than ever!

I Just Gave Up on Myself

“My name is Leona Shell. I have lived in Wasilla, Alaska my entire life, and I am 28 years old. I am married to a wonderful man and we have a dog named Rage. For the past 7 years, I have had no physical activity in my day. I’ve also sought out comfort food. I have been at a desk job for 7 years, and I have been pursuing a Bachelors going on 6 years this fall semester. I have always had awful eating habits and when I get stressed, food is my go to comfort. I noticed my body changing in a negative way around eight years ago. I tried to control the situation with dieting and half-ass exercising, but just like with the comfort food eating – there was no commitment. Eventually, I started saying “I don’t even care anymore, because everything I was doing wasn’t making a difference.” I was getting pretty sad and feeling out of complete control of my life. I didn’t like my job and with 4 years of college left…I was already in the groove, so why not just continue the way I was going? My grand idea was to just wait until I was done with my degree to care about my health, so I pushed on with my idea and became depressed. I was always so tired. Needless to say, I never lost weight and my body never toned up, so I gave up. I gave up on myself. I gave up on me. In addition to that, I was having extremely horrible digestive problems. I was spending hundreds of dollars on medical bills, and losing more money by missing work to go to doctor appointments. You should see my hall closet; it is filled with probiotics that never worked for me. I was constantly in pain and discomfort, which didn’t help my depression.

My ‘I gave up on myself until…’ Moment

On April 12, 2013 my life changed when I made a connection with an old acquaintance, who was a coach with Beachbody. She was making a change in her life and she was happy. This was completely out of my life spectrum at that time because I had given up. I gave up on myself, but something about how she was changing her life and how happy she was made me change my mind. I made the choice to commit to me and my health. I needed everything that coaching was. I NEEDED IT FOR ME, so I signed up! Haha – And I did it without asking many questions. My husband was skeptical but supported my ambition, so I just DOVE IN. Coaching has been one of the best decisions that I have made for me. I have learned to distance myself from stress..not that I’m perfect at it and still slip up, but I’m making a larger more conscious effort. Additionally, the relief in knowing that my body isn’t going to get any worse and knowing that it’s only going to get healthier is huge. I watch my intake and I’m cautious about my food, but I DON’T WORRY about it because I have this. On top of that, my digestive system is on track! I have no more bloating, no more pain, and no more discomfort. It’s so nice; I can breathe!

I gave up on myself NO MORE!

Being a coach has got me out of my comfort zone as well, which is a big thing for me! I’m a NO man….but now I say YES to just about everything. I say yes to talking with people and asking questions, I say yes to working out every day, I say YES to zip-lining! HA! I never would have done that if I wasn’t already pushing myself, and it was fun! Every day I am finding myself doing things that I never would have done before. I’m so grateful for that because it’s easy to say no and stay in solitude. It’s easy to not reach out, and it’s easy to not try anything new. I find there is an unexpected excitement and sense of personal success in leaving my comfort zone and I LOVE IT! I have been so happy with my life and myself since becoming a coach. BOOM to you my grand plan! I have a better one. I’m so grateful I took the risk and invested in myself, even with doubts, and started my fitness journey. It’s worth my wellbeing and it’s worth my happiness.” To connect with Leona on Facebook, click here.