On today’s episode, Shannon Collins (@thegymnurse) joins me to her personal story of overcoming health challenges and we bond over similar histories and starting points in fitness, social media, and as coaches. We discuss the oft-overlooked importance of progress pictures and the tendency people have to over-analyze them in an unhelpful way.

We discuss gym culture, fostering a welcoming gym environment, overcoming gym anxiety, developing a healthy relationship with food (and eventually moving away from tracking calories), the influence of parenting on fitness, body image, and eating habits. Shannon shares her wisdom on achieving fitness goals with simplicity instead of focusing on the minute details overblown by the internet.

“The scale is not always gonna give you the answer you want.”

- The Gym Nurse (Shannon Collins)

“You are in control now. You can stop that cycle moving forward with your kids. You don’t have to live out that same path.”

- The Gym Nurse (Shannon Collins)

This week on Here’s the Deal: Fitness, Nutrition, and Mindset for People Who Don’t Want Life to Suck:

• The significance of learning to love the process (and how to do that) and the mental shift required for sustainable health and wellness
• Fitness transformations take time, contradicting expectations of rapid change
• The importance of taking progress photos for tracking real change
• The need to shift from just losing weight to building muscle for long term health and better aging
• Overcoming gym anxiety and introducing children to gym environments
• The language parents use about food and body profoundly affects their children’s perceptions and attitudes towards fitness and nutrition
• Transitioning into intuitive / informed eating requires a deep understanding of one’s nutritional needs and food content
• What maintaining a healthy lifestyle really involves

Connect with The Gym Nurse (Shannon Collins): 

• Follow The Gym Nurse (Shannon Collins) on Instagram
• Visit The Gym Nurse (Shannon Collins) website

Thanks for tuning in to this week’s episode of Here’s the Deal: Fitness, Nutrition, and Mindset for People Who Don’t Want Life to Suck, where we challenge the common understanding of what it means and what it takes to be fit and healthy! If you enjoyed this episode, don’t forget to subscribe and leave a review wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts.

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