Mom Crush Shannon Farias

Shannon:  I am a mother of two fun, beautiful girls.  A wife to my high school sweetheart.  I am born and raised here in Las Vegas, Nevada.  This desert has my heart.  I am a former college athlete who played volleyball for 4 years at two colleges.  I play volleyball on a semi-regular basis.  I currently now have the privilege to be a coach.  I coach girls and boys high school volleyball at my Alma Mater Las Vegas High School (where I met the lovely ladies behind Stay Fit Mom ;).  We are an active family who loves the outdoors, sports and anything under the sun.  I am also a gardener, runner, lover of interior design, hiker, target clearance item obsessed, live a plant based lifestyle, believer in natural healthcare, doTerra essential oil educator and wellness advocate.

SFM: What’s a typical day like for you?

Shannon:  In between cooking, cleaning, laundry, teaching, playing and taking care of my girls, days are always busy.  Now that it is summer we are majorly off “schedules”.  We are much more open so I feel like we are always on the move doing something to try to find a balance between boredom at home and burning up in the heat outside.  Almost everyday all day is devoted to motherhood, so when 8pm rolls around, the girls bedtime, that is “mama time”.  I will usually work out (in my backyard) or head for a run. Then it is goodnight to start all over again the next day.

 

SFM: How do you manage to keep up with your girls on a daily basis?

Shannon:  Food.  As a young mom I learned the hard way, if I didn’t eat right, there would be no energy for this mama to keep up with her busy babes.  I have my morning kitchen routine and boost filled breakfast to always start my day.  Starting my day with this routine helps me make better choices for the rest of the day to keep me fueled and ready for mom life.

SFM: What are your favorite activities to do as a family?

Shannon:  We LOVE the outdoors. I grew up with a mountain man dad.  Getting out and admiring the beautiful world around us was apart of me from such a young age.  The outdoors promotes peace, spirituality, awareness, love and bonding that cannot take place anywhere else.  If there was anything I wanted to do for my kids it was to pass that love onto them.  I think we are doing a pretty good job at that!

SFM: Tell us about your hashtag, #eatmeimmeatfree.  What inspired you to go vegan?

Shannon:  I became vegan a year ago.  Prior I was a vegetarian for 5 years consuming dairy products like ice cream, cheese and yogurt.  Also other things like eggs on a regular basis and fish occasionally.  After almost every meal for a year I would suffer from extreme stomach pain.  It was so hard for me to loose my baby weight gained from my last pregnancy and my acne was out of control.  My husband and I knew there was something serious going on with me.  We read some books about the importance of food, watched some eye opening documentaries like Forks over Knives and educated ourselves on plant based lifestyle.  We decided to give it a try.  I was done nursing so we started with a detox then jumped right in.  I have never looked back because I never felt better in my life!  I later was informed I was lactose intolerant and allergic to eggs.  These were things I was consuming on a regular basis, they were like poison to my body.  From switching to a plant based or vegan lifestyle I have lost 40lbs in a little over a year, 60lbs overall since my last baby.  WOW right! All from eating things that weren’t toxic to my body.  By keeping my diet more fresh and simple but never compensating for taste.  My #eatmeimmeatfree is a journal of some of the regular basis meals my husband and I cook in our home!

SFM: We know you have your own garden, does it require a green thumb or can anyone do it?

Shannon:  Gardening does not require a green thumb.  ANYONE, ANYWHERE can do it.  All you need is a pot or planter, good soil, a seed/starter plant, the sun and daily water. Easy as that! Maintaining gets more difficult but I promise the plants will grow themselves if you feed them just like your kids!

SFM: What type of exercise do you enjoy most?

Shannon:  I never thought I would say this but running.  Last summer I decided to check off my yearly goals and train for a half marathon.  I completed my first half in November.  After I became addicted and running became my little mommy time.  It helps me clear my head, pushes me and relaxes me believe it or not.  I have also just begun #thekaylamovement #bbg guide.  It has been so good and the best part is I can do every work out right from home in my backyard.

 

SFM: What’s the hardest thing for you when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle?

Shannon:  Convenience. When things are easier, they are always better.  When trying to live healthy it is all about making the healthy options more convenient.  Having a meal plan, having a shopping list before you go to the store, and having a supportive partner and family is also necessary.  Also, to vocalize your health goals together and to push each other to make the healthiest decisions.

SFM: What inspires you to make healthy choices for you and your family everyday?

Shannon:  Having lived an unhealthy lifestyle before, I want to be the best version of myself for my husband and my girls.  When I treat my body good, I feel good.  When I feel good, I am happy.  When I am happy it is easier for me to find joy.  Having that joy in my life inspires me to make healthy choices for myself and our family.  I want to look for the good in myself and others, have a positive state of mind, and be loving.  Living healthy pursues all that for me.  Having those positive thoughts are easier to be present when I am active and eating well.  When you finally learn how good you can actually feel like I did on my fitness journey, that reminder alone inspires me to keep going.

SFM: Do you have any advice for other moms out there who are struggling a little bit with balancing health, fitness, and motherhood?

Shannon:  It is never to late to start.  I was in a rut for a long time because I had just “let myself go”.  As a former college athlete I was used to a strong, six packed me.  I wasn’t that after my second child.  I was 220lbs and I felt I was so far gone why even try.  So I didn’t try.  I continued to make excuses why I shouldn’t get my butt working out or eating well.  It took me a year after having my daughter to finally realize it was not too late to start.  It was not easy, it still isn’t.  For me is been all about being better today than I was yesterday.  Any progress towards your goal is PROGRESS.  I have yet to have an “after” picture of my health journey because I am not done yet.  Mamas don’t think it is too late for change.  You have the ability to do anything and be anything you want to be.  All you have to do is start and remind yourself everyday how far you have come from that start day!

Thank you Shannon for taking the time to answer our questions and for all the gorgeous pictures you take! See more of her pictures and follow her on Instagram @shanfarias.

Stay tuned for our next Mom Crush Monday post!  You can read about more ladies who are doing amazing things in health and fitness on our Mom Crush tab.

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Did you catch our last Mom Crush, Jennifer?