Megan Shelley RDN, LDN, CLC, CLT

✨Let’s talk about a SELF Transformation✨

In February of 2020, I found out I was pregnant - fast forward 1 month later to mid March of 2020, 8 weeks pregnant and the world shut down.

I began working from home instead of going into office, my gym closed down and I had a husband who just wanted to make his pregnant wife happy. Well that set up the perfect storm for gaining 65lbs during my pregnancy (I’m 5’3).

Fast forward to the first picture at 4 months postpartum- I remember seeing that picture and not even recognizing that was me. From that point on I buckled down with my workouts and nutrition to lose the weight.

Another pregnancy later, I’m back down to my pre-pregnancy weight. But I want more.

I want to get strong. I want to be lean. A third of the way though a fat loss phase now and looking forward to a growth phase after.

So if you want a coach who has literally been there, I might be your girl. Apply using link in bio 💪🏼

✨ 4 months in ✨

What this clients journey actually looked like:

✅ Month 1 - Establishing good habits and consistency
✅Month 2+3- Actively being consistent in a calorie deficit.
✅Month 4 - DIET BREAK

Now we a getting back into our second round of cutting.

Here is just a reminder - YOU CANNOT DIET FOREVER! Nutrition phasing is so important for progress!

How long have you been dieting for?

In honor of our one year coaching anniversary I thought this girl deserved a post from all that she has accomplished:

➡️ She was so nervous starting with being and being in a “cut” - she never wanted to feel deprived or there were certain foods/or food groups she couldn’t have.
➡️We did the slow and steady approach to weight loss so she was able to be consistent 7 days a week.
➡️ We focused on nutrient dense foods and what things we could ADD to help enhance her diet instead of taking foods away.
➡️ She was able to practice moderation and still enjoy major life events and get togethers.
➡️She is BUSY - but she made time, planned out her days/weeks so that she could achieve her goals.

Oh did I mention - she is down 65lbs in 1 year with working out 3 days per week and RARELY eating under 2000 calories.

We love tank top arms for summer time🙌🏼🙌🏼

This is what it took:
✅A little bit of fat loss by using consistent nutrition (we have never been under 2000 calories).
✅Regular strength training sessions 3-4x per week.
✅ ZERO cardio

✨THIS GIRL RIGHT HERE✨

IS OFFICIALLY DOWN 70lbs!

You have seen her on my stories.

This was not an overnight process and it has taken consistency and work day in and day out over the last 18 months.

Our first year together we work on a very gradual weight loss phase and lost 50lbs.

The past 6 months we have been working through a reverse diet, and have lost another 20lbs!

We are on target for her to be 100lbs down by the holidays and I couldn’t be more excited for her!

⁉️WHAT DO WE FOCUS ON POSTPARTUM⁉️

1. GIVING YOURSELF ENOUGH TIME TO HEAL- We give our clients a maternity leave so that they can focus on being with their new addition and establishing new habits and routines. Minimally I recommend clients coming back 8-12 weeks postpartum.
2. EATING ENOUGH- especially for my breastfeeding mommas, making sure we are eating enough to support the needs of little humans is important.
3. STRENGTH TRAINING- Obviously once you have been cleared by your OB, slowly working back the mind muscle connection.
4. CORE WORK- And no I don’t mean doing a million crunches (honestly I rarely give my postpartum moms crunches). We work on reengaging those lower abs, those abs that were stretched out the earliest and the furthest!

FINALLY - after we complete all those steps we can start working on postpartum weight loss 🥰

CONFIDENCE AND FREEDOM 🥰

⁉️How much time before an event do I need to start coaching⁉️

Typically I recommend 9-12 months before a big event!

Most clients typically need a growth phase to build out their desired physique. Or they have been chronically dieting for an extended period and are not able to get rid of their excess body fat.

This means we have to do something behind the scenes work before we can sculpt you out for your big day!

This client we had 6 months of growth before we finally got to her cut phase before her wedding day!

Hi I’m Megan!! Lots of new faces on my page so wanted to do a little get to know me!

- I’m a Registered Dietitian
- I graduated from Georgia Southern with a BS in Nutrition emphasis in Dietetics and Food Science
- Completed my dietetic internship emphasizing in Childhood Obesity Prevention and Management
- Capstone in Clinical Nutrition for University of Wisconsin- Madison
- Certified Lactation Counselor and Breastfed both my own babies (exclusively pumped with my first after 3 months).
- Pregnancy and Postpartum Corrective Exercise Specialist in Progress
- I love everything Chick-fil-A and Diet Coke.
- Football is my favorite season (Go pack 💚💛and Sic em Dawgs🖤❤️)
- I work with a very wide range of clients but specialize in my pregnant/postpartum women and mommas who are trying to get their groove back 🤩

If you want to work with me, link in bio to apply!

✨ANOTHER ONE OF MY ROCKSTAR POSTPARTUM MAMAS✨

I will never get tired of encouraging women (especially moms) to invest in YOURSELF.

Because you know what investing in yourself gets you?? You become a better mom, you become a better wife, you become a happier person. It’s not selfish - you can’t pour from an empty cup.

2 months of making HERSELF a priority - down literally 16 pounds, and this is only the beginning!

✨ALMOST A YEAR OF PROGRESS✨

This QUEEEN right here went through a 6 month reverse diet, a three month maintenance phase and now we are about half way through a cut!!

She had life challenges, job challenges and A MILLON other things going on but that didn’t stop her from reaching her goals and the results speak for themselves.

🔥EATING LESS ISNT ALWAYS BETTER🔥

👀 I see some baby abs come in👀

This client came to me and hit the ground RUNNING. She trusted me with a reverse diet process to build some muscle mass and she is down 14 pounds! We increased her calories by 750 over the course of 2 months and had a maintance phase for 1 month. Now we are getting ready to dive into a cut and make those abs POP!!

⁉️How much time before an event do I need to start coaching⁉️

Typically I recommend 9-12 months before a big event!

Most clients typically need a growth phase to build out their desired physique or have been chronically dieting for an extended period and arnt able to get rid of their excess body fat.

This means we have to do something behind the scenes work before we can sculpt you out for your big day!

‼️WHEN WHAT YOUR DOING IS NO LONGER WORKING ‼️

This client did a huge chunk of the work on her own but wanted to improve her gut health and tweak the last bit of her postpartum transformation.

What we did:
➡️Reverse Diet to help tone and gut issues
➡️Small body fat focused cut because she already had a ton of awesome muscle mass and we didn’t want to necessarily lose weight when she got to me.

Also if you are needed amazing dance based cardio hit her up

‼️ONE MONTH TRANSFORMATION ‼️

I’m not going to stay I have a favorite type of client but my postpartum moms have a special place in my heart!

*this client also has an extra special place in my heart because our babies were born within a week of each other*

FUN FACT: Women can lose up to 23% of muscle mass during pregnancy and lactation.

I spend a good bit of time with my postpartum clients working to rebuild that muscle mass.
➡️No calorie deficit
➡️No cardio
➡️ Weight is roughly the same ( example 100000 why the scale is not a good indicator or progress)

‼️‼️MOMS‼️‼️

I know you are busy. Trust me I get it. As a wife and mom of 2 little ones, I understand you don’t have the time to be able to cook completely separate meals for every family member. I know that all the time you might have to workout is when the kids are napping. I know there are some weeks that you feel like you have done nothing besides keep the tiny humans alive.

And you know what…

THATS OKAY.

Let me help you get back feeling like you again because you can’t pour out of an empty cup💪🏼

🔥Why we phase nutrition 🔥

Beginning of cut ➡️ End of Cut ➡️ Top of reverse/going into Cut #2

This client came to me and was at a good metabolic place so we were able to jump right into a cutting phase- during that phase we slowly decreased calories while incorporating some strength training and we were able to lose around 25lbs over 6 months.

Once we got low in calories we started a reverse diet and slowly increased her calories by 1000, enjoyed the holidays and some really great strength and muscle gains! Did I mention we maintained her weight??

Now we are going into round 2 of a deficit to see what progress we can make!

🔥Pregnant and Breastfeeding MOMMAS 🔥

Prepregnancy ➡️ 36 weeks pregnant ➡️ 8 months postpartum

This client came to me very early pregnancy. During pregnancy we worked on strength training and appropriate weight gain during pregnancy.

Now postpartum and breastfeeding:
➡️we are in the slightest of calorie deficits eating over 2000 calories still to maintain milk supply.
➡️Strength training/pilates 2-3x a week as baby allows (because enough sleep>working out in some circumstances)
➡️ is down 15 pounds BELOW prepregnancy weight🤯

With breastfeeding we know our bodies will maintain a certain level of body fat but by incorporating strength training and eating higher protein meals we can make significant body composition changes and help along postpartum weight loss!

You can get great results even with home workouts 👌🏼

Losing weight doesn’t have to be HUGE changes, it can be little habits stacking up to awesome results!

🔥Postpartum MOMMAS 🔥

This momma is now 5 months postpartum - and has been working with me for 2 months!

What we have done:
✅ incorporated strength training
✅had her eat MORE (no calorie deficit here!)
✅focus on steps for movement

So many moms come to me wanting to bounce back postpartum. The first thing I do with them is making sure we are eating enough and start incorporating strength training to gain back the muscle that so many lose during pregnancy. Our bodies lose ALOT during pregnancy, give yourself time and grace to nourish it again.

Food Freedom ➕ Eating A Sustainable Amount

✨WHY IS REVERSING SO IMPORTANT✨

This client came to me after doing weight watchers and then gaining some weight back. After trying weight watchers again, she wasn’t getting the results she was the first time. Typically when that happens it means you metabolic has adapted to your calorie intake.

We spent the first 4 months slowing increasing her calories and working on strength training to increase lean muscle mass.

These two pictures are from the middle of the reverse to present (about 6 weeks into the cut🤯).

🔥Client Wins🔥

Sometimes eating more will actually get you better results 🤯

CONSISTENCY TRUMPS PERFECTION

This client is a consistent queen, and do you know what she is doing?

✅Eating over 2000 calories a day
✅Strength Training 3x per week
✅Focusing on getting steps in
✅ Is a student and mom
✅ Doing ZERO CARDIO

We have found a way to incorporate easy habits into her life and she is down 30 POUNDS!

I stress this all the time with clients - perfection does not get most people results.

Consistency does.

Getting 1% better every day does.

This time of year focus on the days where there arn’t events or parties, instead of giving up on the days that are.

Lots of my clients are working to improve their gut health, but before we do any deeper testing here is what we need to make sure we have nailed down first:
✅ Sleep - Do you have a good nighttime routine and are getting sufficient sleep? Are you taking Magnesium Glycinate?
✅ Lifestyle Stress- Are you getting adequate sunlight? How is your overall stress management?
✅ Environment Stress- Do you have a HEPA? What types of cleaning and beauty products are you using? Do you have filtered water?
✅ Exercise - Do you have regular movements throughout the day? Are you doing both strength training and endurance movements? Do we need to consider pelvic floor PT?
✅ Diet - Avoiding foods we know we are sensitive too, are you getting enough water? What about fiber? Do you have a history of chronic dieting?

All these steps are so important to begin the process of improving gut health!