A woman from Atlanta shares how she lost 150 pounds
Shemika Johnson set a goal and achieved it. She told herself she was going to lose 150 pounds and then she did. Her journey is an inspiration to others and her love story.
Atlanta – Shemika Johnson is as strong as ever and fell in love with what her body can do.
“I feel great,” Johnson says. “It’s really cool to see what my body is capable of.”
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
The 32-year-old Amazon PR manager’s transformation kicked off the summer of 2019, on a scale at £326.
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
“I took my son David on a trip to Disney World, and noticed how tired I was when I walked around the park,” she says. “It made me think that maybe I need to remove that barrier from my life, which is weight.”
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
But, first, she had to find her motivation to stay on the right track, and not just for David, who was five years old.
“But, I really started falling in love with the person I saw in the mirror again, getting to know her a little bit better, and the things that drive her,” Johnson says.
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
I settled on two goals: choosing better food, and exercising every day.
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
And at first, things were going slow.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve been exercising really hard, but I was still really enjoying the foods I love,” Johnson says. “It wasn’t until I started really changing my nutrition and bending over to what I was putting into my body, calling it ‘Body Fuel’ in my book, What Kinds of Fuel I Was Putting Into My Body, things really started to shift.”
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
I started with water.
“I’ve replaced all drinks, juices, and sugary drinks with water,” she says. “I was still eating what I wanted, but only drinking water. Then I slowly started substituting fried food for baked or grilled ones, and making smarter food choices along the way. That sped things up dramatically.”
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
I focused on losing 5 pounds at a time.
“When I stepped into the scale and started seeing the first 5, 10, and 15 pay off, I got excited,” she says.
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
Running was another challenge,
“I couldn’t run for more than 60 seconds without stopping and panting, and my breath caught,” Johnson says. “Having a morning run through the neighborhood really helped me get through that hurdle.”
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
I also tried to stop focusing on the scale.
“I’d get up every morning to see if the exercise the day before worked, and I didn’t want to be a prisoner of this magnitude,” Johnson says. “So, I started tracking my measurements in other ways: How do I feel today? What is my endurance like after this workout? I have control over how I look. I have control over how I feel and my activity level.”
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.” (Shimica Johnson)
When she lost her first 100 pounds, Johnson set out to write a book to document her experience.
“I felt like this was something different,” she says. “So ‘Inner Animal’ really talks about how I’ve been able to tap into my inner motivation that has helped drive my fitness journey.”
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
Johnson lost 150 pounds and is now a certified personal trainer and nutrition coach.
David, her muse, is now 8 years old.
“I literally transformed before his eyes,” she says. “And it’s funny because I showed him a picture of me from 2019, and he’d say, ‘Who is this?'” ‘ And I said, ‘Are you kidding me?’ He hardly recognized me.
Shemika Johnson lost 150 pounds during a fitness trip which she described as a “love letter to myself.”
Shemika feels like she is now in control of her story.
“It all starts with a decision one day, whether it’s in the middle of an amusement park or just sitting in your house,” Johnson says. “You can wake up and decide to do something about it. My fitness journey is a message of my love to myself. It’s a way I practice self-care every morning when I wake up, flowing in this one body I’ve been blessed with.”
