I love following the Miami Swim Week, and I watch it every year. I’m always interested to know what these girls do to maintain their amazing looks. So I decided to do a series of blog post about some of my favourite models :)
Let’s start with the gorgeous Shannon Lawson. I mean, just look at this girl!
She shares a lot of her fitness, diet and workout tips on social media. I like her because she doesn’t try to force her advice on anybody. She always reminds her followers that she isn’t a trainer or a nutritionist. She just shares what works for her!
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SHANNON LAWSON DIET – WHAT MIAMI SWIM WEEK MODELS EAT
SHANNON’S DAILY NUTRITION
Shannon is open about her diet, meals, and eating habits on social media! It’s great to learn from real models to see how they keep their bodies in great shape. But Shannon is quick to tell her followers that she isn’t a dietitian. She only shares what works for her and her body type.
In general, Shannon doesn’t seem to follow any strict diet. She enjoys treats (her favourites are pastries) on special occasions, and she likes ordering Thai food or pizza as take-out once a week.
Otherwise, she eats lots of vegetables, protein, and healthy fats. She’s also conscious of how foods make her feel. She doesn’t like how animal milk makes her bloated, for example. She isn’t lactose intolerant, but she still avoids dairy.
SHANNON LIKES TO EAT SIMPLE AND QUICK-TO-MAKE MEALS
In addition to being a model, Shannon spends a lot of time in the gym. She’s also gone back to school, so she doesn’t have lots of time to meal prep. Most of the meals she shares on her Instagram account are healthy and easy to make.
Here are a few of the meals she likes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
BREAKFAST MEALS
Shannon often eats two breakfasts, one before her morning workout and one afterwards. Her first breakfast typically consists of overnight oats with peanut butter and raspberries and then for second breakfast, she eats a smoothie bowl with lots of fresh fruit. She also likes drinking green juices in the morning.
A lot of girls ask me if they should eat before a morning workout, and it is really up to you. I typically recommend that you eat something if you’re going to do an intense resistance training workout.
Eating carbohydrates (like Shannon’s overnight oats!) before a workout will give you energy boost you need to push through a tough training session. :)
But if you do cardio on an empty stomach, that can actually be very beneficial. You can read more about fasted cardio here.
LUNCH MEAL: SOUP
One of Shannon’s go-to meals for lunch is a butternut squash soup. She shared the recipe on one of her Instagram stories. It’s full of healthy ingredients! Here’s how you make it:
Gather these ingredients:
- 1 butternut squash (chopped)
- 2 carrots (chopped)
- 2 celery stalks (chopped)
- 1 chili (diced)
- 2 red onions (diced)
- A sprinkle of rosemary
- 3 chicken stock cubes
- 3 vegetable stock cubes
To prepare the soup:
- Heat oil in a pan and cook the chili, onions, and rosemary until soft. This should take about 2 minutes.
- Add carrots/celery to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid and cook until soft. This should take about 5-8 minutes.
- Add the chicken and vegetable cubes and an appropriate amount of water.
- Mix in the squash.
- Bring the mixture to a boil and allow it to simmer for about 20-30 minutes. The squash should be soft by this time.
- Allow the mixture to cool.
- Once cool, throw the mixture into a blender and blend. Enjoy!
DINNER MEAL: PASTA
Shannon’s courgette pasta with pesto sauce looks absolutely delicious! Her 15-minute dinner is full of healthy fats and lots of veggies. This meal is easy, healthy, and tasty. It seems like the perfect dish to eat with a friend or partner! :)
Here’s how you make two servings of the meal:
- Brown a handful of pine nuts on the stove. Set to the side.
- Grate cheese.
- Drop a bit of olive oil into a pan.
- Add 500 grams of spiralized courgette into the pan. You can spiralize the courgette yourself or purchase it spiralized.
- Add a couple of handfuls of spinach.
- Steam for 5-8 minutes.
- Add two tablespoons of pesto and mix.
- Add the cheese and pinenuts.
- Mix again and close the lid for two more minutes.
- Enjoy! :)
HER DIET TIPS: WHAT SHANNON DOES TO STAY HEALTHY AND FEEL GOOD
- She takes probiotics to help with bloating. She says she always feels heavy if she doesn’t take them every single day.
- Also, she likes drinking green tea, drinking lots of water, and eating mostly plant-based to avoid bloating.
- Shannon isn’t a fan of crash diets. She reminds her Instagram followers that Rome wasn’t built a day. And she always advises women to eat what works for them!
- She doesn’t keep pastries or bread in the house. She saves gluten-based products for outings and special occasions. If she doesn’t fill her pantry with bread, she says she doesn’t even miss it!
- She drinks gin and tonics and wine over the weekends, but she makes sure to drink plenty of water in between drinks so that she doesn’t go overboard. In general, she avoids alcohol over the week.
- She isn’t vegan. She says that she trains a lot, so her body does well with the protein that meat provides. But she and her partner like to make two meat-free meals a week.
HOW TO WORK OUT LIKE A MIAMI SWIMSUIT MODEL
Shannon loves to work out, and she enjoys pushing her body. She has fun going to different gyms and attending different classes with her friends. Shannon used to be a dancer as a child, and she says she likes to bust a move in the occasional dance class too!
Typically, she does about 3 HIIT or cardio workouts per week. And for resistance training, she does 2 Pilates and Barre type classes. Her classes are all about an hour long, and she likes walking to and from class (adding an extra hour of working out total!)
Shannon increases her cardio workouts about a month before Miami Swim Week. She likes to slims down a bit more for the week in order to feel extra confident in a bikin.
And if you want to look like Shannon and train like her, I have a workout video course that will help you achieve that model like look. The course lasts for 5 days and it’s completely free. You can download it below :)
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CARDIO WORKOUTS
Shannon enjoys doing HIIT workouts, dancing, and boxing.
She said that she was inspired by Gigi Hadid to start boxing. Shannon loves boxing because it makes her feel powerful and strong. Boxing is great for her arms and abs too!
Dancing is her go-to when she’s feeling uninspired. She has fun, feels like Beyonce, and still manages to burn a lot of calories.
Also, Shannon walks a lot. She walks to her workouts and she tries to walk to run errands and do other things. She typically walks roughly 7-10 km every day.
I LOVE walking too. It really helped me slim down my legs and butt, and I always suggest you try to mix walking into your daily life too. It really makes a difference!
RELATED POST: HOW TO GET SKINNY LEGS: WHY YOU NEED CARDIO FOR LEAN LEGS
FULL BODY WORKOUTS
Shannon says that barre and Pilates classes are great to give her muscle tone. They help give her legs and butt perfect definition without bulking her up!
When she works out at home or by herself, she likes using resistance bands and sliders to make full body workouts more challenging. And since she travels a lot, she also likes the fact she’s can easily pack them in her suitcase.
Here are a few of her favorite moves to do when with the bands:
- Prone leg extension
- Quadruped hip abduction
- Standing hip extension
- Band-resisted squat
Shannon will also do full-body routines that use body weight, dumbbells, and ropes.
She also meets with a physical therapist once a week to check in and make sure she is working out appropriately.
AB WORKOUTS
Shannon has amazing abs. She says that boxing has really helped them, but the real key to her definition is planking! She gets asked about her abs all the time, so she put together this video full of ab-strengthening moves.
HOW SHANNON STAYS MOTIVATED TO EAT HEALTHY AND WORKOUT REGULARLY
Even though Shannon needs to keep her body in shape for her job, she ultimately works out for herself. She likes feeling strong and looking good.
She encourages everybody to do the same. She’s a big advocate of listening to your body and finding ways to make yourself feel good all around.
I love following Shannon and learning about how a professional model keeps her body looking and feeling fabulous. I’ll absolutely be following her closely during this Miami Swim Week. :)
Thanks for reading!
Love Rachael xx
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