“I’m proud of myself” - Shannon humbled to have become an inspiration to others

Shannon Palmer, 26, has around 13,000 followers on Instagram and says she gets stopped in the street by people who have been inspired by her story.

”I used to be a healthy size 14,” says Shannon, who works as a carer. “In 2017, I was on my break at work and my neighbour rang me to say ‘you’d better come home now, your house is on fire’.

”Our tumble dryer had exploded and we lost everything. My mum was four minutes from dying.

”Then two days later I was made redundant. I was like ‘what else can the world throw at me?’

”I got really depressed, I used to get home from work and cry. I turned to food.”

Shannon says she would drink 10 cans of pop a day, eat four takeaways a week, and gorge on junk food and crisps.

”I was just getting bigger and bigger,” she said. “But then one day my partner’s sister said ‘there’s no point moaning, you need to do something about it’

”I thought ‘is she being awful’ but then I thought ‘no, she’s right’.

”So I went with her to Slimming World, and the leader there, Julie Dawson, was amazing and really helped me.

”I was 17 stone and now I’m 12 stone, five pounds. I’m proud of myself.

”I document everything on Instagram under the name @thelittlelifeofshazzap, what I eat and all my ups and downs, and I’ve got 13,000 followers.

”When I go into Halifax people say ‘oh my god, are you Shazza P?’

”People message me all the time for tips and to say I look fantastic.

”I’m just a normal girl from Shelf, I am who I am.”

Shannon, who lives in Shelf with her boyfriend Richard and attends the Slimming World group at Aldersgate Methodist Church, has also climbed the Three Peaks and walked 17 miles to raise money for the dementia care home she works at.  

“Don’t be down on yourself,” Shannon said when asked what her message to others would be. “Try to turn a negative into a positive, you can do it, start small.

”Try to do something for yourself.

”I love it when people message me to say I’ve inspired them to lose weight. They inspire me.”