But back in 2010, Shari, now 42, decided to change things – by focusing on one thing at a time.
Her first focus was nutrition – and in the first year of her journey she lost 10kg.
‘I actually stuck to 1200 calories per day to release my weight,’ Shari tells New Idea.
‘And while it was what I needed to do at the time and worked, I have learned so much in the last couple of years that the way I eat now is totally different and much better for me.’
As Shari learned, she lost more weight – and within three years she had shed more than 100kg.
‘If you retain weight, it can be for many reasons and the long and short of it is, that you need to make changes of some kind,’ Shari – who now eats lots of fresh vegetables and lean proteins - says.
‘Sometimes those changes can seem so hard, but absolutely anything is possible!
‘I know, because that is what it took for me, and I tried for many, many years to release my weight.’
According to Shari there are three simple things you must do in order to achieve change.
‘We all know how to release weight. We know that we need to eat better and add in some exercise if we can,’ Shari explains.
‘So why don’t we do it? We don’t do it because our reasons why we want to are not strong enough to override all the reasons why we don’t want to.
‘If I had a $1 for every time someone has asked me what the secret is, I would be a millionaire.
‘There really is no secret other than you need to make your reasons why you want to release the weight greater than all your reasons you don't want to.
‘When you do this, you’ll be able to achieve whatever goal you have set for yourself and it won’t seem nearly as hard as you thought it would, because you want it so much. You can do whatever you tell yourself you can, if you want to badly enough.’
Shari advises starting a list of reasons you want to lose weight and a list of reasons why you don’t.
‘I know this sounds silly, but it’s really important,’ she says.
‘This process may take some time, so start your list and keep it handy, so that over the coming days or weeks, you can add to it whenever something pops into your head.
‘Once you start consciously thinking about something, your subconscious will keep it ticking over and things will just occur to you out of the blue, so it’s important to write them down as they do so you don’t forget them. I cannot stress enough how important this first part of the process is.’
Shari admits that part of the reason she didn’t want to lose weight was because she feared being in a relationship.
‘I didn’t want to be attractive to the opposite sex and being overweight was my way of making myself so unattractive that I didn’t have to worry about it,’ she explains.
‘It was my suit of armour to keep my heart protected, because I had been hurt in my previous relationships.
‘For a long time I didn’t even realise that’s what I was doing and when I eventually did realise it, it still wasn’t something I was able to overcome, until it was no longer a reason for me to stay overweight.
‘I was only finally able to successfully release the weight because I no longer wanted to be single.
‘I didn’t want to be alone for the rest of my life, sitting on the couch watching TV.’
As well as a list, Shari says successful slimmers tell themselves what they’re trying to achieve is possible.
‘You absolutely have to believe in yourself. You have to know that you are enough. That you are worthy. That you can do anything you tell yourself you can,’ she says.
‘What you focus on is what you get, so focus on the belief that you can change your story, one step at a time and you’ll find that’s exactly what happens.
We all have limiting beliefs and when you substitute empowering beliefs in their place, such as “I can do it!”, you will be amazed at how much easier the process becomes.’
See more from Shari on her Facebook page
