The Green Door Life

I’ve been running a personal experiment with creatine over these past three weeks.

Not because I thought I needed it, but because so many in our community already take it. And I wanted to know the firsthand lived experience of what happens when creatine is thrown in the mix.

Here’s my story, the lessons, and what you should know before trying it.

First, what is creatine?

Creatine is a natural compound stored in your muscles and brain. Its job is to help your body quickly make energy (ATP) during short, intense efforts: like lifting, sprinting, or even deep focus.

You get it two ways:

1) Directly from food: mostly red meat, poultry, and fish (about 1–2 g per pound).

2) Made in your body: from amino acids (glycine, arginine, methionine) in the liver, kidneys, and pancreas.

Why are people supplementing now?

The average modern diet, which is more plant-based than ever, only provides ~1–2 g/day if you’re eating sufficient protein, but your muscles can hold ~3–5 g.

Training, aging,...

There is no perfect diet.

There is only learning how to eat in a way that truly works for you.

A way of eating that nourishes you when life feels in flow.

And one that sustains you when your spouse is out of town, the kids aren’t sleeping, you missed your workout, and the babysitter cancels last minute.

Or when you're slammed at work, traveling for days, and can't find any protein at your hotel's carb-heavy continental breakfast buffet that hasn't upgraded since the 1980s.

Sometimes clients ask to pause when life gets messy. But that's exactly when we remind them to lean in for more support.

And other times, people don’t even get started because they think:
“I just need to find the right diet. The one I can finally stick to.”

What they really mean is:
“I need conditions to be perfect in order to eat well and take care of myself.”

But life is never perfect.
Hormones shift.
Stress varies.
Seasons change.

That’s why the goal isn’t finding the “perfect plan.”

It’s creating a flexible ...

One of my new 1:1 clients is heading to Disneyland next week and asked me for tips on how to eat there without derailing her goals.

I smiled because I know that feeling so well. For years I dreaded social dinners, vacations, and anything involving food outside the house.

I would either restrict all day and then blow it at dinner, or I’d tell myself it was a “cheat” day and end up feeling sluggish, bloated, and stuck.

It wasn’t until I really understood nutrition science that things clicked for me. A few months of tracking my food gave me awareness I’d never had before.

Suddenly, I could look at any plate in front of me and estimate how it would impact my energy, my blood sugar, and even my hormones. That short-term learning gave me the long-term food freedom I had always been chasing.

It's also what helped me maintain my health and body composition in one of the most extreme environments when I lived in a camper van for 8 months and dined out daily as our mini fridge could only ho...

"I feel like myself again after three years. That meant more to me than the pounds I released."

What if nutrition was never just about food?

On the latest episode of The Elevated Frequency Podcast, Shannon sat down with our client, and now dear friend, Allison, who just completed her 12-week journey in Awaken Your Nutrition.

When Allison first joined, she expected a program about macronutrients and meal timing.

What she didn’t expect was how deeply it would uncover emotional patterns that had been shaping her relationship with her body for decades.

From the fear of speaking her needs out loud, to people-pleasing around food choices, to the simple but profound permission to enjoy popcorn with her niece at the movie, her story is a powerful reminder that healing isn’t about restriction.

It’s about safety, choice, and learning to trust your body again.

That's why Allison appreciated not just losing 12 pounds in 12 weeks... but actually enjoying the process and feeling at home in he...

Did you watch the Netflix documentary on The Biggest Loser?

I did this week. And it unlocked so many core memories as a Xennial growing up in the 1990s and early 2000s.

I remembered all the diets, from Atkins to SlimFast, the latter being my personal gateway into the insane world of fad diets at the time.

I remembered the tabloid magazines that bullied actresses for their cellulite and then shamed them for developing eating disorders.

I remembered the increased pressure to look like Kate Moss while food became more and more processed and less and less recognizable.

We started seeing a rise in obesity across the nation even though the harder people dieted, the more weight they ended up re-gaining. 

Every adult woman I knew was on a diet. I thought that looked miserable, so I just ate like all the guys around me (and overate... a lot!).

But I digress. The important thing to know here is that this was the vibe around the time that The Biggest Loser came about.

Gen Z would be horri...

Right now, men in our community have a rare opportunity.

Until August 31st, they can save $2,722 on Awaken Your Nutrition 1:1 coaching with our head men's coach, Nate Wirt.

This is not watered-down support.

It includes:

• Weekly private coaching calls + a private chat space with Nate

• A customized nutrition plan built for their body and goals

• Lifetime access to our 12-week educational course

• Strength and conditioning workouts with customization for advanced lifters

• Direct, in-depth feedback to help them make progress faster

👉 [Click here to claim a spot by August 31st]

Space is limited, and this won’t be offered again anytime soon.

Below you’ll find more program information, plus a podcast episode with Nate to get a feel for his coaching style:

Here’s why we’re doing this:

On the men’s side, we currently have just one active men’s coach. Until we grow the men’s program to the same level as the women's, we’re offering 1:1 support so men don’t have to...

Have you noticed all the menopause coaches promoting weighted vests as the new secret weapon for midlife health?

We have. And just to be clear: we are not knocking it. A weighted vest can absolutely be a tool.

If you have lost a significant amount of weight and you want to keep your daily calorie burn high, this kind of vest can help.

Why? A weighted vest can replicate the calorie burn you once had when you were carrying more body weight.

So yes, it can be useful, specifically after weight loss.

But here is what we find concerning:

Suggesting a weighted vest can replace strength training does women in perimenopause and menopause a disservice, because it ignores what truly supports their bodies at this stage.

Because no matter how much you wear one, a weighted vest cannot do what strength training does.

Same goes for Pilates, barre, and yoga.

Strength training does not just support strength and muscle growth. It also:

• Stimulates osteoblasts, the cells that build bone.

...

If you've been following along with us for a while, you know that The Green Door Life has been growing exponentially over time.

Since 2019, our flagship program, Awaken Your Nutrition, has helped thousands of people transform their health. 

Our reputation is backed by a 5-star Yelp rating, organic referrals, countless testimonials, and over 100 active alumni in our ongoing membership. 

Our programs cut through the noise and actually work long-term because we have a proven system for client success.

In alignment with our mission to positively change the trajectory of health for generations to come, we are expanding our team.

We are looking for at least five Sales and Enrollment Specialists who will help more people step into life-changing health through our programs.

Why This Role Rocks

👉 Commission-based with $875–$1,500 monthly at minimum targets

👉 High performers earn $3,000+ per month with bonuses and high-ticket offers

👉 $1,000 bonus for every 5 clients closed

👉 Additiona...

While Shannon has been soaking up the Pura Vida in Costa Rica, she’s been taking all kinds of movement classes: yoga, Pilates, fusion workouts, and everything in between.

And it sparked a reminder we want to pass along to our entire community:

Just because a workout leaves you drenched in sweat and barely crawling home doesn’t mean it’s building strength.

Yes, intensity has a place.

But without proper priming, mobility, and intentional programming, all that “burn” can leave your body more inflamed, stressed out, and puffy.

Not lean, strong, and resilient.

Let’s break it down.

🔬 Not all muscle fatigue is created equal.

When your glutes cramp mid-set or your muscles “give out” halfway through a class, it’s not necessarily a sign of effectiveness. It’s often a signal that:

• Your muscles weren’t properly activated (warm-up and nervous system priming are key),

• You’re overtraining a specific contraction pattern, or

• You’re relying too heavily on high-rep ranges that targ

  ...

Did you know that most fitness and nutrition advice was designed for men because that’s who it has been studied in the most?

Men who run on a 24-hour hormone cycle.

Men who respond differently to cortisol and stressors.

And for the record, this is no knock on men. I have two sons, two brothers, a rad Dad, amazing hubby, and most of my closest friends are men.

It’s simply a deep realization I’ve come to as a 43-year-old woman and mother:

When I try to consistently operate like a man, it's not only impossible, it's detrimental.

We’ve been sold the idea that women can do the same intense exercise, follow the same intermittent fasting schedules, jump on the same diet trends, and work the same hours everyday as men.

And yes, we can. But at some point, our bodies will rebel.

This doesn’t mean we can’t achieve the same outcomes like financial independence or a strong, fit body.

It just means we have to do it differently.

And honestly, it's a lot less "painful" than we've been told!