Professional Bio

Shelli Johnson, Weight Loss Pro, is a health coach, author, and online educator who teaches sustainable, healthy weight loss and helps overweight people overcome the diet-go-roundĀ®. With over a decade of experience, Shelli created her program, Start Where You Are Weight LossĀ®, to help people use the same method so they can eat what they want, lose weight, and keep it off long-term.


Having once weighed 304 pounds, Shelli lost 174 pounds naturally and has maintained that loss for over a decade. By addressing the fact that long-term weight loss is not about food, but instead about what a person thinks about food and its role in their life, Shelli bridges the gap between mind and body, allowing her clients, readers, and students to listen to their own bodies and heal their relationship with food.


An internationally-recognized expert in the fields of obesity and weight management, Shelli has been featured in PEOPLE Half-Their-Size issue (on 3 covers), PEOPLE TV, FOX TV (Good Day Charlotte), National Public Radio, and The Charlotte Observer, among others. Her work has been published in The Plain Dealer, Thrive Global, Authority Magazine, Writer’s Digest, and more. Her books, Start Where You Are Weight LossĀ® and Start Where You Are Weight LossĀ® Playbook, were both a #1 Amazon Bestseller. Shelli has used her experience to teach thousands of people how to create a body that feels comfortable to them.

Featured In

how to lose weight and eat what you want online course

Magazine Covers

Shelli-Johnson-Weight-Loss-People-Magazine-Half-Their-Size-Cover
Shelli-Johnson-Weight-Loss-People-Magazine-Expanded-Edition-Cover-2
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PHOTO CREDIT: PEOPLE MAGAZINE &
KAT BORCHART (PHOTOGRAPHER)

News Articles

Cover of the 2020 Half Their Size issue

My weight-loss journey from 304 pounds to 130 pounds, how I lost the weight & kept it off for 7+ years. How my life has changed since.

My makeover transformation

From a bit drab to absolutely fabulous. How a new hairstyle can equal a new you just by getting a new cut and a new shade of color.

How I lost 174 pounds & kept it off

Maintaining a weight loss for 8 years and counting. Story tie-in to Nazi Germany. Eat what you want: how weight loss is not about food.

People TV

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Why I used food in a way it was never intended... Extreme yo-yo dieting. What finally triggered my weight-loss journey. How listening to your body is the key to freedom from dieting. What exercise is and is not. The story behind my bestselling weight-loss books.

Good Day Charlotte

Ā 

The crux of effective and permanent weight loss...Ā The answer to the question: if it's not about food, then what is it? Ā Landing the cover of PEOPLE magazine. Ā How my bestselling book, Start Where You Are Weight Loss, can help you lose the weight and keep it off permanently too.

The Charlotte Observer

Ā 

Why I applied to be featured in PEOPLE magazine...Ā Eating when you're hungry & stopping when you're full. The way I used to look at food versus the actual purpose of food. The importance of listening to your body and trusting yourself. No longer having a fear of food or gaining weight.

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