Episode 4: Shellie Iossa on becoming bulletproof

Shellie Iossa grew up as an Army brat, living both in the U.S. and abroad (Berlin, Germany and Seoul, South Korea) with her family. After graduating with a degree in Communications in Jacksonville University, she pursued a career that included working in public relations and special events planning. In 2003, she took time to be a stay-at-home mom after a painful years-long struggle to become pregnant.

While enjoying the life of busy mom and volunteer, she experienced the challenge of unwanted weight gain in her 40’s that decreased her self confidence and increased her love of wine. In 2016, she sought out resources to lose weight that led to her becoming a Coach for WW (Weight Watchers), the learnings from which helped her to ultimately take control of both her wellness and drinking in September 2020. She is at home in Bernardsville, NJ with her husband and two kids who are in high school.

In today’s episode, Shellie shares how her decision to take a short 30 day break from drinking turned into a new sober lifestyle. As a weight loss coach, Shellie was shocked to discover the impact of drinking on all areas of wellness including our hunger hormones.

During the 30 day Live Alcohol Experiment with This Naked Mind, Shellie began to feel better and look better and decided to keep going and recently celebrated 1year of alcohol freedom. Shellie shares about her relationship with her teenage daughter, how important it is to Act As If and how she now feels bulletproof!

Timestamps:

Joining the Live Alcohol Experiment 3:29
The Science that made the difference 7:57
Becoming ‘bulletproof’ 17:05
Setting a new example for her daughter 19:44
Looking forward 27:42

Act As If 39:00

Links/Resources Mentioned

The Live Alcohol Experiment (Nov. 2021) https://start.livealcoholexperiment.com/live-tae-fp-detail?affiliate_id=2106752
Shellie’s IG account: wwcoach_shellie
WW (Weight Watchers) https://www.weightwatchers.com/us/
Interested in finding Shellie on WW: go to Coach Shellie I
For an exclusive discount use codehttp://ww.com/joinme/388ACA3000

To hear more inspirational stories like these, hit subscribe so you never miss out!

Subscribe to the Podcast

Join my newsletter

Latest Episodes

Purpose, Presence and Solubrae with Patricia Heaton

In this episode, Teri is joined by actress and entrepreneur Patricia Heaton for a candid and refreshing conversation about alcohol-free living, identity, and second (or third) acts. Patricia shares how her relationship with alcohol evolved over time—not through...

Landing On Your North Star with Peggi and Brigitta

In this episode of The Sober Edge, Teri is joined by returning guests Peggy Cooney and Brigitta Dau to talk about their new book, Landing on Your North Star: A Guide to Finding Your Life’s Purpose. Together, they explore what it really means to live in...

From Patterns to Possibility with Deborah Yager

In this episode, I sit down with Deborah Yager to explore what’s really underneath the behaviors we’re trying to change—whether it’s alcohol, food, or patterns we just can’t seem to break. We talk about the idea of “alchemy”—not as something mystical, but as the very...

A Different Way of Letting Go

In this solo episode, Teri explores a simple but powerful metaphor from Mark Nepo’s The Book of Awakening about how monkeys were once trapped using a coconut filled with rice. The trap only works because the monkey refuses to let go. It raises an important question...

Finding Fun with The Party Coach

Finding Fun with The Party Coach, Evan Cudworth I hope you enjoy this episode with Evan. His idea of cultivating 'the party within' is a powerful invitation to bring more joy, creativity and fun into our alcohol free lives! In this episode, we explore: Why alcohol...

Elite Training for an Alcohol-Free Life

What if alcohol-free living had less to do with willpower — and more to do with training? In this episode of The Sober Edge Podcast, Teri Patterson explores what Olympic athletes can teach us about building a sustainable, alcohol-free life. As the Winter Olympics...

Crafting an Alcohol-Free Life

Crafting Your Way to an Alcohol-Free Life In this deeply nourishing episode of The Sober Edge, Teri Patterson is joined by coach, Reiki master, Pilates instructor, and creative guide Brigitta Dau for a wide-ranging conversation about healing beyond the bottle....

Alive AF: Lessons from 200 Episodes of The Sober Edge

This is a milestone moment — Episode 200 of The Sober Edge Podcast. In this special solo episode, Teri reflects on more than four years of podcasting, hundreds of conversations, and one foundational truth that has shaped her work as a coach, speaker, and guide: 👉...

What We Really Bring Into The New Year

December 31 often feels psychologically loaded. There’s pressure to reset, plan, fix, and become someone new — especially after a long holiday season. In this reflective year-end episode of The Sober Edge Podcast, Teri explores a different approach to crossing the...