Celebrity trainer and chef Natasha Fett says Mama June’s TV transformation wasn’t as easy as undergoing bariatric surgery. In an interview with the NY Post Fette, who works with celebrity clients like Fergie and Matthew McConaughey, reveals just how much of a challenge it was to keep Mama June: From Not to Hot star June Shannon on task to drop more than 300 pounds. Using a smartphone app to monitor Shannon’s fitness in Georgia, Fette kept tabs on the reality star from Los Angeles: “She would tell me, ‘I went running at two in the morning.’ I’m like, ‘No June. No, you didn’t work out at two in the morning. Stop talking s**t.”
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“At some point in the evenings I would check on the app to see how much she’s done and it would be like usually about 2.5 to 3 miles,” adds Fette. “Then, all of a sudden it was like six or 12 at a 4-minute/mile pace or something crazy. I’d be like, ‘What happened? You became a professional runner?’”
Eventually Fette enlisted the help of Atlanta-based trainer Kenya Crooks, to help keep Shannon on track. When visiting Los Angeles Shannon would continue her workouts with Fette, who says getting her client to comply was no easy task. “When we’d exercise while she was here in LA, I would go to pick her up and she’d have all kinds of excuses why we can’t leave right now. She’s got all kinds of things to do.”
“She’d be like, ‘I only have 20 minutes today because I have something to do.’ Sometimes she would say, ‘I don’t even understand why we have to meet so often.’ So I’d remind her that we have a goal and in order for us to get to the goal we have to do this.”
Despite all the excuses and shenanigans, Fette, an executive producer of Mama June: From Not to Hot wasn’t about to give up on her unique celebrity client. Despite the roster of super famous clients, she was surprised by the level of Mama June’s popularity. “It’s so different,” reveals Fette. “I run with Matthew McConaughey and people are very discreet, so they look but they kind of step back. I don’t really get as much attention as when I’m just walking from terminal to terminal with Mama June. It’s like you’re walking with Michael Jackson. Seriously.”
Fette says that now that she’s met her goal, Shannon is much easier to work with these days. “She’s very friendly because most of it’s accomplished and done,” Fett says. “She’s definitely friendly and bubbly and laughs and is happy.”
