The Secret to Mama June's 300-Lb. Weight Loss: Sleeping Until 1 to Skip Breakfast!

Mama June Shannon has a few weight loss secrets up her size 4 sleeve!

“It’s all about portion control for me,” Shannon, 38, tells PEOPLE exclusively in this week’s issue, on stands Friday. The reality star dropped 300 lbs. earlier this year from her onetime high of 460 lbs.

“It’s not easy to eat like you’re ‘supposed to’ and hit the gym all the time, but I’m just trying to maintain it the best I can,” she adds.

In addition to making better food choices and working out whenever she can, Shannon admits that one of her secrets is that she sleeps in until 1 p.m. — and skips breakfast.

“This sounds bad,” she adds, “but I’m more of a snacker.”

A typical snack for Shannon consists of grapes and cheese, and then for dinner she’ll make a healthy meal like “baked chicken and quinoa” or “baked pork chops, corn and beans,” which she describes as her go-to dish.

And the reality star isn’t afraid to indulge her sweet tooth from time to time. “If I’m craving something sweet, Little Debbie jelly cakes are my favorite cheat snack,” she says.

The reality TV star documented her drastic transformation on WE tv’s Mama June: From Not to Hot, in which she spent upwards of $75,000 to have gastric sleeve surgery, breast augmentation and skin removal surgery on her “turkey neck,” “bat wings” and stomach — where a combined total of 9 lbs. of skin was removed. The reality series returns for season 2 on Jan. 12.

• For more on Mama June, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on stands Friday

“I get on the scale religiously,” Shannon says. “I fluctuate, but the most I’ve gained back is five pounds.”

“My legs are still a little bit fat and I have a jiggle-o and some cottage cheese, but I feel like I got what I wanted,” she continues, adding that “when I look in the mirror, I’m happy.”