"Hi! My name is Krysty and I am 33 years old. I am from a small mountain town in British
Columbia named Castlegar. I moved to Lethbridge in 2004 to finish my undergrad in Molecular
Biology and have made it my home ever since. I enjoy road cycling, spinning, cross country-
skiing, and resistance training. I love music, fun, and entertaining people in my home (i.e. I love
to throw parties).
So, I joined the #Perfectfit4U challenge in the spring of 2017. When I saw the first
Transformation Challenge in the fall of 2016 I was envious that I wasn’t a part of it. I knew it was
something big, so when the spring one was advertised, I jumped at the opportunity. My main
motivation behind getting my butt in shape was my upcoming wedding. Our wedding was in set
for September 16, 2017 and I knew I wanted to look, and feel, my absolute best for our big day.
As much as I’d like to think it wasn’t all about my looks, I had put a lot of pressure on myself to
look my best. I mean, come-on, those pictures last a lifetime.
I have always struggled with my weight and growing up I had ZERO knowledge about nutrition.
Even though I was a biology major I didn’t have a good grasp on calories in and calories out or
how much protein to consume, good fats vs. bad fats, high carb, zero carb diet. I used to think
Ritz ® Crackers were healthy. Luckily growing up I was very active so even though I was a
bigger girl, and ate what I wanted, my weight wasn’t out of control.
Well that all changed first year of university, when I moved out to Lethbridge and was living on my own. I was working at McDonalds and carrying a full course load. In addition, I wasn’t getting the physical activity I needed. Between the free McDonalds food and my stress related to school my weight sky-rocketed.
At my heaviest I was 249 lbs. The funny thing is though I knew I was overweight… but I didn’t feel as if it limited my life in any way, until I started to get healthy. In 2006, I was going through some serious life changes. I had graduated with my undergrad from the U of L, started a full time job in science and broke up with my high school sweetheart who had moved out to Lethbridge with me. That’s when I started to take a real hard look at myself and my health.
I wasn’t in love with who I had become. I was angry, short tempered, grumpy and always in constant state of stress. I don’t know what brought it on but one day I signed up for Curves. I called it the “old lady gym” (which it’s not by the way) but I was 21 and extremely overweight (48% body fat – yikes!); it seemed like the best fit for me.
I remember my first week on their nutrition program. I was struggling. Headaches, irritability,
cravings; the sugar I had become so addicted to was detoxing from my system and I was a mess.
But I stuck with it and after their six week program I lost 16lbs and won the award for the most
weight loss in the group. To be honest though, I was the youngest and the heaviest. But that
small win was all I really needed to propel me into a lifestyle striving for a healthier me. The
weight loss didn’t come fast or easy and a slew of weight loss programs filled my life over the
next 10-years, Herbal Magic, LA Wieghtloss, and Weightwatchers all helped my lose 50 lbs (and
keep it off).
In 2014 and I my “new” boyfriend (now husband) and I booked a trip to Las Vegas for Electric
Daisy Carnival (a huge rave at the Motor City Speedway). Now, I was stressed for this trip
because just as important the music is for this party, so was the fashion! That’s when I found
#Perfectfit4U for the first time and worked my butt off to look super cute at EDC in June of that
year. I had lost a total of 90+ lbs since joining Curves back in 2006 and felt ah-ma-zing. And it
wasn’t just my appearance, I had found the confidence in the gym that I had never felt before
and I had totally re-vamped my nutrition knowledge.
So… why did I join the Transformation challenge? Well, even though I had all the tools in my toolbox to life a healthy lifestyle, I was slipping. You know that feeling when you’re in a happy healthy relationship and you enjoy a bit more, drink a bit more, and eat a bit more! That was me. And
then, to top it all off, in the summer of 2016, the worst happened. My father fell ill and passed
away within just 12 short weeks after a brief, but brave, battle with lung cancer.
During that time, life was a blur. Between trips back and forth to British Columbia my health was not my priority; gas station meals and McDonald’s pit-stops. Going to the gym was the last thing on
mind. I would look to food for comfort and eat my emotions. It wasn’t good.
So when I saw the call for the Spring Transformation Challenge group and I knew it was
something I had to be a part of! As soon as I sent in my first deposit I started to put myself and
my health first again. I never lost the tools that I had gained with #Pefectfit4U from 2014; I had
just lost the motivation to make myself priority, with an excuse list a mile long. But I had a
wedding to prepare for and a new life with my partner ahead of me and I wanted to start that
chapter of my life with my health in check.
I know I can do better and be better so I am always pushing myself to new achievements. Losing the weight really gave me some inspiration to know that I am capable of many things. But I am also a firm believer of who you surround yourself with, you become. So I make an effort to surround myself with people I aspire to be.
My advice for others trying to find their own path is three-fold. First, if you want greatness in your life, surround yourself with great people. Choose your company wisely. Make sure you surround yourself with those who bring out the best in you.
Second, I know these sounds cliché, but say YES to a lot of things. And I know there is a fine line
between taking on too much and not putting yourself first. But every choice I have made in my life was always to keep as many doors open as possible. Yes, with some decisions some doors
close and that’s okay… but I still don’t 100% know what I want to accomplish in this life and
every open door is a new opportunity.
And finally, and I think the most important one for me “Successful people, celebrate other
people’s success”. This one is HUGE for me. There have been many dark times in my life when I
had experienced jealously, anger and frustration of other’s success stories and my short-falls.
But when I came across that line awhile back is completely changed my perceptive. Through
celebrating others, you’ll practice the selflessness and will you find a cure for the envy, which
can sabotage your own success.
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