topic Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again! in Wellness

She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

minkbunny — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 18:57:35 GMT

MESQUITE (CBSDFW.COM) - Keli Kryfko has come a long way in life. A painful moment in her past was all the push she needed to go from size 24 to competing in the Miss Texas pageant. Now, the Mesquite woman is hoping that her story can inspire others.

Kryfko struggled with her weight in middle school. “I was over 200 pounds,” she recalled. But, at just 14 years old, she made an adult decision to change her life forever. “I had to take a fitness test in P.E. class, where I not only failed it, but I ended up getting a zero on it. I went to the locker room and, hoping on one would notice, I heard some girls saying, ‘Can you believe the fat girl couldn’t do any of it?’”

That comment was the motivation that Kryfko needed. “I knew that that’s not what I wanted my definition to be anymore,” she said.

The very first thing she did was to swap Dr Pepper drinks for real peppers. “I started making some incremental changes,” Kryfko stated, “adding more water, adding in fruits and veggies, less fried foods.” And, with those small changes and the determination to keep going, she shed around 70 pounds in a year and a half, and more than 100 pounds total — all without any medical procedures.

Kryfko went on to win the Miss South Texas pageant and is now looking even further down the road.

Justin Murphy with Uptown Energy Fitness is training Kryfko to get in shape for the Miss Texas contest in Richardson this July. Weight loss, he said, is 80 percent diet and 20 percent exercise. “You want to lose one pound a week, that’s a healthy range,” Murphy added. “Shoot for six small meals a day. Focus on getting protein in every meal.”

“I often tell people, your abs are going to be made in your kitchen, not in your gym,” Kryfko said.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

curlywhitedog — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:19:45 GMT

Keli is a testament to what we can do when we want to. Now that's motivation.

Waving to minkbunny and wishing her a great summer.

Maria

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

minkbunny — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:29:45 GMT

On 6/1/2014 curlywhitedog said:
Keli is a testament to what we can do when we want to. Now that's motivation.

Waving to minkbunny and wishing her a great summer.

Maria

Waving back to you, Maria, and sending the same good wishes.

It is inspiring, isn't it? Like she said bluntly, if she didn't want to be called fat, she had to lose the weight.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

bluejeansluvr — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 19:31:37 GMT

Wow. I saw her doing an interview on tv and was so impressed with her. what a lovely young woman. It is inspiring. But more than her body transformation, she transformed her spirit!

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

Lotus — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:03:08 GMT

Wow! She looks amazing......good for her!!!

Slow and steady wins the race.

Waving to Maria too!!!

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

Lotus — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:09:56 GMT

On 6/1/2014 happy housewife said:
Why do you all think that a person's value (or how they are "defined" ) has anything at all to do with physical appearance? How very shallow!

ALL 4 of us? And why are you putting words in our mouths.

I believe it was the young lady who temporarily allowed someone to define her. Obviously, she didn't believe it and did something about it. She got healthy.

Is there something wrong with that?

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

chrystaltree — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:13:51 GMT

She's lovely because she skinny....? I'm guessing she was pretty Chechen she was hesvy. I guess I missed the inspirational part? She a silly beauty contest contestant, she didn't discover a cure for cancer.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

minkbunny — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:15:31 GMT

Hmm, I sense some tension here when people should be happy that this young woman did what she felt was best for her life. If one reads the article, the bolded words, SHE wanted to change how she was defined.

Not any of us posters here.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

chrystaltree — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:20:19 GMT

On 6/1/2014 happy housewife said:
Why do you all think that a person's value (or how they are "defined" ) has anything at all to do with physical appearance? How very shallow!

It's very sad, isn't it? Disheartening . As if losing a bunch of dress sizes changes a person, make a woman "better", "smarter", "prettier". She's the same young woman she always was, she's just smaller. Take it from someone who weighs 100lbs less than she did 20 years ago.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

Lotus — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:25:26 GMT

On 6/1/2014 chrystaltree said:
She's lovely because she skinny....? I'm guessing she was pretty Chechen she was hesvy. I guess I missed the inspirational part? She a silly beauty contest contestant, she didn't discover a cure for cancer.

No one here said she was lovely because she is skinny. Are you reading everyone's posts in full?

This is what the poster said about being lovely.....no where do I see her say it's because she is skinny. Did you read the part that says "she transformed her spirit"?

imaclotheshog said:

"Wow. I saw her doing an interview on tv and was so impressed with her. what a lovely young woman. It is inspiring. But more than her body transformation, she transformed her spirit!"

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

sidsmom — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:29:58 GMT

Yes, it's wonderful that she has lost the weight that was holding her back. At 22-23 yrs old, hopefully she has gained the insight to make this weight loss permanent. Being in the public eye is a good motivator....even her website says she wants to be the next personal trainer on "The Biggest Loser". Hummm.

As for being 'inspired'? I'm 54...not so much inspired. Even SHE has forced me to think that. On her website, you can book her as a motivational speaker...but, HER words, "inspiring 5 year olds to 55 year olds". Hummm. She doesn't relate to anyone over 55? But so, with the epidemic of childhood Type 2 diabetes, her message is important for kids to hear.

MISC. PROGRAM: Having a message that can inspire 5 year olds to 55 year olds, Keli has also spoken at Women's ministry events, networking conferences, and various businesses looking to boost and encouarge their team. Have her come share her story of overcoming and defying all odds, with you at your next event!

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

Lotus — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:36:06 GMT

sid...I guess when we were her age, 55 seemed like the end of the line too.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

aprilskies — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 20:49:58 GMT

That takes a lot of commitment and hard work. Good for her. And to realize this at 14 and to make that start to change her life is really amazing. The alternative would have been to be depressed and cooped up in her room, instead she took action and it paid off in spades. Hopefully, her message is an inspiration to young adults. She is beautiful.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

Junebug54 — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 21:18:24 GMT

Good for her for getting healthy but I think she may have a "" bought"" some of that new body.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

curlywhitedog — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 21:23:21 GMT

On 6/1/2014 Lotus~ said:
Wow! She looks amazing......good for her!!!

Slow and steady wins the race.

Waving to Maria too!!!

Waving back to ya my friend. Hope you have a great summer too

Maria

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

emmysmom — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 22:19:12 GMT

What a great story! She's a doll and she should feel proud of what she's accomplished. Not only does she look amazing, she saved her health!

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

fortune — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 22:38:49 GMT

On 6/1/2014 Junebug54 said:
Good for her for getting healthy but I think she may have a "" bought"" some of that new body.

It's very obvious that she's had implants. . .

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

Snowpuppy — Sun, 01 Jun 2014 23:22:31 GMT

On 6/1/2014 chrystaltree said:
On 6/1/2014 happy housewife said:
Why do you all think that a person's value (or how they are "defined" ) has anything at all to do with physical appearance? How very shallow!

It's very sad, isn't it? Disheartening . As if losing a bunch of dress sizes changes a person, make a woman "better", "smarter", "prettier". She's the same young woman she always was, she's just smaller. Take it from someone who weighs 100lbs less than she did 20 years ago.

Losing a lot of weight changed nothing except I wore a smaller size.

The phone didn't ring, Prince Charming didn't show up and I didn't get the corner office with a $1M salary. I did lose several friends.

Your weight doesn't "hold you back" You hold yourself back.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

terrier3 — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 14:51:31 GMT

On 6/1/2014 Fortune said:
On 6/1/2014 Junebug54 said:
Good for her for getting healthy but I think she may have a "" bought"" some of that new body.

It's very obvious that she's had implants. . .

Probably lipo too!

And bleached hair...and extensions...the list goes on...

I'm glad she's happy and healthier - but I'm no fan of beauty pageants.

Re: She decided to not let anybody else define her again!

violann — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 15:31:41 GMT

I have some conflicting thoughts about this young woman. I have heard and seen her interviewed and there are definitely some areas in her opinions that seem less health focused than others. In my situation, the other times in my life when I had to lose 50 or more pounds WERE hard work, but this last time has not been hard at all. Comparing myself at 21 with this young woman at 21, I would say that getting well physically gave me some important vanity dividends. Knowing that I have to eat a certain way to feel healthy and well has made the process easy. In the past, losing weight focused only on looking a certain way has made the task difficult indeed, and predictably I resumed my former negative, self destructive habits that had made me fat as soon as I reached the "magic number" that meant (to me) that I was thin. And isn't she now "defined" by a new, different, not necessarily better image? I feel concern for the stress she may start to feel. I absolutely hope I'm totally WRONG!