P.E.I. woman loses more than 100 pounds, becomes fitness instructor

Kim Beck now leads high energy fitness classes across eastern P.E.I., but what her students don't always know is the journey that brought her to the front of the class.

"Growing up, I was always a kind of overweight kid and got picked on a lot in junior high and high school for being overweight so had a lot of weight issues," explained Beck, who grew up in Charlottetown.

She married at 21, and had her first child at 22.

"At my highest weight, I reached nearly 300 pounds, I'd be winded just walking up a flight of stairs," said Beck.

"It wasn't until I actually had my second child, Alex, that I decided I had to make a change, I knew, as a mom, I had to set a better example for my kids."

She turned to the Internet and started learning about calories and healthy eating.

"I lost 20 to 30 pounds on my own, just bycleaning up my diet, and then decided to get comfortable with joining a gym," she said.

'Now my passion is trying to help people'

She found a passion for weightlifting and weight training, working with a supportive group of trainers.

"One of these trainers said you're really inspiring, you should become a trainer yourself and I thought, I could never do that," said Beck.

"I was not confident, that stems from being picked on and having low self esteem for so long."

But in 2009, she said "why not" and became certified as a personal trainer.

"Now my passion is trying to help people that are in a similar situation that I was, afraid to join the gym, feeling like you don't belong in a gym, and just helping them take that first step," she said.

No grudges

"People that haven't seen me in years, they don't recognize me," she said. She had orthodontic work done after her weight loss to fix crooked teeth from an accident as a child.

At her ten year reunion, no one recognized her, including the same people who had picked on her in junior high and high school.

"I don't hold any grudges, we're actually friends on Facebook and some of us are really great friends," said Beck.

"Some have apologized for what was said in the past, some of them I actually help with their own weight loss struggles."

While she has forgiven, Beck admits she hasn't forgotten.

"It's hard though, you know, people need to understand that their words can have lasting impacts on someone's life," she said.

"And I try to teach my kids that as well, that we're kind and we're nice to everyone."

Feeling self-love

Beck uses what she went through to help others.

"I try to share with people that everyone belongs, it doesn't matter what your fitness level," she said.

"I think back in high school, my mind set, I just wasn't there, I wasn't ready yet."

Motherhood made a difference.

"I think it took becoming a mom and feeling self-love, that I wanted better for myself," she said.

"These people that picked on me and were really cruel to me, I don't have to believe what they say about me."

Unexpected setback

It hasn't always been easy for Beck.

When she was six months pregnant with her third child in 2012, she lost her mother unexpectedly.

"I went through a period where I didn't want to move, I put on a lot of weight and grieved a lot," said Beck.

But then she got back on track.

"I realized I have three babies here and I don't want to die of a heart attack," she said.

I went right back to it, I knew what to do, back to the gym, back to eating healthy, back to teaching classes and I'm back at my goal weight."

'I can do this'

Beck now wants people to know all of her story.

"I want people to take away that if I can do it, anyone can do it," she said.

"I know that's said a lot on weight loss reality shows but truly it can be done."

Her advice is simple.

"You don't have to spend hundreds of dollars a month on a weight loss product, eat real food, eat the foods you like," said Beck.

"Find activities that you are truly passionate about and make it something you enjoy and that your whole family can get involved in."

She shares what she has learned daily with her family, and is planning to start offering a new exercise program for kids called Dancepl3y, as well as teaching Pound workouts.

And she'll keep sharing her message: "I am worthy, I am strong, I am beautiful, I am smart, I can do this."

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