For the first time in her adult life, Kim Smith bought a size 2 dress and she couldn’t be happier.
“It’s blue with pink polka-dots,” says the 34-year-old school counselor.
Two years ago, Smith began a journey of weight loss. And in less than a year, she shed 76 pounds.
Now on any given Saturday, Smith can be found in a high-energy cardio kick-boxing class at the BKM Fitness Boot Camp in Jamestown Mall, where her transformation began.
Hundreds of air-punches and leg-lifts later, Smith is ready to take off in a city-wide fitness challenge May 19, launched by BKM and her church, the Christ Deliverance Ministry (CDM).
“Disease due to obesity is so prevalent,” says CDM Co-Pastor Cynthia Ringo. “It’s a problem in my congregation and across St. Louis. But through exercise and healthy eating, we are seeing a change. People are coming off their blood pressure medication and decreasing their insulin pills.”
More than 100 people have registered for the day-long fitness challenge which begins with a $500-cash-prize 3K race, then dives into a live boot camp session with Briant K. Mitchell, founder of BKM.
“You’ve never seen a boot camp like this before,” says Mitchell, who combines cardio with nutrition counseling and weight training.
After the race and boot camp, Shawn Stevenson, author of The Key to Quantum Health, will lead a seminar on healthy eating and living.
“What helps move people into a long-term health experience is to make pleasure the guiding factor,” Stevenson says. “Making something fun and doable is important.”
Thus far, 17 women of CDM who attend the BKM Fitness Boot Camp have collectively lost more than 680 pounds.
As a result, Ringo decided to replicate their success across the city and launch this city-wide challenge.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, more than 30 percent of Missourians are obese, and this costs the state millions in medical expenses. Obesity is on the rise across the nation, leaving millions of people at increased risk of chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and cancer of the kidney, prostate, breast and colon.
Ringo has made health a priority in her church and continues to probe the subject of healthy eating. One of her lectures asks, “What would Jesus eat?”
Ringo has an answer. “The Bible has clear examples,” she says. “Jesus would eat fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains, baked fish – not fried, and beef only on special occasions. And he’d drink plenty of water.”
In the past two years, it has been this combination of frank talk about eating, group exercise and spirited support that has helped many women of the church radically transform their lives.
Now Kim Smith and her mother Helen Smith, who also attends CDM and has lost 60 pounds, have broken the cycle of obesity in their family known for exquisite soul food cooking.
“I remember my mom before she passed away in 2005,” says Helen Smith. “She was on bags and bags of medication for obesity-related illnesses. Some of it helped and some of it hurt her.”
When Helen Smith saw her daughter’s transformation, she committed to exercise and cooking healthier meals. “Now, I don’t just buy food,” says Smith. “I read the labels and see what’s in the food.”
This Saturday, the mother-and-daughter team will partake in the city-wide fitness challenge.
“I remember the time when I couldn’t run. I didn’t know how,” Kim Smith says. “Now I run all the time.”
CDM presents Mind and Body 2012, a city-wide health challenge and awareness event, Saturday, May 19 at Cardinal Ritter College Prep, 701 North Spring Ave. To register, visit www.CDMmindandbody.org/.
