A WOMBWELL woman who has started competing in body building competitions after losing more than 17 stone since 2018 is hoping to be an inspiration to others.
Krystina Jamieson, 40, says she was always a confident woman and never had any issue putting on a bikini despite her weight.
At her heaviest she weighed 24-and-a-half stone - and it was while she was on holiday in 2018 that she says she decided to lose the weight.
She told the Chronicle: “I always had a lot of confidence and it didn’t bother me.
“But in 2018 when the extender belt didn’t fit I just decided that enough was enough.
“They always say that you hit a low and that was my low.
“I knew that I had to lose the weight.”
Krystina then went on a weight-loss mission as she wanted to have a baby through IVF but was told her BMI was too high.
Thankfully she managed to lose the weight before Covid and now has a five-year-old son.
And then started her next mission.
“I then started to lose the baby weight,” she added.
“I’d lost a lot and then last year I decided I wanted to lose the rest of the weight.
“In total I’ve lost about 250 pounds.
“I had a lot of excess skin and that’s been removed in stages from my body, thighs, arms, tummy and bum.”
But losing the weight wasn’t the end of Krystina’s journey and she’s now turned to bodybuilding - and she’s already showing her class.
She said: “I did one bikini show and then I ended up going into the athletic shows.
“I’ve qualified for two British finals.
“I did my first show in March this year and I’ve done nine more since - I’ve just got the bug for it.
“I’ve been to Birmingham, Leicester, Manchester - absolutely everywhere.”
But despite competing in IBFA, NAVA and BPA competitions - Krystina says it’s not about winning.
And instead she’s wanting to show others who were in her situation that they can do the same if they put their mind to it.
“At first I was worried that I would get judged because of my scars,” she added.
“But it’s not like that.
“And it’s never been about winning for me.
“Just being able to get on the stage and hopefully inspire people is what I want to do.
“People don’t believe me when I tell them what I weighed.
“I’m no different to anyone else - anyone can do it.
“I just want other people to be inspired to do what I have.”
Krystina’s next competition is the IBFA A1 Classic show which is set to take place in Worksop on August 10.
