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These are always tear jerker’s for me!

How far people come BOTH inside and out! Christina Sweet is no exception to the rule (by far). You will read below how she ended up taking a step into Get a Grip, which is funny, but also a little embarrassing. Persistence runs in my family and maybe being proud of the people in our lives, too.

We don’t call Christina by her first name, although it is beautiful, her last name is a PERFECT fit to who she is, so SWEET! Even my hubby call’s her by that name, in his own way, and I know “Sweet” loves it. She is just the sweetest person. Her heart is a true gem! We have a lot of funny/fun memories and I wouldn’t exchange anyone of them for the world. They are priceless.

If you want to know the definition of never give up, she screams it! She has powered through so much, doesn’t complain, and has NO limits! No matter what comes her way she is determined to make it through and lift everyone else around with her in the process. I could go on for pages on the amazing individual she is, but instead I’ll let you read here story.

Here is Christina’s journey…

I come from a very close loving family. In 2010, I lost my older brother to pancreatic cancer at the age of 48. Four months later, I lost my mother to pneumonia caused by a broken heart.

At that time, I weighed 235 lbs and wore a size 22. I was a depression eater and surrounded by people who were not a good influence on me. My life was a dark place. I had started going to a gym, so I could lose weight. I worked hard, was paying a lot of money with very little results, but I was doing something.

There was a man who would see me and say “You need to go see my daughter. She’s a great coach, a nutrition specialist and I know she can help you.” I saw this man every day and every day he asked me to go see his daughter.

Finally, in 2011, a year later I went to see his daughter, Carrie Kukuda. The day I met with Carrie, was the last day I went to the other gym. After that meeting, I decided I would surround myself with better people and change my life.

I started her fitness boot camp the next day. I came into the session and was the largest, overweight, out-of-shape person in the room. Yep, I wanted to leave really bad, but there were 2 ladies who moved aside, so I could have a spot to work out. They didn’t talk to me as they were chatting away with each other while kicking butt at the workouts. I decided, I was going to work out next to them and challenge myself from that moment on. Soon the two, Kim Fish and Robin Weilant, were giving me words of encouragement and the sun was starting to shine a little. They had no idea how heartbroken I felt inside and how saddened I was with my life. They had no idea their little pats on my back made my day and kept me coming back for more.

I remember the day I finally made it around the building running without stopping. I came around the last turn and Carrie had everyone from that class outside cheering me on. It was a priceless moment in my life and I knew my mother was shining down on me. I found the people I needed to be surrounded by. It was a turning moment for me.

I decided to come out of my comfort zone and mingle some. I asked Michele Musto to teach me to run and soon did my first 5K at the annual GAG Turkey Trot. I came home with my first 5K medal that Michele Musto gave me. It was a day to be thankful and my family was very proud. Three months later, I did my first half marathon, with the help of Jen Biles, at a place that was nothing but a terrible memory for me, Gasparilla. Now, its one of my favorite events and time of the year.

I then did my fist triathlon, thanks to Carrie’s triathlon training program, which led me to do a half Ironman and a full Ironman. While I got pulled from the 2 Ironman races; I kept running forward and completed my first marathon. I will go back in 2018 and get my Ironman 70.3 medal along with a few others.

Not to leave out that I participated in 2 Ragnar Road Races with our Get a Grip family.

Last week, I weighed in at 155 and I have 10 more pounds to reach my goal weight of 145.

I want to thank all of you for the support you give to me and to each other, so we can all feel like wonderful people inside and out. I want to thank Carrie’s dad for his persistence to have me meet with her. I want to thank Carrie for not making me feel less than the person I was when I walked into her gym and for all the help leaving 80lbs and a whole lot of darkness in the past. Like I told Amy Parker last week on our run, “Everyday I wake up, I feel so blessed and so loved. I am surround by the best people in my life than ever before.”

I love my journey and it just keeps getting better. Gods work is great.

#faith #faithagain #determination #ican #ripkf

Me again (Carrie)…

Lastly, she never stopped going after her goals and through the process (triathlons, ironman, ragnars, marathon, and etc) she found her physical abilities she didn’t know she had.

She reminds us to never view the process to your big goal (weight loss originally) as the worst part, but as the best part of the journey (looked at all she achieved).

Christina sweet - Get a Grip

We love our “Sweet” and we’re excited to see what she accomplishes next!