Kelly Gibson: Owner at Kelly Athletics LLC

About Me: From Childhood to Career

When I was a little girl, I would spend most of my free time outdoors, from sledding down the winter hills in our snowy backyard to running through the sprinklers in the summer. I grew up in the 4 seasons of Pennsylvania and my favorite childhood memories include playing softball and basketball, then achieving “all-star” status and athletic awards.

I dreamed of becoming a professional athlete and I continued my joys of playing softball from elementary school all through college. Over the years, I tried basketball, cross country, snowboarding, and anything else that got me moving! For me, exercise was fun and sports had a positive impact on my life as a kid and teen. Then, something shifted.

Once I reached adulthood, I started to struggle with my weight. In 2005, I turned 18 and started taking on unhealthy drinking and eating habits. I gained 25 pounds, and couldn’t keep it off.  I tried restrictive diets, which led me to binge eating and yo-yo dieting. Ultimately, I created a vicious cycle that was unhealthy for my body.  My weight would go up and down, and I couldn’t stay consistent.  I gained weight any time I was in the “off season” for softball. Stress made it even more difficult to exercise and eat healthy.

By 2007, I finished collegiate sports and got wrapped into my studies so much that I rarely made time to exercise. I always dreamed of finding a cure for human disease, which is why I studied biological engineering in college.  Little did I know, diet and exercise are the leading cause of most chronic diseases in the United States! Looking back, I would have been better of studying nutrition and kinesiology in college.

In 2010, I graduated from Penn State University and met my husband shortly after. In 2011, we were expecting our first son and I started to get very concerned about my health.  I was gaining weight too rapidly, and needed to figure out how to get it under control. After doing some research, I quickly transitioned to a plant-based (vegan) diet and started a workout program in hopes of losing weight in a healthy way. Once my son Vincent was born, it became a priority for me to stick to a workout program to get rid of my excess baby weight.  I lost weight very quickly with my newfound knowledge of diet & nutrition, and that led me to the decision of becoming a Personal Trainer & Nutrition Coach!  I wanted to teach others how to do what I did.

Gaining Pregnancy Weight is Just no Fun!! I gained over 50 POUNDS during my first pregnancy in 2011. By that point, I was ready to commit to my health and get the body I always wanted. transitioned to eating a plant based diet for weight loss after I took several months to study nutrition on my own.  It became apparent that the most successful weight loss diets require eating less meat, less dairy products, and less cholesterol.

Dietary cholesterol is only present in animal-based foods, and I wasn’t interested in having any foods in my diet that could hold me back from my goal. I wanted to focus on eating the highest quality foods for weight loss, and avoid the lower quality foods for weight gain.  At this point, it was pretty clear to me what I needed to do to get fit and healthy, go vegan!

Like many of you, I got tired of the misinformation shared on the internet, the calorie restriction diets, and getting nutrition advice from bloggers and sales reps (especially those who have no credentials to make health claims.)  Health was also very important to me, as I wanted to stay healthy for my newborn son and didn’t want to rely on supplements or diet pills. I learned about plant-based diets from a variety of reputable doctors such as Dr Barnard, Dr Gregor, and Dr. Campbell.

I also read numerous nutrition books and watched educational videos such as “Forks over Knives” and “Food Inc”. I saw plenty of video footage of how animals are raised for food and how food is made in factories, this includes the processing of meat, cheese, butter, poultry, honey, and more.  After becoming educated, it was easy to transition to veganism as my new lifestyle of health, compassion, and fitness. A whole foods plant-based diet helped me lose weight and feel great! I’ve never been healthier. Starting in January 2012, I spent most of my free time learning new vegan recipes, reading food labels to find vegan products, and learning about fitness and nutrition.

During this transition I lost 75 pounds in 10 months, then started my business in September 2012. With Kelly Athletics, I was finally able to help other women lose weight like I did! After a year of maintaining my weight loss, I was featured in many places like the local news and magazines. I was so thrilled to share my story with millions of viewers. Since I have a long history as an athlete, I love doing athletic workouts that mimic sports training. I like to incorporate sports performance exercises into my clients’ fitness programs to make working out fun and enjoyable, for athletes and former athletes! It’s a great way to help people feel young and teach them all I know as their Vegan Nutritionist and Personal Trainer.