Contestant: Missy Smith
Stats
Height: 5'4"
Weight: 185
Trivia
Biggest Fear: "Of course there's always a fear of failure, but I won't," says Missy. "I'm from a very competitive family and Tonya's competitive too. And with that cancer history in my family, I've just got to make changes."
Biggest Goal: Missy works in the office of a local elementary school. She says, "I'm in the eyes of hundreds of children Monday through Friday. I want to set an example for those 580-plus children."
A little more than eight years ago, 5-foot-4-inch Missy Smith weighed 130 pounds. But when her mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, her world started to shift — as did her own health.
Soon after the cancer diagnosis, her mom also had a stroke. Only days after that, Missy started noticing some severe problems with her vision and received her own diagnosis.
Missy has multiple sclerosis.
For the past eight years, Missy and her siblings have been serving as caretaker for her mother through various bouts with cancer. Missy has also been dealing with her own disease, though she learned ways to avoid triggering its symptoms. Her own health and fitness got pushed to the backburner.
But right before Missy's mother passed away last spring, Missy said her mother looked at her children and said, "You all have to take care of yourselves."
"And a promise is a promise," says Missy.
Tonya Martin, owner of B.U.S.Y. Bodies on Patten Parkway, says she immediately saw the potential in Missy and she wanted her as her teammate for the challenge. "She was sitting there telling me her story, and I thought, 'I love you! I want you!'" laughs Tonya. "I knew she fit my business. We target women just like Missy."
Tonya explains that in the developmental phase of her business, her idea of the perfect clients were women 35 or older, who spent the majority of their lives taking care of others. "Missy is at the point in her life when she knows she has to do something, but she doesn't know what to do. I created this place for her."
Missy will start with a diet cleanse, says Tonya, and she will join a class of other women who are ready to embrace her. "We're going to be getting to the root of what she's dealing with emotionally," adds Tonya. "I don't want to give her a quick fix. We're talking about lifestyle changes ... and she's not in this alone."
