A mighty chef: Yellowknife woman's fitness journey

When Sousanh Chanthalangsy is not cooking Thai cuisine in her One of a Thaifood truck, or preparing healthy meals to supplement the diets of fitness gurus with 'Performance Meals', she is pushing her own physical boundaries.

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In just over a year, Chanthalangsy has transformed her mind and body beyond anything she thought she was capable of.

'I feel amazing'

"I feel amazing. Like I feel honestly from when I started last year [to] now, I feel like I'm one of the strongest women in Yellowknife."

The 34-year-old says she was not always so enthusiastic about living a healthy lifestyle, and was often drained of energy after working long days. As a result, visiting the gym was the last thing on her mind.

"I was overweight. I was sluggish. I was not having fun trying to find clothes to wear. And I just thought I need a change."

That's when she decided to join Just Fitness, a local strength and conditioning fitness club in Yellowknife. She recalls her first training session with a personal trainer as a test of attrition.

"He told me to do a back squat. It was [61 kilograms], which is like okay it's not that bad. I couldn't even do one or two, and my legs were just jello," she says. "And he goes 'okay now you're gonna have to run.' I was like 'are you serious?'"

Chanthalangsy managed to survive that training session, which turned out to be a major turning point.

'It improved my life a lot'

Just one year later Chanthalangsy's squatting 61 kilograms with ease, as she primes her muscles to do more. She says she can now lift 142 kilograms on her back while squatting, adding that she'd never go back to her old ways.

"It improved my life a lot I'm not exhausted anymore. I can go on and on," she says.

With her newfound energy, Chanthalangsy joined a softball team last summer, and is playing basketball and volleyball over the winter activities she says were "unthinkable" before she started working out.

Chanthalangsy hopes that her achievements in the gym will inspire others, especially women.

"For someone who wants to start, just do it.... It's only an hour [of] your day, but that one hour can change your life."

She has one last piece of advice.

"Just make sure you step out of your comfort zone."