By Chris Yow
Editor
TRUSSVILLE — One year ago, Trussville resident Candice McCool was flat on her back. She was suffering from a broken back in three places, and couldn’t move without assistance. For someone who has spent her entire life in top physical fitness shape, the mental devastation was undeniable.
“You can imagine someone who goes from doing CrossFit and Zumba — I owned my own gym when I was 23 years old — fitness has been an integral part of my life, and I couldn’t move. It was a huge whammy to something that was my life,” McCool said.
That was the first time she realized that her emotional reaction would be what set her apart from others who could not come back from such an injury.
“I had to dig deep and realize that something I couldn’t control was affecting my health. I had to focus on the things I could control, which is the way I reacted to the situation. I think how we react is so very important,” she said. “I’m an ER nurse, and I see people come in all the time who have things happen to them, and it’s the way they react that dictates the course of their life.”
Because of that experience, McCool developed a program she entitled “Move Beyond”. The program combines physical fitness and nutrition and emotional well-being all rolled into one. she developed the program just with the tragedies she’s gone through in her life.
“After dealing with whatever set back is put before you emotionally, I then I focus on nutrition because when you put good things into your body, it’s going to operate more efficiently. Then you’ll want to get out and get moving and do things that gets your endorphins moving,” she said.
The “Move Beyond” platform has taken McCool to another level, and McCool will compete for the title of Mrs. USA Petite 2015 on Oct. 19, in Clearwater, Florida at the Largo Cultural Arts Theater. McCool is the reigning Mrs. Alabama USA Petite and will share the stage with other married women from across the nation.
The women compete in three categories: evening wear, fashion wear and interview.
There’s several different pageant systems with many different criteria. Mrs. USA Petite means contestants must be smaller than 5-foot-6 to compete.
“When you look at the televised pageant systems, the medium height is usually 5-foot-7. Someone who is my height — 5-foot-1 — sometimes we don’t get the airtime or the competitive edge,” McCool said. “Some systems want someone who is already model-ready. This system focuses more on your community service and how you’re making a difference in the world.”
She is as a dance fitness instructor at 24e Fitness in Trussville has a background in dance choreography and owns a broadcast journalism degree from Troy University. She also uses her online video series entitled “Cooking with Candice – Nutrition for a Healthier Soul” to share a message of hope with others.
“We’re in the editing phase of production and we’ll be getting that out soon on my YouTube channel,” she said. “This is kind of my missionary work. I’m not a dietician or anything like that. I’m a registered nurse, so I do have some knowledge of nutrition, but the focus is not so much on the food, but the inspirational messages that I provide with the food. I want people to be able to have something quick and easy to cook with a little motivation in there.”
She also volunteers with her miniature dachshund for Hand in Paw, animal assisted therapy, to bring joy and happiness to people going through traumatic life events.
In 2009, McCool was named Ms. Alabama United States and placed in the top six at the national competition held in Las Vegas. This time, however, she is more focused on getting her message out.