Before Boston University graduate Molly Kelly took up the sport of powerlifting in school, she was always concerned with being the smallest version of herself. "I struggled really badly with disordered eating for a long time when I was younger," the 22-year-old tells PEOPLE. "I always wanted to be smaller. I was always obsessed with being thin and so I always tried to eat less and run more – anything I could do to take up less space." But learning to master weight-lifting moves like the bench press, squat and dead lift helped the Connecticut native accept her body and its potential.