This guest post written by James Garrison, who lost 313 pounds on Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition.
This week’s episode of Extreme Makeover Weight Loss Edition (EMWLE) we meet Staci, a wonderful mother of two and wife to her disabled husband Rodney. Staci isn’t just your average wife and mother of two; she is also the caretaker for her husband and sole provider for her family. Imagine a life so caught up in the everyday struggles every family faces, now imagine most those struggles and then some falling squarely on the shoulders of Staci. All this led to a staggering weight of 456 pounds that, in her words, is a crushing statement to even say.
During a workout a revelation is made that somewhere in life she gave up on herself and ever being thin. In seventh grade she was already over 200 pounds and being made fun of, and by high school she was too big to even fit in a desk, which ultimately led to her dropping out. It’s during this workout that Chris Powell reiterates to her that she needs to stop playing the victim and take responsibility for her own actions.
Staci loses an astonishing 166 pounds in six months, and in an effort to show Staci just how far she has come she is challenged by Chris Powell to complete the recruit test at the Dallas Fire Department. It’s here that she finds out just how much fight she truly has in her. After suffering from heat exhaustion in “The Tower,” a six-story windowless concrete stairwell that reaches temperatures in excess of 130 degress, she almost begs to continue. She has reached a point in life where if she starts something, she’s going to finish and she does, exclaiming to the world “I’m a different person!”, and I for one believe her.
What makes EMWLE different than any other reality show is that the contestants fight this battle not in the comfort of a perfect ranch, but in the very same battle ground with the very same struggles that took them to what many consider the brink of death. They drive past temptation every day, and at some point the question is asked “do they ever give in?” It wasn’t a perfect journey, every goal wasn’t met and in the third three-month phase Staci gained four pounds. However, in the end, there was a transformation. They say at some point in a boxing match a fight breaks out, and this was that point.
After 365 days the new Staci revealed herself to the world at her finale, where she also revealed her husband Rodney had lost 100 pounds, too, fully embracing his wife’s new lifestyle. Standing there on the scale in her moment of truth Staci’s final weight is 255 pounds, having lost an astonishing 201 pounds in just one year. It’s not just weight loss with Staci, its transformation. She now knows she’s worth it, she’s worth every tear that comes out of her eyes, every muscle that hurts, every drop of sweat that drenches her shirt and she’s worth it for as long as it takes. Those were her words, and they should be yours too.
Learn more about the EMWLE diet in our interview with nutritionist Paulette Lambert.