Heavy (2011) s01e03 Episode Script
Sharon ~ Ashley
How does anyone get to this size without just being so out of control? She's worked very hard on a destructive path.
It's really hard to be my age and have a weight problem.
I don't like that feeling of being hungry.
Gee, I want a steak.
She could end up being bedridden and not even be 45.
It's scary to think of what would happen if she keeps continuing on the path that she is.
Struggling with our own grief.
A parent should never lose their child.
She's very fragile.
I'd give her the least chance of success.
It scares me that, what if I fail? She has tried for so long to try to do something with her weight.
Then she gives up.
That's the last person that I thought would say something like that.
Do I feel like Sharon wants her hand held? Is that an apple pie? Where is the trash? Ugh! Yes.
She's gonna be going back into a household full of enablers.
Thank you, Danny! I don't think she's fully faced everything that's gonna need to change.
You've been drinking.
What happened to this girl that took her to this place? When I wake up in the morning, it takes me a good 30 minutes just to get my body to where it can, you know, move.
Okay.
When I come down the stairs, I'm just always so afraid I'm gonna fall.
Just embarrassing.
This is what I've allowed food to do to me.
I feel there's this big sign on me that says, "loser.
" Yeah.
How does anyone get to this size without just being so out of control? When I was younger, there were times we just didn't have any food.
I remember specifically a time when we had gone three days without eating.
I think I've carried that with me, that I just I don't like that feeling of being hungry.
Daddy's cooking us some steaks.
You did good, honey.
This looks yummy.
She's always had a problem with her weight ever since I met her.
A lot of times, I would have to step up and kind of do things with Michaela and the boys to kind of keep things going.
I tried to be there for them as much as I could, but I've been overweight their whole life.
They really haven't known me any different.
Yes! I need a shot.
So dumb.
What do you want? Starting off with a Vegas bomb.
- Vegas bombs! - Hello, ladies! It's hard.
It's really hard to be my age in the society that we live in and have a weight problem.
I got her on vodka.
I'm like, "try it.
" Vodka, pineapple, cranberry, it's my favorite.
I don't want people to see that, inside, because of my weight, that I'm weak, so I put on a front like I have no worries.
We're getting a sister shot too.
Me and my sister, you know, we'll go out to the bar, have some drinks, you know, do whatever.
Thank you, Danny! It's like a nonstop party.
That was a fun night.
We had way too many shots.
Ooh, the Singapore rice? So try that.
It's got curry in it.
I have kind of been really careless with my eating, just kind of whatever I want.
Sometimes I'm like, "why did I just eat that much? Why did I just eat this meal?" Like, I can't answer the questions of why I'm doing the things that I'm doing.
When Brian came down, I was like, "Chris, are you coming down too?" And he's like, "no.
" He's like, "you partied for two weeks straight last time.
I can't hang out with you.
" She wants to find the right man so bad.
She wants to be married.
She wants to have children.
Where she's at right now, it's just not gonna happen.
It's really hard to live with my father.
And it just It sucks.
So what's up tonight? We're gonna go out and party.
So what's the excuse for going out tonight? I like to go out and drink, dad.
It makes me happy.
Dad, I'm not doing this with you right now.
Please, stop.
It was really hard to choose between an alcoholic father and a drug addict mom.
You have been drinking.
That's my second one.
No.
My parents' divorce was really hard on me.
I try to block a lot of it out.
I lived with my mom, and she was married to a man who was very abusive.
I have five sisters and one brother.
I got more of the abuse because I spoke up.
I guess, 'cause I was the oldest, I felt like it was my responsibility.
Like, Ashley and I never get sick of each other.
No, we really don't.
Me and my sister formed more of a Bond than maybe someone else would have with their sibling because of everything we've been through.
Oh, yeah.
Those are gonna be good.
I've always wondered, you know, why we grew up during the same thing.
Why did I turn the way that I was? You know, why did I turn to food? She always says she doesn't want to waste food, so she always cleans her plate.
If I don't eat all of my food, then she's willing to eat mine.
Good stuff.
It's scary to think of what would happen if she keeps continuing on the path that she is.
So I just melt the chocolate.
This is so I can drizzle it and make it look pretty.
It is true that I eat when I grieve.
After my mom passed away, I gained 100 pounds.
But this past year just kind of turned our world upside down.
I have a 19-year-old son, Landon.
When he was 13, he was diagnosed with bipolar.
In August, he had gone to visit his brother at college.
And his brother went to work one night, and Landon found his gun, and he shot himself.
We're struggling.
We're struggling with our own grief and, you know, just trying to hold a family together after such a devastating loss.
Since my son has passed away, which is now eight months ago, I've gained 60 pounds.
I know it's been two years since I've even been to the doctor.
You can step up.
With the death of your son, that had to have been a terrible time for you.
And it's quite common for depression to make it even harder for you to get moving in the right direction.
Sharon, she's a little older than some of the other patients.
Her body mass index is a little higher to start with.
At this point, she's very fragile.
Your body mass index is 58.
Normal is 20 to 25.
It's a dangerous problem.
It's accumulative risk.
Getting control of it as early as possible is important.
I think she's in big trouble.
I'd give her the least chance of success.
You know, he just always wanted to see me get healthy.
So I want to make sure that I do that for my other children.
I need to be there for them.
Miss Ashley Greely? Let me get your weight real quick.
Big breath in and out for me.
Ashley, she has a family history.
Her father has had a heart attack two or three times, so that's a pretty significant risk factor in and of itself.
Your weight, your obesity, and your family history are two factors for developing heart disease or having a stroke.
The most concerning thing, of course, is her other behaviors.
She may have a tough time staying the course.
The outlook where you're young, and life is fun, and don't worry about tomorrow, that's gonna hurt you.
- Thank you very much.
- Nice to meet you.
Never, like, sat down and had somebody tell me that before.
It's it's my life.
It's the only body I have, and I'm treating it like crap.
I don't want to be a spectator anymore.
I'm gonna miss you a lot.
My daughter is only ten years old.
I want to be here when she graduates from High School.
I want to be there when she gets married.
This is the lowest I've ever felt in my life.
My father's an alcoholic.
I feel like I'm turning into an alcoholic.
If I keep going down the way I'm going, there's gonna be a lot of health problems for me, and I don't know where that might lead to.
I want to be able to enjoy my family.
Nothing like losing your child will make you realize that life is too short.
- I love you.
- I love you.
I have to get control of my life before it's too late.
I have to.
Love you! I feel that I'm just driving into a lot of unknown, but this will be a new beginning.
This is the first day of a major start of my life.
And I'm just I'm ready for it.
Well, this will be your room.
Thank you.
Oh, my gosh.
Look at how beautiful it is.
Hi! Hi, I'm Britny.
Hi, Britny.
I'm Sharon.
Hi.
How are you? I'm Britny.
Britny, nice to meet you.
I'm Ashley.
You can never fully prepare yourself for all these life changes you're gonna have to make.
If it were that easy, maybe some of them would have already done it.
Did you bring any food, any extra snacks and things that you thought you might need that we need to take out? Right now, there's a lot of distractions in their life.
At this facility, we're gonna eliminate that.
They're gonna have to make a complete lifestyle change.
- Phone turned off? - Yes, turned off.
Wallet.
It's gonna be quiet today, but stay excited.
- Okay, bye.
- All right.
I don't think they have any idea what really is to come.
Thank you.
All right.
Think of your worst fears.
That's what they're gonna have to overcome day one.
She was nice.
Okay, that's good.
You ready to see David and britny? We got to get all pumped up for them.
I know.
Good to see you! The individuals in the program are paired up to give them the opportunity to work with someone else that's going through the same thing they're going through.
We're gonna go fantastic.
There you go.
That's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna do fantastic.
Let's get this party started.
All right! I like it.
Young, fresh.
See? Gonna keep you lively.
So high knees moving through the water whether you're jogging, walking.
Honestly, Sharon, I think she's nervous about a lot of things.
Are you kicking your Booty? I'm trying.
Just line your knees up.
Sharon can't even walk up a flight of stairs without being completely exhausted.
All right, get all the way to the end.
Get all the way to the end.
My struggle with Sharon is gonna be to move her body.
All right, so pull that leg to the ground.
The scariest part, to me, about making this commitment really wasn't about the food.
You either got to go up more, or you got to go forward more.
I've allowed myself to be very sedentary.
Kick! Big splashes, big splashes! Kick, kick, kick, kick! I thought, "how in the world "am I ever gonna be able to do the exercises that the trainers are gonna require?" Good, try not to drop your arms.
Nice.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
I'll take that.
16.
Come on.
17.
Let's go.
You're gonna feel lots of core, okay? So here we go.
So you got a minute here, and go.
Ashley is a very hard worker.
We're not locking out.
So beautiful.
Physically, I am wondering what happened to this girl.
Push, feel those lats in the back, like when you were swimming, same muscles working there.
Ashley, because of her youth, she pushes.
All right, ten, nine, eight.
But you know what? She has her own problems.
- You feel nauseous? - Mm-hmm.
I was very sick.
When I got up this morning, I felt very bad.
My stomach hurt.
I threw up a little bit.
I was shaky.
I did drink a lot.
You know, if I'm being completely honest, the alcohol part is not 100% out of me yet.
I talked to britny, and I mentioned the alcohol.
I went out five nights a week and drink.
You go out five nights a week? How long has that been going on? At least a year.
And I smoked too.
Ashley is very open about alcohol, her lifestyle, partying like a rock star.
I think that's probably my biggest challenge, is the not drinking.
Very excited that she would just speak it out loud, so that now maybe we can get it out there and work through it.
Go, baby, go, baby, go! Come on, Ash, come on! The first few days were really rough.
Pull that water.
Come on, all the way to the end.
All the way to the end.
The working out was like a complete body shock.
You are sore.
There you go.
Go, go.
Seven.
- Yes.
- Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
You're almost there.
Come on.
Don't stop.
Don't give up on me.
You know, the more that we're able to do in our exercises, then they move it up a notch, and then your body is being pushed a little bit more.
Fssh! Come on! One, come on.
It's starting to sink in that it's reality.
Three, two.
Oh, yeah, one.
Don't stop on me now.
Sharon has a lot of problems.
Step.
There you go.
Like you're going through that water in the pool.
Her son committed suicide, and she beats herself up about it.
Here you go.
Here you go.
The thing that I still struggle with the most is the negative talk in my head.
You know, I got a lot more to work on than just, you know, my body.
Just Sharon! Here we go, baby.
Here we go.
Brush those inner thighs.
Brush, brush, brush.
It is really tough.
And I'm in suspense a little bit on what's, you know, gonna happen, but I've never, ever had so much determination in my life, ever.
Ever.
Ashley, weight was 296.
Go ahead and step on the scale.
Today, your weight is 290 pounds.
- Oh, thank you! - I'm so proud of you.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Thank you.
This is what you're doing this for.
Come on up.
354.
8.
- Dang, mama! Whoo-hoo! You can't slow down.
You can't slow down.
I feel very empowered, and we definitely need moral support to get through the workout sessions.
Let's go on a walk or something.
Go on a walk? Yeah.
My buddy, Ashley, is just full of energy.
She's very positive.
We are gonna be looking great by the time we go home.
We clicked right away and a really good Bond in the beginning.
- Did you put your sunscreen on? - No.
I wonder how many calories that burns.
We have a lot of heart-to-heart talks.
So what's partying gonna look like now? Partying without drinking? You can do that, Ashley.
I know I can.
I am looking at this time here as a time to heal.
I've got a lot of healing to do.
What I want you to do is just tell me more about yourself.
Then we'll go from there.
Okay.
Eight months ago, Landon, he chose to take his own life.
As a mother, what did that do to you? Shook me to the core, because I don't know how to process this.
What did your son Landon tell you to do? He said, more than anything, he wants me to be healthy.
What a great memorial for your son.
I will tell you that when he said that, it filled me with a lot of fear.
Okay, so now this foot has got to come over.
Can you do it? This might be high.
If I'm going to do something to honor my son's life, that something I need to do with perfection.
There you go.
Now your foot has got to go in there.
I can't see it.
Okay, got your left foot in there? Losing weight is the hardest thing for me, and it felt like a lot of pressure.
Can you do it? If she doesn't start to give herself some more credit and some more love, she is going to fail.
Oh, you were almost there.
I just love him, and I miss him, and I just want to make him proud.
Let's go ahead and come off this thing.
We'll get here one day, okay? And it just scares me.
It scares me that, what if I fail? So it's four laps, whether you are walking, race walking, running, but it's a race against you.
Go.
I think a little bit of my competitive side has come out.
Nice, Ash! It's not a competition, but you push yourself.
Push it! I can push Ashley as hard as I want, and she won't back down to a challenge.
I mean, she is all in.
One, two.
You're almost there.
Three.
Two, one, go.
Go, go, go! Oh, yeah! Did I think that I could swim 60 laps before? No.
Not a chance.
Good takedown, Ash.
When we're in the workout, she's just doing circles around me.
Yes, walk it off, baby.
I push her, and she pushes me.
Come on, Sharon.
Sharon and Ashley are putting in a lot of extra effort.
They are putting in more classes and more time.
It's very impressive.
You're almost there! 13:25! Good job.
Stand up.
Hands on the head.
Breathe.
Your body is just so forgiving of the abuse that it takes.
Good job, Sharon! I feel so much stronger.
Push away with your chest.
I'm kind of getting confidence, like, okay, if you're giving this to me to do, then that means I can do it.
AndAhh.
It's very empowering.
Good job, Sharon.
Good job.
Let's see where you are today.
343.
8! All right! Yeah! Let's go ahead and have you come step right over here for me.
Ashley, your weight is now 281.
4.
That's crazy.
The things that I can already do this far along like, bring me more.
What's what's next? Good job.
You're amazing.
Hello? Hey.
Hi! What are you doing? Oh, working.
What are you doing? Do you have shin splints? Yes, they hurt really bad.
My sister is my biggest support system.
She and I get through everything together.
What did she say? My stepmom, she had a lot of rude things to say about me: That I'm not gonna make it, that I can't do this.
I'm trying not to cry.
So you don't cry, and I will try not to cry.
Okay.
I love you.
I love you too.
Bye.
You got it, baby.
You got it.
Go.
- I can't do this.
- You are doing it.
You just can't do it at the speed you were doing the other stuff.
We're almost done, okay? And fast.
My workout was a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be today.
What is it? Talk to me.
Tell me something.
I don't know.
I just don't feel like I'm doing good enough.
Like, my body is shaking.
My muscles hurt.
Don't stop! Don't stop! Five seconds! Three, two you got it, baby, awesome.
No, give me one.
You owe me one good one.
I think today was really because, my stepmom, she thinks that I'm gonna come home, and then I'm gonna fail.
That's the last person that I thought would say something like that.
Whoo! It's a really tall step.
I know.
Okay.
I think the food that I buy is healthy.
I just think the way I prepare it is unhealthy.
I am really looking forward to being able to go home and make some of my own food choices.
I think that's gonna be empowering, and that's gonna be part of me learning how to make this a forever change.
Well, welcome to the grocery store.
So I'm gonna show you how you can shop healthy and on a budget.
We're also gonna look at some of the common food pitfalls.
My role is to help them learn about proper nutrition, learn how to make good decisions, and know how to navigate the food they encounter in the world.
So here's a reduced fat cheddar.
Let's get a normal cheddar.
Five grams of fat versus - Nine.
- Nine grams.
So twice as much fat almost.
Twice as much flavor.
So with Sharon, she seemed to think that there weren't that many bad things she was doing.
What do you normally put on it? Butter and cinnamon and sugar and marshmallows.
Okay.
She did fess up to, well, you know, "I feel like I have to add a lot of butter to these foods," because that somehow translates into love for her family and friends.
This would probably be two servings.
- Two servings? - Yeah.
Out of all of the tools that have been given to us, the most difficult to really grasp has been food portion.
The recommended serving size for a potato is about the size of a computer mouse.
So this is a real serving of potatoes.
Sharon, you look so disappointed.
In a sense, I feel like I am like the alcoholic.
I don't see anybody eating potatoes that small.
I feel like I'm gonna have to be very stringent on what I allow into my body.
"This week, I dedicate to my son Landon.
"Saturday will be his first birthday I will celebrate without him here.
" I decided to dedicate this week to Landon because of his birthday and commit this journey that I'm making to getting healthy to him.
Seven, six.
That was very scary to me.
I didn't want anything attached to Landon's memorial being a failure.
Open your eyes for me.
Open your eyes for me.
Your abs are in, like you're waiting for a punch.
It's taken me a few weeks to feel strong enough to say, "you know what? I can do this.
" I'm really gonna make it to the end.
Pull that water.
Pull, pull, pull, pull.
This week has been her best week.
She pushed herself through tears and sweat, everything.
And she didn't stop.
Get it, mama, get it.
Two "I pray for discipline, "perseverance, grace, "and strength to stay strong in this journey, "so I can make you proud.
You're forever in my heart.
Mom.
" Okay, so let's see.
You're going home at 336.
2.
30 pounds in 26 days? Whoo! Landon's biggest wish for me was to get healthy.
You know, I wish that I could have done it while he was still here.
This is just the beginning.
It's been a good week.
I really do miss him.
Okay, sweetie.
You are 274.
8.
Total for the month, you have lost 22.
2 pounds.
22! So much has happened in one, like, short amount of time.
What's gonna happen in the next five months and then for the rest of my life? I'm really excited.
No tears.
You promised.
When did I promise? Our job was to put tools in the tool belt but send them home to use them themselves.
There's a reset period for identifying what the problems are for a month, and then the challenges are at home.
The thing that scares me the most about going home is just failure.
The ultimate failure for me would be giving up.
Sharon has been on a journey.
She's going home, and she's gonna face some obstacles.
Mama's home! Her family wants to eat the way they want to eat, the way they've been eating.
It's gonna be a hard task.
While I've been here, I've been working really hard to get a good head start.
And when I go home, it sucks to go back into your old habitat, and a lot of things will be the same.
She's still gonna struggle with alcohol and food.
I don't think she's fully faced everything that's gonna need to change.
If my dad is drunk, I'm gonna be pissed, because I asked him specifically, "do not drink for this thing, please.
" I'm very antsy right now to get home.
If my dad is drunk, I'm gonna be pissed, because I asked him specifically, "do not drink for this thing.
" Home.
I had a whole month of detox, cleaning out, no drinking, no smoking, no eating bad food.
And then I come home, and my dad is still drinking.
He was already drunk.
I was slowly killing myself by eating this food and putting this stuff inside my body.
Ashley's gonna be going back into a household full of enablers.
Hopefully, you know, she doesn't get put into the same situation that she came out of.
The first week, I went through a little bit of an alcohol detox.
All my friends were there.
I made a statement that I love them, but I have to have more of a relationship than just a drinking relationship with them.
Please, do not ask me to come out and drink.
If you drink around me right now, I can tell you, I'm not strong enough yet.
I want to wait until this is over.
Sharon, how are you? - I'm good.
- Come on in.
This is gonna be your gym from now on.
Okay.
Give me two more good ones.
Ready? Hold it, hold it.
It's kind of weird getting back into life.
You know, 'cause there's too much to do.
My son needs things for school, and my husband is like, "I've been waiting for you to get home so you could take care of it.
" Get out there.
One more.
One more good one.
One more good one.
It's like, oh, yeah, I have responsibilities.
Have fun at the grocery store.
Okay.
Do you like tropical? - Get the sugar-free, though, honey.
I was just thinking, "wow, this is a lot to have to do right when you get home.
" 140 calories.
Like, I already know what my favorite things are, and now it's like everything is new, and everything is different.
Okay.
Here's the scary aisle.
This has 10 more calories.
I don't need that much popcorn, mom.
Some of the things that I thought was healthy before wasn't really so healthy.
There's just there's too many choices and too many unknowns.
Thank you.
I'm exhausted.
Now I have to go work out again.
Will you go get the other part of the computer? - Mm-hmm.
- Please.
The computer part of the computer? Yeah.
I have been independent, except for, I have had a weakness, and that's my dad.
He's still eating the bad foods, still drinking.
You know, I have to make a point to him that I'm serious.
If I stay here, I feel like I'm gonna sink back down into it.
Ashley has made very mature strives as far as who she's gonna accept in her life for what she needs to happen.
My friends, they still went off and drank and stuff, and it's like, they didn't want to hang out with me because I wasn't drinking, and when something is toxic like that, you just need to get away from it.
Okay.
260! - 260.
- 260! I've come way too far to turn around and fall back to that place that I was unhappy.
Tight, tight, tight.
Make it burn.
My very first week home, I lost over 8 pounds.
- You ready? - Okay.
326.
8.
Not enough.
But then the next week, I lost 1 pound.
You know, that was discouraging.
You're okay, seriously.
You're gonna lose weight.
I promise.
- Okay.
- Okay? The most frustrating thing during this process has been, you've worked hard, and the scale doesn't reflect the numbers that you're wanting.
It's very discouraging.
You know, right now, it's really hard, especially after going into a controlled environment, to go home for the next five months.
I want to make sure that Sharon's staying on track.
Hi, Sharon.
Hello! How are you? Good.
How are you? Good.
Is that an apple pie? - It's got potpourri in it.
- Ohh I'm gonna check her refrigerator.
I'm gonna check her pantry.
And I'm gonna make sure everything is on the up and up.
We can throw those away.
Where's that trash? Ugh! You know, I think just because I've had so many years of dieting experience, that, you know, "I know everything.
" Obviously, that didn't work so well in the past.
It was nice to see you again.
Nice to see you too.
I'm really trying to draw on the expertise and knowledge of the people that are surrounding me right now.
All the way up.
- Do a push-up.
Row with the right arm.
I work out every day.
Get up at 6:30 in the morning with my trainer, and I'm still pushing just as hard as I was when we started.
Hey! Hey, Ashley.
- How are you? - Good, how are you? Good.
Come on in.
Ashley knows what's important.
She wants to take care of herself.
New place, huh? She's got her own place with her sister.
They control the food that's present in their house.
I brought a couple snacks, 'cause I know that's a common thing with everybody, is just finding some different ideas that are healthy.
This is a sargento string cheese.
I like this choice because it is reduced in fat and sodium.
This tastes like I'm eating normal cheese here.
It's actually really good.
Good.
Push ahead.
Ashley can make this happen.
Do I think she's gonna struggle with a lot of things that she says she's done with, she's over with? Yes.
- I'm just gonna take it step-by-step right now, and it's only gonna get better, because I'm not stopping.
I still have more to go.
Okay, then.
Okay, this is different.
Just gonna go right, left.
Right, left.
One, one, two I've been able to do every single thing the trainers have asked me to do except for one, and that was the bicycle.
Now your foot has got to go in there.
I can't see it.
She couldn't do it recently on the bike at the gym.
You know, at her weight, she didn't think it was possible.
I get to see Sharon today.
We're gonna do something different and new for her, which is going biking.
- Hi! - Hello! What's up? How are you? Put your leg over.
There you go.
Like that.
Oh, there goes your car! - I know that it's nerve-racking, so what are you having trouble with? As determined as I was, it was a very frustrating process.
Ah! I really want to do this.
- You do? - I do.
Yes! Yes, I've been wanting to ride a bicycle.
I did it! Whoo! This isn't hard.
I feel changed from the inside out.
Oh, my gosh.
This is so fun.
I can't believe that I've come so far in such a short period of time.
You're going too slow.
This girl wants to ride.
Pull, two! There you go.
Every single day, there is a small victory.
I can just tell I have so much more stamina and mobility.
Nice big waves.
Big, big, big, big, big.
It leads me to have a lot of hope for what's to come.
Two more.
Good.
For the first time, I can honestly say, I see myself at my goal weight.
Look at that.
Yes! I'm out of those 320s.
- Want another one? - Yeah, another round.
Another one? Another round? On yours? I said I wasn't gonna get back into the bartending and waitressing, but I can't get full time right now.
No mayonnaise or anything? I haven't been able to find a job that would work with my schedule of working out and stuff and, you know, the time that I need off.
Ashley's idea for employment, I don't feel like that's a positive move for her.
She has a lot of willpower, but I don't know many people that are able to be in a drug house and be a drug addict and not do drugs.
She's putting herself back in an environment that's gonna be really challenging for her to overcome.
It's an alcoholic in a bar.
It's good money right now, and it'll help me get to where I want to be, but it's a little scary to think about being back to where I was.
- Hey! - What's your name? Ashley Greely.
There you go.
This is your chip.
Okay.
Wear it on the front.
The pins are in the bag.
Have a good time.
- Okay, thank you.
- Thank you.
We are doing a 5k.
What's up? Are you ready? I'm ready.
Ready as I'm gonna be.
I haven't ran for 20 minutes for a very long time.
Here you are.
Get set.
I spent a lot of time changing my life this past few months and getting myself into shape because this is gonna be part of my life for the rest of my life.
Ashley took it to the next level.
Once she decided to say, "hey, look, you know what? I have a drinking problem," it really did work.
Basically, I just had to tell myself, "you've come soar, Ashley.
"What are you doing? Why are you doing this? This is ridiculous.
" You know, I want to succeed.
I want to be healthy.
And bartending and waiting tables, you know, I was just like, I do not want to put myself right back in that same situation.
How are you feeling? - Tired.
- We're almost there.
Okay.
I never thought I could run 3.
1 Miles without stopping.
And I did.
I ran the whole thing.
And that right there just gave me a huge boost of motivation and self-confidence.
- Great job.
- Oh, thank you.
Great job.
All right, awesome.
Two more.
Come on, you're going for 12.
Two more.
One more.
We won't be weighing them in.
So can they make it this month really relying on the knowledge and the tools that we've given them to really test what they're made of? Ashley has been dealing with food addiction, alcoholism, enablers, but she's removed herself from these situations.
She has no excuse at all, and she is gonna have to be successful.
Three more.
Sharon, right now is a real big test for her.
Hips up, hips up.
She is not gonna move forward without being able to overcome the grief that she's dealing with.
- Nice! - Oh If I start running into too many roadblocks, I just shut down.
It's gonna be tough.
I can't.
A person can only go through so much before they break down the bad way.
This last month, it's no excuses, all choice.
Final weigh-in will be a true statement about what they've decided to do with their life.
Two, one.
Good job.
Oh, my goodness! Damn! - Hello.
- Hello! Wow.
I just had to look at you! I just had to look at you! How do you feel? Do you feel awesome? - I feel wonderful.
- Good.
I even got these jeans two weeks ago, and they're too big for me, so Ashley, this is a real moment of truth.
You started at 296.
5.
- You were heavy.
- Yeah.
You say you lost 100 pounds.
I hope so.
Yeah.
Okay.
You were originally 296.
5.
Today, you are at 205.
2.
- 91.
3 pounds! - 91.
That's good enough for me.
That's from 300 pounds.
I'm extremely happy with where I am.
I've lost almost 100 pounds.
My main motivation from the beginning was to look in the mirror and have respect for myself, and when I look in the mirror, I have respect for myself.
I want to say thank you for the opportunity to work with you.
Congratulations.
And I wish you the best of luck, Ashley.
Don't forget how strong you are and what you just did.
Thank you.
I'm just gonna continue to go to that gym, work out, eat healthy, and get to where I want to be.
Hey, Sharon.
- Hi! - Look at you.
Unbelievable! - Wow, mama! - Who are you? Oh! Ah! You're looking amazing.
You've put in the work.
No one could ever say you didn't work and bust your tail for it.
What was her first weigh-in, britny? 366.
4.
It was pretty heavy.
It was almost 400 pounds.
Sharon, I just want you to step on.
There we go.
Her weight today is 255.
6.
255.
6! 2 more pounds, 110, baby! 110! - Yes! - Yay! Where did you go? - Good-bye forever.
- Uh-oh.
Where did you go? My son has been with me every step of this journey.
I feel certain that he is looking down from heaven and just saying, "way to go, mom.
" We've added some years back.
And now I can so outrun my husband.
Yes! Yes! I feel wonderful about what I've accomplished.
But, you know, I'm not gonna stay here for very long, because Tuesday, I hit the gym with my trainer, and, you know, I've got another 100 pounds to go.
- Sharon! - Ashley! Oh, my gosh! It's so good to see you! Oh, you look so good! I'm so proud of you.
You had so many obstacles to overcome.
I had 100% faith in you.
I knew that you were gonna do this.
We both had some pretty good reasons to keep on.
- Yeah.
- And I'm not done.
And I know you're not done.
I am not done.
Let's finish this.
- So much to be happy for today.
- I know.
I am so much stronger than I was six months ago, not just physically but mentally too.
Thank you so much for inviting me here.
I'm gonna be vulnerable with you, and I pray that that opens your heart.
They are hosting a women's retreat here today.
It will be my first time to share publicly my story about Landon.
When his teacher first recommended that I have him tested for ADHD It is truly mind-blowing to realize where I started only a few months ago and where I am today.
I know that I'm never going back.
It's a very good feeling.
Your health is the best gift you can give not only to yourself but to everyone in your world around you.
I like how open it is, 'cause it's got the tv on over there, and just, you know, this is, like, really perfect.
Look at the closet! I'm ready to settle down somewhere.
Like, I'm ready to find me.
This is very good for a new chapter in my life.
I am looking for a top-to-bottom makeover.
Fun! I've dropped almost ten sizes.
Now when I go to the store, I feel I feel like a normal person.
I think I'm leaning more towards the jeans and a cute shirt or, you know, like, a nice sweater and a jacket.
The person that I was when I first got here was a very unhappy person.
I was lost.
I was upset.
I was compulsively drinking, eating whatever I wanted to.
Today I've learned to deal with things and move on without having the food and alcohol to be my drugs.
This is the one.
I have 50 more pounds to lose.
I'm not stopping, because I'm strong enough to continue to do this on my own and reach the goals that I want to reach.
We release the balloons that celebrate his life, not his death.
I put a card on the balloons with my son's picture and a little bit of how we feel about our son.
Make sure that everyone has some balloons.
I feel changed from the inside out.
Of course, that's what Landon wanted for me more than anything else.
One, two, three! Let them fly! Whoo! It's exciting to get rid of the old.
And it's gonna be exciting to bring in the new.
It's really hard to be my age and have a weight problem.
I don't like that feeling of being hungry.
Gee, I want a steak.
She could end up being bedridden and not even be 45.
It's scary to think of what would happen if she keeps continuing on the path that she is.
Struggling with our own grief.
A parent should never lose their child.
She's very fragile.
I'd give her the least chance of success.
It scares me that, what if I fail? She has tried for so long to try to do something with her weight.
Then she gives up.
That's the last person that I thought would say something like that.
Do I feel like Sharon wants her hand held? Is that an apple pie? Where is the trash? Ugh! Yes.
She's gonna be going back into a household full of enablers.
Thank you, Danny! I don't think she's fully faced everything that's gonna need to change.
You've been drinking.
What happened to this girl that took her to this place? When I wake up in the morning, it takes me a good 30 minutes just to get my body to where it can, you know, move.
Okay.
When I come down the stairs, I'm just always so afraid I'm gonna fall.
Just embarrassing.
This is what I've allowed food to do to me.
I feel there's this big sign on me that says, "loser.
" Yeah.
How does anyone get to this size without just being so out of control? When I was younger, there were times we just didn't have any food.
I remember specifically a time when we had gone three days without eating.
I think I've carried that with me, that I just I don't like that feeling of being hungry.
Daddy's cooking us some steaks.
You did good, honey.
This looks yummy.
She's always had a problem with her weight ever since I met her.
A lot of times, I would have to step up and kind of do things with Michaela and the boys to kind of keep things going.
I tried to be there for them as much as I could, but I've been overweight their whole life.
They really haven't known me any different.
Yes! I need a shot.
So dumb.
What do you want? Starting off with a Vegas bomb.
- Vegas bombs! - Hello, ladies! It's hard.
It's really hard to be my age in the society that we live in and have a weight problem.
I got her on vodka.
I'm like, "try it.
" Vodka, pineapple, cranberry, it's my favorite.
I don't want people to see that, inside, because of my weight, that I'm weak, so I put on a front like I have no worries.
We're getting a sister shot too.
Me and my sister, you know, we'll go out to the bar, have some drinks, you know, do whatever.
Thank you, Danny! It's like a nonstop party.
That was a fun night.
We had way too many shots.
Ooh, the Singapore rice? So try that.
It's got curry in it.
I have kind of been really careless with my eating, just kind of whatever I want.
Sometimes I'm like, "why did I just eat that much? Why did I just eat this meal?" Like, I can't answer the questions of why I'm doing the things that I'm doing.
When Brian came down, I was like, "Chris, are you coming down too?" And he's like, "no.
" He's like, "you partied for two weeks straight last time.
I can't hang out with you.
" She wants to find the right man so bad.
She wants to be married.
She wants to have children.
Where she's at right now, it's just not gonna happen.
It's really hard to live with my father.
And it just It sucks.
So what's up tonight? We're gonna go out and party.
So what's the excuse for going out tonight? I like to go out and drink, dad.
It makes me happy.
Dad, I'm not doing this with you right now.
Please, stop.
It was really hard to choose between an alcoholic father and a drug addict mom.
You have been drinking.
That's my second one.
No.
My parents' divorce was really hard on me.
I try to block a lot of it out.
I lived with my mom, and she was married to a man who was very abusive.
I have five sisters and one brother.
I got more of the abuse because I spoke up.
I guess, 'cause I was the oldest, I felt like it was my responsibility.
Like, Ashley and I never get sick of each other.
No, we really don't.
Me and my sister formed more of a Bond than maybe someone else would have with their sibling because of everything we've been through.
Oh, yeah.
Those are gonna be good.
I've always wondered, you know, why we grew up during the same thing.
Why did I turn the way that I was? You know, why did I turn to food? She always says she doesn't want to waste food, so she always cleans her plate.
If I don't eat all of my food, then she's willing to eat mine.
Good stuff.
It's scary to think of what would happen if she keeps continuing on the path that she is.
So I just melt the chocolate.
This is so I can drizzle it and make it look pretty.
It is true that I eat when I grieve.
After my mom passed away, I gained 100 pounds.
But this past year just kind of turned our world upside down.
I have a 19-year-old son, Landon.
When he was 13, he was diagnosed with bipolar.
In August, he had gone to visit his brother at college.
And his brother went to work one night, and Landon found his gun, and he shot himself.
We're struggling.
We're struggling with our own grief and, you know, just trying to hold a family together after such a devastating loss.
Since my son has passed away, which is now eight months ago, I've gained 60 pounds.
I know it's been two years since I've even been to the doctor.
You can step up.
With the death of your son, that had to have been a terrible time for you.
And it's quite common for depression to make it even harder for you to get moving in the right direction.
Sharon, she's a little older than some of the other patients.
Her body mass index is a little higher to start with.
At this point, she's very fragile.
Your body mass index is 58.
Normal is 20 to 25.
It's a dangerous problem.
It's accumulative risk.
Getting control of it as early as possible is important.
I think she's in big trouble.
I'd give her the least chance of success.
You know, he just always wanted to see me get healthy.
So I want to make sure that I do that for my other children.
I need to be there for them.
Miss Ashley Greely? Let me get your weight real quick.
Big breath in and out for me.
Ashley, she has a family history.
Her father has had a heart attack two or three times, so that's a pretty significant risk factor in and of itself.
Your weight, your obesity, and your family history are two factors for developing heart disease or having a stroke.
The most concerning thing, of course, is her other behaviors.
She may have a tough time staying the course.
The outlook where you're young, and life is fun, and don't worry about tomorrow, that's gonna hurt you.
- Thank you very much.
- Nice to meet you.
Never, like, sat down and had somebody tell me that before.
It's it's my life.
It's the only body I have, and I'm treating it like crap.
I don't want to be a spectator anymore.
I'm gonna miss you a lot.
My daughter is only ten years old.
I want to be here when she graduates from High School.
I want to be there when she gets married.
This is the lowest I've ever felt in my life.
My father's an alcoholic.
I feel like I'm turning into an alcoholic.
If I keep going down the way I'm going, there's gonna be a lot of health problems for me, and I don't know where that might lead to.
I want to be able to enjoy my family.
Nothing like losing your child will make you realize that life is too short.
- I love you.
- I love you.
I have to get control of my life before it's too late.
I have to.
Love you! I feel that I'm just driving into a lot of unknown, but this will be a new beginning.
This is the first day of a major start of my life.
And I'm just I'm ready for it.
Well, this will be your room.
Thank you.
Oh, my gosh.
Look at how beautiful it is.
Hi! Hi, I'm Britny.
Hi, Britny.
I'm Sharon.
Hi.
How are you? I'm Britny.
Britny, nice to meet you.
I'm Ashley.
You can never fully prepare yourself for all these life changes you're gonna have to make.
If it were that easy, maybe some of them would have already done it.
Did you bring any food, any extra snacks and things that you thought you might need that we need to take out? Right now, there's a lot of distractions in their life.
At this facility, we're gonna eliminate that.
They're gonna have to make a complete lifestyle change.
- Phone turned off? - Yes, turned off.
Wallet.
It's gonna be quiet today, but stay excited.
- Okay, bye.
- All right.
I don't think they have any idea what really is to come.
Thank you.
All right.
Think of your worst fears.
That's what they're gonna have to overcome day one.
She was nice.
Okay, that's good.
You ready to see David and britny? We got to get all pumped up for them.
I know.
Good to see you! The individuals in the program are paired up to give them the opportunity to work with someone else that's going through the same thing they're going through.
We're gonna go fantastic.
There you go.
That's what we're gonna do.
We're gonna do fantastic.
Let's get this party started.
All right! I like it.
Young, fresh.
See? Gonna keep you lively.
So high knees moving through the water whether you're jogging, walking.
Honestly, Sharon, I think she's nervous about a lot of things.
Are you kicking your Booty? I'm trying.
Just line your knees up.
Sharon can't even walk up a flight of stairs without being completely exhausted.
All right, get all the way to the end.
Get all the way to the end.
My struggle with Sharon is gonna be to move her body.
All right, so pull that leg to the ground.
The scariest part, to me, about making this commitment really wasn't about the food.
You either got to go up more, or you got to go forward more.
I've allowed myself to be very sedentary.
Kick! Big splashes, big splashes! Kick, kick, kick, kick! I thought, "how in the world "am I ever gonna be able to do the exercises that the trainers are gonna require?" Good, try not to drop your arms.
Nice.
Beautiful.
Beautiful.
I'll take that.
16.
Come on.
17.
Let's go.
You're gonna feel lots of core, okay? So here we go.
So you got a minute here, and go.
Ashley is a very hard worker.
We're not locking out.
So beautiful.
Physically, I am wondering what happened to this girl.
Push, feel those lats in the back, like when you were swimming, same muscles working there.
Ashley, because of her youth, she pushes.
All right, ten, nine, eight.
But you know what? She has her own problems.
- You feel nauseous? - Mm-hmm.
I was very sick.
When I got up this morning, I felt very bad.
My stomach hurt.
I threw up a little bit.
I was shaky.
I did drink a lot.
You know, if I'm being completely honest, the alcohol part is not 100% out of me yet.
I talked to britny, and I mentioned the alcohol.
I went out five nights a week and drink.
You go out five nights a week? How long has that been going on? At least a year.
And I smoked too.
Ashley is very open about alcohol, her lifestyle, partying like a rock star.
I think that's probably my biggest challenge, is the not drinking.
Very excited that she would just speak it out loud, so that now maybe we can get it out there and work through it.
Go, baby, go, baby, go! Come on, Ash, come on! The first few days were really rough.
Pull that water.
Come on, all the way to the end.
All the way to the end.
The working out was like a complete body shock.
You are sore.
There you go.
Go, go.
Seven.
- Yes.
- Eight.
Nine.
Ten.
You're almost there.
Come on.
Don't stop.
Don't give up on me.
You know, the more that we're able to do in our exercises, then they move it up a notch, and then your body is being pushed a little bit more.
Fssh! Come on! One, come on.
It's starting to sink in that it's reality.
Three, two.
Oh, yeah, one.
Don't stop on me now.
Sharon has a lot of problems.
Step.
There you go.
Like you're going through that water in the pool.
Her son committed suicide, and she beats herself up about it.
Here you go.
Here you go.
The thing that I still struggle with the most is the negative talk in my head.
You know, I got a lot more to work on than just, you know, my body.
Just Sharon! Here we go, baby.
Here we go.
Brush those inner thighs.
Brush, brush, brush.
It is really tough.
And I'm in suspense a little bit on what's, you know, gonna happen, but I've never, ever had so much determination in my life, ever.
Ever.
Ashley, weight was 296.
Go ahead and step on the scale.
Today, your weight is 290 pounds.
- Oh, thank you! - I'm so proud of you.
- Oh, my gosh.
- Thank you.
This is what you're doing this for.
Come on up.
354.
8.
- Dang, mama! Whoo-hoo! You can't slow down.
You can't slow down.
I feel very empowered, and we definitely need moral support to get through the workout sessions.
Let's go on a walk or something.
Go on a walk? Yeah.
My buddy, Ashley, is just full of energy.
She's very positive.
We are gonna be looking great by the time we go home.
We clicked right away and a really good Bond in the beginning.
- Did you put your sunscreen on? - No.
I wonder how many calories that burns.
We have a lot of heart-to-heart talks.
So what's partying gonna look like now? Partying without drinking? You can do that, Ashley.
I know I can.
I am looking at this time here as a time to heal.
I've got a lot of healing to do.
What I want you to do is just tell me more about yourself.
Then we'll go from there.
Okay.
Eight months ago, Landon, he chose to take his own life.
As a mother, what did that do to you? Shook me to the core, because I don't know how to process this.
What did your son Landon tell you to do? He said, more than anything, he wants me to be healthy.
What a great memorial for your son.
I will tell you that when he said that, it filled me with a lot of fear.
Okay, so now this foot has got to come over.
Can you do it? This might be high.
If I'm going to do something to honor my son's life, that something I need to do with perfection.
There you go.
Now your foot has got to go in there.
I can't see it.
Okay, got your left foot in there? Losing weight is the hardest thing for me, and it felt like a lot of pressure.
Can you do it? If she doesn't start to give herself some more credit and some more love, she is going to fail.
Oh, you were almost there.
I just love him, and I miss him, and I just want to make him proud.
Let's go ahead and come off this thing.
We'll get here one day, okay? And it just scares me.
It scares me that, what if I fail? So it's four laps, whether you are walking, race walking, running, but it's a race against you.
Go.
I think a little bit of my competitive side has come out.
Nice, Ash! It's not a competition, but you push yourself.
Push it! I can push Ashley as hard as I want, and she won't back down to a challenge.
I mean, she is all in.
One, two.
You're almost there.
Three.
Two, one, go.
Go, go, go! Oh, yeah! Did I think that I could swim 60 laps before? No.
Not a chance.
Good takedown, Ash.
When we're in the workout, she's just doing circles around me.
Yes, walk it off, baby.
I push her, and she pushes me.
Come on, Sharon.
Sharon and Ashley are putting in a lot of extra effort.
They are putting in more classes and more time.
It's very impressive.
You're almost there! 13:25! Good job.
Stand up.
Hands on the head.
Breathe.
Your body is just so forgiving of the abuse that it takes.
Good job, Sharon! I feel so much stronger.
Push away with your chest.
I'm kind of getting confidence, like, okay, if you're giving this to me to do, then that means I can do it.
AndAhh.
It's very empowering.
Good job, Sharon.
Good job.
Let's see where you are today.
343.
8! All right! Yeah! Let's go ahead and have you come step right over here for me.
Ashley, your weight is now 281.
4.
That's crazy.
The things that I can already do this far along like, bring me more.
What's what's next? Good job.
You're amazing.
Hello? Hey.
Hi! What are you doing? Oh, working.
What are you doing? Do you have shin splints? Yes, they hurt really bad.
My sister is my biggest support system.
She and I get through everything together.
What did she say? My stepmom, she had a lot of rude things to say about me: That I'm not gonna make it, that I can't do this.
I'm trying not to cry.
So you don't cry, and I will try not to cry.
Okay.
I love you.
I love you too.
Bye.
You got it, baby.
You got it.
Go.
- I can't do this.
- You are doing it.
You just can't do it at the speed you were doing the other stuff.
We're almost done, okay? And fast.
My workout was a lot harder than I thought it was gonna be today.
What is it? Talk to me.
Tell me something.
I don't know.
I just don't feel like I'm doing good enough.
Like, my body is shaking.
My muscles hurt.
Don't stop! Don't stop! Five seconds! Three, two you got it, baby, awesome.
No, give me one.
You owe me one good one.
I think today was really because, my stepmom, she thinks that I'm gonna come home, and then I'm gonna fail.
That's the last person that I thought would say something like that.
Whoo! It's a really tall step.
I know.
Okay.
I think the food that I buy is healthy.
I just think the way I prepare it is unhealthy.
I am really looking forward to being able to go home and make some of my own food choices.
I think that's gonna be empowering, and that's gonna be part of me learning how to make this a forever change.
Well, welcome to the grocery store.
So I'm gonna show you how you can shop healthy and on a budget.
We're also gonna look at some of the common food pitfalls.
My role is to help them learn about proper nutrition, learn how to make good decisions, and know how to navigate the food they encounter in the world.
So here's a reduced fat cheddar.
Let's get a normal cheddar.
Five grams of fat versus - Nine.
- Nine grams.
So twice as much fat almost.
Twice as much flavor.
So with Sharon, she seemed to think that there weren't that many bad things she was doing.
What do you normally put on it? Butter and cinnamon and sugar and marshmallows.
Okay.
She did fess up to, well, you know, "I feel like I have to add a lot of butter to these foods," because that somehow translates into love for her family and friends.
This would probably be two servings.
- Two servings? - Yeah.
Out of all of the tools that have been given to us, the most difficult to really grasp has been food portion.
The recommended serving size for a potato is about the size of a computer mouse.
So this is a real serving of potatoes.
Sharon, you look so disappointed.
In a sense, I feel like I am like the alcoholic.
I don't see anybody eating potatoes that small.
I feel like I'm gonna have to be very stringent on what I allow into my body.
"This week, I dedicate to my son Landon.
"Saturday will be his first birthday I will celebrate without him here.
" I decided to dedicate this week to Landon because of his birthday and commit this journey that I'm making to getting healthy to him.
Seven, six.
That was very scary to me.
I didn't want anything attached to Landon's memorial being a failure.
Open your eyes for me.
Open your eyes for me.
Your abs are in, like you're waiting for a punch.
It's taken me a few weeks to feel strong enough to say, "you know what? I can do this.
" I'm really gonna make it to the end.
Pull that water.
Pull, pull, pull, pull.
This week has been her best week.
She pushed herself through tears and sweat, everything.
And she didn't stop.
Get it, mama, get it.
Two "I pray for discipline, "perseverance, grace, "and strength to stay strong in this journey, "so I can make you proud.
You're forever in my heart.
Mom.
" Okay, so let's see.
You're going home at 336.
2.
30 pounds in 26 days? Whoo! Landon's biggest wish for me was to get healthy.
You know, I wish that I could have done it while he was still here.
This is just the beginning.
It's been a good week.
I really do miss him.
Okay, sweetie.
You are 274.
8.
Total for the month, you have lost 22.
2 pounds.
22! So much has happened in one, like, short amount of time.
What's gonna happen in the next five months and then for the rest of my life? I'm really excited.
No tears.
You promised.
When did I promise? Our job was to put tools in the tool belt but send them home to use them themselves.
There's a reset period for identifying what the problems are for a month, and then the challenges are at home.
The thing that scares me the most about going home is just failure.
The ultimate failure for me would be giving up.
Sharon has been on a journey.
She's going home, and she's gonna face some obstacles.
Mama's home! Her family wants to eat the way they want to eat, the way they've been eating.
It's gonna be a hard task.
While I've been here, I've been working really hard to get a good head start.
And when I go home, it sucks to go back into your old habitat, and a lot of things will be the same.
She's still gonna struggle with alcohol and food.
I don't think she's fully faced everything that's gonna need to change.
If my dad is drunk, I'm gonna be pissed, because I asked him specifically, "do not drink for this thing, please.
" I'm very antsy right now to get home.
If my dad is drunk, I'm gonna be pissed, because I asked him specifically, "do not drink for this thing.
" Home.
I had a whole month of detox, cleaning out, no drinking, no smoking, no eating bad food.
And then I come home, and my dad is still drinking.
He was already drunk.
I was slowly killing myself by eating this food and putting this stuff inside my body.
Ashley's gonna be going back into a household full of enablers.
Hopefully, you know, she doesn't get put into the same situation that she came out of.
The first week, I went through a little bit of an alcohol detox.
All my friends were there.
I made a statement that I love them, but I have to have more of a relationship than just a drinking relationship with them.
Please, do not ask me to come out and drink.
If you drink around me right now, I can tell you, I'm not strong enough yet.
I want to wait until this is over.
Sharon, how are you? - I'm good.
- Come on in.
This is gonna be your gym from now on.
Okay.
Give me two more good ones.
Ready? Hold it, hold it.
It's kind of weird getting back into life.
You know, 'cause there's too much to do.
My son needs things for school, and my husband is like, "I've been waiting for you to get home so you could take care of it.
" Get out there.
One more.
One more good one.
One more good one.
It's like, oh, yeah, I have responsibilities.
Have fun at the grocery store.
Okay.
Do you like tropical? - Get the sugar-free, though, honey.
I was just thinking, "wow, this is a lot to have to do right when you get home.
" 140 calories.
Like, I already know what my favorite things are, and now it's like everything is new, and everything is different.
Okay.
Here's the scary aisle.
This has 10 more calories.
I don't need that much popcorn, mom.
Some of the things that I thought was healthy before wasn't really so healthy.
There's just there's too many choices and too many unknowns.
Thank you.
I'm exhausted.
Now I have to go work out again.
Will you go get the other part of the computer? - Mm-hmm.
- Please.
The computer part of the computer? Yeah.
I have been independent, except for, I have had a weakness, and that's my dad.
He's still eating the bad foods, still drinking.
You know, I have to make a point to him that I'm serious.
If I stay here, I feel like I'm gonna sink back down into it.
Ashley has made very mature strives as far as who she's gonna accept in her life for what she needs to happen.
My friends, they still went off and drank and stuff, and it's like, they didn't want to hang out with me because I wasn't drinking, and when something is toxic like that, you just need to get away from it.
Okay.
260! - 260.
- 260! I've come way too far to turn around and fall back to that place that I was unhappy.
Tight, tight, tight.
Make it burn.
My very first week home, I lost over 8 pounds.
- You ready? - Okay.
326.
8.
Not enough.
But then the next week, I lost 1 pound.
You know, that was discouraging.
You're okay, seriously.
You're gonna lose weight.
I promise.
- Okay.
- Okay? The most frustrating thing during this process has been, you've worked hard, and the scale doesn't reflect the numbers that you're wanting.
It's very discouraging.
You know, right now, it's really hard, especially after going into a controlled environment, to go home for the next five months.
I want to make sure that Sharon's staying on track.
Hi, Sharon.
Hello! How are you? Good.
How are you? Good.
Is that an apple pie? - It's got potpourri in it.
- Ohh I'm gonna check her refrigerator.
I'm gonna check her pantry.
And I'm gonna make sure everything is on the up and up.
We can throw those away.
Where's that trash? Ugh! You know, I think just because I've had so many years of dieting experience, that, you know, "I know everything.
" Obviously, that didn't work so well in the past.
It was nice to see you again.
Nice to see you too.
I'm really trying to draw on the expertise and knowledge of the people that are surrounding me right now.
All the way up.
- Do a push-up.
Row with the right arm.
I work out every day.
Get up at 6:30 in the morning with my trainer, and I'm still pushing just as hard as I was when we started.
Hey! Hey, Ashley.
- How are you? - Good, how are you? Good.
Come on in.
Ashley knows what's important.
She wants to take care of herself.
New place, huh? She's got her own place with her sister.
They control the food that's present in their house.
I brought a couple snacks, 'cause I know that's a common thing with everybody, is just finding some different ideas that are healthy.
This is a sargento string cheese.
I like this choice because it is reduced in fat and sodium.
This tastes like I'm eating normal cheese here.
It's actually really good.
Good.
Push ahead.
Ashley can make this happen.
Do I think she's gonna struggle with a lot of things that she says she's done with, she's over with? Yes.
- I'm just gonna take it step-by-step right now, and it's only gonna get better, because I'm not stopping.
I still have more to go.
Okay, then.
Okay, this is different.
Just gonna go right, left.
Right, left.
One, one, two I've been able to do every single thing the trainers have asked me to do except for one, and that was the bicycle.
Now your foot has got to go in there.
I can't see it.
She couldn't do it recently on the bike at the gym.
You know, at her weight, she didn't think it was possible.
I get to see Sharon today.
We're gonna do something different and new for her, which is going biking.
- Hi! - Hello! What's up? How are you? Put your leg over.
There you go.
Like that.
Oh, there goes your car! - I know that it's nerve-racking, so what are you having trouble with? As determined as I was, it was a very frustrating process.
Ah! I really want to do this.
- You do? - I do.
Yes! Yes, I've been wanting to ride a bicycle.
I did it! Whoo! This isn't hard.
I feel changed from the inside out.
Oh, my gosh.
This is so fun.
I can't believe that I've come so far in such a short period of time.
You're going too slow.
This girl wants to ride.
Pull, two! There you go.
Every single day, there is a small victory.
I can just tell I have so much more stamina and mobility.
Nice big waves.
Big, big, big, big, big.
It leads me to have a lot of hope for what's to come.
Two more.
Good.
For the first time, I can honestly say, I see myself at my goal weight.
Look at that.
Yes! I'm out of those 320s.
- Want another one? - Yeah, another round.
Another one? Another round? On yours? I said I wasn't gonna get back into the bartending and waitressing, but I can't get full time right now.
No mayonnaise or anything? I haven't been able to find a job that would work with my schedule of working out and stuff and, you know, the time that I need off.
Ashley's idea for employment, I don't feel like that's a positive move for her.
She has a lot of willpower, but I don't know many people that are able to be in a drug house and be a drug addict and not do drugs.
She's putting herself back in an environment that's gonna be really challenging for her to overcome.
It's an alcoholic in a bar.
It's good money right now, and it'll help me get to where I want to be, but it's a little scary to think about being back to where I was.
- Hey! - What's your name? Ashley Greely.
There you go.
This is your chip.
Okay.
Wear it on the front.
The pins are in the bag.
Have a good time.
- Okay, thank you.
- Thank you.
We are doing a 5k.
What's up? Are you ready? I'm ready.
Ready as I'm gonna be.
I haven't ran for 20 minutes for a very long time.
Here you are.
Get set.
I spent a lot of time changing my life this past few months and getting myself into shape because this is gonna be part of my life for the rest of my life.
Ashley took it to the next level.
Once she decided to say, "hey, look, you know what? I have a drinking problem," it really did work.
Basically, I just had to tell myself, "you've come soar, Ashley.
"What are you doing? Why are you doing this? This is ridiculous.
" You know, I want to succeed.
I want to be healthy.
And bartending and waiting tables, you know, I was just like, I do not want to put myself right back in that same situation.
How are you feeling? - Tired.
- We're almost there.
Okay.
I never thought I could run 3.
1 Miles without stopping.
And I did.
I ran the whole thing.
And that right there just gave me a huge boost of motivation and self-confidence.
- Great job.
- Oh, thank you.
Great job.
All right, awesome.
Two more.
Come on, you're going for 12.
Two more.
One more.
We won't be weighing them in.
So can they make it this month really relying on the knowledge and the tools that we've given them to really test what they're made of? Ashley has been dealing with food addiction, alcoholism, enablers, but she's removed herself from these situations.
She has no excuse at all, and she is gonna have to be successful.
Three more.
Sharon, right now is a real big test for her.
Hips up, hips up.
She is not gonna move forward without being able to overcome the grief that she's dealing with.
- Nice! - Oh If I start running into too many roadblocks, I just shut down.
It's gonna be tough.
I can't.
A person can only go through so much before they break down the bad way.
This last month, it's no excuses, all choice.
Final weigh-in will be a true statement about what they've decided to do with their life.
Two, one.
Good job.
Oh, my goodness! Damn! - Hello.
- Hello! Wow.
I just had to look at you! I just had to look at you! How do you feel? Do you feel awesome? - I feel wonderful.
- Good.
I even got these jeans two weeks ago, and they're too big for me, so Ashley, this is a real moment of truth.
You started at 296.
5.
- You were heavy.
- Yeah.
You say you lost 100 pounds.
I hope so.
Yeah.
Okay.
You were originally 296.
5.
Today, you are at 205.
2.
- 91.
3 pounds! - 91.
That's good enough for me.
That's from 300 pounds.
I'm extremely happy with where I am.
I've lost almost 100 pounds.
My main motivation from the beginning was to look in the mirror and have respect for myself, and when I look in the mirror, I have respect for myself.
I want to say thank you for the opportunity to work with you.
Congratulations.
And I wish you the best of luck, Ashley.
Don't forget how strong you are and what you just did.
Thank you.
I'm just gonna continue to go to that gym, work out, eat healthy, and get to where I want to be.
Hey, Sharon.
- Hi! - Look at you.
Unbelievable! - Wow, mama! - Who are you? Oh! Ah! You're looking amazing.
You've put in the work.
No one could ever say you didn't work and bust your tail for it.
What was her first weigh-in, britny? 366.
4.
It was pretty heavy.
It was almost 400 pounds.
Sharon, I just want you to step on.
There we go.
Her weight today is 255.
6.
255.
6! 2 more pounds, 110, baby! 110! - Yes! - Yay! Where did you go? - Good-bye forever.
- Uh-oh.
Where did you go? My son has been with me every step of this journey.
I feel certain that he is looking down from heaven and just saying, "way to go, mom.
" We've added some years back.
And now I can so outrun my husband.
Yes! Yes! I feel wonderful about what I've accomplished.
But, you know, I'm not gonna stay here for very long, because Tuesday, I hit the gym with my trainer, and, you know, I've got another 100 pounds to go.
- Sharon! - Ashley! Oh, my gosh! It's so good to see you! Oh, you look so good! I'm so proud of you.
You had so many obstacles to overcome.
I had 100% faith in you.
I knew that you were gonna do this.
We both had some pretty good reasons to keep on.
- Yeah.
- And I'm not done.
And I know you're not done.
I am not done.
Let's finish this.
- So much to be happy for today.
- I know.
I am so much stronger than I was six months ago, not just physically but mentally too.
Thank you so much for inviting me here.
I'm gonna be vulnerable with you, and I pray that that opens your heart.
They are hosting a women's retreat here today.
It will be my first time to share publicly my story about Landon.
When his teacher first recommended that I have him tested for ADHD It is truly mind-blowing to realize where I started only a few months ago and where I am today.
I know that I'm never going back.
It's a very good feeling.
Your health is the best gift you can give not only to yourself but to everyone in your world around you.
I like how open it is, 'cause it's got the tv on over there, and just, you know, this is, like, really perfect.
Look at the closet! I'm ready to settle down somewhere.
Like, I'm ready to find me.
This is very good for a new chapter in my life.
I am looking for a top-to-bottom makeover.
Fun! I've dropped almost ten sizes.
Now when I go to the store, I feel I feel like a normal person.
I think I'm leaning more towards the jeans and a cute shirt or, you know, like, a nice sweater and a jacket.
The person that I was when I first got here was a very unhappy person.
I was lost.
I was upset.
I was compulsively drinking, eating whatever I wanted to.
Today I've learned to deal with things and move on without having the food and alcohol to be my drugs.
This is the one.
I have 50 more pounds to lose.
I'm not stopping, because I'm strong enough to continue to do this on my own and reach the goals that I want to reach.
We release the balloons that celebrate his life, not his death.
I put a card on the balloons with my son's picture and a little bit of how we feel about our son.
Make sure that everyone has some balloons.
I feel changed from the inside out.
Of course, that's what Landon wanted for me more than anything else.
One, two, three! Let them fly! Whoo! It's exciting to get rid of the old.
And it's gonna be exciting to bring in the new.