Extreme Weight Loss Recap: Family Loses 350 Pounds, Saves Suicidal Teen

Extreme Weight Loss began its reign on TV as “just another weight loss reality show.” But as celebrity trainer Chris Powell and his wife Heidi Powell shared their views on what it really takes for extreme weight loss, the show quickly became famed for its compassion and unique techniques. And on the episode airing Sept. 9, Extreme Weight Loss proved its passion for mental, physical and spiritual transformations as Chris and Heidi helped an entire family lose more than 350 pounds and saved the life of a suicidal teen, reported the Denver Post.

When the episode of Extreme Weight Loss began, viewers met Jeff, who admitted that he was more than 200 pounds overweight at 423 pounds. The mental and physical pain of his condition showed in his halting confession about how obesity had impacted not just his life, but the lives of his family and friends. And then the show turned to his teenage daughter, also featured on the show.

At 16, Juliana weighed 265 pounds. She talked about the bullying that she experienced in school, how they isolated her in the lunchroom. She hated getting up in the morning, humiliated even more when kids taunted her by saying, “You’re just like your father.”

Juliana felt suicidal. She tried to cut her wrists, so haunted by bullying.

Knowing the danger that faced their daughter in her fragile mental state, Jeff and his wife Michelle now express their relief that his audition for Extreme Weight Loss was successful.

“If he’d gotten (the weight loss surgery he considered), I’m not sure that Juliana would still be here with us,” Michelle said.

When Jeff appealed to Extreme Weight Loss to take on the family, he recognized that his relationship with his daughter was, as she said on the show, “broken,” reported the Denver Channel on Sept. 9.

Because Juliana was their “little surprise,” as Jeff said, she was born a decade after her siblings. Consequently, she felt ignored. Jeff emphasized that he longed to become a good role model for his daughter. The two are the first daughter-father duo to appear on Extreme Weight Loss.

Chris Powell is known for making dreams come true beyond achieving extreme weight loss goals. For Jeff, the opportunity came when he worked out with his beloved Denver Broncos team. For Juliana, it was the longing to soar up and down on a roller coaster with her father at Disney World.

Jeff and Juliana exercised and dieted throughout the show. Rather than focus on a specific diet or workout plan, Extreme Weight Loss demonstrated, as the Inquisitr reported, that it is dedicated to weight loss rather than brand name diet that is the key element in weight loss success.

When the 365 days ended, both father and daughter looked and felt like different people. Jeff alone lost 205 pounds. As a family, including Michelle, they lost more than 350 pounds. And they also restored their love.

[Photo By Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images]