Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition: Nyla
Welcome to this week's Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition. The week we met Nyla and I wasn't quite sure what to expect from the previews. You know they want to make it dramatic and suspenseful. Well these previews were about her being angry and walking out.
I will say that this was one of my favorite episodes. There are so many great quotes from Nyla.
Nyla is 27 and from Houston. She's also over 300lbs overweight. My heart broke when she measured her waist: 54 inches. And then her thigh: 37.5 inches. That's the size of many of her friends' waists. She also keeps the air on 60 because she sweats so much. I sweat at the gym, but man I cannot fathom living in 60 degrees at all times.
I loved her spunk. Girlfriend loves to dance. Loves it. She even bought a dance workout dvd several years ago. But alas, it's still in it's wrapping. When she gets home she is just so tired that she doesn't want to do anything.
Nylas story is so familiar and common. She uses food as a coping mechanism. Her Father left before she was born and she never knew him. (Second episode in a row with father issues). She hates to shop, doesn't drink, and doesn't do drugs. She eats.
When she's about to learn that Chris has picked her, Nyla is out to each for 10lbs of Crawfish and potatoes. She cleared the plate and was given a t-shirt: I ate 10lbs of Crawfish and all I got was 1 year with Chris Powell. Te he. He wanted to see just how much of the 10lbs she ate so they weighed the shells. It was 4.1lbs. She ate 6lbs in one sitting.
He always asks what you want from this transformation. Her response: I want to be the person that I portray. I want to be confident and happy.
For the first weigh in we learn that she is 435lbs. "I can't put this on anybody but me." It was hard for her to face that scale and then she said something that I loved. "If I'm driving and I miss my turn, I make a U-turn and come back, but I don't do that in my life." WOW.
The first Trainer Tip: Don't over commit. Start with 10 minutes a day. Then work to 15 and then 20.
While at boot camp they talked to her about nutrition. Her problem is quantity eating. She would skip meals and try to make up for it in one meal. Instead of the 10lbs of crawfish, a good portion
meal is: 1 piece of corn, 1 small potato, and 3lbs of crawfish.
So when she came home and found out that Chris had moved in she was a little upset. He put a lockbox over her Air Conditioning box. He wants her to become comfortable being uncomfortable.
Her Phase 1 goal: lose 100lbs. If she reaches 335 he will get her dance lessons with a Pro from Dancing with the Stars.
So to keep her workouts fresh he had her workout with the Houston Rockets Dance team. They even went out and bought her a goal dress. But, she was struggling with nutrition. "I don't know if she doesn't get it or doesn't want to get it."
Pushing her out of her comfort zone Chris addresses her fear of stairs. He wants her to walk up a moving down escalator. She is not happy "Chris is 175lbs. He doesn't have any idea how my body feels."
The second Trainer Tip: Intervals. Jog for two minutes then run for 30 seconds. Repeat.
Chris was getting really frustrated with Nyla. "She eats because she feels bad her weigh-ins, but she does bad at the weigh-ins because she eats." He confronts her about a pizza box he finds in her trash.
At her 3 month weigh-in she lost 74lbs. She weighed 361lbs. "It's not where I want to be, but it's better than where I've been." YEAH!
He gives her the key to the air conditioning box. He asks her what she wants to lose for her 6 month goal. She says 70lbs. He's impressed and said he would have given her 60.
Nutrition Tip: Don't eat carbs alone. Add protein. It keeps you more satisfied for a longer period of time.
For Thanksgiving they baked their turkey instead of deep frying it. And they had salmon and spinach.
It starts to get really rough for her. Bills are piling up and she can't pay them.
At her six month mark, Chris has her see a doctor about her stress. It's a very dramatic time. They argue about what she's eating. He will reimburse her up to $100 a week if she buys food that he approves of. But, she doesn't do that. He says she's full of excuses. He said she needs to ask for help and when she asks from who he replies "From Me!"
So the goal was to get to 291. She got to 341. She only lost 20lbs. Chris says that he has never had anyone who is following the program not lose 100lbs in 6 months. She swears that she is eating 1800-2400 calories a day, but he says that doesn't add up. She walks away. "You don't have to be hard on me. I'm hard enough on myself."
Chris shares with her that he found her father. He hands her an envelope. She hands it back to him. But, later in a solo interview they ask her if she wants to see it. She says yes. Sadly, her father passed away in 2010. There is a letter from her aunt saying that they have always loved her and that her father always talked about her. He was an addict who spent a lot of time in prison and eventually killed himself. It was very hard for her to hear. Soon she meets with the family she never knew and that changed her. She was back on track.
The 9 month goal was to break into the 200's. For the first time, Chris feels confident that she will hit it. Sadly, she gets so close, but only hits 303. The good news is that she has lost 132 lbs in 6 months. She has lost 30.3%. She is now "Embracing her struggle."
She didn't lose enough for qualify for the skin removal surgery, but Chris want to reward her for a great phase 3. He brings her to see Tony Dovaloni from Dancing with the Stars. They do a cha cha and is surprisingly light on her feet and really dang good. Chris gives her a 9 and says that she was glowing.
We don't usually see people during the last phase because they are recovering from their surgery. But, we see Nyla. She is walking around a walking trail at her apartment complex. She's lived there for 1 and a half years and never used it. Now she loves it. It's peaceful and quiet and gives her "Nyla time".
Sadly she hurts her back during the last three months. Chris meets with the doctor and finds out it is her siatica. It's not to be messed with.
For her final weigh in she hits 278. Chris was blown away. He expected 290.
They have some unfinished business and he takes her to an escalator. Her family is at the top cheering her on and she makes it to the top. YEAH!
In the update several months later we learn that she is teaching dance classes at the gym...and that there is a particular dreamy guy there...hahah...Gym Crushes are awesome.
She says that she is "In Phase 5. AKA Life. And there is no Phase 6".
I loved her tip. When she drives home from the gym she passes lots of fastfood places. To avoid stopping, she leaves her money at home. She can't stop. VERY SMART.
How did she feel about her experience? "It was completely overwhelming, but totally worth it." I agree. I loved this episode. It's a struggle. Not everyone is going to be on track, but you can still be successful if you truly make the effort.
**************************************************************************
Check out my Facebook Page for Confessions (there are before and work-in-progress pictures):
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @hugsnsmile
I will say that this was one of my favorite episodes. There are so many great quotes from Nyla.
Nyla is 27 and from Houston. She's also over 300lbs overweight. My heart broke when she measured her waist: 54 inches. And then her thigh: 37.5 inches. That's the size of many of her friends' waists. She also keeps the air on 60 because she sweats so much. I sweat at the gym, but man I cannot fathom living in 60 degrees at all times.
I loved her spunk. Girlfriend loves to dance. Loves it. She even bought a dance workout dvd several years ago. But alas, it's still in it's wrapping. When she gets home she is just so tired that she doesn't want to do anything.
Nylas story is so familiar and common. She uses food as a coping mechanism. Her Father left before she was born and she never knew him. (Second episode in a row with father issues). She hates to shop, doesn't drink, and doesn't do drugs. She eats.
When she's about to learn that Chris has picked her, Nyla is out to each for 10lbs of Crawfish and potatoes. She cleared the plate and was given a t-shirt: I ate 10lbs of Crawfish and all I got was 1 year with Chris Powell. Te he. He wanted to see just how much of the 10lbs she ate so they weighed the shells. It was 4.1lbs. She ate 6lbs in one sitting.
He always asks what you want from this transformation. Her response: I want to be the person that I portray. I want to be confident and happy.
For the first weigh in we learn that she is 435lbs. "I can't put this on anybody but me." It was hard for her to face that scale and then she said something that I loved. "If I'm driving and I miss my turn, I make a U-turn and come back, but I don't do that in my life." WOW.
The first Trainer Tip: Don't over commit. Start with 10 minutes a day. Then work to 15 and then 20.
While at boot camp they talked to her about nutrition. Her problem is quantity eating. She would skip meals and try to make up for it in one meal. Instead of the 10lbs of crawfish, a good portion
meal is: 1 piece of corn, 1 small potato, and 3lbs of crawfish.
So when she came home and found out that Chris had moved in she was a little upset. He put a lockbox over her Air Conditioning box. He wants her to become comfortable being uncomfortable.
Her Phase 1 goal: lose 100lbs. If she reaches 335 he will get her dance lessons with a Pro from Dancing with the Stars.
So to keep her workouts fresh he had her workout with the Houston Rockets Dance team. They even went out and bought her a goal dress. But, she was struggling with nutrition. "I don't know if she doesn't get it or doesn't want to get it."
Pushing her out of her comfort zone Chris addresses her fear of stairs. He wants her to walk up a moving down escalator. She is not happy "Chris is 175lbs. He doesn't have any idea how my body feels."
The second Trainer Tip: Intervals. Jog for two minutes then run for 30 seconds. Repeat.
Chris was getting really frustrated with Nyla. "She eats because she feels bad her weigh-ins, but she does bad at the weigh-ins because she eats." He confronts her about a pizza box he finds in her trash.
At her 3 month weigh-in she lost 74lbs. She weighed 361lbs. "It's not where I want to be, but it's better than where I've been." YEAH!
He gives her the key to the air conditioning box. He asks her what she wants to lose for her 6 month goal. She says 70lbs. He's impressed and said he would have given her 60.
Nutrition Tip: Don't eat carbs alone. Add protein. It keeps you more satisfied for a longer period of time.
For Thanksgiving they baked their turkey instead of deep frying it. And they had salmon and spinach.
It starts to get really rough for her. Bills are piling up and she can't pay them.
At her six month mark, Chris has her see a doctor about her stress. It's a very dramatic time. They argue about what she's eating. He will reimburse her up to $100 a week if she buys food that he approves of. But, she doesn't do that. He says she's full of excuses. He said she needs to ask for help and when she asks from who he replies "From Me!"
So the goal was to get to 291. She got to 341. She only lost 20lbs. Chris says that he has never had anyone who is following the program not lose 100lbs in 6 months. She swears that she is eating 1800-2400 calories a day, but he says that doesn't add up. She walks away. "You don't have to be hard on me. I'm hard enough on myself."
Chris shares with her that he found her father. He hands her an envelope. She hands it back to him. But, later in a solo interview they ask her if she wants to see it. She says yes. Sadly, her father passed away in 2010. There is a letter from her aunt saying that they have always loved her and that her father always talked about her. He was an addict who spent a lot of time in prison and eventually killed himself. It was very hard for her to hear. Soon she meets with the family she never knew and that changed her. She was back on track.
The 9 month goal was to break into the 200's. For the first time, Chris feels confident that she will hit it. Sadly, she gets so close, but only hits 303. The good news is that she has lost 132 lbs in 6 months. She has lost 30.3%. She is now "Embracing her struggle."
She didn't lose enough for qualify for the skin removal surgery, but Chris want to reward her for a great phase 3. He brings her to see Tony Dovaloni from Dancing with the Stars. They do a cha cha and is surprisingly light on her feet and really dang good. Chris gives her a 9 and says that she was glowing.
We don't usually see people during the last phase because they are recovering from their surgery. But, we see Nyla. She is walking around a walking trail at her apartment complex. She's lived there for 1 and a half years and never used it. Now she loves it. It's peaceful and quiet and gives her "Nyla time".
Sadly she hurts her back during the last three months. Chris meets with the doctor and finds out it is her siatica. It's not to be messed with.
For her final weigh in she hits 278. Chris was blown away. He expected 290.
They have some unfinished business and he takes her to an escalator. Her family is at the top cheering her on and she makes it to the top. YEAH!
In the update several months later we learn that she is teaching dance classes at the gym...and that there is a particular dreamy guy there...hahah...Gym Crushes are awesome.
She says that she is "In Phase 5. AKA Life. And there is no Phase 6".
I loved her tip. When she drives home from the gym she passes lots of fastfood places. To avoid stopping, she leaves her money at home. She can't stop. VERY SMART.
How did she feel about her experience? "It was completely overwhelming, but totally worth it." I agree. I loved this episode. It's a struggle. Not everyone is going to be on track, but you can still be successful if you truly make the effort.
**************************************************************************
Check out my Facebook Page for Confessions (there are before and work-in-progress pictures):
http://www.facebook.com/ConfessionsOfAFormerFatGir
yeah, sorry, I messed up and the "l" is missing....I need an assistant :-)
Don't forget to follow me on Twitter: @hugsnsmile
I wish Nyla much luck and success on her weight loss journey. I really could relate to her as I had no relationship with my father either, he has now passed away but I have found new love and relationship with his family. My abandonment wounds are healed and I am taking on my weight loss journey. I have lost 53.0 lbs, but need to lose another 30.0 lbs to reach my goal. I pray that Nyla reaches her goal too and get approval for the skin removal surgery too. Good Luck Nyla.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations! I'm sure you will hit your goal in no time :-)
ReplyDeleteNyla was wonderful to watch. I loved her internal transformation.