This Week Chris Powell worked with LaRhonda
LaRhonda is a 24 year old whose starting weight was 433lbs. This show followed the same format as the previous 4 episodes.
- Chris Powell surprises the person
- They go to a week of boot camp
- Chris moves in with them for the first 3 months
- Goals are broken down into 3 month segments
- There is a reveal and a final weigh-in
Here’s what made this show unique and interesting. LaRhonda had a very fun and dynamic personality. You could tell as the show progressed that she and Chris really liked each other. They had great repoire. LaRhonda began to put on weight at the age of 8. She did this because she was molested. And as Chris said it was the only thing she knew how to do to protect herself and prevent it from happening again.
LaRhonda also lost her mother at a young age (48 years old), due to a heart attack that was the result of complications of diabetes. She was concerned that she was at risk also. She has been saving her mother’s unused insulin needles, because they remind her of her mother. Chris eventually got her to get rid of the needles. He didn’t want her to define/remember her mother as a diabetic.
Her First Phase goal was to lose 100lbs. At the 3 month weigh-in she weighed 333lbs., she lost exactly 100lbs. That was incredible. Her prize for reaching her goal was a new car! She got a Toyota FJ!!!
OK, what’s up with that? Remember last week. James prize for hitting his goal was a bike. If I’m James, I’m calling up ABC and calling a major prize foul on that one!!!
Her Second Phase goal was to lose 60lbs. When she showed up for the weigh-in it was obvious that she had lost a lot of weight. But Chris was concerned because he had been watching her on the monitor and saw that she was cheating a little on the nutrition and exercise. At the Six Month Weigh-in she weighed 273lbs. Again she reached her goal of 60lbs on the dot. I don’t know how she does it, but LaRhonda has a knack for reaching goals.
There was an interesting lesson to be learned from her cheating. She said that she needed to learn how to eat a few chips and dip then stop. Her old behavior was to eat a few then beat herself up, get depressed and finish the whole bag. Lesson learned people, follow LaRhonda’s example. If you stray from your plan, stop and get back on it. There is no reason to punish yourself.
Her Third Phase goal was to lose enough weight to be at about 50% of her start weight. If she did that she’d be a candidate for the skin removal surgery. At the Nine Month Weigh-in she weighed 237lbs. and had lost 45.27% of her total weight. She was eligible for the surgery.
At the reveal she looked great. Her final weight was 231lbs. She lost a total of 202lbs. in one year. I liked the way that LaRhonda pushed herself during the year. She was the first person on the show to lose a significant amount of weight during each phase of the first 9 month. It didn’t matter if Chris was there or not, she stayed on track the first three months.
Even though she lost a total of 202lbs. Her last 3 months weren’t that impressive. She only lost 6lbs. The skin removal surgery took off more than that, so in actuality she probably gained some weight during the last quarter. But she did say one thing that was revealing. “It was hard to lose weight when you’re layed up for so long after the surgery.” I think that skin removal surgery if very hard on people and it’s a long recovery.
It’s too bad in LaRhonda’s case that she couldn’t have gone the entire 12 months losing weight and then have surgery. I think she could have lost another 30lbs., then had at least another 30lbs. of skin removed and weighed-in around 170lbs. I know that the 1 year time frame is a cleaner more “made for TV” time period. And they have to do the surgery 3 months before the end of the show so that the reveal is more dramatic.
Either way it was an amazing transformation. Congrats LaRhonda and as usual Chris Powell did an amazing job!
Now for the quotes of the show:
“This is all for you.”
“Why am I allowing myself to be this big?”
“Are you ready to start loving yourself?”
“I’ve been exhausted for 16 years. I’m over it.”
“Get busy living, or get busy dying.”
“Losing 100lbs. in 90 days is a lot of weight. The best thing about it, is that it’s completely doable.”
“Trust yourself and just go.”
“Take it meal by meal, it’s a lifestyle now.”
“I didn’t know what I was missing. If I had known what I was missing, I would have done it a long time ago.”
“I’m not destination happy, I’m journey happy”
Another Great Show!
Remeber to leave your comments below, I love them!
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Hi Jeni,
I know that Chris Powell created the STAX Nutrition System while he was training David Smith in the Phoenix area. He and David used to train at the same facility that I still train out of. I’ve used STAX to help personal training and boot camp client to lose weight. I’m certain that Chris is using STAX and it’s nutrition principles to help the people on the show to lose weight. I don’t think he mentions it because it would make the show seem like an infomercial for his product. I also know that ABC wants him to sell STAX in some capacity. The manufacturer and distributor is Touchstone merchandising, which is a subsidery of Disney, and Disney owns ABC.
I think it’s just savvy marketing not to mention it on the show. Anyways the STAX System works without a doubt as long as you follow the program. I have several post on my site about how it works. Just search “STAX” in the search window in the right sidebar.
I also sell STAX and I don’t charge shipping so it’s actually $9 cheaper than ordering it direct. I also have a money back guarantee if you don’t like the system (partial refund if the food containers are returned open). Like I said earlier I’ve used it for years and I give monthy seminars on how to use it. So you’ll also get a ton of support if you decide to purchase one.
I put a link in my previous repy, let me know if you have any questions.
John
Thank you for such a complete answer! I saw the nutrition program on his website and wondered about it – I also would like more information about the nutrition involved included in the show.
Hi Jeni,
That has been a common question/concern. The truth is that it’s impossible for Chris to live with more than 4 people for three months in a year. I don’t have any information on the production schedule of the show, but I’m assuming that he doesn’t actually live with them the entire 3 months. I don’t doubt that he does live with them for a significant period of time. And he spends that time training them and coaching them to change thier diet and lifestyle habits. TV is known for including or excluding important details so that the show is more appealing. And I think that is the case here. The show flows better with the year being divided into 4 three month segments. And it appears that Chris is far more involved with each person. I don’t think the fact that it’s mathmatically impossible to live with 8 people for 3 months in one year should diminish the incredible results that Chris helps people achieve.
I’ve also noticed that the show spends almost no time focusing on the nutrition program that people are following. Which I think is a shame. Because most of the weight loss that you see is a result of the nutrition program and not the exercise. But it’s far more entertaining to watch Chris train people and the human connection betwee them than it is to watch people prepare and eat healthly food. The funny thing is that I know that Chris is following the nutrition principles of The STAX Nutrition System (which he invented), but it doesn’t get a single mention in the show.
I think that information is left out so that the show doesn’t appear to be a big commercial for his product. It gives the show more credibility. Remember at the end of the day it’s a TV show.
If Chris moves in for three months – how does the show have more than 4 episodes? I really hope someone can answer this!