I HAVE A NEW HERO

I promised an update and here it is. Jacqui is my new hero. My goodness, what that woman went through and conquered as the result of that show Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition.

 She showed such grit and determination to accomplish the amazing, over two hundred pound weight loss. Pretty sure I would have bailed early in the program. It was some kind of rough.

Not only were her calories cut drastically but she was physically in training like an Olympic hopeful. I would have liked more time to have been spent on the food and how she struggled with such a huge reduction in calories.

They did show her favorite meal when eating out which was over 5000 calories . Kind of scary what restaurants merrily put in front of us to kill us and we pay them to do it.  There was some time spent on proper eating but I would have liked more.

Often she would reach a point in the physical training part when she thought she could go no farther. Chris Powell, her trainer, would push her past those points.

You might say Chris deserves all the credit but you can't push someone unless they want the end goal with all their being. He just showed her that she could get past “I can't”. Time and again, he proved that there was more left in her tank than she thought.

Yes she had lots of help for the first three months but then for a long time, she was on her own. That is when 90% of the people would have failed. That is what makes her my new hero. A status she must share however with her husband Shawn who was a brick and completely supporting. What a guy.

Shawn's life was completely uprooted and he took on extra work so Jacqui could quit work and devote full time to the program.  They both gave all.

As a reward when she reached one of the goals, the show provided Jacqui and Shawn the honeymoon in Ireland that they had always dreamed about, except I am sure Chris coming along was not in either of their dreams.

Chris had Jacqui complete a 100k bike ride in the steep hills of Ireland . Jacqui struggled but completed the grueling ride. Chris then left the drained,sore young woman and her husband with the parting words, “Enjoy your honeymoon.” Yeah sure. I can't help but think that 5 hours on a bicycle dampened some of the "enjoy."

The program did a great service to a young woman in trouble with her health and was really uplifting to watch. Will I watch more of these, probably not. This one had a personal connection which made it more relevant for me and I am very glad I saw this one and think the show is very worth while. I can see why it is successful.

I said I would look for an “after” shot but I found better. This is a five minute video of Jacqui now and what she is doing with her new life.  While her weight loss was amazing, what she has done with her life since is what makes her my new hero. Enjoy.