Patrick and Allison, from Southern
Pines, NC, have been married for
6 years and couldn’t be happier
with their life together except
for one thing... ok, 200 things-
they each want to lose 100 pounds.
Patrick, age 32, currently weighs
322 pounds and Allison, age 29,
weighs 267. They've never known
each other as thin people and it’s
not easy for them to picture one
another 100 pounds lighter, but
they’re thrilled at the possibility.
Patrick, a Paramedic, is quite
often on the road and finds himself
eating fast food way too often.
Allison, an Emergency Room Secretary,
works long shifts with odd hours,
and at the end of a 12 hour day
just wants to go out to dinner,
not cook. In fact, out of 7 dinners
a week, Patrick and Allison probably
eat 6 of those meals in restaurants.
They’ve not tried many diets
together- just Atkins, which they
thought might actually kill them.
So for this weight loss journey
that they’re taking together,
they’ve hired a cruel and
demanding, personal trainer who
is determined to beat them into
thin people. Also a nutritionist,
their trainer, Melissa, is monitoring
every aspect of their life. She
will come to their house and clean
out their refrigerator, she will
take them grocery shopping, she
says she’s even going to
make surprise visits to their
house to spy on them. Melissa
is our third character in this
hour, and her militant approach
to weight loss will motivate anyone
sitting home on a couch watching
TV.
Her work out regime has them
panting and sweating and hurting,
and there are certainly moments
when they secretly hate her. They
are feeling muscles they didn’t
even know they had, and they may
not have known that their heart
could be as fast as it has in
recent days. They work out 6 days
a week, and for two of those days
they work out twice a day. This
new schedule is certainly a shock
to Patrick and Allison’s
system, but the thought of their
new bodies is keeping them coming
back to the gym.
As they lose weight together, their
family, who all live nearby, will
be amazed at this couple’s
dedication and will all be inspired
by their miraculous transformations.
And as the pounds come off, Patrick
and Allison are going to begin doing
activities they never felt like
doing before. Gone will be the afternoons
at the bowling alley eating fries
and picking up those 7-10 splits,
and instead there will be bike rides,
hikes, and extra trips to the gym.
And if they thought they were attracted
to one another now, they probably
can’t imagine how they’ll
feel about one another in the very
near future. The rejuvenated sexual
chemistry between this young couple
will be hard not to notice.
In between all the uplifting
weigh-ins, there will no doubt
be moments of tension as husband
and wife compete with one another
and encourage one another. Often
friendly competition can come
across as mean-spirited rivalry,
and encouragement can come across
as offensive criticism. However,
these minor conflicts will only
enhance the profound pride and
respect they’ll have for
one another at the end of a very
emotional year. They will be amazed
at how very far they’ve
come, and so will we.
