Original subtitles

[Paul] I'm miserable.

And food is the only thing that helps me with the pain.

[woman 1] Somewhere in me is this little glimmer of hope.

I just want to be a normal person.

[pants]

You can't do it and then I just get mad.

[woman 2] If I don't make a change now, I'm scared it's going to be too late.

[grunts] No! It hurts!

[woman 3] I refuse to stop fighting.

I have to do this for my children.

[man] I'm waiting for as long as I can handle it.

It just got to be too much for me.

A ten piece nugget and a large chocolate shake.

[sighs]

[Paul] I never thought my life would be like this.

I never thought I'd be 750 pounds

and at my size, I'm miserable.

My back aches and my knees, my toes.

I mean, everything on my body it hurts.

[exhales]

The only thing that helps me with the pain is the food.

And the thought of being able to eat is what motivates me to get up

and get out of bed because I have to take a shower.

And that's a painful ordeal for me.

And I hate it.

Even getting out of bed is hard.

Because I have lymphedema on both of my legs,

which means my legs are permanently swollen.

The second I'm up, I'm already in pain.

And anytime I walk more than 10 feet,

I can't even catch my breath.

I'm exhausted all the time.

And I almost can't fit through the door to the bathroom

or the shower.

So, I have to move carefully so I don't get stuck

or trip and fall.

Anybody that's my size, the biggest fear is slipping.

If I fell I'd have to call 911.

But, no matter what, I can't be up for long.

I may be able to stand for 10 minutes at the most.

If I'm not leaning against something and I just have

to give up and get out.

I don't feel like my body's ever clean

and that depresses me because I am ashamed

to have let my life get to the point to where

I can't even clean myself, like,

I need every day. I try to shower every day.

Sometimes, I don't, sometimes it's twice a week

and makes me feel disgusting.

So, I hate the whole process of taking a shower

and getting dressed.

I'm in so much pain afterwards, I can barely get dressed.

I basically wear the same thing every day

because I can only wear what's easiest to put on at this point.

So, I can't wear pants at all.

Because of the swelling, it's out of control.

So, during the day, I have to wear special socks

to keep the swelling down.

But, it's hard to wrap them on my own.

It's the one part I have to get help from my mom to do.

-It's been a night. How are you this morning? -Good.

- Love you. - Love you.

Will you help me put my socks on, please?

I live with my mom, so she can help me

and that makes me feel really bad,

that she has to basically take care of me all the time.

[Teresa] I love Paul.

As much love as god could give you to give somebody.

I'm always worried about him.

He's just gotten so extremely large, that it's out of hand.

His legs are so tight, so badly tight 'cause

his weight did a thing on it and made it

to where the blood doesn't flow.

So, Paul stays swollen and he needs his compression socks,

but he can't bend over and put 'em on himself.

So, if I ain't doing it, then it ain't getting done.

You see what I mean, because he's too big to do it.

- All right, there you go. - [sighs]

So, by the time I'm dressed, I'm in pain and exhausted

and I feel like a failure.

And how I deal with that is I eat.

And that's when my day starts to turn around.

You know, after I get dressed I make it to the couch

in the living room and that's where I stay for the rest of the day

and all I do is eat because...

Food makes me happy.

Are you hungry?

Yeah.

Want me to make you an omelet?

- Yeah. - Yeah?

Maybe some ham and some toast.

-And maybe some juice. -Yeah, I got orange juice. I love ya.

And it takes everything bad and makes it go away.

I feel like there's an empty space there when it's not food.

So, food is everything to me and that all started a long time ago.

From as far back as I can remember, I've always been big.

My dad was 400 pounds.

And my mom was overweight too.

So, we all were big and I think that was partly

because my mom is such a good cook.

My mom's goal was to make us happy,

so she was always feeding us and that's how she showed us

she loved us.

And I just constantly wanted to eat and I never wanted to stop.

So, food was everything.

But then when I was seven, things at home started to change.

My parents started to fight a lot more.

They often wouldn't see each other for days

because they were always working to make ends meet.

So, I think they would fight because of that.

And so, when I was around 10, they got a divorce and my dad left.

So, I just ate and ate to make me feel better.

And by the time I was 11, I was already over 200 pounds.

So that's when it started to get really hard at school.

I was an outcast and I was lonely a lot.

So, food was my friend.

But I also started to hang around the people

at the carnival where my dad worked,

when I see him and they never made me feel rejected.

Because they considered me like family.

My dad was a third generation carnival worker.

It was like the family business

and the carnival was my family.

So, I really didn't hang out with anybody my age.

I preferred older people for a while.

But that changed when I was 12 because when my mom worked,

she would have a friend of the family watch us.

And one day...

And so we were going to the beach and he started to rub on me.

And then decided to whip out...

his private and started to.

And I told him at the time to put it away.

And...

that I wanted to go home.

And basically, he told me you don't tell nobody else, you know.

If so, then I'll deny it, you're a child,

nobody's gonna believe you.

So, after that I stopped trusting a lot of adults

because of that and what it did to me.

'Cause I felt like I could've stopped it if I said something,

but I just kept quiet

and just used food to forget about what happened.

And by the time I was 14, I weighed 475 pounds.

Food then in high school became a problem.

That's the age when everyone starts to date.

I wanted a girlfriend, but girls didn't want the fat guy.

So, I just kept to myself and continued to eat more

and food was all I cared about.

I didn't even care about my grades.

My grades got so poor, they held me back then.

So, by the time I finally did manage to graduate

I was very happy to leave school

and all that behind me.

Because I wasn't being bullied every day,

but I knew I needed to work.

So, after high school, I went into the family business.

I became the fourth generation in my family to do that

and I loved it 'cause I felt like I fit right in.

So, I did that fulltime for the next 12 years.

And I did my job well. It was a happy place for me.

Fried chicken, baked sausages, corndogs,

and lots of bread and fried dough.

I could have any of it any time I wanted.

And, by the time I was 24 until I was 29,

my weight rose to 600 pounds.

So, that's when my weight

started to become more of a problem for me.

I had to stop working because it was too hard to be on my feet for long.

And that was a huge blow to my morale.

So I just ate more to forget my misery.

And so I got even bigger.

It was a few years later when I was 33 that I hit 700.

And shortly after that is when I had to move in with my mom

because I needed help.

And I couldn't afford a place on my own

since I couldn't work anymore.

And I hate that I have to make her sleep on the couch.

So, I feel horrible and like a failure.

But, the one bright spot in my life is my girlfriend Jen.

She came into my life a little over a year ago.

A friend of mine that knew I was lonely told me about her

and told me I should reach out to her.

My buddy had told her about me,

and she thought I was funny and I reached out to her

to be a friend when I didn't know who she was.

So, from there we started hanging out and almost a year ago,

I asked her to be my girlfriend and she said yes.

In a few weeks, it'll be our one year anniversary.

She's the best thing that's happened to me.

And having her in my life is giving me hope

that I still have a chance at life.

Thank you.

But I know, the biggest obstacle keeping me

from getting to the life is my weight.

My whole life revolves around food.

So, I know it's a death coming up.

Because my size is killing me.

It's already taken everything else from me.

And I don't see anyone most days except my mom and Jen.

And she has to come to me now if I'm gonna see her.

And so our whole relationship mostly revolves on her

coming here to eat with me.

She lives an hour and a half away.

So, I know that's hard for her to keep doing.

I want to have a future with Jen.

She makes me happy, but I know that's not going to happen

the direction I'm headed.

So, I feel like I need to change my life,

so we could be happy together.

[knocking at door]

- [Jennifer] Hey, hey. - Hi!

- Oh, it smells good in here. - Hi, babe, how are you?

- [Jennifer] Good, how are you? - [Teresa] It's good to see you.

- [laughs] How you doing? - Good.

- Oh, it smells so good. - Hi, Booker.

I got hamburgers.

- Hi, babe. - Hi, babe.

And potatoes and appetizers.

- Good. - Hey, Punk. What's up, man?

[Paul] She has a son too.

And it makes me so sad that I can't play sports

with my girlfriend's son.

Thanks, bud.

I can't go for long walks with my girlfriend.

And I want to change all that.

So, I know I got to change, so I'm trying to fight

this addiction.

But, I can't do it alone.

I'm feeling like I'm at a crossroads and I'm scared.

Even though I'm finally starting to see that

I can have the life that I wanted.

And I have hope.

My fear is that it could already be too late for me,

that my body's too far gone already.

[Teresa] Paul's hit rock bottom.

My son is the size of three men.

But, he only has one heart.

And I'm afraid, I'm afraid of losing my kid.

Me and Paul are very close and I would say

if my son doesn't survive, I will probably lose it.

I don't know.

But I know that I beg God all the time to let me go first.

I'm not ready to go.

I have so much to live for now.

So, I have to do it now because if I don't change,

I'm gonna die.

I'm gonna talk to Dr. Now today on a video call.

To talk to him about doing his program.

I know I need help in that I have to get some sort of aid to lose weight

before things get worse.

But, my big concern is that Dr. Now

is all the way in Houston.

And if I did his program, I don't know how that'll affect my life.

[Skype ringing]

Hello.

Hello.

Hi, Paul, I'm Dr. Nowzaradan, how you doing?

I'm good.

So, Paul I understand you want to get some help to lose weight.

- Yes. - Okay.

So, Paul, what's going on with you?

I'm a very large man.

I'm 750 pounds and I'm in dire need of help.

Yes, I live in Auburndale, Florida.

And Paul I'm gonna ask you some questions about your health.

Yes, sir.

You said you are about 750 pounds.

6'6".

So you have a BMI of 87.

Paul, how far you can walk?

I can walk to the end of the driveway.

- Okay. - Maybe 500 feet.

And you get short of breath walking

or your stamina gives out?

A shortness of breath and my knees start to give out.

So, you can get around, but your mobility is severely limited.

Yes, sir. Yes, sir.

Okay.

And if you're ready to lose weight...

But even though it may be safe for you drive to Houston,

it will put too much strain on you to go back and forth

and keep making that trip many different times.

And stay for at least a year or more to do the program.

- Okay? - Yes, sir.

So, you think you can do that?

I, I would love to do the program.

But I need to have some conversations first about moving.

Conversation with who?

My family and my girlfriend.

Well...

In your situation, if you want to get help on lose weight,

so that is something that you need to figure out.

And you need to make a decision and plan on coming

to see us in Houston if you want to do my program,

- okay? - Yes, sir.

And then we go from there, okay?

Yes, sir.

And that means you're only gonna eat

three times a day and no snacking.

And you're gonna eat around 1,200 calories a day.

And you start that diet right now.

And once you get down here...

Okay?

Yes, sir.

And it won't be easy for you. You get that?

I do.

Okay, so tell me what do your eating habits look like right now?

I eat all the time.

I eat lots of sweets and a lot of food.

I eat a lot of fast food.

A lot of greasy food.

So, you eat because you're hungry or you eat it from habit?

Um, more of a habit than anything.

There is no excuse for that.

So, if you're telling me you're eating to get

over 700 pounds out of habit,

then it's time to change and break the habit.

- You got that? - Yes, sir.

Does anyone in your family enable you to eat like you do?

Not really.

Who do you live with?

I live with my mom for most of the time.

Does she feed you?

Yes, sir. My mom cooks... Almost every night, she cooks.

Is your mom helping you to eat less

or she encourage you to eat?

She puts too much on the plate.

And I don't tell her no.

Well, if you don't learn to say no,

then you're gonna be 700 pounds.

So, this is not a healthy way.

You know, people like you, they don't make it to age 40.

And this is very high risk situation

with all the strain that you're putting on your system.

Any day, your body can give out and you're not gonna make it.

And that'll be it for you.

So, you have to realize your situation is very dangerous

and you have to change your eating habit

and this is gonna be all up to you to make that decision, okay?

Yes, sir. I'm ready to do it, sir.

I'm ready to change.

Okay.

You said that you have a girlfriend.

Is your girlfriend encourage you to watch your diet

or what's going on with that?

She tries to watch my diet and cook better,

but I sometimes just go eat stuff that I shouldn't eat.

Well, that needs to change immediately.

- Yes, sir. - Okay?

And do your exercises.

Yes, sir.

- You understand that? - Yes, sir.

And that diet is no carb on your diet.

And high protein and a lot of vegetable

like a salad or cooked vegetable on your diet, okay?

Yes, sir.

Well, if you need anything, give me a call.

Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.

Okay.

- Bye now. - Bye.

I know I need to make my health a priority

like Dr. Now says.

It's just I'm scared about what Jen is gonna think

and what it's gonna mean for our relationship.

I just don't want to mess things up with her

because she's already told me she wishes we lived closer.

So, this is tough because both options for me

seems like a big risk.

So, I feel like I just need to discuss it all with Jennifer

before I make a final decision.

So, I just hope this doesn't end up messing things up

with us in the end.

Today, I'm headed to Houston to see Dr. Now in person

to start his program

and to see what I have to do to get

weight loss surgery with him.

Mom, you ready?

I'm getting there, babe. Just got my meds.

I don't think my truck will make it all the way to Houston

and I can't fit in my mom's car,

so I didn't have an option until my friend JJ offered to take me.

So, I'm thankful she is willing to be a good friend

and do this to help me out.

Hey!

Hey, JJ in the house.

I'm going to Houston.

You ready for a road trip?

Yes, I'm ready.

I'm Jessica, Paul calls me JJ though.

It's a nickname I've had my whole life.

Me and Paul have been best friends, you know,

pretty much our whole lives.

- What's up, homie? JJ. - [JJ] Hey.

- Are you excited? - Oh, yeah.

Oh, I'm so stoked for you.

I'm so excited for him to go to Houston.

This is gonna be a whole, you know, chance at a new life for him,

you know, just be able to live a normal life again.

You guys ready?

- I'm ready you ready, J? - I've been ready.

All right, we got to load up.

Get your luggage, let's go.

All right, let's go.

[Paul] Overall, I'm nervous about the trip down there

just because of how long it is.

This is gonna be a thousand mile trip.

That's a total of 15 to 16 hours of just driving.

But, my big concern is after a couple of hours,

it's just gonna get too hard for me.

But, my hope for now is to divide up the drive

across two days, so I don't make it

too hard on my body.

But, how I'm going to handle being in a car for seven

to eight hours at a time, I still don't even know.

Right now, my plan is to take it an hour at a time.

- Or you want this in the front? - Back seat.

This third seat will probably be better.

If it starts to get too much for me and I get sore,

I know we can stop and take breaks.

- All right, all right. - It's kinda heavy.

And I'm definitely gonna want to eat

when I can on the way there.

Because this trip down there to Houston

is kind of my last chance to eat.

Yeah, I think so.

Because I know when I get to Dr. Now,

everything is going to change.

We've been on the road for about an hour and a half.

And I'm starting to feel it.

Hey, guys.

- Yeah? - I'm hungry.

Can we stop?

Yeah, sure.

Where do you want to stop?

Some fast food.

So, I told JJ I just need to eat and call it a day.

So, we found a hotel up ahead

and we're getting some fast food and then going to rest.

Which I'm very happy about because this has been

so much harder than I realized it was gonna be.

And it's taking everything out of me

to even make it this far.

So, I'm disappointed in myself because we didn't even

make it out of Florida.

We needed to at least make it to Alabama to stay on track.

But, I did the best that I could and waited

for as long as I can handle.

It just got to be too much for me.

I need a double quarter pounder

and then another double quarter pounder with no pickle,

and no onion.

I need a McDouble, add Big Mac sauce.

That spicy chicken sandwich, a 10 piece nugget,

a large fry, and a large chocolate shake.

And can I get baker's dozen chocolate chip?

- Mom, you want anything? - I'll have some of your nuggets.

And an apple fritter.

That'll be it.

And now, I got to make it to Houston on time.

I'm gonna have to spend, like, 11 hours on the road tomorrow.

I don't know how I'm gonna do that.

But I'm just trying not to think about it right now.

Because I'm in so much pain,

I just want to eat and go to sleep.

At this point, I'm so sore.

And in so much pain that I'm worried that

it could seriously take me a whole day to bounce back from this.

But, I'm just trying not to think about that

or anything that stresses me out.

Apple fritter.

I just need a bed and to be able to sleep for a while

and hopefully when I wake up,

I'll feel a lot better.

And I'll figure out some way to make it to Houston tomorrow.

[Teresa] Oh, here we go.

But so far, this trip is kicking my butt

and it's just a lot harder to be in a car that long

than I thought it was going to be.

I was worried about that but I didn't know how bad it was gonna be.

Because I can't even remember how long it's been since I did a trip like this.

So, when I hit that wall with my body...

Around the third hour in the car,

it took me by surprise.

And there was a part of me right then

that started thinking that this was a mistake

and that I bit off more than I can chew.

In trying to make this trip and go this far.

But I know I'm doing this for an important reason.

So, I have to keep going.

No matter how much pain I'm in.

- Or how hard it is. - [sighs]

Here. Want to get your shoes off?

- Yeah. - Let me help you.

Oh, man, your legs are so swollen.

[Paul] I'm just gonna go to bed.

It really hurts.

Come on. We'll help you.

- You want to try to get under the blankets? - Yeah.

And even though I don't know how I'm gonna figure out

how to push myself to get to Houston on time.

A whole lot is depending on me making it.

Here you go, babe.

[exhales]

You guys turn lights off, please?

- Yeah. - And getting the chance I need to lose weight.

So whatever it takes, I'll figure it out.

Because I have to.

Today is gonna be hard.

Somehow, I have to make it to Houston.

I slept past breakfast so my mom and JJ went

and got me something.

Hey, son.

[Paul] Thank God, the food's here. I'm starving.

So, I'm going to have a bite before I left

and hopefully give me a little boost to start out.

As soon as I eat, we're gonna hit the road.

And do our best to get to Houston today

before my appointment with Dr. Now tomorrow.

- That's good [bleep]. - How'd you sleep last night?

- Rough. - Are you still hurting being in the car all day?

Yeah.

The trip I think has been a lot harder on Paul than

we really expected it to be.

You know, someone 700 pounds,

his size being crammed in the car,

it's hard on his legs and it's really rough.

And we're all tired, but I know it's taken a toll on him worse

and he slept in this morning.

You could just tell his body's tired and he's hurting

and now I'm really concerned we're gonna miss this appointment.

Because he slept in longer than he should have

and I, you know, could not get him up

and moving him out of bed.

Seems like he's just dragging today.

And I'm really concerned and stressed out.

[JJ] I don't mean to rush you on eating,

but we really got to get going.

We're gonna probably be late for your appointment, Paul.

- Nah, we'll be good. - We overslept, like...

We'll be good.

You don't have to eat all that right now.

You can save some.

Uh-huh, [mumbles]

I feel I'm trying to pressure him

and push him and...

It's been hard to get him motivated and going

and, just, I just want to get on the road

road and get to this appointment.

And I feel like I'm the only one really taking it serious.

Paul.

Like, you don't have to eat all of it.

You don't have to eat everything there.

I'm hungry.

I'm very concerned about Paul's eating.

You know, we're on our way to see the doctor and I know

he really has to start the diet

after, but, I just, I wish I would see him

trying to put in the effort now ahead of time.

Um, I had the surgery and it's really a mental thing.

So, you have to be mentally prepared to stop yourself from eating.

And it's hard and I just don't feel like

he's really taking it as serious as I wish he was.

And I know it's hard,

I do, but he just, he won't stop eating.

And I try to tell him are you, are you sure you're so hungry?

Like, and he says yes, but it just doesn't stop.

And I'm really getting concerned.

You got me two omelets.

That was all they had.

I'm scared, really scared.

And that Dr. Now isn't gonna approve the surgery

because he's not gonna see what he needs to see from Paul.

Like, he wants to see that you're dedicated

and ready for this change and he's not gonna want

to waste his time on somebody that's not gonna put in the effort.

Can we go now?

Yeah.

And I really want this for him, but I'm,

I'm really worried he's not gonna get approved for it.

I'm so concerned about him.

And I don't want to lose my best friend. [sniffles]

[Paul] The one thing that I do have to look forward to

is the food on the road.

And my plan is to use that to try and motivate me to push myself

to keep going today.

So, every time I make it another 100 miles closer

to Houston, I'll reward myself

with something good to eat.

And if I do that around six or seven times,

I'll be able to make it to Houston.

I don't know if that's gonna be enough

to help me deal with the pain.

Especially after a few hours.

But, at least it gives me something to try.

And do to keep going.

So, hopefully that helps, but I'll just have to wait

and see how it goes.

And how I handle it all.

I'm just worried because of how sore I already am

and how hard I know it's gonna get for me.

But, all I have to do is keep moving forward

and do my best and hopefully I can make it.

I'm really tired.

I lasted as long as I can today.

But, I'm at my limit.

So, I told JJ we had to stop.

She wants me to keep going because we still have

five hours left to go to get to Houston.

We're about to be in Louisiana.

But, I can't do it.

I have to rest.

I really want to keep going, but my body just can't take it.

It hurts.

My knees hurt.

I don't know what this is gonna mean about tomorrow

and my appointment with Dr. Now.

But, I can't think about it right now.

I just need to get into bed and rest.

[grunts]

I've done my best today and I'm out.

I've got no more in me.

And so I don't know what we're gonna do

about getting to my appointment on time,

but I'll figure it out tomorrow.

Because I don't have it in me to do anything more today.

Mom.

[Teresa] Coming.

I'm just done.

We have a chance of making it to Dr. Now's in time for my appointment.

My appointment is five and a half hours from now.

So, that's tight, but we can make it if we don't stop a lot.

We need to get on the road.

JJ says it'll look bad and show Dr. Now

I'm not invested in doing this, but I am.

I'm very invested and I want Dr. Now to know that.

So, I'm gonna push myself and try and make it today.

I'm just hoping my body can handle it.

We made it to Houston and I'm so very thankful

we're getting close

and it looks like we're gonna make it.

The appointment's at 1:30 and it's a little past one now,

and we're about 30 minutes away.

So, we may be a little late, but pretty much on time.

I'm in a lot of pain because we mostly done

a straight shot down the interstate 10

to get here with just about no stopping.

So, I'm really looking forward to just getting there

and being able to get out.

My legs are so sore, but I'm just glad we made it.

We're a little late, but not too bad,

so I don't think Dr. Now is gonna be upset.

- You ready? - Yeah.

- Are you gonna do this? - Yeah.

But, I'm really getting nervous about this appointment

because we had to rush here so fast

that I haven't had time to kind of mentally prepare myself

to talk to Dr. Now and do this.

I just hope that he has a plan for me that can work,

so I can finally lose the weight.

Mr. McNeill.

I know that I have a lot to lose,

no matter what my weight is today.

Whatever the scale number, it's gonna be a lot higher

than what it should be.

And I want to fix that.

But, I hope the number I get from the scale today

is at least in the range I was at last time.

It's been at least five months since I got my weight

and I was around 750 then.

So, if I'm around 800 or something like that now,

it's gonna be a huge shock for me.

I'm worried and nervous about that

and I'm in a lot of pain still.

And I feel rushed, so I'm just hoping

I can get through this and it all goes right

because in a fight to save my life.

And if I don't get a plan to do that today,

then I don't know what I'm gonna do.

I'm at Dr. Now's for my first in person appointment with him

and I'm about to get my weight.

[woman] Go ahead, and step on the scale.

I was 744 about four months ago.

[breathing heavily]

So, I'm hoping I'm still in the 740 range.

757.

[JJ] It's gonna be okay, Paul.

Oh, son.

What are we gonna do?

Gotta do something about it.

[JJ] Never gonna see that number again.

- Never again. - Never again.

Whenever you mess up, just remember seeing that number

and how you feel right now.

Yeah.

I gained a little, but not a whole lot.

So I'm a little relieved,

but 750 pounds is still a little embarrassing

to see come up on the scale.

And when it did, it made me sick to my stomach.

So, I'm here to change.

I just hope that Dr. Now is able to give me an option

and a plan to help me do that.

[knocking at door]

Hello.

- Hey, Doc. - How you all doing?

[Paul] How you doing.

All right, Paul, you finally made it just a little late,

but you're here, so I'm glad to see you.

So, how was your trip down here?

Long.

All right, how long it take you to get down here?

Almost three days.

Three days. Are you holding up okay?

My body hurts.

I'm tired.

[Dr. Now] Tired and your body hurts.

So, that's a lot of strain on your body

going back and forth.

So, this is not gonna be something that

you're gonna be able to do.

And that's why it important you move here.

So, if you want to do the program,

then you need to plan to do that

and stay for at least a year or so.

Because going back and forth is going to be very hard

on your body and it not gonna be possible

for us to keep the track of your weight

and make sure that you stay committed.

And if we need to intervene to get you back on track,

it won't be possible to do it being in Florida.

So, that is something you need to consider.

But, I'm glad you made it here this time.

[Paul] Thank you.

So, Paul, you weren't kidding about your weight.

You're over 750 and that's a lot.

But, thankfully, you're still mobile.

But, no one that weight is getting food

without some help.

So, who you got with you?

Um, my mother and my best friend.

- All right, nice to meet you. - Nice to meet you.

So, who is enabling you more,

your mother or your friend?

Probably me 'cause he's with me more.

So are you the one that encourage him to eat

whatever he wants, whenever he wants?

I allow it, and I give it to him.

And I cook so I said it before and I'm very, very sorry

because I was a big woman myself

and I ate wrong.

And then you know just tragedy, things happened.

And Paul would get bigger and bigger.

And then when he'd say he wants something to eat, I'd fix it for him.

So how did you lose your weight?

Actually I had...

It started out... I had a gallbladder problem

and so I took my gallbladder out and then I just decided

to take a change on my way

and I tried to go on just like chicken,

very little starches and, you know, lots of vegetables,

and no sweets.

Well you're doing that for yourself but you're not doing that for Paul.

Paul, Paul I...

[sighing]

He was on the road a lot, so he wasn't always home.

Then when he was home, I tried to make him happy

and fix what he wanted to eat.

- Well... - I didn't see it before--

Looking at his leg and you think he's happy now?

No, sir.

So this is a dynamic that we need to change.

But I don't know how we gonna change that.

I know how we're gonna change it.

We're gonna try.

We're gonna try and I'm gonna cook right.

And he has a young lady that he sees.

And she has already told him

that food will be cooked good, too.

So we're not gonna do things in front of him

and we're gonna try to all start eating healthy.

Yeah.

So Paul you come down to Houston,

who's gonna be with you?

I mean I wanted my girlfriend to come

but I don't think she's able to make it. So I'm not sure yet.

You're gonna need somebody to help you out

because you know you're not a person

that you're gonna take care of yourself.

And it's not safe for you to be alone

because if anything happen to you, if you fall,

who's gonna help you.

And somebody need to be around with you

so it'll be safe, okay?

So if you want to do the program

you're gonna have to figure that out.

Yes, sir.

So just think about that and let me know what you decide.

But for the time being, your mother is gonna stop enabling you.

Yes.

Is that what your mom said?

That's what I say.

And your friend is not enabling you, huh?

I do sometimes.

I'm a little more stern with him

because I also had the surgery five years ago.

So I know the struggles but...

So everybody look like they know what to do.

- Right. - But not for Paul.

So let's keep Paul happy and give him more... whatever he want.

Instead of making him permanently happy

we try to make him happy in that moment. But, yeah.

We know it's not good and we have to change.

So this is all more reason you need to be here

so we can get you to be accountable for your eating habit, okay?

Yes, sir.

But until then, you need to realize that

enabling people are gonna be around you,

but ultimately it is your responsibility

to change your eating habit.

- Yes, sir. - And that's gonna be something

that you're gonna have to do. You understand that right?

- Yes, sir. - Okay.

All right Paul, so right now, because you live so far

I'm gonna set your next appointment for three months from now.

I don't want you traveling again too soon after this trip.

In that time you need to lose 100 pounds in three months.

You think you can do that?

Yes, sir.

So you should be around 650 by then, okay?

And if you do that I'll approve you for weight loss surgery

to help you lose weight.

And also what's going on with your legs

and all the swelling you got?

[Paul] Lymphedema.

You got it also down in the leg.

All the way down to my feet.

- Okay. - All through the back of my legs, yeah.

Hasn't really opened right now

but sometimes they do open.

Okay. So what you doing with the lymphedema?

I try to put socks on.

I have some compression socks but sometimes it's hard to do.

Okay. So how mobile are you? How much you can walk?

I can stand for probably about ten minutes.

I can walk to the end of my mom's driveway, you know.

- You get short of breath? - Yes sir,

So we have a lot of work to do with you

to get you healthy, Paul.

But nothing we do is gonna matter

if you don't make the choices to work hard.

- You get that? - Yes sir.

Everyone come here to lose weight.

The only way you're gonna be able to do that

is that you're gonna have to do the hard work,

and you're gonna make those changes happen. Okay?

So you're gonna have to prove that you can change your eating habit

and motivate yourself so that's gonna be all up to you

- to do the hard work, okay? - Okay.

So I sent you the diet and exercises a couple of weeks ago.

Have you started following it and doing what it says?

[Paul] Not yet.

So how does that make sense

if you're telling me that you're ready to change?

I'm ready now. And I'm gonna do what I need.

Okay. In order to get the temptation out of the house,

get all the unhealthy food out of the house.

- Okay? - Yes, sir.

Then Paul, follow the diet.

You only eat three time a day.

Make sure it's high protein, low carb diet.

So I know I gave you some instruction,

but I'm gonna bring you it again

and maybe I'll give another copy to your mom

so she can be more familiar

what you're gonna be doing that. Okay?

Also do your exercises, and if you do all that

you should easily be able to lose 100 pound in three months.

- Okay. - When you're 700 pounds you can lose 100 pounds easily.

So you got a lot of room to lose that very quickly.

- Okay? - Yes, sir.

- All right, any questions? - [Paul] No sir.

Okay. I'm gonna bring you another copy of the diet

and exercises that I want you to do

and I want you to go over it. I'll be back.

[Paul] All right. Thank you.

[Teresa] Thank you, sir.

I'm glad to see that everyone seems ready to support Paul.

And do what it takes to help him get healthy.

And that Paul feels he's ready to make the changes

he need to save his life.

But as ready as they all are to do this,

it's not gonna be simple for Paul and his mom

to change their dynamic instantly.

But it is Paul's responsibility

to make sure that no matter the situation or temptation,

the choice to do what he need is up to him.

[Dr. Now] No more nothing to do and watching for the food.

You get all this homework, you start working on it, okay?

- Yes, sir. - And,

let me know if you need anything

and then we go from there, okay?

Sounds good, thank you.

Before you go we do some tests, okay?

Thank you.

All right.

- And if you need anything give me a call. - Yes, sir.

Thank you very much.

All right you're welcome. I'll see you all later.

- See you later. - All right. Bye-bye.

So far it is concerning that he has a few weeks

to start making those changes

with the diet and exercises I sent him.

But hasn't.

So it's time for him to put action to all he's saying

and show me he can do this.

Because if he doesn't, we won't be moving ahead with him.

[Paul] I know I have to do this.

I'm out of options so I have to lose 100 pounds in three months.

And do everything Dr. Now says starting now.

I know 100 pounds is a whole lot to lose

but I'm actually excited about the goal.

Because I feel like I have a plan to fix things.

And there's still time for me to turn it all around

before it's too late.

I'm making it to that goal

because I'm getting a second chance in life

and I'm gonna do whatever it takes to get approved for surgery.

[Paul] I've been back home from Houston for a few days now.

And as soon as we made it home my focus went 100 percent

towards making the changes I need to do Dr. Now's diet.

Because I'm determined to get to my goal.

But we don't have the ingredients I need at home

to make the healthy stuff in this diet.

So I'm trying to make sure I have what I need now.

- Yeah, Dad? - Turkeys.

Turkey gizzards, stuff like that?

It has to be high protein.

-Turkey's high protein. All protein. -No.

Yeah it is.

I'm looking forward to the day where I can go somewhere

and walk around enough without having to have a scooter.

Right now, this is the only option I have to go anywhere

where I have to walk a lot or be on my feet for a while.

[Thomas] You can have that without, without the butter--

That's too many carbs.

They're small though.

Still dad.

I think I'm gonna get this.

[Paul] This is gonna be a little tougher to do

than I thought just because I have to learn

what options that I can get that work and what don't.

Bananas.

No I can't. I can't have no fruit.

I'm not supposed to have it because I'm a diabetic.

- I didn't know you couldn't 'cause you're fat. - Yeah.

[Paul] There's a lot of good ingredients Dr. Now listed in his diet

that I'm allowed to use to make my healthy meals.

I didn't realize how many things have a lot of stuff

that you're not supposed to have.

But I know that's the stuff that makes it taste so good.

So I'm not getting as much as I was thinking,

but at least I feel like I got a good starting point

to begin doing the diet.

But I know this is mostly gonna come down

to having to make meals myself or with my mom's help.

And that's not gonna be easy to do three times a day.

But I'm committed to doing this because I know

everything depends on me losing weight and qualifying.

So no matter what it takes, I'm gonna figure this out.

For the past month, I've continued making

a lot of adjustments to what I'm doing.

After I went shopping for some better ingredients,

my mom did what Dr. Now said

and threw out all the bad stuff in my house

so it wouldn't be there to tempt me.

And it was hard to watch all that stuff go,

but I knew it had to be done,

because I couldn't be around it.

A part of what me and my mom decided to do

was to have me start cooking most of my meals

because her temptation is making the food taste as good as she can.

That's how she showed people her love for so long.

So she just instinctly puts butter and all this other stuff.

So for right now, I'm trying to do my own cooking

for most of my meals.

And I learned to make some simple meals

so I don't have to head back to the store as often.

The first stuff I got from the grocery store

ran out in less than a week, and I had to go back again.

So I tried just to do simpler meals

so I can stretch out what I have for longer

so that doesn't happen again.

And it's working some.

I don't run out as fast but it's only like an extra three or four days.

So my mom's trying to help me by grabbing what I need when she can.

But for the past month I've been complying to Dr. Now's diet

and only eating what I'm supposed to eat.

And I'm making meals with the only approved ingredients.

So I feel good about that.

But it's been a lonely experience,

because I'm having to eat alone a lot

since I'm avoiding temptation.

When my mom, Jen or JJ eat with me,

they don't get anything bad to support me,

but it's hard for them to do it every meal.

So I try to eat breakfast and lunch on my own right now,

so I can make what I need and not be around anything else

that can tempt me.

I'm scared I'm gonna give in if I do.

So I just make my meals and eat them.

And then I try to occupy myself throughout the day

so I don't think about food and all the stuff I wish I can eat.

And I'm making sure not to snack

because Dr. Now made it clear, absolutely no snacking.

And I'm also doing my exercises every day.

Those were hard to start because walking's still tough for me.

And the upper body exercises were a little tough to start at first.

But I'm able to do all the stretches

and mom exercises now.

After doing 'em for a while it's not too bad.

But I'm still trying to work on my ability to walk.

Right now, I can't go very far.

My limit when I started was the end of my mom's driveway.

I knew I could walk that far

because I've had to walk it to get to the car

that was parked at the end of the driveway.

I can't go much further than that.

So I walk to the edge of the driveway and take a small break.

And enjoy the view for a moment.

That makes me think about the whole world

that's out there, that's out of reach for me.

And I can't enjoy or be a part of.

And I use that to try to motivate myself to work hard.

And then I head back inside to rest

because that tires me out.

And I do that twice a day like Dr. Now said.

But I'm noticing that when I come back in

that I'm not as out of breath as I was

when I started all this a month ago.

That makes me feel good because it feels like

it's some proof I'm making progress.

I'm doing good.

I have two more months before I go back

to see Dr. Now and to find how I did.

But I'm determined to get to my goal

to make sure I get approved for his program

and weight loss surgery.

And once that happens, the next step is for me

to move there to Houston.

And that's gonna be hard and scary

because I don't want to leave Jen

and I still don't know who's gonna move with me.

But I know I'm gonna figure it out because I'm ready to do

whatever I have to and have a chance at the future I want with Jen.

So until then, I'm gonna push myself

to work as hard as I can.

And hopefully when I go back to see Dr. Now,

it'll be enough for me to qualify

and take the step I need to get my life back.

I'm back at Dr. Now's for my second appointment

to find out if I made it to my goal or not.

And I'm a little nervous to find out.

But overall, I'm doing okay.

I'm just a little sore from the trip here,

but it's not nearly as bad as the last time

because this time I flew,

and that was an experience for me.

Hopefully, this appointment is a good one

and I feel like there's a good chance it will be.

Mr. MacNeill.

The last time I was here I weighed in at 757.

That was three months ago,

and Dr. Now gave me a goal to lose 100 pounds by today.

So that means my weight has to be down to 657

if I made it to my goal to qualify for Dr. Now's program

so that's what I'm really hoping to see on the scale right now.

[nurse] Your weight is 695.

I got mixed feelings seeing that weight I guess

because I'm disappointed I didn't lose what I needed.

But I did still lose a lot

and it's hard not to feel a little proud of that.

But ultimately, I'm nervous right now

because I don't know what Dr. Now's gonna say.

I just hope it's positive.

[knock at door]

Hello. How you doing, Paul?

I'm good, Dr. Now.

Where is your family?

Uh, at home.

So you left your enablers all at home?

- [laughs] Yeah. - Except yourself?

Except myself. I'm my own enabler.

All right. How was your trip?

It was a little cramped, but it was an easier trip.

It's a whole lot easier than being on the road two to three days.

Definitely, sir.

But still it's a lot of strain on your system

going back and forth like that.

So if you want to do the program

you need to move down to Houston.

I'm gonna do that as soon as I get approved for weight loss surgery.

So if you tell me today that I'm getting it,

I'll move down here as soon as possible.

Well you lost 62 pounds in the last three months

so that's positive, but still it's a lot less than you should have lost.

I know.

So right now instead of losing at least 33 pounds a month,

you only lost 20.

So that means that you're not doing the diet

like you should because if you were

you would have easily lost what you should have.

What did you do with your eating habit

to start making the changes you need?

I just been trying to learn your diet

and cut back to only what's on it.

So I cut out bread and pastas and all the junk food.

No sugars and sodas.

I feel like I made a big change.

But I guess it wasn't enough.

Are you still emotional eating at all?

I don't think I am.

So you're working on things with Dr. Paradise?

Yes, I am, sir.

Okay. Keep that up, but how's your portion size?

A lot smaller than what I usually eat, a whole lot.

- Do you eat 'til you're full? - Sometimes.

With a stomach your size you shouldn't eat to get full.

You have a stomach about the size of two footballs.

So you need surgery to fix that

so you can get full much quicker.

So you need to cut back on your portion size.

I'll do that 'cause I didn't realize that.

Now if you look at my book I explain the portion size.

So if you eat meat it should be around four to six ounces.

So four to six ounces is what fit in my hand, okay?

But then, when you're eating a salad or cooked vegetable,

put that on a smaller plate so you'll have control of your portion size.

So before you eat, you put everything on the plate,

so you see what the portion size are.

- So you can control that, okay? - Yes, sir.

So if you do that then over time

you get full as your stomach shrinks.

I will do that, and I didn't realize that,

but I'm dedicated to do this. I promise you Dr. Now.

[Dr. Now] Okay, great.

So here's what we can do.

Since you showed me some good progress,

I'm gonna reduce your goal to 50 pounds over two months.

And if you do that then I'm gonna approve you for weight loss surgery.

You think you can do that?

I'll definitely do that, sir.

Good. But remember, you have to move down here first

before we go ahead and do surgery.

That's no problem, sir.

If I'm getting weight loss surgery, I'll move down here

and stay as long as I need to do your program.

Great. So lose another 50 pounds

by cutting back on your portion sizes.

And once you do that, move here,

then we'll schedule your surgery.

You got it, Dr. Now. Thank you.

You're welcome. Okay, I'll see you in two months.

Have a safe trip back and if you need anything before then give me a call.

I will, thank you, Dr. Now.

Okay. Take care.

- You too. - Bye now.

Bye.

[Dr. Now] I am very encouraged to see the progress Paul's made

over the last three months.

Even though it's not as much as he should have made,

it shows me he's trying to make the changes he needs to do this.

But it sounds like the portion sizes

are the issue that he need to focus on still.

And there may be some emotional component to that

to where he eats to get full,

to get the satisfied feeling he wants from food still

even though he has cut back.

So if he works on that and loses another 50 pounds

to show me he's getting some control over his eating habits

in all the ways he needs.

And I feel confident he's ready to move ahead and get weight loss surgery.

As soon as he moves to Houston.

I feel like Dr. Now was fair with me so I feel good.

You know I lost, but it was the goal I needed.

So I didn't qualify this time.

But even though I didn't get approved for weight loss surgery

I have an easier goal for next time.

And I know I'm gonna be able to do it

with what I've done so far and everything I've learned.

So I'll go back focused and cutting my portion sizes down

like Dr. Now said,

and see if I can lose even more each month by doing that.

Because I want to do everything I can

to make sure my next appointment is the one I get my approval at.

I'm done wasting time and wasting my life.

So every choice I make from here on out

it's gonna be one that moves me

towards getting my life back

because I'm taking back control of my life no matter what it takes.

Today I'm at the carnival I used to work at

to start working there again.

Hey, Butch.

- Whoa! - What's up, man?

- What's up, man? - All right.

- What's going on man. - Good, how are you, how you doing?

All right. You doing All right?

- I'm good. - Look like you're losing a little weight there.

- Yeah, a little bit. - Yeah?

All right, boss, let's go.

[Paul] I cut back on my portions,

and I'm eating smaller sizes.

And I'm able to get around even better now

to where I can even go out without the scooter now.

And trying to figure out and plan my move to Houston

and looking at places to live and all that.

Where you want it at, Butch?

I realize I need to save up some money

to be able to afford to stay there for a year

because I'm gonna be on my own.

Over there, Michele?

And I don't know what kind of job or work I'll be able to do in Houston.

Carnival work is what I know,

so I called the guys and asked them

if I could jump back in,

and they told me it was gonna be no problem.

Hey!

I'll sit on this cooler.

And they'd love to have me back

so I'm excited to be doing this, and to see everyone.

I just hope I could do the full day like I need.

So far I feel like I'm holding up pretty good.

This has taken a lot out of me,

but it feels good to be back.

I really missed it more than I realized.

So as exhausted as I am, I'm happy to be doing this.

It's kinda like coming home and I just miss being here.

That may sound weird, but this is where I grew up.

And this is where I worked for my whole adult life.

Right now I'm gonna work off days so it's not that crowded.

Just because I'm still nervous being around a lot of people.

One thing that I didn't think about

is being around all the food I love, carnival food

because it's all the stuff I used to eat constantly,

every day of my life for so many years.

But I'm not gonna give in.

I'm gonna stay focused on the work.

Once I lose the weight then I can do the things I want with Jen.

I'm hoping we can get married

and maybe even have some kids together some day.

And as long as I keep reminding myself of that

I know I can resist.

That's what's helped me so far

because right now I feel like everything's coming together.

And I'm starting to get my life back.

So I feel good about today,

and I'm trying to keep doing this a few times a week.

Hopefully, I'll be able to save up a good amount before I get to Houston.

Because I'm determined to get to my goal

and get weight loss surgery no matter what.

[Paul] It's been almost two months

since my last appointment with Dr. Now.

My next appointment with him is in a week,

and I'm feeling pretty good about how I'm doing

and my chances of meeting my goal.

Ultimately, I'm still not sure what my weight loss is right now.

But I stayed on the diet completely

and I made sure I'm paying attention to my portion sizes.

And I've just really simplified what I eat and how I make my meals.

The easiest thing for me is that I'm hard boiling a bunch of eggs

at the beginning of the week.

And I put them in the fridge to use through the week.

Or I get some sliced turkey with it.

And then I make a simple salad so I don't have to cook for every meal.

Having to cook each meal was taking a long time

especially doing it three times a day.

And my frustration was that it increases my temptation

to order something from somewhere

because it's convenient, and it's quick.

But I've made sure not to do that.

So I'm resisting all temptations

even at the carnival.

I haven't given in once

even when I'm around all that food.

So I feel like I'm getting more control over my eating habits.

Like Dr. Now said.

And that makes me feel good and confident

I'm doing good and headed in the direction I should.

When I started, I couldn't do a whole lot.

Mostly I could only do the arm exercises and the stretching.

The upper body stuff.

That's all something I could do.

But it still made me really tired by the time I finish.

But now, I'm barely breaking a sweat

when I'm doing 'em, and I can do 'em a lot faster

because it hurts less with all the movement.

So I've been happy about that.

But what's been really is great is my walking.

When I first started five months ago,

I could barely get to the end of my mom's driveway,

and even that wiped me out.

And now, I can walk for blocks.

And that's an amazing feeling.

So far, my record is nine blocks

and I'm working on ten.

But I have to be careful not to accidentally get too far past my limit.

Because whatever extra distance I push myself to go

I have to cover it coming back.

So it's like double that when I do it.

And I don't want to end up hitting a wall

before I go back home and get stuck out here.

So I just be careful when I try to see if I can go further.

So it's been a slower process

figuring out what my limits are.

But I'm really excited by how far I've come

with my walking and my stamina.

Because that's been the biggest thing for me.

Being able to go places changes everything for me.

And it's opening up a whole new world for me.

Being able to work again is a good example of that.

So it's been amazing to just go outside

and enjoy being out and looking at the ocean,

and just take a moment to enjoy life.

It's been so long since I've been able to do anything like that.

So I feel great now.

And I'm really excited about my progress

because I know I'm working towards a better future now

and I'm doing everything I can to make sure

nothing stops me from doing that.

So I'm just hoping next week when I go back to see Dr. Now

that my weight loss is enough to make it to my goal

to get approved for weight loss surgery.

So I can keep going on this journey

and make it to where I need to be.

[Paul] I'm back in Houston again

for another appointment with Dr. Now.

I flew again just because it's easier than having to drive in.

And I know that Dr. Now prefers me to put less strain on my body.

But I'm less sore this time

even from the last time I flew.

So I think that's positive.

It shows that I'm moving in the right direction.

So I'm feeling really good about where I'm at.

And my chances of being where I need to be today.

But like the other times, I'm still nervous

because I just don't know what my weight's gonna be

until I see it on the scale.

But I've worked extremely hard to qualify for Dr. Now's program

and hopefully get weight loss surgery.

Mr. McNeill.

[Paul] Because I know I'm not gonna be able to move ahead

unless I show him I'm ready to work at this.

So that's what I'm hoping I do today.

Because I know if I don't I can't do his program.

There's no other options for me out there.

So I really hope I did it.

I'm back at Dr. Now's to see if I made it to my goal this time.

And I'm really hoping I did.

Two months ago, I made it down to 695.

Dr. Now gave me another weight loss goal

to lose 50 pounds by that day.

So if I made it I'll be down to 645 today.

[nurse] Your weight is 641.

Yes!

That's awesome.

It felt really good to see that number come up,

I'm excited. I'm really excited.

I set my mind to something, and I did it.

And it wasn't easy.

So it just feels really good to see it pay off

especially when I wanted it so bad.

So I'm hoping that the next steps for me

are to figure out how to move to Houston.

Because Dr. Now's about to tell me

I'm approved for weight loss surgery.

Hey, Paul, how you doing?

Good, Dr. Now, how are you, sir?

I'm doing well.

So you made it down here on your own again?

Yes, sir, this time it was easier,

so I feel like what I'm doing is paying off.

Well, I agree with you because you lost 54 pound, and that's great.

Yes, sir. I almost did a cartwheel.

All right.

So did you cut back on your portion size?

Yes, sir, I did like you said and I followed the portions in your book.

And it was just like you told me

because after a month of never feeling full

with that amount I started to feel more full,

not completely, but I was getting more satisfied with less.

That's great. That's good progress.

Well I'm proud of you for all your hard work.

So I'm gonna approve you for weight loss surgery.

And I'll do that as soon as you move down here to Houston.

Thank you. Thank you so much.

I'm so stoked. I'm so excited.

I'm gonna move down to Houston as soon as I can.

Don't take too long.

But if you do I expect you to stay on track

and lose at least 15 pound a month

until we do your surgery

which should be easier for you, and it would be great

if you get under 600 before your surgery

because it will reduce the strain on your system,

and will be easier with anesthesia and all that.

So you think you can do that?

Yes, sir, I can do that.

I can stay on track and lose the 15 pounds a month

until we do the surgery.

I'm gonna stick to my goals

and keep on pushing on the diet that you gave me.

Okay, great.

So I'm gonna set you an appointment for two months from now.

That'll give you enough time to move down here.

So you don't have to make these trips.

And keep me posted about your timeframe

when you're moving down here.

But as long as you stay on track,

we'll keep moving forward with your surgery, okay?

That's great, doctor.

I'm thankful that you approved me for the surgery.

It's a blessing. Thank you so much.

You're welcome. I'm proud of your progress,

keep working hard, and if you need anything before then, give me a call.

Thank you, and I will.

- All right, take care. - Bye-bye.

[Dr. Now] I'm very proud of Paul.

He has worked hard to do what he needs from the start.

So I have no doubt about how dedicated he is

to change his life and get healthy.

And I'm confident he's ready to move ahead with weight loss surgery.

And that it will be a good tool that will help him

to continue doing what he needs to get to his target weight.

So as soon as he moves down here,

we will take that step with him,

and then continue working to help him lose

the 400 pounds he still needs

to get to his target weight of 225 pounds.

And I think with what I have seen from him so far,

he should be able to do that within a year

after his weight loss surgery,

as long as he stick with it,

and keep working as hard as he has so far.

But I'm proud of him for how he has done,

and I'm looking forward to seeing even more progress from him soon.

[Paul] I'm excited, because this means I can keep on moving forward

to work towards getting my life back.

And I have a chance to have what I want,

which is a future with Jen.

So I'm happy that I'm gonna be able to take this next step

to get closer to that.

And I know this is just a start for me really.

And that there's a lot of hard work ahead

especially figuring out the move to come down here and all that.

But I'm ready to do this, whatever I have to do

to have the life that I want. I'm ready for it.

I flew back home yesterday.

After my appointment with Dr. Now,

but I held off on telling anyone my progress

And that I got approved.

But right now, I wanted to do something special

to tell Jen.

This is beautiful.

Where are we going?

Ah... Wouldn't you like to know.

Ultimately, this is good news as this is gonna save my life.

But the bad part is I have to move away,

and that means that Jen and me

have to have a long distance relationship for a while.

We won't be able to see each other often during that time.

And that's gonna be really hard for me.

But I'm doing this for us because I know

if I don't that I won't have a future with Jen.

[Jen] Well, it's already past our anniversary.

It's not my birthday. It's not your birthday.

[Paul] It's not, it's a surprise.

[Paul] I have plans to tell her that I did it,

and that this is actually happening.

So I'm moving to Houston, but I'm gonna make her a promise.

In one year, I'm gonna lose the weight

and come and take her back to the beach.

It's been a minute since we've been to the beach, huh?

- It has. - [Paul] She loves the beach.

Whoo!

[Paul] It's one of her favorite places.

But I've never been able to go with her.

I can't wait to be able to walk on the beach.

[Jen] Me, too.

[Paul] It's impossible at my size to walk on sand,

because my weight makes it shift too much to walk on.

So my commitment to her is that I'm gonna go work hard

to get healthy,

to lose all the weight in a year.

I'm gonna spin you around, all right?

Ready? Ooh-wee!

[Paul] The main reason I'm doing this

is to have a better life with her and Riley someday.

And I want that day to be soon.

So what's up?

So you want to know why I brought you here, right?

I know I have a problem.

I had to take this leap,

and have the surgery by going to Houston.

And I know that you can't go,

because there's work and Riley.

I want you to know that when I'm done with the surgery,

I'm gonna push myself to lose all this weight.

Right now I'm not able to walk on this beach.

I'm gonna make this promise that we're gonna walk on this beach together

and be happy for the rest of our lives.

I know you can do this.

- I love you. - I love you.

I love you.

[Jen] I understand why Paul has to go,

but I'm not gonna be able to go to Houston with him.

I think the hardest thing is we're gonna be apart 1,400 miles.

I feel like our relationship is strong enough

to withstand this time away.

I think it's vital for him to get healthy,

because if he doesn't,

the strain that the weight does put on his body

I feel will cut his life shorter.

I think if Paul lost a lot of weight

he would be able to come out and do more things

and be able to spend time doing those things with Riley and I.

I want to be able to do things with him.

- You hungry? - Yeah.

Paul made a promise to me

that he was gonna come back and take a walk

along the beach with me.

I feel like that's important because the beach is one of my favorite places,

and he can't walk with me right now.

So I think it's a really nice promise.

And I would love to walk on the beach with Paul.

That would make me very happy.

And I'm definitely gonna hold him to it.

I think that Paul will be very successful.

I'm absolutely gonna support him

in his quest to lose weight.

What sounds good to you?

[Paul] Need something healthy.

[Paul] Jen changed my life and gave me purpose again.

So I owe her this, and even though it's gonna be hard

for both of us to be apart,

I know we'll manage this and figure it out to make it work.

- Just the chicken. - Chicken?

- Do you want black beans? - No beans.

No beans?

No sour cream, no cheese.

So no dairy on it.

[Paul] Thankfully, I have a little more time before I'm leaving.

And a large ice water please.

I want to get my surgery as soon as possible

so the second that I have everything I need,

and everything lined up, I'm making the move.

But until then, I'm making sure I don't slack on my diet.

Dr. Now warned me about that.

But I'm sticking to my diet.

Because Dr. Now also told me

if I don't stay on track, then I'll lose my approval,

and I can't let that happen.

But I know this means I have a whole lot of work ahead,

not just to get ready for Houston and the move,

but to lose the weight and to get to where I need.

But I'm gonna work my hardest to make sure

that all that happens as soon as possible.

I'd offer you a bite, but you can't have the tortilla.

I don't need a bite, baby.

I got this salad and it's good.

Every choice I make from here on out has one purpose.

To get the life I want with Jen

so I'm using that to keep me motivated

for every minute of every day,

so I move closer and closer to my goal,

and that life, so I can get back here

and keep that promise I made to the love of my life.

And start the life with her that I'm dreaming of.

And I can't wait for that.

Wow, you seem really serious about this.

I gotta be.

Gotta make a better life for both of us.