The Power of Powell

In Chris Powell’s world, morbidly obese people are not dead weights. He works tirelessly to help them take a load off their bodies and minds.

When people approach Chris Powell, they desperately need to get something off their chest.

It’s not just several hundred pounds of unwanted fat. They also talk to him about their lives mired in depression and despair.

Using an unorthodox approach, the 35-year-old personal trainer and life coach has helped dozens of morbidly obese individuals shed both pounds and personal demons. In one instance, he helped a man lose 401 pounds in 26 months. It became the largest and fastest natural weight loss ever documented.

That particular story captured America’s heart and catapulted Chris’ explosion onto the national fitness scene. Today, he serves as the trainer and host of the hit ABC show “Extreme Weight Loss,” where he travels the country and uses innovative techniques to help extremely overweight individuals embark on a life transformation.

Viewers know him not as the screaming, in-your-face trainer, but rather a kind-hearted man who gently motivates obese people to lose weight and gain self-esteem. And for Powell, nothing could be more rewarding that.

“Being a part of their transformation and seeing them confront their fears truly inspires me,” he said. “We feed off each other and go through the journey together as equals. These people are truly courageous and incredible.”

Recently, Healthy Living Magazine conducted a 30-minute interview (Hey, he’s a busy man!) with Chris. He weighed in on his own life struggles, his rise to stardom and even provided a few insightful tips for our faithful readers.

Healthy Living: You’ve helped countless people overcome adversity, which is ironic since you faced adversity in your childhood. Could you talk about that?

Chris Powell: My father was in the military, and we moved around a lot. I attended five different elementary schools and three different high schools. No matter what school I was at, I always was the smallest kid. By the time I was in fifth grade, kids began picking on me because they figured going against me would be an easy win. It wasn’t fun to deal with kids who were bigger and stronger than I was. 

HL: In what other ways did your short stature negatively impact you?

CP: I grew up loving football and that is all I ever wanted to do. After my freshman year in high school, we moved to Oregon. I attended Jesuit High School, which was a Catholic powerhouse in the state. I went out for the football team as a 5-foot-3-inch sophomore. I was the smallest kid by at least 30 pounds. The first day of practice we had to run through what is called a gauntlet, where three players line up on each side and try to hit you with pads and knock the ball loose. Every time I ran through the gauntlet I fumbled. After three days of practice, I remember the team huddling around a water fountain and my teammates pushing me out of the huddle. I didn’t feel like I belonged or was part of the team. It crushed my spirit. I ended up quitting the team. 

HL: How did your parents help you cope?

CP: One week after quitting, I came home from school and noticed that the living room furniture had been cleared out. In the middle of the room was a weight bench my parents purchased for me. At first I thought, ‘What am I supposed to do with this thing? I’m a scrawny runt so this won’t make much of a difference.’ For a few days, I would lie down on the bench to watch television. 

HL: At what point did you use the weight bench for its intended purpose?

CP: About a week later, I decided to lift the barbell just to see what it would feel like. Believe it or not, it actually felt good. I started lifting every day after school and began putting on weight. From there, it just kept going and going and going. After one month, I looked in the mirror and saw muscles. I felt strong and empowered. It gave me confidence. I began using the school’s weight room for an hour-and-a-half every day. I began buying fitness, nutrition and bodybuilding magazines and loaded tons of information into my brain. Before long, fellow students started approaching me and asking all sorts of questions about fitness. Essentially, I was like the trainer in the weight room. That’s where everything started. 

HL: What you endured in your childhood obviously serves as a motivational tool when you’re helping others overcome their challenges.

CP: Absolutely. I’m passionate about healthy living because that’s what gave me my confidence and self-esteem.

HL: Tell me about your early career before you became host of “Extreme Weight Loss.”

CP: In 2003, I landed a gig as the local fitness guy on a local news show called “Good Morning Arizona.” After about six months, I started receiving emails from people who were 500 and 600 pounds asking me for help. I realized there’s a subculture of individuals living among us who we never see because they’re ashamed and pride themselves on being invisible. One of the emails was from David Smith, a gentleman who weighed 630 pounds. I had never worked with someone so large before. But I showed up at his house every other day, and he lost more than 401 pounds in 26 months.

HL: What kind of feedback did you receive?

CP: After David lost the weight, he posted before-and-after pictures of himself on MySpace. A couple different websites posted the pictures on their sites and it went viral over a week.  Before you know it, countless doctors, as well as “Oprah” and the “Today Show,” all started reaching out to us and wondering how we did what we did. The Learning Channel did a documentary on David titled, “The 650-pound Virgin.” 

HL: Where did things lead from there?

CP: I was contacted by a friend of mine who is a casting director in Los Angeles. She said her boss wanted to talk to me. Her boss happened to be the CEO of the production company that produced “The Biggest Loser.” He told me he wanted to develop a new show that focuses on weight loss but was different from “The Biggest Loser.” So, my ex-girlfriend and I drove to Los Angeles three different times in a span of four weeks and talked with the creative team. We mapped out all the details—from the theme to the weigh-ins. Three months passed before the CEO from the company called me and said they had sold the show to ABC. I asked him who was going to be the trainer on the show, and he said, ‘You are. ABC saw you, and you’re the only person they wanted.’ That was five years ago and the show is still going today.

HL: What’s the biggest challenge in training someone who is morbidly obese?

CP: The hardest part is convincing them that they can make a big transformation in their lives. Most of them are broken and live in a dark place. Even though they see what we’ve been able to do with other individuals, they have a hard time believing that they can do it themselves because they have such a history of failure. 

HL: For the ones who ultimately end up being successful, how long does it take for them to begin feeling confident?

CP: For some, it takes weeks; for others, it takes months. The important thing is realizing they can be fully committed to achieving a healthy lifestyle. When this happens, they begin achieving things they once thought were impossible. Then they begin wondering, ‘If I can do this, what else can I do?’

HL: Does having a strong support system play a role in determining whether they’ll ultimately be successful?

CP: Having a strong support system is critical. If a contestant’s family isn’t on board with them, it can clearly sabotage the entire process. We have to coach their families and immediate support systems to be supportive and understand the struggles that the person we’re training will endure. Honestly, diet and exercise are the easy parts. The emotional and psychological aspects, as well as the support system, are the two biggest hurdles we have to overcome. When those two things are conquered, we’re off to a very good start. 

HL: Given their physical condition and low-self esteem, you are taking on a tremendous challenge by training morbidly obese people. What makes you believe so strongly in them?

CP: Because I’ve seen plenty of them go from the darkest of dark to turning their lives around. That’s the most powerful thing in the world. I know what the human body, mind and heart are capable of doing. 

HL: There have been some people on your show who you simply could not help. Why do you think that is?

CP: These people say they want to change, but they don’t want to take the first step. When we lay out realistic expectations of the journey ahead and what it’s going to cost them, they’re not willing to pay that price. Life as they know it isn’t painful enough for them to want to change. Life as they know it has to become painful enough that the cost of living the same is greater than the cost of changing. Some just haven’t reached that rock-bottom moment where they desire a completely new life. 

HL: Given that you’re a very busy man, what would you say to people who claim they don’t have enough time to exercise?

CP: It’s funny you ask. I am working on a third book and just got off the phone with my editor. I had to break a commitment with her and felt very bad. In instances like these where I break a promise, I confess, reassess and recommit. After apologizing to my editor, we mapped out what my schedule was like over the next two weeks and developed a plan so I can deliver the manuscript on time to meet her deadline. This always works for me, and it certainly applies to people undergoing a life transformation. They’re not always going to exercise and eat right each day. We’re all human and make mistakes. But when they confess, reassess and recommit, they’ll quickly be back on track.

HL: With that said, what are some cardio exercises for people who do face daily time crunches?

CP: They can do jumping jacks, high knees running in place or burpies. Those three things are good workouts and get your heart rate up very fast.