Losing It With Jillian (2010) s01e05 Episode Script
Vivio
- Tonight on losing it - We're here to do a redo on my heart.
I haven't been able to do what I normally do.
This is the 11th procedure I've had in the last year.
- Come on, get it! His son Elijah is following right in his footsteps.
- No.
- 330 pounds Up! 14 years old.
- Just really a sick feeling.
- To show emotions, that's weak and womanlike.
- I think to myself, "you're worth nothing.
" - I'm the same way.
- He's learned it from you.
Come on! Faster, faster, faster, faster.
I have had - Enough! - I'm learnin' to live livin' to learn startin' to sing my song right or wrong learning to live - America, this week I'm in Springfield, Tennessee.
I'm about to move in with the Vivio family Mom Laverne, dad mark, And their two teenage sons, Jedediah and Elijah.
- We are a big family.
We are all over six feet tall.
- Hi, guys.
- My husband and I have four boys.
I have two boys that are away at college Caleb and Jeremiah.
They're twins.
Football is a really big deal in this family.
It's such a big thing to my husband.
He loves I he just loves it.
And so he wants his whole family to love it.
- Since I was a freshman in High School, Sports was all I ever did.
I weighed 305 pounds and had 9% body fat, But I let myself go, And I should've stayed physically fit.
I would not have had so much problems with my heart, I think, If I wouldn't have been so overweight.
Well, we're here to do a redo on my heart The 11th procedure I've had in the last little over a year.
- Because of mark's heart condition, He was forced to close down the family business, And Laverne has had to pick up the pieces.
- [voice breaking.]
he feels so bad, Because I'm having to work all the time.
- I feel like I've left my family down.
I was supposed to have the work.
I was supposed to be able to do everything.
- I need some help with this family, Because it feels like it's just gonna come apart.
- And to make matters worse, his son Elijah Is following right in his footsteps, Topping the scales at 330 pounds at only 14 years old.
- It's a unique spot To feel like you just don't have a place anywhere.
- He doesn't feel like he can Ever get back to normal.
- [voice breaking.]
the way that people treat me it upsets me.
I think to myself, like, "you're worth nothing Because you can't do anything.
" - The situation is dangerous, And I need to do something immediately to stop it.
- You guys ready to eat? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
Starving.
- Where, uh Where do they live? Seems very sort of remote.
Cats Awesome.
- Mom, will you grab the bacon out of that - Here we go.
[phone ringing.]
- Hello, this is Laverne.
- How you doing, Laverne? - I'm good.
How are you doing? [bees buzzing.]
- I'm ducking bees in your backyard, actually.
[laughs.]
- Oh, my stars.
Oh, my God.
She's right there.
- Look, she's at the door.
- There's Jillian right there! [squeals.]
- Can you let me in? - Oh, my God! You're kidding me! Oh! I want a hug.
Oh, my gosh.
- These guys are gigantic.
Seriously, they're enormous.
I feel like a leprechaun.
It's ridiculous.
That's better.
[Laverne laughing.]
I'm like, "oh, my gosh.
" How am I gonna be able to walk around on my little box And have these conversations? - We'll get you some stilts.
- Wow! You want the good news or the bad news? - Both.
- Well, the good news, obviously, You've made the show.
The bad news is that I'm moving in tonight.
- I am not believing this.
- But right now you need to get changed.
- Workout clothes? - Workout clothes.
Rápido.
- I love it.
Let's go.
- Get your little butt moving there.
"cowboys, leave your guns at the bar.
" What guns? Vivios! Come on down! Hustle.
- All right, let's move it.
Run, run.
Hustle means run.
- Everybody but mark don't run.
All right, here's what I need.
I need a quick lap everyone but mark.
Rock and roll.
- Okay.
- Okay, here's what our mission's gonna be.
Obviously, we want to get your health back in order.
You can get fit and healthy Under any and every circumstance.
We're just gonna keep you at a brisk walk, Making sure your heart rate's in check, Making sure we're not opening up those stitches or anything, Okay? - Okay.
- Not being able to work mark out Is going to be like pulling teeth, Trying to elicit change from him.
It sucks.
Okay.
Mom, come on over here.
Get that bottom down.
Pop, pop.
Slam it! Good.
Get the whole body in there.
Come on.
Let me hear it! [both grunt loudly.]
Quick, boys.
Quick, quick, quick.
In and out.
Faster, faster, faster, faster.
Whip it ten.
Get up that thing.
Come on, push it.
Come on! How's that working out for you? - It's a little tough.
- Come on, come on.
Up! You're strong, kiddo.
Throw it.
Throw.
I like this family.
Most families don't make it five minutes.
It's refreshing.
Come on! Let's go! These guys have so much potential To be healthy.
I mean, I am killing them, And they're taking it all.
I mean, they're rock stars.
Tennessee, baby! Look at that.
- Drop down.
Small steps let's go.
It's incredibly frustrating watching from the sidelines.
The last year and a half, I haven't been able to do what I normally do.
- Hey, dad, you know what? You would be able to help if your health was better.
- I know.
- Come on, get it! Let's go! Grrrr! Yeah! - Oh! - This city girl is gonna run you around! - Jillian is so tough.
You know, when you see it on TV, you think, "oh, yeah, between takes, they're catching their breath.
" No, no.
- [coughing, retching.]
- Oh, who's puking? Wait.
Put me down.
I want to see this.
Hold on.
This is fun.
- Jeez.
- Too much bacon for lunch.
- How much bacon did you have for lunch? - [spits.]
- how much bacon? - Ten strips.
- Ten strips? Look, there's at least two.
Jedediah puked! Yay! Football come over here.
Let me see those fancy feet.
- It's not like I'm doing twice as much as him.
- Here we go.
Up and over ten times.
Eight, seven Six, five What's going on? - I don't know.
I just can't catch my - Hey, guys, take a lap for me.
Elijah looks physically so much older than his age.
I need to keep reminding myself that he's 14, Especially emotionally.
What else is going on? - Jedediah making fun of me didn't help.
He said that he was doing twice as much as me and stuff.
- Elijah's the odd man out in this family.
I just want to help this kid find his place.
What do you want to accomplish? - A lot of stuff that I would like to change Is the way, like, people talk to me.
- What do you mean? - Just all sorts of different fat jokes and things.
- Yeah.
You know what? I was a fat kid too.
Did you know that? - No, I didn't.
- I felt like a moving target.
It was right about your age that I got help.
My mom got me into martial arts, And I had people that I could turn to And that would support me.
- Yeah.
- Who are you talking to? - I talk to my mom a lot about it.
She would comfort me.
My father was grown up in a family Where you suck it up all the time, And he never really connected.
- Dad sucks it up all the time? - Yeah.
My dad has never been open to me.
He's a good guy, But I mean, he's not the kind of, like, person Who I go to to help me feel better.
What I really want out of this week Is to have a better relationship with my dad.
- I'll help you with that.
- Okay.
- Take me back to the house.
What are those poles? - Oh, that's, um, a bridge that we built a couple years ago.
We call the bridge the downfall of man.
It was kind of the start of all of my father's Problems and things.
- The downfall of man.
That's quite a name.
Well, well, well.
- Hey.
- What'd you think? - Uh, the downfall of man.
- Yeah.
- Just one.
Just one man.
- That bridge was up for three months, And the flood took it down Christmas, Right after we put it up, And he tore his acl.
If he hadn't torn his acl, We'd have never known he had the heart thing, And none of this would have happened.
- The collapse of their bridge Began a series of events That created the unraveling of this family.
Mark hurt his knee.
Then he went to the hospital for the knee And he found out that he had a heart problem.
Without the bridge collapsing, Mark might never have found out about his heart condition.
He could be dead right now.
Life works in very mysterious ways.
- Yes, it does.
Do you want to see your room? - Yeah.
- This is the bachelor pad up here.
- Okay.
- And, uh, it's trying to cool down.
We turned some air on.
We'll leave you to settle in, And, uh, if you need anything, We're at the house.
Have a good evening.
We're gonna go on.
- They did great in their workout.
They did awesome.
I mean, that Laverne is no joke.
They're such badasses, And then there's Elijah, Who's like, "I'm not strong enough.
I'm weak.
I can't breathe.
" And he's actually very strong.
But not being able to work out mark is a real problem.
I'm gonna have to find a way to get through to this guy.
Good night, mark.
Good night, Laverne.
Good night, Jedediah.
Good night, Elijah.
Good night, dog number four.
Coming up on losing it Ten seconds left.
- No.
- I know you can do this.
- Scared.
- He's learned it from you.
Good.
Come on.
[knock at door.]
- Let's go.
Up, up, up, up.
Ready to get up and at 'em? [bell ringing.]
Breakfast! Go! - Day two, the twins are coming in today.
I think it's gonna give me some insight On this family dynamic, And I'm gonna spend my morning with mark, Try to understand what makes this guy tick.
So how many kids do we scoop up every day? - 12 to 17.
- That's not bad.
- Because of my heart condition, I had to close down my roofing company, So I drive a bus now to help pay for my kids' tuition And that's hard, you know, For a guy who used to be a big wig.
- Where's the football thing come into play? - Football, I played High School football.
College.
I basically played ten years of football.
There is some really good life lessons playing football.
- I hear ya.
- You know, you're tired and you're dead, You suck it up and you keep going.
Like, I got that from my father.
- What was he like? - He's a good old man.
Quiet and, uh, worked worked and fed his family.
- He ever tell you he loved you all the time, or? - To this day he still can't tell you that.
- Real men don't do that.
- Mark learned from his dad That financially providing for your family was enough, And now that he can't Financially pride for his family, He doesn't know how to be there for his kids, And he wants to be.
He just has never learned.
- There's Jillian.
You guys haven't met Jillian yet.
Cool.
- There's two more, Jillian.
- There's two more! - Stand up.
Be a gentleman.
- Oh.
Oh, no.
- Stand up.
- Hi, I'm Caleb.
Nice to meet you.
- Oh, my God.
They're as big as the other ones.
- I'm Jeremiah.
- This is Jeremiah.
- I'm a little bit taller.
- These are my twins.
There are two more giant men.
Giant! What is Laverne feeding these guys? So how do we spend family time? I'm curious about this.
Well, I don't know if I can [grunts.]
Oop.
- There you go.
- Yeah! - You throw with your hands.
- Not your body? - Not your body.
- [groans.]
- So if you guys were out here doing this, Would this be what this looks like? - Yeah.
- I might have 'em running a few patterns.
- How'd that work out? - I ran inside.
- So Caleb went inside, and Elijah did what? - Failed catastrophically.
- Says who? - Me, myself, and I.
- Not much of a receiver.
That's why we put him on the line.
- Football seems to be the way to get dad's attention, And, uh, I don't know where that leaves Elijah.
We're sprinting.
Rock and roll.
We're at the gym, And I'm definitely kind of unfolding this Piece by piece.
I don't know what's gonna happen.
Let's go.
15, 10.
10 seconds.
Now.
Five, four, three, two, jump.
- That's a Vivio for you.
- I want to see if we can work our way Up to ten from the start.
- Okay.
- Three, two, and one.
20 seconds left.
You're at nine.
Elijah, amazing.
Three, two, recover.
I'm just looking, waiting for the catastrophic failure.
- See, that's the thing.
I'm not very light-footed, though.
- You will be.
You think you're not.
You think you're heavy.
You think you're slow.
You think you're weak.
Wah, wah, wah.
None of it's true.
Okay, we're gonna do one more.
Gonna hit the floor.
- Go, Elijah.
Go, Elijah.
- You can do it! Keep going.
- Eight.
Nine.
- No.
- Okay, nine? How does it feel? - I'm justScared.
- Why don't we take a walk for one minute? Come and talk with me for a second.
Elijah's more than capable Of running these sprints, But because he sees himself as a failure, He doesn't believe in his ability to do so.
And I need to understand Where these feelings started from And get to the bottom of it.
I don't understand why you feel like a catastrophic failure.
- 'cause I just didn't do the things That people expected me to do.
- And who are those people? - Parents.
- What do they expect you to do? - To be a great football player.
- But you don't want to be a football player.
Have you ever talked about how that makes you feel? No? - 'cause I'm just afraid of more things.
- Like what? - Like people making fun of me some more Because of the way I feel about things.
And then they're just gonna be like, "well, you're just a cry-baby.
" All that stuff.
- Suck it up? - Yeah.
- I need to get to a point Where "suck it up" dies in this family.
That's all they do.
They just suck up every emotion.
Can I tell you something? I don't think "suck it up" Is working so well for dad, either.
You need to make a stand for who you are.
These guys love each other a lot, And I think they just don't have the tools To know how to relate to one another.
I want to teach this family How to relate to each other.
Coming up on losing it - Watching Elijah, It makes me feel like I messed up.
- It's been eight weeks, And I'm back to visit the Vivio family.
Who wants to see Laverne? [cheers and applause.]
Come on out! - Be safe.
- See ya.
- Twins are going back to school today.
Can't work out mark, So I'm gonna zero in on Laverne and Elijah, And I'm gonna build this kid's confidence, So he realizes that he can succeed In other aspects of his life.
So instead of you picking up a pizza Or taking two burgers and smushing them together, There are things that we can do That are fast food that are gonna be A lot lower in calories, And a lot better for you.
You can do salads.
You can do sandwiches.
The one that I always do, I do the vegetarian on, um, the Italian bread, Load it with the veggies, And I think I'm actually gonna do that, Since I'm gonna be out of the house The entire day today.
Elijah, what are you thinking, pook? - The oven-roasted chicken breast.
- I'm thinking the same thing.
- Nice.
- Since I have had your cooking this week, I do think we need to be working on how to eat out.
[laughter.]
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
- First thing you need to do Is pick a place that's gonna gear you Towards being healthier.
- Right.
- That a boy.
Beautiful.
We're back at the gym.
I want to try to get Elijah To run the 12-mile-an-hour sprint.
That's it.
Get on top of those feet.
On top of the hips.
It's unbelievably important to me That Elijah runs this sprint, Because it shows me that he has enough strength To overcome fear, to give himself a chance.
I'm gonna take you to a seven now.
- No.
I - What are you afraid of? Tell me.
- I'm not afraid.
It's just I don't feel Like I can get up to that speed.
- I know that face.
I've seen that boy, And I know what he can do.
You just have to give him a chance.
He can do anything.
Elijah's extremely fragile here.
Not here.
But he could turn on a dime, you know.
This could go either way right now.
There you go.
Nice.
Gonna bring your speed up to a seven.
He's at 9 1/2 cruising.
The kid is a machine.
Ten seconds.
Nine, eight, let her rip, Seven, atta boy, five, four, three, Jump, Elijah.
Look at the look at.
What's that say? Look.
- 12.
3.
- 12.
3.
Come here.
What do you think? - Good.
- Proud? - Definitely proud, T I'm not gonna stand here Like I'm the king of the world or something.
- Your achievements have nothing to do with anyone else.
- Okay.
- Elijah had a huge success at the gym.
He ran the 12-mile-an-hour sprint, And he couldn't accept it or take it in, And that's a huge problem.
And once again, I'm wondering where did he learn this behavior.
Where is this coming from? - I I'm the same way, okay? - Well, that's where it's coming from.
He's learned it from you.
- I appreciate you people giving me accolades, But it makes me uncomfortable.
- And that's because you don't feel worthy of them.
And neither does your son.
- The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
- Your turn.
Come on up here.
- Okay.
- 30 seconds.
Head up.
Don't look down.
- Just give me a second.
- Laverne is overwhelmed with all the issues And all the things that are coming out with her family.
She's not mentally there right now.
- Okay, let's try it again.
- There we go.
- [grunts.]
- Ten seconds.
Nine, eight, seven, six, Five, four, three - I'm fine.
I'm fine.
- Good.
Head all the way back.
- I'm good.
- Head all the way back.
Look down.
Let's go.
Let's get you up.
- Yep.
- What if I walk a lap and see how it feels? - I felt horrible for her.
I called the workout.
She wanted to keep going, And I was like, "no, you're done.
" Come outside.
Please.
- I'm coming.
- This pattern of feeling like an epic failure in the family Has got to end, 'cause the reality is that if Laverne doesn't stop, Elijah's not gonna be able to stop.
What's going on? - As I was sitting there watching Elijah Not feel like he really is worthy Of any kind of praise, It makes me feel like I messed up.
And I hate it, you know? - But you feel like you messed up with him? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- He's special in a way That I've yet to come across In any teenager I've ever met.
Choose to give yourself props For raising a beautiful, smart, intelligent son.
- I do.
And I'm very, very proud of my son, my boys, My husband.
- Are you very proud of yourself? For the son that you raised? - Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
- What is he again? - He's extraordinary.
- And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, So that makes you what? - Extraordinary.
- Yeah.
All right? - Thank you.
- When you give yourself credit for something, Or you take pride in what you do, It doesn't mean that you think You're better than someone else.
It just means that you value who you are And you send that message to the world.
Laverne gets it now, And when she gets it, Elijah's gonna get it, And I feel good about today.
Coming up on losing it - Elijah really needs to go through some stuff with you.
- Yeah.
- It's been awkward having conversations with you.
- But he is afraid To even approach the subject.
- You telling me to suck it up - To show emotions, That's weak to me.
Womanlike.
I'm not perfect.
I've made a lot of mistakes.
[bell rings.]
- This is the, um, sixth grade hallway.
This where a lot of the picking on took place.
- And still a little bit, yeah? - Not as much.
Maybe once a week.
- Once a week's still once too many times a week, Don't you think? I've come with Elijah to school today Because this is an integral part of my plan To help build his confidence, Allow him to feel like he has value And that he doesn't have to be treated in any way That he doesn't appreciate.
Is this it? - Yep, this is our leadership class.
- Lead the way.
Hello.
- Hello.
Welcome to leadership class.
We're glad to have you.
- I appreciate it.
Hi there.
My name is Jillian.
I remember eighth grade actually being My absolute worst year, Because, you know, kids can be mean to each other sometimes, And so building those skills of respect here And appreciating people and their differences Is really important.
Has anybody in this classroom Ever been picked on or felt picked on before? Wow.
Just about everybody.
- I thought that I was the only kid Who ever got picked on.
It was, like, everybody else who I thought were the cool kids Also did get picked on.
- How many of you pick on yourselves? That many of you? I thought that we might take a minute And practice saying something nice about ourselves.
If you can't say something nice about yourself, Then how are you gonna be able to accept When somebody else does? So give it a chance.
- I'm funny.
- Okay.
- I'm good at gymnastics.
- I'm good at volleyball.
- I like my eyes.
- I am pretty good at all the sports I play.
- That's wonderful.
To give yourself a compliment Doesn't mean that you think you're better Than another person.
It just means that you respect yourself.
- Do you think that there's ever a time When we should tolerate being disrespected or abused? - No.
- Even if it's once a week? - Even if it's once a week or once a month or once a year, You have a right to say, "I'm sorry.
That's out of line.
" - Showing that you respect yourself And that you simply won't allow yourself To be treated poorly.
- Jillian showed up and gave me better confidence, And I want to be able to take that confidence And turn it into something that I can use to lose weight, And I definitely believe in myself.
- Y'all go watch some TV out in the loft.
Give us a minute, okay? Come over to the couch.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Let's talk.
- You know, as Jillian and I Set out there on that curb and talked, And I had such an awakening, It seemed like it was time To see if we couldn't have an awakening with mark.
We've got such a great family.
- Yeah.
- But we've got so many little emotional things going on That are putting up barriers, And it's the walls that you've put up around yourself.
Elijah really needs to sit down And just kind of go through some stuff with you.
But he is afraid to even approach the subject Because the wall is so high.
- Those are things that, being taught by my father, That you didn't talk about things like that.
- Mark, listen to her.
You guys don't have a space or a room for conversation Because you weren't taught about that, And you don't share.
You don't say what's going on.
- Well, my boys mean everything to me.
That's why I work so hard.
And I want them to have everything And anything that they need, you know? - They need you.
And the reason it seems that they're not telling you Is because they're afraid for you to know How much it hurts.
- You know, Jillian is right.
For the last 20 years, I ain't been part of the team, you know.
My part of it has been bringing the paycheck home.
And that's not all that my kids and my wife need, you know? I've realized that they need a father and a husband, And somebody to sit down and talk to.
- You know, I think this has been good, But you've got to You have got to initialize a conversation with Elijah.
- Okay.
- You have got to.
- No problem.
I've made a lot of mistakes.
You can't correct 'em with just going back in time.
You got to correct 'em now.
Elijah, you know, has always been kind of Low man on the totem pole.
He's always been the one that got pushed aside.
I had more in common with the older boys, So Elijah and I are gonna have to establish things That we have in common.
Jillian's been saying, you know, You guys have been talking, And they've kind of filled me in on a few things That I screwed up with As you were growing up.
I'm not perfect, But I'm always willing to listen.
- I mainly talk to mom About, like, being picked on in school and things, And I was just wondering That maybe you could help me out with that too.
- Any time.
You're more important to me than anything.
You and I both have had this same problem growing up.
You know, they look at us And expect us to be more mature than we are Because of our size.
- Yeah.
- Even though you're physically an adult, You're a 14-year-old.
- Yeah, and they expect me To be great at football.
I don't want to play football.
- You don't want to play football, You don't have to play football.
- Okay.
- You're not gonna disappoint me.
I mean, I'm proud of you in everything that you do.
Your drawings, your artwork.
You know, I mean, there's no way That I would not be proud of my son.
- When my dad told me how proud he was of me, I was happy of it, But I was also surprised.
Because over the past couple years, I felt like he hasn't been proud of me, Because of my choices with football.
I definitely feel like I've gotten my dad back.
- This is one thing that this has taught me, This whole experience with Jillian, Is you and I need to talk more.
Elijah, he needs to be healthy, But what I've learned this week Is he also has to be happy.
Let's go.
Help the old man up.
[laughs.]
For a long time, I was a fool.
So I wish I could get my time back.
You know, as you get older You learn that you don't get the time back.
It's been an eye awakening.
Gonna make me a whole lot better father and husband.
- Coming up on losing it I have had - Enough! I'm not losing weight, and it's just tough right now.
- Who wants to meet the new Vivio family? - Today's my last day with the vivios, And I feel really good about this.
These guys made incredible strides, And now there's just one more thing That I have to do.
Vivios! - Nice hat! - Workout 108.
[laughs.]
- Oh, we're gonna break those.
- Grab this stuff.
Follow me.
- Where we going? - Down to the bridge.
- I'm bringing this family down to the bridge, Because they think of it as the downfall of their entire family, And, symbolically, it's really important They rebuild it.
You know, it means that they're rebuilding their lives.
It's going to get rebuilt before I come back here.
- All right, well, I think this bridge Has brought about a tremendous life change, That although it's painful, I think is going to be One of the best things that ever happened to you In the long run.
So let's finish this thing off And start over.
- Sounds good.
- What do you think? - I like that idea.
I designed that bridge, And within a very short period of time, it failed.
Kind of the way I felt about my business, Same way I felt a lot about my family.
You learn from your failures.
When we rebuild that bridge, That is gonna mean a lot to this family and me.
- We got to break up that piece of concrete first, right? That's the foundation.
- You clear? - That's it.
Go for it.
- It is time - She don't have an angry bone in her body.
- To start over.
- And I have had - Enough! - Enough! - Just go, Elijah! There you go.
- All right, take another chunk.
Yes! That's a good one.
- Whoo! - When we went down to the bridge with sledge hammers, It felt like we had beaten it.
It felt great that we were ready to move on, And we were ready to build a better bridge, And we were ready to get this old one behind us That caused all these problems.
- All right, guys.
Gather around.
I thought that we might take a moment right now To talk about things that we want to get accomplished By the time I see you again.
This family is finally in a place Where they can embrace a new future, And so now what we need to do Is establish what that is And set some goals.
Laverne, set the tone.
And, by the way, grab a piece of chalk.
Very important that you write your goals down.
- This is this is kind of a girly thing, But I haven't been below 200 pounds since I married.
I was, like, 198 the day I married, so - How much do you weigh right now? - 221.
- Go for 190.
- 190? Oh, cool.
I like that.
190.
Taking some pride in my accomplishments.
- Taking some pride in your accomplishments.
- Absolutely.
Next.
- Want to have a better relationship with my dad.
- There you go.
I like that idea.
- More confident.
Proud.
- Yay.
- You have one for dad? - Not to tell me to suck it up.
- I thought we were starting with the weight thing.
- No! We're starting with no "suck it up" there, buddy.
- No more "suck it up.
" - When you get back here in two months, I'm gonna be at 295.
That's a 35-pound weight loss.
- No.
50 pounds before I see you again.
- In two months? - You just get your butt on the treadmill And don't stop walking.
- So you want me to change that to 280? - Yup.
- I'm gonna promise Laverne, Elijah, and Jedediah.
You know, no more walls.
I've got to communicate with 'em.
I need to pat you guys on the back more often, You know, rather than kicking you in the butt so often.
But I'm very proud of everything and anything That you've ever done, you know? I mean, you're my boys.
And that's what I live for.
- In two months, I'm hoping Jillian Will come back to find a family Who has decided to change their lives, Who has changed their life, And is absolutely got all these problems behind them.
- We're gonna miss you.
I'm just glad you're coming back.
I'm just glad you're coming back.
That would be hard if you weren't coming back.
- Let me get more on your level.
- Oh, lord.
- You're last.
- [laughs.]
I'm so overwhelmed with what she's given this family, That, you know, I can't thank her enough.
In 60 days, I'm gonna give her more.
I want her to come in here and see a happy family.
- Two months! - Got it.
Two months.
Jillian, the connection that you made with my son, And the things that you've said to me About my son Mean more to me than you can ever imagine.
You're like a big sister.
You just kind of came in And you just you just took him by the hand, And I just want to thank you again.
And I promise you in two months, You are going to be grinning from ear to ear When you come back out here, And you're gonna feel so good About what has happened here, And what Elijah's accomplished, What we've all accomplished.
Thank you.
- I've left the vivios with all the tools That I can provide.
And now it's up to them.
- Misery loves company.
Both of us in there working out.
- I've only lost five pounds.
[grunts.]
It has not been easy.
The bridge is kind of frustrating.
This morning I went to weld, And shorted out everything.
- Last week I lost three pounds.
That discouraged me.
- It's just tough right now.
- Who wants to meet the new Vivio family? [cheers and applause.]
Coming up on losing it - It's been eight weeks, And I'm back in Springfield, Tennessee To visit the Vivio family.
Mark finally got signed off by his doctor to exercise, And everybody's been working really hard.
So I'm excited to see if they've rebuilt their lives And rebuilt their bridge.
Is this it? - Yeah.
- Oh, my God.
[cheers and applause.]
Look at you.
Who wants to meet the new Vivio family? [cheers and applause.]
Elijah, come on out! When he walked across that bridge, He was smiling.
His shoulders were back.
His head was up high.
He was mugging for the crowd.
- Yeah! - You could tell he was proud of himself.
Elijah! Elijah! Elijah! Elijah! Mwah.
Oh, my God! How much weight did you lose? - 50 pounds.
- Are we ready to call out dad? - Sure.
Hey, dad! Come across.
[cheers and applause.]
- Mark walked across that bridge, And he looks very different.
He visibly looks amazing.
Oh, my gosh! You're skinny! [grunts.]
- Can reach around me now.
- How much weight did you lose? - 56 pounds.
[cheers and applause.]
- How do you feel? - Feel great.
- Uh, okay, come join your boys.
Are we ready to see Laverne? - Laverne, come on down.
- My mom looks incredible now.
I mean, I'm so happy for her.
I'm glad that she's finally comfortable in her own skin.
It was, like, "yeah, look at me.
" And it's just it's awesome.
- Hey, sis.
- Hi, buddy.
- Check it out.
I lost 31 pounds.
- I think you guys look pretty amazing.
It might be time to dedicate this bridge.
What do you think? Oh, that is perfect.
Speech! Speech! - I've done a lot of hard work In the past couple months, and - Proud of that accomplishment? - I'm very proud about myself.
- Yeah! - Your turn, dad.
- I want to thank Jillian For bringing me closer to my boys, And especially bringing me closer to my beautiful wife.
I want to thank you for giving me a goal.
Something that gives me something to shoot for.
- How's your heart? - Yeah? - Heart's working.
Today.
- It's in rhythm.
- It's in rhythm.
- He's been cleared.
He actually gets to get his knee fixed next week.
- Heart's in rhythm.
Time for a knee surgery.
- Time for a knee surgery.
Next week.
- We're living it and loving it.
We're just loving it.
With all my heart, I thank you For my the way my family's come together in this.
I can't begin to thank you enough For what you've inspired Elijah to do.
I mean, he has turned his life around, And, you know, thank you for my real sexy husband.
I'm just sayin'.
I mean You know? I'm just saying.
- I know! - You know? I mean - This whole process is about reclaiming your life, Being an inspiration to yourself, To your family, to your community, Paying it forward, And you guys have exceeded My wildest hopes and expectations.
I know that you have had a rough year.
And jillianmichaels.
Com would like to help you out, Help you get back on your feet, And we thought that $50,000 might lighten your load.
And with that said, There's one more thing I think we need to do.
Mark? - I christen this bridge.
[cheers and applause.]
Let's party! [cheers and applause.]
- When I saw the bridge up, All I could think about was the family Being back up and on their feet again.
Whoo-hoo! And these guys are now back on track.
- I have spent the last 20 years Trying to get back to what I was when I got married, And I'm past that now.
I have worked it hard And intend to continue.
- I used to be like, "oh, I can't do this, I can't do that, Because I don't think I can do it," And now I am like, "well, I can do anything.
" So I'm feeling like I can take on The rest of what my life holds.
- I had my 13th heart procedure Just before Jillian got here, And, uh, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my last.
I feel like a very lucky man today.
This has been life-changing.
My family and I are communicating more.
We're much more a family I think now Than we've ever been.
I'm learning to live living to learn
I haven't been able to do what I normally do.
This is the 11th procedure I've had in the last year.
- Come on, get it! His son Elijah is following right in his footsteps.
- No.
- 330 pounds Up! 14 years old.
- Just really a sick feeling.
- To show emotions, that's weak and womanlike.
- I think to myself, "you're worth nothing.
" - I'm the same way.
- He's learned it from you.
Come on! Faster, faster, faster, faster.
I have had - Enough! - I'm learnin' to live livin' to learn startin' to sing my song right or wrong learning to live - America, this week I'm in Springfield, Tennessee.
I'm about to move in with the Vivio family Mom Laverne, dad mark, And their two teenage sons, Jedediah and Elijah.
- We are a big family.
We are all over six feet tall.
- Hi, guys.
- My husband and I have four boys.
I have two boys that are away at college Caleb and Jeremiah.
They're twins.
Football is a really big deal in this family.
It's such a big thing to my husband.
He loves I he just loves it.
And so he wants his whole family to love it.
- Since I was a freshman in High School, Sports was all I ever did.
I weighed 305 pounds and had 9% body fat, But I let myself go, And I should've stayed physically fit.
I would not have had so much problems with my heart, I think, If I wouldn't have been so overweight.
Well, we're here to do a redo on my heart The 11th procedure I've had in the last little over a year.
- Because of mark's heart condition, He was forced to close down the family business, And Laverne has had to pick up the pieces.
- [voice breaking.]
he feels so bad, Because I'm having to work all the time.
- I feel like I've left my family down.
I was supposed to have the work.
I was supposed to be able to do everything.
- I need some help with this family, Because it feels like it's just gonna come apart.
- And to make matters worse, his son Elijah Is following right in his footsteps, Topping the scales at 330 pounds at only 14 years old.
- It's a unique spot To feel like you just don't have a place anywhere.
- He doesn't feel like he can Ever get back to normal.
- [voice breaking.]
the way that people treat me it upsets me.
I think to myself, like, "you're worth nothing Because you can't do anything.
" - The situation is dangerous, And I need to do something immediately to stop it.
- You guys ready to eat? - Yeah.
- Yeah.
Starving.
- Where, uh Where do they live? Seems very sort of remote.
Cats Awesome.
- Mom, will you grab the bacon out of that - Here we go.
[phone ringing.]
- Hello, this is Laverne.
- How you doing, Laverne? - I'm good.
How are you doing? [bees buzzing.]
- I'm ducking bees in your backyard, actually.
[laughs.]
- Oh, my stars.
Oh, my God.
She's right there.
- Look, she's at the door.
- There's Jillian right there! [squeals.]
- Can you let me in? - Oh, my God! You're kidding me! Oh! I want a hug.
Oh, my gosh.
- These guys are gigantic.
Seriously, they're enormous.
I feel like a leprechaun.
It's ridiculous.
That's better.
[Laverne laughing.]
I'm like, "oh, my gosh.
" How am I gonna be able to walk around on my little box And have these conversations? - We'll get you some stilts.
- Wow! You want the good news or the bad news? - Both.
- Well, the good news, obviously, You've made the show.
The bad news is that I'm moving in tonight.
- I am not believing this.
- But right now you need to get changed.
- Workout clothes? - Workout clothes.
Rápido.
- I love it.
Let's go.
- Get your little butt moving there.
"cowboys, leave your guns at the bar.
" What guns? Vivios! Come on down! Hustle.
- All right, let's move it.
Run, run.
Hustle means run.
- Everybody but mark don't run.
All right, here's what I need.
I need a quick lap everyone but mark.
Rock and roll.
- Okay.
- Okay, here's what our mission's gonna be.
Obviously, we want to get your health back in order.
You can get fit and healthy Under any and every circumstance.
We're just gonna keep you at a brisk walk, Making sure your heart rate's in check, Making sure we're not opening up those stitches or anything, Okay? - Okay.
- Not being able to work mark out Is going to be like pulling teeth, Trying to elicit change from him.
It sucks.
Okay.
Mom, come on over here.
Get that bottom down.
Pop, pop.
Slam it! Good.
Get the whole body in there.
Come on.
Let me hear it! [both grunt loudly.]
Quick, boys.
Quick, quick, quick.
In and out.
Faster, faster, faster, faster.
Whip it ten.
Get up that thing.
Come on, push it.
Come on! How's that working out for you? - It's a little tough.
- Come on, come on.
Up! You're strong, kiddo.
Throw it.
Throw.
I like this family.
Most families don't make it five minutes.
It's refreshing.
Come on! Let's go! These guys have so much potential To be healthy.
I mean, I am killing them, And they're taking it all.
I mean, they're rock stars.
Tennessee, baby! Look at that.
- Drop down.
Small steps let's go.
It's incredibly frustrating watching from the sidelines.
The last year and a half, I haven't been able to do what I normally do.
- Hey, dad, you know what? You would be able to help if your health was better.
- I know.
- Come on, get it! Let's go! Grrrr! Yeah! - Oh! - This city girl is gonna run you around! - Jillian is so tough.
You know, when you see it on TV, you think, "oh, yeah, between takes, they're catching their breath.
" No, no.
- [coughing, retching.]
- Oh, who's puking? Wait.
Put me down.
I want to see this.
Hold on.
This is fun.
- Jeez.
- Too much bacon for lunch.
- How much bacon did you have for lunch? - [spits.]
- how much bacon? - Ten strips.
- Ten strips? Look, there's at least two.
Jedediah puked! Yay! Football come over here.
Let me see those fancy feet.
- It's not like I'm doing twice as much as him.
- Here we go.
Up and over ten times.
Eight, seven Six, five What's going on? - I don't know.
I just can't catch my - Hey, guys, take a lap for me.
Elijah looks physically so much older than his age.
I need to keep reminding myself that he's 14, Especially emotionally.
What else is going on? - Jedediah making fun of me didn't help.
He said that he was doing twice as much as me and stuff.
- Elijah's the odd man out in this family.
I just want to help this kid find his place.
What do you want to accomplish? - A lot of stuff that I would like to change Is the way, like, people talk to me.
- What do you mean? - Just all sorts of different fat jokes and things.
- Yeah.
You know what? I was a fat kid too.
Did you know that? - No, I didn't.
- I felt like a moving target.
It was right about your age that I got help.
My mom got me into martial arts, And I had people that I could turn to And that would support me.
- Yeah.
- Who are you talking to? - I talk to my mom a lot about it.
She would comfort me.
My father was grown up in a family Where you suck it up all the time, And he never really connected.
- Dad sucks it up all the time? - Yeah.
My dad has never been open to me.
He's a good guy, But I mean, he's not the kind of, like, person Who I go to to help me feel better.
What I really want out of this week Is to have a better relationship with my dad.
- I'll help you with that.
- Okay.
- Take me back to the house.
What are those poles? - Oh, that's, um, a bridge that we built a couple years ago.
We call the bridge the downfall of man.
It was kind of the start of all of my father's Problems and things.
- The downfall of man.
That's quite a name.
Well, well, well.
- Hey.
- What'd you think? - Uh, the downfall of man.
- Yeah.
- Just one.
Just one man.
- That bridge was up for three months, And the flood took it down Christmas, Right after we put it up, And he tore his acl.
If he hadn't torn his acl, We'd have never known he had the heart thing, And none of this would have happened.
- The collapse of their bridge Began a series of events That created the unraveling of this family.
Mark hurt his knee.
Then he went to the hospital for the knee And he found out that he had a heart problem.
Without the bridge collapsing, Mark might never have found out about his heart condition.
He could be dead right now.
Life works in very mysterious ways.
- Yes, it does.
Do you want to see your room? - Yeah.
- This is the bachelor pad up here.
- Okay.
- And, uh, it's trying to cool down.
We turned some air on.
We'll leave you to settle in, And, uh, if you need anything, We're at the house.
Have a good evening.
We're gonna go on.
- They did great in their workout.
They did awesome.
I mean, that Laverne is no joke.
They're such badasses, And then there's Elijah, Who's like, "I'm not strong enough.
I'm weak.
I can't breathe.
" And he's actually very strong.
But not being able to work out mark is a real problem.
I'm gonna have to find a way to get through to this guy.
Good night, mark.
Good night, Laverne.
Good night, Jedediah.
Good night, Elijah.
Good night, dog number four.
Coming up on losing it Ten seconds left.
- No.
- I know you can do this.
- Scared.
- He's learned it from you.
Good.
Come on.
[knock at door.]
- Let's go.
Up, up, up, up.
Ready to get up and at 'em? [bell ringing.]
Breakfast! Go! - Day two, the twins are coming in today.
I think it's gonna give me some insight On this family dynamic, And I'm gonna spend my morning with mark, Try to understand what makes this guy tick.
So how many kids do we scoop up every day? - 12 to 17.
- That's not bad.
- Because of my heart condition, I had to close down my roofing company, So I drive a bus now to help pay for my kids' tuition And that's hard, you know, For a guy who used to be a big wig.
- Where's the football thing come into play? - Football, I played High School football.
College.
I basically played ten years of football.
There is some really good life lessons playing football.
- I hear ya.
- You know, you're tired and you're dead, You suck it up and you keep going.
Like, I got that from my father.
- What was he like? - He's a good old man.
Quiet and, uh, worked worked and fed his family.
- He ever tell you he loved you all the time, or? - To this day he still can't tell you that.
- Real men don't do that.
- Mark learned from his dad That financially providing for your family was enough, And now that he can't Financially pride for his family, He doesn't know how to be there for his kids, And he wants to be.
He just has never learned.
- There's Jillian.
You guys haven't met Jillian yet.
Cool.
- There's two more, Jillian.
- There's two more! - Stand up.
Be a gentleman.
- Oh.
Oh, no.
- Stand up.
- Hi, I'm Caleb.
Nice to meet you.
- Oh, my God.
They're as big as the other ones.
- I'm Jeremiah.
- This is Jeremiah.
- I'm a little bit taller.
- These are my twins.
There are two more giant men.
Giant! What is Laverne feeding these guys? So how do we spend family time? I'm curious about this.
Well, I don't know if I can [grunts.]
Oop.
- There you go.
- Yeah! - You throw with your hands.
- Not your body? - Not your body.
- [groans.]
- So if you guys were out here doing this, Would this be what this looks like? - Yeah.
- I might have 'em running a few patterns.
- How'd that work out? - I ran inside.
- So Caleb went inside, and Elijah did what? - Failed catastrophically.
- Says who? - Me, myself, and I.
- Not much of a receiver.
That's why we put him on the line.
- Football seems to be the way to get dad's attention, And, uh, I don't know where that leaves Elijah.
We're sprinting.
Rock and roll.
We're at the gym, And I'm definitely kind of unfolding this Piece by piece.
I don't know what's gonna happen.
Let's go.
15, 10.
10 seconds.
Now.
Five, four, three, two, jump.
- That's a Vivio for you.
- I want to see if we can work our way Up to ten from the start.
- Okay.
- Three, two, and one.
20 seconds left.
You're at nine.
Elijah, amazing.
Three, two, recover.
I'm just looking, waiting for the catastrophic failure.
- See, that's the thing.
I'm not very light-footed, though.
- You will be.
You think you're not.
You think you're heavy.
You think you're slow.
You think you're weak.
Wah, wah, wah.
None of it's true.
Okay, we're gonna do one more.
Gonna hit the floor.
- Go, Elijah.
Go, Elijah.
- You can do it! Keep going.
- Eight.
Nine.
- No.
- Okay, nine? How does it feel? - I'm justScared.
- Why don't we take a walk for one minute? Come and talk with me for a second.
Elijah's more than capable Of running these sprints, But because he sees himself as a failure, He doesn't believe in his ability to do so.
And I need to understand Where these feelings started from And get to the bottom of it.
I don't understand why you feel like a catastrophic failure.
- 'cause I just didn't do the things That people expected me to do.
- And who are those people? - Parents.
- What do they expect you to do? - To be a great football player.
- But you don't want to be a football player.
Have you ever talked about how that makes you feel? No? - 'cause I'm just afraid of more things.
- Like what? - Like people making fun of me some more Because of the way I feel about things.
And then they're just gonna be like, "well, you're just a cry-baby.
" All that stuff.
- Suck it up? - Yeah.
- I need to get to a point Where "suck it up" dies in this family.
That's all they do.
They just suck up every emotion.
Can I tell you something? I don't think "suck it up" Is working so well for dad, either.
You need to make a stand for who you are.
These guys love each other a lot, And I think they just don't have the tools To know how to relate to one another.
I want to teach this family How to relate to each other.
Coming up on losing it - Watching Elijah, It makes me feel like I messed up.
- It's been eight weeks, And I'm back to visit the Vivio family.
Who wants to see Laverne? [cheers and applause.]
Come on out! - Be safe.
- See ya.
- Twins are going back to school today.
Can't work out mark, So I'm gonna zero in on Laverne and Elijah, And I'm gonna build this kid's confidence, So he realizes that he can succeed In other aspects of his life.
So instead of you picking up a pizza Or taking two burgers and smushing them together, There are things that we can do That are fast food that are gonna be A lot lower in calories, And a lot better for you.
You can do salads.
You can do sandwiches.
The one that I always do, I do the vegetarian on, um, the Italian bread, Load it with the veggies, And I think I'm actually gonna do that, Since I'm gonna be out of the house The entire day today.
Elijah, what are you thinking, pook? - The oven-roasted chicken breast.
- I'm thinking the same thing.
- Nice.
- Since I have had your cooking this week, I do think we need to be working on how to eat out.
[laughter.]
- Thank you very much.
- Thank you.
- First thing you need to do Is pick a place that's gonna gear you Towards being healthier.
- Right.
- That a boy.
Beautiful.
We're back at the gym.
I want to try to get Elijah To run the 12-mile-an-hour sprint.
That's it.
Get on top of those feet.
On top of the hips.
It's unbelievably important to me That Elijah runs this sprint, Because it shows me that he has enough strength To overcome fear, to give himself a chance.
I'm gonna take you to a seven now.
- No.
I - What are you afraid of? Tell me.
- I'm not afraid.
It's just I don't feel Like I can get up to that speed.
- I know that face.
I've seen that boy, And I know what he can do.
You just have to give him a chance.
He can do anything.
Elijah's extremely fragile here.
Not here.
But he could turn on a dime, you know.
This could go either way right now.
There you go.
Nice.
Gonna bring your speed up to a seven.
He's at 9 1/2 cruising.
The kid is a machine.
Ten seconds.
Nine, eight, let her rip, Seven, atta boy, five, four, three, Jump, Elijah.
Look at the look at.
What's that say? Look.
- 12.
3.
- 12.
3.
Come here.
What do you think? - Good.
- Proud? - Definitely proud, T I'm not gonna stand here Like I'm the king of the world or something.
- Your achievements have nothing to do with anyone else.
- Okay.
- Elijah had a huge success at the gym.
He ran the 12-mile-an-hour sprint, And he couldn't accept it or take it in, And that's a huge problem.
And once again, I'm wondering where did he learn this behavior.
Where is this coming from? - I I'm the same way, okay? - Well, that's where it's coming from.
He's learned it from you.
- I appreciate you people giving me accolades, But it makes me uncomfortable.
- And that's because you don't feel worthy of them.
And neither does your son.
- The apple doesn't fall far from the tree.
- Your turn.
Come on up here.
- Okay.
- 30 seconds.
Head up.
Don't look down.
- Just give me a second.
- Laverne is overwhelmed with all the issues And all the things that are coming out with her family.
She's not mentally there right now.
- Okay, let's try it again.
- There we go.
- [grunts.]
- Ten seconds.
Nine, eight, seven, six, Five, four, three - I'm fine.
I'm fine.
- Good.
Head all the way back.
- I'm good.
- Head all the way back.
Look down.
Let's go.
Let's get you up.
- Yep.
- What if I walk a lap and see how it feels? - I felt horrible for her.
I called the workout.
She wanted to keep going, And I was like, "no, you're done.
" Come outside.
Please.
- I'm coming.
- This pattern of feeling like an epic failure in the family Has got to end, 'cause the reality is that if Laverne doesn't stop, Elijah's not gonna be able to stop.
What's going on? - As I was sitting there watching Elijah Not feel like he really is worthy Of any kind of praise, It makes me feel like I messed up.
And I hate it, you know? - But you feel like you messed up with him? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- He's special in a way That I've yet to come across In any teenager I've ever met.
Choose to give yourself props For raising a beautiful, smart, intelligent son.
- I do.
And I'm very, very proud of my son, my boys, My husband.
- Are you very proud of yourself? For the son that you raised? - Yes.
Yes.
Yes.
- What is he again? - He's extraordinary.
- And the apple doesn't fall far from the tree, So that makes you what? - Extraordinary.
- Yeah.
All right? - Thank you.
- When you give yourself credit for something, Or you take pride in what you do, It doesn't mean that you think You're better than someone else.
It just means that you value who you are And you send that message to the world.
Laverne gets it now, And when she gets it, Elijah's gonna get it, And I feel good about today.
Coming up on losing it - Elijah really needs to go through some stuff with you.
- Yeah.
- It's been awkward having conversations with you.
- But he is afraid To even approach the subject.
- You telling me to suck it up - To show emotions, That's weak to me.
Womanlike.
I'm not perfect.
I've made a lot of mistakes.
[bell rings.]
- This is the, um, sixth grade hallway.
This where a lot of the picking on took place.
- And still a little bit, yeah? - Not as much.
Maybe once a week.
- Once a week's still once too many times a week, Don't you think? I've come with Elijah to school today Because this is an integral part of my plan To help build his confidence, Allow him to feel like he has value And that he doesn't have to be treated in any way That he doesn't appreciate.
Is this it? - Yep, this is our leadership class.
- Lead the way.
Hello.
- Hello.
Welcome to leadership class.
We're glad to have you.
- I appreciate it.
Hi there.
My name is Jillian.
I remember eighth grade actually being My absolute worst year, Because, you know, kids can be mean to each other sometimes, And so building those skills of respect here And appreciating people and their differences Is really important.
Has anybody in this classroom Ever been picked on or felt picked on before? Wow.
Just about everybody.
- I thought that I was the only kid Who ever got picked on.
It was, like, everybody else who I thought were the cool kids Also did get picked on.
- How many of you pick on yourselves? That many of you? I thought that we might take a minute And practice saying something nice about ourselves.
If you can't say something nice about yourself, Then how are you gonna be able to accept When somebody else does? So give it a chance.
- I'm funny.
- Okay.
- I'm good at gymnastics.
- I'm good at volleyball.
- I like my eyes.
- I am pretty good at all the sports I play.
- That's wonderful.
To give yourself a compliment Doesn't mean that you think you're better Than another person.
It just means that you respect yourself.
- Do you think that there's ever a time When we should tolerate being disrespected or abused? - No.
- Even if it's once a week? - Even if it's once a week or once a month or once a year, You have a right to say, "I'm sorry.
That's out of line.
" - Showing that you respect yourself And that you simply won't allow yourself To be treated poorly.
- Jillian showed up and gave me better confidence, And I want to be able to take that confidence And turn it into something that I can use to lose weight, And I definitely believe in myself.
- Y'all go watch some TV out in the loft.
Give us a minute, okay? Come over to the couch.
- Yes, ma'am.
- Let's talk.
- You know, as Jillian and I Set out there on that curb and talked, And I had such an awakening, It seemed like it was time To see if we couldn't have an awakening with mark.
We've got such a great family.
- Yeah.
- But we've got so many little emotional things going on That are putting up barriers, And it's the walls that you've put up around yourself.
Elijah really needs to sit down And just kind of go through some stuff with you.
But he is afraid to even approach the subject Because the wall is so high.
- Those are things that, being taught by my father, That you didn't talk about things like that.
- Mark, listen to her.
You guys don't have a space or a room for conversation Because you weren't taught about that, And you don't share.
You don't say what's going on.
- Well, my boys mean everything to me.
That's why I work so hard.
And I want them to have everything And anything that they need, you know? - They need you.
And the reason it seems that they're not telling you Is because they're afraid for you to know How much it hurts.
- You know, Jillian is right.
For the last 20 years, I ain't been part of the team, you know.
My part of it has been bringing the paycheck home.
And that's not all that my kids and my wife need, you know? I've realized that they need a father and a husband, And somebody to sit down and talk to.
- You know, I think this has been good, But you've got to You have got to initialize a conversation with Elijah.
- Okay.
- You have got to.
- No problem.
I've made a lot of mistakes.
You can't correct 'em with just going back in time.
You got to correct 'em now.
Elijah, you know, has always been kind of Low man on the totem pole.
He's always been the one that got pushed aside.
I had more in common with the older boys, So Elijah and I are gonna have to establish things That we have in common.
Jillian's been saying, you know, You guys have been talking, And they've kind of filled me in on a few things That I screwed up with As you were growing up.
I'm not perfect, But I'm always willing to listen.
- I mainly talk to mom About, like, being picked on in school and things, And I was just wondering That maybe you could help me out with that too.
- Any time.
You're more important to me than anything.
You and I both have had this same problem growing up.
You know, they look at us And expect us to be more mature than we are Because of our size.
- Yeah.
- Even though you're physically an adult, You're a 14-year-old.
- Yeah, and they expect me To be great at football.
I don't want to play football.
- You don't want to play football, You don't have to play football.
- Okay.
- You're not gonna disappoint me.
I mean, I'm proud of you in everything that you do.
Your drawings, your artwork.
You know, I mean, there's no way That I would not be proud of my son.
- When my dad told me how proud he was of me, I was happy of it, But I was also surprised.
Because over the past couple years, I felt like he hasn't been proud of me, Because of my choices with football.
I definitely feel like I've gotten my dad back.
- This is one thing that this has taught me, This whole experience with Jillian, Is you and I need to talk more.
Elijah, he needs to be healthy, But what I've learned this week Is he also has to be happy.
Let's go.
Help the old man up.
[laughs.]
For a long time, I was a fool.
So I wish I could get my time back.
You know, as you get older You learn that you don't get the time back.
It's been an eye awakening.
Gonna make me a whole lot better father and husband.
- Coming up on losing it I have had - Enough! I'm not losing weight, and it's just tough right now.
- Who wants to meet the new Vivio family? - Today's my last day with the vivios, And I feel really good about this.
These guys made incredible strides, And now there's just one more thing That I have to do.
Vivios! - Nice hat! - Workout 108.
[laughs.]
- Oh, we're gonna break those.
- Grab this stuff.
Follow me.
- Where we going? - Down to the bridge.
- I'm bringing this family down to the bridge, Because they think of it as the downfall of their entire family, And, symbolically, it's really important They rebuild it.
You know, it means that they're rebuilding their lives.
It's going to get rebuilt before I come back here.
- All right, well, I think this bridge Has brought about a tremendous life change, That although it's painful, I think is going to be One of the best things that ever happened to you In the long run.
So let's finish this thing off And start over.
- Sounds good.
- What do you think? - I like that idea.
I designed that bridge, And within a very short period of time, it failed.
Kind of the way I felt about my business, Same way I felt a lot about my family.
You learn from your failures.
When we rebuild that bridge, That is gonna mean a lot to this family and me.
- We got to break up that piece of concrete first, right? That's the foundation.
- You clear? - That's it.
Go for it.
- It is time - She don't have an angry bone in her body.
- To start over.
- And I have had - Enough! - Enough! - Just go, Elijah! There you go.
- All right, take another chunk.
Yes! That's a good one.
- Whoo! - When we went down to the bridge with sledge hammers, It felt like we had beaten it.
It felt great that we were ready to move on, And we were ready to build a better bridge, And we were ready to get this old one behind us That caused all these problems.
- All right, guys.
Gather around.
I thought that we might take a moment right now To talk about things that we want to get accomplished By the time I see you again.
This family is finally in a place Where they can embrace a new future, And so now what we need to do Is establish what that is And set some goals.
Laverne, set the tone.
And, by the way, grab a piece of chalk.
Very important that you write your goals down.
- This is this is kind of a girly thing, But I haven't been below 200 pounds since I married.
I was, like, 198 the day I married, so - How much do you weigh right now? - 221.
- Go for 190.
- 190? Oh, cool.
I like that.
190.
Taking some pride in my accomplishments.
- Taking some pride in your accomplishments.
- Absolutely.
Next.
- Want to have a better relationship with my dad.
- There you go.
I like that idea.
- More confident.
Proud.
- Yay.
- You have one for dad? - Not to tell me to suck it up.
- I thought we were starting with the weight thing.
- No! We're starting with no "suck it up" there, buddy.
- No more "suck it up.
" - When you get back here in two months, I'm gonna be at 295.
That's a 35-pound weight loss.
- No.
50 pounds before I see you again.
- In two months? - You just get your butt on the treadmill And don't stop walking.
- So you want me to change that to 280? - Yup.
- I'm gonna promise Laverne, Elijah, and Jedediah.
You know, no more walls.
I've got to communicate with 'em.
I need to pat you guys on the back more often, You know, rather than kicking you in the butt so often.
But I'm very proud of everything and anything That you've ever done, you know? I mean, you're my boys.
And that's what I live for.
- In two months, I'm hoping Jillian Will come back to find a family Who has decided to change their lives, Who has changed their life, And is absolutely got all these problems behind them.
- We're gonna miss you.
I'm just glad you're coming back.
I'm just glad you're coming back.
That would be hard if you weren't coming back.
- Let me get more on your level.
- Oh, lord.
- You're last.
- [laughs.]
I'm so overwhelmed with what she's given this family, That, you know, I can't thank her enough.
In 60 days, I'm gonna give her more.
I want her to come in here and see a happy family.
- Two months! - Got it.
Two months.
Jillian, the connection that you made with my son, And the things that you've said to me About my son Mean more to me than you can ever imagine.
You're like a big sister.
You just kind of came in And you just you just took him by the hand, And I just want to thank you again.
And I promise you in two months, You are going to be grinning from ear to ear When you come back out here, And you're gonna feel so good About what has happened here, And what Elijah's accomplished, What we've all accomplished.
Thank you.
- I've left the vivios with all the tools That I can provide.
And now it's up to them.
- Misery loves company.
Both of us in there working out.
- I've only lost five pounds.
[grunts.]
It has not been easy.
The bridge is kind of frustrating.
This morning I went to weld, And shorted out everything.
- Last week I lost three pounds.
That discouraged me.
- It's just tough right now.
- Who wants to meet the new Vivio family? [cheers and applause.]
Coming up on losing it - It's been eight weeks, And I'm back in Springfield, Tennessee To visit the Vivio family.
Mark finally got signed off by his doctor to exercise, And everybody's been working really hard.
So I'm excited to see if they've rebuilt their lives And rebuilt their bridge.
Is this it? - Yeah.
- Oh, my God.
[cheers and applause.]
Look at you.
Who wants to meet the new Vivio family? [cheers and applause.]
Elijah, come on out! When he walked across that bridge, He was smiling.
His shoulders were back.
His head was up high.
He was mugging for the crowd.
- Yeah! - You could tell he was proud of himself.
Elijah! Elijah! Elijah! Elijah! Mwah.
Oh, my God! How much weight did you lose? - 50 pounds.
- Are we ready to call out dad? - Sure.
Hey, dad! Come across.
[cheers and applause.]
- Mark walked across that bridge, And he looks very different.
He visibly looks amazing.
Oh, my gosh! You're skinny! [grunts.]
- Can reach around me now.
- How much weight did you lose? - 56 pounds.
[cheers and applause.]
- How do you feel? - Feel great.
- Uh, okay, come join your boys.
Are we ready to see Laverne? - Laverne, come on down.
- My mom looks incredible now.
I mean, I'm so happy for her.
I'm glad that she's finally comfortable in her own skin.
It was, like, "yeah, look at me.
" And it's just it's awesome.
- Hey, sis.
- Hi, buddy.
- Check it out.
I lost 31 pounds.
- I think you guys look pretty amazing.
It might be time to dedicate this bridge.
What do you think? Oh, that is perfect.
Speech! Speech! - I've done a lot of hard work In the past couple months, and - Proud of that accomplishment? - I'm very proud about myself.
- Yeah! - Your turn, dad.
- I want to thank Jillian For bringing me closer to my boys, And especially bringing me closer to my beautiful wife.
I want to thank you for giving me a goal.
Something that gives me something to shoot for.
- How's your heart? - Yeah? - Heart's working.
Today.
- It's in rhythm.
- It's in rhythm.
- He's been cleared.
He actually gets to get his knee fixed next week.
- Heart's in rhythm.
Time for a knee surgery.
- Time for a knee surgery.
Next week.
- We're living it and loving it.
We're just loving it.
With all my heart, I thank you For my the way my family's come together in this.
I can't begin to thank you enough For what you've inspired Elijah to do.
I mean, he has turned his life around, And, you know, thank you for my real sexy husband.
I'm just sayin'.
I mean You know? I'm just saying.
- I know! - You know? I mean - This whole process is about reclaiming your life, Being an inspiration to yourself, To your family, to your community, Paying it forward, And you guys have exceeded My wildest hopes and expectations.
I know that you have had a rough year.
And jillianmichaels.
Com would like to help you out, Help you get back on your feet, And we thought that $50,000 might lighten your load.
And with that said, There's one more thing I think we need to do.
Mark? - I christen this bridge.
[cheers and applause.]
Let's party! [cheers and applause.]
- When I saw the bridge up, All I could think about was the family Being back up and on their feet again.
Whoo-hoo! And these guys are now back on track.
- I have spent the last 20 years Trying to get back to what I was when I got married, And I'm past that now.
I have worked it hard And intend to continue.
- I used to be like, "oh, I can't do this, I can't do that, Because I don't think I can do it," And now I am like, "well, I can do anything.
" So I'm feeling like I can take on The rest of what my life holds.
- I had my 13th heart procedure Just before Jillian got here, And, uh, I'm pretty sure it's gonna be my last.
I feel like a very lucky man today.
This has been life-changing.
My family and I are communicating more.
We're much more a family I think now Than we've ever been.
I'm learning to live living to learn