Life as an Obese Person and How One Woman Turned it Around for Herself

NOTE: I don't know why, but the sound quality of this one is not good.  It's still easy to listen to and understand, though.

At her heaviest, Angie Johnston weighed over 418 pounds. She doesn't know how much more because she topped out the scale. Then she decided she had to make big changes ... or she would die. She has lost about 200 pounds and is now a certified personal trainer.

But what broke my heart was when she talked about what everyday life is like for a morbidly obese person. She was intimidated by everyone, always waiting for the person to start making fun of her. People at the gym looked down their noses at her, as though she shouldn't even be there. I had no idea what an act of courage it was for a morbidly obese person to simply walk out their front door. And talk about courage, it wasn't until a little ways into the interview that she relaxed and realized I wasn't going to attack her or set her up to be laughed at (the original show was live).