Share this @internewscast.com
This is the emotional moment an obese woman erupted in tears after shedding six stone and saying she won’t let her lose weight ‘kill’ her.
Marissa, 31, from Tunbridge Wells, cried during the final episode of Channel 4’s Around the World in 80 Weighs, a series which followed six obese contestants as they toured Japan, Texas, Tonga and India in a bid to learn weight loss secrets.
At the start of her journey, Marissa weighed 29 stone and 2 lbs.
But through touring the world and learning weight loss methods she shrunk down to less than 24 stone, now saying she eats whole foods and feels ‘much better’.
On tonight’s episode, things came to a head when Russell, Marissa, Therryi-Jay, Sue, Phil and Tiffany descend home to the UK for a restorative countryside retreat and one last weigh-in.
Marissa, 31, from Tunbridge Wells, cried during the final episode of Channel 4 ‘s Around the World in 80 Weighs, a series which followed six obese contestants as they toured Japan , Texas , Tonga and India in a bid to learn weight loss secrets
At the start of her journey, Marissa weighed 29 stone and 2 lbs. But through touring the world and learning weight loss methods she shrunk down to less than 24 stone
After spending a month away from their loved ones, Marissa – the largest of the group – confided in her brother Oliver that the global trip had taken its toll on her but she wouldn’t ‘let obesity kill her’.
Back home in Tunbridge Wells, the pair who are ‘as thick as thieves’ had a heart-to-heart about Marissa’s weight.
She asked her brother: ‘What was it that scared you the most?’
‘Losing you to be honest’ replied Oliver.
‘I don’t want to lose my sister young’.
The moment was visibly too much for Marissa to handle, who burst into tears while speaking to the camera.
‘That’s why I want to lose the weight – because I want to make all my friends and family proud and not give them an extra burden to worry about me.
‘Life is literally so short and I can’t let obesity win and I can’t let it kill me’.
After spending a month away from their loved ones, things get emotional for the cast, especially Marissa – the largest of the group – who confided in her brother Oliver that the global trip had taken its toll on her but she wouldn’t ‘let obesity kill her’ (pictured together)
Marissa shed nearly six stone during the process where she went to six countries
The moment was visibly too much for Marissa to handle, who burst into tears while speaking to the camera
Thankfully her brother was on hand to pick up the pieces, while also revealing that he had already spotted a ‘visual’ change.
‘I’m surprised at how much [weight] has come off to be honest’ he said.
Responding to Marissa’s comment that she had so far lost a whopping six stone, Oliver yelled out ‘bloody hell!’
He continued: ‘The longer this continues… with you changing… it’s for the better really, for the family, for Russell, and your life that’s ahead of you.
‘And yeah I’m just so proud of you and everything that you’ve done and the journey you’ve been on.
‘It’s fantastic and life-changing.
‘I’m never going to forget it – and I bloody love you!’
The siblings sealed the special moment with a hug, prompting Marissa to reveal that she was now in a ‘really good place’.
Elsewhere in the episode, the group were coming to terms with the end of their 30,000 mile weight-busting journey and what it meant for their lives ahead.
Russel, 36, Marissa’s boyfriend and a healthcare insurer, confessed to indulging in a ‘treat’ of KFC as soon as he landed back home.
However he was adamant that he now viewed fatty foods much differently after the trip, and even admitted that it tasted like ‘grease’.
Meanwhile in Leeds, Phil, 34, a behavioural welfare coach, was overjoyed to see his four-year-old daughter despite her confessing that she once called him ‘Daddy Pig’ because he was ‘so fat’.
He was consumed with tears of joy when she adorably revealed that she would no longer refer to him with the nickname because he was now ‘not eating a lot of food’.
Phil added: ‘The minute I came back to that airport she ran at me and she touched my belly and she went “daddy your bell is flatter”.
‘And I tell you it got to me it was like an arrow through the heart and I went “wow!”
‘I can’t believe how far I’ve come’.
Elsewhere, for Tiffany, 24 – who once revealed that she wasn’t on the show to lose weight – returned to Weymouth with a new lease on life.
Marisa, from Kent, has packed her bags to learn about weight loss secrets from around the world so she can be a healthy mother
Viewers learned that she now participated in twice-weekly ‘CrossFit’ gym sessions that included skipping and barbell squat exercises.
She enjoyed it so much, she claimed: ‘this is better than sex honestly’.
Later on, the group gathered for one last meal to share with each other the journey’s cultural impact on their diets.
For Sue, it was all about jerk chicken, quinoa and broccoli, while Marissa opted for Greek flatbreads and salad instead of her favourite kebab.
Phil chose soya garlic salmon with white rice, meanwhile Russell selected a ‘man’s dinner’ of red meat, salad and white rice.
Tiffany went for a chicken and avocado wrap and Therryi-Jay opted for a salad.
Next up was the moment that they – and we – had all been waiting for – the final countdown.
The group were locked in dead silence as they took to the scales for the very last time on the show.
Shouts of praise erupted when they learned they had all collectively lost three stone since leaving India the week before.
Altogether the former tourists shed an outstanding 11 stone since their very first stop in Japan.
Around the World in 80 Weighs contestant Tiffany, 24, (pictured) broke down in tears after witnessing a young child beg for food on the streets of Mumbai
‘That’s a whole adult!’ exclaimed Russell. ‘I definitely think this trip has extended my life’ he added.
‘Incredible’ shouted the rest.
Last week it was Tiffany who became emotional after witnessing a young child beg for food on the streets of Mumbai.
The group were on a trip to India, where 14 million children are obese and infants as young as 11 months old need bariatric surgery.
The tourists struggled in scorching 40C temperatures and were made to eat a local vegetarian diet to help them shed the pounds fast before finally returning to London.
Along the way, the contestants visited the bustling Crawford Market in Mumbai, where they were flanked by tempting street food stalls and child beggars in desperate need of something to eat.
Meet the contestants who are desperate to lose weight as they reveal emotional stories behind their quest – from a murdered best friend to a life-threatening health condition
Marisa, 31
Marisa, from Kent, has packed her bags to learn about weight loss secrets from around the world so she can be a healthy mother
31-year-old Marisa is looking to lose weight so she can have children and be a fit and healthy mother. She has developed an unhealthy relationship with food where she will be healthy in the week and gorge at the weekends.
Russell, 36
Husband to Marisa, Russell, from Kent, also wants to shed the pounds to start a family. He is additionally motivated to lose weight following his father’s death from diabetes- a condition he also grapples with.
Kent-based married couple Marisa and Russell have known each other since they were four
Therryi-Jay, 32
South London born and bred Therryi-Jay want to lose weight to become healthy. She turned to fast food after the loss of her best friend to murder. Therryi-Jay also believes society and its abundance of fast food contributes to her unhealthy relationship with food.
Therryi-Jay joined the show to learn the best routes to shed the pounds. She formed an unhealthy relationship with food after losing her best friend
Susan
She found out about the show from her daughter, who thought it was the perfect way for her mother to lose weight. Susan joined the programme to help her gain confidence and live life to the maximum.
Susan’s weight has stopped her from leading a normal life, and she would often find herself unable to leave the house
Tiffany, 24
24-year-old Tiffany differs from the other participants because she believes you can be obese and healthy. Despite living with obesity, she can lift heavy weights and complete difficult exercise routines. She wants to understand the condition further.
Tiffany entered the show to learn about eating habits around the world, but she doesn’t think that an individual being obese necessarily means they’re unhealthy
Phil, 34
Father-of-one Phil, from Leeds, wants to lose weight so he can be a better father. His child is four, and he fears he can’t keep up. The 34-year-old wants to learn as much as possible from other countries and implement it into his lifestyle back home.
Phil is motivated to shed the pounds so he can be an active father to his four-year-old child
It proved too much for Tiffany, 24, who said it was difficult to ‘be around all this food’ while some children ‘can’t eat anything’.
In a flurry of tears, Tiffany said: ‘It’s just really hard seeing the kids walk around needing food.
‘They were so small and like we’re around all this food like: “Oh we can’t eat that because we’ll get fat”.
‘And you’re like: “But oh she can’t eat anything”. It’s just a lot to deal with. It’s just nuts here’.
The group were moved by the sight of a disheveled young girl dressed in pink as she stood before them asking for food.
The girl, who appeared to be no older than five-years-old, could be seen walking amidst the group while clutching an empty carrier bag.
Therryi-Jay, short of cash, turned around and said to the unnamed girl: ‘I don’t have anything, baby. I don’t have nothing. Nothing, I don’t have anything’.
Tiffany did her best to hold back tears but it was clearly fruitless. She asked their host Burjiz: ‘Doesn’t she have parents or anything?’.
He responded: ‘They make them do it.’
For this week’s trip, the tourists were guided by Burjiz Mukerji, a plus-size clothing entrepreneur who prides himself on being a ‘hardcore non-vegetarian’.
Burjiz consoled the crew as they questioned why the young girl appeared to be so hungry and helpless.
Shedding light on the situation, he said: ‘So in India we have different types of people.
‘When we talk of the rich class there is ample food, so they keep hogging [it] the whole day and they tend to put on weight.
‘Whereas in the poor class, it becomes a challenge for them to feed each and every child. So because of this they have to turn to begging on the road’.
In the last two decades, India’s economy has seen an upward trajectory, which has also driven a surge in obesity.
India is now home to one fifth of the world’s overweight population, with obesity in under-fives having increased by 50 per cent in the last five years.
