Fred Connors' Favourite Participants from Seasons 1 Through 3

Throughout seasons 1 to 3 of X-Weighted, Fred Connors met some incredible people and is still in close contact with some of them. Seeing participants succeed has been hugely rewarding for Connors. Here he talks about some of his favourite participants:

Diane (season 1) 

I met Diane four years ago and still have a relationship with her today. I continue to be proud of the things that she has achieved in life. When she left her X-Weighted journey, it seemed like she was not going to get anything that she wanted, but very soon after that, because she was so determined, everything happened for her.

Diane is an example of someone who took what she was able to learn, albeit reluctantly, and allow it to positively impact the rest of her life. You don’t get what you want out of life just by losing 30 pounds. A whole lot more needs to change.

Jennifer (season 2)

I really enjoyed working with Jennifer because it put me in to my realm of beauty and fashion: When people can really appreciate what I bring to the table from the beginning it just makes my life easier as I don’t have to fight with them!

I don’t think Jennifer had confidence when she was skinny and when she put on weight she had even less. Making the decision to go back into modeling was challenging and terrifying: I was glad to go on that journey with her. She has the type of personality that you realize when you are around her that something has been brought in to the room that wasn’t there before. There is a pleasantness, and a graciousness and a vulnerability that I just love about her.

Jeremy (season 1)

Jeremy was one of my favourites to work with, and not just because his transformation was incredible. He was a classic example of someone that is so uncomfortable with their body that they have to transform themselves into a clown, in order to offset the negative feelings that they have about how they look. Quite often we see particularly large people develop this funny persona, because they don’t want people to know how insecure they are about how they look. 

I think Jeremy took that to the extreme because as long as he could be “the wild and crazy Jeremy”, he could be accepted just the way he was. Ultimately, we all look for ways to be accepted by the people around us. And we live in a world that idealizes healthy, competent people, so if you are overweight, unfit and lack confidence, people will go to the extremes to overcompensate for that.

He really was more comfortable with himself when he saw at the end that he could still reflect the personality he has, he can still be “wild and crazy Jeremy” in a way that doesn’t make him look like a clown.

Jen (season 2)

I also liked Jen, the female warrior, because she allowed all of her vulnerability to be shown. When things get difficult a lot of people on the show shut down and don’t want people to see it but Jen gave us such open access to her life. Jen is someone that I get a lot of feedback about, as she was a phenomenal reveal.

Sharla (season 2)

When I met Sharla, she was thinking like a welfare mom, she wasn’t thinking like a woman who had opportunities in her life. I think that low self-esteem affects people the most who feel like they have no options. Sharla was a woman who felt trapped. Self-esteem comes when you realize that the world is there to bring you opportunities, and her self-esteem came when she realized that she mattered and had an inner power that could guide her successfully through her life.

I really wish I could have been there to see her complete her goal - I sat watching the television with tears streaming down my face because she had accomplished not just weight-loss, achieving that goal gave her the strength to know that she will always have options in her life.

This post is a repeat, but look forward to more original content to come in the future.