Jeff and his daughter Juliana have a strained relationship. Juliana was born to Jeff and his wife late in life (her two siblings are more than a decade older). As a result, Juliana struggled to connect with her father, and often felt ignored and overlooked. Now 15, Juliana can no longer keep her resentment toward Jeff buried inside. Realizing he needed to be a better father and role model to his daughter, Jeff wrote a letter to trainers and transformation specialists Chris and Heidi Powell asking for help.
At 423 pounds, 55-year-old Jeff is 200 pounds overweight. 265-pound Juliana is bullied and ostracized at high school over her size. Chris and Heidi team up to try and help repair the strained relationship between father and daughter while challenging Jeff and Juliana to lose over 330 pounds together.
Along the way, Chris and Heidi make some of Jeff and Julian’s dreams come true. Jeff gets the chance to meet and work out with his favorite football team, the Denver Broncos-including Pro Bowl stars Terrell Davis and Karl Mecklenburg, plus current star Demaryius Thomas and former Bronco Eric Decker (who is now a member of the New York Jets). Meanwhile, Juliana realizes her lifelong dream of riding roller coasters with her dad at Disney World, where they also run a half-marathon together.
However, their journey doesn’t always go smoothly. After noticing that Jeff and Juliana aren’t losing as much weight as they should be, Chris and Heidi place them under surveillance, and discover that both father and daughter are cheating on their diet and exercise plans. Also in the episode, Rocco DiSpirito shows Jeff and Juliana how to make double chocolate cookies that taste great and have fewer than 100 calories each.
Jeff and Juliana’s yearlong physical and emotional journey together is an inspiring story of the importance of family, love and perseverance.
