Right after the show finished, life got pretty difficult for Michelle as she adjusted to Connor going to live in a group home. “Paul’s prediction that after Connor left home I wasn’t going to care about anything was pretty accurate and I went back up to 250 pounds,” she says.

However, now Connor is doing really well and Michelle has been able to get her weight back on track, she is now ten pounds lighter than when she finished her weight-loss journey on X-Weighted. She still indulges in junk food occasionally, and says this is why she hasn’t lost more weight, but is much more likely to choose sushi than a burger when eating out with her daughters. “I can’t say that my eating is perfect but it’s certainly better than when I first met Paul,” she says.

Michelle stays active, and recently completed a 30-day hot yoga challenge. “It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, because if you miss a day you have to do a double session and I ended up missing three days because of my knee problems,” she says, “although it’s really difficult, I do enjoy it. Hot Yoga is my new thing.”

Michelle says that she learned a lot from being on the show and that her family makes healthier choices overall thanks to being on X-Weighted. “The biggest thing I got out of doing the show was knowing that I could do it. I was right at the bottom and had no idea of how to get control of anything, how to stop eating and start exercising, and the show gave me that. If anyone has the opportunity to go on X-Weighted they should do it,” she says.

Michelle says that the support she got from Paul was key to her success. “I adore Paul. When I met him, I asked him why people thought he was so awful because I found him really pleasant. He said, “You don’t have a problem with me Michelle because you’re not a whiner.” My attitude when I did the show was that I signed on for this, and if I don’t like it, then it’s not his fault. Nobody was kidnapped and forced to come on the show,” she says.

Due to the way things were exploding at home, Michelle never got to renew her wedding vows at the end of her journey, but is happy to say that her and Dennis did it last year. “All the kids were there and it was really fun,” she says.

Connor is really happy with where he is living, and has become quite athletic himself. “My son is in a good place and that makes it easy for everyone. He is in the best program in British Columbia,” she says.

Her daughters are also doing well - her eldest just graduated high-school, got her first job and wants to be an actress. Dennis is also doing great, enjoying being back at work and recently got a big promotion. Michelle is heading back to school this fall to finish her degree in visual arts. Life is really good for the whole family, and a lot less stressful than when they were on the show.

September 2009