Mitzi White works out with one of her heroes, 78-year-old body building legend Ernestine Shepherd. (ABC Photo)

Mitzi White works out with one of her heroes, 79-year-old body building legend Ernestine Shepherd. (ABC Photo)

Taking Off the Weight

White had no idea what to expect, but she was ready for anything from the show’s husband and wife trainer team, Heidi and Chris Powell. The show’s regimen is designed to make sure participants lose a certain percentage of their body weight (60 pounds in Mitzi’s case) in the first few months. She aced it. To qualify for skin removal surgery, she had to lose 100 pounds, in her case, 25 percent of her body weight.

“Heidi is very good at making life begin where your comfort zone ends,” White says, with a hearty laugh about her first days in the show’s gym.

During her first on-camera workout, White could barely hold on, but she never quit. “I decided that my body was a temple that God created, and obesity was not part of his plan. Once I surrendered, I had a lot of aches, pains and tears to go, but I just kept putting one foot in front of the other.”

After she reached her first phase goal, the Powells upped the ante. To spike White’s slow metabolism they brought in one of her personal heroes, 79-year-old body building legend (the Guiness Book of World Records Oldest Female, Competitive Body Builder in 2010 – 2011) Ernestine Shepherd to give her the workout of her life.

“Ernestine was all about form,” White says. “She showed me how to lift more weight than I could have imagined without hurting myself.”

How Mitzi Dropped the Weight

Mitzi’s “Extreme Weight Loss” diet is based on carb cycling. Her favorite foods are lean proteins, fruits and vegetables. She snacks on nuts, hummus and egg whites. To keep it interesting, she rotates her workouts among her favorites:

  • Zumba
  • The Cross Fit Program
  • Weight Lifting
  • Spin
  • HIT