New two-part documentary series Big & Little debuts tonight on TLC, follows two morbidly obese people with dwarfism, Chuck Love and Ayanna Brown, as they try to lose weight.
In tonight’s first episode we get introduced to the pair and their weight-loss coach Allison Warrell, who is also a little person.
Warrell’s job is to motivate them and educate them about exercise and eating habits.
Ready to get his life in gear, 30-year-old Chuck is an aspiring radio host who weighed 164-lb at 3’6″ and desperately wants to reboot his entire existence.
Chuck lives at home, has no job and no romantic prospects. His challenges include trying to manage everyday tasks like putting on socks, driving or cooking for himself.
He explains: “A dwarf has a regular-sized torso, just shorter limbs. So we have the same size stomach as everyone else, so we have the same size appetite.”
We also meet Ayanna, who weighed 215-lb at 3’9″ before she began to work out and changed her diet.
The 24-year-old says: “When I look in the mirror I think, ‘Oh my God, I’m so fat.'”
Looking to the future, Ayanna wants to become a medical technician.
Under the supervision of Allison, both Chuck and Ayanna take baseline body mass index (BMI) measurements and find out that they are considered “morbidly obese”, the most severe designation of weight relative to height.
A complete fitness makeover begins. Allison raids their refrigerators to purge them of calorific treats, and puts them both on a diet and exercise plan.
She also works out with them as they make breakthroughs and face physical and mental blocks together.
Not used to exerting himself, Chuck struggles as he attempts martial arts training as an alternative.
“It’s like our height plateaus, then our body weight increases,” says Ayanna.
Ayanna is counseled by Allison to come to grips with the 100-lb of fat she carries. We learn that her deep insecurities are all due to her size and weight.
Allison will give her the strength to fight the fat, win the battle of the bulge, and reclaim her health.
In this first part of the two-episode special, will Allison be able to kick-start Chuck and Ayanna’s weight loss journey?
Part 1 of Big & Little airs tonight at 10/9c on TLC. Part 2 airs next Wednesday at the same time.