As a child, Brandi fell in love with beauty pageants after watching them on television with her mother. A born performer, she took ballet plus tap lessons and competed in pageants for years. By the time she was 12, Brandi weighed more than 250 pounds, and comment cards from pageant judges told her over and over that she was too heavy to compete.

Crushed by the criticism, Brandi quit competing and continued to put on weight throughout high school and well into her 20s. After reaching 329 pounds, she wrote a letter to trainer and transformation specialist Chris Powell asking him for help.

At 29 years old, Brandi is a freelance makeup artist in the beauty pageant world. Though she says making others feel beautiful makes her feel beautiful as well, she still secretly wishes to be one of the beauty queens standing on stage. Brandi gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to meet and work with Miss America 2014, Nina Davuluri.

Brandi becomes Chris’ first client to compete in a Half Ironman, under the tutelage of Ironman competitor and Sugarland guitarist Thad Beaty. The Half Ironman Triathlon is a brutal challenge that forces her to swim, bike and run a combined 70.3 miles in under eight hours. Also, celebrity chef Rocco Dispirito teaches Brandi how to eat healthier versions of her favorite meals in order to achieve her goal of losing a pound a day.