The series was shot in and around Middleborough, Taunton, Boston, and other locations, according to Brunelle, whose problems with weight began in college when she developed health problems.
“I was always reed-thin in school, like 125 pounds, but then in college, I started gaining,’’ she said. “At first I was diagnosed with adrenal gland disorder, and years later, found out I had thyroid cancer.’’
She had her thyroid removed in 2005 and controlling weight became even more difficult, she said; she’d gained 85 pounds when her thyroid problems started and another 40 after it was removed.
Boyd’s weight-loss regime, in addition to exercise, includes eating regularly “whether you’re hungry or not, like every two or three hours, chicken, vegetables, egg whites. The idea is by stimulating your metabolism constantly, your body goes into calorie-burning mode instead of starvation, which makes you store fat,’’ Brunelle said, adding that Boyd’s style on the show “is hysterical - America will fall in love with her sense of humor, she’s a straight shooter and really funny.’’
The show is not like other reality programs in which people compete to lose weight and get booted if they fall short. This one follows the women’s progress, start to finish, Brunelle said.
The women have various goals, she said. Lester’s, for example, was to shed weight she gained after having a baby. Brunelle’s was to lose 40 pounds. She declined to say whether she has or not, allowing only that “you’ll have to tune in every week to see if I did.’’
Brunelle wrote a book about her cancer experience, “Dirty Bombshell: From Thyroid Cancer Back to Fabulous,’’ and said she wanted her weight-loss experience to inspire other cancer patients, many of whom gain weight after surgery and therapy.
