Before and After: How These Real Women Get Fit

By Maura Kelly

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Before

After

Slide 1 of 5

On the reality TV show, Could You Survive?, health-and-fitness guru Pamela Peeke, MD, helps real women to get fit enough to take on extreme real-life challenges. Here, meet the women of the show who dramatically changed their bodies and lives as they share how they got stronger, faster, fitter, and happier.

I Needed to Get Healthy for My Kids

Abbie de Vera-Jackson
Age: 31
Weight before the show: 179 lbs.
Weight now: 148 lbs.

Body Bio: "I've been overweight my whole life. But during my first day on the TV show, I realized I'd never be able to save my two sons, ages 2 1/2 and 11 months -- or myself -- in an emergency. After that, I was determined to get buff, especially because my husband is an army lieutenant who could get deployed to Iraq at any time. My kids need me!"

Next: I Got My Energy Back