Denise was born in Burbank, California, and raised with five siblings in southern California. At 59, she realizes she has always taken care of other people but never really taken care of herself. She has eight children, ranging in age from 18-37, and gained weight with each pregnancy without ever really losing the weight afterwards. Denise realized she needed to change her life when she could barely make it up the stairs carrying her one-year-old grandson, and worried she might drop him. She knew if she wanted to be around to watch her grandkids grow up, she'd have to lose weight and get healthy. She had lap band surgery, but only lost 50 pounds and then the weight slowly crept back up. Denise currently weighs 256 pounds. Now pre-diabetic and suffering from high cholesterol, she says she always felt like good things happen to other people but never to her. "I now realize that good things will happen for me if I step outside my comfort zone and make them happen," Denise says. "That's why I'm here - to become all that I was meant to be." She looks most forward to playing with her grandchildren once she loses the weight.