Nancy Rajala was born in Dayton, Ohio and raised in Farmington, Michigan with three siblings. Her father died when she was 13 years old, and at the age of 14, her mother gave her $70 and sent her by bus to Kentucky to get married. The marriage lasted two years. At age 17, Nancy married her second husband, and they had 13 children together. Later in life, her husband developed heart failure and then lung cancer. Nancy didn't really have a weight problem until after her husband died. She was a widow at age 52, under great stress trying to take care of her family, pay bills and keep the family's drywall business running. Now at age 63, Nancy weighs 217 pounds and has 55 grandchildren and three great-grandchildren. She has high blood pressure and wants to get healthy and become the lively, energetic person she once was. After losing the weight, she looks forward to dancing, wearing summer clothes and climbing the bleachers more easily to watch her grandchildren's sporting events.