by David McAlpine

Do you have withdrawal yet from no Biggest Loser this summer? I have to say that I find this show to be quite the suitable alternative, even if there is no competition, blatant ad placement or screaming Jillian Michaels. Instead, it's almost pure inspiration, and I feel like I can go to bed after watching this feeling good about the world.

This week's subject is 23 year-old Alex Respess of Duluth, Georgia, who weighs in at 459 pounds. It seems a little humiliating to be weighing people in on freight scales, but at the same time, if it's a motivator, then I guess that's what works.

The first step in Alex's transformation is the way he eats. While in LA, he learns about fat, where it comes from and how to cut it out of his diet, especially his staple food: the bacon cheeseburger. Instead, transformation specialist Chris Powell shows him the turkey burger, the great, low-fat alternative.

Alex wants this weight loss bad, especially for his mom, who died about three years ago of cancer. Alex promised his mom as she was dying that he would get healthy, and now he's on track to do it.

When he gets back to Georgia, his house has been completely refitted with gym and healthy food, and he's got a hefty first goal: 100 pounds in three months. Three months! But the reward was huge: season tickets to the Atlanta Braves. I have to say, I grew up on the Cubs, and I would do anything for season tickets, so I know how bad he wants them, especially since he wanted to play baseball in high school, but couldn't because of his weight.

Chris moves in with Alex for the first three months to help him get started, and he's pushing Alex to the brink. Even though Alex was working his butt off, he was only at the 68 pound mark after two months, and hit 97 pounds lost in three months. Three pounds short, his efforts didn't go unnoticed as Chris took him to a game and introduced him to the team, who was nothing but supportive.

During the next three months, Alex was on his own to lose 60 more pounds. There was another milestone for Alex, though: his dad's second marriage, and he wanted to look good for the wedding.

The whole time, Chris was monitoring Alex via cameras in his house, and he saw that he was struggling to work out. Alex admitted that all the down time caused him to think about his mom, and he was too sad and upset to work out. Even worse, this wedding that he was trying to look good for felt to him like his dad was simply forgetting his mom. After six months, Alex lost another 21 pounds, nearly 40 short of his goal.

Chris wanted to remotivate Alex, so he took him to an army base for a 24-hour army experience. Alex got his hair cut (despite many protests) and trained with soldiers, most of whom he could keep up with. It gave him the boost of confidence he needed for the next 90 days: 70 more pounds lost. If he reached that goal, he'd be able to get skin removal surgery.

Alex enters "full beast mode" and goes at it for the next three months. So hard, in fact, that he looks incredibly different from start to finish, and you know he's lost that 70 pounds. In fact, he loses 77, bringing his total up to 195 pounds lost.

Three months passes and Alex continues to lose more weight as well as get rid of the excess skin. He meets his friends and family on a baseball field where Alex says he last made his mom proud watching him play Little League. When Alex comes out, he's down to 243 pounds, 216 pounds lighter than one year ago.

To celebrate his weight loss, the county commissioner gave Alex a plaque in honor of his mother and renamed part of the baseball field "Kim's Corner." Now that he's healthy and active, Alex plans to pursue a career in sports management and wants to work for the Atlanta Braves.

Extreme Makeover: Weight Loss Edition airs Mondays at 10/9c on ABC.

(Photo courtesy of ABC)

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