Published: 16:06 GMT, 22 July 2015 | Updated: 23:29 GMT, 22 July 2015
A single mother with an autistic teenage son has overcome her past eating disorders and shed half of her body weight, going from 296lbs to 147lbs over the course of one year.
Tiffany 'Pearls' Humpert, 36, from Wichita Falls, Texas, started abusing over-the-counter diet pill when she was in middle school. However, when she married her first husband just before her 18th birthday, she went from withholding food to binge eating - a habit that only got worse when she was left to raise her son Mason alone.
The autism activist started her physical and emotional journey on Extreme Weight Loss after sharingher struggles in a letter to the ABC show's trainers Chris and Heidi Powell.
Scroll down for video
New woman: Tiffany 'Pearls' Humpert, 36, from Witchita, Texas, weighed 296lbs (left) before getting down to 147lbs (right) after a year working with Extreme Weight Loss trainers Chris and Heidi Powell
Tiffany, who goes by Pearls, earned her nickname because she is always wearing pearl jewelry. However, Pearls revealed that wears the jewelry as an attempt to draw attention away from her body.
'I almost always wear my pearls because it is like a security blanket,' she confessed to the cameras.
Pearls revealed that she was in seventh grade when she started taking over-the-counter diet pills because she felt fat.
'I did not feel pretty,' she recalled. 'I felt like the ugliest fattest girl in the world.'
As a teenager, Pearls was so obsessed with being thin that she would take diet pills during the day to keep her from eating and laxatives at night to rid her body of any food that might have been in her system.
Hiding out: The single mother explained that she is called Pearls because she is always wearing pearl jewelry, however she admitted, that she wore pearls as a way to distract from her body
Food issues: Pearls revealed that she started abusing over-the-counter diet pills when she was in seventh grade (pictured)
Pearls married her first husband a month before her 18th birthday, noting: 'I was completely anorexic. I feel like he helped pull me out of that.'
The couple, who were married for eight years, had Mason two years into their relationship and it was soon after his birth that Pearls husband started to pull away.
Pearls also began to notice that Mason wasn't developing like his peers, and he would often throw fits or tantrums.
'I now know that those are signs of autism that I didn't know back then,' she said.
Pearls admitted that when her husband left her she drowned her sorrows in food and 'ate a lot of cheese puffs'. She eventually moved on with another man, whom she believes is a 'chubby chaser' because he also encouraged her to eat.
Hidden pain: Even though she was beautiful, Pearls said she felt 'fat' and feared gaining weight when she was a teen
Constant struggle: Pearls also abused laxatives at night in order rid her body of the little food that she ate during the day
'He would always say don't get too skinny,' she recalled. 'I stayed in a toxic relationship for seven years for his son.'
When Pearls got involved with her second husband, she fell in love with his two-year-old son Chris, who was later diagnosed with childhood disintegrative disorder, which is categorized as an autism spectrum disorder.
Children with this rare condition develop normally until at least two years of age, but then they begin to demonstrate a severe loss of communication skills.
Chris became non-verbal when he was four-years-old, and by the time he was ten, Pearls marriage had disintegrated after her husband left her for a competitive hot dog eater.
In addition to her struggles with food, Pearls was suffering a tremendous loss. After their marriage ended, her husband put Chris in a group home, and Pearls was no longer allowed to see him.
Single mom: Pearls said she was anorexic until she married her first husband and her son Mason (right), who is now 15-years-old. However, her weight spiraled out of control when her husband left her
Second son: Pearls married again and her second husband encouraged her to eat. When their marriage ended, he forbid her from seeing her stepson Chris (pictured), which is something she stills struggles with
The last time she saw him, Pearls told the boy that she was sorry he wasn't home with her and that she loved him very much. Even though she knew he couldn't speak, she asked him to tell his father that he wanted to see her.
In that moment, Chris put his forehead on hers and said: 'Mom'.
After that moment Pearls' ex-husband contacted her and told her to never ask about Chris again because she wasn't his mother anymore. She hasn't seen him in two years, but admitted that she misses him every day.
'All of this weight represents me in the worst years of my life,' Pearls explained to the cameras.
Heidi, who has spoken candidly about her own eating disorder, set out to surprise Pearls at a 5K autism charity event that she had organized - and was shocked to learn that she wasn't actually participating in the race.
Amazing accomplishment: Heidi (right) surprised Pearls at a 5K event she organized her and forced her to run it. Although Pearls stared to get dizzy, she was able to run three miles for the first time in her life
Baring it all: After the race, Pearls had her first weigh-in and learned that she weighed 296lbs
'I read Pearls' letter and I really excited to work with her because hearing the things she battled in her life - everything from anorexia to bulimia to overeating. These are all issues I battled in my life as well,' Heidi told the cameras.
However, Heidi refused to take on Pearls' case if she was unwilling to run in the event.
'If she wants transformation bad enough, she is going to run her first 5K today,' she explained
Pearls, who was thrilled and shocked to see Heidi there, was determined to run the entire race. However, she had never run more than a quarter of a mile in her life and noted that she had hardly eaten any carbohydrates that day.
Although she started the first two miles strong, she found herself incredibly dizzy and on the verge of passing out during the last part of the race.
Added responsibility: Because Pearls was addicted cheese puffs, the trainers made her carry a bag around with her where she went
Overcoming adversity: During her first workout with Chris (left), Pearls had to run up and down stadium bleachers. Although he pushed her to the brink, she finished the workout
'You have to be okay with feeding your body,' Heidi told her, and Pearls confessed: 'I am so scared of food.'
Heidi realized that pearls eating issues were worse than she thought. To keep Pearls from passing out and completing the race, Heidi had her drink a sports drink and eat gummy bears just so she could get some sugar in her body.
'She needs to see food as fuel,' Heidi noted.
And to ensure that his mom wouldn't give up, Mason started to run beside Pearls, telling her: 'You can do this mom. You are the real hero.'
Pearls, who had never see Mason run before, noted: 'If he is running I am going to keep running.'
Working hard: By the 12th day of training, Pearls was running and working harder than ever
Fitness fanatic: Pearls fell in love with working out and looked forward to her daily sweat sessions with Heidi and Chris
She knew that Mason had been watching her unhealthy habits for 15 years, and she wanted to him to see her do something positive for a change.
'I feel amazing right now,' Pearls said after completing the race.
In order to start her journey, Pearls had her first weigh-in after the race - in front of everyone - clocking in at 296lbs.
However, the number on the scale didn't deter Pearls, it only motivated her more.
'Never again,' she told Heidi of seeing that number on the scale.
Minor setback: The 36-year-old was devastated to learn that she had tear on her knee and could no longer jump or run during training. She instead had to stick to low-impact activities such as the elliptical machine
Keep going: Heidi and Chris made sure to adjust Pearls' workouts to make sure that she would reach her goals without going back to drastically restricting food like she did as a teen
While it was difficult for her to say goodbye to her family, Pearls set off to spend 90 days with Heidi and Chris as the University of Colorado Anschutz Health and Wellness Center.
During her first official meeting with the couple, Pearls opened up about some of her emotional issues.
'One of the greatest losses of my life is losing my stepson and I would do anything just to get to hug him again,' she explained.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B5vcOacdZE
While Pearls was able to complete the difficult fall, Heidi noted: 'I was afraid we were going to have the first broke back ever in Extreme Weight Loss'
Heidi explained that these types of tricks require a tremendous amount of core strength. They had to rely on the silks to hold her body weight, as well as Pearls doing the moves properly in order to avoid injury.
'I am not show if she is going to be able to perform that drop,' Heidi admitted.
On the night of her performance withCirque du Soleil, Pearls had her make-up done and a costume provided for her.
'I felt like a princess,' she said. 'They had a costume just for me and it was beautiful.'
Next step: As she continued to get small and smaller, Pearls was ready to have her excess skin removed from her body, so she could start the next chapter of her life
It's on: The doctor said she was a perfect candidate for the procedure, and they set a date for the life-changing surgery
And Pearls performed beautifully, completing the complicated drop with ease.
However, training at home proved to be difficult. Despite all of her hard work, Pearls' weight hit a plateau, and her past struggles with food restriction reappeared.
'The problem is I see the scale going up in weight and I feel fat,' she said.
Pearls admitted to Heidi that she freaked out and wanted to take laxatives and not eat for three days, however, calling the trainer helped her pack her food and stay on track.
When it was time to get on the scale, it was revealed that Pearls only lost four pounds, which brought her to tears.
'I just don't feel like I am good enough,' she said sobbing.
Heidi noted that the last thing they wanted to do was push Pearls back to negative eating patterns.
Unbelievable transformation: Pearls wore a figure-hugging black dress for her final weigh-in with the Powells
Family workouts: During the weigh-in, Mason revealed that he had met his hero, WWF starSeth Rollins, who inspired him to get healthy. His new dedication to health and fitness helped the 15-year-old lose 25lbs
The Powells assured her that her transformation was amazing, and she was close to her goal weight.
Heidi then took Pearls to meet with a skin removal surgeon who said she would be an excellent candidate for the procedure.
Pearls was thrilled to have the surgery as she continued her journey.
For her final weigh-in, Pearls made her debut in a figure-hugging black dress, proudly walking onto the stage.
'My mom she looked gorgeous,' Mason told the cameras. 'I am very proud of my mom. I always have been and I always will be.'
Total stranger: At the end of her journey, Pearls was a changed woman, overcoming her past eating disorders and falling in love with fitness
Role model: Pearls said she felt like the 'king of the world' after she learned she weighed 147lbs
Meanwhile, Pearls said that all of her dreams have come true and revealed that she is now teaching her son how to meal plan and stay healthy.
Mason got to meet and work out with his idol, WWF star Seth Rollins. The experience gave Mason a new found dedication to health and fitness. On the night of Pearls' final weigh-in, the proud mom revealed that her son had already lost 25lbs.
When Pearls stepped on the scale she clocked in at 147lbs, revealing that she lost 50.3 per cent of her original body weight.
'I feel like the king of the world right now,' she said. 'I never thought that I could feel so proud of myself. I never could show [Mason] what true self-esteem was, and now I feel like I am a model for that.'
At the end of her journey, Pearls gave her friend Dawn, who always believed in her, a one week scholarship to the Powells' boot camp in Colorado, so she too could begin her own transformation.
Share or comment on this article
