Allen Shuh, 41, of Wayne, Mich.

Allen is 6 feet tall and weighs 403 pounds. A pastor, he suffered an almost unimaginable loss: His child was born with spina bifida and never came home from the hospital. At that time, he said, everything became meaningless. "I didn't care anymore. It seemed like even eating was so trivial." Now, though, he wants to live for his three other children, and a new baby on the way.