When Pam tipped the scales at almost 400 pounds, she knew she had to make a drastic change. Surgery was an option, but then Pamela discovered an less intrusive method of losing weight that was right in front of her the whole time -- her friends!

For every pound Pamela wants to lose, she has someone behind her motivating her by sponsoring that pound with a special act of their own:

• One coworker will lose the sponsored pound with Pamela and work out with her to lose that pound.

• Another friend is going to quit smoking when Pamela loses the pound he's sponsoring.

• When Pamela reached a specific pound, one friend created a sticker chart so that Pamela could count down the pounds.

Thanks to their inventive support system, Pamela's lost 117 pounds so far! "I don't have the words to express how I feel about all the people getting behind me to help me save my life," she says.

Rachael's got a surprise that's sure to keep Pamela speechless -- she's sponsoring pound 180. When Pamela loses that pound, Rachael is going to give her a $1,000 gift certificate to the Mall of America so Pamela can buy some 'thin' clothes!

Learn more about Pamela's weight loss story at vegetablestastelikedirt.com.