Chances are, if a patient sees Rhonda Haley, the patient's obesity already has turned into lymphedema.

There's no cure for lymphedema, but the BenchMark Physical Therapy specialist said treatment plans can make life with swollen tissues from a faulty lymph system more livable.

"There's no special diet plan for lymphedema," said Ms. Haley, a certified lymphedema specialist. "It's just important (for the patient) to live a healthy lifestyle."

Many exercises can be done in a modified way so people who are starting to get in shape or who are overweight can do them successfully.

Erin Light, fitness coach for Clarian Bariatrics and a certified personal trainer, uses exercises such as this one in Clarian's weight-loss class for those who plan bariatric surgery. Extra pieces of equipment, like a chair, provide a source of stability.

In the continuing the series, "Early Gets Down2Size," "The Early Show" featured the story of Zulma Rosario, a 39-year-old mother of three. After the birth of her third child, Zulma - just five feet tall - weighed 135 pounds. Soon after, her husband became sick, and the stress of his illness caused her to gain quite a bit of weight.

As a comic, Billi Gordon used his girth to get laughs. Now it's imprisoning him, but he plans a breakout.

Billi Gordon is 6 feet 1 and weighed 701 pounds when he was admitted to Cedars-Sinai Medical Center last month. Offering directions to his room, he couldn't resist adding, "I will be the large black man in the hospital bed."

For most of his adult life, he has been that large black man, never denying his girth, using it to disarm and entertain, creating a theatrical comedy career -- in drag -- before pursuing research in neuroscience.

As part of our weeklong series, "Early Gets Down2Size," Sarah Schallern, a 33-year-old Virginia woman, shared her story of a lifetime of weight loss struggle.

Schallern told CBS News when she was in just the first grade when her mother put her on a diet.

"There was just this weird relationship with food in my house, it was sneaking food," she said.

Food, to her, was comfort, and by the time she was in junior high, she was 200 pounds. 

Acid reflux can present in a variety of ways. Typically, the patient complains of heartburn, a bitter taste in the mouth and/or difficulty swallowing. Atypical features include persistent hoarseness, chronic coughing and relatively constant nausea.

Two years ago, Herb Simmons tipped the scales at 497 pounds.

"As the years snuck up on me I noticed it was getting harder to get around," he says. "I couldn't leave home in the morning without soaking my knees in Ben Gay."

He was suffering from sleep apnea, atrial fibrillation and hypertension. Getting from his car to his house was an exhausting, stop-and-go process because he'd rest every few feet to catch his breath. He needed an extra seat belt on airplanes and a chair without arms in restaurants.

Just outside the cafeteria at E. Rivers Elementary School, raised beds of collards, turnips and tomatoes stretch under a new fall sun.

Morbidly obese people in Shropshire should be given free gastric bands on the NHS, it has been claimed. Daniel Kawczynski, MP for Shrewsbury and Atcham, said he believes the surgery should be given to people who need it free of charge.