When My 600 Lb. Life first aired on TLC, many wondered how the reality television series could maintain itself. It seemed impossible that there could be enough significantly obese people to profile for just a few episodes, or even one. But, the show, which aired its first episode February 2012, has continued for 5 seasons. The first season featured patients who had been filmed for 7 years, and subsequent seasons featured patients filmed for just one year each.
The show tells the story of people seeking to lose weight, and follows their struggles for one year. They are generally assisted by Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, who specializes in gastric bypass surgery and has gathered together a support team of therapists to help his patients succeed. Only one patient participating in the show has not survived. The remaining patients have fascinating stories to follow, as they fight to recover not only from their surgeries, but to forge new lives. Many develop new eating and exercise routines. Many have overcome serious emotional difficulties. Their failures, successes and courage are extreme versions of what everyone who is overweight faces. Fans cheer them on, regardless of their human frailties, and take inspiration from their journeys. Here are five stories which speak volumes:
Brittani Fulfer
Brittani first made an appearance on My 600 Lb. Life in 2016. She was 32. She was morbidly obese, weighing 605 pounds, confined to her bedroom, and in constant pain. She said that every waking moment was filled with pain, and to live inside her body was sadness and pain. She did not want to wake up, believing it would be much better if she could simply die. Her husband Bill contributed to her poor eating habits by joining her in them. She gained almost 200 pounds once she and he were a couple. She admits that she had an eating addiction; estimating that she could eat 35,000 calories a day. She would stay on her couch for hours daily, only moving to find food. Showering was agony, and she always felt she smelled bad even though she showered. She also avoided letting her husband see her naked. She feared her appearance would disgust him.
But Brittani began losing weight to prepare for her gastric bypass. She lost 35 pounds as a start. Then she had surgery, adhered to a post-surgery diet, and exercised. She also began to work with a therapist to confront her emotional issues about her sexual abuse as a child. Eventually she had weight lose surgery to remove pounds of excess skin which hung on her body after losing 330 pounds. Brittani survived the painful recovery and fatigue associated with the skin removal surgery. But nearly two years later, Brittani is a thin, new woman. She maintains a Twitter account which she fills with positive affirmation Tweets and comments about surviving anything life throws at her.
Christina from Houston, Texas
When 24-year-old Christina was first featured, she weighed 708 pounds. At that time, she lived with her husband Zach and her parents. Zach functioned as her caretaker; even cleaning up when she couldn’t get to the bathroom. He had a need to nurture her, and as she began to lose weight after her gastric bypass surgery, Zach left her. But incredibly, with him gone, Christina began to lose weight even more rapidly. In her first year after the bypass, she lost 318 pounds. She went on to lose a total of 468 pounds; moving from near immobility to an independent lifestyle. She still struggled with lymphedema as the condition created masses to form around her stomach and legs. The swollen, painful masses eventually improved with treatment, and she began to look forward to the surgery to remove the excess skin which was left after her massive weight loss. Thirty-three pounds was surgically removed from her abdomen. Her stitches ruptured, and she had emergency surgery. It took a month in the hospital for her to recover from the emergency. But, she has healed externally, and her emotions are also on the mend. Without Zach in her life, she has come to experience emotions differently, and moved on. While she once couldn’t walk even eight feet, she now enjoys experiencing a life full of new adventures.
Laura Perez
In 2015, Laura Perez weighed 594 pounds and couldn’t get through her day without help from her family. As a native of San Antonio, Texas, she represents what the Centers for Disease Control’s Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance is calling “an epidemic” of adults in Bexar County who are obese or diabetic. The county has reported that 71 percent of adults there are overweight, and coping with Type 1 or 2 diabetes. But Laura took on the challenge of shedding her weight by preparing and eating healthful meals and setting personal exercise goals. Her biggest motivation was her desire to marry her common-law husband. She struggled with excess skin after her dramatic weight loss, but was hoping he would propose to her after skin loss surgery. Today, she maintains a Facebook page where she receives messages from and give messages of support to her fans who have followed her since she was on the show. She shares make-up tips with fans and thanks everyone who helped her to succeed.
James from Frankston, Texas
When James first started his weight loss adventure, he was single, and 750 pounds. But James has a story filled with bravery. He came from a family which was collectively obese for generations. His sister and father both died from obesity, and he realized that he did not want to suffer the same end. He wanted more out of life; he wanted to find love. So, he set about to lose weight prior to gastric bypass surgery. He had the surgery and recovered. Then, he stuck to a healthful program of recovery from old eating habits, added lots of appropriate exercise including walking and water aerobics. His reward: he has a girlfriend named Summer, who motivates and supports him. He reduced his weight to 376 pounds, and has a vision of creating a gym specifically designed for people who weigh more than the norm.
Melissa Morris
When Melissa reached 673 pounds, she was reduced to riding in a scooter because it was the only way she could go anywhere. Melissa lost 500 pounds in her journey toward her own healthy weight of about 170 pounds. She was morbidly obese, but she found the motivation and help she needed to recover the life she only dreamed about.
Interviewed on Good Morning America, the ABC News program, she described the event that sparked her forward. Her mother had recently had surgery for cancer. Though bandaged, her mother asked Melissa if she should get up to fix her daughter “something to eat”. Melissa remembered thinking that her mother might die from cancer but was concerned about her daughter’s need for food. That was the exact moment when Melissa decided she would lose weight.
Melissa found a gastric bypass surgeon who could help her. She underwent surgery and spent the next seven years regaining her independence. As she lost weight, she was able to do more and more for herself. Her husband Chris needed to do less and less. He had been her full-time caretaker, feeding what he termed her “enormous appetite” with meals including soda, chocolate bars, two McDonald Big Macs and twenty McNuggets; all at one time.
Melissa once wore a skirt which was made with 4 yards of fabric. But, her determination to be healthy brought her biggest reward: she is the mother of a beautiful little girl.
These stories are some measure of proof that the things which these people valued most were an active product life, with good health, solid family relationships, good friends, and meaningful work and pursuits. Inspirational…indeed.
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