Fans of the TLC documentary series, My 600-lb Life, where recently introduced to 33 year old Maja Radanovic from Portland, Oregon. During the show, Maja opened up about her weight problems and the day-to–day realities of life as a 689lb woman. Born to Serbian parents, Maja Radanovic was bullied for her weight from a young age. Her weight problems were further exacerbated by the divorce of her parents. The divorce saw Maja’s relationship with her mother becoming strained, and, feeling lonely and unloved, Maja began turning increasingly to food for comfort. By the time she reached high school, Maja weighed in at close to 300lbs, adding a further 100 pounds to her frame by graduation.
Maya’s weight continued to increase in the years after high school, and by 24, Maja was weighing in at over 500lb. By this point, Maja had started to work at fast- food restaurants, and the easy access to cheap, fattening foods was undoubtedly adding to her weight woes. Maja found some happiness when became she became engaged, but she was abandoned by her finance when he realized that Maja would struggle to conceive at her current weight.
By the time she’d reached her 30’s, Maja had ballooned to 689lb. With a diagnosis of lymphedema, Maja’s health was worsening, and she was increasingly struggling to cope with the normal activities of day-to-day life. Desperate to lose weight, regain her health and start a family with her now boyfriend, Christian, Maja decided to embark on a life-changing weight loss program with celebrated surgeon, Dr. Younan Nowzaradan (Dr. Now).
In My 600lb Life, we learnt more about Maja’s heartbreaking story and followed the first steps on her journey to better heath. But where is Maja now? Has her weight loss journey continued? And did her relationship with partner Christian survive?
Updates on Maja’s progress from TLC have been thin on the ground, but signs from Maja’s social media pages indicate she has continued to make great progress since the program aired.
Following her consultation with Dr. Now, Maya managed to lose an impressive 100 pounds. Ultimately, Maya decided not to continue with the program, and quit after 8 months. However, judging from how happy and healthy she looks on her recent social media pictures, Maja, who now lives in Conroe, Texas, has continued her stunning transformation, and is dropping the pounds on a steady basis.
But what of her relationship with Christian? During the early stages of Maya’s journey, Christian seemed to be her rock, given her some of the acceptance and confidence she had been so sorely lacking in life so far. However, it quickly became apparent that the relationship was not quite so rosy as it first appeared. As events unfolded, Christian’s commitment to Maja came into question, and it started to seem he was not quite the ideal boyfriend after all.
In an early clip from the show, Maya struggles to get through the airport in Houston, appearing in substantial pain from the effort of walking to the baggage claim. The reason for Maja’s frustration becomes clear when she describes how she’d called the airport in advance to make sure nothing would be too far apart, but now feels lied to about the exact walking distance.
While Christian seemed to support Maja during the upsetting scene, viewers where left shocked when the pressure seemingly became too much for him, and he abandoned Maja to continue her journey alone. During her consultation with Dr. Now, Maya claimed that her relationship with Christian was the best she’d ever had… so good, in fact, that it was the idea of starting a family with Christian that had motivated her to start her weight loss journey in the first place.
However, Christian’s abrupt departure from the show forced her to face the uncomfortable realities of her relationship. When Dr. Now confirmed that Maya would need to lose a substantial amount of weight to improve her chances of getting pregnant, Maja began to question whether Christian was really the ideal partner to raise her future family with. Ultimately, the answer to her question proved to be a resounding “No”, with Maja and Christian ending their relationship soon after.
While breaking up with Christian may have been a momentary setback, it has not stopped Maja plowing ahead with her weight-loss goals. As her stunning photos on social media show, she’s not only lost a less than perfect boyfriend, she’s also lost a massive amount of weight, and shows no sign of quitting her journey towards better health and happiness anytime soon.
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