My 600 lbs life

Jestina, that was Melissa. Of the entire group put together, I personally feel she and Henry had the best attitudes toward the surgery. Though they were not without their problems, but I don't know anyone who has no problems at all.

ETA: Holy carp but I wrote a book here! Sorry! Anyway, here you all go...


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This show always brings up another question in my mind. It's a "there but for the grace of God go I" sort of question.

Here's what I've been thinking: Many of us tend to think less of these people than of ourselves. "Well, as overweight as I am, I'd never let myself get THAT big." It somehow makes us feel better. Maybe a little relieved.

But here's the thing. The mechanics and even the psychology of how they gained the weight, and continued to gain at least up until a certain point, aren't different from anyone else's mechanics of gaining weight. Right? I mean how many of us got up to a certain weight telling ourselves we'll start our new diet on Monday so we may as well eat at that party/get-together/in front of the TV/for no reason at all this weekend? I'm guessing a lot of us. How many of us thought, "This diet is IMPOSSIBLE, I'll start a new one tomorrow so for now I'll just eat because I feel like I'm starving"?

How many of us overate on Christmas, on our birthday, at our child's wedding, at wherever, whenever, guiltily but thinking "I can't not eat my own son's wedding cake" or what-have-you...and how many times did we do it, and how many of us keep doing just that, at least once in a while?

How many of us overate fully KNOWING it was psychological, that we were just lonely, or that we'd had a terrible day or whatever the case may be...but we did overeat...just like these 600-lb. people did, day by day, maybe more often or just over a longer period of time, or larger quantities, but for *exactly the same reasons* as we did and with *exactly the same excuses* we've used?

Bit by bit we inched up. We chalked it up to a lot of things. We thought it might be hormonal and many of us visited doctors (but meanwhile the weight was still creeping on, and we were telling ourselves, "This is getting so out of hand but I can't really fix this until I find out what's wrong - I never used to gain this way and I'm only eating X amount and I am exercising," etc.)

I'm guessing A LOT of us, at least when we were minimally overweight, and even for some of us, getting toward very overweight, and for some of us, up to obese standards, looked in the mirror and said, "I don't look all THAT bad" because we just couldn't take the self-hate any more, so we were trying self-love.

And we gained some more...

And some more...

At SOME POINT we all said, "This is it! This is ridiculous. I CAN'T get any larger. Period. This stops. NOW." And for many of us, we did begin to lose weight and some of us are even now at goal.

*That* is the difference between us and these 600-lb. people...and...this is the important part...it is *the only difference*. Our "shut-off" point to gaining even another single ounce started much earlier than these people's did. At 150 pounds, at 200 pounds or whatever. For some of us, even at 300 pounds. But pretty much nobody I've ever seen on here got up to 600 pounds before literally being told they were going to die within the year or even within months before that shut-off point came.

That's why I feel, There but for the grace of God go I. I did *exactly the same things* these people did, I just stopped doing it sooner than they did. How does that make me any better than they are? I think some people watch these shows and think, "Well, at least I'd never let myself get THAT big." Are we so sure? Again, there but for the grace of God. I don't think we're more disciplined, stronger or that we see ourselves more realistically than super-obese people. I truly do think our psychological or perhaps physical (the brain's wiring itself) mechanism just stops us earlier than it stopped them. Why? How? Why were they helpless against making their shut-off point earlier? Why were *we* helpless in not making *our own* shut off point earlier, before we became overweight and got here to MFP?

But other than that "this is enough" point, *there is no difference*. None, zero.

That makes me feel a bit scared, a bit relieved and very compassionate toward these people.

I'm just wondering why some people have an earlier shut-off point than others do. I just can't believe it all comes down to laziness or lack of caring about the situation. Something in me tells me that's just the wrong answer. But I don't know what the right answer is. I wish I did. And I think this idea is what keeps me coming back to this series.

Does anybody watch this show..
OMG.. I was watching it, last night, I really got pissed off..
Silly husband, should have fed his wife rabbit food and let her starve.

How does anybody gain 5lbs after surgery.

She was insane...

I'm right there with you. I don't think I've ever rooted for somebody to die from obesity until last night. The worst part was that she took donations from her family and community to get the surgery and treatment. Sometimes you just need to walk away from a bad investment.

I'm there with you. On top of that, she is receiving disability... she is a whiny leech on society. I want to punch her punk husband in the nuts for enabling her and that behavior.

At the end of the day, these women have men that will love them (and feed them).

And I'm still single. :sad: :sad: :sad:

I normally love all of these types of shows...I've watched all of the previous episodes of my 600lb Life. Usually, I feel pretty good after watching, b/c a lot of the people get their crap together. Yeah, they aren't going to be super fit, but most of them make huge progress and really have great changes in their attitudes.

Penny made me so frustrated and sad. I had to watch a couple episodes of Cops to get the sad out of me.

Ironic, considering on Cops they're often dealing with a different type of addict. And Penny does talk and act just like any addict not ready to give up her addiction.

"Cops" makes me cry... I just can not watch that show. Seeing these guys (usually it's guys, isn't it? I never seem to see women taken down on the commercials) being thrown onto the ground and pinned down while they scream, knowing they have thrown their lives away...drunk people who are about to puke...many are embarrassed...some cry...nope, can't do it, LOL.

I don't consider myself overly-sensitive but seeing people actually being kneed in the back on the ground and then taken to prison just...aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.

Make it go away, Mommy...did it go away yet? (peeking through fingers)...

I'm not sure how this woman was even psychologically cleared to under-go this surgery. She obviously wasn't prepared to handle or dedicate herself to the life changes. She has convinced herself she is disabled. Münchausen Syndrome.

The lady last night pissed me off too - there are so many people who genuinely would stick to the program after the surgery and want to change their lives but don't get the same opportunity she did. I understand at that stage it's an addiction, but she definitely needed to drop the excuses & her husband was no help...I mean, seriously "I figured deep frying was healthier than ordering out" was his genius idea. I just find it so frustrating when someone is that overweight, is bedridden for who knows how long, goes through all that trouble to have the surgery and then just disregards what the doctor says. The other lady with the daughter on tonight was great, she stuck to it even though her husband was TERRIBLE to her and she lost a ton of weight & pushed herself. Some stories are just better than others.

^ Thank you, going to watch that now.

Yes I just watched that one I was just shocked she didnt want to help herself! She was not deserving of that surgery at all!

"Penny's" story was infuriating. I honestly don't know why she was ever operated on in the first place. She manipulated people into donating money to her "cause," she played the victim and insisted she wasn't given the proper tools, although when asked by the doctor if she had the diet plan, she clearly stated like a proud child, "it's in my folder." So, which is it? Either you received the tools or you didn't. I'm sure we all know the truth to that question, but it would be politically incorrect for us to say anything. Bariatric surgeons should show their patients her story to prove to them exactly what can happen if you don't make a lifestyle change. I know when my mom had her surgery, she had to go through psychiatric counseling and group sessions before the doctor would even touch her, and she has managed to keep her weight off for nearly 7 years., and she says all of the time how it wasn't easy, and if she could have, she would have chosen a different route. It's not impossible. But surgery can't be viewed as a cure for patients who are not psychologically stable enough to handle such a tremendous undertaking. This episode was a prime example of what is wrong with the healthcare industry in America. We no longer care if the plan of care is suitable for the patient, it's now, "can we make money off this patient? And if so, how much?" Let her story be a lesson to us all, there are no quick fixes. And the easiest way to lose weight is to not put it on in the first place.