My 600 Pound Life?
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So, I have a confession. When I first when on birth control a few years ago, I would watch shows like Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition (which I still love btw), and this show and I'd just sit there and cry and eat.
Now I pretty much can't stand Biggest Loser. I haven't watched the 600 pound life show in a long time so I couldn't really comment on that. But I recently started back on that first birth control I ever was on, and since I've been extremely weepy lately (I really hope this goes away - I am NOT a crier) I think I'll stay away from sad tv shows.0 -
MindySaysWhaaat wrote: »So, I have a confession. When I first when on birth control a few years ago, I would watch shows like Biggest Loser, Extreme Makeover Weightloss Edition (which I still love btw), and this show and I'd just sit there and cry and eat.
Now I pretty much can't stand Biggest Loser. I haven't watched the 600 pound life show in a long time so I couldn't really comment on that. But I recently started back on that first birth control I ever was on, and since I've been extremely weepy lately (I really hope this goes away - I am NOT a crier) I think I'll stay away from sad tv shows.
I can't watch Extreme Makeover, and Biggest Loser I don't pay attention to most of it and really only want to see the weigh ins and transformations.
The PT's really get on my nerves by pretending to be therapists and egg on the people to cry and get angry and all that psycho-babbling bs, it just seems like a circus that is going out of it's way to get people emotional and air their dirty laundry and be foolish.
600 lb Life doesn't annoy me as much, it keeps its focus on the actual problem at hand, which is overeating and not moving enough. Not rationalizations and post hoc reflections that sound logical but which don't actually follow.
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I've only seen one episode of this show that I think would qualify as humiliating, and I think everyone already knows which one that was, even though she should be mortified at herself. But no, these people are giving us a glimpse of what we could be, of what complacency will get you, what apathy and denial can do. Watching those episodes, I laugh with them at their joyous moment. I cry with them when they succeed (and fail). I learn from them. Most of those people get something they never would've gotten otherwise, if not for that show: a new lease on life. A chance. This is not something you can just learn about on the street, it's not something a doctor can truly express to you in a 5 minute appointment when they say "lose some weight or else." This is a real look at what the future could hold for some of us, if we don't change. That's not entertainment. That's education, regardless of how distasteful some might find the wrapper to be.0
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This is my thoughts!! I watch every episode because I can see how easily it could happen. To the comment about the "freak show" I feel sorry for you. These people are no different than drug addicts or alcoholics. It is an addiction. I was 286 lbs and gave fought myself down to 154. I will never go back. I will have to fight all my life. God bless these people and everyone who helped them get the help they needed.0
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I watch this show. Pauline was so infuriating! All the help that Dr. N and his staff were giving here and she didn't even try. She is in serious need of psychological therapy. I can't believe she lied to him about not hearing from the physical therapist! She seemed happy and content just to be back down in the "low 500's" so she could get out and play Bingo. She has completely robbed her son of his life.0
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huffdaddy3 wrote: »watching that show helps me further understand that obesity is a disease, that s over looked
And a psychological disease at that, just one with horrible physical symptoms. Sometimes I feel like therapy would serve 'them' better than surgery does.
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My best friend was on a TLC reality health show. She said sooooo many things were staged. So the question about My 600 Pound Life is, "What here is real and what is made up by the producers to make a 'better' show?"
Yes, my cousin is on a reality show (not weight-related) and he said practically everything is staged. People are told to act a certain way and do certain things. Hence why I don't watch "reality" shows....0 -
I did watch "My Big Fat Fabulous Life". The girl is adorable, but I was surprised at all of the negative comments she made about herself...it was basically fat shaming.(such as calling herself a hippo) I thought the point of her show was to discourage this mentality???0
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ilovemypeekapug wrote: »I watch this show. Pauline was so infuriating! All the help that Dr. N and his staff were giving here and she didn't even try. She is in serious need of psychological therapy. I can't believe she lied to him about not hearing from the physical therapist! She seemed happy and content just to be back down in the "low 500's" so she could get out and play Bingo. She has completely robbed her son of his life.
I had to turn off Pauline. I felt so bad for her son that I couldn't watch it anymore
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tracyannk28 wrote: »ilovemypeekapug wrote: »I watch this show. Pauline was so infuriating! All the help that Dr. N and his staff were giving here and she didn't even try. She is in serious need of psychological therapy. I can't believe she lied to him about not hearing from the physical therapist! She seemed happy and content just to be back down in the "low 500's" so she could get out and play Bingo. She has completely robbed her son of his life.
I had to turn off Pauline. I felt so bad for her son that I couldn't watch it anymore
Did you ever see her turn on the waterworks saying Dr. Now was calling her a liar about the physical therapists calling?0 -
tracyannk28 wrote: »ilovemypeekapug wrote: »I watch this show. Pauline was so infuriating! All the help that Dr. N and his staff were giving here and she didn't even try. She is in serious need of psychological therapy. I can't believe she lied to him about not hearing from the physical therapist! She seemed happy and content just to be back down in the "low 500's" so she could get out and play Bingo. She has completely robbed her son of his life.
I had to turn off Pauline. I felt so bad for her son that I couldn't watch it anymore
Did you ever see her turn on the waterworks saying Dr. Now was calling her a liar about the physical therapists calling?
Now I wish I didn't turn it off! I stopped watching when the son was trying to get her in the back of the van so they can move to be closer to Dr. Now. I think it was only 15 minutes into the show. I just couldn't stomach it anymore....
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I really enjoy this show most of the time. The family dynamics are very interesting (and sometimes horrifying). I don't think it degrades or humiliates the people. The program just shows the reality of their lives. It's not like they are filmed by hidden camera against their will and then made fun of.
Many of the people's back stories are incredibly sad. So many of these people are very sensitive, emotional people who have been badly wounded. I hope that this show might help non-fat people feel more compassion for obese people.
I like seeing the people overcome their issues (or at least try) and grow and change emotionally. I feel triumphant for them! It shows how much there is that a morbidly obese person has to do to get to a healthy weight in addition to eating less. And I'd say this is true for most seriously overweight people. It certainly was for me.
The ones like Penny make me want to punch them. Her and Pauline were unbelievably selfish. I was hoping in the follow-up on Penny it would show that she had changed, but nope. She is stuck in deep denial and her husband helps keep her there. I feel so bad for the two sons. Pauline's adult son who didn't have a life of his own and seemed stunted psychologically, and Penny's young boy who might end up like Pauline's son. Penny claimed to be a good mother yet has chosen to slowly kill herself day by day (with the help of her husband) and can only watch her son's activities from her cart or on video from her bed. I think she has a psychological disorder, perhaps narcissistic personality disorder.0 -
i dont watch reality tv cause i dont think any of it is actually REALITY. and shows like this... i just get mad and start screaming at the tv and get stressed out.
my nerdiness wont let me watch anything more fake than ghost adventures and doctor who. LOLOLOL0 -
tracyannk28 wrote: »tracyannk28 wrote: »ilovemypeekapug wrote: »I watch this show. Pauline was so infuriating! All the help that Dr. N and his staff were giving here and she didn't even try. She is in serious need of psychological therapy. I can't believe she lied to him about not hearing from the physical therapist! She seemed happy and content just to be back down in the "low 500's" so she could get out and play Bingo. She has completely robbed her son of his life.
I had to turn off Pauline. I felt so bad for her son that I couldn't watch it anymore
Did you ever see her turn on the waterworks saying Dr. Now was calling her a liar about the physical therapists calling?
Now I wish I didn't turn it off! I stopped watching when the son was trying to get her in the back of the van so they can move to be closer to Dr. Now. I think it was only 15 minutes into the show. I just couldn't stomach it anymore....
That's incredibly perceptive of you! 15 minutes in I might have thought she would turn things around for sure. I actually only started watching towards the end, then I caught the beginning of a re-run but fell asleep watching...
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I think My 600-lb Life is such an interesting show. It really goes deep into the human psyche to what drives people to behave the way they do. My favorite episodes so far have been with Amber and Olivia. They were truly inspiring to me, especially Amber.0
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I only watched two small portions of Pauline's story, a few minutes at the beginning and the lasttracyannk28 wrote: »tracyannk28 wrote: »ilovemypeekapug wrote: »I watch this show. Pauline was so infuriating! All the help that Dr. N and his staff were giving here and she didn't even try. She is in serious need of psychological therapy. I can't believe she lied to him about not hearing from the physical therapist! She seemed happy and content just to be back down in the "low 500's" so she could get out and play Bingo. She has completely robbed her son of his life.
I had to turn off Pauline. I felt so bad for her son that I couldn't watch it anymore
Did you ever see her turn on the waterworks saying Dr. Now was calling her a liar about the physical therapists calling?
Now I wish I didn't turn it off! I stopped watching when the son was trying to get her in the back of the van so they can move to be closer to Dr. Now. I think it was only 15 minutes into the show. I just couldn't stomach it anymore....
That's incredibly perceptive of you! 15 minutes in I might have thought she would turn things around for sure. I actually only started watching towards the end, then I caught the beginning of a re-run but fell asleep watching...
I only watched the tail end of Pauline's story. Usually when I miss the first part of it, I watch the re-run. However, with this episode, I only watched the first few minutes of it just to see the background. I did not want to see the whole story because the ending was so sickening. She might be even worse than Penny.0 -
Is there any particular reason they're making them give up fast food, or it's just a ploy to generate extra drama? I mean, I have no problem integrating Panda Express, Subway, Chipotle, or Five Guys into my diet and still having satisfying servings and losing weight. I really appreciate that all those chains make an effort to load on the fresh vegetables and some of them even provide carbohydrates with healthy doses of fiber. Less dramatic changes are more sustainable.tracyannk28 wrote: »Have any of you seen this show on TLC? I'm just curious of your thoughts...knowing what we've all learned here about eating at a deficit to lose weight and watching these people struggle and have such a hard time giving up fast food, etc. even when it's threatening their lives and costing them their families.
Maybe I will have to watch an episode when I have down time!
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I also see where I could be, through watching this show - and use it as motivation.
I agree the two gals were MADDENING to say the least.
Real or not, the stories behind them COULD be real, even if not for them, someone out there is likely living that life... so that aspect doesn't bother me.
I had some family members (3 of them) who were all between 600-800 lbs. I can only IMAGINE what their lives were like day to day. I only saw them once in a while and was pretty young so really had no idea what their lives were like.
It's all very sad and scary.0 -
CA_Underdog wrote: »
Is there any particular reason they're making them give up fast food, or it's just a ploy to generate extra drama? I mean, I have no problem integrating Panda Express, Subway, Chipotle, or Five Guys into my diet and still having satisfying servings and losing weight. I really appreciate that all those chains make an effort to load on the fresh vegetables and some of them even provide carbohydrates with healthy doses of fiber. Less dramatic changes are more sustainable.tracyannk28 wrote: »Have any of you seen this show on TLC? I'm just curious of your thoughts...knowing what we've all learned here about eating at a deficit to lose weight and watching these people struggle and have such a hard time giving up fast food, etc. even when it's threatening their lives and costing them their families.
I think it's basically because these 600+ pound people don't know how to control themselves around food. They won't go to Wendy's to get a baked potato and a diet soda. Dr. Now wants them to learn to prepare and eat healthy foods.
I think it comes down to food addiction. A person like say...Pauline...walking into a McDonalds is like an alchohlic walking into an Irish pub on St. Patrick's Day.
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CA_Underdog wrote: »
Is there any particular reason they're making them give up fast food, or it's just a ploy to generate extra drama? I mean, I have no problem integrating Panda Express, Subway, Chipotle, or Five Guys into my diet and still having satisfying servings and losing weight. I really appreciate that all those chains make an effort to load on the fresh vegetables and some of them even provide carbohydrates with healthy doses of fiber. Less dramatic changes are more sustainable.tracyannk28 wrote: »Have any of you seen this show on TLC? I'm just curious of your thoughts...knowing what we've all learned here about eating at a deficit to lose weight and watching these people struggle and have such a hard time giving up fast food, etc. even when it's threatening their lives and costing them their families.
Maybe I will have to watch an episode when I have down time!
After weight loss surgery it is important that the patient eat low calorie meals high in nutrition. Otherwise they can become malnourished. They also need to steer clear of easily digested carbs like crackers, cookies, mashed potatoes, and french fries because they clear out of the stomach quickly and allow them to eat too much. And carbonated beverages expand the stomach.
People who are this overweight and have had weight loss surgery have special concerns that the average person who is working at losing weight does not have.0 -
As for real, I don't know about all of them, but I'd say Melissa's story was about as real as it gets. Just too much there that couldn't have been faked. Staged trips to the store and such? Sure. Questions asked and then cut out of the final piece? Yeah. But overall, I'd say that was the least likely to have much fakery in it.0
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I don't find it entertaining, but I do find it useful.
I was 600lbs before I sought help, and hearing the kind of excuses and rationalizations I might use come out of someone else's mouth when they're so patently false helps me avoid the same traps. It also helps to see what the body is capable of, even though I haven't had surgery and am relying on more conventional methods to bring my weight down.
Prior to shows like this I was trapped feeling like there weren't many people struggling with problems as extreme as mine. Shows like this helped me to understand and accept that I wasn't alone and that I could come back.
My 600lb Life, Fat Doctor, Heavy and other similar shows have helped me. I don't think I'd be down 135lbs+ without them.0 -
Pauline was the worst! She actually has a website, where you can pay to watch her eat or get a rub down. The level of denial was staggering. It made me sick.
And the dysfunctional relationship with the son was completely twisted. That poor kid. He needs to cut the umbilical cord and run! She could write a book, "How to turn your kid into Norman Bates".
Pauline and Penny...they like being taken care of, and the passive aggressive pity party...wow! They guilt trip or manipulate others into being their caretakers. And enablers. Really interesting dynamics.
On Pauline, I don't think she should have had the surgery. It should have been a clue to her lack of motivation when she GAINED three pounds in a month after her first visit to Dr. N.0 -
I was surprised that Dr. N. went forward with Pauline's surgery.0
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I like watching it ...keeps me on track and yes just like hoarders makes you realize you need to clean your house or maybe its not that bad after all...0
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I read the summary of Pauline's episode, and I'm almost glad I didn't see it. I'll still watch it eventually, but I'm glad I have the heads up that it's going to make me just as grumpy as Penny's did.0
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I watched the Paula and Paula/Chuck revisited episodes. As they went from ~600lbs to 250lbs, my thoughts turned from "Wow, how did they let themselves get like this?" and "So many excuses!" to "Damn, they're serious." and "Now they weigh less than me--and still look heavy-ish, and their doc's still all over them!" I'm getting fitter, but I've got to channel my own inner Chuck/Paula to finish off the core of my weight loss journey. I could lose faster and healthily.
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snowflake930 wrote: »
No thanks. I refuse to buy into this reality tv mindset that it is ok to humiliate other human beings, in the name of entertaining, pardon me, I mean, educating, viewers.
Is anyone forcing them to go on the show? Are they not willing participants in this?
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