I watched another installment of My 600LB Life on TLC Monday night and last night, it was Melissa’s story. Wow, that is the word I use for Melissa, she started at over 700 pounds, yes 700, that is not a typo. She underwent the gastric bypass surgery and began her weight loss journey. Her goal, to have a child, she is married and they want a family, which she cannot have being the weight she is.
I have to admit, it was hard seeing a woman who had allowed herself to get to this size, saying I don’t know how I got here. Well, yes, she did, her husband was her caretaker and enabler. He really wanted to keep her fat, he had a deep need to be a caretaker, and in Melissa he found the perfect person to do that with. He admitted he would buy her 2 huge burgers, 2 orders of fries and soda and candy for one meal.
After the surgery she was a woman possessed, following the doctors orders to the T, it was very impressive. The more mobile she became, the worse her marriage became, her husband was resentful that she was not needing him as much. If you ask me he was a giant whiny baby, we also find out he has cheated on her, multiple times. When she was on the operating table he was busy texting a woman to arrange a “hook-up” for sex. She found out everything after weight loss.
Melissa ended up losing 473 pounds and to date has had 2 skin removal surgeries, she has also realized her dream of having a child. To date she and her philandering husband are still together.
After Melissa’s story aired they played the reunion show, where all 4 people got together to discuss their journeys. We got to see Henry again! How I love that man, his humility, his joyous spirit and his determination. He has kept the weight off, he and his wife are happily married and he is just an amazing man. He is by far my favorite, when faced with adversity he just kept going, never cheating, never despairing, always, always joyous. He said the message he wanted people to take from this is that surgery is not a magic cure, it is hard work and without it he would be dead by now. This was not only life changing it was life saving for the four people featured.
Oh, I have to add, Melissa now counsels other weight loss patients, she is doing great, Ashley has lost more weight since the show aired and I have to be honest I have not seen the other mans story. But he is not doing as well as the rest of them, he has gained weight and Melissa got onto him, telling him he had made bad choices, she held him accountable. Good for her. We should all have someone in our lives who holds us accountable for our bad choices.
Ashley’s Journey
Last night I watched another episode of My 600 lb Life, this time it was Ashley’s story, she was well over 600 pounds and young. In her 20’s, her whole family was heavy, she was the first to decide to do something about it. Now her family was not as heavy as she, but they were and are hefty. Ashley did not do as well as Henry, I don’t know if it is age or mindset or the environmental factors. At the end of the show she was down by 345 pounds, she should have been at her goal weight, her loss was slow due to her not eating right. She had two skin removal surgeries along the way. However her legs, her legs are what I cannot get out of my mind. The doctor even said her legs looked the same as when she weighed over 600 pounds. He said that he could probably remove another 30 pounds of skin off of her calves alone. This show is enough to scare anyone into eating right and not allowing themselves to get to this situation.
Her mother was absolutely horrible, I have never seen a mother behave like this, she was constantly making fun of her daughter and saying how she was going to have pie and cake at Thanksgiving and how Ashley couldn’t have any. Then she would just cackle, yes, cackle is the only word to describe the sound coming out of her mouth. This is a woman who is around 300 pounds if she is an ounce. I was yelling at the television, What the Heck woman! She should have been on a restrictive diet. In the end Ashley was actually coaching a girls softball team and being active and productive in her life. I would love to see where she is today.
Watching these shows gives me resolve in my own weight loss journey to continue on and yes do the dreaded exercising that will tone my legs and arms and give me abs that look good. I am terrified of being 600 pounds, it is one of my greatest fears. Perhaps an unreasonable fear, but it is mine.
I will make good choices today, wether is is with food, my outlook, my job and my physical activity. I hope everyone has a great day and chooses to be healthy, happy and active!
Angie World 