My 600lb life- TV show

[jelloshots4all]

I catch this once in a while, and it is on tonight.

A 30-40yr old 600lb daughter has never stopped living with her mother, who has guilt about kicking her dad out 20 yrs ago, is her food enabler.

They go to the grocery store and no electric carts are available for the daughter so she sits in a chair and starts crying.  The mom offers to carry the chair around the store for her to rest.

Then the mom asks- what kind of cake do you want?

I just can't comprehend this.

[movingforward]

That show is like a train wreck for me. The first time I watched it I thought "I can't believe I am watching this", then ended up watching at least 2 more.

[Rukh O'Rorke]

Was the cake buyer overweight?

[jelloshots4all]

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

[jelloshots4all]

Oct 28, 2021 21:41:03 GMT -5 Rukh O'Rorke said:

Was the cake buyer overweight?

The mom "cake buyer" yes but not to her daughters extent. Not obese.

I know so much can be psychological due to abuse.  

Food is comfort in varying ways, and control.

[raeoflyte]

Oct 28, 2021 21:43:17 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

I'm certain that losing weight is more than just calories in vs. Out. We just don't know how to control all the factors yet..

If I'm not sleeping well - like really well, I gain weight no matter what I eat.

[nidena]

Oct 28, 2021 21:43:17 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

If a person has minimal activity, their body isn't going to burn hardly anything.  A lb of fat burns only 2 calories an hour whereas a lb of muscle burns 50 calories an hour.  That's pretty exceptional to lose 50lbs just by eating less but her body also probably thought she was starving since she was likely eating 1/10 of what is her usual consumption.  I know my body would think that and I'm less than a third of her weight.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Oct 28, 2021 21:43:17 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

I imagine by the time you have gotten to that point it is not a simple matter of calories in and out anymore.  You're entire body is going to be out of whack.

[Opti]

Oct 29, 2021 8:29:57 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Oct 28, 2021 21:43:17 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

I imagine by the time you have gotten to that point it is not a simple matter of calories in and out anymore.  You're entire body is going to be out of whack.

Her body probably went into starvation mode and resisted losing body weight. 

[thyme4change]

I don't watch that show - but there is an extremely heavy woman on tik tok that is showing her journey being able to walk. Her goal at the beginning was to walk to the end of the driveway without resting. It was a short driveway. The latest I saw was her walking the length of a parking lot. Maybe 100 yards or so. Getting winded doesn't seem to be as much of a problem as pain in her legs and feet. I'm with you as I struggle to comprehend how one gets to that point. We all have problems, so I am sure someone looks at my problems and wonders how I live with them. So, I am not judging- just struggling to understand how that particular problem is constructed.

[flamingo]

Oct 28, 2021 21:43:17 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

Having watched quite a few episodes of this show, typically their enabler brings them food while they are in the hospital. So even on a "controlled" diet, they are eating more than what the doc prescribes. I've even seen episodes where the patient is ordering food delivery of like pizzas and chicken wings to their hospital room.

ETA: I'm not judging them for this. I can only imagine how hard it must be to be in their position. I really feel for them - I'm always rooting for them to accomplish their goal.

[dannylion]

Oct 29, 2021 8:29:57 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Oct 28, 2021 21:43:17 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

I imagine by the time you have gotten to that point it is not a simple matter of calories in and out anymore.  You're entire body is going to be out of whack.

I also wonder what kind of restrictions there are on people bringing outside food to the patients and whether restrictions are enforced.  If the mother is enabling her in the home environment, it is possible that she might not be willing to refrain from bringing outside food to her daughter even while she's in the weight-loss program with strict dietary guidelines, especially if her daughter was agitated or even if she just said she was hungry.  There are health situations in which it is not just the patient experiencing the health crisis who needs to be treated; sometimes the whole family needs to be treated if their actions or belief systems or other characteristics are contributing to the problem.  

ETA:  I see flamingo answered my question before I managed to post it.  So apparently the family does bring in contraband food, which would definitely contribute to the poor outcome.  

[nidena]

Oct 29, 2021 9:32:50 GMT -5 thyme4change said:

I don't watch that show - but there is an extremely heavy woman on tik tok that is showing her journey being able to walk. Her goal at the beginning was to walk to the end of the driveway without resting. It was a short driveway. The latest I saw was her walking the length of a parking lot. Maybe 100 yards or so. Getting winded doesn't seem to be as much of a problem as pain in her legs and feet. I'm with you as I struggle to comprehend how one gets to that point. We all have problems, so I am sure someone looks at my problems and wonders how I live with them. So, I am not judging- just struggling to understand how that particular problem is constructed.

All the ones that I've seen, they started the journey in childhood.  What was 120lbs in 4th grade becomes 200lbs in middle school which becomes 250lbs in high school...
Also, almost every story seems to have the premise that food was the child's only friend.

It's very easy for many of us to gain weight.  Not everyone but a large portion of society comes from genes that tend towards fluffiness which is then made worse by ginormous serving sizes and lots of eating out.  That delicious food is often made from addictive ingredients.

Ever watch Super Size Me?  Morgan Spurlock did a 30 day experiment where he reduced his activity level to that of an average person (he lives in NYC and walks everywhere) which is less than a mile a day and only ate things that came on the McDonald's menu, aiming to eat everything at least once.  He gained something like 30lbs in that month.

[countrygirl2]

Not sure how DD is losing weight. She doesn't move around much so she must be eating about a starvation diet. She generally has a toasted cheese, 2 slices, for breakfast with milk. Or 1 or 2 Eggos for breakfast. Then lunch is sometimes 2 slices of ham, 2 slices of bread, mayo, and provolone with some type of drink. Dinner is whatever we have, steak, salad, corn, potatoes or whatever. I have started serving her and I water with dinner as she does not drink enough water. Last night she had a snack of the little fishes crackers. Sometimes she will eat a piece of cake with icing or something. She is now down 59 pounds, somehow we must have gotten the balance just right as she is still losing. She doesn't eat a lot at night unless its spaghetti, so probably some of it.

I am having to really cut mine, I'm down 17 now but if I am not careful it will not move or go up a half pound. I'm thinking about my portion sizes may be a bit to big, so watching that. Today I bought some baked chicken at our local deli, its 10 times better then the fried. I also quit my weekly piece of fried catfish. Trying to cut anything with a lot of grease to it. I sure miss my deep fried smelts, but I also read smelts are a very fatty little fish. I had no idea.

It doesn't matter I'm not hungry and I'm trying to keep a balanced diet. When seeing my neurologist today, told him my neuropathy was doing so well that I was going to try and cut 1 pill a day. He said that is good, the minimal dose you can get by with is the best and to do it. The Ozempic has smoothed out my hypoglycemia so much that I feel so much better. That was another reason I was always eating trying to keep me level if that makes sense.

[happyhoix]

Most Americans have such a sedentary suburban lifestyle. A few years ago, DH and I went to Paris for a week and walked/took the metro everywhere. (Paris traffic is a literal thunder dome and zero parking so we were both too scared to try to drive). We both ate that fabulous French good and wine all week and still we both lost five pounds. Come home to our suburban house where nothing is in walking distance and gained it right back.

2021 I decided instead of getting rid of all my bad habits at once I would prioritize being more active and started counting steps. Now at the end of the year, my next goal is to limit processed foods and maximize veggies. Ordered my first box of Low carb meals last night. Drooled over the cinnamon rolls at the grocery today but did not buy them. We’ll see if I can stick with this as well as I did the step counting.

[happyhoix]

I saw a very large lady on a show several years back who insisted she ate reasonably and good quality food, not junk food, so she didn’t know why she was so overweight. Turned out she was also going through four of the big coke bottles per day. Sometimes people pretend not to see a really big issue - just like my crazy attachment to chocolate. (Somehow good quality chocolate is not as bad for you as the cheap stuff - yes I tell myself that sometimes).

Humans are crazy.

[anciana]

Oct 29, 2021 14:37:23 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I saw a very large lady on a show several years back who insisted she ate reasonably and good quality food, not junk food, so she didn’t know why she was so overweight. Turned out she was also going through four of the big coke bottles per day. Sometimes people pretend not to see a really big issue - just like my crazy attachment to chocolate. (Somehow good quality chocolate is not as bad for you as the cheap stuff - yes I tell myself that sometimes).

Humans are crazy.

Or some people think that eating good quality food will do it, not realizing their portion size meter is broken and they just eat too much of it.

And chocolate is essential food, just sayin'

[nidena]

Oct 29, 2021 14:37:23 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I saw a very large lady on a show several years back who insisted she ate reasonably and good quality food, not junk food, so she didn’t know why she was so overweight. Turned out she was also going through four of the big coke bottles per day. Sometimes people pretend not to see a really big issue - just like my crazy attachment to chocolate. (Somehow good quality chocolate is not as bad for you as the cheap stuff - yes I tell myself that sometimes).

Humans are crazy.

The two liters?  Four of them?  Holy crap!!  That's a lot of soda.

[Deleted]

A lot has been written over the years about the up-sizing of food portions in America.  In most modern dinnerware, the dinner plate is the size of the family serving platter in the '50's, the modern salad plate is the size of the old dinner plates and so forth.  Go to an antique show and look at old stuff like Coke bottles - they were maybe 8 oz and now they're 12 or 16 oz.  I found some little ice cream bowls at an antique show that are perfect for breakfast cereal with milk, they maybe hold 1 to 1-1/2 cups while the soup and cereal bowls with my dish set hold 3-4 cups.  

[jerseygirl]

Oct 29, 2021 15:26:02 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

A lot has been written over the years about the up-sizing of food portions in America.  In most modern dinnerware, the dinner plate is the size of the family serving platter in the '50's, the modern salad plate is the size of the old dinner plates and so forth.  Go to an antique show and look at old stuff like Coke bottles - they were maybe 8 oz and now they're 12 or 16 oz.  I found some little ice cream bowls at an antique show that are perfect for breakfast cereal with milk, they maybe hold 1 to 1-1/2 cups while the soup and cereal bowls with my dish set hold 3-4 cups.  

I went to both Holland and Japan on a single business trip a few years ago. I felt like I had been drinking only miniature coke bottles the entire 2 weeks.

[happyhoix]

Oct 29, 2021 15:12:33 GMT -5 nidena said:

Oct 29, 2021 14:37:23 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

I saw a very large lady on a show several years back who insisted she ate reasonably and good quality food, not junk food, so she didn’t know why she was so overweight. Turned out she was also going through four of the big coke bottles per day. Sometimes people pretend not to see a really big issue - just like my crazy attachment to chocolate. (Somehow good quality chocolate is not as bad for you as the cheap stuff - yes I tell myself that sometimes).

Humans are crazy.

The two liters?  Four of them?  Holy crap!!  That's a lot of soda.

Yeah and not the diet kind. I’d be so buzzed with caffeine and sugar I wouldn’t sleep for days on that - as I get older in a regular sized Diet Coke drunk too late in the day and I’m staring at the ceiling half the night.

Also I’d have to get up to pee every half hour.

I hit 60 and shit started going to hell.

[NoNamePerson]

Oct 29, 2021 18:15:05 GMT -5 happyhoix said:

Oct 29, 2021 15:12:33 GMT -5 nidena said:

The two liters?  Four of them?  Holy crap!!  That's a lot of soda.

Yeah and not the diet kind. I’d be so buzzed with caffeine and sugar I wouldn’t sleep for days on that - as I get older in a regular sized Diet Coke drunk too late in the day and I’m staring at the ceiling half the night.

Also I’d have to get up to pee every half hour.

I hit 60 and shit started going to hell.

  Wait till you’re my age. 

[Tiny]

Oct 29, 2021 9:32:36 GMT -5 Opti said:

Oct 29, 2021 8:29:57 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

I imagine by the time you have gotten to that point it is not a simple matter of calories in and out anymore.  You're entire body is going to be out of whack.

Her body probably went into starvation mode and resisted losing body weight. 

Was she in the hospital specifically to lose weight or was she there for other health reasons? 

There are lots of medications (some of them in the steroid family) that will pack on water weight gain.   Also - if she was eating 1K calories but what was in the IV drips she was getting - IF she was being treated for something? 


Do we all need a reality check??   To be honest... if she was "dieting" for 8 weeks and losing the general rule of thumb 2 pounds per week - she'd would have only lost 16 to maybe 20 pounds over that time. 

Yet, she lost 50 pounds.    That's 6 pounds per week.    I know the women's magazines at the checkout often tout "Loose 20 pounds in one week! without being hungry!!"  So, it's tempting to think someone that is that heavy should probably loose - what?  2 or 3 pounds per day if they dont' eat   <-- total snark there.   I need sleep.   

I know "heavy people" loose bigger amounts per week than less heavy people when they start their weight loss journey - but really... loosing weight very quickly isn't healthy or good for you either. 

[pulmonarymd]

Oct 29, 2021 19:24:06 GMT -5 Tiny said:

Oct 29, 2021 9:32:36 GMT -5 Opti said:

Her body probably went into starvation mode and resisted losing body weight. 

Was she in the hospital specifically to lose weight or was she there for other health reasons? 

There are lots of medications (some of them in the steroid family) that will pack on water weight gain.   Also - if she was eating 1K calories but what was in the IV drips she was getting - IF she was being treated for something? 


Do we all need a reality check??   To be honest... if she was "dieting" for 8 weeks and losing the general rule of thumb 2 pounds per week - she'd would have only lost 16 to maybe 20 pounds over that time. 

Yet, she lost 50 pounds.    That's 6 pounds per week.    I know the women's magazines at the checkout often tout "Loose 20 pounds in one week! without being hungry!!"  So, it's tempting to think someone that is that heavy should probably loose - what?  2 or 3 pounds per day if they dont' eat   <-- total snark there.   I need sleep.   

I know "heavy people" loose bigger amounts per week than less heavy people when they start their weight loss journey - but really... loosing weight very quickly isn't healthy or good for you either. 

If she was on a 1000 calorie diet, they were trying to get her to lose weight. She was not likely getting enough IV fluid to make a difference.
If she was getting 1000 calories, she was hopefully in negative caloric balance of 1000 calories a day=7000/week. At 3500 calories/ pound, she should lose 2 lbs a week at minimum. She was likely being given medications to help her lose weight as well, so her weight lose was likely greater.

We see all kinds of crazy things in the hospital. They bring in McDonalds, pizza, donuts, for people with diabetes, heart failure, and renal failure. No one gets that big without “help”

[thyme4change]

I know "heavy people" loose bigger amounts per week than less heavy people when they start their weight loss journey - but really... loosing weight very quickly isn't healthy or good for you either. 

And almost never permanent. I think 97% of people who lose weight "quickly" gain back every pound in 5 years - or something like that.

[jelloshots4all]

Oct 29, 2021 15:26:02 GMT -5 soupandstew said:

A lot has been written over the years about the up-sizing of food portions in America.  In most modern dinnerware, the dinner plate is the size of the family serving platter in the '50's, the modern salad plate is the size of the old dinner plates and so forth.  Go to an antique show and look at old stuff like Coke bottles - they were maybe 8 oz and now they're 12 or 16 oz.  I found some little ice cream bowls at an antique show that are perfect for breakfast cereal with milk, they maybe hold 1 to 1-1/2 cups while the soup and cereal bowls with my dish set hold 3-4 cups.  

Agree 1000000%!

I used to get crap from some friends because when we went out to dinner, I ate half my serving.  They finished theirs.

I guess my point is how do you allow yourself to get to over 500lbs?  Of course you can't exercise because it hurts to move I imagine.  Then you feel defeated and eat to heal feelings.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

It obviously has a serious mental component.

I would imagine over time you are able to override your natural ability to stop eating when full allowing you to consume an ever increasing amount of food.

Then like any other addiction your body and brain decide this must be normal and react badly when you interrupt it's new homeostasis.

Add in an enabler who continously supplies your vice of choice you slowly continue to go up.

Then like a frog in a slowly heating pot you one day turn around and you're 500 lbs.

It's very sad. What's sadder is we as a society don't tend to view this like other addiction we treat it as a side show driving people even deeper into their heads.

[cronewitch]

There are emotional and mental health issues that cause some people to hide behind fat. I worked with two sisters who were sexually abused as children, one got super thin and the other got fat. They didn't want to be attractive. Many abused children figured out not to be attractive. For me I was a skinny kid then hit puberty and my mother made me act like a lady. Before I could run and climb and act like the boys but now needed to walk and act ladylike. My dad overfed us to make up for his starving as a child. So I could eat like a man and started gaining weight. So from skinny to heavy in a couple years, lost some my senior year then left home. Married a man who was starved as a child and wanted me to eat, insisted the cupboards were full to overflowing.  Once you become heavy you aren't going to do things other people do. So I wasn't a cheerleader or runner or swim team or anything. Staying home in a tiny apartment with a husband that didn't trust me to leave the apartment so kept calling to see I was home, I gained 40lbs my first year of marriage. Eating man sized servings, no exercise, baking for a man who didn't eat baked goods so I ate 80%. I gained and lost weight dozens of time and it was a constant struggle. I am up about 80lbs over 55 years ago. Depression, boredom, no money for healthy food, pleasing others means I can diet for a year and lose 60-80lbs then gain it all back in less than a year. If I had been in a feeding family that liked having me dependent I might have gained every year without the losses between. Once you can't walk easily, too fat to go to the beach, can't fly because you can't afford two seats, can't go to amusement parks because the rides don't fit it would be easy to keep gaining. When you are a size 4-5X skipping a meal will not make you thin and even if you lost 100lbs nobody can tell. Imagine being 700lbs and losing 200 and people still call you names. Dad's sister lost 60 and when she asked what he thought said turn around I think I found it. 

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Oct 28, 2021 21:43:17 GMT -5 jelloshots4all said:

Yeah, I needed not to think, so I'm on another episode.

She started out at 778lbs.  Even in the hospital for 2 months on 1,000 calories a day, she only lost 50lbs.  Less than 10% of her body weight?

That makes no sense to me either.

It makes perfect sense to me.

When I was sick, I doubt I was eating 1000 calories/day (I guess between 500-700).  In 8 weeks, I lost 40 lbs.  40 lbs was more than 20% of my weight.  I wasn’t moving at all.  I moved to only between my chair, the bathroom and my bed.  

So for someone that large who can’t move, it doesn't surprise me.

[jerseygirl]

In hospital hoping she isn’t just lying in bed. Physical therapy should have her up and walking at least 2x day. Even that probably uses a minor number of calories