Younan Nowzaradan, a surgeon in Houston, TX.
It’s intense, y’all!
For example, do some of the participants have shady pasts?
What’s the deal with the show’s enablers?
And just how did the show come to be in the first place?
Here’s a look at things you might not know about the reality sensation.
So helegitknow what he’s doing.
The Iranian-American doctor isin his 70s, but you might not know it as he looks younger.
Plus, in addition to bariatric surgery, Dr. Now performs both general and vascular surgery.
Some doctors who perform weight loss surgery have a maximum limit for a client’s starting weight.
Also, the more somebody weighs,the more the risks increase, as with any surgery.
That helps to evaluate whether the patient is really serious about changing their lives.
Was it the brainchild of some TLC bigwig?
Nope turns out it was started by Jonathan Nowzaradan, a TV producer forMegalomediaand the son of Dr. Now.
In 2007, the company filmed adocumentaryabout Renee Williams, a local woman who weighed 841 pounds.
Unfortunately, she died two weeks later of cardiac arrest.
But that’sdefinitelynot the case.
One especially infamous participant namedPenny Seageronce complained on the show, “Where’s my yellow brick road?”
because shedidn’t lose much weight.
Meanwhile, she refused to even get out of bed.
Adhering to the diet and exercise program the doctor prescribes is essential.
We’resoglad shedumped that chumpin the end, andfound new love!
The second participant to pose for a BBW site wasPauline Potter, who wasPaulee Bombshellon the SuperSizedBombshells site.
In 1975, he married Delores, who became a stay-at-home mother to their three children.
Nearly 30 years later, before Dr. Now’s ascent to television fame, Delores filed for divorce.
The divorce dragged on for two years, and was finalized through a trial in 2004.
After the ruling, Dr. Now appealed the division of property, but lost in 2007.
Ultimately, his wife won and received 70 percent of their assets.
Phil’s"House of Hate" episodein 2007 as “John Assanti.”
He’s… less than pleasant in his demeanor on the episode, to say the least.
Secondly, before landing a spot on TLC,Pauline Potterwasalso onDr.
She even appeared onDr.
Drewclaiming she lost weight through marathon sex.
My 600-lb Lifedidn’t address Potter’s previous media presence when they aired her story.
TheInternational Business Timesnoted that of the 605 pounds she weighed, 400 were in her legs.
It was so bad that Dr. Now couldn’t perform weight loss surgery safely until she lost 100 pounds.
Fortunately she was able to turn it around!
She’s come a long way since then, though, according to a post on herFacebookpage!
Some can’t even walk across the room without pain.
Some participants were raped when they were young, and put on the weight as a protective mechanism.
Others ate to make themselves feel better.
“I didn’t know what to do,” she said on the show (viaThe Wrap).
“I didn’t know how to feel safe.
So I would eat to gain back whatever little happiness I could.”
That’s why when participants start losing weight, emotions often bubble to the surface.
Weight loss surgery has removed their coping mechanism (overeating), and that can present additional challenges.
The psychology is, in fact, quitecomplicated.
In any case, for participants to lose weight, the enabler has to be supportive of their journey.
So how is it that so many of the stars ofMy 600-lb Lifeare unaware of their actual size?
It’s likely because regular, common bathroom scales generally don’t measure over 300 pounds, for one.
In case you were wondering, thescale in Dr. Now’s officegoes up to 900 pounds, according toTLC.
But then there are patients likeJames King, who ordered his family around from his bed.
He also manipulated his girlfriend Lisa.
Sadly, James passed away at the age of 49 on April 3, 2020, according to hisobituary.
He was reportedly abusive to the nurses during previous hospital visits, too.
She went ahead and found a new boyfriend while still bedridden.
Many of the romantic relationships on the show change some for the worse after weight loss surgery.
Some of the partners are overweight as well, and their partners' weight loss threatens them.
But in some of the relationships, the partner just doesn’t want their loved one to change.
You’re better off without him, boo!
To that end, many of them rely on sponge baths as their primary method of hygiene.
In any case, each individual on the show has to be filmed at least once washing their bodies.
Genital areas are censored, but viewers still get a full view of the patients' large body.
Perhaps the most embarrassing instance was in an episode featuringNicole Lewis, whose story aired in 2017.
Both of her parents were drug addicts, and she ate her pain away.
Fortunately she comes off as doing a lot better today!
Without this tool, many participants have a hard time reigning in their emotions and improving their habits.
For example,Kirsten Perezwas gang-raped as a teen, something she blamed herself for.
She wasn’t doing well in losing weight, even after gastric bypass surgery.
Finally, Dr. Now ordered her to therapy, refusing to treat her anymore if she didn’t go.
That was the case for Season 3 cast member Chay Guillory, who came out in her follow-up episode.
However, Dr. Now doesn’t perform those surgeries aspecialistis needed.
Is My 600-lb Life promoting fatphobia?
Viewers ofMy 600-lb Lifecan tell you that many ofthe show’s stars turn their life aroundfor the better.
However, that hasn’t stopped people from criticizingMy 600-lb Lifefor some pretty significant reasons.
That includes social justice writerDerrick Clifton, who voiced their criticism of TLC in an opinion piece forNBC News.
“Fat people are curiosities to be probed and displayed for nonfat people.”
Amber Radchi has criticized the production company, saying that Megalomedia bullied her and didn’t respect her boundaries.
