KateHearts

I don't consider it patriarchy, exactly; I think that Dr. Now had to take this a little further and stress to Steven Sr. that Justin is an adult, that if he wants help from Dr. Now that he can do it without father's interference, and that Dad needs to stop enabling his behavior because it is impacting his recovery and health. In situations like this, a doctor has to get involved in the psychology of the patient. It's not just about doing a surgery to lose weight; it's so much more and family dynamics play a huge role in whether or not the patient does well or not. And if a physician is going to invest his time (and these are very needy patients), staff and resources to a patient, it's in everyone's best interest to address the dysfunction and psychological issues that are causing the problem in the first place. I think Dr. Now knew there was no way at all he would get Justin to see a psychologist- Justin is too immature, manipulative and myopic to see that there are underlying issues that he needs to deal with. "You beat me up!!" is as far as he can get, and his thinking is barely beyond the level of that of someone of single-digit age. So I'm thinking that Dr. Now was doing the surgery in the hopes that at least Justin might feel somewhat better physically so he could then address the plethora of social, family and psychological issues that plague him. It was an optimistic move on Now's part.

Something that just occurred to me when everyone was discussing if Justin really does/could eat 8,000 calories a day: we are assuming that these dullards even know or care what a calorie is. Part of what often makes someone super-morbidly obese is ignorance and denial. None of the people in this family (and I use the term loosely) seem to have an IQ that even broaches normal. It always baffles me that, with the availability of information out there, these folks don't know the difference between healthy and unhealthy food, what a decent portion size is, or, in this case, that smoking or being exposed to a smoker while pregnant is dangerous. So I would venture to say that when Dr. Now references that she must be eating 7000 calories a day, Angie quickly (and, in her eyes, very cleverly) tosses out, "He eats more than I do!" And dimwitted Justin says, "yep, yep- I eat 8-10,000 calories a day." I am seriously doubtful that he would have the interest or the capability of counting his calories. Angie mentioned a couple of times that she "supports" the family. My guess is that she is the only one who brings in any money, however she gets it. Therefore the rest of the lot is on the hook to her. And she relishes that sense of control. The scene where she decides to throw the boyfriend out of the house and she and Desiree "discuss" it is very telling. Her daughter is suddenly thrown in a situation where she has to choose between mom and boyfriend. She cries. Angie's reaction? "Ohhh, here we go; I knew you would get emotional," or some such thing. Classic gaslighting: "it's not me; it's you"- just like when she told the boyfriend "Get a life," which is ok- but then says, "and then he had to OVERREACT, up to HERE," (as she raises her giant arms up in the air).

Another common thread between all of these people is that they don't know how to pack to move to same their lives. They open up the U-Haul and inevitably there are boxes all askew, bags of clothes and things just spilling all over.

"Missing a chance to save my life because I was lied to? That's like murder, in my opinion." Her reference to the initial apartment unit not being up to her specifications (i.e., she's too wide to fit in the bathroom door in, you know, THE PROJECTS.) "I didn't just move down here to sit around waiting to die." Yeah, you kind of did. "If he keeps making accusations and giving me goals instead of getting the surgery I DESERVE I'm going to f***ing wig out." Oh, the manipulation. And don't get me started on what you think you DESERVE.

Justin returning: "I've taken him back. He is learning." "You have one more chance. You have to do the things I say you have to do or we are done. Divorced. Got it?" Sounds like Dr. Now saying she needs to lose 100 lbs. Except he has given her many chances to redeem herself. She doesn't seem to think things go both ways.

I honestly think I have a problem in that I can watch each episode 3 or 4 times and still see more and find more to be aghast at. This time through: "I hope we can make this trip because if I don't get help, then not only will me and my family [arrgh] have gone though hell but I will have lost my only chance to save my life." ANGIE... you can save your life. PUT DOWN THE FORK. The argument with Justin in the motel: "You're pathetic; you're pathetic; you're pathetic; you're a waste of life..." Dear God. And then she is so skilled at turning it around on others: "I knew this would happen. He's had an attitude the whole time. I don't think he really wants to do this." (Who in their right mind would WANT to cross-country haul your giant body across the country while you are incessantly berating them? (If anyone said to me, "Ok, YOU will go to a store and buy what we need," as if I were a circus dog, would surely get some resistance from me.) And throwing the poor daughter under the bus: "she's bigger than I was at her age. She eats the same food as me so I keep tellin' her that things will happen and losing weight gets harder as you get older. AND she smokes AND she's pregnant." For a mother who has been "sacrificing herself for everyone else" all her life (?!) she sure is showing how caring she is.

Angie didn't get this far, but one thing that drives me nuts with these people is when they hit a wall and, as a last resort Dr. Now admits them and puts them on a medically supervised diet that's 800 calories a day, and then when their weight drops 100lbs in a month or two, they narrate, "I'm so proud of all the progress I've made."

It seems that the bigger these people are, the tinier their houses are.

Absolutely... but I am trying to put myself in her (not-normal-thinking) mind and figure how she must justify this. Yes, you are right- the kids could sleep on cots. But it's like people who say, "Why do they have to get fast food on the road? There are options like a rotisserie chicken." Of course, and that's what a reasonable-thinking person would do. These people are not reasonable. They want any justification they can find for their abnormal, dysfunctional behaviors.

Oh my, where to begin. The first few minutes when she started in on "I can't believe I have to ASK my daughter to choose between her boyfriend and coming with me to SAVE MY LIFE" locked me in. I knew it would be a doozy. And I really get annoyed by how many of these people say, "I've given up everything for everyone else; now it's time to take care of me." Honestly, you DID decide to take care of yourself- albeit poorly-over the past however many years as you continuously ate crap and got bigger and bigger and decidedly helpless. And in this case, heap on the fact that this woman broke the law and was imprisoned, then violated her parole and was imprisoned again, used drugs, all the while continuing to bring children into the world... well, that's the most self-centered behavior I could imagine. So get off your effing high horse talking about how selfless you are, Angie. Dr. Now was at his best this evening. Maybe his script writers are helping him with those zingers. But I do feel deep down that he has concern for these patients who are so self-abusive, not to mention the families they are destroying along the way. The last few scenes felt like they were copped from "Intervention." The diversion ("ok, I have a confession to make. There was some marijuana in my system"); the tears ("I don't know what I'm doing..."); the anger ("this is so unfair! You've been disrespectful and I have NeVeR been treated like this before!") and then the immediate twisting of all of it even before she walks out the door ("he FALSELY accused me! He LIED about the goals he set for me!") The fact that the family all sat there dumbly while she blatantly lied (as she did when she described her eating habits such as drinking coffee all day to suppress her appetite-ha!) just shows how her malignant dysfunction had spread to them all. It is maddening that not one of these people (lately, anyway) seem to acknowledge that they have to take some responsibility for their weight loss and subsequently their health. As if the Dr. Now Clinic is a magical way to exchange their bodies for new ones. They all quote "THIS IS MY LAST CHANCE. If I don't get the surgery I WILL DIE." Actually, there are many people who are fat who take control of their lives and use their diets as a way to get healthy and lose weight! Imagine that! They do it without TV, without surgery, without Dr. Now. If you choose to leave this world sick and 600 lbs then some of the onus will be on you. Sorry; that's called taking responsibility for yourself.

She did say that. As for the shared bed, I'm not at all for it; but I do think that's what she feels she has to do in order to have them nearby to help, and because she doesn't have room for more beds. I can't speculate that it's a facet of mental illness; perhaps she doesn't know any different.

I am noticing (perhaps late in the game) that these scripts-including Dr. Now's- are all written by the same person. One thing that I find really annoying is their use of the phrase "I need," or "you need" used inappropriately. As in: -"I hope Mercedes starts doing what she needs." _"I plan to stick to the diet to lose the weight I need." It's like they don't finish the thought. And the weird script reading/narration the participants do is ridiculous. Way over-emoted and fake. I need to go back and watch the first shows and see how much it's changed. Back then, people actually got the surgery and we watched them struggle with cravings or complications. Much more interesting than watching Dr. Now give instructions that the obese guy/woman just ignores as they eat their not-so-merry way into the grave.

While allowing your children to see your genitals is wildly inappropriate, it's not "flashing" in the sense most generally interpret it. I wouldn't call it sexual assault. Not that I am okay with it at ALL. There are many families who find it perfectly ok to undress or shower in front of their children. I don't get it, but I wouldn't call it any sort of sexual crime.

I get very annoyed with the attitude of all of these participants when they say, "Oh, well... I can't [pee/poop/bleed; stay clean; wipe my ass; take care of my kids; etc] so I just HAVE TO get others to do all of that," as if it's just fate. Then they have what for anyone else is a blip in the radar- someone can't come over, their car breaks down, they have to move, etc- and it's just "welp, gotta throw in the towel!" and the inevitable comment along the lines of "I just can't win; seems for every step forward I take there's two steps back," and on and on. And of course then there's the "I have been SO BUSY with the STRESS of [looking for a place to live in Houston, taking care of my kids, etc] that I haven't had TIME to stick to the diet" dialogue. These people have learned to become self-pitying, acquired-helpless, resigned human beings who have convinced themselves that they have no solutions to their problems, can't possibly get out of their predicament, and expect everyone else to manage their lives. Ultimately, it's Dr. Now- as if breathing the air in his office full of half-ton humans will magically transform them into functioning human beings. They all very earnestly nod and agree to whatever he says and go about their business of self-destruction. And weep on cue. The family members are no better. Every single one of them sits mute as the mega-human somberly says, "I don't eat breakfast. I snack on grapes. I don't eat before 3pm. I don't overeat; I just eat the wrong things." This one was exceptionally upsetting when it came to her children. Sleeping in the same bed? Bleeding in same bed because, hey- us big girls can't get supplies so it is what it is? Serving ice cream within centimeters of her exposed (sometimes bleeding, always dirty) vagina? nope, nope, nope... but she loves her kids. She's giving them ice cream.! They are together! And sadly, those kids are destined to a physical fate like hers. The daughter is already a big girl for an 11-year old. One thing Dr. Now should be reinforcing is that the entire family will benefit from eating healthy foods. Eating junk food is bad for them, whether they are fat or not. It's called junk food for a reason. And maybe avoiding giving them the fast food so that you are continually watching it and missing it and craving it will help all of you.

"I don't have to deal with anything when I'm eating." SINCE WHEN IS THAT A THING? Kids in bed, ice cream served... all within centimeters of her dirty vag. A new low.

I was very impressed with how well Pedro has improved his English-speaking skills! And I felt very sorry for him. He's absolutely right; Chantal will never think he's right about anything because she is so bent on "family, family, family." I'm sorry- and I am a person who is all about family- but they are toxic and she should never, ever be loyal to her family to the exclusion of her marriage. As someone who did gain quite a bit while pregnant, I gotta say that Pao is quite large for 5 months along... and her entire face has changed. David has a narrative voice that makes me disbelieve every word he says. It's like he's trying way too hard and reading a script. "It's REALLY HARD!!!! to find a JOB!!"

very pretty, articulate girlfriend.

for the life of me, I can't understand how someone with hundreds of pounds of fat on them can lie on their stomachs. Especially when eating.

My god, the simpering voice. She doesn't even pretend to try, either. And the life story: "I got pregnant, he abused me; we broke up. I met someone else, I got pregnant; he cheated on me and we broke up." And the current/ex on the show? "She's not fat enough. Count me out." This show has turned into a whole bunch of nothing. People who seem to think that just walking into Dr. Now's office reduces them to 100lbs. People who are so "busy" with their lives of having truckloads of fast food brought to their beds that they can't deal with a diet right now. People who manipulate, people who are delusional, people who don't even care that they are on a show about LIFE THREATENING OBESITY shamelessly order giant pizzas on camera. It's all just a shit-show of ongoing dysfunction.

It may not be a “red flag,” but it should be disclosed. There are certain things that are ok for some applicants, but not others. I would want to be aware of it. On another note, the hand-wringing, eye dabbing and delighted clapping by the experts was bugging the hell out of me. The applause was a barely disguised, "yay! We didn't screw up TOO badly!" And Pastor Cal's fatherly scowl of disapproval when Will opted for divorce, along with the "you are throwing an opporutunity away!" comments made me want to smack him through my TV. Shut up, PC. I was hoping that they would ask Luke to "go first" regarding his decision. Kate going first gave him the opportunity to say, "you know, you are so right; I'm going to agree with your decision because I am such a caring guy." Luke commented that he "knew who she was" before meeting at the altar. I know there was discussion at one point that she had attended one of his dating events; but how did he know who she was prior to the wedding? As for Kate going to his place after decision day: I can kind of see that happening. She had finally put an end to a very weird, surreal and emotionally punishing 6 weeks and, despite the fact that she knew ending the marriage had to happen, she seems like the type who hates to end things badly and, after getting drunk, wanted to make sure things were ok. I get that type- I AM that type. And K/K revealing that they did The Deed backstage on decision day when the crew went to lunch? Keepin' it classy. Didn't really need to know that.

Erica, "I was just wondering why was you crying."

756 lbs.

"I'm in so much pain, I just want to get FOOD and get to the hotel right away." Every one of these people says that.

The catchphrase this episode: "OUR CULTURE." Apparently, Kody's version of Mormonism/Polygamy is a particular "culture" (or "coolture," as he pronounces it.) It's a special klub that only those who understand can be a part of, and those of us deemed unworthy just have to accept their random rules and parameters. I was cringing at the couch scene with Christine when she murmured, "I have no idea," pronounced "eye-dihhh". And when "the triplets" were all called together, ostensibly to discuss their fillings, because, as Christine said, "we are considering you guys the most," or some such lie, ends in Kody insulting Gabe. Actually, I think he just wanted Gwen or Ysabel or whoever to make the delicious scrambled eggs for him. When Kody lost his shit on the couch saying how he needs the kids to "BACK OFF" with their questions because he has BOXES TO PACK, the look in his eyes was stark raving crazy. I can't wait to read the tell-all book, "Growing up Brown," in which all the kids collaborate to discuss their frizzy headed lunatic of a dad and their brainwashed moms. I will be buying that book.

Kody's main objective in every interview/talking head is to emphasize HOW STRESSED he is and how much HE has to do. His eyes bug out, he becomes manic and hyper, and his annoying factor goes up tenfold. His brother looks like Kody but with a reasonable hairstyle and a normal temperament. His wall-eyed brother in law looks 10 months pregnant. Christine's breathy, come-hither voice is so affected and fake. I used to like her. Now I officially really don't like any of them.