KateHearts

Read my previous post. Of course they could have done those things. Are we dealing with logical, reasonable and educated people? No. What you're doing is like telling a meth head on Intervention, "just stop! Hang out with clean people instead!"

I'm sorry, but posts like this make me irritable. These people often haven't had exposure to vegetables or fruit...EVER. It's really easy to come on here and create scoldy lists of what they *should* eat. Obviously they don't know nor care how to properly care for their physical selves (and usually not their psychological selves, either). They have longstanding, deep seated issues that we can't begin to identify with, so what's the point of listing out what they should eat? As for the 'no carb' thing, you really can't eat such a diet...his point is that they need to stop with starches, sugars, potatoes, bread, etc. I'm sure he starts with the basics because these patients - either willingly or because they are uneducated- are clueless and need to learn from scratch. And even with lists, they still have a hard time understanding it (I'm reminded of Shay thinking he was being good by making whole what bread and Nicole chomping on a cob of corn.) I want your recipe! <------- meatloaf lover

What topic are you referring to... and what did I disagree with you on? I'm confused.

I agree; what tugged at my heartstrings a bit was more of an emotional neglect: crying babies whom no one rushed to comfort, kids who entertained themselves by crawling on a dirty floor because there was no one to interact with them and no toys or books for them to appropriately amuse themselves, a toddler playing solo in the bathtub.

My guess would be that a couple of generations ago, there weren't Pop-tarts, 72 types of Doritos in the grocery store, nor were there fast-food outlets on every corner. I grew up in the 70s and the nearest McDonalds was probably 15 miles from my house. I can practically spit on one- along with a Taco Bell, Red Robin, Burger King, Chipotle, ChikFilA and Wendy's- from my house today.

Charlie's quote of the day: "The first time I saw Nicole, my jaw dropped." I guess it got stuck that way.

I'd like to add that I can't imagine a more idyllic morning than waking up, shouting for my husband (in his "exercise? I thought you said EXTRA FRIES" t-shirt) to bring me my bedroom potato chips and eating them in front of my potty chair (which has yet to be emptied).

She mentioned that the episodes of homelessness/poverty and food scarcity in her childhood caused her to eat with abandon at the soup kitchens because she felt that she never knew where the next meal might come from, which makes sense. As for the poverty/obesity link: it seems to be a cycle. Poor families tend to be less educated; their knowledge/understanding of nutrition is more limited and thus their choices are not as good. They eat poorly; they can develop diseases such as diabetes and its associated problems (vascular disease, kidney disease), they are unable to work. And the poverty cycle continues. The way Nicole and Charlie sniped at each other on the trip to Houston was no better than a couple of eight-year-olds, complete with the "nyaa nyaa" tone. I get that he loves her, but they are terrible role models for their children.

These people live in squalor. The couch in the Ohio house made me skeeve. The rental in Houston wasn't just a mess from the police raid. The smoking, the food and dishes strewn around ...ecch. Not to be unkind, but they all seemed a little on the deficient side. The collective IQ seemed on the low side. Charlie just sat with his mouth agape 99% of the time. Mom never seemed to make eye contact with anyone. There was so little emotional connection between any of them. The kids were cute and I worried about them as they would cry and no adult would respond, or when the 'grownups' would shout and swear and the kids were right there toddling around...sad. But there was hope for them at the end.

Looked like some heavy-duty product added, then severely combed straight back so you could see the comb marks. Not attractive.

I was a bit puzzled at the wife's comment that she fell in love with Michael because of his "caring heart" or some such, but that he basically sat and berated and bullied his entire family all day. I'm sure he had been doing that at 500 lbs when they met. The really phony narrative comments on this show drive me nuts. "In order to start your life journey, you have to be able to take the first step." "To be able to have a future, you first must be able to face your past." They are always READ by the super obese person and usually in a flat, "I don't know what this really means" tone, while somber, thought-provoking music plays. Michael did a lot of scripted reading in this episode. At the end, it was so repetitive: "I'm doing this for my family. I love my family. I am going to keep working and making progress. I am so happy I can now be active in my life. I love my family." That stuff alone takes up 15 minutes of airtime. I agree, the nutritional aspect of weight loss before and after surgery would be interesting. There have been shows where a dietitian shows up at the house and goes through the cabinets and refrigerator. That would be interesting (especially at Michael's house, where he apparently is sitting atop a candy stash in his couch cushions). And as for the "no carb" diet- you really cannot eat zero carbs. Vegetables are mostly carbohydrate; I'm sure what Dr. N means is no starchy foods. Carbs in beans are much healthier than carbs in cake. I think one of the most fascinating things about this show is Dr. Now's voice. He sounds like a cute little troll. "Michael must face his problem before he hit a wall and start eating ay-gain.""You need to lose fifty pound in one munt. Den I will consider you for weight loss SURgery."

actually, severe arthritis on an xray would show as the two bones sitting right on one another without any "black space" or cartilage in between. I could see at the very bottom of the picture that there appears to be a decent amount of space.

Oh, and as far as that knee x-ray... first of all, the joint isn't even in the picture and that's just a stupid cop-out because she can't squat at her size. Sadly, everyone sees right through her excuses ("squatting low isn't worth a blown out knee") but she earnestly spouts them believing that she is telling the truth.

My spouse travels every week and he has had experiences with spillage from overly large seatmates several times. The seats are getting smaller and many Americans are getting bigger. I am sure he hasn't experienced a flight next to someone as large at Whitney, but just because the seatbelt fits doesn't mean a hip or roll doesn't impinge seriously on the person next to you. He actually wrote to one airline recently because he was squeezed between a very large passenger and the window and couldn't access his armrest (it had to be up to accommodate the other passenger). They responded extremely sympathetically and said this has become a more and more common problem lately. As for this episode- is Whit's new "uniform" a sports bra and spandex shorts? I don't wear that in public and I'm about 1/3 her size. And I'm just not getting the transition from fat, but rather well-groomed woman with clean hair and coordinated clothes to fat, slovenly and dirty woman who guffaws at nothing and thinks it's funny to embarrass herself in front of others (spread-eagled on the labor simulator, allowing cats to shit all over, throwing a party and barely heaving herself off the couch to welcome guests to *her* party).

I wouldn't bet that she'd do anything mature and responsible like that.

I do find it incredibly sad that Whitney's interpretation of "loving herself as she is" is exposing parts of her body that no one- 400lbs or 140 lbs- shows in general social interaction; queefing/farting on someone and laughing (all on national TV); drawing attention to her belly slapping on the floor and the walls shaking; throwing herself at men in an embarrassingly shameless way; and disrespecting her parents. She really has no clue.

That clip from the M/R/L show isn't very revealing. To his credit, Roy doesn't say much (positive or negative) about the whole Whitney thing. I'm sure he's under contract not to elaborate on the radio show. This is mostly just clips from MBFFL, where Roy tries, as always, to be kind while brushing her off like an annoying mosquito. The radar online story about Lennie is equally bland, although this was eye-rolly: "In a sad twist on last week’s episode, Thore learned she did not have a viable pregnancy despite three prior positive pregnancy tests." The article goes on to mention her devastating loss (please). As for Lennie, I don't think a DUI (while stupid and dangerous) and threatening to "kick someone's ass" constitute a "sordid past." Sensationalism at its best. I watched with annoyance as Whit and Mama Babs had a heart-to-heart in the busy antique shop about how men "tell me I'm pretty [nope], funny [nope], smart [nope]... so why can't I find a guy?" She has a relationship with her parents that seems like it was stunted at the age of 11. She wants their validation constantly. They clap and beam at her dance recitals. They feed her pets. They chaperone her get-togethers. My grown kids see us every week or so; but never in a million years would I go hang out with their friends or cosign their loans. There's something to be said for healthy boundaries with your adult children.

this is the BEST expression EVER. And isn't Heather the one who, during a night of hilarity with the "friends," (which Whitney ruined by starting to dry-heave) advised W to do a pregnancy test? And she was also around for the bowling/birthday party this week with her kids.

eh. I find Zach to have marginal intelligence (his grammar is awful, and he definitely is riding the TV-show wave. I don't think coaching soccer is exactly a means of self-support (whether or not Tori has a job as a teacher). I could do with a little less of the "hey babe," "yeah babe"... (pronounced more like "hey beb." Yes, you adore each other. Did anyone catch when Tori broke the news in their home (with her secret "Tori-cam") and he grabbed her ass? I wonder if she whispered, "stop! we're filming!"

I was under the impression that when Meri and Kody were married, plural marriage was not inevitable and that he decided to acquire more wives later down the line. As for Meri and her catfishing "processing," she ain't never gonna make things right if she doesn't admit to the fact that she FELL for "Sam," to the point that she begged him to love her, she left desperate voicemail messages saying that she loved him, and she had plans in her mind to leave Kody. The whole, "he was threatening me; he scared me" story is not believable by a long shot- and the Atlanta therapist nods right along with it. And obviously Kody has started repeating the same explanation. I was floored when he asked Meri (with his well-practiced earnest expression), "Is that why you shut me out and wouldn't talk to me? Were you afraid they had bugged the house and were listening?" Come on, Kodes... she was shutting you out because in her mind, she was halfway out the door.

If only his words were not for the camera as a mechanism to showcase himself and his awesomeness. I felt like his words came straight out of a Lifetime movie.

I must have missed something- I don't recall a scene like this in past episodes. I do remember Noah being at a coked-out crazy party with a pool and while engaging in some rather un-fatherly behavior, seeing Whitney across the pool from him. Is that what you're referring to? This episode was a little more interesting than others- if not for anything but being constantly embarrassed during the first half for Helen's behavior. She's distracted when the school principal tells her that her son is about to fail; she seeks out her sister in law who berates her, she heads to Max's (prrsumably after a couple of years since she dumped him) for guilty sex and then insults him, then she totally abuses and shits on her current boyfriend, who's a total doormat anyway and apparently has taken on the responsibility of her children while she's out getting laid by someone else. The second half was less interesting. The entire dinner table conversation with the high school buddies was totally unbelievable- but then I had to remind myself that it was from Noah's perspective (which is slightly skewed, to say the least). That's what the show seems to be missing this season- the dichotomy between two characters' perspectives of the same series of events. Which was what made the show unique in the beginning. They've gone way off track from that format.

It's well-known to medical providers that blood clots are a risk of surgery. Usually after an orthopedic procedure, blood thinners are given to avoid this. Who's to say what the actual reason for Kandi's cardiac arrest was- it could simply have been the stress of anesthesia and surgery, or a blood clot she developed or had previously, or an innate heart problem that could have predisposed her to the event whether or not she had the surgery. I don't recall hearing that she had renal failure. Any surgeon knows that there are innate risks with any procedure. I've seen people who died of complications after a knee scope. But in the case of the morbidly obese, a good surgeon will weigh the risks vs the benefits. Is it worth the possible complications from anesthesia and the stress on the body to operate to reduce future risk of major heart problems, lung problems, joint destruction? Asking a patient to lose weight before the weight loss procedure is pretty common; it shows the patient's ability to be compliant afterwards and reduces the risk slightly. There is a lot of work to be done post-operatively even though bypass or sleeve surgery aids considerably in weight loss.

Do we know this? They certainly appeared identical to me. Either way, to those who say they were "normal" - I respectfully disagree; however they are certainly a product of the lousiest of childhoods ever and they do recognize how they got to where they are. I think their co-dependency *is* a factor in their recovery; fortunately, they are both invested in getting more healthy. Otherwise I could see one saying "I'm anxious... I need to go get McDonald's" and dragging the other one down. The pictures of them as tiny girls with faces covered with cake and bottles hanging from their mouths (rarely a parent in the photo) were heartbreaking to me.

I may have missed something, but I didn't hear that J&A were "praying" for Matt and Amy to get together, I just heard Audrey in a TH saying "I'm still team Matt and Amy," which I take to mean that Jeremy isn't ready to give up the whole Roloff as a Whole Empire and all the (potential, in his mind) millions it could generate. If I hear the whole "DW" lamentation again I'll mute the TV. In real life, they'd be saying "Matt's house." But nooo, we have to hear about how he "gave up the big house in the divorce," and how lousy and miserable the DW wide is so Matt just needs to trot out an architect the same way Joe Public orders up a burger through a drive-through window. And his constant hiding purchases and plotting to spend large sums of money while rubbing his hands together at how he's either pulling one over on Amy or how he's going to piss her off is really a good window into his character. As for Amy's "midlife crisis," it's hardly as if she's dragging herself home drunk every night at 3am or parading various bedmates into the house. The shock and outrage expressed by the twins is nothing more than a fake storyline to try and make this show interesting. As is the building of the "fallout shelter" (whatever they called the Blue Box)- (as an aside- how poorly planned out was that? Obviously just a way to squeeze out an episode. I'm with Amy on this one. If end times arrive, just shoot me dead. I'd prefer that to stacking myself up with a pile of Roloffs in a sealed metal box with no bathroom and having to eat canned beef with my hands.)