aliya

That's what I was thinking. Maybe they have a good excuse for being overweight? It's not like they're eating, as Chris Rock put it, "mayonnaise sandwiches."

Could I love Dr Now any more? I think for all the questions we ask about 'why isn't there more therapy,' 'why doesn't he make them lose weight before they move,' etc. I'm gonna say we don't know everything that goes on in his clinic. He sounds like someone who's been thinking through this super morbid obesity issue, and recognizes both the need to have more surgeons working on this group and his own mortality (he can't do this forever) - and is doing something about it. I'd love to hear him talk about obesity in depth on an academic level. Well, this woman is almost 800 lbs and has on clothes. There's no excuse for anyone else on this program to hang out in a sheet.

How's everyone's eating habit tonight? Peppers and Field Roast vegan Italian sausage w/some popcorn.

I wonder if this is true for all of his WLS patients or just the 600 pounders? These people seem to have substantial mental/emotional issues. Just looking at the show, it doesn't seem that you get to 600 lbs without some emotional baggage. On the other hand, someone who was 3-400 lbs from eating and inactivity might be able to keep it off better, once they got the push from the surgery. A a 5% success rate doesn't bode well considering all the re-wiring and lifestyle adjustment people go through. Whoa - found this over on reddit - did anyone remember that Bettie Jo was on Supersize vs Superskinny? Not me.

Ah - I'd forgotten the 'by proxy' version. Thanks.

I knew there was something different! I watch the guy move away and go into the room and thought, "Is he allowed to do that?" : )

Good grief, people. I can't believe there is so much defensiveness over taking your laundry out of the living room when you don't work and a national TV program is coming to your house to film. I don't know if they had a play area for the kids or not, so perhaps some toys in the living room are understandable (I don't, but others might), but for crying out loud, put the clothes away and take the stuff from around the front door! Tell Chris people are coming and you need his help, for once, to pick up the yard. Maybe she needs more storage? : ) We've seen people on Hoarders who sleep on bare mattresses. Maybe she's just not that great at organizing her home life? I'll add this -- while folks were looking at her messy house, I was watching her interactions with her daughter. They look close (not unusual at the daughter's age), but if Melissa doesn't get a handle on her emotions and how she's going to handle 3 kids by herself, she runs the risk of using the daughter as a companion and husband substitute. While I would expect the child to help around the house a bit, there's a limit. Past that, and she could use the girl as a little maid -like the mother did who had the daughter cooking for all the boys. Melissa wouldn't be the first single mom to go down that path with a child.

So maybe she would do better with a well-produced YouTube channel where she can have real segments (not just her in front of her monitor) where she makes a meal, goes clothes shopping or works with a store stylist, gets her face done, meets with some other WLS people every now and then to talk about the struggle? She can motivate people as she improves her situation and loses weight. I'd love to see her talk about feeding little kids if you have to eat differently, or not eating from their plates (it's hard, but throw the food away or put it right in the fridge. Don't interact with it.) as a lot of women do this. She'd get some presentation experience, maybe develop an appealing personality, learn what 'sells,' and then move on to being a motivational speaker. I don't know if we saw all of her meeting with the career planner, but the planner should have given her some homework, like reading 'How to Win Friends and Influence People,' joining Toastmasters, watching videos from well-known speakers, male and female, and get a feeling for how it's done. I'm sure every community college has an intro public speaking class. If she wants this as a career, she's got to learn and work it just like people do in other careers. It's not going to fall into her lap. She needs a plan and she needs to work her plan. Otherwise, it's a dream. (There's a slogan for you, Melissa. Embroider that on a pillow.)

Nope. If she had gained the weight and then lost it, then maybe there's a message about perseverance. She's still gaining. I need to see success after perseverance for it to be meaningful to me. Otherwise, sorry, it's just a story. A lot of WLS people gain weight after the surgery. I can totally dig where she could reach that audience, but she has to lose the weight again before she has something to offer them.

Can you have Munchhausen's on yourself? Wouldn't someone who goes from doctor to doctor be a hypochondriac? Also, since I audit human subjects research and have come across all kinds of diseases I never heard of before, I can't blame someone who keeps going to a doctor trying to figure out what's wrong with them. People know their own bodies and doctors, especially regular GPs , aren't trained to look for the unusual. I can picture a lot of conditions which would have someone 'doctor shopping' when they are really just trying to find out what's wrong.

My mother remarried and had 3 kids in quick succession, plus me and my sister from her first marriage. For a long time, there were 5 children in the house. One of her claims to fame was that anyone could walk into her home and not know that there were 5 kids. The living room was spotless. The dining room always looked like she was going to serve Sunday dinner. We played in the basement rec room or our bedrooms. Even the den, where we watched TV and could accumulate some stuff, had to be cleared before bed. She was a clean freak and always doing laundry. Never did I see laundry anywhere else but the laundry room and the bedrooms where the clean clothes were deposited for us to fold up. As we got older, we were responsible for our uniform blouses and underwear and again, no piles of laundry. You do the laundry and you put it away. I cannot even imagine having piles of clothes around the house. btw - my mother worked most of this time. Melissa is at home. No excuse. It can be done. I'm sorry she's got her hands full, but she can take control of her house. She - and the kids - would be happier in an ordered house. If I walked into my house and saw piles of dirty (or even clean) laundry, I'd be depressed and feel overwhelmed. At the very least, move the clutter out of the living room and into the kids' rooms. Also, I wonder if piles like this are signs of too much stuff. If children didn't have more clothes than they need, there wouldn't be piles of laundry to do. I know that kids get dirty and may wear multiple shirts, etc. a day, but they don't need tons of stuff. Same thing with toys. Most of us have too many things. Then we complain when we get overwhelmed by the effort needed to manage them.

I'm watching her cry in the fitting room. There are MANY women her size who wear attractive clothing everyday. She's disappointed in how she looks because she's choosing ugly-a$$ed, poorly fitting, clothes. She needs to look at some of these big girls on YT who buy cute clothes and look good in them - because they fit properly. I've mentioned that my mother was huge when I was growing up. She sewed because she had to learn to make a lot of her own clothes due to her size. She also made clothes for the 5 of us girls. I know what properly fitted clothing on big women looks like. There must be a clothing gene - in our little college town, my son found a tailor and gets his good clothes altered. In the 'guys do strange things' category: For a number of months, all these boxes would arrive for my son from Zappos and clothing companies. I know he's a clothes horse, but this was getting ridiculous. Finally I asked what was up and he told me he was buying clothes & shoes for the next 5 years, while he would be a doctoral student. He figured he'd only have to fill in with a few things during that time period and would have money for other stuff since his clothing needs would be met. Yes - doctoral program... apparently sanity is not a requirement for admission. I still shake my head at this.

I said as much. However, Ms Motivational speaker needs to tell me more than she gained 100 lbs when pregnant. Did she lose it? No. Did she gain 30 and tell herself, "Man, I better slow down?" Apparently not. And she's still gaining. I'm not sure there's much she can tell me to motivate me.

What is it? I hear a story. Not sure if I hear a message.

Something crossed my mind - Melissa has a history of weight issues. Why in the world would her OB-GYN let her gain 100 lbs? I can't think of any doc who wouldn't be concerned about a pregnant woman who gained 100 lbs w/a pregnancy. Of course, s/he can't control what she's eating, but she says it so matter-of-factly - "I gained 100 lbs with the last pregnancy." That sounds like a serious medical issue to me, but I could be wrong.

I live in Iowa. Tons of people have pick up trucks - they live in rural areas with rough roads. They live in semi-rural areas and haul yard supplies. They only shop 'in town' once a month and they need something that can bring back all of the groceries. They can help people do stuff. I have a small SUV for many of the same reasons and am seriously thinking of a small pick up when I retire. Just 'cause. Motivational speaker wouldn't be high on my list right now. She needs a job, even if it is part time. She needs to build up her networks and start speaking at smaller gatherings, get experience, and get her name out there. I don't have a huge issue with speaking as a goal, but I wonder how many speakers actually make enough money to raise a family? Also, while the weight loss story is interesting now, she needs to broaden her scope. It won't be interesting forever. How can she apply what she's been through to a wider human experience? She needs to start reading the big names in the field.

After not seeing him for years, I went back to see my step-father who was dying of lung cancer. I thought he was thin, but he was eating, walking around, having fun during a party we had, etc. One of my sisters saw him 2 weeks later and said he was in bad shape - had he been that way when I saw him? No, not at all. But then in another month he was dead. The doctors gave my mother a timeline, but you know, you can't trust them. : ) But they were right about how long he had left.

Obesity Help has been around for years. I'm pretty sure TLC didn't put on the conference or pay for it, other than maybe Melissa's travel - and she may have had that covered by the conference.

So going to hell for this, especially since she is crying over her father now, but maybe if she kept her house clean and did some yard work, she'd lose the weight. I'll see myself out.

Yes, I think so.

No kidding. I so wanted to say something, but I'm trying to be nice after knocking her about the makeup.

Lots of people have large thighs. She isn't wearing the right pants for her figure. I realize she is upset over gaining weight, but I think many people at the conference will still consider her a success. She isn't 600 lbs again. She recognizes that weight control is going to be a continuing issue for her and is doing something about it rather than hiding in the closet with a pizza. She's got work to do, but I think she's doing OK. She needs some help at home, tho, that's for sure.

Oh yeah, that makes sense. I kind of forget the long term effects of the surgery aside from the weight issue. Is she wearing a spanx thing? I don't think I've seen one. So even after all this time, she still wears a girdle kind of thing?

When I looked into getting the sleeve, the doctor's goal for me was 170. I thought it would be 130 or something difficult, but no. I felt relieved. I thought I could maintain 170, which is what I weighed when I got pregnant back in the '70's. I know what I looked like at that weight - and I looked pretty good. : ) I think I wore a 12. When I told my friend who had had the full surgery, she said she'd never been at the weight they wanted for her. Maybe that makes a difference. She is still at least 100 lbs overweight and they can't do anymore surgery on her. So is 170 high? I don't know. Maybe it's a good number if she can maintain it.

How old is she now? Man, her skin looks rough and I know she's not that old. As far as her husband not being satisfied when she was smaller - this isn't snark, I just think this might be a factor, she has some tremendous scars from her surgeries. Even tho I suspect they've faded a bit with time, I think they tell people who have skin surgery that they are trading saggy skin for scars. It could be that the final version of what Melissa became isn't what he thought it would be and he sought out 'normal' people. That, and we know he was a jerk to begin with.