Scratches19

Well then. Thanks you for sharing the upcoming show announcement. We are back! Have been keeping up with the (no longer thousand pound) sisters and family - off topic so I’ll stop there). A new year for Dr Now and new pounds to lose. Or not. I wonder if semiglutides will enter the picture at any point this season? Happy New Year all.

I think possibly he was on BP meds (noticed at one point he downed some pills as part of his daily routine). Funny though, we had the same reaction.

Hello fellow Dr. Now watchers. I almost never get to live chat during the show since we typically watch it after it’s been recorded on Monday or Tuesday night following. My eating habit tonight was four slices of leftover pizza. Right now I can relate to the pound participants because I’ve been having a little trouble maintaining the progress I made last year. And it’s the same thing when he mentioned the sugar high and the endorphins from food and the stress interactions I could totally get that. But my BMI is one fourth of the 133 BMI. I’d have you reach 1200 lbs to hit that BMI. I was torn watching Charles on this episode because he had flashes of self awareness and humanity yet I suspected he was going to be one of those ones in denial, and the whole set up there with paid enablers and the drugs around the family history were both red flags. Frankly it was hard to watch due to some very recent history involving a family member who lived up there and the drug culture that ultimately took the life of at least one person close to that family member. I was up there several times trying to deal with the aftermath last year. And dealing with other sketchy drug people in the process. So yeah it was triggering and I could recognize subtle signs. It all looks suspect to me because I’ve seen it. Functional addiction looks a lot like what you saw with family. I suspect brother and even Charles may have been dabbling in stuff although it could just be he was habituated to the kind of Happy Talk that you heard from him. Its classic addict talk. On the one hand it feels like it’s supportive on the other hand, he’s simply enabling while helping. Hard to explain, but I see it for what it is and when the chips fell, it was, he (brother) who did not want to go to Houston. That was clear to me. Brother was Mr. Supportive on camera but when it came to having to actually move, and he thought he might not be able to manipulate Charles, he had to come out strong on not going to Houston. Watch how he looks during that last call to Dr Now. Brother is giddy because he got what he wanted. Once Charles clearly decided to stay here he then reversed back to cheerleader and helper (and bullshitter). Moving is not easy in any situation, but think about the incentives they had to stay including housing support. Paid caretaker role for the brother, and probably probably food assistance. Not trying to run afoul of the forum guidelines here just noting the realities that they had things pretty wired and a nice apartment, and moving to Houston would disrupt all that and they might never be able to get back to that set up. I’m sure that was the brother’s calculus. About the bed situation. Why did we keep seeing a different bed in every scene? It seemed like sometimes the bed was double height on a boxspring, sometimes it was a bigger mattress on the floor, sometimes it look like a kid’s mattress. So what was going on with that bed situation? Confusing. Huge red flag when he did not make the initial weigh in appointment because “van wouldn’t start”. Yet they rideshare to get food at the grocery store, go fishing, and they later rideshare to the park to grill hot dogs they could have grilled in a frying pan at home? Then there was the paid tourism in Houston by rideshare. At some point I just felt like there was much more going on here than meets the eye. The brother felt very scripted and angelic on camera. Which reminded me very much of having dealt with addicts who give you a great story. Great story and let me tell you it’s amazing how they can lie. The Pacific Northwest is rife with meth addicts. The whole thing was very difficult to watch. The one highlight was when he actually did lose 73 pounds. But then that was squandered. I hope somehow he can sustain more weight loss and keep eating the healthy diet, but I’m not optimistic. Andv he needs to become independent of any paid enablers.

My eating habit tonight is two home made chicken tacos and a pint of Cherry Garcia for dessert. Well she’s a character. And I’m watching realizing my Dad was born in this here state in the Great Depression and somehow escaped to the army and a life in California. We like to try to guess the initial weight and the big factors are height, distribution on the body, mobility, and whether/where they can fit in the car. [PS - is the minivan the official vehicle of My 600 Lb Life?] I guessed 570 and won tonight. (564.6 actual). So we hear lots of happy talk in the first “test period” and doing the diet, exercising, etc but as we know “the scale doesn’t lie”. Well how about that! She stuck to the diet! HIGHLIGHT MOMENT - That joyful laugh right after she talks to Dr Now over the video call. Close your eyes. It sounds just like a turkey gobble! Well we aren’t quite live here on the west coast after dinner so I’ll stop here. So far a nice hopeful episode. Go Rose!

Also wrong thread - deleted. Sorry.

Posted to wrong thread-deleted.

This actually happened to my mom (her estranged mother took her) when she was a little girl. The “new” husband was a bad one. Not sure how but when she was eventually returned home to her father's family, she said it was like when Dorothy goes from black and white to color in the wizard of oz. PS I’m watching this on replay since I missed it on 3/20. My eating habit is leftover ham and home made potato salad. And king’s hawaiian rolls. Nom nom nom.

I hope she’s ok. Moderating and staying on top of the show schedule with all the repeats and supersized this and where are they thats and even incorrectly labeled guide entries (sling viewer here) must have been a big chore.

We kept saying “he’s not losing any weight”. I think the exercise might have been helping in maintaining the delusion. But just sad. Sad. If his weight doesn’t do him in, he really could benefit from the therapy with Dr. Paradise and he absolutely needs to leave the exo-womb of his mother. Finally. We wondered if his failing was a silent protest and push back against her in some odd way. “You Want me to lose weight? Ha! I’ll not do that then.” Then the whole bizzare atory about the wife surprise dropping him at the airport. Seriously? She must have been completely and totally done. This guy is so disconnected from reality. Again, long before Dr. Paradise entered the episode we were calling for therapy. Bonus thought - next time I’m at a drive through I’ll TRY not to think about whether the person working there has a staph infection and fungal funk on their body. And hope they wash their hands.

We looked at each other and said “sodees!” at the same time. Then later he made that excuse about “oh I guess maybe I DO need to not drink the soda”

As often is the case, the real work needed in the program is psychological. He’s still a little boy in a 578 lbs (and holding) body. His mommy dotes on him. His dad tries various ineffective ways to get tough or support, but clearly there’s some unexplained dynamics. Until he confronts this he’ll stay large and get the enabling he needs. That trainer is every sales commission based gym trainer in a nutshell. “You can do it yourself, just sign up for more sessions with me.” How did the trainer’s recommended work out? Well, he lost 94 lbs and then 50 more with the Dr Now diet (even with mom slipping cheese into his eggs). Then he did nothing at all on the trainer Diet. But the trainer has him convinced it was working. Certainly the exercise was good for him. But he stores losing weight through (likely) a combination of the trainer diet and his own cheats. Like so many before him… He was reality impaired. I’d like to see him get 12 sessions with Dr Paradise and no family chiming in. He isn’t a fully formed independent adult yet. . Mom should get sessions too so she can learn how to not enable him. And Dad, so he can learn how to handle him (and deal with any unfinished business between them). He was afraid to leave that comfy extended childhood with mom and dad and go to Houston. It wasn’t just the surgery. That final BBQ plate was telling, as was Mom asking him if he wanted some dessert. He’s going to have a struggle in that environment and until he takes full charge of his eating and his life. Ughh.

Missed the live chat so here’s some takes from the DVR viewing. My eating habit tonight was leftover Ninja roasted cauliflower and some sous-vide chicken with green curry sauce. Today I hit 17 lbs lost since Nov. 14. Almost to my pre COVID weight. More to go after that goal. Holy bowl of sausages! This poundticipant can really put away breakfast! First impressions are - a lot of psychological damage. A lot of codependency. Probably a lot of resistance and denial once we get to the Dr. Now part of the show. Mom seems off two minds - she can see the damage, but she’s protective (coddling). “At this point in my life I know I’m killing myself with food.” I believe her.

We watched after the live chat. Too bad! But I loved all the comments there. Here’s one we should put on t-shirt!

“Maybe his depression really was a factor in all of this. I'm not sure if he ever was diagnosed with depression or just used it as his reason for total life inertia, but depression is a horrendous thing.” A couple of thoughts on that. First, I’m wondering what was going on with him in early life. Seems like the story was he was a big eater even as a child. But was there some trauma that triggered that? We never got at that with the Dr. Paradise segment. But I wondered if there was more to this story that couldn’t be told (or Mike couldn’t tell). I’ll stop short of speculating more. There other thing is, the concussions, or traumatic brain injuries, in football. They wouldn’t explain depression up to that point but they could account for it afterwards. I do hope he continues to make progress on his physical health and on his mental health. At some point moving out of the parents basement and becoming a grown self supporting adult would be the goal.

The labored breathing in that first scene. He talks about his pain and thinking as he goes to sleep - will this be the time I don’t wake up. Just heartbreaking to see the effects of depression turned into self mediation with food. (My other half points out - “But at least he’s got a pink Himalayan salt healing crystal.” So there’s that.