CarolMK

I'm no expert, but I have a vegan niece who I'm very close to. She's in her late 20's. She originally went vegan as a means of controlling her weight, and in fact did lose about 40 lbs in the first couple of years. She's now 28 and has been doing this about 12-13 years. The vegan replacements are a staple for her, and if you look at labels, the vegan burgers and sausage tend to be much lower in fat and calories. Peanut butter is a favorite as well, though I think she uses it more in sauces for stir frys, etc. Beans are also a favorite, all kinds, whether or not it's for soup, salad, or making into homemade hummus. Overall it's likely possible that there are fat vegetarians due to overconsumption of dairy and eggs, but it's probably more difficult to be a fat vegan unless you're eating a lot of junk food like Oreos, Fritos, etc. It seems most people turn vegan for their health and/or for their love of animals. But no one gets to 600 pounds and higher by eating healthy food. Nearly every participant is addicted to fast food, and if they are eating all of their meals at home, chances are they're eating stuff like chips, soda and sweets to account for their abnormal weight gain. But getting back to Doug, I don't understand how he got it into his head about meat being bad for you after he'd already worked with Dr. Now for quite awhile. Wouldn't he have thought to ask the doctor or nutritionist before he tried to go on a vegetarian diet? I think it was mainly an excuse so that he could eat bread again. And I agree that he was much more successful once Ashley was on board. As far as the kids are concerned, they could pretty much eat the same diet as their parents with some small additions and be perfectly healthy. No need to make a separate diet for them. And honestly, Doug being the food addict that he is, it's probably not a great idea for him to be doing meal preparation in the first place. It's most likely one of his triggers to overeat, handling and being around food.

I don't think JD would propose at Josiah's wedding. He's always been so quiet and a man of few words. He doesn't seem like the type who'd want to make a huge spectacle about getting engaged. Then again, in the clip I saw announcing the courtship, that was the happiest I'd ever seen JD. He was literally beaming with joy.

I haven't been around for awhile, but I see that the wedding is going to be next weekend? Well, I wish them the best of luck. I have a feeling it'll be awhile now before we see anymore Duggar weddings. Doesn't seem like Jana or John David will marry soon, if ever, and the rest of the boys in the family are probably still too young. Other than Jinger, is anyone pregnant again? For some reason, I really thought Jessa would be by now. Maybe having 2 little ones so close together in age put the brakes on the thought of them having 20 kids of their own.

Oh My God. This episode. It's even worse than I imagined it would be. James and Lisa both have to be mentally ill, in some form. They're both totally delusional. I was extremely sad to see that James had made no progress at all by the end of the episode. I did feel better watching Cynthia, but agree with the others who mentioned she should really start cooking at home to make healthy meals. I have a theory that most people who have a regular fast food habit probably have some trouble with their weight unless they work out a lot or are under 25 years old. I'm interested in the calorie discussion in regards to James's sudden weight gain. If he gained 60 lbs in a week, some of that has to be fluid and can indicate heart failure, or kidneys shutting down. I've mentioned elsewhere that I'm on a medically supervised weight loss diet, consisting of 3 meal replacements and one "lean and green" meal a day , totaling about 1200 calories daily.I I started at the end of March at 236 lbs and I'm now about to cross over into the 100's (I was 201 this morning and my profile picture is from yesterday). I've lost a total of 35 lbs in the last 3 months, and I think my daily intake prior to the diet was at least 2100-2200 calories. So with my daily activity, including a half hour walk or bike riding, I'm losing 2.5 lbs a week. James is lying in bed all day, not burning calories due to lack of activity. If he can put away 8000-10,000 calories a day , even at 700 lbs he might only be burning at most 5000 calories a day from lack of activity. I'm 55 years old and I know my metabolism has slowed quite a bit in the past 10-15 years overall. Also, I used to have aching legs when I tried to go walking, usually after only 10-12 minutes, and I'd have to stop and take a break at my local park. This pain totally disappeared after I lost the first 20 lbs, so I definitely thing it had something to do with my circulation. James has probably almost no circulation in his legs and his skin condition isn't one I remember seeing too often on the show. It's really frightening. If nothing else, this show motivates me to never become like the participants and to remember to always be vigilant in controlling my weight.

I'm losing weight on a low carb, low fat,, high protein program called New Direction, and it's administered by my local hospital. 3 products a day and then one "lean and green" meal. It's a total of 1200 calories and I've lost about 30 lbs since I started in mid-March. (My profile picture with my husband is from several years ago when I lost 83 lbs on Weight Watchers, before I regained nearly all of it). I have often wondered why Dr. Now doesn't have his clients follow a diet of meal replacements. At least there might be a decent chance they would stick to the program rather than doing it on their own and making mistakes. I never thought I could do it, but it's been relatively easy after the first couple of weeks. Many of his clients don't really like to cook, either, so this would be perfect for them.

I think Erica did remarkably well, it's amazing to see how far she's come in a relatively short period of time. Considering she didn't have much family support, it had to have been very difficult for her to stay on her program alone. It seemed that she and her boyfriend fell in love again very quickly, but I've heard that it isn't that unusual for an old love to reappear and the feelings are still there years later. I'm very happy for her. Agree with the poster above who stated Erica was more self aware than most other patients and also very articulate.

Has there been an update on James K. that I missed? If not, is there anything new going on with him? This is one guy who did inspire me to never get to his level of obesity. As soon as I was given the okay by my oncologist (I had to be completed treatment 6 months), I joined a medically supervised weight loss program at my local hospital and have now lost 30 pounds. I still have 40 to go, but I'm amazed how much easier it is to walk around and that I have more stamina. I cannot imagine being trapped in the prison of being 600 lbs, I started at 235 and that was bad enough in terms of having trouble walking upstairs with laundry, getting tired easily, etc. Recently I watched Brandi's episode on Comcast on Demand, and she did really well. She lost over 350 pounds in a single year by following Dr. Now's program and not once arguing or disagreeing with him. It was truly amazing. Go back and watch her episode if you're fed up with the James K types.

Being from the Philadelphia area, I'm thrilled to finally have had a winner here. But I really liked Wendell, and thought he had a good friendship with Dom and Laurel. It was interesting to find out Laurel is from Cherry Hill, fairly close to where I'm from and live now. Wonder how she ended up in Minnesota.

I think these two are among Dr. Now's most successful patients. It did seem interesting that whenever they had a weigh in, they both lost nearly the exact same amount of weight. But I guess having a buddy right there to keep you accountable is key to their success. I'm not going to judge Brandi's unplanned pregnancy, I've seen it so many times . Birth control often just fails. I assume she could have chosen an abortion but decided to keep the baby. I liked the way Dr. Now interacted with them, too. He seemed geniunely fond of them and concerned about how they were doing. They didn't use excuses or give him a hard time, unlike so many others we've seen recently. I wish them the very best.

I think her new dating show is going to flop miserably. I don't know this for a fact, but I do believe that Hannah is now living with Jon. Kate can no longer have a show with her 8 as 2 of them are now gone from the household, so I guess the producers had to come up with an alternative. Everyone I know who has ever watched the show has done it because of the kids, not because they were fans of Kate.

Jon posted this on his Facebook page too, and one of him and Hannah having breakfast with him on her birthday. I think there was a later photo of all the kids. I do wonder if Hannah is living with him now. Maybe Colin is as well, though I think what he posted above was a visit from Colin. Also, I read a rumor that TLC is giving Kate a dating show. I wonder who's more desperate, Kate or TLC.

Becky probably wasn't at the sleepover because she had to work, but also, Becky doesn't live there. I know she comes to visit but it seemed like DJ was dropping off his daughter as a last minute thing. Becky doesn't hang around all the time the way Jackie does. I'm also wondering where DJ lives. He hasn't been on the show as much, but I assume he lives nearby. I like the new neighbors and hope to see more storylines with them. I did see Roseanne's twitter and she mentioned that the actress has helped quite a few people leave Syria.

I remember Susan saying that she did start smoking when she went on Dr. Now's diet, as a way to distract herself from eating. She says she traded one addiction for another. I do like the fact that Dr. Now told her mom to stop smoking and get healthier too. Also glad that Susan went to her final appointments without her mom. I felt sorry for Bettie Joe thinking she had cancer, and was super irritated when I found out that she didn't. I'm a breast cancer survivor, and Dr. Now is absolutely right, cancer is treated right away.

I've now decided to fast forward to the end of the episodes (I tape them and watch about an hour later) to see if the person has ever gotten the surgery. If they haven't , or we don't see it until the very end, I know that there will be problems with the patient sticking to the diet. It's a shame, but I don't think Schenee is going to live that much longer. I'm a little surprised that TLC still aired the episode, but I guess once she was paid, they own the rights to the show and decided to air it anyway, despite the outcome.

only made it through half the episode so far, but seriously, Jana and Jessa don't have any idea how to make meatballs? OK, I'm from New Jersey, but still, that's pretty much one of the first things I learned how to make at age 14. Meatballs, pot roast with homemade mashed potatoes, beef stew, chicken and dumplings, and pork chops were about the 5 rotating meals that I grew up with. And as far as spices go, they're great with just garlic powder and parmesan cheese for flavor. I'm also still trying to figure out how the house Joe and Kendra are living in got moved over to Jim Bob's front lawn. Unless I didn't hear the history of the house correctly. But why was it totally gutted on the inside and it had to be completely redone?

I think Dr. Now performed the standard gastric bypass in David's case and probably for Benji as well. I have noticed that he seems to use gastric sleeve surgery quite often as well. My one friend who had gastric sleeve surgery told me her dr. no longer does the standard gastric bypass. However, I believe overall, those who have had the standard one (Roux-Y ?) seem to lose weight more quickly and lose more total weight than those who have had the sleeve. Something else I have noticed about my friend who had the sleeve done 4 years ago- it appears she can eat as least as much as the rest of us, when we go out as a group of friends to lunch/dinner. I've also seen her continuously graze/snack for a good 3 hours straight during our book club. She's lost a decent amount of weight but looks like she is gaining again. I agree with the poster that she very well might have an eating disorder that can't be fixed with surgery.

Since Natasha lives in Waco, Texas, I have to wonder if Dr. Now did her original weight loss surgery. It did catch me by surprise when she said she never realized how big she was even at 500 pounds, but I suppose she really wasn't paying attention. Still, at that size, you can't fit in regular chairs and booths at restaurants and driving must be difficult as well. I have to wonder why Antonia came all the way from Wilmington, DE down to Texas, but I guess they were paying for her numerous surgeries. It probably cost a fortune otherwise and wouldn't have been covered by her insurance. I was also wondering where her younger sister was, unless I missed something. She said she gained weight after her dad left at age 10 and her mom was pregnant. I'm assuming she must have gotten therapy as well as weight loss surgery to deal with her binge eating disorder. Weight loss surgery alone won't fix binge eating. I have a friend who got gastric bypass 4 years ago, lost about 70 lbs and sadly has regained nearly all of it due to binge eating.

I'm not sure about Dr. Now, but I have a couple of friends who have had bariatric surgery, and both of them had to go on a liquid diet for 2 weeks prior to getting their gastric sleeve surgery. I think it might be Optifast shakes. They are low calorie and high in protein , also very low in carbs. I believe the purpose is to get the patients into rapid ketosis and if the diet is followed correctly and the patient drinks enough water, they lose their appetite. It happened to me when I was strictly following Weight Watchers about 10 years ago, hungry for about the first 3 days and then felt pretty good after that. I managed to lose 83 lbs in 2 years. Then I stopped going to meetings and weighing myself and gained back over 60 the following 5 years. I'm on a new program now through a local hospital, but this series and my own experience has proven that this needs to be a lifetime commitment. I think David will do well overall, and hopefully Benji will too. The real danger is if they stretch out their stomachs from overeating and/or drinking diet soda. Apparently drinking anything with meals is also a problem and can cause weight regain too, as it pushes the food out of the pouch. Also in regards to the gastric bypass or gastric sleeve surgery, the liver is right in front of the stomach, and in patients of this size, they have to shrink the liver before the doctor can operate. Weighing in the 600 lb range, their livers must be huge and full of fat. I've heard of fatty liver disease, but never realized until I started watching this series that it can be caused by obesity, not just excess alcohol intake.

I think Dr. Now is 72 or 73. Is his son, the executive producer, also a surgeon? Wonder who'll take over for Dr. Now when he can't operate anymore. I did like this episode. Both brothers did really well, heck, at the end, Benji is about my weight at 218. Probably will be very close to goal after skin removal. It did seem to me that Benji was afraid to try really committing himself to the diet and surgery until he saw David go through it. And again, with their mother admitting she let them eat whatever they wanted, and thought that David would "grow out" of his weight problem, ugh! And the fact that she never took them to a dentist, but had the time and energy to enter Benji in beauty pageants-what the heck is up with her priorities? I agree with the poster above who said that mobility is very important to ultimate success. I did like when Dr. Now told the brothers right up front when they were making excuses about why they were obese.

Tammy and James were married, and I remember hearing her say that they were no longer living as husband and wife. I assume that means they were sleeping in separate rooms and no longer intimate. By the way, that room they showed that James was living it was really a mess. The rest of the house didn't look too bad. Tammy was one of the few people I've seen on this show who wasn't relying on fast food for most of her meals. She also did all the cooking for the family and we've only seen that probably about half the time at the most.

I'm really starting to wonder if Jim Bob is arranging all of these sudden marriages the last couple years because of his interest in keeping the show on the air, or getting rid of his kids so he won't have to support them anymore. Probably a little of both. That said, I have no interest in seeing another 18 year old girl get married. With this bunch, it just seems wrong because they are all so young and immature.

I had breast cancer last year and underwent surgery, then 33 rounds of radiation. I was lucky in that I didn't need chemotherapy, but I'm on a hormone blocker (Tamoxifen) which is considered a chemo drug for the next several years. The main personality change I had was anxiety and depression during my treatments. Within a few months after I finished, I pretty much felt like my old self again. I think Cathy's personality wasn't great to start with, and maybe going through cancer made it worse. As we've seen with Derrick, he's not a nice guy. We thought he was in the beginning but over time we saw what he was really like. I do feel a bit sorry for Jill, especially now that she's off the show.

I saw that Papa Putman had a massive heart attack. Does anyone know if he had bypass surgery? I'm going to assume that he did. The man never looked healthy to me. I don't want to sound mean, but I don't think he's going to live a long life. And I do wonder how the rest of the family will survive without him, they all seem pretty dependent on him. The brothers will probably take over, and now I wonder if the one is going to end up going to jail. Maybe TLC will pull the plug before it even airs the second season.

It seems to me that Jazz's mom has brought Jazz up to be a spokesperson for transgender youth, and has had her in that role since she first made her public appearance with Barbara Walters when she was 7. Not sure if Jeanette ever had a career other than being Jazz's manager. As Jazz is outgrowing this role, who knows what she will want to do next. Her whole life is about being transgender because her parents seem to have strongly encouraged it. Not sure if this is true, but I do remember reading a few years back that the family has made quite a bit of money from lawsuits. All of them were things like Jazz being allowed to use the girls' restroom at school, things like that. Her dad is a lawyer but I've worked with many lawyers over the years and most aren't as wealthy as they are. I have to wonder if Jazz's depression and binge eating are the result of all she has had to endure in her life, and if she feels differently about certain things than she did a few years ago. When the show first started, Jazz seemed much happier. She had what appeared to be real friends, was playing soccer and seemed well adjusted. I think it started when she was 14 and she's about to turn 17 on the show.

One concern I haven't seen brought up yet is , is there a risk of Jazz developing breast cancer later in life as a result of being on estrogen for so long? I'm a breast cancer survivor, one year now, and the doctors couldn't find any reason why I developed it because I had no family history. However, I did take birth control pills for approximately 20-24 years throughout my life. It's recently been discovered that birth control pills do increase the risk of breast cancer, and I imagine the level of estrogen Jazz needs is pretty high to override the underlying testosterone. As for tissue expanders, I'm lucky in that I didn't need a mastectomy, only a lumpectomy as it was caught early, but friends of mine who had them have complained of pain and discomfort and having to go for fills weekly until they were ready for reconstruction surgery. All that aside, I do think that the tv show and Jazz having to go public with all of her issues is causing her binge eating disorder and depression. Her parents would be wise to end the tv show.