S08.E10: Ashley B.'s Story

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

At 600 lbs., Ashley had to move home so her mom could help her care for not just herself but her newborn daughter too.  Now Ashley must overcome a lifetime of unfortunate circumstances and get Dr. Now's help in Houston to find a way to go on living.

Another Ashley!  Seemingly a popular name in the 600+ Lb. community. And she has a baby.  Yes, where there's a will, there's a way, and Ashley found a way.  

This is the regular episode thread.  It will open after the US East Coast showing.

Original air date 2020.03.04

[FormeryHeavyJ]

Counting down to the one night of the week I look forward too.

 

 

[ShortyMac]

How did Dr. Now not force her to go to therapy? She desperately needs it.

So sad that her kids are her excuses to eat herself to death.

[AVM]

Ashley B looked as big at end as she did when she started... yo yo diet...

[Ivylady]

That was a waste of two hours. That ending scene where she was putting on her shoes? Looked like it could have been filmed at the beginning of the year. She gained back almost all the weight. 

I wish Dr. Now had sent her to therapy like he did Seana. She needs it just as bad. 

[ams1001]

There were no little dogs in this one, were there?

[DC Gal in VA]

9 minutes ago, AVM said:

Ashley B looked as big at end as she did when she started... yo yo diet...

If by that @AVM you mean "yo, yo" Ashley I could just bitch slap yo ass over and over and over again, then I'm onboard. What a waste of time, resources, our attention, just everything. What a tired piece of uselessness this bee-otch was.

[auntjess]

Well this one was a snooze.
When she called and talked to the baby, I hope she also calls her older daughter.
Glad I watched Jeanne again this afternoon.  Now that was a snarkfest.

Oh, and have we ever seen that last nurse before?  She looks like someone who'd take no prisoners.

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by auntjess

[kicotan]

I kept getting distracted by her bondage bra straps peeking out over her tops...

God bless her and I apologize upfront for being a crotchety ol’Bitch but Damn it just AMAZES me how the sexual urge to procreate transcends ALL rational thought and planning whatsoever so much so that Mother Nature saw fit to make THIS 600 pound woman who can’t even physically care for her infant blessed with fertility.

mysterious ways, y’all, mysterious ways...

[Tosia]

Yes, a little white and black dog ran out to the van as Ashley was leaving from the mom's house.

Does that get you to Bingo, yet?

[dahling]

Another mush mouth, another 2 hours of tire spinning in the mud.

Do better, show.

[Carboncat]

4 hours ago, Ivylady said:

That was a waste of two hours. That ending scene where she was putting on her shoes? Looked like it could have been filmed at the beginning of the year. She gained back almost all the weight. 

I wish Dr. Now had sent her to therapy like he did Seana. She needs it just as bad. 

All the pounticipants should go to mandatory therapy at the start of their program!

[RunningWolf]

It always amazes me that none of them take even a few minutes to look up how to count calories. I don't think i've ever seen even 1 buy a simple kitchen scale and weigh and measure out food. I feel like Dr. Now should require a food journal with everything they eat with amounts and go over it. I'm doing generic weight watchers and if it enters my mouth it gets logged. 

Also weekly therapy from the beginning should be a requirement. As someone who (like many of the participants) suffered longterm childhood sexual abuse (and also turned to food and had some weight gain) I know I have to continue therapy in order to not turn to food. There's absolutely no way I could do this without it. I wish the program was structured somewhat differently to possibly have more successful outcomes. Also even the ones that don't have an abuse history are obviously severely troubled in some way. People don't get to 600+lbs without having severe issues.

[libgirl2]

At least she dressed nice and looked clean.

[JJ1]

5 hours ago, RunningWolf said:

People don't get to 600+lbs without having severe issues.

YES! Regardless of the root cause, all of these folks have severe psychological issues that need to be addressed in a much more substantial way that what is shown on the show. And in the cases where the participant has been massively overweight since childhood - why didn’t the parents try to address those psychological issues when the child was young? The problem wasn’t going to suddenly disappear. 

[FormeryHeavyJ]

10 hours ago, ams1001 said:

There were no little dogs in this one, were there?

There may have been but they could have been stuck in the folds.  Or just dumped off with the kids by Mrs. Responsibility.  

2 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

At least she dressed nice and looked clean.

Our standards have most definitely hit rock-bottom after all these episodes.....

[AVM]

26 minutes ago, JJ1 said:

YES! Regardless of the root cause, all of these folks have severe psychological issues that need to be addressed in a much more substantial way that what is shown on the show. And in the cases where the participant has been massively overweight since childhood - why didn’t the parents try to address those psychological issues when the child was young? The problem wasn’t going to suddenly disappear. 

Unfortunately in most cases featured on the show ,where a parent has addressed such issues and did something about it such as fit camp and doctors ,the adult children all seem to rebel after and go off the deep end and abuse food... later trapping the parents into becoming their full time caretaker ...

[Tosia]

6 hours ago, Carboncat said:

All the pounticipants should go to mandatory therapy at the start of their program!

This!!!!!!!x 1000000.

I guess Dr. Now knows that if they can't control their food intake, then there is no point to paying for therapy.  

But, but, but,  you say,  the real reasons for overeating are psychological.  I agree, again x 100000. 

Maybe it's easier, (not easy , just a different distraction and distinct goal to shoot for) to reset  habits of overeating /ingesting junk to learning healthy food behaviors than diving into the cesspool of the poundicipant's past horrors that hurt them too the point of self-destruction.

Maybe the idea is that until they show some commitment, and feel better about themselves by losing weight, then they are more amenable to looking at past shit. 

[Pondlass1]

This show is becoming too formulaic. Everyone Involved  says the same thing as the week before, just the 600 pounder changes. Same show different actor type of thing. It needs a major shake up.  
 

 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I looked at her FB, 

https://www.facebook.com/ashley.bernard.94,  and she wants a roommate, back in Lafayette.   So I'm guessing she's another one who thinks she knows more than Dr. Now.    Her FB seems to blame weight gain on gut bacteria, so I bet she thinks that eating for 12 people didn't contribute to her gain?      I bet she's gained a lot more than her starting weight by now.     Bet she's the next one to jump on the TLC law suit.  

Bet the two kids will still be with Grandma, with the older being permanent Mom to the younger.  I wonder if the kids ever lived with Ashley?   

  How could she blame the sister (Tiffanie?) who moved to Houston with her, when everything she was shoveling down in the bedroom food fest was pre-packaged?    Including the restaurant version of Cheesecake Factory cheesecake.       That wasn't even the grocery store edition of the smaller cheesecake pieces, just the large economy size delivery edition.  

Edited March 8, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Miracle Maxie]

1 hour ago, Pondlass1 said:

This show is becoming too formulaic. Everyone Involved  says the same thing as the week before, just the 600 pounder changes. Same show different actor type of thing. It needs a major shake up.  
 

 

Just cancel it so TLC can set the bar even lower with some new show about... oh, I dunno, 800 lb Amish little people with bad feet and bumps of varying types marrying 90-day fiancees? Or are they just keeping this show on life support until Whitney and/or Jazz qualifies for the inevitable crossover episode?

Edited March 5, 2020 by Miracle Maxie
removing very bad comma placement

[CrazyInAlabama]

They'll keep showing people like Ashley B as long as enough people watch, and they make money.  

I don't think Ashley wanted to lose a single pound, unless Dr. Now instantly did her surgery, and she didn't have to change anything.  

Edited March 5, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[ethalfrida]

We have family in Lafayette from generations back and weight is a crown. The principal notion that obesity was connected with being healthy has barely seen any enlightenment. Thinness caused a great deal of concern amongst the sellers of slaves and, later, the freed. Thin slaves were not seen as being sturdy workers. Unfortunately, amongst  the freed thinness recalled the days of hunger so obesity came to mean prosperity.

So, the fact that Ashley’s family unapologetically supported her, did not change their traditional cooking, and obviously loved her did not surprise me. Ashley was obviously well loved. But she is also selfish. Very selfish and entitled.

The food in Louisiana is amazing even though they have gone to using prepacked seasonings and not giving a hoot about additives, etc. But that Shrimp Creole plate Ashley was served beared witness to why her struggle a lot more difficult. Even fast food down south tastes different than Other areas. Flavor is a serious business.

 I can see giving into a big slug of pie but how can you be surprised you gained instead of losing? But still, she is in an environment that adds to her challenges. 

[Twopper]

Well, I was looking forward to the live chat last night except I ended up at my goddaughter's house playing with her child and cat and eating wonderful not-Dr Now-approved chocolate chip coffee cookies, although I did not do all that at the same time.  Lots of hand washing was also involved.  

I had dvr'd the show and zipped thru it.  I hated her leaving the children.  I left my daughter at that age (the younger child's age) because I was in a wedding in another state.  I was gone about a week because I detoured to a neighboring state to see my college roommates.  When I returned my daughter would have absolutely nothing to do with me for about 2 days while she clung to her dad or brother.   Unfortunately, I can foresee the older girl in 25 years from now wanting bariatric surgery and blaming her mother for abandoning her to more to Houston and failing in an attempt to get surgery. 

The sister who was with her should probably be a candidate for sainthood, although I got the impression she may have enabled her from time to time.

8 hours ago, RunningWolf said:

It always amazes me that none of them take even a few minutes to look up how to count calories. I don't think i've ever seen even 1 buy a simple kitchen scale and weigh and measure out food. I feel like Dr. Now should require a food journal with everything they eat with amounts and go over it. I'm doing generic weight watchers and if it enters my mouth it gets logged. 

He should definitely require a food journal with calorie counts. .   I have seen maybe 3 or 4 patients with a food scale and measuring cups and spoons, but it is very rare ---or rarely seen.  And they should have to get one of those high poundage scales for home once they are in the 500's.  If they weighed once or twice a week they would have an idea of whether they were on track or not.

I don't remember the narration in earlier seasons being this mind-numbing. 

[Delete]

The first thing I noticed about Ashley B was the fake nails. One of the mysteries of the universe is how one with extra girth can wipe themselves, but with those talons it would certainly cause some bodily injury.

I get very angry when I see children neglected. She couldn't even lift and hold her sweet baby because she was so big. How's that for good god please don't procreate ever again? Her older child seemed over it, and I don't blame her. She never had a parent ever... Just a tub of lard in a push up bra.  

I tried to summon up some sympathy for Ashley but could not grasp leaving her two young children behind (again) and heading off to Houston with her sister. She lost a little weight but the wheels fell off the bus because things didn't go her way. 

 

[calpurnia99]

Once again, someone who just saw the surgery as a magic solution. She only dieted to get that.  Her understanding was that once she had the surgery, she would have no desire to eat anything at all, ever again, and it would become suddenly really easy.

What annoyed me is that losing weight was the reason she was in Houston, the reason she left her kids, and she claimed she wanted to be a mom to her kids but she couldn't at 650 pounds. But once the surgery was postponed she said "It was a total waste losing this weight! I did it for nothing!" WHAT?????? losing 169 pounds was for nothing? The fact that she doesnt't have the logic or the brains to see that losing this weight was the whole point, and it wasnt "for nothing",  then I fucking have no sympathy.

As for the formula, this show is made on the cheap. If they keep the same formula, the staff is in place and knows what to do. They have a crew for the bathroom washing scene, they have the script already written that the person reads from, they have the crew that follows the person on the trip to Houston. The framework is finished and in place. To change anything would require them to pay someone to do something new and they aren't going to spend money on this show since it gets okay ratings as it is.

Yeah it's tiring they read the same lines. Then again they do seem to ALL have identical thought processes. That the surgery is magic, that cutting a few things out is "working really hard", that Dr. Now is harsh, that "cheat days" are fine, that losing 30 pound in one munt is going to be impossible,,,,yadda yadda yadda. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[AVM]

9 minutes ago, Barbara Please said:

The first thing I noticed about Ashley B was the fake nails. One of the mysteries of the universe is how one with extra girth can wipe themselves, but with those talons it would certainly cause some bodily injury.

I get very angry when I see children neglected. She couldn't even lift and hold her sweet baby because she was so big. How's that for good god please don't procreate ever again? Her older child seemed over it, and I don't blame her. She never had a parent ever... Just a tub of lard in a push up bra.  

I tried to summon up some sympathy for Ashley but could not grasp leaving her two young children behind (again) and heading off to Houston with her sister. She lost a little weight but the wheels fell off the bus because things didn't go her way. 

 

I think we all learned Ashley only cares about Ashley take note hair ,nails ,lashes and trampy clothes ,she is one of most self centered people ever featured .. her children are only props to be used for added attention.. her oddball family remained silent during the whole farce ...

[sempervivum]

I'm still (unfortunately for my peace of mind) trying to imagine how Ashley could have been raped. Wouldn't it have taken more than one person? I mean, how could one man get her leg mountains apart far enough to get to her lady bits? Unless both of her rapists (it was twice, right?) were holding a gun to her head-which I'm sure she would have mentioned- I have a suspicion there was serious intoxication involved.

At least daughter #1 was still skinny at age 11- that's pretty hopeful for her future, at least as far as weight is concerned. Obviously, she still has plenty of other problems.

 

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

I'm still (unfortunately for my peace of mind) trying to imagine how Ashley could have been raped. Wouldn't it have taken more than one person? I mean, how could one man get her leg mountains apart far enough to get to her lady bits? Unless both of her rapists (it was twice, right?) were holding a gun to her head-which I'm sure she would have mentioned- I have a suspicion there was serious intoxication involved.

I assume she was at least smaller at the time. But she can't blame the rapes entirely since she was already massively overweight as a child.

[pdlinda]

14 minutes ago, calpurnia99 said:

As for the formula, this show is made on the cheap. If they keep the same formula, the staff is in place and knows what to do. They have a crew for the bathroom washing scene, they have the script already written that the person reads from, they have the crew that follows the person on the trip to Houston. The framework is finished and in place. To change anything would require them to pay someone to do something new and they aren't going to spend money on this show since it gets okay ratings as it is.

I completely agree!!  I believe the show is "winding down" due to Dr. Now's age and the fact that the quality of the "candidates" has deteriorated significantly over the years (now the litigation bug has also reared its ugly head in a big way). 

I bet Dr. Now's son's production company is banking as much as possible for future projects or maybe early retirement! 

I think the show has run its course unless some new WATN episodes reverses the decline this Spring.  I think the format for the FOLLOW-UP SHOWS has far more importance and interest than the "exploratory" episodes we're seeing this season.

[TVbitch]

Y'all, I think my beloved Dr. Now was a bit off in this one. He did not really seem very invested in Ashley for whatever reason. He seemed to almost be reading from a script at every appointment. Even after she lost over 100 pounds, moved to Houston, and joined a gym, he barely smiled at her. I've seen him give way more positive encouragement to patients who achieved FAR less. 

When he dashed her surgery hopes as being up to 6 months out because of IBS, she was exceeding her goal at that time. He didn't seem to appreciate how crushing that might be and set up some kind of support to help her deal with that setback and stay motivated. 

Also, he knows she is a victim of sexual abuse, yet he never brought up dealing with the reasons behind her emotional eating, as he does with most patients. She was clearly depressed. When she said at one appointment that not turning to food for comfort was hard, he said "not eating is hard?!" The way he said it was quite patronizing. Like saying to an alcoholic "not drinking is hard?!" He knows it is more complicated than that. I kept waiting for him to suggest therapy. 

Anyway, I am also growing weary of this show. It is too rote at this point to get anything from it. 

Edited March 5, 2020 by TVbitch

[AZChristian]

50 minutes ago, Barbara Please said:

The first thing I noticed about Ashley B was the fake nails. One of the mysteries of the universe is how one with extra girth can wipe themselves, but with those talons it would certainly cause some bodily injury.

Maybe the long nails were the last step before needing one of those long-handled reaching aids that holds toilet paper. 

[Twopper]

50 minutes ago, TVbitch said:

Y'all, I think my beloved Dr. Now was a bit off in this one. He did not really seem very invested in Ashley for whatever reason. He seemed to almost be reading from a script at every appointment. Even after she lost over 100 pounds, moved to Houston, and joined a gym, he barely smiled at her. I've seen him give way more positive encouragement to patients who achieved FAR less. 

When he dashed her surgery hopes as being up to 6 months out because of IBS, she was exceeding her goal at that time. He didn't seem to appreciate how crushing that might be and set up some kind of support to help her deal with that setback and stay motivated. 

I really wondered about that and also why it was so long before she mentioned stomach pain.  I know the weight loss seems to cause gall bladder issues, but I am not sure what the other problems were.  He really seemed checked out with this one;  I wondered if he knew something else that we don't.   And no therapy? 

Also she lived within commuting distance of Houston (at least for treatment) so she really didn't need to move there.  We seem to see more and more people moving there before their approval as though this "geographic cure" will help them lose weight and/or make Dr Now perform surgery.   I am glad they had a decent looking place to live instead of the sad apartments so many of them end up getting.  And the house in Louisiana looked nice.

The great benefit of seeing this last night was that the DVR started a few minutes in so I missed the obligatory bathroom scene.  Thank you, DVR!!!!

[ethalfrida]

10 minutes ago, Twopper said:

 

Also she lived within commuting distance of Houston (at least for treatment) so she really didn't need to move there.  

 

Great point. We have traveled farther to pick up grattons and shrimp! From where we were Houston is a four hour drive at most.

[AZChristian]

17 minutes ago, Twopper said:

Also she lived within commuting distance of Houston (at least for treatment) so she really didn't need to move there.

Only true reason I could see for her moving to Houston was that it FULLY removed her from the need to even pretend to take care of her kids.

ETA:  There are TWO Planet Fitness locations in the Lafayette area.  Very cheap prices.  Again - NO reason to move unless she wanted to get away from the "stress" of "taking care" of her kids.

Edited March 5, 2020 by AZChristian

[Guest]

4 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

https://www.facebook.com/ashley.bernard.94,  and she wants a roommate, back in Lafayette.   So I'm guessing she's another one who thinks she knows more than Dr. Now.

There are pics on her other "fan page" (HUHWHAT) FB where she's all dressed up and ready to go out partying. Which makes me believe that she really was using a Harvey-Weinstein-approved walker in the episode. She's as mobile as everyone else -- and was probably using that walker as a ploy for sympathy - and laziness. 

I'd also lay good money that Ashley has lip filler in her upper lip, too. So, that  combined with the expensive nails and more expensive eyelash inserts, and probably more expensive clothing budget at Torrid, has me pretty convinced she's got some some lucrative secret job that that show had no intention of telling us about. 

[AZChristian]

31 minutes ago, Giant Misfit said:

...she's got some some lucrative secret job that that show had no intention of telling us about. 

It can't be feeder porn . . . she'd lose her customers if she got thin.  Maybe just basic phone sex without a camera?

[ethalfrida]

1 hour ago, Giant Misfit said:

I'd also lay good money that Ashley has lip filler in her upper lip, too.

I would disagree with you simply because of her Cajun, French, African American genes but it appears you are right, in a lot of her photos they are are not plump. But I think she is very pretty regardless of her drama. 

Edited March 5, 2020 by ethalfrida

[CrazyInAlabama]

I think Ashley lived elsewhere, and her children always lived with her parents.      Otherwise, why would Ashley want a two bedroom apartment, with a roommate in her home town?   It 's not as if the kids will be living with her, or need another bedroom.     I think we've been played again. 

I agree with Tabbygirl, how did Ashley get pregnant, and have a 10 month old, if she hadn't left her parents home in two years?   Though I guess they deliver everything to your home these days.  

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Tabbygirl521]

16 hours ago, auntjess said:

Well this one was a snooze.
When she called and talked to the baby, I hope she also calls her older daughter.
Glad I watched Jeanne again this afternoon.  Now that was a snarkfest.

Oh, and have we ever seen that last nurse before?  She looks like someone who'd take no prisoners.

 

I would swear that baby did not even recognize her. I would have expected at least an excited gurgle.

so she hadn’t been out of the house in two years but had a 10-munt-old kid. Nice! Drive-by sperm donation. 

[Tabbygirl521]

1 hour ago, Giant Misfit said:

There are pics on her other "fan page" (HUHWHAT) FB where she's all dressed up and ready to go out partying. Which makes me believe that she really was using a Harvey-Weinstein-approved walker in the episode. She's as mobile as everyone else -- and was probably using that walker as a ploy for sympathy - and laziness. 

I'd also lay good money that Ashley has lip filler in her upper lip, too. So, that  combined with the expensive nails and more expensive eyelash inserts, and probably more expensive clothing budget at Torrid, has me pretty convinced she's got some some lucrative secret job that that show had no intention of telling us about. 

I thought it was just me, noticing that filler. And yeah, someone was laying out $$$ for that apartment that looked like a pretty nice Airbnb or vrbo offering.

she reminded me of my grandkids’ biomom, always talking about “my babies” (including preteens) but she bailed on two of them before she had two more with my son. We’re actually very grateful that she moved on from ours also as our son has since met and married a wonderful woman whom his kids adore. Sadly, Ashley’s kids don’t have their dads around so I hope the rest of the family takes good care of them. Honestly, sometimes it’s best when the bio parent moves on, even if they lie to themselves ASHLEY to do so. 

[Tabbygirl521]

 

 

Edited March 5, 2020 by Tabbygirl521

[Carolina Girl]

What is that now?  FOUR weeks in a row with nothing but self-pitying failures? Man, I'm out if we don't get a success story soon. 

[ams1001]

9 minutes ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

 

 

Those four poor, lonely commas. No punctuation friends to keep them company. 

At least most of the apostrophes are in the right place..?

[ClareWalks]

5 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

t least most of the apostrophes are in the right place..?

Nope.

[jabinlbc]

1 hour ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

 

 

She writes the same way she talks.

[Concerned]

15 hours ago, Carboncat said:

All the pounticipants should go to mandatory therapy at the start of their program!

I misunderstood your terminology and thought you were saying everybody who WATCHES the show needs therapy and that is certainly true.

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, Concerned said:

I misunderstood your terminology and thought you were saying everybody who WATCHES the show needs therapy and that is certainly true.

To figure out why we watch this?

[ams1001]

1 hour ago, ClareWalks said:

Nope.

Damn, I went back and actually counted. You're right (3 of the 5 that are there are correct, and there should be one in "yall" but there isn't; if I missed anything else it's because my brain shut off after reading that a couple times.)

[ClareWalks]

1 minute ago, ams1001 said:

Damn, I went back and actually counted. You're right (3 of the 5 that are there are correct, and there should be one in "yall" but there isn't; if I missed anything else it's because my brain shut off after reading that a couple times.)

I'm impressed that you got through it more than once! LOL