S08.E16: Leneatha's Story

[Motor City]

I really don’t understand Leneatha’s situation.  She works in a hospital and there had to be a nutritionist on staff that could have given Leneatha tips on how to plan healthy meals for herself and daughter, how to make healthy choices.

[AZChristian]

3 minutes ago, Motor City said:

I really don’t understand Leneatha’s situation.  She works in a hospital and there had to be a nutritionist on staff that could have given Leneatha tips on how to plan healthy meals for herself and daughter, how to make healthy choices.

I'm not criticizing your idea, but I have a couple of questions.

Would there be an expectation that those tips would be given for free?  Does a paid professional have any responsibility to help an other employee of the same company without being reimbursed for their time and expertise?

If the advice were to be paid for, wouldn't Leneatha or her insurance have had to pay for it?  Leneatha is not interested in listening to anyone else (we learned that from her visits to Dr. Now), so she's not going to pay for it.  Plus, insurance companies are often not willing to pay for nutritional advice.  We learned this when my brother (obese, but nowhere near 600 pounds) was experiencing a number of health issues that could have been improved by losing weight.  His health insurance (which was pretty good) would not pay for the nutritionist.

[ShortyMac]

I calculated her McDonald's runs out of curiosity:

Breakfast - Three sausage McGriddles, hash brown, cookie ~1,600 calories

Dinner - Two double cheeseburgers, 20-piece chicken nuggets, cookie, large Coke, no ice ~2,200 calories

Ugh. Just gross. Her breakfast is more than what I eat in a day.

[AZChristian]

36 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

I calculated her McDonald's runs out of curiosity:

Breakfast - Three sausage McGriddles, hash brown, cookie ~1,600 calories

Dinner - Two double cheeseburgers, 20-piece chicken nuggets, cookie, large Coke, no ice ~2,200 calories

Ugh. Just gross. Her breakfast is more than what I eat in a day.

And in the neighborhood of $22 (not counting the Happy Meal).  And don't forget what looked like TWO lunches at the hospital cafeteria.  Imagine if she bought (less, but healthier) stuff and ate at home and packed her own lunches.  

[gaPeach]

Quote

And don't forget what looked like TWO lunches at the hospital cafeteria.

That was the meal that made my stomach queasy.  YIKES the carbs would have blown my stomach up and ended I would up in the hospital.  If I remember correctly she had 3 plates of food on her tray and all 3 were nothing but fried food or breading of some sort.

[Burning Rubber]

The only redeeming feature of this episode were the more detailed dieting explanations from Dr Now. It was worth my time.

[Morgalisa]

Did I dream this? When the epi started she lived in a house that appeared to be a duplex. It was white and had two doors in the front. Later on, she lived in a green house with arches in the front. Single family dwelling. And she had different and better furniture. I kept waiting for an explanation. Did anybody else notice this?

[fonfereksglen]

5 hours ago, Burning Rubber said:

The only redeeming feature of this episode were the more detailed dieting explanations from Dr Now. It was worth my time.

I agree with you.

However,  my husband joined me during one of those segments.  Since one of his several surgeries this past year, he enjoys watching the WLS because it gives him a picture of one his surgeries. 

He found Dr. Now's discussion brilliant.  LOL!

[Tabbygirl521]

1 hour ago, Morgalisa said:

Did I dream this? When the epi started she lived in a house that appeared to be a duplex. It was white and had two doors in the front. Later on, she lived in a green house with arches in the front. Single family dwelling. And she had different and better furniture. I kept waiting for an explanation. Did anybody else notice this?

I did. I thought the first one was really cute and then suddenly she was in a different one. 

[Motor City]

12 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I'm not criticizing your idea, but I have a couple of questions.

Would there be an expectation that those tips would be given for free?  Does a paid professional have any responsibility to help an other employee of the same company without being reimbursed for their time and expertise?

If the advice were to be paid for, wouldn't Leneatha or her insurance have had to pay for it?  Leneatha is not interested in listening to anyone else (we learned that from her visits to Dr. Now), so she's not going to pay for it.  Plus, insurance companies are often not willing to pay for nutritional advice.  We learned this when my brother (obese, but nowhere near 600 pounds) was experiencing a number of health issues that could have been improved by losing weight.  His health insurance (which was pretty good) would not pay for the nutritionist.

I worked for a hospital that is affiliated with a medical school and the hospital offers a wide variety support programs that are either free or low cost to both employees and patients.  I would think that since Leneatha was an employee at the hospital and a diabetic that she could have at least had a consultation visit with the hospital dietitian/nutritionist even it was on a one time basis.  Or when she was first diagnosed with diabetes and high blood pressure that the doctor or nurse would have given her advice on how to make healthy eating choices for both herself and daughter, but you are probably correct in saying that Leneatha is not interested in listening to anyone.

[pdlinda]

On 4/16/2020 at 8:01 AM, Stiggs said:

This season has been a total dud so far. 

I wonder WHAT THE RATINGS ARE for this season?  Was there a sharp drop in viewership?

[Miracle Maxie]

1 hour ago, pdlinda said:

I wonder WHAT THE RATINGS ARE for this season?  Was there a sharp drop in viewership?

I've compared this season's ratings (from Showbuzz Daily) to last season. The ratings themselves are pretty consistent, but the rankings aren't. Showbuzz Daily ranks each night's cable shows in the 18-49 demographic and lists a Top 50 every night. Last season, with ratings that ranged from a low of 0.25 to a high of 0.41, the show was almost always in the top 10 for the night and no worse than 16th (except for a night with a lot of basketball on cable).

This season the ratings are pretty similar - 0.23 to 0.31. but it's only once cracked the top 10 shows (February 19) and tends to rank somewhere between 20 and 40. Lowest ranked for this season is the first episode, but that was New Year's Day.  The March and April ranks are somewhat lower than the January-February ones. It hasn't been in the top 20 since 3/4.

I could have gone back further - the site has ratings/rankings for My 600-Pound Life back to 3/25/15 - when it was 7th for the night with a 0.44 rating. It hasn't seen a rating that high in at least a couple of years.

[AZChristian]

So ratings were higher when (at least in my perception) there was a higher number of success stories?

Seriously, how many times do we want to watch people in denial ignore their doctor?

[pdlinda]

3 hours ago, AZChristian said:

So ratings were higher when (at least in my perception) there was a higher number of success stories?

Well, that was the point of my question because I was always told that ratings were the lifeblood of TV show renewals.  

On the basis of what was revealed (that the show has essentially dropped out of the Top10 shows in its time slot) I would say there is less of a chance of the show being renewed than in prior years.

We can all speculate about the various reasons why the show seemed to diminish in its ability to draw large #'s of viewers. 

I believe the show hit big viewing numbers during the Assanti season because of all the drama.  Somehow after that, the production people may have gotten the erroneous idea that "problem" patients who made the most grotesque viewing experience was what the viewers wanted to see.

The truth is that (speaking for myself), what was really needed were shows stressing successful people like Milla, Brittani, Diana, Erica, Doug and Randy, to name a few.

Most of those participated in the compelling WATN shows that attracted a very large audience regardless of what other shows were on in that time slot.

However, certain other WATN shows hit innumerable snags as many of the people filmed seemed to abruptly end filming the follow-up shows.  Dottie, Ashley (the one with the son putting laundry in the machine at age 5), Susan and Lupe come immediately to mind.  Amber was on Facebook declaring she refused to participate in a follow-up show because of disagreements with the production crew.  Joe (who got married and divorced) refused to divulge why he refused to participate in WATN follow up.

I think after that the show went downhill.

I also believe the surge of multiple lawsuits in the last few years may have skewed the crew in their approach especially when it came to making major expenditures (like keeping participants in the hospital on calorie-controlled diets for long stretches of time and/or hiring dieticians to counsel patients at home).

Dr. Now's age also plays into the mix of my believing the show is more or less over.

[Johnny Dollar]

18 hours ago, AZChristian said:

So ratings were higher when (at least in my perception) there was a higher number of success stories?

Seriously, how many times do we want to watch people in denial ignore their doctor?

Umm, infinity?

[Miracle Maxie]

21 hours ago, AZChristian said:

So ratings were higher when (at least in my perception) there was a higher number of success stories?

 

Were there more success stories last season? I remember it as being about as bad as this season. I considered going back to 2018 for ratings because I thought 2019 was pretty bad. Maybe I still will.

[AZChristian]

36 minutes ago, Miracle Maxie said:

Were there more success stories last season? I remember it as being about as bad as this season. I considered going back to 2018 for ratings because I thought 2019 was pretty bad. Maybe I still will.

I don't remember the exact ratio.  But there definitely seemed to be more success stories in earlier seasons, and the "villains" weren't so despicable.  

[WonTon]

On 4/19/2020 at 12:24 PM, Miracle Maxie said:

Were there more success stories last season? I remember it as being about as bad as this season. I considered going back to 2018 for ratings because I thought 2019 was pretty bad. Maybe I still will.

The one success story that sticks with me was Justin. He killed it from day one, lost all the weight he was supposed to, didn't whine and complain and did great after surgey.

Edited April 20, 2020 by WonTon

[aliya]

On 4/17/2020 at 11:19 PM, Motor City said:

I worked for a hospital that is affiliated with a medical school and the hospital offers a wide variety support programs that are either free or low cost to both employees and patients.  

I retired from a university w/a hospital and we had employee benefits that allowed you to see a nutritionist, I saw a behavioral counselor about life after retirement & food control, there were programs for employees who had elderly parents, etc. It was all free, but you only got a certain number of visits or it was a time-delimited program, like 10 classes for weight management. I'm sure Leneatha could have gotten some help from the hospital, at least to start her on the right track.

[Hannah94]

27 minutes ago, aliya said:

I retired from a university w/a hospital and we had employee benefits that allowed you to see a nutritionist, I saw a behavioral counselor about life after retirement & food control, there were programs for employees who had elderly parents, etc. It was all free, but you only got a certain number of visits or it was a time-delimited program, like 10 classes for weight management. I'm sure Leneatha could have gotten some help from the hospital, at least to start her on the right track.

Leneatha didn't want help. She didn't want to put forth any effort whatsoever to save her life for her daughter. She wanted a magic button to take care of everything for her. By the way she spoke, I got the impression she had no idea what weight loss surgery was. I believe she thought she would undergo surgery that would remove all the fat from her body and she would wake up from anesthesia all thin and healthy.

[AZChristian]

10 hours ago, Hannah94 said:

By the way she spoke, I got the impression she had no idea what weight loss surgery was. I believe she thought she would undergo surgery that would remove all the fat from her body and she would wake up from anesthesia all thin and healthy.

When they first introduced her, her occupation was listed as something like "Pharmacy Technician."  I assumed that she'd be preparing medication doses for patients in the hospital.  After about 10 minutes of watching her, I feared for her patients.  She did not appear to be smart enough to know that three McGriddles was an excess amount for breakfast, so I wondered whether she was smart enough to dispense medications.  Really, if she couldn't count to ONE as an appropriate amount of a serving for a fast food breakfast, how could she count out pills?

When they actually showed her at work, her job seemed to be more like "Pharmacy Courier."  Someone else did the work requiring attention to detail, and she just pushed the cart from the pharmacy to the various nurses' stations.

Reality was/is not a strong concept for Leneatha.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

I 

On 4/21/2020 at 9:04 AM, AZChristian said:

When they actually showed her at work, her job seemed to be more like "Pharmacy Courier."  Someone else did the work requiring attention to detail, and she just pushed the cart from the pharmacy to the various nurses' stations.

Reality was/is not a strong concept for Leneatha.

 Where I live the pharmacist does the counting, and dispensing, and the techs handle the computer entries and sales only, because the legal liability is the pharmacist's.   The tech. just label, and in Leneatha's case, she delivered the meds to the different locations.   

I also wish on one of the trips to Houston, that Leneatha had taken advantage of the world class medical resources in Houston, and take her daughter for another opinion.    

I really wanted Leneatha to be a success, for herself, and for her daughter.    I'm sad about Leneatha, because once she realizes that she made a bad mistake at not losing weight, and not treating her body better, it will be too late.   

 

Edited April 22, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Bugfrey Von]

So is this the last episode of the season? In the opening credits, there’s a woman being helped up by EMT that I don’t think we’ve seen yet. This season was a dud without a doubt. Too many sad sacks, but still - please don’t get rid of my 600 lb life! It’s all we have! 🤪😂

[Lunula]

 

On 4/17/2020 at 12:05 PM, Motor City said:

I really don’t understand Leneatha’s situation.  She works in a hospital and there had to be a nutritionist on staff that could have given Leneatha tips on how to plan healthy meals for herself and daughter, how to make healthy choices.

IMO, Leneatha's issue had nothing to do with "not knowing" about nutrition - or how to get the information - or even how to apply the information. The issue is that she has a raging eating disorder and no amount of health, nutrition, meal-planning or diet counseling will help her with that. We hear it over & over & over & over on this show - "I just don't have time for healthy eating! I don't have time for dieting! I don't have time for this program!"

It has nothing to do with not having the time to do these things, it has to do with wanting - really wanting - to change. Leneatha is still getting something out of her eating disorder. Plain & simple. Even when the bad outweighs the good, she's still continues. She wants to change, but not enough to actually make the painful choices required to change. 

I do get that she's a single mom, with a very sick child, with a full time job. Honestly, she kinda kicked ass in that regard - and it is difficult to rework your life and habits to make those changes. It's not easy cooking every single meal. It's takes energy to think of new things to buy, make and eat - so she falls back into her old, easy habits. 

I wasn't surprised she dropped out of the program. When she said she'd had that job for 20+ years and such a sick daughter with no help from the father, I thought, "How is she going to quit and move to Houston?" 

I was disappointed that there was no mention of the long-term use of steroids and the havoc it can have a person's body and metabolism. Along with diabetes - that probably does have some effect on her weight loss. However, her saying she's "eating nothing" and not losing - at over 600 lbs - is pretty ludicrous. I find it fascinating how vehemently so many deny they are over-eating and are sticking with the 1,200 calorie diet to the letter. Do they really think they are going to fool Dr Now?  

[CrazyInAlabama]

Leneatha looked so good at the end, in church, when she wore an appropriately styled top, and not some skin tight spandex top.     

[El maestro]

On 4/21/2020 at 9:04 AM, AZChristian said:

When they first introduced her, her occupation was listed as something like "Pharmacy Technician."  I assumed that she'd be preparing medication doses for patients in the hospital.  After about 10 minutes of watching her, I feared for her patients.  She did not appear to be smart enough to know that three McGriddles was an excess amount for breakfast, so I wondered whether she was smart enough to dispense medications.  Really, if she couldn't count to ONE as an appropriate amount of a serving for a fast food breakfast, how could she count out pills?

When they actually showed her at work, her job seemed to be more like "Pharmacy Courier."  Someone else did the work requiring attention to detail, and she just pushed the cart from the pharmacy to the various nurses' stations.

Reality was/is not a strong concept for Leneatha.  

We only got glimpses of her job and the difficulties she had to do it because of her weight. I have met excellent professionals in their careers who can’t follow a diet. I work with some people who are probably around 400 pounds, very good in their positions, but with extremely bad eating habits.

i felt she could make it: full time job, supporting family...It’s a pity it didn’t work.

[Tabbygirl521]

I’m still really disappointed about Leneatha. Right off the bat she seemed to me to have all the attributes and motivation she needed, but boy was I wrong. For some reason I don’t feel angry and upset with her, just disappointed (I sound like I’m her mom 😄). She came across as a decent person who just wouldn’t get it together. I hope one day she will. 

[OhSarah69]

Leneatha in the first few scenes had a heavy (pardon the pun) sadness to her - it was almost palpable.  When she said later that sometimes she ate just because the food or the opportunity for the food was there and she wasn't necessarily hungry, I thought that was such an important point and one that Dr. Now didn't address (on screen) per se, but is exactly why he recommends people get therapy.  She has had many disappointments and sad events in her life and we all know what happens when we bury stuff and don't (can't) deal with it.  I am not now nor ever will be anywhere near 600 lbs, but I have had moments where I stuffed my face till my stomach hurt because it numbed my feelings.  Food doesn't judge you.  I gives you something to do when you don't want to think  about other things going on in your life.  When you are carrying (again, sorry for the unintentional pun) that sadness, it doesn't matter what anyone else says, you easily drown it out...people can talk all they want about, OMG, here's how many calories are in that McDonalds food she scarfed down, that's more than I eat in a day, blah blah.  

When she talked about her dad sharing cakes and sweets with her when she was younger, I mean, how does a little child express to her father that, hey dad, I love you even without the cakes and I'm eating them to make you happy to show you that I love you and by the way, I have no idea that I am programming my body into a damaging state.

I too was surprised that there wouldn't be some resources at the hospital that she could draw on; surely that would be super-convenient since she was going there every day for work anyway, making it easier to say meet with a nutritionist or take part in a hospital study on-site on her lunch break.  

Having said all this, it is heartbreakingly true that only the person needing to lose the weight can make it happen - and when you think about how hard it can be for more average-sized folks to take off 10, 20, 30 lbs sometimes, imagine how much harder and much less linear the weight loss journey must be for people with hundreds of pounds to lose.

Does anyone else get a kick out of hearing Dr. Now's sing-song, up-and-down voice?  Puts me in kind of a trance.  I thought Leneatha's little girl was absolutely precious, and her brother was an absolute sweetheart.  I loved the scene where they cooked that nice healthy fish & broccoli dinner.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Leneatha's 'journey' is the rerun this Wednesday, June 17 from 7 to 9 p.m. Central.  I had such high hopes for her at the beginning.   

She is the one poundticipant that I wish had lost a lot of weight, and succeeded at getting healthy, for her adorable daughter.   

Edited June 19, 2020 by CrazyInAlabama

[Honey]

How does a supposedly intelligent person think that if they don't eat for 3 days they will literally starve to death?

I am the opposite of an emotional eater, if I am sad or upset I have no appetite at all.  I guess the difference is that as children food was used as a comfort for these people.

[JunkFoodTV]

17 hours ago, Honey said:

How does a supposedly intelligent person think that if they don't eat for 3 days they will literally starve to death?

I am the opposite of an emotional eater, if I am sad or upset I have no appetite at all.  I guess the difference is that as children food was used as a comfort for these people.

I agree 100 %. And do the same thing. Sometimes even if I'm happy or busy, I just don't think about eating. Or it's just not a priority. Unless I'm in the garden, then I mow through it like a swarm of locust. 😄

I was so hopeful for her and that beautiful little girl. Bless them both.

[Ralphster]

I really found myself rooting for Leneatha in the first 15 minutes or so, but she turned out to just be farming another fast food addict in her daughter. Was the child's name Kindling? I didn't quite catch it during the show.

The second sister who accompanied her to Dr. Now was a dour, horrible sow. It's always funny how the 300 pound sibling/friend feels s/he is a font of wisdom and enlightenment, able to lecture the pounder on the virtues of healthy eating. It gets old fast.

I agree with another poster - Leneatha is definitely turning her daughter into her partner-in-crime. That's sad to see.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I'm watching the last hour of the rerun of her episode, and I really hoped she would be a success.   Her daughter is so little, and sick and she needs her mom.   Leneatha seems like a lovely person, and I really hope she will follow the Dr. Now diet, and get healthier.  

Edited April 9, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[Caoimhe]

I really liked her.  She had a job, didn’t blame anyone else for her weight, and wasn’t nasty to people.  Her little daughter was so sweet too. I still hope to see a WATN where she’s made some progress to be healthier.

[Snarkastikate]

Watched this rerun a few days ago. Started out liking her honesty (or so I thought) and the fact she was still working was a huge plus of course.  But then she got mouth diarrhea sassing Dr Now after she didn't follow the diet.  Ho hum, another one who tells him basically you don't know me, my body, your diet doesn't work for me, etc.  Then I realized that she's nothing but a liar.  Because she started out saying that staying alive & in good shape for her daughter was her motivation to do the program.  Then used her daughter as the excuse to quit the program.  🤔. Lie, lie, lie.  Truth is that she loves eating more than she loves her daughter.  End of story.  Sad.