S09.E01: Samantha's Story

[sainte-chapelle]

I posted this in the big fat life forum but sharing here too. I am deceased. That is a pic of our dear Whit Thore.

[Scratches19]

On 12/31/2020 at 12:19 PM, AZChristian said:

Plus, 600-pounders probably don't have outdated or partially eaten plates of food in their house.  NOTHING is partially eaten in a 600-pounder's house, nor is it allowed to get old.

This made me think of that Hoarders episode with all the dried up dead cats in one part of the house. And I think you are right. The dead cats would have been eaten. 

[Scratches19]

So we watched this tonight. Welcome to 2021 everyone! 
 

This is the classic scenario of claiming to want to change, but also making every excuse, ordering in massive amounts of food, etc. 

Earlier in the show we both predicted Samantha would ultimately fall back into excuses.

At the hospital segment, Mr. Scratches turned to me and said “I’m sorry, I have no sympathy for her. I wouldn’t even read her a story.”

I continue to think medical confinement, controlled diet, and psychiatric treatment may be a better long term approach with compulsive eaters. This show seems to illustrate how critical addressing mental aspects would be to recovery success prospects.
 

 

 

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by Scratches19
Typo

[lilysmom]

17 hours ago, Mothra said:

Bella didn't live with her, so she wasn't responsible for helping her get up, get dressed, bathe her, toilet her, or feed her, as most of the really, really obese people here have their children doing.  Bella seemed to have her own life.  It seems odd that she would say she had to be there for Bella, since there wasn't that daily, parasitic relationship, but Bella did say (iirc) that her mother was her best friend.  It is hard for me to see how Samantha's death would have a lot of impact on Bella's life, beyond the normal grief anyone would experience over losing a parent.  IOW, it seems to me that either of them could get along fine if the other were not there.

I must not have been paying close attention. I thought that at one point, as the show went on and Sam got worse, Bella and the boyfriend moved in with her. I saw that as the future for Bella at that point. Sorry if I misunderstood that part of the show.

[AZChristian]

27 minutes ago, lilysmom said:

I must not have been paying close attention. I thought that at one point, as the show went on and Sam got worse, Bella and the boyfriend moved in with her. I saw that as the future for Bella at that point. Sorry if I misunderstood that part of the show.

They did move in after they found her a new (unappreciated) apartment on the first floor.  I couldn't figure out whether the look on the boyfriend's face was, "WOW . . . look how much food we get around here" or "OMG, Bella is going to look like THAT in 10 years?"

[CrazyInAlabama]

Bella and boyfriend were moving in with her for a while, in the new first floor apartment Bella found.  The one Samantha kept whining about being too small.    

My timeline on this is shaky, apparently I was so steamed by Samantha's bad attitudes, being mean to the nurses, and Dr. Now, and her constant lies (you could tell she knows all of the ambulance, and fire people from constant contact with them), that her move to the first floor apartment was minor to me.     If that was before her five month hospital stay from infections, and her month at the rehab place, then I doubt she would have been able to keep that apartment for six months.   (My guess is that first floor apartment might have been all that Samantha could afford right then, and maybe all that Bella could find.   It was temporary, because shortly after the move to that, with the giant food order, was when Samantha had the infection, and was in the hospital for five months, and rehab for another month, all during Covid lockdown.   That was when the decision to do the surgery was made, and Samantha lost so much weight.    Covid lockdown means no food deliveries, or visitors, so she lost hundreds of pounds.     My guess is that she will never keep the weight off. 

Spoiler

I suspect we'll see a lot of teledoc appointments with Dr Now.   He needs to stay safe.   I think having Dr. Heydari do the surgery, and program was a great idea. 

I just hope her daughter makes her own life, and doesn't get sucked into being her mother's caregiver. 

Edited January 3, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[PrincessPurrsALot]

I guess I thought their move into the apartment was temporary, maybe because Samantha said that Bella found her an apartment on the first floor since climbing the stairs was so hard for her. As usual for this show, so much is left unexplained. 

[Ynicknan]

The hardest part of the episode was watching her daughter gain weight throughout the season. Samantha can’t be saved with her inability to take ownership of progress, but I hope Bella can get out!

[Mothra]

On 1/2/2021 at 2:00 AM, Scratches19 said:

I continue to think medical confinement, controlled diet, and psychiatric treatment may be a better long term approach with compulsive eaters. This show seems to illustrate how critical addressing mental aspects would be to recovery success prospects.
 

It's a lot like the hoarders, isn't it?  The hoarders are so very pleased at the end to have a nice clean house where they can live a normal life, where their families will come visit them and allow grandchildren to spend the night, but when we revisit many of them, they're right back cramming all kinds of shit into their houses.  Just as the poundticipants don't make the connection between consuming less food and losing weight, the hoarders don't make the connection between not bringing stuff into their houses and not having a hoard to deal with.  It's interesting that in both cases it's a matter of consuming, whether it's stuff or food, and inability to stop consuming and elimination (getting rid of hoarded stuff and moving--exercise, housework, taking walks) to get rid of too much food consumed.  Both groups even report a sort of "high" when they acquire something they want, a high that doesn't last and that can leave them feeling guilty.

Neither group can get it through their heads that their actions have predictable consequences.

[newyawk]

It's back and more obnoxious than ever! I missed the premiere date but am catching up now. Good grief, Samantha is a whiner. Poor daughter. Rinse, wash, repeat, new season, lol.  However, she is strikingly delusional. "I trick myself into eating less by having 10,000 calorie cheat days as a reward." What?

"I've been following Dr. Now's diet for the most part" = "I have been following it 3% of the time, if that."

Edited January 3, 2021 by newyawk

[Kid]

On 1/1/2021 at 2:02 PM, PrincessPurrsALot said:

I both fully understand that she has a mental disorder and dislike her greatly.  I feel for all of the poundticipants.  They have major issues to work through and have done severe harm to themselves, often because of severe harm that was done to them in their youth.  At the same time, I also distinguish between the ones who really seem to understand that they are hurting those around them and those that seem to revel in the attention their size and related issues garner. 

Samantha seems like a very unhappy person who tries to claim she is happy.  She did find a way to make a living from being obese.  However, she also seems to abuse the services that she bemoaned needing.  The EMTs and firefighters treated her like she is a frequent flyer.  One said something along the lines of nice to see you again.  She was content laying in the hospital and ordering extra food because the quality and portions of the hospital food weren't up to her standards.  That is not showing the gratitude she claims she shows to others; it is acting as if others exist to bend to her whims.

Her family seemed very cautiously supportive.  I think they've been here before and like many of us on the board doubt her true desire to change.  There is also an attitude we have seen repeated among several of the unsuccessful poundticipants of how much their family needs them.  The martyrdom is very strong.  How much is Samantha providing to her family? How much is she wanting from them?  I think I know which way that scale tips. 

We all, at times, need more from others than we can give.  There is no shame in that.  There is a problem if we demand so much from others and give little to nothing in return when we are capable of giving something. Her daughter and her daughter's BF are lucky Sam even remembered to ask if they wanted anything to eat.  She snapped at the nurses who were caring for her as if it was their fault she had gotten so large she couldn't get up to go to the bathroom.  She swung between the show of horror/extreme need with the firefighters and flirting.  She ticks all of the boxes of someone who has deep seated issues that also has no problem actively harming others. 

i.e. She is toxic.

[Mothra]

I understand disliking Samantha, maybe especially since her family, including her daughter, seem so caring and loving toward her.  Plus, the fact that she's been fat for her entire existence on earth makes me wonder if she did suffer the horrible abuse most of our poundticipants went through.

But is she really so much worse than the standard patient on this show?  They all go through the same steps, none of them "gets it" until at least month 9, and almost all of them confide that it's important to have balance, so they're not going to follow the diet but have cheat days or add some calories here and there.  All of them do not lose the weight they should by the first weigh-in.  I don't know what makes Samantha, who seems to me to take much less advantage of her poor offspring than almost all the rest of them, so unlikable.

BTW I have an arthritic knee, which would have been replaced in other times, and going up and down stairs is torture.  The only relief comes from taking some weight off the knee by clinging to the handrail on one side and the wall on the other.  I am a fraction of Samantha's weight.  I don't know how she tolerates the pain.

[newyawk]

On 12/31/2020 at 2:52 PM, PrincessPurrsALot said:

When she is released to the wild

OMG HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! 🤣🤣🤣

[newyawk]

On 12/31/2020 at 7:42 PM, nytonc said:

  I doubt she wants to venture out into the real world to earn a living like normal people do. 

 

Well, she did say she wanted to work with animals, so maybe she will become a vet tech, as she mentioned.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

2 hours ago, Mothra said:

I understand disliking Samantha, maybe especially since her family, including her daughter, seem so caring and loving toward her.  Plus, the fact that she's been fat for her entire existence on earth makes me wonder if she did suffer the horrible abuse most of our poundticipants went through.

But is she really so much worse than the standard patient on this show?  They all go through the same steps, none of them "gets it" until at least month 9, and almost all of them confide that it's important to have balance, so they're not going to follow the diet but have cheat days or add some calories here and there.  All of them do not lose the weight they should by the first weigh-in.  I don't know what makes Samantha, who seems to me to take much less advantage of her poor offspring than almost all the rest of them, so unlikable.

BTW I have an arthritic knee, which would have been replaced in other times, and going up and down stairs is torture.  The only relief comes from taking some weight off the knee by clinging to the handrail on one side and the wall on the other.  I am a fraction of Samantha's weight.  I don't know how she tolerates the pain.

Samantha is among the remarkable patients in that she gained so much weight while in the hospital.  She is not the first to have extra food brought in, so she is not unique.  However, all of those who did so to such an extreme showed many of her same personality traits; e.g., Schenee.  In terms of whether they typically don't get it until month 9, we have heard from many poundticipants that much of that is show shenanigans.  Pounders have caught multiple instances where the timeline doesn't match.  That is, the show will says someone is in month 6 while, based on when it was filmed, it is only month 2.  The show has established a rinse-wash-repeat pattern of poundticipant sees Dr. Now, he tells them dis is bad sitchation, he gives them a 1200 calorie per day diet and a major weight loss goal, they miss that goal, he is disappointed and/or upset with them, they go to therapy, they achieve their goal, get surgery . . .

In the early years of the show, poundticipants did not need to lose weight to qualify for surgery. (They don't need to for most regular WLS practices).  However, there is more drama in the failure.  Samantha packed on 140 lbs. in 6 weeks according to the show.  I think that's a new record.  When she left the hospital and moved into the downstairs apartment she ordered huge amounts of food for one meal.  So yes, she didn't get it.  But it goes beyond that.  At some point for her and many others it is not wanting to get it.  It is one thing when someone legitimately is trying but is still consuming too many calories - salads with mounds of cheese and heavy dressing; too large of portions of otherwise healthy foods.  It is another when someone is not putting any effort into the process and is expecting so much from others. 

She is not the worst person we've seen on the show.  But we don't snark on a comparative basis.  And yes, I am sure she is in pain.  I too have major joint issues.  I know that pain well, and I have days when doing the simplest things for myself is a challenge.  I can feel for her in having to deal with that.  It's not easy.  I will give people a lot of leeway in their reactions to pain.  While I enjoy a good "Ow, mah layg!" joke, I understand there are legitimate pain issues and I contend that Dr. Now is terrible at addressing pain issues among his patients.  

Nor will I ever say, "You've had a shitty childhood.  Just get over it."  That is also not easy.  Her father was an abusive alcoholic.  That will leave damage.  She needs help to work through those issues. 

However, none of this makes me like her.  Sympathy or empathy does not belie my dislike and distrust of her as a person.  I feel for her daughter and hope that she is able to maintain strong boundaries and build a healthy life for herself.    

[TVbitch]

I'm surprised they chose this episode as the first of the new season. You would think they would choose one that was a bit more uplifting. 

I wish they had showed some of Sam's therapy, because I couldn't wrap my head her complete lack of will power and self determination, even though she had a good understanding of her situation. She just seemed like a totally out of control addict. Unfortunately, there is no rehab for food addicts. Drug addicts can go into a facility where they are physically barred from their drug and often medicated to make it easier. That is essentially what the hospital became for Sam.   

Bella seemed to be gaining rapidly toward the end. I hope there is some kind of intervention by her Grandma or aunt. Bella and her boyfriend are probably reaping some rewards from Sam's food porn earnings, cuz they seemed to put up with a lot. And Bella actually said she thought the youtube stuff was good for her mom's confidence.   

[newyawk]

I do have to say I think Samantha turning to food porn was a pretty creative way to make money, and good for her if it gave her a good income when she was too incapacitated to work.  Many people shown on this show did not seem to have anything going on, so I thought that was unique and good.  I hope this is not something that gives her pause in losing weight, that losing the weight will likely put an end to that career. She should ultimately want a better life overall for herself.

[watchingtvaddict]

20 hours ago, Mothra said:

I understand disliking Samantha, maybe especially since her family, including her daughter, seem so caring and loving toward her.  Plus, the fact that she's been fat for her entire existence on earth makes me wonder if she did suffer the horrible abuse most of our poundticipants went through.

But is she really so much worse than the standard patient on this show?  They all go through the same steps, none of them "gets it" until at least month 9, and almost all of them confide that it's important to have balance, so they're not going to follow the diet but have cheat days or add some calories here and there.  All of them do not lose the weight they should by the first weigh-in.  I don't know what makes Samantha, who seems to me to take much less advantage of her poor offspring than almost all the rest of them, so unlikable.

BTW I have an arthritic knee, which would have been replaced in other times, and going up and down stairs is torture.  The only relief comes from taking some weight off the knee by clinging to the handrail on one side and the wall on the other.  I am a fraction of Samantha's weight.  I don't know how she tolerates the pain.

She appeared to be so disingenuous. I think she just applied to the show to be on TV to get more traffic for her fetish account. She also seemed to be on a first name basis with the ambulance staff, so (jmo) I assume she never planned on going to Houston but instead fabricated (or exaggerated) her health issues to constantly delay her visit with Dr Now.  

[newyawk]

She never got to visit Dr. Now  because of the pandemic. She wasn't traveling anywhere except to the hospital or rehab. That part wasn't an excuse.

[poeticlicensed]

I had no idea my favorite show was back! Yay!

I am not hopeful for Samantha. Laying in a hospital bed with a controlled diet where you are monitored 24/7 does not speak to long term success. I think she enjoys the attention that comes with her issues. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

Yes, she only lost so much weight after the surgery, and the six months (1 month in rehab) during Covid lockdown.   No deliveries equals weight loss in her case.    So she lost hundreds of pounds, however, I don't think she'll ever keep her weight off.  

[watchingtvaddict]

10 hours ago, newyawk said:

She never got to visit Dr. Now  because of the pandemic. She wasn't traveling anywhere except to the hospital or rehab. That part wasn't an excuse.

I know she never got to visit Dr Now because of the pandemic but she was also unable to go to Houston because she didn't have adequate transport. My feeling is she never planned to lose enough weight to make the journey to Houston and was only on the show to promote her fetish channel. 

 

[FormeryHeavyJ]

Hello Pounders....I missed you all & the live chat.  Most times now I will be watching the replays of the show & reading the comments the next day.  Morning guy opens my gym around 440am which means I'm in bed by 8pm (completely out by 801) to be up stretching at 4am.  There's nothing like Stairmaster or incline benching at 445am with Megadeath on your headphones!!!

Been watching this show for a few years but still totally & utterly dumbfounded when Samantha beached herself into the bed in her new (very tiny) apartment & immediately placed an order for 5000 calories of garbage.  You JUST needed the FD to drag you out of the ambulance with a hydraulic winch.  You are huffing & puffing walking 10 feet sounding like you just finished the NYC marathon & sprinted the last 1/4 mile.  And the first thing you do is call 1-800-BRINGMECRAP.   I should say I'm not shocked but I was.

Told Mrs. Formerly Heavy J that if we move the couch down a little and get rid of the living room bookshelf I can finally buy a pumping Stairmaster of my own to use while I watch this show.  Talk about motivation.

[Mothra]

On 1/3/2021 at 2:04 PM, newyawk said:

Well, she did say she wanted to work with animals, so maybe she will become a vet tech, as she mentioned.

Considering that her current job could be described as "working with food," I shudder to think what "working with animals" might mean.

[Mothra]

19 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Yes, she only lost so much weight after the surgery, and the six months (1 month in rehab) during Covid lockdown.   No deliveries equals weight loss in her case.    So she lost hundreds of pounds, however, I don't think she'll ever keep her weight off.  

Well, *if* the cynics are right, and her appearance on this show was only a ploy to drum up business for her youtube endeavor, it would make sense that she wouldn't keep the weight off.  She could advertise that even Dr. (new guy, but it would have been better if she'd actually seen Dr. Now) couldn't stop her weight gain.

Ploy would also explain the perfunctory appearance by her mother and sister.

You guys begin to persuade me.

[Drogo]

Just now, Mothra said:

Considering that her current job could be described as "working with food," I shudder to think what "working with animals" might mean.

[crazycatlady58]

1 hour ago, Drogo said:

Now I want ribs.

[sainte-chapelle]

On 12/30/2020 at 10:03 PM, Christina said:

I want to applaud her loss of 500 pounds but can't. She is a soul-sucking energy vampire and grifter and her daughter needs to cut her out of her life, just like her mom and sister did.

I am only halfway but she just ordered food after thinking she was having a heart attack.  Bella is unfortunately on her way to being like mom. I hope she escapes the guilt trips and BS.  Is it normal to order food in American  hospitals? Do you guys get choices? Up here you usually get what they serve, it is usually healthy but not tasty. It was very telling that the sister and the mother did not offer to help. She was clearly fishing but they didn’t bite. She likely put them through a lot...like most addicts...and they are done. How do you gain 140 lbs in a matter of weeks ?!?!!

Edited January 5, 2021 by sainte-chapelle

[sainte-chapelle]

On 12/31/2020 at 3:19 PM, AZChristian said:

Most people don't gag when they meet a 600-pounder.  Many gag on Hoarders.  Plus, 600-pounders probably don't have outdated or partially eaten plates of food in their house.  NOTHING is partially eaten in a 600-pounder's house, nor is it allowed to get old.

That's my answer to your question.  LOL.

I remember one time the guy that ordered Chinese left broccoli on his plate to be thrown out but dived straight into dessert.

Edited January 6, 2021 by sainte-chapelle

[CrazyInAlabama]

Don't forget that Samantha's episode will rerun on Wednesday, 6 January, from 5 to 7 p.m. Central.   

[Scarlett45]

1 hour ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Don't forget that Samantha's episode will rerun on Wednesday, 6 January, from 5 to 7 p.m. Central.   

I didn’t realize the show was back until the last moment. I’m going to watch the episode now. I didn’t finish the last season (I would hang out in the live chat on Wednesdays), but the start of the pandemic turned me off from this show. 
 

I am eager to get back into it though. This woman sounds like a doozy. 

[Mothra]

What I meant to say in my post comparing poundticipants and hoarders and never got around to saying was that apparently removing hoarders from the scene and cleaning it up for them is not a good solution, and I'm assuming that for similar reasons it doesn't work for poundticipants either to take them away from food and make someone else responsible for feeding them properly, following Dr. Now's diet.  Because you *know* that really, really fat people drop massive amounts of weight--I lost five pounds a day most days, and I was a piker compared to these guys--if they stick to a calorie-controlled diet.  Dr. Now's goals of fifty or more pounds in a month is totally doable, and with a food supervisor with them 24/7, these guys would lose even more weight than he wants them to.

With hoarders, making them go through the process is supposed to help train them to make better decisions about what they bring home and what they keep, I think, and I think the poundticipants likewise are supposed to be learning to control their eating on their own.  But is this the most effective way to achieve the goal, in either case?  Have there been studies?  There are so many obese people these days that I think money spent on figuring out what can motivate food control would be well worth it.

[Scarlett45]

23 minutes ago, Mothra said:

What I meant to say in my post comparing poundticipants and hoarders and never got around to saying was that apparently removing hoarders from the scene and cleaning it up for them is not a good solution, and I'm assuming that for similar reasons it doesn't work for poundticipants either to take them away from food and make someone else responsible for feeding them properly, following Dr. Now's diet.  Because you *know* that really, really fat people drop massive amounts of weight--I lost five pounds a day most days, and I was a piker compared to these guys--if they stick to a calorie-controlled diet.  Dr. Now's goals of fifty or more pounds in a month is totally doable, and with a food supervisor with them 24/7, these guys would lose even more weight than he wants them to.

With hoarders, making them go through the process is supposed to help train them to make better decisions about what they bring home and what they keep, I think, and I think the poundticipants likewise are supposed to be learning to control their eating on their own.  But is this the most effective way to achieve the goal, in either case?  Have there been studies?  There are so many obese people these days that I think money spent on figuring out what can motivate food control would be well worth it.

Well from what we have seen just from the people on this show, the people who have the best long term results are 1. Relatively young, 2. Still walking, 3. Involved in some type of activity- if not work, normal household chores or involvement in family life, 4. A STRONG desire to change and personal responsibility. Basically they WANT to put in the emotional work to change, and the surgery is a tool to 1. Get the weight off of them quickly so they can function more easily, 2. Let them learn how eat in a way that doesn’t lead to being 600 pounds again. 
 

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Taking away the stuff (a hoarder) or the food (a morbidly obese person or a food addict) only works if the person wants to change the underlying behavior and needs help to get there. 
 

Watching Stephanie’s episode now, the way her fat is distributed looks SO uncomfortable. Her panus is so large. Also I can tell she’s super tall, her head was the height of the shower curtain. Only bathing every four days?? That can’t be comfortable for anyone much less someone her size. 

[Scarlett45]

On 12/31/2020 at 7:03 AM, Ucross said:

How does Samantha afford all that food? And to send her daughter to college? The "person" is just a barnacle on society. And what are the mechanics of such a mountainous person getting preggers?

I would guess from her performance on the fetish website. 
 

Stephanie was 500lbs she said when she had Bella, so likely a little less when Bella was conceived, and Bella is her only child it looks like. My Mom has delivered plenty of women in the 400lbs range- especially given she’s 6’2, the mechanics would likely be “typical”. 

On 12/31/2020 at 9:07 AM, hookedontv said:

Here's info on Dr. Amir Heydari. I read his bio (married with 3 adult children) and watched the video (he loves the color pink!)

Dr. Heydari is a cutie for sure and seems very empathetic and has over 20 years of experience doing WLS. 

You're welcome.

https://doctors.sclhealth.org/provider/Amir+J.+Heydari/1617218

Awww he has kind eyes. 

[Scarlett45]

On 12/31/2020 at 8:18 PM, PradaKitty said:

What really amazed me is that most of the people we see on the show have been obese since childhood. When your kid is over 200 pounds in elementary school, there is a problem. 
Why aren’t these problems addressed early? 

 

On 12/31/2020 at 9:38 PM, pdlinda said:

I agree!  The weight doesn't appear instantly!  Before you're 800 lbs, you're 700 lbs, before 700 lbs, you're 600 lbs and on it goes.  If the school didn't report Samantha's exponential weight gain year after year (there are health records) that would indicate someone "dropped the ball." A child who is becoming more and more morbidly obese is definitely a health issue that should be addressed by some school agency.  Child abuse comes in many forms and it's fair to assume that the MASSIVE amount of health resources given to Samantha on the show were not created in a vacuum!  Her weight is her responsibility as an adult; however, it is her parent's responsibility to care for her while she's still a child!  This was a very sad situation!!

True, but many many fat children don’t end up being 600lbs.

These childhood photos look very much like my childhood photos (and that of my friends that were also obese kids), but most of us “normal” fat people STOP gaining when we hit our adult height at 13/14 years old!* I’ve never been close to 300lbs (I’m 5’7). One friend of mine who’s a bit shorter got close to 300lbs and got the sleeve at age 40 (she was also an obese child).

I’m the same age as Samantha (approximately) and I had a very loving nurturing home, attended private schools, and the only time anyone at school commented on my weight was when the gym teachers leered at me like I had a contagious disease. 🤣 I highly doubt in the 90s if a child was getting good grades and came to school clean and groomed teachers would talk to the parents about weight gain. The child’s pediatrician would have more access to that information than the school would- I am not sure a child’s weight would be a part of their school health record. The school would likely just care about allergies and vaccinations, not the entire medical chart. 
 

I wonder what the difference is between us “typical USA lower end of obese fat person who was a fat kid” and someone who ends up on this show. 
 

*i am not sure how much I weighed but I know at 11 I was finally tall enough to fit into adult clothes at Lane Bryant and my Mom stopped having most of my clothes made. I grew until 14 when I ended up being 5’7 but I stayed a 16/18 at Lane Bryant at my biggest. 

 

On 1/4/2021 at 6:56 PM, watchingtvaddict said:

I know she never got to visit Dr Now because of the pandemic but she was also unable to go to Houston because she didn't have adequate transport. My feeling is she never planned to lose enough weight to make the journey to Houston and was only on the show to promote her fetish channel. 

 

This is likely. 

[FormeryHeavyJ]

19 hours ago, Mothra said:

Considering that her current job could be described as "working with food," I shudder to think what "working with animals" might mean.

I thought she already did that.  Cattle, cows, chicken.

I'm appearing here all week.

[Mothra]

On 1/5/2021 at 10:16 PM, Scarlett45 said:

A STRONG desire to change and personal responsibility. Basically they WANT to put in the emotional work to change,

But that's the catch, isn't it?  How to measure the poundticipant's desire to make real changes, especially since so many of them truly don't seem to understand that the key to losing weight is to eat less.

If you have someone supervising what they eat, will they ever get the idea?  Just like with hoarders--if you have someone supervising what they bring into the house, will they ever understand the relationship between acquiring and building a hoard?

Has it ever been tried, I guess not on Dr. Now' show, to have close supervision of an obese person so that they could not eat more than they're supposed to?  And then, after they lost weight (and were, I presume, delighted with the result) let lose?  Was the reward enough to motivate them to carry on, to develop a desire to change and accept basic responsibility?

[Scarlett45]

1 minute ago, Mothra said:

Has it ever been tried, I guess not on Dr. Now' show, to have close supervision of an obese person so that they could not eat more than they're supposed to?  And then, after they lost weight (and were, I presume, delighted with the result) let lose?  Was the reward enough to motivate them to carry on, to develop a desire to change and accept basic responsibility?

taking my reply to small talk.

[ams1001]

On 12/31/2020 at 4:49 PM, magemaud said:

Is it still a Caesar salad if you put ranch dressing on it? Asking for a friend 

I used to order the Caesar salad at TGI Friday's with chicken and honey mustard dressing. (I don't like Caesar.)

On 1/5/2021 at 6:17 PM, sainte-chapelle said:

I am only halfway but she just ordered food after thinking she was having a heart attack.  Bella is unfortunately on her way to being like mom. I hope she escapes the guilt trips and BS.  Is it normal to order food in American  hospitals? Do you guys get choices? Up here you usually get what they serve, it is usually healthy but not tasty. It was very telling that the sister and the mother did not offer to help. She was clearly fishing but they didn’t bite. She likely put them through a lot...like most addicts...and they are done. How do you gain 140 lbs in a matter of weeks ?!?!!

My mom spent several days in the hospital a few years ago and she did get to choose what she wanted for meals, but it was from a limited menu each day (like two or three options for each part part of the meal). I don't know how typical that is, and I'm sure they make changes for specific patients who have dietary restrictions, but it's not like a restaurant where you can order whatever you like.

[fonfereksglen]

Watched the live show off and on and then off.  I guess the porn stuff was the attraction for this patient. Though she wasn't the first, but the most obvious.  

[CrazyInAlabama]

I found it hysterical that Gina's episode reran, right before Samantha's did last Wednesday.   Two internet "stars" right after each other. 

I saw the rerun today, and Samantha does not get better after watching again.     I still can't believe that the doctor in Denver did a sleeve operation on someone who was that heavy,    I'm shocked the hospital permitted it, and I bet that was one iron clad risk waiver Samantha signed. 

Edited January 11, 2021 by CrazyInAlabama

[ams1001]

Finally watching now...as I'm starting to type this I'm at the part just after she gets home to the new apartment and promptly orders a ton of food. 

Does Bella ever wear shoes? She was barefoot when they were putting her in the ambulance, and in socks when she went outside to meet them when she came home.

I thought Bella's voiceover was sad in the beginning when she was eating the carrot cake for one of her videos. She said something about the people who watch her videos see her mom as a real person (I guess as opposed to people who meet her in real life?). Somehow I don't think the people who are watching that kind of thing are seeing the "real person" on the other side of the camera.

Bella's boyfriend must really like her...

"I've been following Dr. Now's diet for the most part." Those words never bode well.

"My eating has been drastically less..." as she's chugging a venti cup of caffeinated sugar just before Bella brings her a burger and fries.

I'm sure it was some kind of filter, but she looked really weird in the self-shot message at the end. She did better than I thought she would, if she was under 500 at the end. Wonder where she's at now.

[KateHearts]

On 1/3/2021 at 4:34 PM, PrincessPurrsALot said:

In the early years of the show, poundticipants did not need to lose weight to qualify for surgery. (They don't need to for most regular WLS practices). 

From what I have read (and I have a sister who had WLS) they are required to lose prior to surgery. I think the reason is twofold: first, to acclimate the patient to the idea of restricting their intake and following a prescribed diet (my sister had to do a liquid diet for a few weeks); and second, to gauge the patient's motivation for not only just having the procedure, but for being willing to adhere to a strict eating regimen in the long-haul.  How many of these people say "I have no options left! I need Dr. Now to do the surgery to save my life!" as if it's all on him and they don't have to do a bloody thing.

Along similar lines, I get annoyed when they are eagerly awaiting a weigh-in, sure that they lost the 80 pounds (or whatever) that Dr. Now said they had to (and we have seen scenes of "slipping up now and then," usually consisting of meals large enough to feed a small army, eaten in giant bites with their tongues hanging out) and proclaiming "I'm sure I'll be under 680 pounds today; I have worked so hard the past month!"  So we know that these people are delusional, and have similar habits to alcoholics or drug addicts- they really have no idea how transparently they  behave and how the world knows they are lying through their teeth.

I watched this on demand and as the time was running out, I was wondering if she ended up dying in the end. Lugging around literally a half-ton as she does, requiring oxygen, experiencing chest pains.... she is on borrowed time.

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Continuing the discussion of weight loss requirements prior to surgery in the All Episodes thread. 

[pdlinda]

On 1/5/2021 at 8:16 PM, Scarlett45 said:

Well from what we have seen just from the people on this show, the people who have the best long term results are 1. Relatively young, 2. Still walking, 3. Involved in some type of activity- if not work, normal household chores or involvement in family life, 4. A STRONG desire to change and personal responsibility. Basically they WANT to put in the emotional work to change, and the surgery is a tool to 1. Get the weight off of them quickly so they can function more easily, 2. Let them learn how eat in a way that doesn’t lead to being 600 pounds again. 

Exceptions are those like Milla and Diana, middle-aged, but who still managed to "get" what had to be done to accomplish a "normal" life and worked so very hard to achieve their weight/life goals including joint surgeries to allow them to fully participate in Life.  

[JunkFoodTV]

Did anyone get suckered into watching the supersize episode on Saturday? It was pathetic. More massive amounts of food. Oh and a helpful hint on how to get damn near a thousand pounds off a sofa. In case any of us need that information. 😊

[FormeryHeavyJ]

14 hours ago, JunkFoodTV said:

Did anyone get suckered into watching the supersize episode on Saturday? It was pathetic. More massive amounts of food. Oh and a helpful hint on how to get damn near a thousand pounds off a sofa. In case any of us need that information. 😊

Watching Stephanie get up off the couch leaning forward like she was I expected her to fall face-first at least once.  Here comes the FD again!!!

[Vivigirl10]

Quote

She just seemed like a totally out of control addict.

We needed more backstory, but maybe Samantha wasn't willing to give it.  I understand with her dad being an alcoholic she was obviously affected by it in some negative way.  But her obsession with food almost seemed different from others.  I imagine her being violent and out of control if you attempted to get in the way of her food.  She even said, "I don't like being told what to do".  Probably a major brat as a child that the Mom just didn't want (or know how) to deal with.  Dad and Stepmom tried to enforce limits but the Mom undid any progress by letting her just have her way.   

Of course she had to be absolutely humiliated in her interactions with the fire department, EMT's and hospital workers, but her snarky and rude attitude made me completely lose any sympathy I may have felt for her.  In one of the final scenes, one of the workers asked her the most basic of questions: "what side of the bed do you want to get off of?"  And Samantha unloaded, "Geez!  I'm not an orangutan, I'm just a very large person!"  (Odd animal choice as well).   

Her condescending and snotty tone to the poor employee who had to take her hospital food order for 20 watermelons cut up and put in 10 bowls about drove me over the edge too.  

When she was daintily waving goodbye to the staff as she rolled like a barge down the river, I bet they were slapping high-fives with relief to see her get the heck out of there.  

Quote

You are huffing & puffing walking 10 feet sounding like you just finished the NYC marathon & sprinted the last 1/4 mile.  

She even huffed and puffed while she was eating!  It was terrible to listen to!

Samantha's weight distribution was a marvel.  Her face and shoulders looked positively thin in comparison to her lower spread.  Like if she took a headshot you would think she was normal size.

Bella, please let your Mom's sad state be an inspiration to you to pursue a healthy lifestyle.  She seemed like a really sweet girl.  I'm sorry she's caught up in this mess.    

 

[suev33 3]

I'm thinking she may switch addictions from food to opiates.  That dilaudid is some powerful (good) stuff.    She better be careful.  JS

[HahYallDoin]

On 1/5/2021 at 9:16 PM, Scarlett45 said:

Well from what we have seen just from the people on this show, the people who have the best long term results are 1. Relatively young, 2. Still walking, 3. Involved in some type of activity- if not work, normal household chores or involvement in family life, 4. A STRONG desire to change and personal responsibility. Basically they WANT to put in the emotional work to change, and the surgery is a tool to 1. Get the weight off of them quickly so they can function more easily, 2. Let them learn how eat in a way that doesn’t lead to being 600 pounds again. 
 

You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Taking away the stuff (a hoarder) or the food (a morbidly obese person or a food addict) only works if the person wants to change the underlying behavior and needs help to get there. 
 

Watching Stephanie’s episode now, the way her fat is distributed looks SO uncomfortable. Her panus is so large. Also I can tell she’s super tall, her head was the height of the shower curtain. Only bathing every four days?? That can’t be comfortable for anyone much less someone her size. 

Samantha said at one point, while reviewing her medical paperwork, that her weight had changed to x,y,z but that her height of 6’1 hadn’t changed. 

Edited January 20, 2021 by HahYallDoin
Typo