S10.E06: Paul's Journey

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Paul weighs in at 700 pounds, and his girlfriend struggles with how this limits their ability to live a normal life; he thinks their relationship won't survive if he moves to work with Dr. Now, but prioritizing his own health is the only option.

Original air date 2021.12.08

[Hellga]

Paul surprised me.  With his dead voice and his initial trip to Houston, I expected him to fail.  He beat the odds and progressed...  the episode ended rather abruptly, so I googled him and it sounds like he had to postpone the move but did have his surgery and lost over 250 pounds in total so far.  Good for him! 

Another article on the same resource, this one has a couple pictures of the new, slimmer Paul. 

PS  I don't care about a supersized version of this, but I would love a follow-up to see his progress...

Edited December 9, 2021 by Hellga

[TwirlyGirly]

I looked up the number of calories in Paul's first meal stop at McDonald's on the way to Houston:

2 Double Quarter Pounders: 740@ = 1480
McDouble w/Big Mac Sauce: 400
Spicy Chicken Sandwich: 530
10 piece Nuggets: 420
Large Fries: 490
Large Chocolate Shake: 520
13 Chocolate Chip Cookies 170@ = 2,210
Apple Pie 230

Grand total: 6280 calories. For ONE meal. 

My God.

 

[TazDevil]

31 minutes ago, TwirlyGirly said:

I looked up the number of calories in Paul's first meal stop at McDonald's on the way to Houston:

2 Double Quarter Pounders: 740@ = 1480
McDouble w/Big Mac Sauce: 400
Spicy Chicken Sandwich: 530
10 piece Nuggets: 420
Large Fries: 490
Large Chocolate Shake: 520
13 Chocolate Chip Cookies 170@ = 2,210
Apple Pie 230

Grand total: 6280 calories. For ONE meal. 

My God.

 

He did let his Mom have a nugget, right?

[Hellga]

36 minutes ago, TwirlyGirly said:

I looked up the number of calories in Paul's first meal stop at McDonald's on the way to Houston:

Thank you for that!  

Wow.  6280 calories.   If he ordered like this at every stop, six-seven times a day... it's going into stratosphere.   And not just the calories, the sheer volume of that food.  How is his GI tract able to move this much food through this fast?  

[OoogleEyes]

1 hour ago, Hellga said:

 

Another article on the same resource, this one has a couple pictures of the new, slimmer Paul.

Yeesh,  those red shorts did him no favors 

[Hellga]

2 minutes ago, OoogleEyes said:

Yeesh,  those red shorts did him no favors 

I don't think any shorts would look flattering on him at that weight.  And I would rather not imagine him in a tutu skirt!  

[Meowwww]

Who is the old annoying dude with no teeth at the store with Paul, yakking against all normal nutritional beliefs.  So awful. 

[Hellga]

6 minutes ago, Meowwww said:

Who is the old annoying dude with no teeth at the store with Paul, yakking against all normal nutritional beliefs.  So awful. 

That's his dear old Dad. 

[suev3333]

All I could think so far is....        cankles 

Oh, and the fact that he didn't use any salad dressing!  I couldn't even do that!  I'd need vinegar at the very least.  So bravo to Paul!   He really followed the diet.   But to be fair,  guys DO lose weight easier than women.   Not always, but usually.  😒

And I think it was his dad who said turkey is all protein, and Paul disagreed.   So his dad did get that right.  

And why can't I get rid of this emoji?  Annoying af

   🤐

Edited December 9, 2021 by suev3333
Added stuff

[Chatty Cake]

I fell asleep on this one. I didn’t expect much out of him but glad he ended up accomplishing weight loss. 
Did his girlfriend ever resurface?

[EtheltoTillie]

I got a phone call during the live show so I have to finish posting here. I was absolutely shocked how well he did. He was scared straight and started eating correctly and exercising, even though he was previously talking only about his next fast food fix. One of the best poundticipants they’ve had. Too bad we didn’t get to follow up further with him. 

[steff13]

I wish I knew some carnies.  

[Duke2801]

9 hours ago, TwirlyGirly said:

I looked up the number of calories in Paul's first meal stop at McDonald's on the way to Houston:

2 Double Quarter Pounders: 740@ = 1480
McDouble w/Big Mac Sauce: 400
Spicy Chicken Sandwich: 530
10 piece Nuggets: 420
Large Fries: 490
Large Chocolate Shake: 520
13 Chocolate Chip Cookies 170@ = 2,210
Apple Pie 230

Grand total: 6280 calories. For ONE meal. 

My God.

 

I mean, you don’t get to 700+ pounds eating a salad and Diet Coke. It takes a massive amount of daily calories to become super morbidly obese. 

[ams1001]

3 hours ago, Chatty Cake said:

I fell asleep on this one. I didn’t expect much out of him but glad he ended up accomplishing weight loss. 
Did his girlfriend ever resurface?

Yeah, he took her for a drive to the beach (she loves the beach) and took a walk... to the end of the walkway at the entrance to the beach. He told her one of his goals was to be able to walk on the beach with her (since at his size the soft ground is too unstable for him to do it safely).

 

[umgoblue]

10 hours ago, Hellga said:

Thank you for that!  

Wow.  6280 calories.   If he ordered like this at every stop, six-seven times a day... it's going into stratosphere.   And not just the calories, the sheer volume of that food.  How is his GI tract able to move this much food through this fast?  

Not to mention what it would cost to fund this level of food intake?!?  It would definitely be a line-item in the budget!!

[LuvMyShows]

I would love to know what the mom used to look like, given that she apparently lost a lot of weight on her own.  I'd also like to know more about the friend's WLS...how much did she weigh before? how long has she kept the weight off? 

I was also surprised at the friend's admission that she had enabled him some. Given how emotionally she had talked on the trip to Houston, I would have thought that she stayed firm.

2 hours ago, Duke2801 said:

I mean, you don’t get to 700+ pounds eating a salad and Diet Coke. It takes a massive amount of daily calories to become super morbidly obese. 

That's part of why I had thought he would fail, because if he was even beginning to approximate the number of calories Dr Now told him to do, he would have lost waaaaaayyyy more weight than he did, given how freaking many calories it takes to keep someone of his size as morbidly obese.  Maybe he's just one of those very-slow-but-steady folks, which is fine.

Edited December 9, 2021 by LuvMyShows

[libgirl2]

He is a pretty nice looking guy and will look really good if he continues and loses the weight. 

[Mothra]

12 hours ago, Hellga said:

PS  I don't care about a supersized version of this, but I would love a follow-up to see his progress...

Me too.  I don't watch the supersized shows because you don't really learn anything interesting, but I wish we could have a followup or followups say at one, then five years.  It's the long term effect of the surgery that's the real test.

[snarkish]

For those interested in following Paul's journey, he has a FB group set up called "Bubba Strong". He appears to be doing well.

[Pepper Mostly]

13 hours ago, TazDevil said:

He did let his Mom have a nugget, right?

Only if she pried it from his cold, dead hands.

[AZChristian]

I get frustrated when people blame overeating on something specific like Paul did:  One family friend pulled his penis out and wiggled it at him (only one time that Paul talked about).  And so Paul now weighs over 750 pounds????

Also . . . let's use a different example for bullying.  Let's say someone doesn't keep themselves clean and they go to school and people bully them and make fun of them because they smell bad.  There's a solution:  Go home and take showers regularly.

If people bully you because you are morbidly obese in high school (where none of the girls want to date you because you're fat), go home and eat less.

And then all the whining about how exhausting it is to sit in a car all day and do nothing.  It's so painful.  Like sitting home in your recliner doing nothing all day is any different. 

I think JJ was done with helping him by the end of the first trip.  I know she was stressed about getting to Houston on time while Paul was continuing to stuff his face at the hotel.  I'm mean.  If it had been me, I'd have said, "The car leaves in 10 minutes.  If you're in it, we'll go to Houston.  If you're not, I'm going home."  

 

[sempervivum]

14 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

I get frustrated when people blame overeating on something specific like Paul did:  One family friend pulled his penis out and wiggled it at him

Especially since he'd already said he was very overweight basically from birth. 

I was as concerned about that giant round mole on his back as I was about his weight. Don't think anyone brought that up at Dr. Now's office?

[nokat]

13 hours ago, Hellga said:

Thank you for that!  

Wow.  6280 calories.   If he ordered like this at every stop, six-seven times a day... it's going into stratosphere.   And not just the calories, the sheer volume of that food.  How is his GI tract able to move this much food through this fast?  

I try to not think about the output, but if someone can barely make it out of bed...

[nokat]

4 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Yeah, he took her for a drive to the beach (she loves the beach) and took a walk... to the end of the walkway at the entrance to the beach. He told her one of his goals was to be able to walk on the beach with her (since at his size the soft ground is too unstable for him to do it safely).

 

I love to walk on the beach, but it is difficult to walk in sand. Two steps forward and one back. You can walk farther in and get splashed by the surf and smell like ocean (which usually smells like rotting fish and seaweed).

 

[non sequitur]

Does anyone think he looks like Russell Crowe lol? 

His Dad was horrible, I wasn't expecting him to appear. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I suspect the six month filming, and the other strange things that were shown, were because Covid shut down filming.    I think Dr. Now was also doing only tele-medicine appointments, so I bet Paul didn't go back to Houston until well into Summer of 2020.    I noticed the mask required, and empty breakfast room at the hotel on the way to Houston, so I suspect that was the start of the big lockdowns.    

I was stunned with Paul and his father having the argument about the turkey being protein or not.    

[nokat]

1 hour ago, non sequitur said:

Does anyone think he looks like Russell Crowe lol? 

His Dad was horrible, I wasn't expecting him to appear. 

Russel Crowe when he gained weight? Not really but maybe the beard.

[cynicat]

16 hours ago, Hellga said:

Wow.  6280 calories.   If he ordered like this at every stop, six-seven times a day... it's going into stratosphere.   And not just the calories, the sheer volume of that food.  How is his GI tract able to move this much food through this fast?  

Didn't Dr. Now say that his stomach was the size of 3 footballs?  Holy shit, that's nearly as big as my whole torso!

[Hellga]

3 hours ago, nokat said:

I love to walk on the beach, but it is difficult to walk in sand. Two steps forward and one back. You can walk farther in and get splashed by the surf and smell like ocean (which usually smells like rotting fish and seaweed).

Walking in deep sand or knee-deep water is great exercise.  Do that for 3-4 miles and my calves definitely feel it the next day...  if I lived where he does, I would be there every weekend at least...   though overall I personally prefer mountains to beaches.  I get neither where I live...  but I am grateful for the nice state park with a lake across the street from my neighborhood.   Paul's legs would never been in their sorry state if he walked on that beach every day.  None of him would be!

Edited December 9, 2021 by Hellga

[libgirl2]

3 hours ago, non sequitur said:

Does anyone think he looks like Russell Crowe lol? 

His Dad was horrible, I wasn't expecting him to appear. 

Yes! I mentioned it to my husband and he said a very fat RC. 

[snarkish]

2 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Yes! I mentioned it to my husband and he said a very fat RC. 

Yes, I see it more in his sad shaped eyes and eyebrows. 

[libgirl2]

4 hours ago, AZChristian said:

I get frustrated when people blame overeating on something specific like Paul did:  One family friend pulled his penis out and wiggled it at him (only one time that Paul talked about).  And so Paul now weighs over 750 pounds????

Also . . . let's use a different example for bullying.  Let's say someone doesn't keep themselves clean and they go to school and people bully them and make fun of them because they smell bad.  There's a solution:  Go home and take showers regularly.

If people bully you because you are morbidly obese in high school (where none of the girls want to date you because you're fat), go home and eat less.

And then all the whining about how exhausting it is to sit in a car all day and do nothing.  It's so painful.  Like sitting home in your recliner doing nothing all day is any different. 

I think JJ was done with helping him by the end of the first trip.  I know she was stressed about getting to Houston on time while Paul was continuing to stuff his face at the hotel.  I'm mean.  If it had been me, I'd have said, "The car leaves in 10 minutes.  If you're in it, we'll go to Houston.  If you're not, I'm going home."  

 

I used to be bullied about my weight, because I was awkward, didn't wear make up or do my hair. In high school, I started doing my hair and wearing make up but I loved to eat and never lost weight. Then finally in 1989, I made a vow to get thin. I was at about 180. I got down to 121. After getting married and having my son, I was maybe 140. Then my divorce came and back I went to 121. People said I looked emaciated, some said I looked petite. Well, I'm 56 years old and back around 140-145. I can wear clothes from the juniors section and I am thinner than most of the kids I went to high school with who called me fat. At my 20 year HS reunion no one recognized me. 

My point is some of us just like food. I still do! ANd I had a hard time stopping, but you learn you have to and you also learn to enjoy healthy foods. I will eat veggies over fries any day. 

Edited December 9, 2021 by libgirl2

[nokat]

2 hours ago, Hellga said:

Walking in deep sand or knee-deep water is great exercise.  Do that for 3-4 miles and my calves definitely feel it the next day...  if I lived where he does, I would be there every weekend at least...   though overall I personally prefer mountains to beaches.  I get neither where I live...  but I am grateful for the nice state park with a lake across the street from my neighborhood.   Paul's legs would never been in their sorry state if he walked on that beach every day.  None of him would be!

I'm lucky that I have hills and walking up those a few times will get my heart rate up. 30 minutes of that and my blood pressure went down.

Paul's legs looking purple, they looked so painful.

[Hellga]

3 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

you also learn to enjoy healthy foods

The best way to learn to like a food you don't is just to eat it several times.  I forget the scientific basis for it, but there is a neurological process responsible.

I actually developed a love of pickled radishes that way.  There was a Turkish restaurant down the street from my first apartment, and they served everyone pickled radishes and olives when you first sat down.  First time I tasted those radishes I thought they were terrible.  The second time I nibbled on them while waiting for real food I thought they were interesting.  After fourth time I was addicted.  The place closed down several years later and I never found another good pickled radish.  Still love Turkish food.  

Edited December 10, 2021 by Hellga

[cpcathy]

I had to check out 90 minutes in, the drone of his voice drove me mad.

[libgirl2]

9 hours ago, Hellga said:

The best way to learn to like a food you don't is just to eat it several times.  I forget the scientific basis for it, but there is a neurological process responsible.

I actually developed a love of pickled radishes that way.  There was a Turkish restaurant down the street from my first apartment, and they served everyone pickled radishes and olives when you first sat down.  First time I tasted those radishes I thought they were terrible.  The second time I nibbled on them while waiting for real food I thought they were interesting.  After fourth time I was addicted.  The place closed down several years later and I never found another good pickled radish.  Still love Turkish food.  

I taught myself to enjoy broccoli. I decided one day it was healthy and I needed to eat it. I started slow with cheese on it and now I eat eat steamed or raw without a problem. Instead of facing the healthy foods with dread, these people need to see it as an opportunity to eat something new and different. Learn how to make it different and tasty. So many times I see them eating something and it is as if it is a death sentence to eat a salad or a piece of chicken!

I look at all that fast food they eat and much of it looks pretty gross. 

[Persnickety1]

22 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

He is a pretty nice looking guy and will look really good if he continues and loses the weight. 

And seemed to be a really nice guy and a good human being.  

I enjoy rooting for the good human beings to succeed.  

On a superficial note, he's one of the very few participants that didn't gross me out when he was eating.  So many of them have such disgusting table manners that I have a hard time watching them eat.  

I'm delighted for him that he's doing so well.  I hope he and his girlfriend are very happy.  

ETA:  I haven't read all of the comments yet, but WTF was up with that miniscule bathroom door he had to force himself through to get to the shower?  That door looked really undersized.  Hell, I'm 5'3" and 108 pounds, and I don't think I could get into that doorway unless I turned sideways, too.  Crazy.  

Edited December 10, 2021 by Persnickety1

[Pepper Mostly]

12 hours ago, libgirl2 said:

I taught myself to enjoy broccoli. I decided one day it was healthy and I needed to eat it. I started slow with cheese on it and now I eat eat steamed or raw without a problem. Instead of facing the healthy foods with dread, these people need to see it as an opportunity to eat something new and different. Learn how to make it different and tasty. So many times I see them eating something and it is as if it is a death sentence to eat a salad or a piece of chicken!

I look at all that fast food they eat and much of it looks pretty gross. 

I say the exact same thing, every single week as I'm watching. The poundticipants look to signing on with Dr. Now, getting onto his program and losing weight, and eventually getting weight loss surgery, as the beginning of a life of deprivation. They whinge about never being able to eat anything "good" again, and wonder if they'll be able to live a life so deprived. The food they eat when trying to lose weight is flavorless and bland and lacking in imagination, since it seems that they only flavor elements they understand are fat, salt, and sugar. No one ever seems to view making the changes in their diet and lifestyle as an opportunity to discover new things to enjoy. They only think of it as punishment. 

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, Pepper Mostly said:

I say the exact same thing, every single week as I'm watching. The poundticipants look to signing on with Dr. Now, getting onto his program and losing weight, and eventually getting weight loss surgery, as the beginning of a life of deprivation. They whinge about never being able to eat anything "good" again, and wonder if they'll be able to live a life so deprived. The food they eat when trying to lose weight is flavorless and bland and lacking in imagination, since it seems that they only flavor elements they understand are fat, salt, and sugar. No one ever seems to view making the changes in their diet and lifestyle as an opportunity to discover new things to enjoy. They only think of it as punishment. 

Exactly,  there are a bunch of great seasonings out there that can so enhance a meal. One of the best things I ever ate was a fire roasted spinach.  It wasn't greasy or heavy,  it was stewed or steamed with lemon juice. I could eat a huge bowl of it.

[jojo3couleurs]

Paul’s mom reminded me of Babygirl Lisa with a curly black wig.

Edited December 12, 2021 by jojo3couleurs
Bad autocorrect

[nokat]

On 12/9/2021 at 9:44 AM, sempervivum said:

Especially since he'd already said he was very overweight basically from birth. 

I was as concerned about that giant round mole on his back as I was about his weight. Don't think anyone brought that up at Dr. Now's office?

Yes! I noticed that mole too. It had all of the properties of a cancerous mole. It's always good to get them checked out. I noticed a tiny little black dot on my husband's leg but I knew it was recent. I asked him to get it checked and it was pre-cancerous. He had a chunk of flesh removed but we (me) caught it early.

[kassa]

As someone who was bullied as a child, I have to say it's not as simple as just changing the thing you're being bullied about.  Once a target is identified, there's very little you can do to change the dynamic as long as a nasty group of kids have pegged you as their victim.  Your reaction can make it worse; I'm not convinced any reaction can make it better.

I felt bad for the friend who drove him. I forget how long the drive was, but that was an exhausting amount of time to be driving the car, and she had to be hurting, too. (Maybe the mom drove, too)  I've done a series of 10 hour days driving but only with another driver to switch off with (and we weren't stopping on the hour for food!) And he seemed pretty thankless at the time, outright ignoring her when she was pleading to get going.  Presumably they have a long enough backstory that she was able to process that - I would have had to be very frank about minimal expectations in return for my going out of my way to chauffeur him cross country. 

I assume you all caught the "masks must be worn" sign over his shoulder as they all sat around without masks. The place was deserted, so maybe they rented it out. 

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Pounders,

This is Paul's thread.  It is not the place to discuss how you personally like to eat, recipes, or other topics not related to Paul.  Posts have been removed.  Let's stay on topic or we'll send Kassandra to glare at you when you are on the scale. 

[FormeryHeavyJ]

I am 6'1", 220 lbs and I would need to use WD40 to get into that shower.  Plus I would knock myself half-silly on the walls.

Since the episode did not include surgery or afterwards, does anyone know if Paul was a success?  Hoping so.  

[magemaud]

On 12/8/2021 at 10:12 PM, Hellga said:

With his dead voice

to me his voice sounded like it was electronically disguised

[EtheltoTillie]

• This was the worst episode of Pounders ever!  Nothing happened!  He never even got weighed. I don’t Then he ghosted them. I wonder why they chose not to scrap it. Must be they have to fill show slots. Or it’s a cautionary tale. I bet he never even followed the diet for five minutes. 

[cynicat]

On 12/17/2021 at 3:57 AM, GussieK said:

This was the worst episode of Pounders ever!  Nothing happened!  He never even got weighed. I don’t Then he ghosted them. I wonder why they chose not to scrap it. Must be they have to fill show slots. Or it’s a cautionary tale. I bet he never even followed the diet for five minutes. 

I may be mistaken, but didn't Dr. Now say something at the end about doubting that Paul ever wanted to have the surgery, and that family had  ulterior motives? 

If it was to become famous on SM for being a hated poundticipant, then ghosting Dr. Now and not losing weight is a mere drop in the ocean when compared to Penny, the Assanti bros, and our newly added Lacey.  Paul is a piker.

**ETA- This comment is in the wrong thread since it's actually about Ryan.  For some reason the two of them blend together in my mind.  I think it says something (not sure what) that either no one noticed, or Paul's episode isn't worth the energy of the correction. 😆

Edited December 18, 2021 by cynicat

[EtheltoTillie]

On 12/17/2021 at 7:56 AM, cynicat said:

I may be mistaken, but didn't Dr. Now say something at the end about doubting that Paul ever wanted to have the surgery, and that family had  ulterior motives? 

If it was to become famous on SM for being a hated poundticipant, then ghosting Dr. Now and not losing weight is a mere drop in the ocean when compared to Penny, the Assanti bros, and our newly added Lacey.  Paul is a piker.

**ETA- This comment is in the wrong thread since it's actually about Ryan.  For some reason the two of them blend together in my mind.  I think it says something (not sure what) that either no one noticed, or Paul's episode isn't worth the energy of the correction. 😆

I see your correction now. It didn’t seem wrong to me in the first place. I goofed!  

Edited December 18, 2021 by GussieK

[CrazyInAlabama]

They're rerunning Paul's episode this evening, on TLC (Saturday the 12th).