S10.E10: Margaret's Journey

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Margaret's life at 700 pounds is in need of a jump start. At age 35, she is a mama's girl. Now, it's time for Margaret to get out of bed, overcome her food addiction and break away from the comfort of her mother so she can finally live her life.

Original air date 2022.01.05

[catlover79]

That episode was...something. 😳

[CrazyInAlabama]

I don't care about Margaret or Millie, her mother.    They are both sick, codependent, awful people.     The awful way they treated Dr. Paradise, and Dr. Now shows exactly how awful they are.         After the true story about her mother's 'abandonment' came out, that told me everything I needed to know about both ot them.     

I'm afraid that Margaret and Millie not putting out full length photos means that there is a follow up episode in the works.         I don't care how much weight Margaret loses, she's still going to be a hopeless, mean person who lies about everything.    After finding out from the mother that Margaret lied about everything, I'm wondering if anything in the episode was true, except for the parts with Dr. Now, the physical therapists, and Dr. Paradise.     My guess is nothing that came out of Margaret's mouth was true.    

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by CrazyInAlabama

[Hellga]

My mom's luck that she ends up watching only the super-cringeworthy episodes - Margaret, Lacey, No-Hy-Jeannie...  After this one, she is worried she is going to have nightmares.  She cannot believe people could do that to themselves, or one another.

[OoogleEyes]

44 minutes ago, Hellga said:

My mom's luck that she ends up watching only the super-cringeworthy episodes - Margaret, Lacey, No-Hy-Jeannie...  After this one, she is worried she is going to have nightmares.  She cannot believe people could do that to themselves, or one another.

Gosh, No-hy-Jeanne. Your poor Mom had  a baptism of fire!

[Bluesky]

Chihuahuas again!  So scared for them.  

[suev3333]

Just started watching ...had to stop to ask...

Why is she laying there butt naked when the physical therapists were there?!?!?????  My god, is she an animal?  Splayed our like that?  Have a shred of dignity, ughhh.   Cover up some.   This is gonna be a doozy.  Well, back to watch...🙄

[magemaud]

12 minutes ago, suev3333 said:

 Cover up some.   This is gonna be a doozy.  Well, back to watch

prepare yourself for Dr. Paradise's house call, that's all I'm sayin'...

But I came here to post a question. The episode began in the hospital, due to a fall after which Margaret was sent to Dr. Now's hospital because the local ER couldn't handle a patient her size. Does anybody think that production decided to approach her with the idea of being on the show while she was a patient? It wasn't like she wanted WLS and sought out Dr. Now's help, instead the idea seemed pretty much thrust upon her. It was almost like somebody said, "Hey, we got a big one here, let's film her 'journey'!" Maybe it had something to do with the lack of filming opportunities due to Covid, but it was a totally different premise than the usual episode. 

 

[suev3333]

Ok, had to stop watching again when Margaret threw her 8 yr old crying temper tantrum with Dr. Paradise.   That was extremely uncomfortable and painful to watch.   All her crying at the drop of a hat.   There are many meds, antidepressants that will quell that constant crying.   I know she needs much more than meds,  but meds would really help her.   I'm not a Dr....just speaking from my experiences.

  I'm not sure if I can finish this one.    Her mother answering Dr Paradise when he asks her a direct question.  It's such an unhealthy, sick enmeshment. And the, "get out of my house!....now I have no comfort!  You are taking it all away"   just...          Wow 

I'm going back in to finish watching 😐

Edited January 6, 2022 by suev3333

[swankie]

I think mama is trying to make up for the piss poor mother she was during Margaret's childhood.  By speaking up when a question was directed to her daughter it was her way of keeping Margaret from disclosing too much.  And she seems to want to keep Margaret in a childlike state for whatever reason.  That temper tantrum was outrageous.  A 35 year old woman should not behave that way.  And they both seemed to be on something when she finally lost the 35 lbs.  The way they were acting was bizarre.  

[NeitherSparky]

I am absolutely exhausted after this episode. Like someone in live chat said, it might make me a bitch but I can’t stand people who cry at everything. Including when they’re happy. The way those two grabbed eachother and ugly cried when Dr Now said he’d give her surgery made me sick. The exclamations of “WE did it” and “OUR surgery” were disgusting, you two are separate people. And for god’s sake Millie had gastric bypass (I did too), she should know that just having the surgery is just the beginning, there was no need to start crying that her baby is going to live now. MARGARET still has to put in the work. I positively loathe both these women and I personally hope we don’t get a follow up because I never want to see them again.

[Chatty Cake]

I missed the last 20 minutes. Did she actually have weight loss surgery? 
I feel like everyone who came into that house had a right to tell her to put some clothes over herself before they went any further. That was gross.
 

[cynicat]

 

3 hours ago, swankie said:

And she seems to want to keep Margaret in a childlike state for whatever reason.

I'm right there with all of you that this episode was incredibly hard to watch even though she was successful.

About halfway through it hit me that she literally, (in the right sense of the word) looked like an infant.  When she was lying flat on the bed with no clothes on, looking up at her mommy, I thought she looked exactly like a baby in a crib.  Then add to it that when she cried it was just like how an infant cries: first scrunching up the face till it turns red and then after a slight delay, bursting forth with ungodly wailing.  (inserted gif below to show what I mean)

The mom made it quite clear that Margaret was her BABY, and wouldn't let Dr. Paradise say otherwise.  

Edited January 6, 2022 by cynicat

[libgirl2]

6 hours ago, suev3333 said:

Just started watching ...had to stop to ask...

Why is she laying there butt naked when the physical therapists were there?!?!?????  My god, is she an animal?  Splayed our like that?  Have a shred of dignity, ughhh.   Cover up some.   This is gonna be a doozy.  Well, back to watch...🙄

I was aghast at that. Have some shred of dignity! We have seen people on here who despite their size manage to have on clothing! 

This episode made me nauseous. Something very creepy going on. 

[ams1001]

7 hours ago, Bluesky said:

Chihuahuas again!  So scared for them.  

I love Chihuahuas and seeing fat ones makes me sad.

[sainte-chapelle]

9 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I don't care about Margaret or Millie, her mother.    They are both sick, codependent, awful people.     The awful way they treated Dr. Paradise, and Dr. Now shows exactly how awful they are.         After the true story about her mother's 'abandonment' came out, that told me everything I needed to know about both ot them.     

I knew she was lying after her session with Dr. Now. She is a grade A drama Queen who takes every little statement as an attack on her. The reason she was so cloak and dagger about her childhood is that she likely didn’t experience any of the abuse she alludes to. I think she mentioned siblings but we never saw them. That was also telling.

[Lillith]

There was so much going on in that mess of an episode, and the livechat was so busy I'm sure I missed a few things. But it was such a creepy, sad, maddening episode that I don't want to watch again. It seems like Margaret is cognitively impared in some way, her behaviors and reactions were so stupid and childlike in the worst way. Millie was phony, going through a midlife crisis and was overall awful. These people don't have baggage, they have shipping containers worth of issues and dysfunction. Heaven bless Dr. Paradise for coping with that visit. And Dr. Now understandbly seemed over it early on. My main takeaway from the episide is just: Ew. 

[ams1001]

8 hours ago, suev3333 said:

Just started watching ...had to stop to ask...

Why is she laying there butt naked when the physical therapists were there?!?!?????  My god, is she an animal?  Splayed our like that?  Have a shred of dignity, ughhh.   Cover up some.   This is gonna be a doozy.  Well, back to watch...🙄

We were all asking that.

7 hours ago, suev3333 said:

Her mother answering Dr Paradise when he asks her a direct question.  It's such an unhealthy, sick enmeshment. And the, "get out of my house!....now I have no comfort!  You are taking it all away"   just...          Wow 

When Dr. Now said he wanted them to go to therapy together I thought, "that seems like a really bad idea. She needs therapy on her own."

3 hours ago, Chatty Cake said:

I feel like everyone who came into that house had a right to tell her to put some clothes over herself before they went any further. That was gross.

Maybe she was hoping it would make them leave.

5 minutes ago, Lillith said:

Heaven bless Dr. Paradise for coping with that visit. And Dr. Now understandbly seemed over it early on.

I hope Dr. P has a good therapist of his own...

[libgirl2]

I kept thinking about the dynamic of Sean and his mother, she babied him and their relationship was so abnormal. 

[fonfereksglen]

I lasted 20 minutes.  I am no longer wasting time with verbally abusive, nasty people.  Both on TV and in real life.

[Roxie]

Was any mention of the siblings made after they were first mentioned, other than that Mom took at least one of them with her when she left the dad?  I do think it was confirmed that Margaret was the youngest.

[lilysmom]

9 hours ago, magemaud said:

prepare yourself for Dr. Paradise's house call, that's all I'm sayin'...

But I came here to post a question. The episode began in the hospital, due to a fall after which Margaret was sent to Dr. Now's hospital because the local ER couldn't handle a patient her size. Does anybody think that production decided to approach her with the idea of being on the show while she was a patient? It wasn't like she wanted WLS and sought out Dr. Now's help, instead the idea seemed pretty much thrust upon her. It was almost like somebody said, "Hey, we got a big one here, let's film her 'journey'!" Maybe it had something to do with the lack of filming opportunities due to Covid, but it was a totally different premise than the usual episode. 

 

I think that is exactly what happened. If you noticed, they went into her childhood story after the hospital visit. 

[lilysmom]

5 hours ago, Chatty Cake said:

I missed the last 20 minutes. Did she actually have weight loss surgery? 
I feel like everyone who came into that house had a right to tell her to put some clothes over herself before they went any further. That was gross.
 

At one point in the broadcast (no pun intended!) I thought to myself, OMG, these poor drs., therapists, camera crews have no blurring out of the nether regions (don't know how to spell that!) like we do. I can't even imagine standing there and being able to talk, much less counsel someone in this sishuashion!!

[sempervivum]

This blubbering blob will NEVER be a productive or even self-sufficient human being, and most likely will eat herself to death as soon as Mom kicks the bucket. At least she didn't manage to reproduce (so far 🤢).

I, too, was astonished that NO ONE threw a sheet across this weirdo.

[starlightlost]

I could NOT with that constant crying. Y'all are right with the infant like way she was and the mom. Just ugh. So weird. Like what in the codependent crap did I just watch lol

 

A couple updated pictures on here https://tvshowsace.com/2022/01/05/my-600lb-life-margaret-johnson-2021-update-where-is-she-now/ it seems she has kept up with the weight loss and looks quite a bit better. Let's hope she stopped with the constant crying and being a giant baby.

 

I'm a nosy bitch lol so I was trying to find her siblings but no luck so far. I wonder how much of that story about her dad was true?

[ethalfrida]

A Southern thing: parents commonly refer to their adult children as their baby. Seriously. But it’s more of a mother thing.

[libgirl2]

37 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

This blubbering blob will NEVER be a productive or even self-sufficient human being, and most likely will eat herself to death as soon as Mom kicks the bucket. At least she didn't manage to reproduce (so far 🤢).

I, too, was astonished that NO ONE threw a sheet across this weirdo.

While I wouldn't go that far, I do wonder about her chances at success, mainly will her mother let her and does she have the mental fortitude to do it. 

And yes, she should have worn some type of bottom! 

[kicotan]

10 minutes ago, ethalfrida said:

A Southern thing: parents commonly refer to their adult children as their baby. Seriously. But it’s more of a mother thing.

True.  Especially the last one.  I still get called baby, and my personal favorite: precious!
 

11 hours ago, magemaud said:

prepare yourself for Dr. Paradise's house call, that's all I'm sayin'...

But I came here to post a question. The episode began in the hospital, due to a fall after which Margaret was sent to Dr. Now's hospital because the local ER couldn't handle a patient her size. Does anybody think that production decided to approach her with the idea of being on the show while she was a patient? It wasn't like she wanted WLS and sought out Dr. Now's help, instead the idea seemed pretty much thrust upon her. It was almost like somebody said, "Hey, we got a big one here, let's film her 'journey'!" Maybe it had something to do with the lack of filming opportunities due to Covid, but it was a totally different premise than the usual episode. 

 

I too was sort of shocked at how this episode played out-straight from the beginning, like they slapped it together from a local referral.  No exotic location that afforded us the opportunity to see who helps them get there, shower scenes, mountains of food being consumed…my bingo card was, sadly, quite empty.

[IvySpice]

The live chat comment comparing Margaret to the trash heap in Fraggle Rock had me HOWLING. I'm booked on the bus to Hell.

Dr. Paradise is an angel, isn't he? He found a calm, positive way to look at Margaret's toddler behavior and encourage Millie to see her as an independent being. I mean, adults don't throw tantrums over their mommies, but they do choose when to leave situations, so...fair enough?

[CrazyInAlabama]

Last time I looked, the Live Chat hit 19 pages.   

I'm wondering if she ever had surgery, but either way I don't put a lot of credence with her face looking different in her later pictures, with filters anyone can look very different.  Mother Millie really took her chance to be on camera, and show off all of her assets.        

[snarkish]

Sweet Lord, Jeebus...I'm not sure I can go back and watch the rest of this having read this thread! I ended it early as I had an early morning today and all that blubber-crying didn't seem worth watching through. As those before me have mentioned, the initial scene of her lying in the hospital bed and looking up at Dr. Now with large eyes and sniffling, looked just like an infant about ready to wail. Then I saw the beginning of the shitshow of her lying slap naked in the bed in front of the therapists, the pack of wild Chihuahuas and then first tantrum. Then I said, "Nuh uh" and went to bed. But now I might fire up the DVR and at least see poor, sweet Dr. P get what he doesn't deserve. 

[Gemma Violet]

I have a feeling that after her surgery (where Dr. Now specifically told her that her infection had returned because of poor hygiene), she went right back to her poor hygiene habits.  Even if she started taking daily showers, no doubt the bed linens are rarely changed.  That last scene of her lying on the bed with dogs all around and dog hair clearly visible on her, I can't help but think of the woman a few episodes back who was found to actually have dog hair in her incision.

Besides the 3 chihuahuas, I saw another bigger dog.  So there are at least 4 dogs and 1 cat that we know of.

I agree with what everyone said about the crying.  She seemed to relish in being treated like a child, crying when she was frustrated or didn't get her way, and mom would then jump in to say 'there there, precious, mommy's here.'  What a weird mother-daughter dynamic.  It was exhausting and annoying. 

 

Edited January 6, 2022 by Gemma Violet

[magemaud]

23 minutes ago, snarkish said:

But now I might fire up the DVR and at least see poor, sweet Dr. P get what he doesn't deserve. 

I was so proud of Dr. P. for maintaining his calm professionalism during Margaret's tantrum. I'll bet that was his first and last "My 600-Lb. Life" house call, just like the two original physical therapists who were never seen again. I wouldn't be surprised if members of the camera crew resigned along the way, too (maybe they're receiving therapy from Dr. P. for PTSD) 

[what]

I just had to share that when she had the tantrum with Dr. Paradis and got up, I spotted one of the dogs licking the spot on the bed where her nether regions would be. What a horrible thing to see. 

[magemaud]

Directions: add 2 cups of honey mustard dressing and eat while lying naked from the waist down in bed: 

5 hours ago, sainte-chapelle said:

I think she mentioned siblings but we never saw them.

she has two older sisters

[AZChristian]

I looked it up.  Two cups of honey mustard dressing is over 2,000 calories.  I'm assuming she had salad twice a day.  Just the dressing was 4,000+ calories, not to mention that there was a LOT of chicken in that salad (which was big enough on its own to share).

Why on EARTH would either Dr. Now or Dr. Paradise think the mother and daughter should do therapy sessions together?

I want to know what was locked in that huge safe near Margaret's bed.  Honey mustard salad dressing?  

[ams1001]

8 minutes ago, magemaud said:

I'll bet that was his first and last "My 600-Lb. Life" house call

He's done house calls before. (As for "last"...who can say..?)

5 minutes ago, what said:

I just had to share that when she had the tantrum with Dr. Paradis and got up, I spotted one of the dogs licking the spot on the bed where her nether regions would be. What a horrible thing to see. 

🤮

[libgirl2]

8 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

He's done house calls before. (As for "last"...who can say..?)

🤮

IT would be my last. 

15 minutes ago, what said:

I just had to share that when she had the tantrum with Dr. Paradis and got up, I spotted one of the dogs licking the spot on the bed where her nether regions would be. What a horrible thing to see. 

Yuck. I missed that. 

14 minutes ago, magemaud said:

Directions: add 2 cups of honey mustard dressing and eat while lying naked from the waist down in bed: 

she has two older sisters

I couldn't even imagine 2 cups! Maybe a few tablespoons. 

[pdlinda]

26 minutes ago, magemaud said:

Directions: add 2 cups of honey mustard dressing and eat while lying naked from the waist down in bed: 

 

I have a question:  How does a person eat while LYING DOWN????  How does the food digest?  

Between the disgusting food, the obvious filth in the home (despite some effort to clear the floors), the improbable eating position, the inability to cover herself appropriately and the constant yelping of the dogs I reached a point of sensory overload that required me to FF over most of the episode.

This woman is essentially a toddler emotionally, intellectually and "spiritually" so whatever the surgery might accomplish changing her physically might be a mere afterthought to her overall functioning.  This one was a HUM DINGER!!

[ams1001]

42 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

I couldn't even imagine 2 cups! Maybe a few tablespoons. 

I'm partial to Ken's Steakhouse Honey French dressing. (Not the healthiest option, but if it gets me to eat a big bowl of leafy greens and other veggies, I think it's worth it. Also I don't weigh 600 pounds.) When I bring a salad to work for lunch, I use a little 1/2 cup Rubbermaid container for the dressing, and I generally fill it a little less than halfway. I make good-sized salads (I use a rectangular six-cup Pyrex container, usually). According to the Ken's website, it's 140 Calories/12g fat per 2-Tbsp. serving. A little googling tells me that there are 4 Tbsp. in 1/4 cup, so I'm probably using 1.5-2 servings worth of dressing, and even that I sometimes find to be too much.

 

Edit: doing the math, that makes 2 cups = 32 Tbsp = 16 servings = 2240 calories, for the Honey French, at least. I assume your average honey mustard is similar.

Edited January 6, 2022 by ams1001

[libgirl2]

1 minute ago, ams1001 said:

I'm partial to Ken's Steakhouse Honey French dressing. (Not the healthiest option, but if it gets me to eat a big bowl of leafy greens and other veggies, I think it's worth it. Also I don't weigh 600 pounds.) When I bring a salad to work for lunch, I use a little 1/2 cup Rubbermaid container for the dressing, and I generally fill it a little less than halfway. I make good-sized salads (I use a rectangular six-cup Pyrex container, usually). According to the Ken's website, it's 140 Calories/12g fat per 2-Tbsp. serving. A little googling tells me that there are 4 Tbsp. in 1/4 cup, so I'm probably using 1.5-2 servings worth of dressing, and even that I sometimes find to be too much.

Imagine 2 cups??? 

[libgirl2]

18 minutes ago, pdlinda said:

I have a question:  How does a person eat while LYING DOWN????  How does the food digest?  

 

I would choke but she is probably used to it. 

[RedDelicious]

12 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I'm partial to Ken's Steakhouse Honey French dressing. (Not the healthiest option, but if it gets me to eat a big bowl of leafy greens and other veggies, I think it's worth it. Also I don't weigh 600 pounds.) When I bring a salad to work for lunch, I use a little 1/2 cup Rubbermaid container for the dressing, and I generally fill it a little less than halfway. I make good-sized salads (I use a rectangular six-cup Pyrex container, usually). According to the Ken's website, it's 140 Calories/12g fat per 2-Tbsp. serving. A little googling tells me that there are 4 Tbsp. in 1/4 cup, so I'm probably using 1.5-2 servings worth of dressing, and even that I sometimes find to be too much.

I do the exact same thing! 

Watching this episode made me feel so uncomfortable. I could not take the crying tantrums because they were so disturbing.

A tall safe like that is typically for rifles, but a lot of people have them to store oversized valuables like silver sets and things like that. Now granted, it doesn't seem like Momma Millie has a silver tea set holed up in there but you never know. I'm confident if there were firearms in the home, they'd have to be locked up before production set foot on the property. I think duck hunting is pretty big in Texas.

[Sasha888]

Not to ruin everyone's fun snarking, but I took the "2 cups" statement to mean something different. Margaret appears to be eating take-out salads from a restaurant. I assumed "cups" meant the little container a restaurant puts your dressing in, when you order a salad and they serve your dressing on the side. 

I don't believe anyone could dump 2 measuring cups of dressing on a salad. It would be disgusting beyond belief, even to someone who loves dressing.

I think Goofball Mom's mention of "cups" means "containers". 

That said, Margaret was on a very strict Dr Now style diet, and should not have been having an extra container of dressing on each salad.

[ams1001]

28 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Imagine 2 cups??? 

I don't wanna.

2 minutes ago, Sasha888 said:

Not to ruin everyone's fun snarking, but I took the "2 cups" statement to mean something different. Margaret appears to be eating take-out salads from a restaurant. I assumed "cups" meant the little container a restaurant puts your dressing in, when you order a salad and they serve your dressing on the side. 

Ah, you're probably right. But imagining it the other way is more fun.

[libgirl2]

Just now, ams1001 said:

Ah, you're probably right. But imagining it the other way is more fun.

That makes more sense because two cups makes it sound like honey mustard soup with lettuce. 

[Sasha888]

I agree so much with what everyone's saying about Margaret's nakedness. I was so shocked I had to pause the show and just say "Oh my God" out loud several times. I could not believe it.

I believe Margaret knew exactly what she was doing, and this was a deliberate "Fuck You" to people she did not want to talk to. She did not want physical therapy, and she did not want counseling from Dr. Paradise. 

Now imagine, for a moment, that a male poundticipant took their penis out in the same situations. That is essentially what she did...she "shook her dick" at anything and anyone she didn't like, so to speak.

Margaret would have stopped receiving ANY help at all at that point, if I was in charge of the show. I wouldn't have put those therapists through any more of that, and I don't blame the two female PT's from the beginning for never showing up again. At the very least I hope she received one hell of a scathing call from Dr. Now. She's absolutely vile.

On a lighter note...I did feel her reprehensible behavior gave me full permission to mock her, so I had one hell of a good time laughing at her when she threw her "I'm walking out" tantrum at Dr. Paradise. "You can't take my mommy from me!" 😆 Followed by the slowest angry stomp-off in the history of the world!

Then she sits there, literally a few feet away in the bathroom, with her bratty look on her face while he just calmly continues to talk to her messed up mother.  Yep, you really showed him!

[libgirl2]

3 minutes ago, Sasha888 said:

Now imagine, for a moment, that a male poundticipant took their penis out in the same situations. That is essentially what she did...she "shook her dick" at anything and anyone she didn't like, so to speak.

 

You bring up a very good point. Would they have let Lola sit there while the guy is waving his thing around? 

Though wasn't Steven Assanti naked most of the time? 

[Sasha888]

4 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Would they have let Lola sit there while the guy is waving his thing around? 

Exactly! And would the producers have shown it on the episode? Just blurred out the area and continued filming? Maybe they would have, I don't know. I mean, they seem to want to film things for the shock value. But I have to wonder if it would have been treated differently if a man did it, and that's not okay in my book. Margaret should be held to the same standard as any male patient. 

 

7 minutes ago, libgirl2 said:

Though wasn't Steven Assanti naked most of the time? 

He was certainly wearing nothing but a sheet as often as he could get away with it...I don't know that they actually let him expose his genitals to anyone who came to his apt to help him...he had a personal care assistant (who deserved hazard pay...Princess I think was her name) who came by during filming. That's just what I remember being on film though, I would make no bets on what that jackass would do when the camera crew wasn't there. I wouldn't put anything past him!

Poor Princess, poor Dr. Paradise, poor nutritionists who get treated like garbage...these people who go into these homes, my gosh, what a job to have to do. Going into filthy rat's nests to help obstinate people who don't want help, and then they treat you like this.

[borealis]

I'm gonna be like I was last week & talk about driving distances. 😋 Dr. Paradise's office (and looks like it's also his home) is in a part of Houston called Montrose, just west of downtown. Assuming that's where he drove from, Baytown's a nice drive from there. I just hope that house call was his last work duty of the day and afterward he took advantage of the trip and went down to the beach!!!