S01.E02: Where Are They Now? Olivia and James

[AdorkableWitch]

 

A woman lives by herself for the first time while trying to weigh under 200 lbs; a man hopes to have skin surgery and nurtures his first meaningful relationship.

 

I cried when Olivia got under 200 pounds. I really love her and I think that as far as stories go, hers is my favorite. I am so excited she is able to live on her own now. I do wonder if she will maybe get some sort of vocational rehab and be able to get a job. 

 

I like James, he reminds me of many of my ... less socially gifted geek friends. He seems more of a food addict than Olivia, and his behavior toward summer kind of reminded me of a "dry drunk."

[Toaster Strudel]

That was long and boring.

[Brooklynista]

The body really does make you answer for abusing it.

All that sagging skin is what the Biggest Loser tries so hard to hide. The Spanx up those contestants to within an inch of their lives. Tell the truth and shame the devil. Let America see what happens when you spend hours at Golden Corral.

[Cherrio]

Olivia was good to watch.  She worked hard and was brave to move to live on her own.

James not so much.  He is a big baby, very immature.    I am glad his girlfriend took off.

[gunderda]

James' mom showed up for his surgery. She looked a little fragile so I wonder if she's maybe not in a care center or something now. 

 

I totally missed when/how/why James and his gf broke up - can anyone give me the cliff notes?   I was all confused when he was in surgery and started talking about how he hoped she would stop by and they were trying to work on things. 

[PityFree]

James' mom showed up for his surgery. She looked a little fragile so I wonder if she's maybe not in a care center or something now. 

 

I totally missed when/how/why James and his gf broke up - can anyone give me the cliff notes?   I was all confused when he was in surgery and started talking about how he hoped she would stop by and they were trying to work on things. 

After they got engaged, they moved in together. He was really looking forward to getting skin removal surgery soon. But then when the doc told him he had to lose more, he got frustrated and angry and started to take out his frustrations on Summer. They weren't getting along so he moved out. 

Edited January 15, 2015 by PityFree

[gunderda]

thank you!

[yogi2014L]

That was long and boring.

I love this show but I didnt get past the proposal!! They could easily do 4 or 6 people in an episode 

 

And oh no I am sad they broke up :-( 

Edited January 15, 2015 by yogi2014L

[poeticlicensed]

The body really does make you answer for abusing it.

All that sagging skin is what the Biggest Loser tries so hard to hide. The Spanx up those contestants to within an inch of their lives. Tell the truth and shame the devil. Let America see what happens when you spend hours at Golden Corral.

Yes, even the ones who lost huge amounts of weight ended up with skin issues and misshapen bodies, Olivia depends on a cane and James still walks strangely, despite the weight loss. They both have mobility issues that will probably last the rest of their lives. 

 

Does anyone know how old Olivia is? When they showed her original episode, I somehow thought she was really old, like someone's granny living in the basement.  She looked much younger in the catch up episode. 

 

James seemed like such a sad person. I hope he and Summer make it. 

Are they updating Penny next week? That's what it seemed like, from the previews. I can't wait for that one. 

[Ocean Chick]

They broke up for a while, but she came back when he got his skin surgery, and at the end James said they were planning on getting married in a few months. Which should be interesting, as they both seem to have a lot of issues that really need to be addressed in therapy.

 

I'm really chuffed for Olivia and hope she can keep the weight off for a year and get some real skin removal surgery for her entire body.  And that she can get and keep a job and be really independent.

[RedKoolAide]

I'm glad James finally got his skin removal surgery because I was tired of hearing him whine about it. I also never saw real love between James and Summer. They seem more like two people who didn't want to be alone and settled for each other. That proposal was awkward. But good for him for losing the weight.

Olivia is the most motivated person I have seen on this show. Her history of abuse, suicide attempts, and depression were a set up for her to fail. But she has a strong spirit and I'm so happy for her. I was devastated for her when her mother died but she kept going. Olivia really wanted to change her life. Now, she can motivate her twin sister to lose weight.

[Oldernowiser]

I can't back this up without watching it again, but IIRC Olivia was 46 when her episode was taped?

ETA: I checked and yes, she was 46. Now why I can remember this when I can't remember anything pertinent to my own actual life without writing it down? A mystery...

Edited January 15, 2015 by Oldernowiser

[gunderda]

I was going to put Olivia at mid-50s so late 40s doesn't seem to far off.  (just thinking about how old her mother probably was and basing it off that)

[Toaster Strudel]

Yes, even the ones who lost huge amounts of weight ended up with skin issues and misshapen bodies, Olivia depends on a cane and James still walks strangely, despite the weight loss. They both have mobility issues that will probably last the rest of their lives

 

I would love to know the medical explanation for this.

 

[SaucyMommy]

what a total and utter snooze fest.  I seriously want the new people to show up.  And OMG what is with all the whining from James.  Give me the new people!

[MrsClaus]

If I remember correctly, Melissa from the first season kept walking like she was still carrying the weight for quite a while, but her walk seemed to get better as she realized she no longer needed to compensate for the excess.

[Oldernowiser]

There is no doubt some major joint damage for some of them. As a runner, the running docs say that every pound gained adds the impact of three pounds to your knees, ankles, and feet. So with 400 pounds of extra weight, that's 1200 pounds. Do that for a while and joint damage would be inevitable.

[auntjess]

I just watched a rerun of James' first show, but don't see a file for it.
Just want to know, is the James the one whose girlfriend got him into drugs, and he either died, or had bad problems?

Thanks.

[4leafclover]

No, I think that was a young man named Donald--I remember he slipped into a coma but I haven't heard that he has died. Turned out he had Guillian-Barre but it was revealed he had been using meth and that his girlfriend was a heavy user. 

[auntjess]

Thanks, because I saw from the thread here that he broke up with Summer, and wondered if she was the drug one.

[notyrmomma]

15 hours ago, auntjess said:

Thanks, because I saw from the thread here that he broke up with Summer, and wondered if she was the drug one.

No, but I don't know what happened with Summer.  Summer was the one who had gastric bypass many years ago and met James online.  I'm probably going to get in trouble for this comment, but Summer seemed a little bossy and James was probably the type that didn't want to be told what to do.

[auntjess]

One thing that I liked about James, was that he worked, and seemed to be eager to get more work going.

[jenlar3]

On January 15, 2015 at 1:30 PM, Toaster Strudel said:

 

I would love to know the medical explanation for this.

 

I would hazard a guess that cartilage in their body got 'used up' so to speak from the pressure of their weight. When they move now, their bones rub together, which is painful. Just because the weight is gone, there is a lot of collateral damage that can't ever be reversed.