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The All You Can Eat Buffet: My 600 Pound Life All Episode Discussion


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2 hours ago, Jeeves said:

During the live chat on this episode, I got so angry that Megan was a THREE HUNDRED POUND ELEVEN YEAR OLD and the adults in her life did fuckall about it.  For God's sake, this is a CHILD who weighed THREE HUNDRED POUNDS and yes I'm yelling.

Did either of her parents have time to notice that their child was mobrbidly obese at age 11?? 

Did any teacher notice what had to be an extraordinarily bad physical condition? Didn't any adult at her school say, wait a minute, we need to report this unhealthy child and get her medical help?

Did she EVER go to a doctor, and if so what the hell did the doctor say to the parents? "Oh, she could stand to lose a little weight?"

Jesus wept.

This story was the first I, and most of the world had never imagined and true.  A dead 13 y/o who weighed 680 pounds.   The girl refused to go to a doctor or to school for some years ... so only mom is to blame IMO. 

 https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-12-27-1997361015-story.html

Then there was Billy Chambers, the first time we met Dr. Now pre this show.  His mom was psychotically depressed when a baby died years and years ago and Billy was the baby's replacement to always be kept in an infantile state.  The dad didn't seem to care.  

Sean's mom too.  And Christina's.  

People do terrible things to their children for it seems, their own selfishness.  Or they hate them.   

 

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Today on another thread a discussion started about the format of the show.  May be a moot subject now but it has gotten so stale!  TLC has been re-airing old episodes and those hooked me.  Not that the poundicipants were that different, but the shows were an hour.  Two hours is too long since each episode is filled with the same old.

Maybe do a supersized for some -- especially for someone who is successful.  Or a follow-up.  

It's just a chore to pay attention now.  The folks just aren't really that interesting or unique  

Just my thoughts.  

 

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I've been re-reading Dr. Laura's book, "Bad Childhood-Good Life."  I felt like I was letting triggered memories intrude into my life now, so I wanted some pointers on how to move past them.

This would be an excellent book for any of the 600 pounders to read - IF they really want to move past childhood abuse, molestation, etc.  

The bottom line is, we can wallow in victimhood and use it as an excuse for what's happening in our lives now, or we can choose to work through it and move on.

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44 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

It's amazing to me how these people can eat half a piece of pizza or one mini-donut in one bite, without even opening their mouth too wide. Food just seems to VANISH into their maws.

Bringing this over from an episode topic.

I think of it as addiction in action. They may "love" food - but not in the way most people would think when they hear the phrase. 

Someone who loves food can rhapsodize about the variety of tastes that they experience from a single bite of a favorite dish. They understand eating slowly and savoring the food. I know about those foodies, bless their hearts, because I've been trapped in social conversations where people waxed poetic, at length, about some specific pasta dish at an Italian restaurant they went to last week, or some dessert they had in Italy last year, or whatever. (Full disclosure: I'm not a foodie and I hate being subjected to foodie conversations and I never watch the food/cooking channels.)

Likewise, some people enjoy beer, wine, or hard liquors. As in, savoring the taste as they sip it. These alcohol connoisseurs aren't glugging down bottles of Mad Dog 20/20 while sitting on a gritty curb, or spending lost weekends at home with their stashes of beer, wine, or vodka, waking up sick on Monday morning with no memory of the past two days. Or sucking down six bottles of beer in a couple of hours at a bar.

I know a little about addiction, being a recovering drunk. I have also done some mindless eating, although it never took over my life. Whether it's heroin, speed, alcohol, gambling, sex, or food, someone who's in active addiction is no longer doing the activity primarily to feel good, but instead is doing it to avoid feeling bad. The classic example is the heroin addict who is literally physically sick if they go too long between hits. The next hit may bring some pleasure but more importantly it relieves pain/illness. Yes, I'm overgeneralizing, and I'm not a professional or trained in this field.

But I truly believe a few things. First, this show includes staged eating scenes. Not that the subjects of the show don't really eat like that, but like the shower scenes, the eating scenes are set up, especially in the beginning of the episodes. OTOH I believe that there are usually some un-staged scenes later in the episodes involving pathological food consumption. Like James K's famous fried rice. 

I also believe that these folks say they love food and it makes them feel good and it's always there for them, but their "enjoyment" and "love" is more about relieving discomfort than the kind of joy that non-addicts experience from food. 

So when someone with good intentions says, "don't they understand that they can just blanch those  veggies with a little seasoning and they will be tasty and enjoyable?" - IMO it's like someone saying, "Why spend fifty bucks on all those bottles of cheap rotgut when you could buy a nice bourbon and sip some good-tasting drinks?" We all get the answer to that: the person buying all the cheap rotgut needs such a quantity of booze that they can't afford the quality bourbon in those quantities. I think there's a similar dynamic with the folks on this show. Who, sadly, can't just quit the stuff of their addictive behavior because we've all got to eat. They're eating the way a drunk drinks, IMO. And it's not pretty in either case.

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On 4/4/2020 at 5:45 PM, Otter said:

This story was the first I, and most of the world had never imagined and true.  A dead 13 y/o who weighed 680 pounds.   The girl refused to go to a doctor or to school for some years ... so only mom is to blame IMO. 

 https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-12-27-1997361015-story.html

Then there was Billy Chambers, the first time we met Dr. Now pre this show.  His mom was psychotically depressed when a baby died years and years ago and Billy was the baby's replacement to always be kept in an infantile state.  The dad didn't seem to care.  

Sean's mom too.  And Christina's.  

People do terrible things to their children for it seems, their own selfishness.  Or they hate them.   

 

How do you blame a mom that couldn't get any help for her child? Sounds like the mother had zero support or education regarding how to handle this horrendous situation. 

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On 4/4/2020 at 5:45 PM, Otter said:

This story was the first I, and most of the world had never imagined and true.  A dead 13 y/o who weighed 680 pounds.   The girl refused to go to a doctor or to school for some years ... so only mom is to blame IMO. 

 https://www.baltimoresun.com/news/bs-xpm-1997-12-27-1997361015-story.html

Then there was Billy Chambers, the first time we met Dr. Now pre this show.  His mom was psychotically depressed when a baby died years and years ago and Billy was the baby's replacement to always be kept in an infantile state.  The dad didn't seem to care.  

Sean's mom too.  And Christina's.  

People do terrible things to their children for it seems, their own selfishness.  Or they hate them.   

 

A few parents did seem to want to hurt their child. Maybe the parent resents the child for being so needy, or wants to hurt a spouse by destroying what the spouse loves, or maybe the parent had a fucked up childhood and wants their own child to have a fucked up life to balance things out. A morbidly obese child is a signal that the parents are insane.

Edited by Concerned
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Next week is supposed to be the WATN (not WNTW) for Benji/David and Erica.   The next week is Alicia (who I don't remember at all), and Pauline (yes, again.  At least her third episode), apparently another WATN.    

I'm wondering if Dr. Now's long monologue on the weight loss program, and other speeches in the Leneatha episode was the end of filming for the season?    

 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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I wonder if it would make an impression on these folks if Dr. Now said something like, "You weigh as much as three adult people combined.  That means that if you're not losing weight, it's because you are eating as much as three adult people combined.  Whatever you eat, cut it into three portions and eat it over three days, not all on one day.  If you do that, you'll lose your goal of 40 pounds in one month, and we can consider you for weight loss surgery."

I think that's a more easy to understand way of communicating it, rather than saying, "You've got enough food in you right now to last four years."

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I think since they followed people for many years in the early seasons, that they only showed the successes.   I bet there were a lot of people that were filmed for a while, and then dropped.      Now, they need a lot of people to make a season, and WATN, so they film everybody who is put in the program, so we get more of the failures.  

My guess is they went to 2 hour episodes, and the WATN to replace following the same people for  a longer period.  Even if the person quits, or gets booted out of the program, then they have at least one episode on them filmed and ready to go.   

I wish they would do a one hour special, online only if necessary, showing what the program screening is like, the psychological or other screenings.   The education the poundticipants have, the support groups after, the medical workups that Dr. Now's office does.   So it shows the resources the poundticipants, and regular patient in the program receive.     

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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8 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I think since they followed people for many years in the early seasons, that they only showed the successes.   I bet there were a lot of people that were filmed for a while, and then dropped.      Now, they need a lot of people to make a season, and WATN, so they film everybody who is put in the program, so we get more of the failures.  

I thought it was only the first season that followed the poundticipant for 7 years. After that, they were all for a year. At least, they were until this year when it's a year, six months, nine months, however long the poundticipant lasts before quitting the program.

I'm gonna end up doing a deep dive on this, I just know it. Don't know why I'm resisting.

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Deep dive done – it wasn't all that deep, but I did have to combine data from a few different sites. I finally managed to find raw viewership numbers, which make for more consistent comparisons than the ratings and rankings I was using. There are no numbers of any kind available for season 1. That season was enough different that I don't know how relevant it would be, anyway.

Season 2 is missing numbers for a couple of episodes. Zsalynn and Penny. There were eight episodes, with an average (for the 6 I could find) of 1.33 million viewers. Highest was Chuck, lowest was James.

Season 3 had 10 episodes, with an average of 1.23 million viewers. Highest was Marla, lowest was Susan.

Season 4 had 12 episodes; the average was 1.27 million viewers. Highest was Dottie, lowest was Randy.

Season 5 had 14 episodes and an average 1.32 million viewers. Big surprise what the highest viewed episode was – it's the highest of all time. Steven and Justin Part 2 (172.2 million viewers). Lowest was Tanisha.

Probably on the basis of finishing season 5 on such a high, season 6 had 16 episodes. The average viewership was 1.39 million. Highest was Rena and Lee – the first episode of the season. Lowest was One Ton Family Part 2 – the last episode of the season.

Season 7, and TLC and the production company must think they have a cash cow. 20 episodes. Average viewership starts falling, though – 1.16 million. Highest was Jeanne (no-hyJeanne?) and lowest was Cillas.

This season, season 8, the numbers are plummeting. Average is a mere 1.02 million viewers. Several episodes are under 1 million viewers. Prior seasons never had more than one, if that. Highest is Travis and lowest is Lindsey.

So the highest viewership was season 6, but the last two seasons have been appreciably lower than any of the previous seasons. The best number for this season is about the same as the worst for season 6. Will there be a season 9? Between lawsuits, quarantine and Dr Now's age, I'm guessing not.

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ATTENTION ALL!!!!  Today at noon on TLC is the repeat of Nicole and her Merry Bunch o' Bastards!!!  Mouth-Breathing Charlie!!!!  The hotel bed rolling across the floor when Nicole attempts to beach herself!!!!  The police searching/destroying the rented house when it turns out that Nicole's family sub-let part of the property to drug dealers!!!  

I finally have something to look forward to!!!!  Without having a job to go do and the gym being closed for 36 days now the days are really dragging after my AM run.

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Thanks for the heads up about Nicole!    I turned in just in time to see the hose down on the porch (I understand that in the winter they used the heated garage).  

My favorite part is the drug raid, and that Nicole had to hold up her folds to show she wasn't hiding drugs, or weapons in there. 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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18 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Thanks for the heads up about Nicole!    I turned in just in time to see the hose down on the porch (I understand that in the winter they used the heated garage).  

I set it to record so now that I’ve seen the horrible weather forecast of our never-ending winter I can watch from the very start.  Including OW MAH LAYG in the opening credits!

I am watching it now! What the hell did Nicole make? It looked like ground beef mixed with crumbled Cheezits covered in barbecue sauce. WTF?

ETA: Make sure when you're booking a hotel room that you ask the reservation agent, "Is there stupid wood in the room? Because wood is stupid!"

 

Edited by mmecorday
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They’re leading up to tonight’s WATN with entertaining train wrecks Nicole, Angie J and Maja. I hope that’s a sign it’ll finally be an interesting new show, but considering they are doing another follow up on Borica (Erica) and Benji and David  Are already suing them and both lost a tremendous amount of weight originally, it’ll probably be safe to take my melatonin

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2 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I am watching it now! What the hell did Nicole make? It looked like ground beef mixed with crumbled Cheezits covered in barbecue sauce. WTF?

ETA: Make sure when you're booking a hotel room that you ask the reservation agent, "Is there stupid wood in the room? Because wood is stupid!"

 

Meatloaf with three boxes of her own kraft Mac & cheese. And I’ve been fighting the urge to make my own kraft since. I need to get out man 🥺

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28 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

The first meatloaf was a bunch of hamburger, with crushed a whole box of Cheez-its, mixed with her grubby hands, smooshed into a shallow baking dish, with BBQ sauce spread over the top.      I couldn't look at her culinary specialty preparation after that.   

But she held her hands over a trash can while Charlie poured water over them before she started!  It looked disgusting and she was raving about how she knew how good it would be because she fixed it herself.

3 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Thanks for the heads up about Nicole!    I turned in just in time to see the hose down on the porch (I understand that in the winter they used the heated garage).  

My favorite part is the drug raid, and that Nicole had to hold up her folds to show she wasn't hiding drugs, or weapons in there. 

I would venture a guess that many here vote the James K episode as their favorite but mine will always be Nicole & Her Merry Bunch o' Bastards.  So much fun & wackiness abounds!!!  The porch shower.  Not being able to fit through the bathroom doorway to bathe your child.  The rolling bed.  Everyone jammed into one hotel room like a fraternity spring break excursion.  The Houston PD destroying the house & checking under Blubber City for drugs.  Charlie's open mouth.  The underwater shots of Nicole in the hotel pool looking like a documentary on manatees on National Geographic or Animal Planet.  Most episodes have a few high points.  This one is the gift that keeps on giving!!!!

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Erica's the one that wanted her brother and sister to move to Houston for a year to help her.   That would involve her brother parking his boat that is the only source of income his family has.    She's also the one that kept her apartment in California for an entire year, in case she quit Dr. Now's program.    She also reconnected with an old boyfriend (maybe from high school), named Jimmy.    She put his name in every sentence she said from the second he appeared.     Jimmy had just left a relationship where he was caretaker to his fiance for a long time, and she died, and he reconnected with Erica.   

David and Benji are the two brothers that were totally neglected by their mother.    David (I think David, the older brother) never saw a dentist in his life until on the show.    I suspect he probably ended up with full dentures.   The mother spent money on the younger brother's kiddie pageant circuit, and left David at home, because he was too fat to be cute.   The mother also opted to spend money on kiddie pageants, instead of taking care of her son's teeth.   

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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58 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Erica's the one that wanted her brother and sister to move to Houston for a year to help her.   That would involve her brother parking his boat that is the only source of income his family has.    She's also the one that kept her apartment in California for an entire year, in case she quit Dr. Now's program.    She also reconnected with an old boyfriend (maybe from high school), named Jimmy.    She put his name in every sentence she said from the second he appeared.     Jimmy had just left a relationship where he was caretaker to his fiance for a long time, and she died, and he reconnected with Erica.    David and Benji are the two brothers that were totally neglected by their mother.    David (I think David, the older brother) never saw a dentist in his life until on the show.    I suspect he probably ended up with full dentures.   The mother spent money on the younger brother's kiddie pageant circuit, and left David at home, because he was too fat to be cute.  

Ah yes, Erica.  Wasn't she the gem who told the nutritionist that she could just order more food if her favorite things were thrown away?  She reminded me of a pouty child.  What I remember about Benji was that when the hurricane hit he was living in a hotel temporarily and had only a microwave in the room for cooking.  Despite what all the other pounticipants claim about "not being able to stay on the plan" he not only made good choices but he LOST some weight in spite of all the stress!  

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17 hours ago, ThereButFor said:

Ah yes, Erica.  Wasn't she the gem who told the nutritionist that she could just order more food if her favorite things were thrown away?  

I'm not sure if she even had the gumption to say that to the nutritionist.  But I do seem to recall her saying it to the camera as she picked up her phone before the nutritionist had even had a chance to back out of her driveway.

If you can out-eat TWO weight loss surgeries, I don't think it makes any sense to give you a third one until you REALLY prove you want it enough to lose the whole 150 you gained in the last munt since your boyfriend left.  What was his name again?  Timmy?  LOL.

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I think the film crews know exactly how awful the poundticipants are, and they show the person for the miserable human beings they are.   I can't imagine having to put up with a Pauline, or Erica for days on end filming.    

Here's a shocker, the Ashley reports that Destinee has filed a lawsuit, and Alicia Kirgan also signed on with the attorney.     I wonder if this is the update episode Alicia, that's on the show this coming Wednesday with Pauline?  

https://www.theashleysrealityroundup.com/2020/04/20/my-600-lb-life-season-7-cast-member-destinee-lashaee-files-lawsuit-against-megalomedia-claims-show-producers-forced-her-to-shave-her-face-made-her-suicidal/

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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12 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Here's a shocker, the Ashley reports that Destinee has filed a lawsuit, and Alicia Kirgan also signed on with the attorney.     I wonder if this is the update episode Alicia, that's on the show this coming Wednesday with Pauline? 

It bothers me that they are all jumping on the lawsuit (poor lawsuit). Yeah, don't take any responsibility, because the WLS was supposed to magically make you skinny. Isn't the mantra always this is my only hope.

Owe, my leg. Looks up recipe for fraaaaied rice. Actually it does sound good.
 

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On 4/22/2020 at 8:39 AM, FormeryHeavyJ said:

ATTENTION ALL!!!!  Today at noon on TLC is the repeat of Nicole and her Merry Bunch o' Bastards!!!  Mouth-Breathing Charlie!!!!  The hotel bed rolling across the floor when Nicole attempts to beach herself!!!!  The police searching/destroying the rented house when it turns out that Nicole's family sub-let part of the property to drug dealers!!!  

Just saw that the Gathering of the Juggalos for this year has been cancelled due to the Corona virus.  

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1 hour ago, Twopper said:

Just saw that the Gathering of the Juggalos for this year has been cancelled due to the Corona virus.  

On a positive note, Nicole has plenty of experience sheltering in place. Most of the poundparticipants do. Some of them haven’t left their houses in years.

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They're rerunning the original Gilbert, and Lupe episode.    I love that the last scene is Gilbert pushing her through a park in her wheelchair, which must be one of the first happy scene in the park endings.    Even down 300 lbs., Lupe is still ugly inside and out, old Scrotum neck claims we'll never see her on TLC again, so it will be interesting if that's true.  

I like that TLC is showing some older reruns.  

So now Alicia, from last night's show has signed on for the lawsuit.   Dottie who is on next week's WATN, with Cynthia has too.   Don't know about Cynthia.  

 

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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(edited)
On 4/22/2020 at 2:57 PM, FormeryHeavyJ said:

I would venture a guess that many here vote the James K episode as their favorite but mine will always be Nicole & Her Merry Bunch o' Bastards.  So much fun & wackiness abounds!!!  The porch shower.  Not being able to fit through the bathroom doorway to bathe your child.  The rolling bed.  Everyone jammed into one hotel room like a fraternity spring break excursion.  The Houston PD destroying the house & checking under Blubber City for drugs.  Charlie's open mouth.  The underwater shots of Nicole in the hotel pool looking like a documentary on manatees on National Geographic or Animal Planet.  Most episodes have a few high points.  This one is the gift that keeps on giving!!!!

While Nicole is one of my favorite episodes as a whole, my vote for moment of the series was the bag of chips squirreled away in a poundticipant’s fat folds while she was in the hospital on a controlled diet.

 

Edited by ShoePrincess
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(edited)

I had to turn Schenee on, just to watch the pizza box beat down from Dr. Now.  Also,  the final Do You Believe in God, Dr. Now?  session with her sitting on her potty chair, and with her red pants down around her knees.   

I wonder if TLC is rerunning the suing people's shows, and WATN just to refresh how non-compliant they are?    

Next week my schedule says it will be Charity, Charly, and Teretha, but they say it's new.    I thought Charity and Charly quit the program, and left Houston?     I guess they changed their minds.  

I love the moment when Hurbert or however you spell it, claimed the potato chip bag in Liz's folds in the hospital.  (Liz, if I got the name right, is one of the deceased poundticipants).   Schenee's find of the giant pizza box was amazing too.    James K's gain in the hospital on his final episode was also amazing, because it showed Lisa's for exactly who she is.  

Of course, Nicole, and her Merry Band of Bastards never gets old. 

Also, from this season, Megan's 'salad' that's on Dr. Now's diet, with a whole bottle of dressing, and a couple of pounds of bacon on top, plus a ton of cheese is hysterical.   And Megan's Mom with her slack jaw, gazing at Dr. Now is bizarre.  

I think Starcasm . net has most of the ridiculous law suit claims, I think they're all from one attorney, but I'm not sure.  

Edited by CrazyInAlabama
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  I want to have compassion for Jeanne, and am truly sorry for what she has endured, but.....

   Gotta love her and her Mom trying to convince Dr. Now that all Jeanne eats are eggs, cheese and toast for breakfast, skinless chicken and an orange for dinner, and no lunch....maybe soda twice a week. Oh honey. Please.

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22 hours ago, Liamsmom617 said:

Gotta love her and her Mom trying to convince Dr. Now that all Jeanne eats are eggs, cheese and toast for breakfast, skinless chicken and an orange for dinner, and no lunch....maybe soda twice a week. Oh honey. Please.

They didn’t mention how many eggs, how much cheese, and how many slices of toast (never mind what she put ON the toast).  The skinless chicken might have been smothered in cream sauce or any other calorific addition.  I’m not sure what she did with the orange, if she even ate one.

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