S03.E02: A Brush With Death

[OnceSane]

Whitney's rushed to the ER after she collapses at the dance-a-thon, and a doctor urged her to make big changes in her life, but the advice doesn't quite sink in.

[LocalGovt]

This episode disgusted me on so many levels.

At the ER....Whitney was like a 4 year old, lapping up the attention she was getting from her parents and others there.  Everything the doctor was trying to tell her, she didn't seem to believe any of it.

The funeral...why didn't Buddy want to take part?  If he really cared for her, he would have wanted to help her.  Her tantrum afterwards....again, she's like a 4 year old. And her snarky comment that they could have found a more effective way to get through to her...Really? Have you watched yourself?? Nothing gets through to you!!! But she didn't waste any time grabbing that picture of herself and storming out. 

Why did no one notify Lenny? Don't they like him?  I'm not sure how I feel about him. Does he have a regular job besides painting pictures?

Going to the mountains -- Whitney sure didn't waste any time making fun of Buddy in his swim trunks.  I found that odd, since she looked much worse in her bathing suit (she was making fun of how little suit he had vs. how much fat).

The hot tub -- all of that was just totally disgusting.  It was a poor attempt at some morbidly obese people trying to act like it was cool to be so fat while trying to act like people of a lesser weight.  Whitney almost crushed Lenny.

The tubing adventure? Just gross.

The skiing debacle?  No pity.  I have no pity for this woman. She really needs help for her mental issues. She is, perhaps, the most delusional person I have ever seen.  Crying at the end because she was too fat to do all the things she thought she could do???  She had enough self pity for herself...she doesn't need any from anyone else.

I am just totally disgusted by the lot of them.

And I want to add, I would be the first one to come to her defense, if she actually TRIED to make herself healthier.  Instead, she just says she is trying to, and then pretends to be confused about why it's not working.  I can't stand the learned helplessness.

She actually said to Lenny that she never said the PCOS is the reason she's overweight (this was when they were discussing the youtube message she got from the man who said his wife had PCOS and wasn't overweight). Are you serious Whitney??????????? Every chance you get, you tout PCOS as the reason for your weight gain!! Do you not hear yourself??

Edited June 16, 2016 by LocalGovt
felt the need to explain further

[Tosia]

I figured they didn't tell Lennie cuz he wd tell Whitney. 

[PityFree]

It really drives me insane how often Whitney orders everyone around her to do her bidding. "Stop filming and pick me up! Get these boots off!" or "Go see if they have different ski boots!" And she that she thought her BF could just pick her up when she ordered him to when she was falling on her skis??? It would take at least two people to help her up.

Her vocal fry and raspy obnoxious laugh are so annoying to me. She is trying way too hard to make it seem like she doesn't care about her weight and is happy as a clam.

At this point I am only watching for the schadenfreude.  

[aliya]

 I know that folks thought the collapse last week was fake, but I thought her 'ER face' looked pretty authentic (having been in the ER a few times myself). I don't think she is a good enough actress to fake that look. 

You aren't like everyone else, Whit. You're big. Way big. I'm sure you knew right away that the ski boots were too tight, but you wore them anyway in a misguided attempt to show you can do anything. I don't think she would have asked the crew to help her if she weren't in dire straits, so she must have been in pain, but she brought it on herself.

And in the 'surely I'm going to hell' segment, When I first saw her on the snow tube thing, I thought for sure that all that weight was going to propel her down the hill like a rocket. When she got stuck a few feet out, I thought the weight was too much for the tube and she was too heavy to even slide. Personally, I thought it looked like fun, though I'm not sure I'd want to go down face first without a helmet. I've got a small fortune invested in dental work.  : )

[greekmom]

Oh Whit… you are a lost cause.

Buddy and Lenny have to be her enablers. For her to come back from the hospital and ask for a pizza?!?! A freaking pizza!  If her dad came back from a heart attack and asked for a steak, baked potato and a beer she would be all over him to eat healthy.  *sigh* We are all our worst enemies.

The funeral was a good idea but unless Whit wants to change her mind, she is staying fat. F-A-T fat.  She’s getting the attention she craves. Why ruin a good thing?  I laughed out loud at her waddling out the funeral home with her photo.

Whit says she’s not a wuss? But her friend said that Whit complains all the time of pain and she needs over the counter meds? Whit is delusional.

I doubt it that she will ever wake up.  Reserve my bus on the way to hell.  I had a few comments that I will not post that are pretty mean when I was watching the hot tub scene.

[mamapajama]

She laughed at her Dad for wanting her to skip skiing.  Pouted when they gathered to show concern, and try to get her attention. 

Buddy needs to man the hell up.  He chose not to go to the mock funeral, and should have been up front with her about why he didn't clue her in.  I think he wanted it to happen, just couldn't stomach doing it himself.  I also think that they didn't tell Lennie, because they thought he would warn Whitney.

I am a bad person, but was laughing at her on the skis.  She had been so dismissive of her friends' and parents' concerns, I wanted her to get some comeuppance.  From her TH at the end, maybe she saw the light. I don't know how long the glimmer will shine, but maybe she saw it.

[mamapajama]

3 minutes ago, greekmom said:

  Reserve my bus on the way to hell.  I had a few comments that I will not post that are pretty mean when I was watching the hot tub scene.

Save me a seat if you get there first?  I was seriously laughing, and doing some talking to the TV on this one.  The boots were pressing on her bones.  Yeah.  Her bones. 

We never see it, but how is it possible that Whitney puts on her own shoes?  She has Lennie, before that, Buddy, before that, Babs.  What else is she unable to do?  Shaving her legs, buckling a seatbelt, riding a roller coaster, getting into a friend's vehicle.  So much to feel fabulous about.

[absolutelyido]

Whitney has mastered the art of deflection and subterfuge. When she got back to her house from the ER and was telling Buddy what happened, she said she was dehydrated.....oh and her heart rate was elevated. After her friends and parents staged the mock funeral, she didn't acknowledge any of their concerns but snapped at them about Buddy and Lennie not being there to change the subject and immediately put them on the defensive. And she made it clear to Buddy that he's not allowed to voice any concerns about her health because he's fat too. I've got to give it to her, she's good.

Buddy and Whitney should not be living together. It's unhealthy for both of them, and it's clear they just enable each others bad habits.

This show is really getting difficult to watch. Whitney is slowing killing herself and yucking it up about it. Oh, look I'm so fat it's like Niagara Falls when I get in the hot tub...ha, ha, ha! Meanwhile, I'm thinking oh look she's so fat she's on her way to be completely bedridden and dying too young. Not funny.

Edited June 16, 2016 by absolutelyido

[fountain]

I thought the fake funeral was a bit much I would have preferred a real intervention with an eating addiction counselor.  The funeral didn't have any of the "now this is how we will no longer enable you" stuff of an intervention.  Personally I think some of the family/friends need both their own health/fitness help and also need to learn how not to enable Whit.  If she needs a pizza she should get it herself!

I will admit at the skiing I felt bad for Whit.  There was a concern in her voice I have never heard on the show before, it was a moment where she wasn't "on" and she seemed real.

I am sure her real self is scared as hell of staying fat but she does put on a "let's make it a joke" front.  It would be nice if she were real more often.

[Snarklepuss]

I'm jumping on the bus to hell with you all.  I have never been so mad at this delusional asshole as right now.  Does not ONE of them have any common sense?  No one stopping her from skiing?  I saw that train wreck coming from 10 miles away!  I used to ski when I was young.  I always had a wide calf even when I weighed 100 lbs., and I know that if you don't have enough "wiggle room" in those boots once you start moving in them you'll feel like they're going to break your leg in half.  I learned that the hard way once.  Of course it wasn't as potentially harmful as with someone her weight even so.  I actually think this happening to Whitney was a blessing in disguise because I fear that if she really had attempted skiing this would have ended far worse.  It could have ended far worse anyway.

I just can't believe that she is so unwilling to face reality.  It's not like she hasn't had doctors, friends, the public, EVERYONE tell her the same things over and over again and she acts like she just doesn't want to give ANY of them any credit.  Like she was going to prove the WHOLE WORLD wrong and that she was somehow this one morbidly obese person that was going to be able to do everything a thin person can do.  How freaking delusional and full of yourself can you GET?  WAKE UP, sister, you're not somehow better than everyone else.  How freaking insulting to the world!  And you're reaching your mid 30s now, soon you won't even be able to WALK much less dance or ski!  The future is closer than she thinks, it's NOW.  She is in for a very rude shock one of these days.  The fake funeral seemed extreme, but it wasn't even ENOUGH to help shock her head out of her ass.  And her saying there were "better ways" to make the point is BS.  You could see it really got to her.  Point made.  She just doesn't want to give anyone any credit for getting through to her.

I'm beginning to think they all have to be parasites for hanging around with her.  They all know she's in denial and delusional.  They can't NOT know it.  But they like their 15 minutes of fame and the entertainment factor she brings them so they hang onto her anyway.  And yes, they are all her "enablers", that's pretty obvious now.  And to think I was giving her the benefit of the doubt.  All bets are off, now I'm PISSED and I really don't give a crap what happens to her anymore.

[princelina]

I'll be the first to say it- the "funeral" was a bad idea. (Not to mention completely staged for TV - caskets are expensive, and you can't get funeral home workers to cart them into your local chapel just to prove a point.  But that apart from that . . .) - here's the thing about fat people - we know we are fat.  We know when we have gained weight and our clothes don't fit, etc.  I know this based on the fact that my mom has been informing me of the fact ever since I went through puberty (ending up at 5'6" and 140 lbs! when I was in high school.  Too fat to ever get a date or find a husband, in case you all were wondering.  By the time I ended college, and throughout my 20s and 30s, I veered from @160-180 lbs (size 12-14), during which time I also finally convinced her that I know when I gain weight and, contrary to her beliefs, it does not "help" to have someone point it out.  Now in my late 40's I had knee surgery which left me unable to work out for 6 months, quit smoking, started meopause and have ballooned to 215.  Thankfully my family has kept their pieholes shut about the whole thing, because I am quite aware of it :)  In the meantime, I have been a teacher for almost 30 years, been a reliable helper for my family, friends, social organizations and church, and even found a husband! 

In contrast, my brother is super handsome and charming, and a raging alcoholic and drug addict.  Natch he found a wife when he was young, and has spent the last two decades (that I have spent disappointing my mother) abusing and terrorizing his wife and children.  My parents have provided him with a "business" that he "owns" but doesn't really work at, and he spends the majority of his time golfing until the courses ban him for bad behavior, or lying in his bed hungover.  (Not his fault!  He's sick!  And if his wife behaved better he'd have gotten sober long ago!)

The reason I am going into detail like this is merely to explain that I am very familiar with both  A.) overweight and "fat shamed" and B.) an addict who doesn't take any responsibility for his decisions.  

The fake funeral, even if it weren't staged, was nothing more than a way to offend Whitney and make her defensive.  Not that it makes her right, but IMO there was nothing more going on there than a TV sound bite.  No one in her life has EVER sat her down in private and said, "I'm worried about you."  Which is a different thing than a public shaming, because the  person being confronted is only looking back at ONE other person and that person is sincere. I have never seen any of her friends and family actually do that; on the other hand if they did it would be on TV and so she would be defensive anyway.

My real point is that at this point I see her as more of an "addict" than an overweight person, and addicts have every excuse in the book for their behavior; woe to us all who disagree with them.  What her family and friends really need to do is to inform her that they are not enabling her any more, and agree amongst themselves that that will be true.  Which means Whit must order her own pizza, ask for her own fatty ski boots, help her own self onto the tube, etc.  It will take longer than the "lightning bolt" moment everyone is hoping to see on tv, but will be more helpful to her in the long run.  (And if this tv show doesn't work out, Babs and Dad should tell her to save her tv money until she gets another job.)

[msani19]

47 minutes ago, mamapajama said:

Save me a seat if you get there first?  I was seriously laughing, and doing some talking to the TV on this one.  The boots were pressing on her bones.  Yeah.  Her bones.

Ladies, save me a seat since I will be joining you there! I thought I'd laugh myself sick watching this insanity and it's only EPISODE 2!!!

I'm dying laughing at your "yeah. her bones" comment. Dripping with sarcasm! I'm picturing your eyes rolling so hard as you typed that. Hilarious!

This show!

[Tosia]

I'd like a window seat,  please, on the road to hell with the rest of you all. 

Maybe her girlfriend should go shopping with Whit for an outfit to wear in the casket when she does die, cuz it's gonna be soon....... fatty liver disease, blood pressure, heart issues, stroke, take your pick, Whit. 

Whit is a bossy bully to her friends and family. She has gotten horribly unlikable. 

At the end of the show when they show previews of next week, Whit is on there bleating thatshe did not even know how to feed herself.  ??????  My home of origin was not super healthy, but even I and my parents  knew that mass quantities of sweets snd chips were not nutritious to eat, although we had some in the house.  And I grew up in the 60's before public service announcements or Internet or cable tv for info on health. It is common sense. I call  bullshit on Whit for trying to plead ignorance.  

They need to change the show's title to My Big Fat Painful Short Life.  

Edited June 16, 2016 by Tosia

[ShowsILoveToHate]

Last season I was Team Whitney.  Now it seems like an entirely different show.  Buddy has put on a LOT of weight; Whitney has put on weight; her parents are looking good but a bit more frail.  In the hospital, all I could think of was how the stress she causes her parents is slowly killing them.

She is not taking *anything* seriously so far this season.  I wonder how she feels after seeing herself on the show this evening??   I'd be mortified if I were her.

I agree that her actions are indicative of those of an addict.  And I call BS on her not knowing "how to feed" herself.  She's not an uneducated person, she's just stupid for thinking that she's coming across as "fabulous", "smart", and is healthy at a weight of close to 400 pounds.

I don't hate Whitney, but it gives me such an uneasy feeling watching this season; as if I'm staring too long at a bad car accident on the highway (if that makes any sense!).  Just like with Ruby, I don't see this going anywhere healthy for Whitney.  That makes me sad.

P.S. I'm overweight, I know it, and I'm doing something about it (diet-wise).  I can't imagine how incredibly uncomfortable she must feel in her own body every single day.

Edited June 16, 2016 by ShowsILoveToHate

[Swiss]

TLC must be scraping the bottom of the barrel in regards to this show.  If Whitney collapses again and dies, I am sure they will keep the cameras rolling.  This show is rather tragic.

[Pepperminty]

She has gotten huge. Wow. I love her personality and I like this show a lot, I just can't believe she thinks it's OK to be the size she is. I'm about 90 pounds over my college weight and I've slipped several times on ice and a wet floor and hyper-extended the tendon behind my knee. It was really bad, mostly because the force of the extra weight falling forward made it a lot worse. I know this is a problem, just because of this alone never mind all the other reasons that should be obvious to someone weighing 380.

How she thought she'd be able to ski is beyond me. When she fell, how did she think she'd get back up? 

I do wish there were a dance program for overweight women in my area (that isn't zumba) - I would go in a second.

[LocalGovt]

7 hours ago, princelina said:

I'll be the first to say it- the "funeral" was a bad idea. (Not to mention completely staged for TV - caskets are expensive, and you can't get funeral home workers to cart them into your local chapel just to prove a point.  But that apart from that . . .) - here's the thing about fat people - we know we are fat.  We know when we have gained weight and our clothes don't fit, etc.  I know this based on the fact that my mom has been informing me of the fact ever since I went through puberty (ending up at 5'6" and 140 lbs! when I was in high school.  Too fat to ever get a date or find a husband, in case you all were wondering.  By the time I ended college, and throughout my 20s and 30s, I veered from @160-180 lbs (size 12-14), during which time I also finally convinced her that I know when I gain weight and, contrary to her beliefs, it does not "help" to have someone point it out.  Now in my late 40's I had knee surgery which left me unable to work out for 6 months, quit smoking, started meopause and have ballooned to 215.  Thankfully my family has kept their pieholes shut about the whole thing, because I am quite aware of it :)  In the meantime, I have been a teacher for almost 30 years, been a reliable helper for my family, friends, social organizations and church, and even found a husband! 

In contrast, my brother is super handsome and charming, and a raging alcoholic and drug addict.  Natch he found a wife when he was young, and has spent the last two decades (that I have spent disappointing my mother) abusing and terrorizing his wife and children.  My parents have provided him with a "business" that he "owns" but doesn't really work at, and he spends the majority of his time golfing until the courses ban him for bad behavior, or lying in his bed hungover.  (Not his fault!  He's sick!  And if his wife behaved better he'd have gotten sober long ago!)

The reason I am going into detail like this is merely to explain that I am very familiar with both  A.) overweight and "fat shamed" and B.) an addict who doesn't take any responsibility for his decisions.  

The fake funeral, even if it weren't staged, was nothing more than a way to offend Whitney and make her defensive.  Not that it makes her right, but IMO there was nothing more going on there than a TV sound bite.  No one in her life has EVER sat her down in private and said, "I'm worried about you."  Which is a different thing than a public shaming, because the  person being confronted is only looking back at ONE other person and that person is sincere. I have never seen any of her friends and family actually do that; on the other hand if they did it would be on TV and so she would be defensive anyway.

My real point is that at this point I see her as more of an "addict" than an overweight person, and addicts have every excuse in the book for their behavior; woe to us all who disagree with them.  What her family and friends really need to do is to inform her that they are not enabling her any more, and agree amongst themselves that that will be true.  Which means Whit must order her own pizza, ask for her own fatty ski boots, help her own self onto the tube, etc.  It will take longer than the "lightning bolt" moment everyone is hoping to see on tv, but will be more helpful to her in the long run.  (And if this tv show doesn't work out, Babs and Dad should tell her to save her tv money until she gets another job.)

Sometime in the middle of the night, I came to the addict conclusion too.  What does an addict do when you ask them, or attempt to convey to them they have a problem?  They get angry. They get defensive.  And what do addicts have? People who enable them.  She is addicted to food. Or attention. Or maybe some of each.  And the people who enable her are addicted to being the ones who help.  The white knights in shining armor.

I liked your post.  And agree so much with your statement, "fat people know they are fat."  I am overweight too, and have said the same thing, many times.

Yesterday I really felt like the show was mocking her.  It reminded me of "People of Walmart" meets "My Big Fat Fabulous Life".

Edited June 16, 2016 by LocalGovt
additional info

[mamey2422]

8 hours ago, greekmom said:

Buddy and Lenny have to be her enablers. 

Buddy's weight has come up a couple times on the show and I can't actually remember what Buddy looked like in the first season? Has he gained weight? If yes, it coincides with him living with Whitney and that seems like a very bad co-dependent situation all around. 

Edited June 16, 2016 by mamey2422

[Snarklepuss]

46 minutes ago, mamey2422 said:

Buddy's weight has come up a couple times on the show and I can't actually remember what Buddy looked like in the first season? Has he gained weight? If yes, it coincides with him living with Whitney and that seems like a very bad co-dependent situation all around. 

Actually now that you mention it, yes, it does look like Buddy's weight gain has coincided with them living together.  In photos where they're looking at the house (below) he is still overweight, but seems noticeably thinner.  I agree that theirs is obviously an unhealthy co-dependent food relationship.  Him bringing home the pizza said it all to me. 

[Dirtybubble]

I didn't like the funeral idea either.  I feel like they had the best intentions, Todd speech was very touching, but idk it just seemed to do the opposite of what it was meant to do.  I agree that Buddy is an enabler but idk I still really like him.  In fact I find myself watching the show for the supporting characters, LOVE her mom, but Whitney just annoys me.  She's ok for a little while but an hour of her is just too much

[Lesia]

W: "I'm going to take a shower...Love you!.. *kiss*"

L: "Love you too..."

durp.

[Passing Strange]

I hated the funeral idea, but I hate the notion of interventions, period. It's a bunch of people getting together to try to bully one person into doing what others want her to do, but it's ok, because it's "for her own good." Whether it's smoking or drugs or going to the gym too often, people will stop when they want to stop and no amount of well intentioned pressure is going to make it happen sooner. Promise me a nice evening out then drag me to funeral home where everyone has gathered to talk about how bad they're going to feel and I would have been defensive, too. Other people's feelings aren't my responsibility.

I don't believe in "food addiction," any more than I believe people can mange their weight by "busting" sugar or fat, eating according to their body or blood type, or getting therapy. We've only recently started to understand that the evolution of our bodies hasn't kept up with that of our brains. The answer is simply that our prehistoric bodies understand survival, not concepts. If you severely restrict food intake, your body thinks it's starving and it takes measures to stop that. It slows your metabolism, which explains how people on diets not only stop losing weight, they can actually gain. It makes changes in your brain that cause food to seem super delicious, which explains why it can look like people are addicted. It adjusts hormone levels so that your hunger goes up and your ability to feel full goes down.

I'm heavy and I knew about these effects long before science did. If Whitney doesn't know the science behind why diets fail, I bet she at least knows that they do. She may not want to change how she eats, but she also doesn't want to fail at dieting on  national television. What I wish this show would do is approach health for overweight people in a realistic way. But we're talking about a show that staged a mock funeral "intervention," so....

About Lenny. I get no sense of connection between him and Whitney, no chemistry. And people called her parents and her roommate when she went to the hospital, but not her boyfriend? It's as if paying him for a visit to the hospital wasn't in the production budget. When I look at Lenny I think that at the end of the season he grows out his hair, shaves off the ugly beard and mustache, takes his paycheck and goes home to his real SO.

Edited June 16, 2016 by Passing Strange

[LocalGovt]

1 hour ago, Passing Strange said:

I hated the funeral idea, but I hate the notion of interventions, period. It's a bunch of people getting together to try to bully one person into doing what others want her to do, but it's ok, because it's "for her own good." Whether it's smoking or drugs or going to the gym too often, people will stop when they want to stop and no amount of well intentioned pressure is going to make it happen sooner. Promise me a nice evening out then drag me to funeral home where everyone has gathered to talk about how bad they're going to feel and I would have been defensive, too. Other people's feelings aren't my responsibility.

I don't believe in "food addiction," any more than I believe people can mange their weight by "busting" sugar or fat, eating according to their body or blood type, or getting therapy. We've only recently started to understand that the evolution of our bodies hasn't kept up with that of our brains. The answer is simply that our prehistoric bodies understand survival, not concepts. If you severely restrict food intake, your body thinks it's starving and it takes measures to stop that. It slows your metabolism, which explains how people on diets not only stop losing weight, they can actually gain. It makes changes in your brain that cause food to seem super delicious, which explains why it can look like people are addicted. It adjusts hormone levels so that your hunger goes up and your ability to feel full goes down.

I'm heavy and I knew about these effects long before science did. If Whitney doesn't know the science behind why diets fail, I bet she at least knows that they do. She may not want to change how she eats, but she also doesn't want to fail at dieting on  national television. What I wish this show would do is approach health for overweight people in a realistic way. But we're talking about a show that staged a mock funeral "intervention," so....

About Lenny. I get no sense of connection between him and Whitney, no chemistry. And people called her parents and her roommate when she went to the hospital, but not her boyfriend? It's as if paying him for a visit to the hospital wasn't in the production budget. When I look at Lenny I think that at the end of the season he grows out his hair, shaves off the ugly beard and mustache, takes his paycheck and goes home to his real SO.

Do you believe that one can be addicted to sugar? Or that there are things put in food (similar to cigarettes) that have an addictive quality? Just curious.

[PityFree]

14 hours ago, mamapajama said:

We never see it, but how is it possible that Whitney puts on her own shoes?  She has Lennie, before that, Buddy, before that, Babs.  What else is she unable to do?  Shaving her legs, buckling a seatbelt, riding a roller coaster, getting into a friend's vehicle.  So much to feel fabulous about.

I shudder to think of what else she can't do for herself. 

[ClareWalks]

I just can't with this bitch anymore. The level of denial is so staggering that I fear nothing will pull her out. Even her teary confessionals that "maybe something needs to change..." Yeah, ya THINK? I can't add to what's already been said, except to just state my incredulity that she was totally unaffected by the fact that a bunch of her friends and family are terrified that she is going to die. Her response was "whatever, the important people aren't here, where are Buddy and Lennie?" Bitch, your parents are CRYING! Un. Be. Lievable.

[Alapaki]

14 hours ago, Snarklepuss said:

I just can't believe that she is so unwilling to face reality.  It's not like she hasn't had doctors, friends, the public, EVERYONE tell her the same things over and over again and she acts like she just doesn't want to give ANY of them any credit.  Like she was going to prove the WHOLE WORLD wrong and that she was somehow this one morbidly obese person that was going to be able to do everything a thin person can do.  How freaking delusional and full of yourself can you GET?  WAKE UP, sister, you're not somehow better than everyone else.   . . . 

I'm beginning to think they all have to be parasites for hanging around with her.  They all know she's in denial and delusional.  They can't NOT know it.  But they like their 15 minutes of fame and the entertainment factor she brings them so they hang onto her anyway.  And yes, they are all her "enablers", that's pretty obvious now.  And to think I was giving her the benefit of the doubt.  All bets are off, now I'm PISSED and I really don't give a crap what happens to her anymore.

I haven't gotten around to watching this episode yet, and I appreciate the comments here to prepare myself for this increasingly morbid trainwreck.

I'm not here to criticize Whitney's weight or size, because I think from everything we know now about how the body works metabolically (and I'm sure we still don't understand it all), I think Whitney's fucked in terms of ever getting smaller.

My interest is in the role that Whitney's weight/size plays on this show.

And my problem is, that after two full seasons and now into the third, I have no idea what the point of this show is!!!!

Is she trying to be happy and "fabulous" as-is, without feeling the need to lose?  Is she trying to lose and finding it difficult because of a (still rather shadily diagnosed/described/treated) PCOS?  

Or is it now just a version of a "Real Fat (non)Housewife of Georgia"?  Because Whitney "trying" to ski or do a dance marathon is about as realistic as the staged and forced socializing we get from the Real Housewife franchises.  It sounds like Whitney going skiing ended up about as predictably as having one of the "Little Women" of whatever town try to participate in a pick-up basketball game with average-height players.  

So, what am I supposed to think or feel?  Am I supposed to feel good about Whitney for finding happiness with herself despite her outward appearance?  Am I supposed to be pulling for her to lose weight?  Am I supposed to feel sorry for the way society treats her?

IMO, this show is now the best evidence that we're very close to the event-horizon in which everyone in the country gets their own reality show . . . just because.

[Alapaki]

Quote

 I know that folks thought the collapse last week was fake, but I thought her 'ER face' looked pretty authentic (having been in the ER a few times myself). I don't think she is a good enough actress to fake that look. 

I believe the collapse was real.  If she was going to fake it, she would've done so in the middle of the dance floor for maximum attention.

She was up and moving for a period of time and she didn't give herself a chance to cool down.  So when she sat down the blood pooled down into her legs and lower body.  When she tried to get up, fairly quickly, she most likely had an orthostatic reaction where the lack of blood to her brain caused her to momentarily black out.

Blacking out itself in that scenario is not life threatening.  The real risk is from suffering an injury in the ensuing fall.  Still, it was completely appropriate for her to be taken to the ER and checked out just to rule out any cardiac or neurological issues.

[aliya]

3 hours ago, Lesia said:

W: "I'm going to take a shower...Love you!.. *kiss*"

L: "Love you too..."

durp.

Not only that, but she drops the dog like a hot potato on her way out of the room. Kinda freaked me out a little.  I'm a rabbit mom - that's a good way to kill a rabbit. Maybe dogs are more bouncy. 

[Marco Solo]

There were a couple of other posters who mentioned, and I completely agree, that the show seems to be darker and at the same time openly mocking her now. The camera lingered on her squirming around trying to get out of that snow tube for a long time because she looked like an enormous turtle turned on its shell. Plus the shot of her waddling out of the funeral home with that giant picture of herself. The show isn't laughing with her anymore and I wonder if she picked up on it when they were filming or just went into denial about it.

I feel like Buddy didn't want to join the funeral thing because it's too close to home for him. He's not a skinny guy himself and he already admitted he's on blood pressure meds in his early 30s. He also might fee guilty in some way because like other posters said, he's a big time enabler. You don't invite a drug addict's dealer to their intervention so why invite her food errand boys?

I get such an incredibly weird vibe from Lenny. Do they really have sex? Is he just some guy with a serious fat fetish? Does he get off on having to help her bathe and use the bathroom (which he may be doing at this point, I mean can she fit in a shower or on a regular toilet anymore?). I saw on 600lb life there was a husband like that, a little skinny guy who married a 600 pound girl (and impregnated her) because he loved being a care taker and like big women. Maybe him and Lenny are similar.

[Passing Strange]

57 minutes ago, LocalGovt said:

Do you believe that one can be addicted to sugar? Or that there are things put in food (similar to cigarettes) that have an addictive quality? Just curious.

I think there are things in some processed foods that can be especially appealing, for instance, fats and sugars. But I don't think that's because of an addiction. I think that's because once upon a time those items weren't readily available. Our ancient ancestors didn't know where their next mastodon or honey tree was coming from, so it was to their advantage for fat and sugar to be attractive. Bodies that were physically active for most of the day used those things to their advantage, so it made sense then. Now, not so much.

[Snarklepuss]

3 hours ago, Passing Strange said:

I don't believe in "food addiction," any more than I believe people can mange their weight by "busting" sugar or fat, eating according to their body or blood type, or getting therapy. We've only recently started to understand that the evolution of our bodies hasn't kept up with that of our brains. The answer is simply that our prehistoric bodies understand survival, not concepts. If you severely restrict food intake, your body thinks it's starving and it takes measures to stop that. It slows your metabolism, which explains how people on diets not only stop losing weight, they can actually gain. It makes changes in your brain that cause food to seem super delicious, which explains why it can look like people are addicted. It adjusts hormone levels so that your hunger goes up and your ability to feel full goes down.

I'm with you, and I know about this first hand.  I just found out today that my A1C is 6.3, and that's exactly where it was 2 years ago, only this is AFTER I have cut out all added sugar for 2 years and only eat the sugars found in fruits.  I am so upset I can't see straight.  WTF?  And my doctor is telling me I still need to "make changes".  SERIOUSLY?  I suppose he won't be happy until I'm eating nothing but kale and quinoa.  And even then if the numbers don't change I'm sure I'll get told I'm doing SOMETHING wrong!  So believe me, I have sympathy for people like Whitney - but the thing is it's obvious to me that she is able to make changes to her health by making changes to her diet.  We have seen evidence of this on the show.  Me, I don't have that luxury I guess.  So it angers me even more that she refuses to do anything.  Too bad if she fails on national TV, welcome to my world, I get told I'm a liar and not doing enough even when I am.  Meanwhile people who don't have these issues can't possibly understand what a severe restriction to one's diet it is to eliminate ALL added sugar, plus limit carbs and starches.  And Whitney whines about not being able to be "fat and healthy"  Too bad, join the club, Whitney.  She needs to get over herself.  If she wants to be an advocate, she should be an advocate for people with weight/sugar issues that have done all they can and still have those issues.  And she should show the world she's doing all she can too.  It's then I would have respect for her.  Otherwise she's just a big fat selfish narcissist who needs to STFU and GROW UP. 

Edited June 16, 2016 by Snarklepuss

[preciousperfect]

44 minutes ago, Marco Solo said:

I get such an incredibly weird vibe from Lenny. Do they really have sex? Is he just some guy with a serious fat fetish? Does he get off on having to help her bathe and use the bathroom (which he may be doing at this point, I mean can she fit in a shower or on a regular toilet anymore?). I saw on 600lb life there was a husband like that, a little skinny guy who married a 600 pound girl (and impregnated her) because he loved being a care taker and like big women. Maybe him and Lenny are similar.

There's definitely something strange. I've said from his first appearance he seems like a paid actor to me. When she was ordering him to go find her different snow boots and then freaking out when she was falling on the skis I said I can't imagine why he is putting up with this. I felt bad for him when she was crushing him in the hot tub. I was hoping the tub wouldn't burst.

Certainly everyone should have love no matter what size you are but her personality leaves a lot to be desired. It's so immature and the way she keeps bringing up how she and Buddy used to date and now she's dating her friend blah blah. She's clearly either still into Buddy or weirdly possessive. 

[ClareWalks]

Another thing about Whitney, especially in this episode: she frequently talks about how much she likes to "push herself" to do things that are outside her comfort zone, or outside of what others might think are her physical limits. I get it, I relate to that impulse, but I view a proper diet and normal exercise routine as an extension of "pushing myself" to be better and healthier. Has she not made that connection in her own head yet? That perhaps "pushing herself" can and should include pushing herself to eat a healthier, reasonably-portioned diet? Maybe she needs a friend or relative to point out the connection there. "Pushing yourself" doesn't HAVE to be some ridiculous stunt that is extremely ill-advised. (I learned that somewhere around mile 18 of my second "I didn't train for this, but let's do it anyway" full marathon.)

ETA @Snarklepuss hang in there, baby. It sucks when the numbers don't match the effort. :(

Edited June 16, 2016 by ClareWalks

[OnceSane]

Just a reminder: personal anecdotes do not belong here, it is off-topic; take it to the Small Talk thread, please.  This thread is for discussing the episode only.  Thank you.

[Passing Strange]

17 minutes ago, Snarklepuss said:

I'm with you, and I know about this first hand.  I just found out today that my A1C is 6.3, and that's exactly where it was 2 years ago, only this is AFTER I have cut out all added sugar for 2 years and only eat the sugars found in fruits.  I am so upset I can't see straight.  WTF?  And my doctor is telling me I still need to "make changes".  SERIOUSLY?  I suppose he won't be happy until I'm eating nothing but kale and quinoa.  And even then if the numbers don't change I'm sure I'll get told I'm doing SOMETHING wrong!  So believe me, I have sympathy for people like Whitney - but the thing is it's obvious to me that she is able to make changes to her health by making changes to her diet.  We have seen evidence of this on the show.  Me, I don't have that luxury I guess.  So it angers me even more that she refuses to do anything.  Too bad if she fails on national TV, welcome to my world, I get told I'm a liar and not doing enough even when I am.  Meanwhile people who don't have these issues can't possibly understand what a severe restriction to one's diet it is to eliminate ALL added sugar, plus limit carbs and starches.  And Whitney whines about not being able to be "fat and healthy"  Too bad, join the club, Whitney.  She needs to get over herself.  If she wants to be an advocate, she should be an advocate for people with weight/sugar issues that have done all they can and still have those issues.  And she should show the world she's doing all she can too.  It's then I would have respect for her.  Otherwise she's just a big fat selfish narcissist who needs to STFU and GROW UP. 

Oh, man, that sucks. I get why you're pissed and why Whitney would bother you. I wish she would advocate for people who do their best and still have issues, too. We devote a lot of resources to finding new and better drugs to control diabetes. It would be great to see the same efforts directed at things like the hormones leptin and ghrelin. I'd love to see Whitney campaigning for research and education, instead of giggling, chuckling and guffawing about things that aren't funny.

I'm with Alapaki's post above, I'm not sure what the point of this show is anymore. I will say that this episode made me realize just how big she is. I don't know if it was lack of spandex or different activities or what, but I'd been thinking she was smaller than she really is. Now she's an inspiration to me in a way, as I'm looking at myself and what I can realistically do to, if not get smaller, at least not get bigger.

[LocalGovt]

1 hour ago, Snarklepuss said:

I'm with you, and I know about this first hand.  I just found out today that my A1C is 6.3, and that's exactly where it was 2 years ago, only this is AFTER I have cut out all added sugar for 2 years and only eat the sugars found in fruits.  I am so upset I can't see straight.  WTF?  And my doctor is telling me I still need to "make changes".  SERIOUSLY?  I suppose he won't be happy until I'm eating nothing but kale and quinoa.  And even then if the numbers don't change I'm sure I'll get told I'm doing SOMETHING wrong!  So believe me, I have sympathy for people like Whitney - but the thing is it's obvious to me that she is able to make changes to her health by making changes to her diet.  We have seen evidence of this on the show.  Me, I don't have that luxury I guess.  So it angers me even more that she refuses to do anything.  Too bad if she fails on national TV, welcome to my world, I get told I'm a liar and not doing enough even when I am.  Meanwhile people who don't have these issues can't possibly understand what a severe restriction to one's diet it is to eliminate ALL added sugar, plus limit carbs and starches.  And Whitney whines about not being able to be "fat and healthy"  Too bad, join the club, Whitney.  She needs to get over herself.  If she wants to be an advocate, she should be an advocate for people with weight/sugar issues that have done all they can and still have those issues.  And she should show the world she's doing all she can too.  It's then I would have respect for her.  Otherwise she's just a big fat selfish narcissist who needs to STFU and GROW UP. 

Right. If she wanted to, she could probably have a personal trainer, her home outfitted with top notch exercise equipment, AND a personal chef preparing her tasty, healthy meals, all on TLC's dime....it would take her 2-3 years to lose all the weight she needs to (healthfully, not on some crash diet).  But she still refuses.  That angers me, too. I wish I had those things at my disposal.  In terms of Whitney, the heart wants what the heart wants. And her heart wants to shovel unhealthy food in her mouth in vast quantities.  I think Lenny has a large woman fetish, too.

[Alapaki]

2 hours ago, Marco Solo said:

There were a couple of other posters who mentioned, and I completely agree, that the show seems to be darker and at the same time openly mocking her now. The camera lingered on her squirming around trying to get out of that snow tube for a long time because she looked like an enormous turtle turned on its shell. . . . 

The show isn't laughing with her anymore and I wonder if she picked up on it when they were filming or just went into denial about it.

Getting into and out of a snow tube is . . . undignified to say the least for the most nimble person.  Whoever decided that was a good idea for Whitney to try . . . on film. . . knew what they were going to get.

[Madding crowd]

1 hour ago, LocalGovt said:

Right. If she wanted to, she could probably have a personal trainer, her home outfitted with top notch exercise equipment, AND a personal chef preparing her tasty, healthy meals, all on TLC's dime....it would take her 2-3 years to lose all the weight she needs to (healthfully, not on some crash diet).  But she still refuses.  That angers me, too. I wish I had those things at my disposal.  In terms of Whitney, the heart wants what the heart wants. And her heart wants to shovel unhealthy food in her mouth in vast quantities.  I think Lenny has a large woman fetish, too.

I don't believe TLC would want this or agree to pay for it. The people on 600 pound life get help only if they agree to be filmed naked and in the most humiliating way possible. Some people like myself and many posters here, would watch the show wth Whitney doing the things mentioned above. But many more prefer to watch her fall down and be humiliated so they can make fun of her.

[Ocean Chick]

Save me a seat on that handbasket to hell.  I watched this show for the first time last night, after spending hours lurking on this thread.  I watched Whitney trying to do everything thin people can, and boasting about it.  But then I saw both Lenny and the boot girl putting on Whitney's boots for her (since she sure couldn't do that herself) and idly wondered if she could wash her own va-jay-jay. 

Yep, I watch too much My-600-lb-Life. 

Whitney needs to watch that show so she could find out what might be in her future if she doesn't stop gaining - butt-wings.  And no one wants butt-wings.

[KateHearts]

I'm more than surprised that the medical provider (nurse? doctor?) told her that her blood pressure was 160, which was a "little high," and that 140 was "normal."  No, that's just not true.  Over 120 systolic is hypertensive.  And all that scene allowed Whitney to do was brush off further the warnings they were trying (too gently, IMO) to give.  She says afterwards, "my blood pressure was fine, but my heart rate was a little fast."  It was too fast for someone who is lying on a gurney.  Normal pulse is 60-80.  Her heart is working too hard.  You could almost see her dismissing the weight comments the minute the ER people got them out of their mouths.

And in the previews for this week, TLC dramatically added the sounds of a ventilator and heart rate monitor in the background.  That is totally lame.  

I agree with others who are confused about the meaning of the show.  There is a lot of leaping back and forth from "I'm fat, fabulous and I can do anything I want to do!"  to tears: "I can't lose weight; no one accepts the fat girl."  And she is a master at fat logic.  The winner comment was last week's "I think I was meant to be this way- this is my mission."

[goodbyeglittergirl]

18 hours ago, Pepperminty said:

I do wish there were a dance program for overweight women in my area (that isn't zumba) - I would go in a second.

I also wish this. If there was a Big Girls Dance Class in my area I would be there every time the doors opened. 

Whitney lives about 1.5 hours north of me and I did actually attend one of her classes this spring, but it's too far away to do regularly, sadly. Because it was really fun!

[Charm]

Wow, I'm actually physically ill after watching this episode. I USED to like her message... "Love yourself and don't judge a person based on their size, you don't know what they're going through" This is how I raised my children to think but geezlouise, she's no longer funny. She's bullying everybody who loves her. She insists you can be healthy and obese but commonsence tells you no, that's not right. She's trying to prove that you can be fat and do anything. Well, you just proved, right in this episode, that no, you can't. You are embarrassing yourself. I started to cry, actually cry, when you were trying to ski. Whitney, I hope you're reading this.... Please, lose the weight. As a fellow human being, I care. Please, enough with the excuses. You're not just "chunky", "padded", "thick"... You are morbidly obese. I'm literally terrified for you. Show us all that you can see another day and lose some weight, get healthy. I cannot watch this show anymore. It's like watching a dying person literally just suffer, waiting till they die. I'm in tears. Your message no longer merits any attention cuz you cannot be happy, you're only fooling yourself. I'm also tired of you starting every sentence with "I used to..." I used to be a great skier, I used to swim, I used to..."WAKE UP! That was 300lbs ago. I used to walk around on a string-bikini but that was 30yrs ago!  Do you crave the attention by going on YouTube & slamming anybody/everybody who talks about you? Don't you see your parents cry for you? My God girl, stop!!! You cannot BLAME your illness for every single lb you carry, same way that I can't BLAME my pregnancies and menopause for mine. I've learned to exercise & adjust my diet. I'm working on it, are you?

I just read other posters & I totally agree: What's her message again? I also agree that she's no longer funny, just 'almost' rude, demanding, defensive & in serious denial. She is not an "inspiration", no... she's being openly mocked. :(

Edited June 17, 2016 by Charm
Added comment

[Barb23]

Does anyone know how old Whitney's parents are?  I know everyone ages differently, but they come across as being older/frailer(?) than other 60 & 70 year olds I know.  My mother is 93 & looks better than them. And Whitney definitely made them age more on last night's episode. 

Whitney was really huffing & puffing when she was just walking around the ski area.  Could have been the increasing pain in her ankles & legs, but how she expected  to ski is beyond me. Like others have said, how did she expect to get up when she fell?  Didn't it occur to her she could become a safety hazard for other skiers who would have to maneuver around her on the ground?  It didn't seem she could quickly get up& out of  the way of other skiers.  I guess since she was an "expert" skier when she was 15, she thought it would be no problem now. 

Talking about huffing & puffing, did anyone else catch on the previews the trainer mentions to Whitney about her sneaking out to smoke when he worked with her last time? I'll have to rewatch to make sure I heard correctly. Does she smoke? If so, has this been discussed? Even she had a surprised look on her face like "why are you letting my secret out on TV?" 

One more question (& I do know the answer) - Knowing she was on TV, why couldn't she have just ordered a turkey sandwich instead of making the big deal out of a cheese steak sub & a pizza? 

[KateHearts]

I think she feels it's really funny to joke about being the fat girl wanting pizza.  Because, you know- it's really funny.

I believe I heard her say something about her mother being 70.

[JoJoPowerRanger]

1 hour ago, Barb23 said:

One more question (& I do know the answer) - Knowing she was on TV, why couldn't she have just ordered a turkey sandwich instead of making the big deal out of a cheese steak sub & a pizza? 

I actually think she had Buddy bring her a Domino's philly cheese steak pizza which, FYI, is THE BOMB (in a good way). I spied with my junk-food eating eye that it came in the Domino's handmade pan pizza box, plus she had a box of sides (perhaps breadsticks or parmesan bread bites, maybe wings?). 

Another FYI, I've ordered it enough to know that Domino's philly cheese pan pizza pie is around 2300 cals and homegirl did NOT look like she planned to share. 

And now the secret's out that I love gross garbage food hahahah

 

ETA: and AGREED! If I was in her position you would never catch me ordering one of those nutritional disasters for the world to see, especially not after being in the ER!  10% of me respects her for starting to come out of the closet and be honest with viewers that she could not give 2 craps about what goes into her body despite medical confirmation of her poor health. 

Edited June 17, 2016 by JoJoPowerRanger

[greekmom]

3 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I don't believe TLC would want this or agree to pay for it. The people on 600 pound life get help only if they agree to be filmed naked and in the most humiliating way possible. Some people like myself and many posters here, would watch the show wth Whitney doing the things mentioned above. But many more prefer to watch her fall down and be humiliated so they can make fun of her.

Wasn't the scenes in the hot tub, tubing and the skiing humiliating? Man, TLC may have lost the Duggars and the Boos but they got some silver lining with big Whit looking like an ass. 

[aliya]

2 hours ago, KateHearts said:

I'm more than surprised that the medical provider (nurse? doctor?) told her that her blood pressure was 160, which was a "little high," and that 140 was "normal."  No, that's just not true.  Over 120 systolic is hypertensive.  And all that scene allowed Whitney to do was brush off further the warnings they were trying (too gently, IMO) to give.  She says afterwards, "my blood pressure was fine, but my heart rate was a little fast."  It was too fast for someone who is lying on a gurney.  Normal pulse is 60-80.  Her heart is working too hard.  You could almost see her dismissing the weight comments the minute the ER people got them out of their mouths.

And in the previews for this week, TLC dramatically added the sounds of a ventilator and heart rate monitor in the background.  That is totally lame.  

I agree with others who are confused about the meaning of the show.  There is a lot of leaping back and forth from "I'm fat, fabulous and I can do anything I want to do!"  to tears: "I can't lose weight; no one accepts the fat girl."  And she is a master at fat logic.  The winner comment was last week's "I think I was meant to be this way- this is my mission."

No kidding. I meant to comment about this. I am 62 and plump. If my blood pressure goes over 130, my doc gets antsy. When I heard the health care person say that 140 was OK, I was shocked. Yes BP can go up as you age (tho it doesn't have to, depending upon diet and other factors), but to say that 160 was OK for a young person, wow. I was shocked. Re the heart rate, a very active older person like GW Bush has a resting rate of 65 (I know 'cause read it somewhere and am jealous). I'm a lot higher (but still typical for an older person) at 80. I was shocked at Whitney's numbers. She's only fooling herself. They gave her the numbers and then she glossed over them as though they were meaningless. Maybe the cardiologist will smack some sense into her. The writing is on the wall. 

[Charm]

I have to comment on what was said at the end of the episode also... When her trainer outted her smoking. It seems to me like she's just living a life of excess & laughing about it. Sadly, we all know what happens to people living like this. An early death. Sadly, we are watching a woman killing herself on tv. It's tragic, just tragic. 

[princelina]

4 hours ago, Barb23 said:

Talking about huffing & puffing, did anyone else catch on the previews the trainer mentions to Whitney about her sneaking out to smoke when he worked with her last time? I'll have to rewatch to make sure I heard correctly. Does she smoke? If so, has this been discussed? Even she had a surprised look on her face like "why are you letting my secret out on TV?" 

One more question (& I do know the answer) - Knowing she was on TV, why couldn't she have just ordered a turkey sandwich instead of making the big deal out of a cheese steak sub & a pizza? 

Yes - he definitely said that.  And it's the first time we've been clued into the fact that she's a smoker.

IMO the ordering of the pizza, etc. was the Defiant Addict coming out - "you can't control me!  I can control myself and I'm doing this because I enjoy it!  It's not controlling me; I'm just choosing it right now for (insert "reason" here).