S05.E07: Diana's Story

[MsVixen]

Diana started gaining serious weight after leaving the military but until then she was fairly normal in weight.  I would have thought that getting to 300 pounds would have been a turning point. 

[Pers]

9 hours ago, Azubah said:

I don't blame her. Sometimes you want to help, but you don't realize exactly how hard it's really going to be.

Me too Azubah! Diana's niece and nephew in law are saints. I was really impressed with the tenacity of this family.

[LocalGovt]

10 hours ago, Azubah said:

"But she's 56 now"  

Hey hey now! 56 is the new 36.

Yes! :)

[LocalGovt]

Sad, but in the first part of the show, when her sister was helping her get into bed, I thought, for a few seconds, she was doing exercises before getting into bed.  I said to myself, "Wow! That's great! She's at least making an effort to exercise as much as she is able to!"  I quickly realized those were not exercise movements, but the movements she found necessary to make, just to launch herself into the bed.

Why didn't they have her at least semi-sitting up in the back of the van??  I would imagine her weight would be pressing down on her chest, inhibiting her breathing, laying flat as she was.

Sad that she had to spend the night in the minivan.

I felt bad for her niece. She sure had the bulk of the work to do.

[LocalGovt]

10 hours ago, Azubah said:

Aren't there any swimming pools in Houston?

I wondered that, too.

I was really surprised at her niece fixing her corn on the cob during the first month.  It's so high in sugar and starch.  I noticed Diane ate all of that, but barely touched the spaghetti squash.   I bet there was no corn on the cob during month 2. I wish they would have elaborated more on what other changes they made in their eating habits -- not because I want to be their food czar, but because I want to know for myself!

[operalover]

I had a similar upbringing. My thin mother doled out one cookie to each of us after dinner and then hid them. She always was afraid my sister and I would be fat so she tried to control what we ate. She never bought anything fattening and locked up sweets. I was not fat! I was normal weight, not one ounce of fat on me.  She told me recently that she was always afraid that my sister and I would get fat so she tried to control our intake. 

I loved food though and anytime there was a lot of bad food I would gorge on it like on a camping trip or party. Even our easter baskets were sparse. When I was 13 my best friend, who was thin as a rail, had a house full of junk food. They had chips, chocolates, and cake out on their kitchen counters- the opposite of my house! I would go over there and help myself- I was in heaven. My friend was so so skinny and never touched it. It did not interest her. Meanwhile my mother was locking it up! When I got out into the world on my own, I felt this freedom to buy junk food and eat it whenever I want. No one can stop me now! It's very bad. If I want ice cream for breakfast I can! My sister is now very overweight and I battle my weight and my urges every day. 

This woman was a lot different than the type we normally see. We normally see the bottom 1% on this show, people from poverty and lack of an education. This woman was well spoken and seemed educated. They didn't move into one of those social security disability Houston shithole apartments. 

[Azubah]

And they did actually address the money issue a little -- maybe they're tired of us complaining. The niece's husband was working remotely, and the niece's mother (Diana's sister) was sending money to help. And as someone noted earlier, Diana worked for years. She didn't have a family to support so maybe she had some significant savings.

[operalover]

If she chipped in her $700 a month disability payment, and they divided the cost of food and the house by 3, her mother, her niece and husband, and her, then they can afford to rent this house without being wealthy or having extra money socked away. I imagine the husband makes a good salary and didnt need to have his wife and kids living in a shithole either.

1 minute ago, operalover said:

 

Edited February 16, 2017 by operalover

[Kellyee]

Quote

Wow. she was a model patient. I was actually tearing up thinking about how far she came

She went farther because she was less messed up to start with. She spent a significant portion of her life as a functioning, relatively healthy person. She remembers what it was to be normal, so its easier to get back there. I compare her to that guy in an earlier episode who was only like 25 years old, and had spent 8 years or something in bed just eating and having his mom take care of him. Those people are harder to change because they don't really know any different.

Also, I think Diana has a bad food addiction, but she's not as mentally ill as some of the others. These people should be seeing a psychiatrist long before surgery.

[Tenarife60]

8 hours ago, Negritude said:

She said she wanted to re-enlist but couldn't because of her weight and you would only get a pension if you retire or maybe even a medical discharge(?). I did 5 years in the Navy but I'm not 100% sure. I also did alot of yo-yo dieting for weigh-ins so I know the struggle.

I wondered how that worked because I have a cousin who was in the Navy (also about five years) and got a medical discharge.  I believe she is considered 100% disabled so gets a fair amount of money...  maybe?   She has lived in places that was almost as nice as Diana's place in Houston.  I think she might get money other ways also though, because she has a child under 18.

[AZChristian]

Diana said she got an Honorable Discharge.  There's no disability payment that comes with that as far as I know.  And she wasn't disabled at that point anyway - the disability came after she had worked in the civilian world for many years.  From the looks of her apartment, she was in subsidized housing, so NOW is probably on disability.

My heart went out to her niece when she had her mini-breakdown outside of Dr. Now's office.  No matter how much we love someone (especially not a spouse), we get tired of giving up our lives and not knowing when it will end.  She is an awesome young woman.

[Ocean Chick]

Wow - a complete 180 from last week's episode!  A patient AND a family that I could root for 100%.  Diana was SO insightful into her part of the problem.  And the family were really rooting for her to get better in such a lovely way.  I agree about the reason for Dr. Now's attitude - he knew these people were smart enough and strong enough for some hard love, and they proved him right.  I, too, noticed the corn on the cob when Diana was supposed to be on the high protein, low carb diet.  Guess Megan needed a little fine-tuning about carbs.  But she seemed to learn quickly.  I felt so sorry for her during her melt-down, but she was able to get herself together and get back in the game.  She's a saint.

I had to laugh when Diana was talking about feeling invisible because she came from "such a large family", and her sick sister.  Girl, please!  I had 3 brother and a much younger sister.  Two of my brothers had epilepsy and the other had severe asthma.  As the eldest daughter I was expected to step in and cook dinner and watch my sister when my parents had to run to hospitals or such, and otherwise not cause any unneeded ripples in the family life.  I sucked it up as much as I could and got on with life.  Yes, I'm overweight, but I've never hit 250 yet, and I've always had a job and taken care of myself.  Diana's childhood wasn't bad enough, even with the (one time) molestation, to warrant 600 pounds, I don't think.  Depression, on the other hand, runs rife in my family, so I can understand that leading to the weight gain.  Glad she mentioned the on-going therapy.  She needs that big time.  I can't wait to see her follow-up.  She'll look great after skin surgery.

[mmecorday]

Quote

I had to laugh when Diana was talking about feeling invisible because she came from "such a large family"

She should thank her lucky stars she's not a Duggar! ;)

[gunderda]

I was surprised at how positive this whole episode was.  I really didn't think Diana would be a good sport about anything but she surprised me. I think her niece was even pleasantly surprised.  From the way she talked i think she expected it to not go well at all and for her aunt to be a baby about her "choice" of foods.  I felt like the niece was preparing herself for the worse. 

[dahling]

What an intelligent and well-spoken woman. Some of her voiceovers sounded weirdly looped to me, though, almost like another woman's voice breaking in at odd moments. 

In my opinion the show pushes the angle of "something about your childhood turned you into this monster" because it's a predictable segment on every episode, right after the shower scene. Diana did start out by saying "my childhood was pretty  normal" before she described the issues with her sister's medical problems. It didn't sound to me like she personally blamed her childhood as much as the sexual assault at the skating rink.

I became 380 pounds and often tried to ask myself how? why? I wasn't abused as a child, I had a happy childhood. I mean nothing is perfect - divorce, daddy issues, whatever, but if I had to rate my childhood traumas on a scale of 1 to 100, I'd rate them about a 2.  Sometimes it's possible to become an addict just because you found your "bliss" (as Diana's niece said) and you can't stop blissing in it. 

I found her story of a lifelong struggle with weight very compelling. Not obesity, just weight. It sounds like her body is wired to carry more. Not admitted to the military for being 5'6 and 178. Yes that's an overweight BMI but in today's world we would not blink twice at the physical appearance of a woman that size. That's normal now. And how she dieted like crazy to get in, but couldn't keep the weight off. That's just heartbreaking. And then getting fired from her job at 400 lbs, but still unable to turn it around. These addictions, man, they'll ruin your life. Food can be just as bad as alcohol or cocaine. 

Very happy for her at the end, and I second the thought of whoever said what a nice change it was to see this family living in a nice suburban house rather than Dr. Now's Bungalows for the Bedbound. Yikes. 

[Guest]

1 hour ago, dahling said:

Dr. Now's Bungalows for the Bedbound.

HA! Perfect. But look at his ratchet office though! The mismatched chairs, the paneling. It's a hot mess. Fix that place up a little, sir. It's not like he's not making a fortune from this show and its ensuing referrals. 

[ClareWalks]

I loved Diana. Her knee was bone-on-bone, so Dr. Now suggested upper body exercise, and she just said "that's a good idea" and started doing it! No complaints, no further excuses, no stalling. This is the kind of person I love to see on this show. I can tell she is a great person too because her family really loved her. 

[auntjess]

15 hours ago, LocalGovt said:

Why didn't they have her at least semi-sitting up in the back of the van??  I would imagine her weight would be pressing down on her chest, inhibiting her breathing, laying flat as she was.

I wonder about this with a lot of the people.  You'd think they'd need to be up on several pillows to breathe.

13 hours ago, AZChristian said:

My heart went out to her niece when she had her mini-breakdown outside of Dr. Now's office.  No matter how much we love someone (especially not a spouse), we get tired of giving up our lives and not knowing when it will end.  She is an awesome young woman.

I guess this was staged, but the way it was shown, was that Diana was assuming that they'd fall in with staying longer, without even discussing it with them.
Niece, and especially her husband, were the heroes here.
While I liked Diana, she really did seem to take her family for granted.

I thought the "she's 56 now" comment, referred to the fact that she was 55 when she started this.
 

Edited February 17, 2017 by auntjess

[Armchair Critic]

7 hours ago, operalover said:

My thin mother doled out one cookie to me after dinner and then hid them. She always was afraid I would be fat so she tried to control what I ate. She never bought anything fattening and locked up sweets. When I got out into the world on my own, I felt this freedom to buy junk food and eat it whenever I want. No one can stop me now! It's very bad. If I want ice cream for breakfast I can! I battle my weight and my urges every day.

Same here. I remember when I got my driver's license at 16 I drove to 7 Eleven and bought a Hostess pie, Twinkies, and Little Debbies...all the things I had seen commercials for or my friends ate that my mother wouldn't allow. I have mixed feelings about my mom doing that, on one hand she stopped me from being a fat kid (I have always gained weight easily) but on the other hand she helped make me into a secret eater that viewed "junk" food as a guilty pleasure/forbidden fruit and made me crave it more.

She meant well though, she didn't do it out of malice. My mother today is still a beautiful, popular social butterfly and I know it embarrasses her that I am overweight and don't run in her social circles.

I think Diana was one of the most classy and intelligent people they have featured. Most people would not expose themselves (literally!) to the world on this show so frankly the people who are willing to in order to get it paid for are not going to be from the upper class.

Edited February 16, 2017 by Armchair Critic

[TurtlePower]

38 minutes ago, Armchair Critic said:

Same here. I remember when I got my driver's license at 16 I drove to 7 Eleven and bought a Hostess pie, Twinkies, and Little Debbies...all the things I had seen commercials for or my friends ate that my mother wouldn't allow. I have mixed feelings about my mom doing that, on one hand she stopped me from being a fat kid (I have always gained weight easily) but on the other hand she helped make me into a secret eater that viewed "junk" food as a guilty pleasure/forbidden fruit and made me crave it more.

She meant well though, she didn't do it out of malice. My mother today is still a beautiful, popular social butterfly and I know it embarrasses her that I am overweight and don't run in her social circles.

I think Diana was one of the most classy and intelligent people they have featured. Most people would not expose themselves (literally!) to the world on this show so frankly the people who are willing to in order to get it paid for are not going to be from the upper class.

Sad to hear your feel your mother is embarrassed of you. No child deserves feel that way, it's so superficial.

I never had junk food or sugar in the house either, but it had a different effect on me. I grew up in a homestead-like environment where we grew/collected most of our food and it was mostly plant based. We even had an apple orchard and berry bushes.  We canned or froze any excess and never had processed sweets in the house. 

When I finally did try things like Twinkies and Little Debbies out of curiosity, I found them to be sickeningly sweet and chemical-y tasting. Can't imagine how bad they taste nowadays.

[aliya]

4 hours ago, ClareWalks said:

I loved Diana. Her knee was bone-on-bone, so Dr. Now suggested upper body exercise, and she just said "that's a good idea" and started doing it! No complaints, no further excuses, no stalling. This is the kind of person I love to see on this show. I can tell she is a great person too because her family really loved her. 

I'm surprised that he never sends them to someone for a shot. My 86 yr old mother's knees are bone on bone and she gets a shot 2x a year. As long as she doesn't wait too  long between shots, she is able to walk w/o pain. She's not doing marathons, but she can get around and do a bit of walking for exercise. 

[Guest]

I agree with so much everyone has said about Diana.  I have no doubt that she will succeed.

Megan's husband fascinated me.  What a terrific person.  I can see how he and Megan are together.  He was so kind to Diana, and it appeared genuine.  Megan is family and in that regard is bound to that system but Megan's husband married into it and has embraced the situation with such kindness.

I think out of everyone on this tired old show Diana is the one who's at the top of my list to succeed way beyond anyone's expectations.

Hey Whitney...are you up for a van ride to Houston?

[ClareWalks]

4 minutes ago, aliya said:

I'm surprised that he never sends them to someone for a shot. My 86 yr old mother's knees are bone on bone and she gets a shot 2x a year. As long as she doesn't wait too  long between shots, she is able to walk w/o pain. She's not doing marathons, but she can get around and do a bit of walking for exercise. 

I don't think a shot would do much to fix Diana's problems at her weight. She would have a hard time moving anyway. I think once she gets close to her goal weight she might be able to get surgery or knee replacement.

[operalover]

10 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Diana said she got an Honorable Discharge.  There's no disability payment that comes with that as far as I know.  And she wasn't disabled at that point anyway - the disability came after she had worked in the civilian world for many years.  From the looks of her apartment, she was in subsidized housing, so NOW is probably on disability.

 

After the military discharge she had another job, I can't remember what it was, but she said she had to leave that job because her weight prevented her from doing her job. She said when she had to stop working she was 400 pounds. This is when she most likely applied for disability. Whenever the people on this show say they stopped working due to their weight, I assume they go on disability.  

[IvySpice]

Quote

After the military discharge she had another job

She worked at a homeless shelter. So she's been invested in service for a long time.

[Hockeymom]

What a genuine, decent, nice group of people. Compare and contrast Erica's beastly bunch!

I always have this same question every time I watch. Why do they put the heaviest person in the widest chair directly opposite the door in Dr. Now's exam room? He always has to squeeze past.

[Tabbygirl521]

I also liked that Diana took the therapy bull by the horns, too. Even though she was apprehensive, she made her appointment and was very open and thoughtful when there. She followed the therapist's advice to keep a journal. And she continued seeing the therapist. She also said that she spent time thinking about her issues during her new free time that she used to fill with acting on her food cravings. Thoughtful, intelligent, motivated, and a seemingly very, very nice person.  I liked them all. 

[Fallacy]

I love Dianna and want to see where she is at now in her progress. I've only seen three episodes of this show and Dianna is the only one of the three who gave me real hope for her future. Does TLC do follow up shows? How do viewers get updates?

[ChristmasJones]

I found myself wishing that I needed eight hot firemen to come and get me out of bed every day!!

[kgg]

What a pleasant lady!  And her family was great, too!

The weird thing is that she could have been spared the awful, 5 day trip if she had just limited her intake in Seattle.  The woman dropped >100 pounds before surgery!  These trips seem so dangerous and so hard on everyone involved.  But I guess it's not good TV if they get it in gear before they meet Dr. Now.

[DeeReynolds]

This is our third episode with a patient from Washington this season I believe. Maybe the film crew films them all in a chunk depending on where they are from. As a fellow Washingtonian, I was proud to see Diana rocking a 12 bag on her walker and a magnet on her fridge. Go Seahawks! Also, proud of the progress Diana made with minimal excuses. 

[Tabbygirl521]

3 hours ago, DeeReynolds said:

This is our third episode with a patient from Washington this season I believe. Maybe the film crew films them all in a chunk depending on where they are from. As a fellow Washingtonian, I was proud to see Diana rocking a 12 bag on her walker and a magnet on her fridge. Go Seahawks! Also, proud of the progress Diana made with minimal excuses. 

I noticed her Seahawk walker embellishment, too, and it made me smile! (I am a little bit north of Seattle.)

[aliya]

18 hours ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

I noticed her Seahawk walker embellishment, too, and it made me smile! (I am a little bit north of Seattle.)

We used to live in north Seattle and my son and I were trying to figure if we recognized the apartment building (we didn't).  Do you know what part of Seattle she lived in? Not that I'm stalking her or anything...I just miss Seattle.

[karenkarenbobaren]

Hi, ya'll.  First time long time here.  At least, I think so.  I was a frequent visitor in TWOP days but can't recall if I've replied anywhere here before.  I'm going to give some random thoughts that are in no particular order.

I've been watching this show since the beginning and somehow always end up doing so while eating a gallon of ice cream or a trough of Chinese and for some reason don't get grossed out.  Anyone else?

Has anyone else noticed (and I'm sorry if it has been mentioned) that this season I don't think anyone has gotten a full bypass and it's been the season of the gastric sleeve?

Diane was certainly a breath of fresh air.  To have a well spoken, well articulated ENTIRE FAMILY was almost weird, especially compared to last week which was really uncomfortable to watch.  

I think the new format is too much.  The show is way too long now, and in some of these episodes, they don't even get the surgery until the last ten minutes of the show.  I need before/after photos, please.  This is almost the entire reason why I watch.  If we're going for a new format, how about we exclude the shower scene and predictability?  We get it.  They need help to shower, they sit in the middle of the kitchen and eat uncontrollably, there has been sexual abuse, and at least one enabler.  Then, they travel painfully to Houston, lose 20 pounds, then lose 49 or 51 pounds, then have surgery, then plateau a bit, then "Maybe it's a good idea if you see a therapist", then they start going to the gym, and then they do things like go to the zoo, because it's something they haven't been able to do in years and years, and now the future is so bright, I have to wear shades.

Another random thought; why does Dr. Now do skin removal surgery!?!?!?!?!  I'm sure he's fine at it, but really... shouldn't a plastic surgeon do it?  It's almost like he's a general surgeon who ended up with a lot of weight loss surgery patients rather than a doctor who specializes in obese patients who also does other things sometimes.  I have to say though, I've been to Houston and there are soooo many terribly obese people who live there.  I wonder if he really just fell into it.  There are diabetes clinics in almost every shopping center; they're as plentiful as 7-11's.  So bizarre.  

I cannot imagine what it is like to be 600 pounds, or even just very overweight.  I've always eeked on the a little above normal side of weight until a divorce came and I was happy and thin for a couple of years until I finally got my appetite back.  I've gained about 30 pounds and feel like I can't even wipe my own ass or get up from laying down properly.  To be legit in a dangerously overweight situation has to be one of the most horrific things to have to deal with and it would be disrespectful to say that I can sympathize, but realizing how being just 30 pounds overweight can start to create obstacles, you begin to understand that when these folks are desperately trying to get out of bed and can't and then quit, they physically just cannot do it.  So, to these beings who have been there and are continuing on this journey, I can't even imagine.  They're to be admired.

[Tabbygirl521]

3 hours ago, aliya said:

We used to live in north Seattle and my son and I were trying to figure if we recognized the apartment building (we didn't).  Do you know what part of Seattle she lived in? Not that I'm stalking her or anything...I just miss Seattle.

I dunno why but I was thinking White Center or Burien. 

[jennblevins]

The firefighters that came to help her had patches from Kent. (I'm also from north Seattle and spent the first part of the episode trying to figure out where they were, too.)

[Ms. Bubba]

About the legs - when you have fluid build up in the legs, it can form blisters on the skin that can rupture and ooze. That may be what happened. The white stuff was powder or cream, it did look awful though. I hate seeing any legs that look painful like that.

[Tabbygirl521]

2 hours ago, Ms. Bubba said:

About the legs - when you have fluid build up in the legs, it can form blisters on the skin that can rupture and ooze. That may be what happened. The white stuff was powder or cream, it did look awful though. I hate seeing any legs that look painful like that.

She did mention having open sores on her legs (shudder).

[hisbunkie]

Quote

FFS, Nowzaradan, since when do you complain because the family is being too supportive? The woman's lost 100 pounds! This is new; he never would have done this in earlier seasons.

I think Dr N was thinking ahead at how was Dianne going to care for herself when she would have to.  It was a real question, a lot of his patients have the opposite situation, the family seems to depend on the patient for support (financial)! 

The issue of poverty seems to be primary in most of the stories we see.  This particular one was not primary and perhaps Dianne 's size played a part in her not being able to find a surgeon willing to provide surgery for her.  

As far as Dr. N performing more VSG's (sleeves) than RNY  (bi-pass), research is showing that those who have sleeves have fewer complications down the road and that the difference in weight loss is not that significant.

[zoemom]

nm

Edited February 19, 2017 by zoemom

[hoosiermom]

On 2/17/2017 at 6:46 PM, Fallacy said:

I love Dianna and want to see where she is at now in her progress. I've only seen three episodes of this show and Dianna is the only one of the three who gave me real hope for her future. Does TLC do follow up shows? How do viewers get updates?

Yes TLC does a follow up show on some of them. Try and look on each persons face book for updates.

[lovetheduns]

On February 15, 2017 at 8:46 PM, Azubah said:

Maybe the husband can work long-distance?

That is like me, I just need to be near a major airport but I can live anywhere. My employer doesn't care where I live.

[DeeReynolds]

On 2/18/2017 at 4:38 PM, aliya said:

We used to live in north Seattle and my son and I were trying to figure if we recognized the apartment building (we didn't).  Do you know what part of Seattle she lived in? Not that I'm stalking her or anything...I just miss Seattle.

 

On 2/18/2017 at 7:44 PM, Tabbygirl521 said:

I dunno why but I was thinking White Center or Burien. 

I kind of thought White Center as well! I too was looking for clues as to what part she might be in. 

[cynicat]

On 2/16/2017 at 5:04 PM, aliya said:

I'm surprised that he never sends them to someone for a shot. My 86 yr old mother's knees are bone on bone and she gets a shot 2x a year. As long as she doesn't wait too  long between shots, she is able to walk w/o pain. She's not doing marathons, but she can get around and do a bit of walking for exercise. 

The 'shot' is usually corticosteroids, and that is probably the last thing that someone who is >600lbs needs.

[JudyObscure]

I thought Megan was wonderful.  I really felt for her when Dr. Now first told her off  for being an enabler by bringing Diana her junk food and then, very next visit, told her off for being too supportive. What?  All Megan's hard work of cooking and calorie counting and she's criticized? He also mentioned that Diana had only lost 47 pounds and hadn't met her goal of 50 lbs.  Come on, Doc.

I didn't fault Diana for accepting Megan's sacrifice of moving her family to Houston for those months.  Like Diana said, her life was at stake.  What did bother me was that after the family had moved back to Washington, Diana, let Megan come all the way back to Houston, just to go with her to a doctor appointment.

Diana really impressed me  by biting the bullet and just facing the pain of hunger.  She wanted to order a pizza so much, I was really afraid she would do that after everything  settled down and the cameras went away.  I also heard what she said about her fear that if she gave in to that urge she would go quickly down hill and lose everything.  That is my biggest problem.  I can keep a grip on myself for ten months to a year and then one day, I just give in and it's all over.  I can abstain but never moderate.  I'm grateful that pizza is a boring food to me.  Now, if I could just pick up the phone and order delivery from the Dairy Queen I would be in big trouble.

[gonecrackers]

I was okay with the way Dr. Now handled Megan. She was very supportive but bordering on codependent, if not already there. He had to make that break between them. And Diana is a grown adult; she needs to learn to shop & make her own meals for herself. Megan got her off the ground & she was lucky to have her help doing that, but, she really needed to get going with the program on her own.

She also needed to learn to make the right choices even when the bad choices are around & tempting her. The family kept everything out of the house that would tempt her - again, very considerate, but only realistic short term. If Diana wanted to succeed she'd again have to learn to make the right choices for herself. She can't do that if there aren't choices to make. I was encouraged when the ice cream showed up in the freezer. The kids can have it & Diana had to learn to leave it alone, which she did.

She showed some great self awareness in knowing it's a slippery slope for her, & I thought that was encouraging for her long term success.

Edited February 23, 2017 by gonecrackers

[SuzieQ]

On 2/16/2017 at 6:53 AM, LocalGovt said:

 

I felt bad for her niece. She sure had the bulk of the work to do.

Me too!! Her heart was in the right place, but this was overwhelming for her and her family.  I'm glad Diana realized that and didn't lay a guilt trip when they had to leave.

Diana was one of the more likable people on this show.  Some of them are so self centered.  The lack of gratitude for what their family and loved ones go through sometimes gets on my nerves.

[Ocean Chick]

This is the big difference between Diana and Erica.  Diana actually appreciated the efforts of her family to help her, and told them so, so of course they were happy to continue to help her.  Her whining was at a minimum, and she didn't try to guilt-trip anyone.

Erica never seemed to appreciate what her niece did really.  Did she thank her at all?  I can't remember.  Maybe the attitude we saw from brother and sister was from a lifetime of Erica demanding their help and never thanking them for it.  And she did a LOT of guilt-tripping.  Remember her trying asking her brother to sell his boat and ditch his family in order to move to Houston with her for 6 months?  She practically told him her death by fat was going to be HIS fault if he didn't do so.

[Marilee]

On 2/16/2017 at 9:52 AM, dahling said:

Dr. Now's Bungalows for the Bedbound.

I feel a national chain coming on...

"Did you lose weight?"

"Nope but I did sleep at Dr. Now's Bungalows for the Bedbound last night!"

Edited February 24, 2017 by Marilee

[Marilee]

I'm finally getting to sit down and watch Diana's episode and I'm so impressed with how articulate and self-aware she is! And her family is great too, loving and supportive but capable of giving her some tough love when she needed it. It's refreshing to see a family that seem like they like and respect each other as individuals. Not this, "I have to love you because you're family but I really can't stand your a$$." business.

One thing I noticed, when Diana was showing off the fridge and freezer stocked with healthy low-cal food, she picked up a little cup of ice cream saying it was the only bad thing they had in there. It looked like she was really thinking about eating it but then she put it back. Did I see that right? Or did she have a few bites and I missed it? The fact that she wanted to cheat but then thought better of it and had the willpower to put it back is so totally awesome!

Future patients of Dr. Now need to take note, THAT is how you do it!

Edited February 26, 2017 by Marilee