S05.E08: Michael's Story

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Michael's massive body has left him dependent upon his family, and he must learn to control his anger issues around food, lose weight and address the root of his issues or risk losing everything.

[Azubah]

Okay, Powers That Be, the travel to Houston is really not drama at its finest. 

[Azubah]

Seriously, they're trying to milk drama from a traffic jam?

[hoosiermom]

This doesn't look too promising for Michael. But, I am only 45 minutes in.

[Azubah]

So, everyone else in the household works for pay, but Michael sits around like a leech and is abusive to everyone else. Lovely.

[Maggienolia]

This therapist is THE most annoying! Why do they keep sending people to her? No affect, little girl voice minus any inflection. Ugh. 

[Dharma]

20 minutes ago, Maggienolia said:

This therapist is THE most annoying! Why do they keep sending people to her? No affect, little girl voice minus any inflection. Ugh. 

She is great. I always enjoy seeing her when she is on. She is kind, empathetic and patient.

[WrongReasons]

Yet another one that didn't need to be 2 hours. TPTB need to cut these boring ones down to 1 hour. I'm glad he finally got on board but man he was a miserable person there. 

 

And this is terrible if me to say but it looked like his wife really needed to either get the surgery or hop on the healthy eating train too. By the end she was looking as big if not bigger than him. 

[hoosiermom]

I feel kind of scammed by the editing. He was so arrogant and demanding at the start then complete turnaround. I am very happy for his family and glad he is doing so well.

[aliya]

45 minutes ago, Maggienolia said:

This therapist is THE most annoying! Why do they keep sending people to her? No affect, little girl voice minus any inflection. Ugh. 

I can't stand her voice. I am a woman. If I have a female therapist, I want her to talk like a woman as well. After 1 appointment with this person and I'd be asking for another therapist ASAP.

I thought I paid attention to this one, but I must have missed his trauma. What happened to him when he was growing up?

[Armchair Critic]

I missed it but will catch the repeat, I was hoping to see the guy who falls out of the golf cart (is laughing at that wrong?) but I assume that is somebody else.

[DC Gal in VA]

21 minutes ago, WrongReasons said:

Yet another one that didn't need to be 2 hours. TPTB need to cut these boring ones down to 1 hour. I'm glad he finally got on board but man he was a miserable person there. 

 

And this is terrible if me to say but it looked like his wife really needed to either get the surgery or hop on the healthy eating train too. By the end she was looking as big if not bigger than him. 

Yikes WrongReasons, I was thinking pretty much the same thing about the wife! So many times on these shows we see that the 600 lb. (or more) person is living with other obese people who seem completely clueless about their own obesity. I guess it's easy to delude yourself and keep shoveling food into your maw when you live with someone that size; the old "I am a little overweight but I'm not that bad."

Also agree about the new two hour format. In general, for most of the episodes this season, everything we see could easily be covered in one hour. I did notice that Dr. Now went into greater detail about exactly what the procedure entailed surgically which I greatly appreciated. We need more of this. However, IMHO, the TLC producers are hopelessly lazy. We can see this on other TLC shows--MBFFL is a glaring example. Wish I could find the excellent post elsewhere on this forum where the author listed the exact layout of every damn episode. Sad to say that these very same producers will give up that formula when it's pried from their cold, dead hands.

Of course they could devote more time to explaining all of the after effects of this type of surgery, many of which I believe can last a lifetime; how they get proper nutrition eating so little each day (Michael spoke of only eating Jello about a month after the surgery); why does Dr. Now insist on a low carb AND low fat AND low calorie diet--sounds like a recipe for future failure, etc. But that ain't gonna happen any time soon.

Lastly, where in Arizona did they live? Was it that long of a trip to Houston? They were carrying on as though they were the Biblical ancient Israelites being forced to wander the desert for forty years.

[magemaud]

Just a half hour into this episode and I can't help but wonder what will happen to all those tattoos when (or if) Michael loses significant weight. 

[Galloway Cave]

1 hour ago, DC Gal in VA said:

Lastly, where in Arizona did they live? Was it that long of a trip to Houston?

They lived in Glendale, on the west side of Phoenix. It is a 17 hour drive to Houston.

47 minutes ago, magemaud said:

I can't help but wonder what will happen to all those tattoos when (or if) Michael loses significant weight. 

Forget the weight lose, what happens when Dr. Now does his slash and staple skin removal surgery? 

[OSM Mom]

They were poking along through Texas. 60? Seriously?  The speed limit is 85. Geez dude.  Get going.  What an ass. And yeah, his wife gained all the weight he lost. 

[Armchair Critic]

Were those his step children? Those poor kids had to put up with a lot of crap from him. 

[AnnaBaptist]

While I am happy that his weight-loss journey was a success, the episode was dull because he is not particularly articulate - at least in English. If we played a drinking game where we took a shot every time he said, "I am in so much pain" the first hour and "I am bonding so much better with my family because I can do so much more now " in the second, we'd all be in the hospital with alcohol poisoning. This was definitely an episode that did not need to be longer than an hour.

Roni, I know you are frustrated with his anger issues, but you need to cook and eat healthier food. Not only are you as large as he is by the end of the episode, but your children are on the chunky side as well. That was a lot of food you chowed down at Casa del Rio (and btw, poor restaurant, shown on national TV as a place where the tables have bird poop on them), and it couldn't have hurt to have shown a little solidarity with Michael and eaten healthier food. She didn't look very happy at the end of the episode. I hope she will be okay.

[EtheltoTillie]

I'm at the end. He weighs 348, and if his wife weighs any less I would not believe it. The first half hour was so boring!

[CarolMK]

Agree this episode should have been at most one hour- or, if they continue with the 2 hour format, please, less backstory and more about what happens later on. I'd have rather they showed Michael after his skin removal surgery than the traffic jam and the drama with the first rental house. Of all the patients this year, I believe he's the most successful of all. He's got the advantage of being fairly young and being a man as well, they seem to lose faster than woman.

Yes, they are his stepkids- I guess both were teenagers. How hard that must have been for them to both leave school and start over in a new state at their age.

I do wonder if his wife is quite a bit older than him, given the ages of her kids. It seemed puzzling that she was willing to put up with Michael when she was already working a full time job and raising 2 teenagers and giving in to his food addiction. Assuming she was probably already divorced, I give her a lot of credit for hanging in there with her marriage. 

Glad to see he finally went back to work and seemed to like his job. In watching him throw the football with his son, I assume he'd probably played it in the past, maybe high school. I think I missed some details about how he said his family asked him to leave at some point, because he didn't get along with his father? Yet his father had been in prison for several years. It also seemed like he had a strong desire to overeat his entire life, let's hope he can hang in there and keep the weight off. 

[DC Gal in VA]

Found that great post about the lazy ass TLC format for these shows. It was written by Pepper Mostly in a reply on the Doug's story episode and is as follows:

• "Show formula:

  I am fat.

  Really, really fat.

  I was always a big kid/I was normal until a traumatic event

  Got super fat.

  I am in pain every minute of the day.

  My life is a hell on earth.

  My family enables me/has to care for me because I can't get out of bed.

  I am desperate for weight loss surgery.

  I just love food.

  Dieting is so, so hard.

  I'm going to work hard to lose the weight so I will be approved for weight loss surgery.

  I had weight loss surgery and hate the jello and bullion I am allowed to eat.

  The cravings are coming back.

  This is so hard.

  I'll just have a donut today. I know my body and what I need.

  Dr. Now is mad at me because I didn't lose enough weight/gained weight.

  I am determined to prove him wrong.

  I am going to the gym.

  I am going to a therapist.

  I have a sudden realization that its up to me.

  I have lost a lot of weight and want to continue to lose weight/Dr. Now doesn't know what he is talking about and I will do it MY WAY.

  the end."

Lol, brilliant Pepper Mostly! Except for the last line as it pertains to Michael's story, this is basically the same tiresome TLC My 600 lb. Life format. Over and over and over again. The only thing missing from this list is the obligatory shower scene. And they actually get paid good money for this happy horseshit. Makes me feel really, really stabby. 

[DC Gal in VA]

2 minutes ago, Diamond Dog said:

 

Also: 

"I'm a monster... I hate my body"  Shows gratuitous shower scene.

"I'm making progress"  "I need to make more progress"   Dr. Now:  "He/she needs to make more progress"

Hahahaha Diamond Dog, but I have one more. Dr. Now to patient: "So, what's going on with your eating habit?" Always makes me want to say to him "Are you blind? He/she is 600/700 or, in the case of adorable Sean, 919 pounds. They obviously eat too effin much, so get on with the consultation already!"

[Aw my lahgs]

Many episodes are great in two hours. They just can cover more.

But: they're editing very poorly and with 8 min commercial breaks instead of 4, how much longer are the episodes really?

Edited February 23, 2017 by Nutella

[nlkm9]

9 hours ago, WrongReasons said:

Yet another one that didn't need to be 2 hours. TPTB need to cut these boring ones down to 1 hour. I'm glad he finally got on board but man he was a miserable person there. 

 

And this is terrible if me to say but it looked like his wife really needed to either get the surgery or hop on the healthy eating train too. By the end she was looking as big if not bigger than him. 

my thoughts exactly--in the restaurant scene, i was surprised that she ordered fried cheese sticks and chicken parmesan--she needs to lose a lot of weight too, and this is the perfect opportunity--as im watching last nite, Im thinking "hopefully someone else on this board notices that she looks bigger than him by the end!!"

[Miss Chevious]

Yes, I know the show was about Michael and I'm glad he lost, but I couldn't help but notice the wife was overweight as well. For the life of me, I don't know why she wouldn't want to follow the 1200 calorie diet along with him. It would have been a perfect opportunity for them to get healthy together, for her to support her husband in the best way possible and most likely would've helped with his anger issues. Instead she does the opposite by ordering calorie laden food and tempting him by stuffing her face in front of him. Not to mention that annoying gum chewing on national TV.

[operalover]

Another great summary of the show format by KarenKarenBoBaren:

 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.

[winsomeone]

Maybe in the future, they can do surgery on the husband and wife at the same time. That way neither would have to go through the after effects of it alone, and could better support each other?

[EtheltoTillie]

26 minutes ago, operalover said:

Another great summary of the show format by KarenKarenBoBaren:

 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.

And yet we keep watching! LOL. 

[Azubah]

42 minutes ago, winsomeone said:

That way neither would have to go through the after effects of it alone, and could better support each other?

On the other hand, they'd each be pretty debilitated for the first several weeks and they would need a third person to go get the pain meds, the protein drinks, etc. 

But it does seem like it would be much more interesting to spend some time analyzing the family dynamics rather than spending 20 minutes on watching people drive to Houston.

[Tenarife60]

11 hours ago, Armchair Critic said:

I missed it but will catch the repeat, I was hoping to see the guy who falls out of the golf cart (is laughing at that wrong?) but I assume that is somebody else.

I also thought it was going to be his episode.  He must be on their very last show because many people say they know who he is because he was on Dr. Phil and also made YouTube videos.

Edited February 23, 2017 by KittyKat94
misspelled word

[Ocean Chick]

I'm glad Michael is losing weight and making changes in his life, but man, those anger issues.  What was his wife thinking, staying with him so long?  I'm okay with her staying in an abusive household if that's what she wants, but to subject two young children to that?  What does she think they learn from that?  That it's okay for her son to use the threat of his anger on other people?  That that was how a normal man acts in a marriage, to her daughter?  I hope Michael finds ways to apologize for treating them like that, for the rest of his life.  I hope the cycle of abuse is finally broken.

And yeah, wife needs to lose vast amounts of weight herself.  Maybe she needs to go to a therapist and find a way to boost her self-esteem?  Whatever happened to her prior to hooking up with Michael certainly made her look for someone who she thought was "safe" - he was nearly 500 lbs when she met him, right?  And she stayed with him even when he was angry and abusive, so something is off there.

The kids looked normal sized, so hopefully they won't end up looking like their parents.  And yes, I, too, was thinking about the tattoos on Michael, and what would happen to him once he had skin surgery.  They won't be pretty, that's for sure.  And I'm hoping that in the real therapy session, the therapist is more professional.  I know they can't film the real therapy, and this is just a "for-show" scene to let us know that they indeed DO go to therapy for their issues, and I'm good with that.  I hope both Michael AND his wife are receiving on-going help.  They BOTH need it.

[Motor City]

I did not catch what they said Michael did for a living.  What type of work does he do?

[spacefly]

Michael was driving a taxi/car service during the show.

[gunderda]

9 hours ago, DC Gal in VA said:

Hahahaha Diamond Dog, but I have one more. Dr. Now to patient: "So, what's going on with your eating habit?" Always makes me want to say to him "Are you blind? He/she is 600/700 or, in the case of adorable Sean, 919 pounds. They obviously eat too effin much, so get on with the consultation already!"

I kinda get why he asks that.  I think he can learn a lot of information about them based on how they answer and he can gage what kind of patient they might be. 

 

I really wish the 12 months would start 1 month before they get surgery or the day of the surgery.  I don't think he took too many months to get surgery but some of these others are going on 6-7 months before we get to the surgery and that's just lame.  Show a synopsis of how they are the months up to the surgery.  I liked it when we could see some of the skin surgeries as well.  

He seemed like he was heading down a slippy slope though... FRIED cheese sticks and pasta.... which I'm sure are two very big no-nos.

 

And I totally loved it that Dr. Now has his face on the side of the building LOL

[AZChristian]

6 minutes ago, gunderda said:

I really wish the 12 months would start 1 month before they get surgery or the day of the surgery.  I don't think he took too many months to get surgery but some of these others are going on 6-7 months before we get to the surgery and that's just lame.  Show a synopsis of how they are the months up to the surgery.  I liked it when we could see some of the skin surgeries as well.  

But by showing how long it takes to even get TO the surgery, they are showing that it's NOT a quick-fix instant repair.  If these folks aren't willing to invest effort before the surgery, they're not likely to stick with the plan afterwards.  So I think it's good that they cover it the way they do.

[Morgalisa]

The trip to Houston was fascinating to me. First there was a UHaul truck  (driven by who?) towing a car on a flat bed trailer (why),  then there was the SUV pulling the small UHaul trailer, then shots of both of them driving an SUV towing nothing. What am I missing?

[Morgalisa]

Michael's wife is an accident waiting to happen.  She kept projecting everything on him and his weight issues. It was very telling when she asked the therapist if one has to have trauma to be overweight. She thinks she just like to eat. She looks very depressed (and its not all due to his weight issues). I kept hoping Dr. Now would mention something to her. At the end, I was yelling at the tv, "run Michael run."

[gunderda]

15 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

But by showing how long it takes to even get TO the surgery, they are showing that it's NOT a quick-fix instant repair.  If these folks aren't willing to invest effort before the surgery, they're not likely to stick with the plan afterwards.  So I think it's good that they cover it the way they do.

i know........ but i like watching the transformation after surgery (if they are successful). I don't like watching them be assholes to their family lol 

[Pers]

2 hours ago, Miss Chevious said:

Not to mention that annoying gum chewing on national TV.

The gum. So much gum chewing. When I was preparing to get my gastric sleeve done, we had to attend many appointments in both group and individual format with the doctors, nurses, and dietitian. We were told over and over that after the surgery no more sipping from a straw and no more gum chewing as it can expand the pouch or sleeve with air and stretch it out.  

[Brooklynista]

3 minutes ago, Morgalisa said:

Michael's wife is an accident waiting to happen.  She kept projecting everything on him and his weight issues. It was very telling when she asked the therapist if one has to have trauma to be overweight. She thinks she just like to eat. She looks very depressed (and its not all due to his weight issues). I kept hoping Dr. Now would mention something to her. At the end, I was yelling at the tv, "run Michael run."

I agree.  Something clearly happened in her past that would make her choose a life with a 500lb man.  He didn't seem to have a sparkling personality and he wasn't especially engaged with the kids that we saw.  There's some level of safety in getting with a man of that size.  He's not likely to be violent and  he's certainly not cheating.  She gets to say she has a husband and a father for her kids.  Not too dissimilar from a prison wife.

[flappa1016]

32 minutes ago, Morgalisa said:

The trip to Houston was fascinating to me. First there was a UHaul truck  (driven by who?) towing a car on a flat bed trailer (why),  then there was the SUV pulling the small UHaul trailer, then shots of both of them driving an SUV towing nothing. What am I missing?

Thank you!  I even rewound and watched again, trying to figure that out. I made my husband watch, too, and never figured it out. The big truck disappeared, as did the trailer with the car. I was so focused on those discrepancies that I never really paid any attention to the actual journey drama. Also, how much gas did they spend for those 3 vehicles?? Even taking away the U-haul trailer and the car tow, they were each driving gas guzzlers. 

[auntjess]

1 hour ago, Morgalisa said:

The trip to Houston was fascinating to me. First there was a UHaul truck  (driven by who?) towing a car on a flat bed trailer (why),  then there was the SUV pulling the small UHaul trailer, then shots of both of them driving an SUV towing nothing. What am I missing?

I thought the car on the flatbed was one of theirs, or maybe their only one, but wasn't fit to be driven that far.
I assumed TLC production people were driving some of them.
While I can see the point in showing some of the trip, why not just show them packing up, and not all that at home before the trip.
Why are they doing this?  In 2 hours in earlier seasons, people were either close to goal, or back to their original weight and bed-bound.

Roni is the wife who was posting on a Facebook 600lb Life Discussion group, but I don't follow it.

[leilab67]

1 hour ago, Morgalisa said:

The trip to Houston was fascinating to me. First there was a UHaul truck  (driven by who?) towing a car on a flat bed trailer (why),  then there was the SUV pulling the small UHaul trailer, then shots of both of them driving an SUV towing nothing. What am I missing?

I was also very confused by this as well.  Also, where did the dog come from?  She wasn't there earlier in the show then all of a sudden she showed up.  I didn't realize they had so many animals.  I do wish him lots of luck and hopefully Roni will start eating healthier as well.

[Aw my lahgs]

TLC's rent budget must be anything less than $500/month. 

[okerry]

2 hours ago, Brooklynista said:

I agree.  Something clearly happened in her past that would make her choose a life with a 500lb man.  He didn't seem to have a sparkling personality and he wasn't especially engaged with the kids that we saw.  There's some level of safety in getting with a man of that size.  He's not likely to be violent and  he's certainly not cheating.  She gets to say she has a husband and a father for her kids.  Not too dissimilar from a prison wife.

Excellent points. He's "safe" in that he's not going anywhere and they can't be intimate, either (I wouldn't think.) Plus he's got an income from the disability checks. I noticed she was complaining at the end that he had "way too much energy." Will be interesting to see what happens to them as a couple. We've seen it before on this show - when the dynamic is disturbed, sometimes the couple has no reason to stay together any longer.

[cpcathy]

Their dynamic at the Italian dinner was just, weird. Not like a couple who enjoyed each other's company.

And I always have to laugh, I'm a foodie, so hearing her say she has been waiting a long time to go to that restaurant was amusing, it didn't look like someplace you wait very long to go to!

[AnnaBaptist]

13 minutes ago, cpcathy said:

Their dynamic at the Italian dinner was just, weird. Not like a couple who enjoyed each other's company.

And I always have to laugh, I'm a foodie, so hearing her say she has been waiting a long time to go to that restaurant was amusing, it didn't look like someplace you wait very long to go to!

Yes, especially when she ended up ordering chicken parmesan! When I think of good Italian food, I think of fresh seafood, a caprese salad with true buffalo-milk mozzarella, homemade pasta, and crispy crusted bread with olive oil. I don't think of food that I can easily make at home with not-so-special ingredients. And I agree, they did not look happy to be together.

[atiyah9369]

3 hours ago, Morgalisa said:

The trip to Houston was fascinating to me. First there was a UHaul truck  (driven by who?) towing a car on a flat bed trailer (why),  then there was the SUV pulling the small UHaul trailer, then shots of both of them driving an SUV towing nothing. What am I missing?

I kept asking what happened to the Uhaul truck? It disappeared, then a Uhaul trailer popped up. What was going on?

[Pers]

Just now, atiyah9369 said:

I kept asking what happened to the Uhaul truck? It disappeared, then a Uhaul trailer popped up. What was going on?

Mysteries! I was fascinated with the disappearing/reappearing Uhaul and junk car. 

[DC Gal in VA]

3 hours ago, gunderda said:

I kinda get why he asks that.  I think he can learn a lot of information about them based on how they answer and he can gage what kind of patient they might be. 

 

I really wish the 12 months would start 1 month before they get surgery or the day of the surgery.  I don't think he took too many months to get surgery but some of these others are going on 6-7 months before we get to the surgery and that's just lame.  Show a synopsis of how they are the months up to the surgery.  I liked it when we could see some of the skin surgeries as well.  

He seemed like he was heading down a slippy slope though... FRIED cheese sticks and pasta.... which I'm sure are two very big no-nos.

 

And I totally loved it that Dr. Now has his face on the side of the building LOL

I understand where you're coming from gunderda. However, he goes on to prescribe the exact same guidelines he doles out to each and every one of them: eat only three meals per day, no snacking, and the real kicker for me, they have to follow a low calorie, low carb, AND a low fat diet, the last of which I heard him say on several occasions. Speaking only for myself, there's no way in Hell I would be able to stick to that type of diet; I'd be doomed to fail, especially based on past dieting efforts. If he used the information to tailor an individualized eating and exercise plan for each patient, then his questions would make sense. But he never does. It's the same diet, the same, IMHO, totally useless nutritionists, etc.

ITA with showing a month before the surgery. There was a British show about the same types of people which always included a scene where a kitchen table would be laid out with all the food the person eats in a single day BEFORE any surgical procedures. Great educational and enlightening information for both the patient and the audience.

I believe they would also state exactly how many calories they consume each day, not the usual Dr. Now guesstimate of "he/she is probably eating 30,000 'calorie' a day." Why guess? Why not get the exact information? How hard would it be for the TLC producers to do that? All we get is the obligatory camera shots of the person shoveling massive quantities of food into their mouths from a distance that looks like all of two inches from their face. Oops I forgot, it's another mandatory part of the lazy TLC formula and we just can't mess with that! Way too much effort for The Learning Channel.

Edited February 23, 2017 by DC Gal in VA
To correct misspelled word.

[Nycgrkguy]

3 hours ago, Morgalisa said:

The trip to Houston was fascinating to me. First there was a UHaul truck  (driven by who?) towing a car on a flat bed trailer (why),  then there was the SUV pulling the small UHaul trailer, then shots of both of them driving an SUV towing nothing. What am I missing?

The editing is very choppy, the length of Dr Now's sideburns were changing throughout the first meeting with the family.