S05.E11: James K's Story

[Motor City]

Stephanie1216:

“A normal man would be ashamed for his woman and especially his daughter to see him spread eagle naked cleaning up his own shit.  And most men would be ashamed to have firemen lifting, pulling, etc but he likes the attention.”

Amen to this!

[Tabbygirl521]

10 minutes ago, Motor City said:

Stephanie1216:

“A normal man would be ashamed for his woman and especially his daughter to see him spread eagle naked cleaning up his own shit.  And most men would be ashamed to have firemen lifting, pulling, etc but he likes the attention.”

Amen to this!

Seriously. My husband doesn't even like to be seen blowing his nose. 

[Kid]

35 minutes ago, gardendiva said:

I agree with everyone that James is hateful because of his unwillingness to participate at any level in his own recovery, and wants (demands) help from everyone around him as well as strangers on the internet, but will not do anything personally to help himself. And when people DO try to help, he yells or makes excuses or otherwise is a big bucket of failure at life.

In combination with this, though, is another component that adds to how repellant he appears. The Chinese food scene played it out very well. The infantile screaming and whining about how he didn't want healthy food. His unbridled glee ("food!") when it was brought to him, his petulant pout when he thought he didn't get any egg rolls because the plate is right at f***ing eye level and he couldn't see the whole thing at once. The mesmerized shoveling that ensued. And of course the cheesecake. He is just one big pile of id impulses: pure selfishness, interested in only satisfying needs for pleasure; he is infantile, demanding, unreasonable, has no self awareness. He appears animalistic with almost no humanity left in him, because humanity involves caring for others and being interested in connecting with others. His only connections with other humans are the people that wipe his ass and clean his pustules. He disgusts me on such a deep level I struggle to express it.

Well, well said!

[Brooklynista]

2 hours ago, okerry said:

 

What show would take them? I'm not even sure. Maybe Whitney Way Thore and her "No Body Shame" ought to go and have a visit with James for her show, because she's headed down the same path.

Oh no you don't. Don't go conjuring up Whitney and her No B.S. VS. She would call us all a bunch of haters for shaming James and being fat phobes. Then she'd truck on down to Texas and outfit James with spandex leggings in horrible prints and encourage him to take his topless flesh out on the streets of the neighborhood. Whitney would say he must hate himself for even pretending his weight was a problem to begin with.

I see a Food Network crossover happening.  Whitney and James in a kitchen showdown. Pasta, mayo and tuna vs. Fried rice.

[Bubbles1967]

1 hour ago, wings707 said:

The gallery at the bottom of this page has some before and afters, some very impressive! 

http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/my-600-lb-life-james-k-before-and-after-127951/photos/christina-phillips-600-lb-life-238610

They look great.  Except Penny. Still with the oxygen that Dr. Now said she didn't need.

James is just disgusting. He doesn't realize that Lisa and Baylee can tell him to go fuck himself and walk out the door .

She keeps on saying he gets upset when he doesn't get what he wants!! He's bed bound.  What can he possibility do to her???? 

[Lizz]

1 hour ago, wings707 said:

The gallery at the bottom of this page has some before and afters, some very impressive! 

http://www.intouchweekly.com/posts/my-600-lb-life-james-k-before-and-after-127951/photos/christina-phillips-600-lb-life-238610

Doesn't InTouch pay for these stories?  I know the Teen Moms are always making money from them.  It could pay for a lot of eggrolls. 

Yes, some of them look wonderful. Very inspirational. 

[Faithtoo]

On 3/15/2017 at 9:42 PM, SandyQ said:

Poor father mortgaged his house do this lard ass could eat more!!!

That is what broke my heart.  Father put himself in further debt only for his money to be wasted.  Sad.

Edited March 18, 2017 by Faithtoo
Misspelled word

[Tabbygirl521]

1 minute ago, Faithtoo said:

That is what broke my heart.  Father put himself in fury her debt only for his money to be wasted.  Sad.

This isn't unique, either. I was reading an update on the Half-Ton Man (I think?), in the U.K.  He was featured on "Fat Doctor" once. Anyway, he was so disabled that he lived with his mom and she lost her house because she mortgaged it to afford food. Maybe this guy (or the article?) was called The Man Who Ate His House. 

[Miss Ruth]

3 hours ago, chopperchopperbell said:

And the morbidly obese deserve a chance, too. 

Millions(??) of people, myself included, saw him blow what was possibly the best chance James has ever had to dig himself out of that huge hole he dug for himself with a fork, no less.  I don't see that society, and the taxpayers, owes him anything else

Edited March 18, 2017 by Miss Ruth

[Granny58]

4 hours ago, KateHearts said:

I don't think it *is* our responsibility to save them, much less bankroll the attempts. As I said earlier, I've seen people completely throw away the chances we've given them at improving or prolonging their lives. And I've also seen what some people may view as harsh- the decision made not to treat because the effort, resources, and time to do so are simply not worth it given the statistical odds that the person will survive or live a meaningful life.  It's a really hard thing for a medical provider to make the decision to stop trying to help someone. That's what we do;  it's in our nature and the purpose of our work. But again... not everyone can be fixed.

Since James seems to have completely destroyed his body, and it is doubtful that he will ever be healthy again (though stranger things have happened), I actually don't have (much of) an issue with a security net of a reasonable amount of food and shelter, though I do go back and forth on this.  He DID IT TO HIMSELF (it's not like a randomly occurring accident or disease).  Once he started having difficulty getting to work that should have been a wake up call.  Is he incapable of understanding this?   Or was he like Homer Simpson when he found out that morbid obesity could be considered a disability?  Is he to be pitied or scorned?   Like I said - I go back and forth on this.  Also, I don't understand how they have the resources to eat THAT MUCH.  He must be eating enough for 3 or 4 people in a day.  Plus I was thinking of his childhood....he said with all his siblings and his father not earning much he overate because he didn't know when the next meal would come along.  It struck me that THAT behavior was reducing the amount available for the rest of them.  That didn't hit me before.  

Edited March 18, 2017 by Granny58

[Jeeves]

I found the ratings for this episode: 1.3 million viewers and a .48 share. 

[ZombieLisa]

Someone said that TLC pays the people who are on the show. I've often wondered about that since it often seems like they have financial trouble even during the filming period, not just before. Like Lisa being unable to fix her car and move it. Does anyone know how much TLC pays? I wondered if they just covered the cost of the surgery and everything else was on the patient or their family.

[MillieSparklepants]

1 hour ago, Granny58 said:

Since James seems to have completely destroyed his body, and it is doubtful that he will ever be healthy again (though stranger things have happened), I actually don't have (much of) an issue with a security net of a reasonable amount of food and shelter, though I do go back and forth on this.  He DID IT TO HIMSELF (it's not like a randomly occurring accident or disease).  Once he started having difficulty getting to work that should have been a wake up call.  Is he incapable of understanding this?   Or was he like Homer Simpson when he found out that morbid obesity could be considered a disability?  Is he to be pitied or scorned?   Like I said - I go back and forth on this.  Also, I don't understand how they have the resources to eat THAT MUCH.  He must be eating enough for 3 or 4 people in a day.  Plus I was thinking of his childhood....he said with all his siblings and his father not earning much he overate because he didn't know when the next meal would come along.  It struck me that THAT behavior was reducing the amount available for the rest of them.  That didn't hit me before.  

Well said. I think as a society, we try to be understanding and compassionate. Most of us are sympathetic toward these patients and genuinely root for them to overcome their demons. But James showed over and over again that he didn't actually want to change his behavior, he just wanted there to be no consequences to his behavior. Multiple crowdfunding pages so he could eat like a pig, magic surgery to make him skinny, pulling his daughter out of school to wipe his butt ... James only cares about James. That's why we don't like him and that's why we are angry about supporting him emotionally and financially. With his attitude, he will never be a contributing member of society and people who work all day and yet still can't afford steak or Chinese takeout are essentially being forced to provide those things to him for life.

Edited March 18, 2017 by MillieSparklepants
Typos

[AZChristian]

11 minutes ago, ZombieLisa said:

Someone said that TLC pays the people who are on the show. I've often wondered about that since it often seems like they have financial trouble even during the filming period, not just before. Like Lisa being unable to fix her car and move it. Does anyone know how much TLC pays? I wondered if they just covered the cost of the surgery and everything else was on the patient or their family.

I don't have any links, but I've read before that the family is given $4,000 for transportation and housing to Houston.  All surgery/hospitalization costs are paid as well.  Maybe TLC/Dr. Now saw that admitting James would be a waste of money.  The time/effort they put in prior to surgery ("lose 50 pound in da next mont") is expected as an investment on the part of the person being featured.  If they won't invest that, maybe TLC won't invest more either.  IDK.  That's just conjecture on my part.  And I'm sure these folks have any other regular sources of monthly income direct deposited, so they would have that as well.

[OSM Mom]

1 hour ago, Bubbles1967 said:

 

She keeps on saying he gets upset when he doesn't get what he wants!! He's bed bound.  What can he possibility do to her???? 

Beat her down emotionally and mentally just like he has been. She can't walk away. He's an ugly abuser. 

[bethster2000]

12 minutes ago, MillieSparklepants said:

But James showed over and over again that he didn't actually want to change, he just wanted there to be no consequences. Multiple crowdfunding pages so he could eat like a pig, magic surgery to make him skinny, pulling his daughter out of school to wipe his butt ... James only cares about James.

You summed this up perfectly; put it beautifully.  He doesn't want to have to do anything himself in order to get himself out of this mess he is in; he just wants a magical procedure to enable him to no longer experience the ramifications of his behavior and so he can continue to eat eat eat.  I truly believe that, if James had had any sort of bariatric surgery, it would be a Penny-type situation.  He would stop gaining by leaps and bounds (158 Lb. weight gain while supposedly following Dr. Now's diet!), but there would be absolutely no weight loss whatsoever.

My husband had a crainiotomy about 20 years ago for a benign brain tumor.  After the surgery, he had several days where he had no equilibrium, was in a lot of pain, and needed help with daily activities, including going to the bathroom.  I helped him with all of it (of course), but to this day, he will not discuss when I had to help him use the toilet and clean himself up afterward.  It fills him with shame, even though he has no reason to feel ashamed, and I did it because he is my husband and I love him.  He won't discuss it, not that it is a topic of conversation one wants to have!  Still...it has very, very hard for him to let me do that for him.  

[DC Gal in VA]

Speaking of Dr. Now, I can't ever remember him actually using a cuss word when chastising a patient for non-compliance. James and Lisa must have really gotten under his skin since I believe he said Hell several times. That's practically a swear fest for him, LOL!!! Good for you Dr. Now.

[gardendiva]

57 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

Speaking of Dr. Now, I can't ever remember him actually using a cuss word when chastising a patient for non-compliance. James and Lisa must have really gotten under his skin since I believe he said Hell several times. That's practically a swear fest for him, LOL!!! Good for you Dr. Now.

When you do enough to piss off the one person who has the most compassion and patience for the morbidly obese, a person who has devoted his career to helping them, you know you done messed up. 

Edited to add:

I had another observation that just occurred to me. When he first started the massive overeating, it was because his family didn't have a lot of food available, so whenever he got the chance he would eat as much as possible. This struck me as so greedy and selfish. He shoved in as much food into that gaping maw as he could, which meant probably that his siblings and parents had less for them. What a piece of work this guy is and probably always was. No concept of sharing or self sacrifice in him at all. Just "get as much as I can from whomever I can, even if it means the rest of the family goes hungry." Piece of shit. 

Edited March 18, 2017 by gardendiva

[Trees]

I wish their Go Fund Me page had a button to donate one penny, with the comment, "I wouldn't give a loser like you 2 cents!" ;)

[Wings]

I am watching Supersize now.  I swore I wouldn't.  Lisa said to his daughter, "I worry about how much your father is eating."  Daughter says,  "shhhhhh."    For gods sake, don't let him know we notice!  LOL

47 minutes ago, gardendiva said:

I had another observation that just occurred to me. When he first started the massive overeating, it was because his family didn't have a lot of food available, so whenever he got the chance he would eat as much as possible. This struck me as so greedy and selfish. He shoved in as much food into that gaping maw as he could, which meant probably that his siblings and parents had less for them. What a piece of work this guy is and probably always was. No concept of sharing or self sacrifice in him at all. Just "get as much as I can from whomever I can, even if it means the rest of the family goes hungry." Piece of shit. 

Not at all.  That is just an excuse.  It makes him more sympathetic if he has a sob story (in his mind).  Addicts love to blame their childhoods or anything for that matter.  He probably made that up.  

Edited March 18, 2017 by wings707

[MrsStealth]

On 3/17/2017 at 5:09 AM, Michael Stabosz said:

Followup on this:  I was stumbling around on Facebook last night and found this page, from one of the patients from the show that will air on the 29th.  I guess it's a bit of a spoiler...

 

  Reveal hidden contents

He looks to be relatively slim.  That is, not as huge as the patients usually are.  Looks like some loose and saggy skin.  So I'm guessing there will be interpersonal drama between him and his brother (since reality show love drama), but his weight loss will be a success. 

Oh no...this guy is so obnoxious, he makes me uncomfortable.

[TurtlePower]

6 minutes ago, Trees said:

I wish their Go Fund Me page had a button to donate one penny, with the comment, "I wouldn't give a loser like you 2 cents!" ;)

I think he keeps making new GFM pages because of all the negative (and true) comments he keeps getting on them. He threw away his BEST CHANCE with Dr. Now. Millions of people watched him make an ass of himself on national television and people keep reminding him of that. 

Just when I thought he couldn't be more ridiculous, he starts yet another go fund me page. Idiot.

[MillieSparklepants]

1 hour ago, gardendiva said:

I had another observation that just occurred to me. When he first started the massive overeating, it was because his family didn't have a lot of food available, so whenever he got the chance he would eat as much as possible. This struck me as so greedy and selfish. He shoved in as much food into that gaping maw as he could, which meant probably that his siblings and parents had less for them. What a piece of work this guy is and probably always was. No concept of sharing or self sacrifice in him at all. Just "get as much as I can from whomever I can, even if it means the rest of the family goes hungry." Piece of shit. 

That's what I was wondering too. I missed the first part of the show, but I know someone said something about not having enough to eat once his dad remarried. How old was he when that happened? Does anyone know?

[Momof2Cats]

7 hours ago, auntjess said:

I thought he'd worked with his father, on the farm. 

"Worked" may be a relative term.  I had a cousin who helped my uncle on his farm which consisted of my cousin standing around all day chewing tobacco and offering advise as my Uncle did the physical labor and ignored him.  My cousin believes in entitlement too but he is not into food just being lazy.

[Momof2Cats]

4 hours ago, Motor City said:

Stephanie1216:

“A normal man would be ashamed for his woman and especially his daughter to see him spread eagle naked cleaning up his own shit.  And most men would be ashamed to have firemen lifting, pulling, etc but he likes the attention.”

Amen to this!

I wondered at first if his being a baby was a kink for him and Lisa with her being his Mommy and him her little boy/baby that got out of hand when he ended up immobile.  However he never slipped up and called her by any maternal pet names and given his lack of embarrassment over anything else I doubt he would have bothered to hide something like that.  

[AdorkableWitch]

Something hit me today about James - I think he is afraid of being abandoned. He has such a tremendous fear of being alone. I do wonder if he is less of a food addict, and more of a Munchausen's syndrome type issue and uses food to keep himself sick so that he gets attention and a guarantee that his girlfriend doesn't leave him. He wouldn't even let his girlfriend sleep in a different room.

[Thriftykins]

3 hours ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

This isn't unique, either. I was reading an update on the Half-Ton Man (I think?), in the U.K.  He was featured on "Fat Doctor" once. Anyway, he was so disabled that he lived with his mom and she lost her house because she mortgaged it to afford food. Maybe this guy (or the article?) was called The Man Who Ate His House. 

So he literally ate his mother out of house and home?

[Stephanie1216]

So the Doctor and most of us were asking ourselves why Lisa let him bully her? He can't do anything about it? Words to that effect.

 

well, when they were in Texas and he bitched and whined for Chinese food it was like nails on a chalkboard.   She got him that food to shut him the hell up. And he was euphoric while eating that food and his demeanor changed completely. 

It really grossed me out seeing his "O" face that was brought on by a bite of Pie. I don't know what's worse, that face, shitting the bed, or the cauliflower legs? 

The best was him cutting a shine getting into the hospital and Dr. Now saying "How y'all doin?" In his Iranian accent. He's definitely been in Texas while.

Edited March 19, 2017 by Stephanie1216
Corrected Dr Nows nationality

[Momof2Cats]

5 hours ago, Tabbygirl521 said:

Ew. You just know they are encrusted with food and grease. 

Or worse yet the yellow crusty stuff on his feet and his nasty feet horn growths (potentially toes given the location /s)

[Stephanie1216]

My daughter is watching the DVR of the show and I'm so cynical she thinks I'm the most evil person in the world.

Anyway,

i didn't notice the first time I watched but he says

"we are leaving for Houston in the morning and some friends are coming over to help us pack"

camera pans to the driveway where a caravan of trucks and vans of people are gladly coming over to get this literal s*** show out of town. LOL

Edited March 19, 2017 by Stephanie1216

[Tabbygirl521]

17 minutes ago, Michael Stabosz said:

So he literally ate his mother out of house and home?

Yes, exactly!

[AZChristian]

17 minutes ago, Stephanie1216 said:

Is there a Whitney thread? And it's not because she fat, but something about her I don't like. And at the same time I can't change the station.  She must be eating like crazy because she is somewhat active. And when she was hard working out with her trainer she was really strong. Much different then last year when she passed out during her dance marathon (which I rewound several times)?

Here's the Whitney thread.  Lots of brutal honesty over there, too.  I don't think you'll find anyone to agree that "when she was hard working out with her trainer she was really strong."  The majority opinion is that those sessions are filmed in very short segments so that it LOOKS like she's doing things she can't really do.

[TicketToHellPaid]

These people are going to ruin GoFundMe for legit people. Quit eating! There, money should pile up now.

 

[KateHearts]

36 minutes ago, Stephanie1216 said:

The best was him cutting a shine getting into the hospital and Dr. Now saying "How y'all doin?" In his Hispanic accent. He's definitely been in Texas while.

He's not Hispanic, he's Iranian.

[Quilt Fairy]

The very last tidbit in the supersized episode:

"James was able to sit up for 12 minutes. He was able to engage his muscles and could feel the burn in his sides and stomach."

Whoever wrote that must have fallen out of his chair laughing when he finished.

[SouthernCross]

6 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

The very last tidbit in the supersized episode:

"James was able to sit up for 12 minutes. He was able to engage his muscles and could feel the burn in his sides and stomach."

Whoever wrote that must have fallen out of his chair laughing when he finished.

I actually snorted when I read that.  Oh my.

Edited March 19, 2017 by SouthernCross

[DC Gal in VA]

So here comes another excuse from King James about one more factor that accelerated his rapid weight gain that lead him to where he is today. It's taken from the online story by In Touch Weekly with befores and afters of former M600PL subjects from the link posted on page 22 of this thread, the preface to those updates which describes James' "struggles" to lose weight. Didn't see this particular part of that story mentioned here.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY ACTUALLY CAUSE YOUR HEAD TO EXPLODE.

 

"Lisa and James ended up having two children together, though Lisa was married at the time so James wasn’t given the opportunity to raise his own kids. He points to the stress of not being fully in his kids lives as a source of steady weight gain."

Trying to figure out exactly how stressful could it possibly be to provide ZERO financial support in the raising of your two children. And who in the Hell denied him the opportunity to raise his kids? Doesn't seem too stressed at having his daughter see his man parts or his naked behind on a daily basis though.

Edited March 19, 2017 by DC Gal in VA
To correct typo.

[bethster2000]

24 minutes ago, TicketToHellPaid said:

These people are going to ruin GoFundMe for legit people. Quit eating! There, money should pile up now.

 

Some of those stories are so unbelievably sad.  One was for palliative care for a 31 year old man stricken with a rare form of sarcoma.  All that the wife wanted was to be able to afford to take off work to be with her dying husband and not lose her house in the process.  I cried when I read it, and I made a donation.

One of these things is not like the other.

[AZChristian]

Looks like at least the most recent gofundme has been deleted.  I guess $0 and lots of flack after 23 hours finally gave them a clue.

[Wings]

2 hours ago, MillieSparklepants said:

That's what I was wondering too. I missed the first part of the show, but I know someone said something about not having enough to eat once his dad remarried. How old was he when that happened? Does anyone know?

That is a fucking lie and an excuse he thinks works!!  How many people on this earth do you think had limited food on the family dinner table?  Millions.  How many are sitting in their own  shit? 

Edited March 19, 2017 by wings707

[Wings]

15 hours ago, DC Gal in VA said:

So here comes another excuse from King James about one more factor that accelerated his rapid weight gain that lead him to where he is today. It's taken from the online story by In Touch Weekly with befores and afters of former M600PL subjects from the link posted on page 22 of this thread, the preface to those updates which describes James' "struggles" to lose weight. Didn't see this particular part of that story mentioned here.

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING MAY ACTUALLY CAUSE YOUR HEAD TO EXPLODE.

 

"Lisa and James ended up having two children together, though Lisa was married at the time so James wasn’t given the opportunity to raise his own kids. He points to the stress of not being fully in his kids lives as a source of steady weight gain."

Trying to figure out out exactly how stressful could it possibly be to provide ZERO financial support in the raising of your two children. And who in the Hell denied him the opportunity to raise his kids? Doesn't seem too stressed at having his daughter see his man parts or his naked behind on a daily basis though.

Hand me my rifle.  Un-fucking-believable.  How did they have sex?  Seriously, that must have been something to see.  Oh god no.  I retract the visuals on that.  I meant figuratively!  LOL! 

Edited March 19, 2017 by wings707

[Stephanie1216]

Apologies.  

I said Dr. Now was Hispanic I was just guessing that just how he sounded I've never looked into it. Above blogging friend said he's Iranian. No wonder middle eastern people hate Americans. 

[aliya]

13 hours ago, bethster2000 said:

12 hours ago, wings707 said:

Hand me my rifle.  Un-fucking-believable.  How did they fuck?  Seriously, that must have been something to see.  Oh god no.  I retract the visuals on that.  I meant figuratively!  LOL! 

How does he know they're his kids? Did they do DNA? It's been years since I took family law, but as far as I know, it's still the case that children born within a marriage are presumed to be the product of it. That is, as long as Lisa and her husband were still married, the law says the kids are his. Women say all kinds of people are the baby's daddy, but I've watched enough Maury to know that many of them are either straight up liars or have no idea who the father is.

Edited March 19, 2017 by aliya
edit sentence to readable English

[WhitneyWhit]

What's wrong with me that I can't stop watching this particular episode, like I'm just fascinated.

And with each re-watch, I find a new way to send myself to hell. When the pop-up said that they were considering using a moving van to transport him and I was so disappointment that they didn't go with that plan -- what I wouldn't have given for them to go flying down the highway with James bouncing around the back of a U-haul screaming "Ow mah leg" followed by loud thumps

[sshellowe]

On 3/17/2017 at 0:08 PM, Whyyouneedaname said:

hafta admit when he was eating the Chinese take out I was shocked that he left some on the plate. Of course he could have been in a hurry to inhale the cheese cake. Dude needs some intervention, and the GF & daughter completely out of the pic, he is abusing them.

I think he left the broccoli.

[Trees]

40 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Looks like at least the most recent gofundme has been deleted.  I guess $0 and lots of flack after 23 hours finally gave them a clue.

I reported it to GoFundMe for the inaccuracy of the "facts".  I bet a lot of people did.

[MrsStealth]

On 3/17/2017 at 5:15 PM, Mom2twoNonna2one said:

I fell head over heels down my front steps yesterday. Head bump, neck abrasion, skinned one knee bad, 3 stitches in other, air cast on foot and crutches. Been saying for 2 days  now...ow my legs.

Please soak my panties well as I'm driving the bus to hell.

I have a poor arthritic knee that needs replace and I have limped around for months.  In the last 3 days, I have screamed "Ow my leg" every time I get up.  I still laugh at myself.

[SuzieQ]

That GFM page was disgusting!! He should be banned from there!

[Missyunion]

Just put a pillow over his head, they won't suspect a thing.

[Miss Chevious]

56 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

Looks like at least the most recent gofundme has been deleted.  I guess $0 and lots of flack after 23 hours finally gave them a clue.

Wow that didn't last long. I checked the comments on there earlier  (all 16 of them) and none of them were complimentary. I was surprised they hadn't been deleted. I guess they realized everyone had their number.