S06.E18 James (K) & Cynthia 2018.06.20

[toodles]

10 hours ago, AVM said:

If Lisa lost 80lbs then we all must have lost 20lbs  just watching the show! ,those two are habitual liars.

I gave the 80 lb statement the big ole hairy eyeball.  She looked the same to me.

Edited June 21, 2018 by toodles

[Hellga]

AVM, That's an insane amount of food.  I remember when at a really, really nice steak restaurant in Midwest the smallest cut on the menu was 14 ounces.  It was a beast to chow down, I did manage it - but only because I ate nothing but meat, a slice of bread and a little bit of salad... and it still took me a very long time to finish.    I can't even imagine eating all that's listed there.

I think if I were trying to eat the maximum amount of calories, I would go for calorie-dense foods, like pound cake with pure butter-based frosting, and drink sugary drinks like milkshakes. 

Interestingly, I remember my Dad saying that if you need to fatten someone up quickly, the best way to go is beer and sour cream.  Don't know why, and I am not about to set up an experiment! 

Edited June 21, 2018 by Hellga

[MrHufflepuff]

Speaking of fattening people up, here's a thought that might explain Lisa's behavior...

What if she's a witch, like in Hansel and Gretel, and she's fattening James up to eat him?

Or, what if she's like the aliens in V - The Visitors, and she's fattening James up to eat him?

I have like ten more of these, but they all end with James getting eaten.

[babyhouseman]

This is like a bad Lifetime movie where you think the woman is meek and then she turns out to be evil. I wonder why Lisa is like that. People in chat  suggested she was  killing him for life insurance or Munchausen's by proxy. She gets some psychological kick out of waiting on him and sabotaging him? I guess APS couldn't do anything because he wasn't being force fed, but like Dr. Now said, food addiction isn't fully understood. 

[ams1001]

32 minutes ago, MrHufflepuff said:

Speaking of fattening people up, here's a thought that might explain Lisa's behavior...

What if she's a witch, like in Hansel and Gretel, and she's fattening James up to eat him?

Or, what if she's like the aliens in V - The Visitors, and she's fattening James up to eat him?

I have like ten more of these, but they all end with James getting eaten.

I don't know whether to laugh or gag.

[kicotan]

1 hour ago, babyhouseman said:

This is like a bad Lifetime movie where you think the woman is meek and then she turns out to be evil. I wonder why Lisa is like that. People in chat  suggested she was  killing him for life insurance or Munchausen's by proxy. She gets some psychological kick out of waiting on him and sabotaging him? I guess APS couldn't do anything because he wasn't being force fed, but like Dr. Now said, food addiction isn't fully understood. 

I don’t want to break any rules here so Im going to preface my statements by saying that, as a sociologist, it has been my experience that there are certain people who “benefit” or “profit” from being a caregiver from diferent angles.

Some of these caregivers are mentally disturbed with a “Münchhausen’s by proxy” disorder.  It is a condition where a caregiver or spouse fabricates, exaggerates, or induces mental or physical health problems in those who are in their care, with the primary motive of gaining attention or sympathy from others.  Once recognized by health care professionals or social workers, it is their obligation to investigate and report their findings.

However, some of these caregivers are being financially compensated for their involvement in a disabled person’s care, in some way, either privately or publicly funded by way of wages and/or other remuneration.  Again, once recognized by health care professionals or social workers, there is an obligation to follow up and report their findings.

It is extremely difficult to prosecute these caregivers when the adult person receiving care is also engaged in a personal relationship(wife, husband, girlfriend, child, parent, etc.) because the Individual feels indebted to them for providing basic needs outside of the scope of the emotional relationship they have with them.  9 times out of 10 they are not willing to cooperate with investigations or proceedings against their beloved caregiver and will lie under oath about the inappropriate care they are receiving.  It almost guarantees that the caregiver won’t be seen as anything but altruistic, even though in reality they are financially benefitting from the relationship or feeding some sort of mental illness themselves.

When minors are not the issue, but fully grown adults, it makes it even more difficult to advocate on behalf of the victim.  As ridiculously clueless as James might be about his situation (read:full blown denial) and the role that his beloved wife of 25 years plays into it, she is far more culpable than he is when it comes to actually doing anything about rectifying the situation.  He’s bedridden.  She walks in and out of the door at will. It is an unequal partnership, she knows it and is exploiting it to her advantage, whatever that particular advantage might be.

Edited June 21, 2018 by kicotan
#grammarnazisareharderonthemselvesthanothers

[Ray Adverb]

Ick.  So it was James K after all?  I watched about a minute and I was like "PASS".  I don't watch this show for the purpose of laughing at people so I'm not down with this exploitative nonsense.

 

Did James make any progress at all?

[Ray Adverb]

3 hours ago, Hellga said:

Anyone wants to make a bet what weight he will reach before his body finally gives out?  I will say 1150...  he is in bad shape already and can't last too long, but if he is gaining 50+ lb per week, he should eat his way up there faster than his kidneys shut down. 

James is an interesting case because the heavier you are, the harder your body has to work to maintain basic life functions.  Your resting metabolism goes up.  So it actually becomes harder to gain weight.  Of course it works in the opposite direction too; the lighter you are the harder it is to lose weight.  But it's one thing to stall or gain weight slowly because you can't commit to a decent diet.  But he gains weight so fast that it takes real effort.  It's impressive in a perverse way.

[Guest]

Ya know what would have gone a long way into solving the "mystery" of why James was gaining weight at the speed of sound? Having a camera crew positioned in his house and filming what Lisa fed him every day. It's a shame that no one thought of that—when there was a camera crew in his house filming him. 

[Minivanessa]

Oh man. I watched the last part of the show last night, mostly so I could join in the live chat. You guys just rock.

On the subject, discussed above, of what James and Lisa DO all day. Besides all the eating, and all the cleanup of that enormous bed-bound body, there's another important activity. That consists of finding every opportunity to complain - as loudly and publicly as possible - about how much James "needs help" and how "nobody will help" him. And how they all have done him wrong.

IIRC that was his big refrain before Dr. Now took him as a patient. James (aided by Lisa) made a big public stink because apparently nobody in the whole State of Kentucky would "help" him. Which apparently meant giving him room and board and medical treatment at someone else's expense while he continued to do just what he damned pleased, i.e., eating himself to death. Having seen two full episodes' worth of James' and Lisa's noncompliant (aka sneaky lying grifting) behaviors? It seems to me that nobody in the whole State of Kentucky was willing to keep putting up with his bullshit. So he found fresh fields - Houston, and Dr.  Now, who having taken his physician's oath to save life, accepted James as a patient because that may have been James' last hope. 

We saw the dynamic unfold there. Not pretty. Tragic really. But Dr. Now has plenty of other patients who desperately need his care to save their lives, and he gave James chance after chance to get serious about changing his ways. And James in his delusional state, abetted by Lisa, just blew that off time after time. That level of noncompliance means James is a waste of resources, including Dr. Now's time, that would be better used for other patients who also need their lives saved.

I followed a link on the live chat thread to a story about James being hospitalized a few months ago with sepsis. And, predictably, it quoted Lisa as laying the blame everywhere but on herself and James and their own behaviors:

Quote

 

"James is still in the ICU and yes he has been diagnosed with sepsis and also first stage cirrhosis of the liver," Lisa allegedly wrote. She said the condition was "caused from having a fatty liver, which in turn our liver kidney specialist has told us this will make it harder to lose weight and is the reason James has gained fluid in his body." She said that James' blood pressure has dropped very low as his kidneys "were trying to shut down," and "he is losing weight again since they have the sepsis under control." So he might make it out of this after all!

James was hospitalized back in September, but Lisa thinks that "they had sent him home too early with leg infections of cellulitis." 

 

Yeah, the "water weight gain" is still a thing with them. 

I wonder who she will sue when he dies.

EDITED to add: I just remembered that scene last night where Dr. Now was laying down the law to Lisa (and I think James), and Lisa got all into victim mode and was outraged and offended that Dr. Now was "degrading" them by saying those things. You really can't win with that level of dysfunction, addiction, disordered thinking - whatever it is, it's a basket full of snakes ready to strike when anybody tries to make James or Lisa get real. Even the doctor who is trying to save James' life.

Edited June 21, 2018 by Jeeves

[Pepper Mostly]

10 hours ago, AVM said:

 Thanks.. still watching ...I read on the live chat James's daughter has a Go Fund Me page  entitled "Help James Walk Again " so she must be still in the picture ?

Heh. the likelihood of James walking again is akin to my becoming a supermodel. Maybe if I had a Go Fund Me??

10 hours ago, jacksgirl said:

 James has pretty blue eyes (hides in shame,  don't judge).

He does have pretty blue eyes, and would probably be quite handsome. Of course the thousand yard stare and the slack jawed expression would vitiate any attractiveness he did have.

10 hours ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

I'd love to know how many times you need to move your foot to burn even one calorie.

I laughed very loudly for many minutes at this.

[88Keys]

It's interesting that, in their first episode, most of us expressed sympathy for Lisa and disdain for James.  How the tables have turned.

Just now, Pepper Mostly said:

Heh. the likelihood of James walking again is akin to my becoming a supermodel. Maybe if I had a Go Fund Me??

 

You just need someone to help you?  Why won't anyone help you?!  ;)

[Azubah]

1 hour ago, Giant Misfit said:

Ya know what would have gone a long way into solving the "mystery" of why James was gaining weight at the speed of sound? Having a camera crew positioned in his house and filming what Lisa fed him every day. It's a shame that no one thought of that—when there was a camera crew in his house filming him. 

I'm sure the producers did think of that, but it was clear that James and Lisa had forbidden them to come back into the house. All the footage was outside of their residence.

[Pepper Mostly]

15 minutes ago, 88Keys said:

You just need someone to help you?  Why won't anyone help you?!  ;)

Right? WHYYYYY? I'm in my 60's and very well upholstered, but you don't need to degrade me!

[DC Gal in VA]

I don't know about the rest of you, but I woke up this morning with a sense of overwhelming sadness and rage after watching that episode. It's definitely not because I feel sorry for either James and Lisa or, Cynthia. I absolutely have nothing but anger and contempt for all of them, especially James and Lisa. They especially enrage me by how many resources they have squandered that could have gone to not one but several compliant and cooperative super morbidly obese people that are on waiting lists for months. For all we know, some of those folks may even die waiting. Yet that shit stain James goes on living thanks to dedicated medical personnel who repeatedly rescue him from certain death--infections, cellulitis, heart failure, sepsis, kidney failure, etc.--with not an ounce of gratitude from him or Lisa. As someone said during the Live Chat last night near the end of the show, they aren't even fun to snark on, just a couple of disgusting, grifting liars.

That brings me to ask why. Why did they do not one but two shows when they obviously have no interest in following Dr. Now's program? What's in it for them? Attention? Lisa cashing in on an insurance policy? I can't imagine him being insured for very much, certainly not enough to spend one's life cooking for and fetching enormous quantities of food, cleaning his nasty "laygs," cleaning up his massive amounts of poop, emptying endless bags of pee and, bathing that grotesque body day in and day out. His burial alone would eat up any monies she receives. Of course she could always take the money and just let the state handle that. But again, why?

As for Cynthia, it is of course her business to feel almost svelte at 361 pounds since she's not trying to be skinny. Oh girlfriend, nobody thinks you have a chance in Hell of that happening except you. My sadness and anger toward her is because of her beautiful children. Unfortunately, and I hope that I am wrong, I believe she is raising yet another generation of obese kids with her endless excuses for buying fast food, as well as her self sabotaging belief that she can either eat right OR take care of her kids. Bullshit. She just wants an excuse to stuff her face. Since she's all they've got, she doesn't seem to realize or care that she is still at risk for all kinds of debilitating diseases and/or an early death which would leave her kids that she claims to do everything for motherless. Yet she acts as though she has all the time in the world to do it her way. Finally, I am extremely pissed off that she only lost enough weight for skin removal surgery and Dr. Now gave it to her!

Yep, this was a long one, but I really needed to get that off my chest this morning and I could think of no better place than here with my fellow Pounders.☺

[ClareWalks]

I am watching on my DVR and I started reading along with the live chat thread like I usually do and you people kept quoting that nasty boil-covered crusty-azz picture of James' LAYG and I almost threw up so much I had to stop reading. That layg is the grossest thing on the planet Earth, bar none. I would rather see closeups of Trump's bussy than see that layg again. One shot on the show showed his extremely long, yellow toenails and I AM DRY-HEAVING AGAIN

[3girlsforus]

14 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

I don't know about the rest of you, but I woke up this morning with a sense of overwhelming sadness and rage after watching that episode. It's definitely not because I feel sorry for either James and Lisa or, Cynthia. I absolutely have nothing but anger and contempt for all of them, especially James and Lisa. They especially enrage me by how many resources they have squandered that could have gone to not one but several compliant and cooperative super morbidly obese people that are on waiting lists for months. For all we know, some of those folks may even die waiting. Yet that shit stain James goes on living thanks to dedicated medical personnel who repeatedly rescue him from certain death--infections, cellulitis, heart failure, sepsis, kidney failure, etc.--with not an ounce of gratitude from him or Lisa. As someone said during the Live Chat last night near the end of the show, they aren't even fun to snark on, just a couple of disgusting, grifting liars.

That brings me to ask why. Why did they do not one but two shows when they obviously have no interest in following Dr. Now's program? What's in it for them? Attention? Lisa cashing in on an insurance policy? I can't imagine him being insured for very much, certainly not enough to spend one's life cooking for and fetching enormous quantities of food, cleaning his nasty "laygs," cleaning up his massive amounts of poop, emptying endless bags of pee and, bathing that grotesque body day in and day out. His burial alone would eat up any monies she receives. Of course she could always take the money and just let the state handle that. But again, why?

As for Cynthia, it is of course her business to feel almost svelte at 361 pounds since she's not trying to be skinny. Oh girlfriend, nobody thinks you have a chance in Hell of that happening except you. My sadness and anger toward her is because of her beautiful children. Unfortunately, and I hope that I am wrong, I believe she is raising yet another generation of obese kids with her endless excuses for buying fast food, as well as her self sabotaging belief that she can either eat right OR take care of her kids. Bullshit. She just wants an excuse to stuff her face. Since she's all they've got, she doesn't seem to realize or care that she is still at risk for all kinds of debilitating diseases and/or an early death which would leave her kids that she claims to do everything for motherless. Yet she acts as though she has all the time in the world to do it her way. Finally, I am extremely pissed off that she only lost enough weight for skin removal surgery and Dr. Now gave it to her!

Yep, this was a long one, but I really needed to get that off my chest this morning and I could think of no better place than here with my fellow Pounders.☺

I couldn’t agree more to all of this. I will say that my anger outweighs my sadness. Lisa and James just make me so mad ....  ugh I’m fuming again. 

[libgirl2]

My anger and BP rose when they kept complaining how no one was helping them. What do they think Dr. Now is trying to do? What do they think all that medical personal is doing for them? Again, its another case of someone wanting the magic surgery and not wanting to do one darn thing to change what got them at over 600lbs in the first place. James and Lisa, everyone tried but you. Go back to your home and stuff yourselves silly and get off my TV screen. Users. 

[AZChristian]

8 hours ago, Ray Adverb said:

Did James make any progress at all?

As my husband summarizes it:  James has lost over 250 pounds on this show.  Unfortunately, he has gained about 260 of it back.  Yoyoing.

[LuvMyShows]

47 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

As for Cynthia, it is of course her business to feel almost svelte at 361 pounds since she's not trying to be skinny. Oh girlfriend, nobody thinks you have a chance in Hell of that happening except you. My sadness and anger toward her is because of her beautiful children. Unfortunately, and I hope that I am wrong, I believe she is raising yet another generation of obese kids with her endless excuses for buying fast food, as well as her self sabotaging belief that she can either eat right OR take care of her kids.

I could almost, almost, understand the rationale for buying fast food for dinner; with 5 kids and her, it could be challenging.  However, buying fast food for breakfast????  That actually requires more work/time.  Instead, get some reasonably healthy cereals, milk, and some fresh fruit...the kids could fix it themselves, it would be cheaper, it would be healthier, and it would be easier.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

9 hours ago, Ray Adverb said:

Did James make any progress at all?

 

19 minutes ago, AZChristian said:

As my husband summarizes it:  James has lost over 250 pounds on this show.  Unfortunately, he has gained about 260 of it back.  Yoyoing.

In addition, this last episode convincingly showed that Lisa knows she's bringing James too much food and is actively enjoying doing so.

He was initially sent home from the hospital and gained 120 pounds in one month, then was re-admitted because of his leg sepsis, claiming the pain in his leg had prevented him from following the diet. Dr. Now went apeshit on both of them, including asking James if lying in his own rotting filth was what he aspired to in life.

During this hospital stay, which must have been about a month, James lost weight (because he was on a hospital-controlled diet). So Dr. Now ran a little experiment: he told hospital personnel to not pay any attention to what Lisa brought in to James' hospital room for one week. The result: he gained 60 pounds in that one week. When Dr. Now accused Lisa of bringing James a bunch of extra food, she smiled (!) and admitted to doing so. So Dr. Now gave her another tongue-lashing (in seriously entertaining fashion -- he could have been a great insult comedian if he'd wanted) and sent them both home again.

Several weeks later, James gets rushed back into the hospital and is back over 800 pounds. Lisa, at this point, has lost some weight and is bleaching her hair, presumably with an eye to bagging a new man after James finally takes the dirt nap. They both deny that James has deviated from his 1,200 calorie/day diet except for "cheating once or twice." They blame water weight on the gain. Dr. Now proposes one last experiment: bar Lisa from the hospital for five days and see if James loses weight, as this would prove or disprove their "water weight" theory. At the suggestion, they both go crazy and accuse Dr. Now of "trying to break up their family." The episode ends with Dr. Now washing his hands of both of them.

Oh, and the episode also contained some stuff about Cynthia.

Edited June 21, 2018 by Sir RaiderDuck OMS

[DC Gal in VA]

12 minutes ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

 

In addition, this last episode convincingly showed that Lisa knows she's bringing James too much food and is actively enjoying doing so.

He was initially sent home from the hospital and gained 120 pounds in one month, then was re-admitted because of his leg sepsis, claiming the pain in his leg had prevented him from following the diet. Dr. Now went apeshit on both of them, including asking James if lying in his own rotting filth was what he aspired to in life.

During this hospital stay, which must have been about a month, James lost weight (because he was on a hospital-controlled diet). So Dr. Now ran a little experiment: he told hospital personnel to not pay any attention to what Lisa brought in to James' hospital room for one week. The result: he gained 60 pounds in that one week. When Dr. Now accused Lisa of bringing James a bunch of extra food, she smiled (!) and admitted to doing so. So Dr. Now gave her another tongue-lashing (in seriously entertaining fashion -- he could have been a great insult comedian if he'd wanted) and sent them both home again.

Several weeks later, James gets rushed back into the hospital and is back over 800 pounds. Lisa, at this point, has lost some weight and is bleaching her hair, presumably with an eye to bagging a new man after James finally takes the dirt nap. They both deny that James has deviated from his 1,200 calorie/day diet except for "cheating once or twice." They blame water weight on the gain. Dr. Now proposes one last experiment: bar Lisa from the hospital for five days and see if James loses weight, as this would prove or disprove their "water weight" theory. At the suggestion, they both go crazy and accuse Dr. Now of "trying to break up their family." The episode ends with Dr. Now washing his hands of both of them.

Oh, and the episode also contained some stuff about Cynthia.

That was great Sir RaiderDuck OMS! What an amazing synopsis.

The creepiest thing about this episode, except for those unbelievably hideous "laygs" on James, was that icky smile from Lisa. That smile gave me the chills. Boy oh boy, TLC was positively diabolical in saving  the big reveal of the real, evil, conniving Lisa until near the end.

[Ray Adverb]

10 minutes ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

 

In addition, this last episode convincingly showed that Lisa knows she's bringing James too much food and is actively enjoying doing so.

He was initially sent home from the hospital and gained 120 pounds in one month, then was re-admitted because of his leg sepsis, claiming the pain in his leg had prevented him from following the diet. Dr. Now went apeshit on both of them, including asking James if lying in his own rotting filth was what he aspired to in life.

During this hospital stay, which must have been about a month, James lost weight (because he was on a hospital-controlled diet). So Dr. Now ran a little experiment: he told hospital personnel to not pay any attention to what Lisa brought in to James' hospital room for one week. The result: he gained 60 pounds in that one week. When Dr. Now accused Lisa of bringing James a bunch of extra food, she smiled (!) and admitted to doing so. So Dr. Now gave her another tongue-lashing (in seriously entertaining fashion -- he could have been a great insult comedian if he'd wanted) and sent them both home again.

Ok that actually does sound like kind of a fun watch.  I watched about the first 45 minutes of it this morning (it's tough to do an entire episode in one sitting).  But did you mistype and include an extra digit in the bolded part above?  Or use the wrong time unit?  It doesn't even sound physically possible to gain that much weight that quickly.  I mean, the worst single week weight gain I ever saw was about a tenth of that.

[3girlsforus]

You know one thing I caught during James’ tirade against Dr. Now’s idea of having Lisa stay away from James for 5 days. He called her his wife. Now there certainly are people who have been together for a long time but aren’t legally married that use the terms husband and wife anyway. He might have just been using the word to express the importance of the relationship. But it stuck out to me since they have referred to her as his girlfriend for the rest of the episode and the previous episode. It made me wonder if they did get married as an added layer of protection from APS. 

[cpcathy]

12 hours ago, jacksgirl said:

What do James and Lisa do all day (besides eat?). Internet, tv, naps? I'm totally serious. How does one spend 24 hours a day for YEARS in a bed? Wish the show addressed this. James has pretty blue eyes (hides in shame,  don't judge).

 

As much as we joke, I would HATE to be in bed all the time. I feel guilty when I sleep in on the weekend!

They showed James just sitting and looking at the ceiling a lot, not sure if it was for the show, but geez, no way, never. I would never restrict myself to being in bed all the time. I was even back to work one week after wrist surgery!

[3girlsforus]

2 minutes ago, Ray Adverb said:

Ok that actually does sound like kind of a fun watch.  I watched about the first 45 minutes of it this morning (it's tough to do an entire episode in one sitting).  But did you mistype and include an extra digit in the bolded part above?  Or use the wrong time unit?  It doesn't even sound physically possible to gain that much weight that quickly.  I mean, the worst single week weight gain I ever saw was about a tenth of that.

Nope. At the end Dr Now said 60 lbs in one week.  I can’t fathom how it’s possible either but that’s what he said. 

[tdanaher]

4 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

That was great Sir RaiderDuck OMS! What an amazing synopsis.

The creepiest thing about this episode, except for those unbelievably hideous "laygs" on James, was that icky smile from Lisa. That smile gave me the chills. Boy oh boy, TLC was positively diabolical in saving  the big reveal of the real, evil, conniving Lisa until near the end.

 

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, cpcathy said:

As much as we joke, I would HATE to be in bed all the time. I feel guilty when I sleep in on the weekend!

They showed James just sitting and looking at the ceiling a lot, not sure if it was for the show, but geez, no way, never. I would never restrict myself to being in bed all the time. I was even back to work one week after wrist surgery!

Today I slept until 10:30 (partly because I stayed up too late last night) and I feel like crap.

Even when I had the flu eight years ago I at least watched TV when I wasn't sleeping (lots of Law & Order reruns and Olympic Curling that week). By the next week I had developed "borderline pneumonia" but the fever wasn't knocking me out anymore so I sat in a chair and finished reading the book I had started before I got sick. How boring to just lay there with nothing to do.

[Ray Adverb]

1 minute ago, 3girlsforus said:

Nope. At the end Dr Now said 60 lbs in one week.  I can’t fathom how it’s possible either but that’s what he said. 

His base metabolic rate has got to be close to 5100 calories a day.  Maybe a LITTLE lower.  I am assuming he weighs 700 pounds.  I can't remember what his actual weight was.  That's just what it takes to keep him alive.  On a 1200 calorie a day diet you would run at a deficit of 3900 calories a day which is 1.1 pounds per day.  Anyone remember what his monthly weight loss was in that one time he was successful? 

 

But to gain 60 pounds in a single week, he'd have to run a calorie surplus of 210,000 calories in that week (3500 * 60).  Which is 30,000 calories a day surplus, or about 35,000 total.  That's incomprehensible.  I think in a really heavy binge day I could get in 12,000 to 15,000.  Your standard gut busting fast food meal is only around 2,000 to 2,500.

 

My favorite food is pizza, and I like Papa Johns.  I just went over to their site's nutritional calculator and put together my "gutbuster meal" which is amazingly unhealthful but is conceivably something a fatso like me would eat (I am a man and weigh about 275).  Meal includes:

 

16 inch pizza (extra large) with bacon, beef, 3 cheese blend, cheddar, and parmaesan romano (3160 calories)

10 piece chicken poppers (530 calories)

Chocolate chip cookie (1600 calories)

10 inch cheese sticks (1350 calories)

2 liter Pepsi (I haven't drunk regular soda in 22 years but I added this in anyway) (845 calories)

 

That feast comes in at 7,485 calories.  You're still only about one fifth of the way towards the required daily surplus.

 

Also.... now that I actually ran those numbers, it's no wonder I'm so fat......  I can't believe I ate like that.

[DC Gal in VA]

14 minutes ago, Ray Adverb said:

His base metabolic rate has got to be close to 5100 calories a day.  Maybe a LITTLE lower.  I am assuming he weighs 700 pounds.  I can't remember what his actual weight was.  That's just what it takes to keep him alive.  On a 1200 calorie a day diet you would run at a deficit of 3900 calories a day which is 1.1 pounds per day.  Anyone remember what his monthly weight loss was in that one time he was successful? 

 

But to gain 60 pounds in a single week, he'd have to run a calorie surplus of 210,000 calories in that week (3500 * 60).  Which is 30,000 calories a day surplus, or about 35,000 total.  That's incomprehensible.  I think in a really heavy binge day I could get in 12,000 to 15,000.  Your standard gut busting fast food meal is only around 2,000 to 2,500.

 

My favorite food is pizza, and I like Papa Johns.  I just went over to their site's nutritional calculator and put together my "gutbuster meal" which is amazingly unhealthful but is conceivably something a fatso like me would eat (I am a man and weigh about 275).  Meal includes:

 

16 inch pizza (extra large) with bacon, beef, 3 cheese blend, cheddar, and parmaesan romano (3160 calories)

10 piece chicken poppers (530 calories)

Chocolate chip cookie (1600 calories)

10 inch cheese sticks (1350 calories)

2 liter Pepsi (I haven't drunk regular soda in 22 years but I added this in anyway) (845 calories)

 

That feast comes in at 7,485 calories.  You're still only about one fifth of the way towards the required daily surplus.

 

Also.... now that I actually ran those numbers, it's no wonder I'm so fat......  I can't believe I ate like that.

Yikes, I got nauseous just reading that list of food and calories!

IIRC Ray Adverb, he lost something like 132 pounds after one month in the hospital on a strict, controlled diet. At some point he went home and gained 112 pounds I believe, although I may be getting those two numbers mixed up; there was so much gaining-losing-re-gaining on James' part. Dr. Now stated at his last weigh in during that last epic confrontation with them that his final weigh in was 750 pounds. If  anyone remembers differently, please correct me.

Edited to add: Although one might think this episode would be fun to watch as you said in your previous post and while folks were definitely prepared for a night of snark, I think the overwhelming feelings by the end from almost all of us was rage, disgust and, sadness.

Edited June 21, 2018 by DC Gal in VA
Additional comments.

[Pretty5Vacant]

55 minutes ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

showed that Lisa knows she's bringing James too much food and is actively enjoying doing so.

He was initially sent home from the hospital and gained 120 pounds in one month, then was re-admitted because of his leg sepsis, claiming the pain in his leg had prevented him from following the diet. Dr. Now went apeshit on both of them, including asking James if lying in his own rotting filth was what he aspired to in life.

During this hospital stay, which must have been about a month, James lost weight (because he was on a hospital-controlled diet). So Dr. Now ran a little experiment: he told hospital personnel to not pay any attention to what Lisa brought in to James' hospital room for one week. The result: he gained 60 pounds in that one week. When Dr. Now accused Lisa of bringing James a bunch of extra food, she smiled (!) and admitted to doing so. So Dr. Now gave her another tongue-lashing (in seriously entertaining fashion -- he could have been a great insult comedian if he'd wanted) and sent them both home again.

Several weeks later, James gets rushed back into the hospital and is back over 800 pounds. Lisa, at this point, has lost some weight and is bleaching her hair, presumably with an eye to bagging a new man after James finally takes the dirt nap. They both deny that James has deviated from his 1,200 calorie/day diet except for "cheating once or twice." They blame water weight on the gain. Dr. Now proposes one last experiment: bar Lisa from the hospital for five days and see if James loses weight, as this would prove or disprove their "water weight" theory. At the suggestion, they both go crazy and accuse Dr. Now of "trying to break up their family." The episode ends with Dr. Now washing his hands of both of them.

Oh, and the episode also contained some stuff about Cynthia.

Edited 45 minutes ago by Sir RaiderDuck OMS.

Awesome write up, thankyou. (Dr.  Now an insult comic if he wanted to and dirt nap killed me!! Lol)

[Minivanessa]

8 minutes ago, DC Gal in VA said:

 I think the overwhelming feelings by the end from almost all of us was rage, disgust and, sadness.

Yep. It was all of that for me, watching James and Lisa. I believe they are both mentally ill to some degree, but still, watching them was mostly infuriating. I think the TLC editing monkeys did a good job, though. Especially with the conversations and confrontations with Dr. Now. If you've ever dealt with addicts or addiction in real life, or watched enough of those intervention or hoarding shows - you'll recognize the crazy patterns of what Lisa and James said in those scenes. In one sense, I believe it's the addiction (or mental illness) talking, but it's the person saying the words. And, infuriating to hear. I admit, I yelled back a couple of times, and it wasn't G-rated language. Sadly, James can't possibly live very long at his current weight, and perhaps he's already suffered enough organ damage that even a dramatic weight loss can't save him. Sad. And, infuriating.

[kicotan]

40 minutes ago, 3girlsforus said:

It made me wonder if they did get married as an added layer of protection from APS. 

Married or not, her role as his primary caregiver would be the focus of the APS investigation.  Assisted suicide isn’t any more or less legal if your spouse helps you out.

More important to the APS investigation would be the financial arrangement and the testimony of those directly involved, because that’s an easier legal battle to fight.  For example, it was mentioned in his previous episode that his father refinanced his house to contribute to James’ treatment.  If the father thinks Lisa is wonderful and “earned her keep” so to speak than there is no complainant on a financial level so it would be almost impossible to argue financial gain.

If the income she/he receives would have been from a publicly funded source, that would be a slightly different story.

[Ray Adverb]

132 pounds would require a calorie deficit of 462,000.  Spread over 31 days, that's 14,900 deficit per day.  On a 1200 calorie a day diet, that would mean his resting metabolism is about 16,000.  Which means that to make a 60 pound gain in one week would require the same daily surplus of 30,000, but on top of a base of 16,000.  So that's 46,000 calories a day. 

 

It just can't be humanly possible to eat this much.  The meal I listed above is 7,485, and you would need about 6 times that much food every single day. 

 

I even went out of my way to find something very high in calories.  Something at your standard fast food burger joint probably has fewer calories.  Take this Burger King meal:

 

Triple Whopper with Cheese (1230 calories)

King Size french fries (600 calories)

King Size onion rings (550 calories)

King Size chocolate shake (1260 calories)

King Size Coca-cola (390 calories)

 

This comes out to 4030 calories

 

I think that if I really put my mind to it and didn't care about my health or stomach aches, I could cram in 15,000 calories in a day.  That's still only a third of the way there.....  These numbers just don't make sense!  This whole thing is driving me crazy on a purely mathematical level.

[QuinnInND]

With regard to James "wife" comment, since they've been together for so long, they're probably common law married. So even if they haven't done the official legal ceremony, his use of the word was essentially correct. 

[DC Gal in VA]

2 minutes ago, Jeeves said:

Yep. It was all of that for me, watching James and Lisa. I believe they are both mentally ill to some degree, but still, watching them was mostly infuriating. I think the TLC editing monkeys did a good job, though. Especially with the conversations and confrontations with Dr. Now. If you've ever dealt with addicts or addiction in real life, or watched enough of those intervention or hoarding shows - you'll recognize the crazy patterns of what Lisa and James said in those scenes. In one sense, I believe it's the addiction (or mental illness) talking, but it's the person saying the words. And, infuriating to hear. I admit, I yelled back a couple of times, and it wasn't G-rated language. Sadly, James can't possibly live very long at his current weight, and perhaps he's already suffered enough organ damage that even a dramatic weight loss can't save him. Sad. And, infuriating.

Heh heh, until last night I never would have guessed that it would be Lisa who turned out to be the most despicable and conniving.

As for the part I bolded, people have been predicting this since their first episode and yet he goes on living. I am not wishing death on the man but his continual survival boggles the mind.

[sempervivum]

I didn't see the original run of James' episode, so this is all new to me, although of course, I am WELL aware of 'Ow, Mah Laig'!

I actually gasped when the voiceover called Lisa his wife (or maybe girlfriend, can't recall). I assumed she was his mother. Of course, she might as well have been his mother, for all the romance/tenderness there was(n't) between these 2 freaks.

[kicotan]

2 minutes ago, QuinnInND said:

With regard to James "wife" comment, since they've been together for so long, they're probably common law married. So even if they haven't done the official legal ceremony, his use of the word was essentially correct. 

Only in the state of Texas, but not in their home state of Kentucky.

Texas is only one of 12 states that recognize common law marriage by specific guidelines.

[Sir RaiderDuck OMS]

9 minutes ago, sempervivum said:

I actually gasped when the voiceover called Lisa his wife (or maybe girlfriend, can't recall).

You missed out on the best part: Lisa and James started having an affair over 20 years ago when she was still married to her first husband. They claim the kids Lisa had with that husband are all actually biologically James', but he let this other man raise James' children believing they were his own until Lisa left him and presumably spilled the beans.

[ClareWalks]

7 minutes ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

You missed out on the best part: Lisa and James started having an affair over 20 years ago when she was still married to her first husband. They claim the kids Lisa had with that husband are all actually biologically James', but he let this other man raise James' children believing they were his own until Lisa left him and presumably spilled the beans.

Isn't James, like, mid-30s? The age difference between them looks...interesting. Especially if they started banging when he was a teenager. In the words of Thorgy Thor, "aw, Jesus. Gross."

[cpcathy]

Thorgy Thor reference! Love it!

[ams1001]

2 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Isn't James, like, mid-30s? The age difference between them looks...interesting. Especially if they started banging when he was a teenager. In the words of Thorgy Thor, "aw, Jesus. Gross."

He's 46, if my googling last night was correct. All that fat keeps his face nice and smooth and young, I guess.

[3girlsforus]

13 minutes ago, Sir RaiderDuck OMS said:

You missed out on the best part: Lisa and James started having an affair over 20 years ago when she was still married to her first husband. They claim the kids Lisa had with that husband are all actually biologically James', but he let this other man raise James' children believing they were his own until Lisa left him and presumably spilled the beans.

I would have to see DNA results to believe this. These two can’t tell the truth for anything. 

[AZChristian]

James yelled at Dr. Now because he wasn't provided with a trapeze so he could pull himself up.  I wonder how much a trapeze costs.  And how much it costs for enough food for someone to gain 60 pounds in one week.  Entitled much, James and Lisa?

And how can she cart that much food in there?  Is she bringing it in a rolling suitcase?

[ClareWalks]

16 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

He's 46, if my googling last night was correct. All that fat keeps his face nice and smooth and young, I guess.

Thanks for the clarification! Yes, he sure does look way younger than that. Yowza. (And he just seems younger...probably the lack of intelligence and insight helps)

[MrHufflepuff]

1 hour ago, Ray Adverb said:

132 pounds would require a calorie deficit of 462,000.  Spread over 31 days, that's 14,900 deficit per day.  On a 1200 calorie a day diet, that would mean his resting metabolism is about 16,000.  Which means that to make a 60 pound gain in one week would require the same daily surplus of 30,000, but on top of a base of 16,000.  So that's 46,000 calories a day. 

 

It just can't be humanly possible to eat this much.  The meal I listed above is 7,485, and you would need about 6 times that much food every single day. 

 

I even went out of my way to find something very high in calories.  Something at your standard fast food burger joint probably has fewer calories.  Take this Burger King meal:

 

Triple Whopper with Cheese (1230 calories)

King Size french fries (600 calories)

King Size onion rings (550 calories)

King Size chocolate shake (1260 calories)

King Size Coca-cola (390 calories)

 

This comes out to 4030 calories

 

I think that if I really put my mind to it and didn't care about my health or stomach aches, I could cram in 15,000 calories in a day.  That's still only a third of the way there.....  These numbers just don't make sense!  This whole thing is driving me crazy on a purely mathematical level.

I think your calculations are assuming that there's only fat involved, but at the start of a diet, the body dumps a lot of water as it burns through its glycogen stores.  The reverse may be true when the diet is broken, depending on the type of food and how much salt content there is.

Which means, there's a grain of truth in all these claims the contestants make about gaining water weight.  I really wish he'd do something like a DEXA scan on them each time they come in to show them exactly how much fat they're gaining/losing.

Edited June 21, 2018 by MrHufflepuff

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, ClareWalks said:

Thanks for the clarification! Yes, he sure does look way younger than that. Yowza. (And he just seems younger...probably the lack of intelligence and insight helps)

He's just a giant baby who needs everything done for him.

[Ray Adverb]

6 minutes ago, MrHufflepuff said:

I think your calculations are assuming that there's only fat involved, but at the start of a diet, the body dumps a lot of water as it burns through its glycogen stores.  The reverse may be true when the diet is broken, depending on the type of food and how much salt content there is.

Which means, there's a grain of truth in all these claims the contestants make about gaining water weight.  I really wish he'd do something like a DEXA scan on them each time they come in to show them exactly how much fat their gaining/losing.

That's a good hypothesis actually.  If that was half and half and he only gained 30 pounds of pure fat, that's still an insane amount of weight gain, but I can sort of make the numbers make sense.

[Minivanessa]

I thought that metabolism issues can mean that it's not purely a mathematical equation of x calories meaning y weight gain (or loss). Though I don't believe that James was eating nothing and gaining all those pounds. Nope. Not happening. 

I also wonder how the human metabolism works when you weigh more than 700 pounds. Do the same formulae of calories burned as a function of weight, apply? Has science studied it at all?

Obviously, if they cut down on food intake they will lose, which is the whole idea that too many of these super morbidly obese patients struggle against, and that Dr. Now tries so hard to get them to understand. And to modify their eating habit around. Sigh.

Edited June 21, 2018 by Jeeves
It's "eating habit." How could I forget?

[AntAnn]

Just catching up this morning. Wow, Lisa is insane.