Family By The Ton - General Discussion

[Hannah94]

How is there any water left in that pool after they all cannonballed?

[Hellga]

I did NOT need to see side view of Casey walking in just swimming trunks. 

[DC Gal in VA]

Wow, Miss Amy is totally stylin' and profilin' in her outfits. Love how put together she looks all the time.

Okay Casey, how about apologizing to your dad for how you treat him? You are a grown ass man and that obnoxious, petulant teenager shit does not look good on you.

[CrazyInAlabama]

Healthy choices for someone a few days after surgery are liquids, not cucumber roll ups.   

Oh yes, he does mean Fat Boy, and maybe he should change it to Jabba the Butt.   

That poor pool!    I bet that triple cannonball watered every lawn in the neighborhood with that tidal wave.  

Sorry Amanda, but anyone going through the supermarket with a full camera crew in their face is going to attract attention.    

Edited January 10, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[Hellga]

3 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I gotta admit, I was expecting more drama from that 'fat boy' callout.

Me too.  Pretty tame and not snarkable.  Merely eye-rollable.

[Hero]

I loved Amy's swimsuit coverup. 

[ams1001]

3 minutes ago, Hellga said:

 I usually do surgery on my meat to remove fat before I cook it, 

I can't stand fatty meat. If fat is visible, it gets cut out and pushed to the side. I don't actually cook a lot of meat at home. My mom is always telling me "there's no fat on there!" She's wrong. 😑

 

2 minutes ago, Hellga said:

Ugh.  Sausages swimming in something 

Am I the only one who thought this was referring to them in the pool? (Where are my gasoline-soaked drawers from the M600PL thread?)

[Suzywriter]

I wonder about that untreated cancer storyline. 2 years, and the doctor did not order her into the hospital for a controlled diet to shrink her enough to address the cancer? That sounds unethical, and also like it would have killed the host by now. 

[CircusPeanuts]

On 1/3/2019 at 8:13 PM, IvySpice said:

Can he...reach? Or does his dad have to help him with that, too? (Forgive me!!) I guess there may be adaptive devices for that as there are for wiping, etc.

Maybe he can use tongs? Who was it that used them to wipe their butt?

[Hellga]

1 minute ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

Oh yes, he does mean Fat Boy, and maybe he should change it to Jabba the Butt.   

Jabba at least had nice big eyes.  Casey has tiny little pig eyes hiding in the rolls of flesh!  

Just now, ams1001 said:

I can't stand fatty meat. If fat is visible, it gets cut out and pushed to the side. I don't actually cook a lot of meat at home. My mom is always telling me "there's no fat on there!" She's wrong. 😑

Do we share a mother? :)  Though nowadays mine is more "you are cutting the best part off!" so I cook it with the fat, and just cut it before serving so she gets all the fat and I get only lean meat.

Just now, ams1001 said:

Am I the only one who thought this was referring to them in the pool? (Where are my gasoline-soaked drawers from the M600PL thread?)

Made me laugh out loud!  They are too misshapen to be sausages.  Maybe they are beignets/zeppolis dropped into the fryer?

[cmpbl]

To be fair for one you do have a camera crew with you and you don't know what people are thinking.

[ams1001]

Just now, Hellga said:

Do we share a mother? :)  Though nowadays mine is more "you are cutting the best part off!" so I cook it with the fat, and just cut it before serving so she gets all the fat and I get only lean meat.

Made me laugh out loud!  They are too misshapen to be sausages.  Maybe they are beignets/zeppolis dropped into the fryer?

Ha! She doesn't cook particularly fatty meat, generally, but I guess she has a higher tolerance for little bits on the edges.

I'm just glad I don't actually eat sausage after this thread.

[Suzywriter]

Amy actually has a little bit of switch when she walks!

[DC Gal in VA]

5 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

I can't stand fatty meat. If fat is visible, it gets cut out and pushed to the side. I don't actually cook a lot of meat at home. My mom is always telling me "there's no fat on there!" She's wrong. 😑

 

Am I the only one who thought this was referring to them in the pool? (Where are my gasoline-soaked drawers from the M600PL thread?)

Hey heh, I got 'em right here for ya, sopping wet!

[Hellga]

My mom grew up on a farm, so fatty meat = more energy for when you spend the entire day doing heavy physical labor outdoors.  I am a city wimp.  

Sausages are not good.  When my Dad was told his cholesterol is high (he weighed about 220 if not 240 at 6 feet tall), he gave up breakfast sausages and made no other changes to his diet and that was enough to bring his cholesterol down to normal levels. 

[ams1001]

TV doctor appointments are nice. I never walk in and immediately get told "you can head on back!" Yesterday I went and sat in the waiting room for about 5 minutes (after updating my consent forms and whatnot), then in the exam room for another 10 (which is still much better than the 25+20 that I sat at urgent care on Christmas Eve).

[CrazyInAlabama]

388 is 'dangerously close to 400', yes it's twelve pounds under, and that's next month at this rate.   

Maybe Amy should look at the My 600 lb Life people who ate right through their bypasses, and gained it all back, or Karina who ate entire family pizza meals with a balloon in her stomach.    Another person who thinks surgery is a magic bullet that makes you skinny.       

[ShortyMac]

Amanda does have a point - people gawk and laugh at you when it looks like you're trying to be healthy or not. Right now, the fit people are angry about the New Year's Resolutioners crowding their gym and taking up equipment and machines. The gym is not just for thin/fit people. Smile, encourage, be welcoming, introduce yourself and lift people up. You could be the reason someone sticks to it. 

[cmpbl]

She's acting like he asked her to lose 100 pounds. Didn't she weigh herself at Amanda's,  so why is she shocked she weighs that much?

[DC Gal in VA]

Damn, I love the way Amy applies her makeup too as well as her hairstyle. Too funny that she seemed so gobsmacked by being told she needed to lose 30 pounds before she could get weight loss surgery. I know that this show is all about people getting weight loss surgery but I almost wish that the doctor had said "Let's try a medically supervised diet instead." Yeah, she's 388 pounds but like the doctor said, WLS takes a lot of hard work and lifestyle changes. Just sayin'.

[cmpbl]

Here we go it's not his fault

[Hellga]

3 minutes ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

 Another person who thinks surgery is a magic bullet that makes you skinny.       

People always want a magic bullet.  No one really wants to take the long and hard road.  The difference is that some brace themselves and do, and some just brush off everything that is not an instant cure as not being worth their time and effort

[CrazyInAlabama]

Here comes the bus to run over Casey's parents.   Coax his dad into getting him things!   What a jerk Fat Boy Casey is.   What a bully Casey is too.  

[Hellga]

Just now, cmpbl said:

Here we go it's not his fault

He is a big baby.  Nothing is his fault, he is just a poor innocent victim. 

[ams1001]

Did Casey get a haircut?

4 minutes ago, ShortyMac said:

Right now, the fit people are angry about the New Year's Resolutioners crowding their gym and taking up equipment and machines.

I suppose there's an up side to having bronchitis over the holidays...by the time I get back to the gym the NYRers will probably be done. (But I use the free gym at work, it's not that crowded anyway, at least not when I go at the end of my day. Lunchtime is always busy and too loud for me, but 5pm there's always a free treadmill or three.)

[Hellga]

Cheerful, happy, funny guy...  delusional, too. 

And yes, you did choose to overeat and keep choosing to overeat every time.  Go ahead, Casey, lose all the weight you were told and more and prove me wrong!

This was a boring episode.  And this family overall is less likeable than last season's.  Maybe they will improve as the season progresses.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Hellga

[Hannah94]

It's so cool to see all my buds from My 600 Lb Life in this thread! :)

[Emkat]

Amy is so gorgeous! I wish the best for them all.

[gardendiva]

I found the underwater camera during the pool party scene to be tasteless and as exploitative as the gratuitous naked shower scenes in M600PL. We get it. These people are overweight. No need to have a creepshot from the bottom of the pool looking up at them. I was scared to death one of the guys would accidentally flash us because the cameraman had his lens practically poking up the leg of their swim trunks.

Also, I just remembered a zoom in shot they made of the woman who just had weight loss surgery (can’t remember her name). She was sitting poolside and the camera zoomed in and lingered on her legs and abdomen. At the time I thought it was really unnecessary.

Edited January 11, 2019 by gardendiva
Added something I forgot

[TwirlyGirly]

On 1/4/2019 at 11:21 PM, SuzieQ said:

I didn't read this whole thread so don't know if someone mentioned this.  I read on Facebook that Amanda isn't related to any of those other people.  They're not cousins and never met before the show.

In E1, during Amy's TH in the segment in which she visits Amanda, Amy says while she and Amanda are cousins, they're more like sisters and are also best friends. So Amanda and Amy are related. Whomever said Amanda isn't related to anyone else this season was incorrect.

[Hellohappylife]

11 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

That poor pool!    I bet that triple cannonball watered every lawn in the neighborhood with that tidal wave.  

 

😂😂😂😂 LOL! I’m screaming & now my whole office is just staring at me. 

[DC Gal in VA]

5 hours ago, gardendiva said:

I found the underwater camera during the pool party scene to be tasteless and as exploitative as the gratuitous naked shower scenes in M600PL. We get it. These people are overweight. No need to have a creepshot from the bottom of the pool looking up at them. I was scared to death one of the guys would accidentally flash us because the cameraman had his lens practically poking up the leg of their swim trunks.

Thanks for this gardendiva. Just proves that, once again, the TLC producers see these subjects as sideshow freaks and not human beings. Can you imagine the public outrage if the producers and counselors on Intervention treated the subjects of that show the same way? There would be a veritable shit storm by all the Twits in Twitterland about the exploitative and inhumane treatment of the alcoholics and drug addicts they feature. But TLC figures "Hey, they're just a bunch of grotesque fatties, so who cares" right? 

[Guest]

6 hours ago, gardendiva said:

No need to have a creepshot from the bottom of the pool looking up at them.

It's kinda like the eternal creepshot they have of Casey while he's doing his talking-head interview from his chair. I'm not interested in seeing upshot photos of the man's double ball sacks, thanks. 

Also? The girls on this show seem awfully nice but Casey is a turd (as is Ed) and they're not nearly as cohesively interesting or charming like the family featured last season. I mean, I get that it must be difficult enough to scout for the singular cases of obesity they feature on My 600-lb Life and finding an entire family of morbidly obese people who make for good teevee must be even more challenging, but this season seems dull and uninteresting as a whole to me. I know it's only the second episode, but I'm already bored and not overly invested in anyone success save for the girl with endometrial cancer. 

[IvySpice]

Quote

I was scared to death one of the guys would accidentally flash us

I was not. I don't think you can find the tackle on these guys without deliberate...unfolding. Flashing is not going to happen.

You can see the addict panic at work when Casey and Amy react to the radical changes the doctor proposes. Right, we're talking about completely changing your diet, top to bottom. There will not be small portions of chips and queso. The time for that was 200 pounds ago.

Casey's mom is both fatter than I expected (given how strict she supposedly is about Casey's diet) and richer than I expected. She seems to be living way better than Casey's dad. Maybe she remarried well or just has a much better job than her ex. It's possible her "strict diet" requirements were actually just ordinary American meals, like "There are two of us, so let's get one medium pizza and share it" and Casey viewed that like I'd view two celery sticks and seltzer.

It's crazy, but 7-11 in Japan carries a huge variety of fresh Asian and Western food to go, including a lot of healthy options. It's a cheap and convenient way that many people rely on every day. I wish 7-11s here carried one tenth of the good food they have in Japan. It's safe, too...you can actually eat something like a smoked salmon sandwich from the convenience store with confidence.

Edited January 10, 2019 by IvySpice

[CrazyInAlabama]

Actually, where I grew up they had lots of 7-11's, and the healthy option there is eating the wrapper off the food, and not the contents.     

Like every other addict, they don't start doing anything on their own, they wait until Dr. Now, or Dr. Proctor can 'save' them.      Most don't want to do the work, but expect something magical to happen, and they'll just lose weight without trying.   

[Twopper]

This is my first season of this, and it is already one of the shows that makes me wish there was a button on the remote that allowed me to slap people on tv.  Or at least slap Casey and his father.  I am guessing that when the dad was married, the mom did the cooking  and dad has not bothered to develop decent cooking skills so that is part of the reason for the fast food and the other reason is that both of them like to eat it and it is easy to clean up afterward.  If Casey worked in a restaurant kitchen, I would think he could at least instruct his father in cooking better meals.  Also someone in the family has a large in ground pool.  Casey needs to start each morning with a bath in the horse trough and then head over to the pool; he probably can't swim much now, but he could at least do water exercises.  Of course, I can hear the excuse that he is a ginger, and sunburns too easily,  They should all be doing a lot of swimming.

[gardendiva]

Casey is not bedbound. He should be filling up his own horse trough whenever he wants to take a bath. It would be good strength training for him, carrying all those pots of water out to the back deck to fill it.

[libgirl2]

17 hours ago, Hellga said:

I haven't had any surgery, but I cannot tolerate fatty meat, last time I ate a fatty cut to be polite, I was throwing up the entire night.  I usually do surgery on my meat to remove fat before I cook it, but if I am eating someone else's, say, pulled pork, where you cannot necessarily see whether you are putting meat or fat in your mouth - yes, I will spit it out.  Maybe she does a similar thing.  A bit weird with steaks, but if he doesn't trim them or buys bad cuts, or chars them to where you can't tell what is what - I can see the same thing happening...

I can't stand fatty cuts of meat. yuck! I think that is why the times I do have steak out somewhere I do a NY strip as the fat is usually on the side and I can remove it. At home I remove fat on everything that has it before I cook it. 

[Hellga]

2 hours ago, Giant Misfit said:

I mean, I get that it must be difficult enough to scout for the singular cases of obesity they feature on My 600-lb Life and finding an entire family of morbidly obese people who make for good teevee must be even more challenging, but this season seems dull and uninteresting as a whole to me. 

I wonder if they were the first family found and filmed, but then the producers found last year's family so they moved them first.  And now, after success of the pilot season, they knew they could show these ones and people would tune in because they are already somewhat hooked (especially given it's slot right after 600lb life, which attracts the same audience).  Anyway, I hope this family becomes more interesting or sympathetic... 

2 hours ago, IvySpice said:

Casey's mom is both fatter than I expected (given how strict she supposedly is about Casey's diet) and richer than I expected. She seems to be living way better than Casey's dad. Maybe she remarried well or just has a much better job than her ex. It's possible her "strict diet" requirements were actually just ordinary American meals, like "There are two of us, so let's get one medium pizza and share it" and Casey viewed that like I'd view two celery sticks and seltzer.

 

Maybe it's just the years of saving on grocery - buying fresh food for one normal person vs. having to feel that human whale with fast food and take-out! 

 

Interesting about 7-11 in Japan!  Good to know!  I had wanted to visit it for years (I had a layover in Tokyo once but didn't get to get out), and I was thinking of going this year.

Edited January 10, 2019 by Hellga

[libgirl2]

17 hours ago, ams1001 said:

TV doctor appointments are nice. I never walk in and immediately get told "you can head on back!" Yesterday I went and sat in the waiting room for about 5 minutes (after updating my consent forms and whatnot), then in the exam room for another 10 (which is still much better than the 25+20 that I sat at urgent care on Christmas Eve).

Years ago, I was sent to a specialist by my doctor. I had a 2pm appointment, took off early from work to go. 3:30 and I was still waiting with two people ahead of me! I got angry, took back my co-pay and left. It would have been probably 5 by the time I got in. 

[CrazyInAlabama]

I kind of enjoyed the pool underwater shots.    It showed people enjoying being weightless, and concentrating on something besides food.    However, I still want to punch Ed right in the mouth, for his ugly remarks to his cousin Casey, and about his own wife.      Casey can shut up too, throwing his parents under the bus the way he did.    

For my colonoscopy pre-test appointment I had one of those 2 hour past appointment time waits, and it was irritating, but sitting in the waiting room and hearing all of the aides from the upscale nursing home/assisted living place talk about their helpless charges made me determined not to ever go into a nursing home.    I know they're not well paid, but the ugly things they said about helpless elderly people made me very angry.   

Edited January 11, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[calpurnia99]

20 hours ago, ShortyMac said:

Amanda does have a point - people gawk and laugh at you when it looks like you're trying to be healthy or not. Right now, the fit people are angry about the New Year's Resolutioners crowding their gym and taking up equipment and machines. The gym is not just for thin/fit people. Smile, encourage, be welcoming, introduce yourself and lift people up. You could be the reason someone sticks to it. 

Honestly in the store people look because it's just an unusual thing to see someone at 600 plus pounds. The human body is not meant to be 4 times it's size. Why they had the Fat lady in the circus years ago. It's just odd and out of the ordinary so people look. Of course taking photos and gawking and pointing is very rude- that is uncalled for. But if she came down my aisle, I'd look because it's a freak of nature. I would not be looking out of malice, just out of shock.  

Also I had to laugh when The guy said "How could I possibly lose 60 pounds in 2 months, I'd have to just drink water and go jogging every day". No, a normal weight person would have to do that a 750 pound person can lose that by eating a normal amount of food. Aye aye aye this guy is thick.

[Hellga]

I am now re-watching the portion of the show where I was mostly distracted.  

I loved that Dr. Procter said it directly - Casey needs to work with the psychologist to understand why he is trying to be helpless and waited on hand and foot first, or no surgery will help him.  And that his father has to go to therapy as well.  Sixty pounds in 3 months is ridiculously easy at his weight, though...  Dr. Now would have asked for at least 100!

Re:  staring - I do look at people who are using scooters or wheelchairs because I try to figure out what's wrong with them.  Obese people not so much because their problem is all too obvious and all too common.  I suppose if I saw someone who was 800 pounds, I would stare, because it's just unbelievable that a human being can look like that.  

Edited January 11, 2019 by Hellga

[CrazyInAlabama]

I am conscious of people in scooters or wheelchairs in the stores in case they need to reach something or need something else, and I can get it for them, and so I don't get in their way.       I bet every person that they showed looking at Amanda was either looking to see if she needed help, or were wondering what the camera crews were for.    

I used to live where a lot of the local high school kids would rush the grocery store at lunch, and I dreaded it when I was there then.      I guess I'm a little judgmental, because I thought most of them were pretty self centered, but one day a man in a wheelchair was in the freezer aisle, and some of the boys went over and asked him if they could get anything down for him.   I thought that was pretty nice, and I thought I was misjudging people too.   

Edited January 11, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[CrazyInAlabama]

Honestly, I only like the two women from this season.   

 I liked everyone from last season's family so much better, and I can't wait for the six episodes of this group to end, and the four or so episodes of updates on the first people.   At least I think this season's family is six episodes, and the updates are four episodes. 

[IvySpice]

These exploitative shows have actually made me more conscious about not staring. I mean, I wasn't gawking before, but I might have snuck a peek when they're facing the other way. Now I'm extra careful to make sure I'm not looking at all.

[TwirlyGirly]

12 hours ago, Hellga said:

<snip>

Re:  staring - I do look at people who are using scooters or wheelchairs because I try to figure out what's wrong with them. 

 

As a person with a disability who uses a wheelchair full-time for mobility, I'm curious: why do you need to "figure out what's wrong with [me]"? If you were able to "figure [it] out",  how would that affect your life, and why do you care?

11 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I am conscious of people in scooters or wheelchairs in the stores in case they need to reach something or need something else <snip>

 

If a person with a disability who uses a wheelchair or scooter for mobility is out in public alone, most likely they are capable of asking for help if they need it. If I'm out shopping and need something on a shelf I cannot reach, I approach the closest shopper and say "May I take advantage of your height for a moment?" Bonus if the shopper is male and attractive!

It's annoying to be out shopping and have every other shopper stop me to ask "Do you need help?"

Maybe I'm trying to remember to grab an item three aisles over I forgot to add to my list, or using my shopping time to ponder something going on in my life - but my thought process is constantly being interrupted by strangers who assume I must need help and can't ask for it if I do. It's frustrating to be constantly reminded the general public views me as being incapable (and having to respond politely and with gratitude, regardless of how I may be feeling that day, or risk being labeled as having a "bad attitude").

In terms of those who use scooters who are obese, I don't stare. But in my head, I say to them: "If you're unable to walk because you're obese, and you're obese due to overeating and not a medical condition, I would trade places with you in a heartbeat. You can do something about the issue that's preventing you from walking; I cannot."

Edited January 11, 2019 by TwirlyGirly
Rephrasing

[winsomeone]

I thought those huge people in the swimming pool was so dangerous. If one of them had a medical emergency, no way could anyone get them out before they just sunk to the bottom and drowned.

[Hellga]

2 hours ago, TwirlyGirly said:

As a person with a disability who uses a wheelchair full-time for mobility, I'm curious: why do you need to "figure out what's wrong with [me]"? If you were able to "figure [it] out",  how would that affect your life, and why do you care?

 

I am a pharmacist and I have spend the last 9 years working with neurological patients specifically, so it is professional curiosity and a habit.  Just like I do the "can you diagnose this?" quiz that comes with one of my daily newsletters.  Even though diagnosis is not in my scope of practice, it is still fun to see if I can figure it out.  And in cases where I do get a confirmation (only at work, I don't approach people who are not my patients) it helps me build a mental library of observations that help in dealing with them and with others later. 

Edited January 11, 2019 by Hellga

[IvySpice]

Quote

before they just sunk to the bottom

Fat floats, just like oil on top of water. The higher your body fat percentage, the more buoyant you are. They basically have 300 extra pounds of life preservers around their middles. They may have been in danger in the pool for other reasons, but they probably couldn't get to the bottom if they tried.