S07.E25 Jennifer & Marissa & Liz

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Quote

Liz has gone from being bedbound with lymphedemas on both legs, to standing and walking, but old fears are about to threaten her progress. And if Jenn and Marissa can't get along as mother and daughter to lose weight, they'll have to proceed apart.

Where are they now?  Where indeed. Liz from Season 6 had enormous legs that seemed to be their own separate life form.  Mom Jenn and daughter Marissa showed that dysfunction is a family game with no winners.  Let's see what they are up to.  Who will continue to lose weight? Who will snack back to the far end of the weight scale?

This is the regular episode thread.  It will be open after the US East Coast showing. 

Original air date 2019.06.19 

[Hellga]

It was kind of boring, but after Sean last week it is nice to see not one, not two but three people succeed, even if they weren't resounding successes.

I have to wonder about Liz, the way she is walking - I would have suspected MS, but had she had it, I am sure she would have served it up as a reason for why she wasn't moving.  I guess it is all just fat wrecking havoc on her body over time...  and the legs generally don't get back to normal even after skin surgery, so she will have to live with it for the rest of her life - but I hope for her sake that she is much improved after she loses all of the lymphedema masses.

Marissa's sister looks great and seems to be a good company for her, so it was a good move after all.   Marissa looks a bit overweight but not anything outside "normal" overweight range.  Even her relationship with her Mom seems to be improving.

Even Jennifer got back on track, though I personally think she will yo-you a lot in the near term...

[sainte-chapelle]

I'm late and missed the live chat so I am sitting here eating processed cheese slices lol. Jennifer needs to get rid of the dead weight that is Dwayne.

[ams1001]

Quoting from the chat, because it closed while I was still catching up:

Quote

The church we went to was in Pennsauken.  My mother was very fussy about her church.  We first went to one in Willingboro, then Croyden, PA, and then Pennsauken.

I worked in Philly for a year a long time ago; I lived in Levittown and took the train from Croydon every day. Chat is a small world tonight. 🙂

And to the comment about Jennifer reading for audio books...perhaps she could read the bedtime stories for grownups on whatever meditation app it is that has those...

[crazycatlady58]

18 minutes ago, ams1001 said:

Quoting from the chat, because it closed while I was still catching up:

I worked in Philly for a year a long time ago; I lived in Levittown and took the train from Croydon every day. Chat is a small world tonight. 🙂

And to the comment about Jennifer reading for audio books...perhaps she could read the bedtime stories for grownups on whatever meditation app it is that has those...

Calm, I use it a lot. Her voice is not soothing, boring is not enough.

[ams1001]

1 minute ago, crazycatlady58 said:

Calm, I use it a lot. Her voice is not soothing, boring is not enough.

I actually have that but I haven't used it much. Maybe I'll check it out tonight. I also have one called Insight Timer but I've used that even less.

[CringeWatcher]

I miss about 50% of the actual show just trying to keep up with the live chat, so I always go back and rewatch (and frankly, what could be better for inducing sleep than this particular episode)...anyway, so Liz goes back to the doctor at the beginning of the show, and she hasn’t exactly hit her weight loss goal for the past couple munt, but she says Dr Now should be proud of her because she at least got to the clinic without somebody [literally] “carrying” her. And we pounders think *our* standards are low! 

[Claire Voyant]

Just when I think I'm going to channel my inner feel-sorry-for-the-food-addicts self, along comes someone like Jennifer and PFFFT...I'm back to my snarky self.  Honest to Pete, that woman is about as toxic as it gets. 

I'm so glad Marissa finally got herself away from her.  Too bad it wasn't a lot sooner.  Now, I hope she can stay away from her for good. 

Selfish pig woman.   🐷

Edited June 20, 2019 by Claire Voyant

[Scratches19]

Glad to hear it is a snooze fest since I've got things to get done here tonight. I'll still turn it on to listen while I'm working. 

[Scratches19]

Trampoline Park. Yeah. Add that to other places that are probably never cleaned adequately. 

Gym Lockers

Chuckie Cheese Pit Full Of Balls

MacDonalds Play Place

Gas Station Bathroom

Toddler Car Seats

Bus Seats

Motel Carpets (Thanks Carboncat)

Trampoline Parks 

Edited June 20, 2019 by Scratches19
Spelling, more thoughts

[Carboncat]

23 minutes ago, Scratches19 said:

Trampoline Park. Yeah. Add that to other places that are probably never cleaned adequately. 

Gym Lockers

Chuckie Cheese Pit Full Of Balls

MacDonalds Play Place

Gas Station Bathroom

Toddler Car Seats

Bus Seats

Trampoline Parks 

My personal heebie-jeebies are gas station nozzles and squeegies.  Just imagine!  I keep wet wipes in the car for that.

Because for the last 3 days our hallway and livingroom floors were restained and varnished,(790 square foot house)  the couch is in the yard and the bigscreen tv is smack in front of the kitchen sink.  Because I couldn't deal with going in the bedroom window and skipping the bathroom until 11:00pm, I spent Monday and Tuesday nights in a budget motel.  Husband could deal with it and stayed home.  I have to work.

My subject here was I was so relieved that my room was 2 long flights of stairs up from a steep hill, no elevator!  Also, the room had WOOD FLOORS!  Who the hell puts wood floors in a motel room?  Watching the maids clean the rooms, I realized why:  They mop them with disinfectant every day.  Much more reassuring than carpet (let's not go there!)

[jcbrown]

I watched a bit less than 2/3 of it and then cut my losses and deleted this episode from my DVR. Snooooooozzzzzzze.

[Scratches19]

25 minutes ago, Carboncat said:

Watching the maids clean the rooms, I realized why:  They mop them with disinfectant every day.  Much more reassuring than carpet (let's not go there!)

I have added hotel carpets to the original post. Thanks!

I've stayed in a few places where I was afraid to walk on the carpet. One was so bad I came up with my own solution.  Imagine if you will, every hotel towel, hand towel, and wash cloth arranged on the carpeted floor like a archipelago of islands that I walked across. 

[Carboncat]

2 minutes ago, Scratches19 said:

I have added hotel carpets to the original post. Thanks!

I've stayed in a few places where I was afraid to walk on the carpet. One was so bad I came up with my own solution.  Imagine if you will, every hotel towel, hand towel, and wash cloth arranged on the carpeted floor like a archipelago of islands that I walked across. 

"Sanitized for your protection...."

[Scratches19]

Dawayne.  (Da-weigh-in?)

Jennifer + Dawayne = weight gain

Jennifer - Dawayne + Therapy = weight loss

Jennifer + Dawayne - Therapy = weight gain

Jennifer + Dawayne + Excuses =

Do the math hon.  Do the math. 

[Wanda]

I’m laying in bed. I was knocked down and sorta trampled by my horse yesterday. Everything hurts as I’m waking up. But I take inspiration from the brave poundticipants like Jennifer and Schenee and James K and I WILL get out of this bed with a smile and face the day with a can do attitude.

[CringeWatcher]

2 hours ago, Wanda said:

I’m laying in bed. I was knocked down and sorta trampled by my horse yesterday. Everything hurts as I’m waking up. But I take inspiration from the brave poundticipants like Jennifer and Schenee and James K and I WILL get out of this bed with a smile and face the day with a can do attitude.

You’ll feel better if you start your day with a healthy breakfast. You need at least a dozen eggs, a quart of gravy, seven canned biscuits, and a couple pounds of pork products of your choice. Then you’ll have the strength to go out and confront your horse, with your pants around your knees, a la Schenee. Ask him if he believes in God! Follow that with a rousing “OOOW! MA LAYG!” You’ll need a snack at this point, but you know one place just ain’t gonna have everything you’re craving. Hit up at least three drive throughs to create that perfect 11,000 calorie smorgasbord, to get you through til lunch. 

Later, after you are calm, write your horse a letter. 😊

[Pondlass1]

I think it's time for Dr. Now to retire.  I don't know how he puts up with all this shit.  

[calpurnia99]

42 minutes ago, CringeWatcher said:

You’ll feel better if you start your day with a healthy breakfast. You need at least a dozen eggs, a quart of gravy, seven canned biscuits, and a couple pounds of pork products of your choice. Then you’ll have the strength to go out and confront your horse, with your pants around your knees, a la Schenee. Ask him if he believes in God! Follow that with a rousing “OOOW! MA LAYG!” You’ll need a snack at this point, but you know one place just ain’t gonna have everything you’re craving. Hit up at least three drive throughs to create that perfect 11,000 calorie smorgasbord, to get you through til lunch. 

Later, after you are calm, write your horse a letter. 😊

Lol ha ha ha thanks for the laugh. I'm having my coffee and thinking OW MAH FEET...what the heck are canned biscuits?

[ProTourist]

14 minutes ago, calpurnia99 said:

Lol ha ha ha thanks for the laugh. I'm having my coffee and thinking OW MAH FEET...what the heck are canned biscuits?

[CatherineM]

The dirtiest thing in most restaurants is the ice machine. Kid did a science fair project in Florida testing ice against toilet water at fast food restaurants. Toilet water was much cleaner. Toilets get cleaned regularly. Ice machines rarely if ever. 

So you can just imagine how clean the kitchens are in these guys homes. At least a fast food place has a slow period over night to clean. Their kitchens run 24-7, or not at all. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by CatherineM

[Wanda]

11 hours ago, ams1001 said:

Quoting from the chat, because it closed while I was still catching up:

I worked in Philly for a year a long time ago; I lived in Levittown and took the train from Croydon every day. Chat is a small world tonight. 🙂

And to the comment about Jennifer reading for audio books...perhaps she could read the bedtime stories for grownups on whatever meditation app it is that has those...

Grew up in Levittown....violet wood kid here. 

[poeticlicensed]

8 hours ago, Scratches19 said:

I have added hotel carpets to the original post. Thanks!

I've stayed in a few places where I was afraid to walk on the carpet. One was so bad I came up with my own solution.  Imagine if you will, every hotel towel, hand towel, and wash cloth arranged on the carpeted floor like a archipelago of islands that I walked across.

Don't forget hotel bedspreads, remote controls and phones. I try to only stay in hotels taht triple sheet and don't use bedspreads. 

Also add any surface on the inside of an airplane. I have taken to bringing a pack of disinfectant wipes and wiping down my seat, armrest and tray table when I fly. Apparently one of the dirtiest places on an airplane is the slot on the seat back where they  keep magazines, etc. People shove their garbage in there and it never gets really cleaned. 

Edited June 20, 2019 by poeticlicensed

[dahling]

Wow, I guess y'all hated this episode since there's like one on-topic post in this entire thread.

Jennifer has no redeeming qualities that I can see.  Abandoning her daughter in Houston to move in to a shithole in Killeen with Da-Wayne, and not even telling her that's what she was doing ranks right up there with some of the most despicable acts we've seen on this show.  Did she even show up at the hospital after Marissa's gall bladder surgery?  Bah. I hope she regains it all. I'm rooting for her to fail. How dare she whine about Marissa going back to California so she wouldn't have to be alone. 

Marissa, visiting Jennifer's love nest in Killeen for the first time.

Jennifer: "Do you like it?!" 

Marissa, doubtfully: "Yeah, it's cute..."

Arrested Development narrator:  "It wasn't."

Edited June 20, 2019 by dahling

[Twopper]

34 minutes ago, CatherineM said:

The dirtiest thing in most restaurants is the ice machine.

Hotel ice machines can get really dirty, too.  I was in a very upscale hotel, and when I poured my bottled water over some ice from the machine I noticed what looked like dirt in my glass so I dumped everything and started over.    Same problem. The ice was from the ice bucket in the room.  So I dumped the ice bucket out, rinsed it, and went for more ice.  I came back and examined the ice closely and realized there were moldy bits in it.   I complained about it.  We left the next day so I have no idea if they fixed it.

I hope Liz and Marissa are successful.   Not optimistic about the mom, but I like her cat.  That's all I got from this.

[Minivanessa]

1 hour ago, Twopper said:

I hope Liz and Marissa are successful.   Not optimistic about the mom, but I like her cat.  That's all I got from this.

^^Good summary.

Did we actually see Marissa's sister? I know we saw a couple of her friends toward the end when she was in California. She said she was living at her sister's house, and praised her sister for being supportive and having good food in the house for her. Then we saw a woman arrive, described as a friend who was helping Marissa by leading her workouts. I think later we saw Marissa leaving the house with a woman and young girl, and IIRC Marissa also described her as a friend. Anyway, big respect for Marissa's sister, whoever she is, for providing Marissa with a nice place to live and good support to continue her weight loss.

Also, I noticed that as she and her workout friend were preparing the patio for their exercise session, Marissa's VO said that she'd bought a scale to track her weight. That could have been a first on this show and I'm happy to see it. A patient with her own scale. These days you can buy scales that go up to I think about 300 pounds, and obviously Marissa was down in the 200's by then. 

I wish Marissa the best and I'm sorry she has such a worthless mother. Who, as far as I'm concerned, can continue to live in ugly Killeen with De-Wayne forever. Meh.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Jeeves

[sempervivum]

Catching up with this, but did I hear correctly that Marissa, just an hour prior to her calling 911 for her acute stomach pain (which turned out to be gall stones), ATE SOMETHING? Who thinks 'Urgh, my tummy is in agony; I think I'll eat'???

[CatherineM]

When I had gall stones, I was screaming in agony on the floor. Eating was the last thing I wanted to do. 

[mmecorday]

Quote

Trampoline Park. Yeah. Add that to other places that are probably never cleaned adequately. 

You left off Jeanne's butt crack from your list. 😄

[Hellga]

12 hours ago, Carboncat said:

My personal heebie-jeebies are gas station nozzles and squeegies.  Just imagine!  I keep wet wipes in the car for that.

Meh.  I wash my hands before I eat or touch my face.  That has kept me healthy and I travel a lot.  My general approach to life (as someone whose favorite subject was parasitology) is that our immune system has to get actual challenges, or it will find its own.  Not so critical in adults but definitely in kids, those who grow in germaphobic households have far higher incidence of asthma and allergies than those who get to play in the dirt.  I am far more freaked out by the autoimmune disorders that we aren't very good at treating than by infections that we can treat rather successfully (especially as I have no comorbidities and I am 35, not 85).  

6 hours ago, Wanda said:

I’m laying in bed. I was knocked down and sorta trampled by my horse yesterday. Everything hurts as I’m waking up. But I take inspiration from the brave poundticipants like Jennifer and Schenee and James K and I WILL get out of this bed with a smile and face the day with a can do attitude.

Ouch.  Feel better soon!

1 hour ago, sempervivum said:

Catching up with this, but did I hear correctly that Marissa, just an hour prior to her calling 911 for her acute stomach pain (which turned out to be gall stones), ATE SOMETHING? Who thinks 'Urgh, my tummy is in agony; I think I'll eat'???

A food addict who has been using food as THE source of comfort for any problems she has ever faced, physical and emotional?

[AZChristian]

3 hours ago, CatherineM said:

The dirtiest thing in most restaurants is the ice machine. 

Followed closely by the menu.  

[PrincessPurrsALot]

Pounders,

This is the thread for Jennifer, Marissa and Liz's "Where Are They Now?" episode.  While we know it wasn't the most scintillating two hours, can we please take non-episode discussion to the appropriate threads? 

[Twopper]

2 hours ago, Jeeves said:

Also, I noticed that as she and her workout friend were preparing the patio for their exercise session, Marissa's VO said that she'd bought a scale to track her weight. That could have been a first on this show and I'm happy to see it. A patient with her own scale. These days you can buy scales that go up to I think about 300 pounds, and obviously Marissa was down in the 200's by then. 

Last week Sarah had mentioned getting a regular scale.  If you look on Amazon they sell them going up to the 600 or 700 range now.  I am pleased that Marissa has a scale, and I hope she uses it daily for the rest of her life

[CrazyInAlabama]

After that two hour snooze fest, I think Jennifer and Liz will soon be right back where they started.      I'm hoping Marissa stays away from her mother, keeps going with her weight loss, and working to get healthy, and has a wonderful life.        Marissa really seemed to have a much better life without her mother, and got right back on track after her mother went back to her love muffin.         I really was happy to hear Dr. Now tell Marissa that because of her age, that she probably won't need skin surgery.  

Edited June 24, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[AnnaBaptist]

At the end, was Jennifer still with DaWayne? I know that Marissa couldn't stand Jennifer being with DaWayne, so she moved to Callifornia, but then we never saw DaWayne again. Were he and Jennifer still a couple, but he was just not on camera? I'm just wondering if I missed something.

[pdlinda]

8 hours ago, Pondlass1 said:

I think it's time for Dr. Now to retire.  I don't know how he puts up with all this shit.  

Does anyone know if the show was renewed for next year??? 

I often wonder how long Dr. Now's surgical skills can endure as he gets older (like the rest of us). 

I know his heart is in the right place; however, when he goes into detail about tying up all those blood vessels (hundreds, at least) when he's doing his skin removal surgeries, the reality of how much manual dexterity and eye/hand coordination he needs to do a perfect job makes ME feel exhausted!!  

Last year he brought in a potential "associate" whom he introduced to some patients but that was the last we saw of this much younger gent.

Dr. Now is really an icon in his field and it would be great to believe he'll be in optimal physical/mental/cognitive shape for many years to come but the reality is that at some point he will likely retire (as, likely, will the show)!

Oh, well, there will always be those hundreds of episodes in the TLC vault that we can play until time immemorial!!

[evansmom10]

If that awful mother said "Marissa" one more time....ugh. She was the worst. 

[Kid]

Liz looks so much prettier and younger without those awful wigs.  She has a pretty face and her skin is beautiful.  

The best decision Marissa could have made was getting away from her mother. 

Edited June 21, 2019 by Kid

[Hellga]

1 hour ago, Kid said:

Liz looks so much prettier and younger without those awful wigs.  She has a pretty face and her skin is beautiful.  

I agree, she looks way better with her own hair.  If only her facial expression became more lively and expressive - that perpetual sad pout is doing her no favors.  Maybe as she continues to improve and gets out more she will be happier and that will get reflected in her face.   She hasn't had much to smile about while bedbound or just relearning to walk..

[Carboncat]

11 hours ago, AZChristian said:

Followed closely by the menu.  

(!)

[ProTourist]

I've watched the episode twice and, as expected, I was much more interested in Liz' story than in the mother/daughter drama between Jennifer and Marissa.

Was happy to see Liz make so much progress as she did, but even by the end she didn't seem to be doing so well as the scale would indicate. She looked a lot heavier than her weight, which might have been due to her short height and to excess skin. Walking still seemed to be supremely difficult and painful for her, even once she was managing with just a cane. It looked as though she were unable to bend at the knees and so had to swing her whole body around in order to take steps.

I was concerned that we didn't see Liz's mother at all, although we did see her aunt a little bit. Thought something might have happened to her mother, who had been in frail health, and that they just didn't saying anything about it. But when Liz came back home from her last stay in rehab, she mentioned she was happy to see her mother again, so she must be at least well enough to live at home and perhaps just did not want to be seen on camera again.

Don't recall seeing Liz smile at all, even when she received good news or when she went out to lunch with her godson. It was as though her happiness reservoir had run dry years ago, never to be replenished. I have to admit that with all her physical recovery -- how wonderful that she is no longer bed-bound after all those years -- I don't see Liz as getting to a point where she would really rejoin society such as getting a job, dating, and socializing with friends. I think she would need a lot of psychotherapy. In her first episode a counselor did go to her house to work with her, but there was nothing shown during the follow-up. I do hope she is continuing with the psychotherapy.

[Twopper]

21 hours ago, CrazyInAlabama said:

I'm hoping Marissa stays away from her mother, keeps going with her weight loss, and working to get healthy, and has a wonderful life.        Marissa really seemed to have a much better life without her mother, and got right back on track after her mother went back to her love muffin.         I really was happy to hear Dr. Now tell Marissa that because of her age, that she probably won't need skin surgery.  

Marissa seemed to bloom in Stockton.  I noticed her sister's house has a pool so I hope she will make good use of it to make good progress.  (yikes!! my comments are starting to sound like the narration on this show).  I think both Marissa and her mother will benefit from living apart after all those years of mutual enabling.

I would expect after losing about 300 pounds almost everyone can benefit from some skin surgery, but I guess it depends on where they carried their fat in the first place.   I would definitely want to get rid of bat wings.  I forgot how big she was at the start of her journey.

[ProTourist]

2 hours ago, Twopper said:

I noticed her sister's house has a pool so I hope she will make good use of it to make good progress.  (yikes!! my comments are starting to sound like the narration on this show).

👀  😊  😄  😘 ✌️

[gameshowjunkie]

Marissa looks really good for her weight. Her body is well proportioned. I am short and short-waisted and even an extra 10 lbs make me look dumpy. Glad she is thriving in CA.

Liz OTOH looks much heavier than what the scale indicates. I hope she continues to improve her mobility.

Hard to care about Marissa's mother. I can't see her succeeding unless she dumps Dwayne and opens her eyes.

[LuvMyShows]

On 6/20/2019 at 11:32 AM, Jeeves said:

Also, I noticed that as she and her workout friend were preparing the patio for their exercise session, Marissa's VO said that she'd bought a scale to track her weight. 

I was very surprised that the workout friend would have them work out on concrete, without even using a mat (except for the small mat used for Marissa's elbows).  That is a big no-no.

[ProTourist]

20 hours ago, gameshowjunkie said:

Hard to care about Marissa's mother. I can't see her succeeding unless she dumps Dwayne and opens her eyes.

I agree with this for the most part, but since she and Dawayne have been together since Jennifer was thirty, which is about thirteen years now, I think they are probably going to stay together. IMO Dawayne doesn't seem to be that bad, compared to some of the other poundticipant partners, so long as he continues to stay away from drugs and gambling. At least he works and is not living off any public assistance Jennifer may receive. The big questions I think are if he can stay clean, and if he will stick with her if Jennifer should succeed at losing more weight.

[CrazyInAlabama]

I doubt Jennifer will lose weight, and is probably gaining again.    Losing one pound over many months is pathetic.

Marissa might end up with bat wings, but  with her age, and how elastic her skin is, she could be a good candidate for a plastic surgeon to fix that.   

Edited June 26, 2019 by CrazyInAlabama

[aliya]

So, in the chat for this show, someone mentioned Rocky Mountain Spotted Feet and I said I would tell aliya jr about it and see his reaction since he borders on the hypochondriac as far as I'm concerned.

I sent him an email from work and told him it was spreading east from the Rockies and not to walk around barefoot or in grass that was too high and to check his feet. 

Well, aliya jr told his girlfriend and told her not to walk outside barefoot. The thing is, they both looked it up on Google and couldn't find anything about it. Aliya jr told her, that since I audit human subjects research and see a lot of warnings and papers before the general public, maybe that's where I got my info. 😄

After I heard all this, I told him it was a joke. "I don't play jokes very often." "There's a reason, mom." 😂

[Tabbygirl521]

@aliya, that was hilarious! I might try it on my son...

[Scratches19]

On 6/21/2019 at 8:00 AM, Twopper said:

I would expect after losing about 300 pounds almost everyone can benefit from some skin surgery, but I guess it depends on where they carried their fat in the first place.

I noticed that too, however Dr. Now mentioned to her that she was young and in those cases recovery may be more complete without early skin removal so he advised waiting a bit longer and losing more.