I hate to bring this up, but TLC is having a 600lb life marathon and lo and behold the episode with Penny is on there. I feel so bad for this woman because she is clearly a food addict and not accepting her part in the failure of her surgery.

I can say that since my surgery 5 months ago I have fought many an inner battle when it comes to food. I try to convince myself that it wont be bad if I have a cookie or Pasta etc but in the end I know that I have been given such an incredible gift and no food is worth trading that.

What are your thoughts on this? Anyone else struggling with her episode?

Yes! This is what I cannot wrap my head around. Physically, how does someone 500+ lbs maintain (OR GAIN!) weight after having the VSG. HOW??? We saw the same thing with Paula last week and Bettie Jo this week (she lost nothing for the 1st 2 months...HOW?!?!) Bettie Jo and Paula both had the gastric bypass, which is different than Penny's surgery, but still! Dr. Now keeps saying these people have a low tolerance for pain, so how can they manage to eat enough to actually gain weight? Did the good Dr leave their pouch/sleeve too big?

I suspect they are drinking liquids to wash the food through. No matter how big their pouch is, if its getting flushed they can keep stuffing more in.

I don't buy into this because I am able to sip on Water before during and after I eat, but I am still only able to eat a little bit of food and I eat every three to four hours because that is what my surgeon instructed. It just seems that some of these people are just not listening to their body and the pain that the eating is causing.

Penny needs to see a psychiatrist! She is mean, hateful and in denial. I really got mad when she told the Dr. That her night grown was falling off. She kept not showing up to her appointments and she was a total B to her nutritionist. Her poor physical therapist! She stood up half way once and that was it. I wanted to climb through the TV and give her a piece of my mind!

I was a therapist before kids and disability happened, and man, casual diagnoses fly through my brain when I watch her. I cannot for the life of me explain how she passed any psych screening, it is glaringly obvious from the get go that she is not psychologically appropriate as a candidate for any bariatric surgery. She is literally the perfect example of someone who is not suitable for bariatric surgery. She has serious issues she needs to work through for bariatric surgery to work, it is almost unfair to her that she got the surgery because she had 0% chance for success (and the band was the best choice for failing, although if she had the sleeve or bypass she probably would have eaten herself to the point of rupture). She has a very strong narcissistic streak, and I hate to say this, that is something some people never overcome.

Her husband is a codependent enabler. If she wants dumplings so badly, then she should haul her ass out of bed and get them. I'm desperate for coke slurpees from time to time, and god bless my husband, he would never ever go get one for me. That's how a marriage works! If I want to do something self-destructive, he's not going to help me do it!

I just watched this one last week and my husband and I were talking about how awful her choices were and how we couldnt understand how she could be that way. She was given a gift and decided that it just was too much work. She had no intentions of changing herself. I just cannot figure out how she didn't lose ANYTHING though and kept eating and gaining. (not that I have ANY desire to try but) I dont think I could maintain or gain weight if I tried! I cant eat enough! LOL My husband was the one that said that first, the fact that there is nowhere to put all that food. The only thing I could think was that she must graze on awful sugary fatty stuff ALL day long and really commit to it

She could keep gaining by continuing to eat high calorie, low nutrition foods, otherwise known as junkfood, and no doubt high fructose drinks. She was not the type of person to make lifestyle changes, she expected the WLS to do all the work.

I actually don't find it that difficult to imagine how she does it. If you're at home all day, it's possible to graze the whole day. Keep that up day after day and you will not lose, and you'll probably gain (albeit more slowly than if you hadn't had surgery). I don't think the constant grazing requires eating until you're in pain.

And I can't believe you all watch that ****.

It's a reality show!

That means it's mostly scripted, made up ****.

That's the way ALL reality shows are shot.

Even The Biggest Loser.

Google is your friend.

My good friend Melissa was featured on My 600 Pound Life. She is one of the show's biggest success stories, and is now a public speaker. The show is definitely NOT scripted!

LOVE the show. I have watched from the very beginning...mini-marathon on TODAY and starting at 2pm my time.

i use this show as ongoing support and encouragement. i have told my hubs i wish i could get the DVDs of the series to watch every couple of months to keep me focused.

i would say the show is not scripted, the people all seem very real, their struggles are very real, and for sure, Dr Nowzartan is pretty real! ( i have secretly wondered if any of the 600 lb life people were on these forums??)

I'm excited to finally see the Penny episode everyone talks about. TLC is running an afternoon marathon and I see Penny is on 2pm PST on DTV.

I was being lazy today and watching the marathon in bed (for a while).

Thank you Penny for motivating me to get out of bed today and do anything. I've now recorded this episode to play the next time I am unmotivated. Hopefully she will find something that will motivate her.

Everyone needs to see my friend Melissa! She is season 1, episode 1, and she will be airing again this week. She'll totally and completely uplift and inspire you!

Everyone needs to see my friend Melissa! She is season 1, episode 1, and she will be airing again this week. She'll totally and completely uplift and inspire you!

My DVR is set, I see she'll be on 3/30/15. :-)

I have this series recorded on my DVR. I can't give testimony to whether this show is scripted or not, but it is obvious these people struggle with food addictions, mobility, and enablers. I relate to all their pain, struggles, and motivating accomplishments. Penny is a very sad situation, but one that I think is repeated in reality, so I am glad they show all aspects of the WLS results. If this show inspires even one person to seek help and to become more knowledgable about WLS then I see it as a success! Awareness is key here and shows like this one give everyone a sight into the hell obese people have to live in. I will continue to watch and and be inspired!

Edited March 23, 201511 yr by jjinWA

First off I want to congratulate everyone who has lost weight with this surgery, from what I'm seeing it's still not the easiest thing even with surgery, so kudos to everyone!

But Penny infuriated me. I'm seeing that everyone here summed her up, she was a selfish, controlling, manipulative, attention seeking, demanding person, I don't know how else to describe her. I think her husband was so beaten down he could do nothing else but wait on her and get her food, and I'm sure he was sneaking her food in the hospital. She doesn't need oxygen either. Her poor son, he's the victim. She will never lose weight. I'd love to have this surgery to aid in weight loss and can't due to expense, and she wasted it. Makes me sick.

@@jeniker3, the show is called "My 600 Pound Life". It's usually on Wednesday evenings at 6 or 7pm(MST) on TLC(the learning channel). Sometimes during the day on Thursday they show a mini marathon of past episodes...I think that one starts around 3pm MST. I have Dish Network so it's on channel 183 in my area. Worth a watch, it can be motivation or depressing depending on the episode and what state of mind you are in when you watch it

I love this show. yes, the stories are extreme - but I do not think any single other thing helped me prepare for surgery or gives me such a reality check on the excuses already in the back of my mind.

I dislike all those shows. I think it's fat people porn less interested in helping these people and more a point and gawk at the fat person. There was one show A & E had a few years that I liked where they had the person come out to a ranch for 3 months then sent them home but connected them up with a trainer and nutritionist. If they gained a certain amount of time they went back to the ranch. They also dealt with psychological and environmental factors that made these people gain in the first place. It felt very human and truly concerned with the people involved. Of course it only lasted one season.

I loved that show! The trainers were very supportive and the psychologists. I thought it was very well rounded and had a mix of sizes. All of the weight loss shows seem to have those on the higher weight to lose. What I think would be a great show (maybe help some people avoid getting to where I did) is one where the people are only 30 pounds or so overweight and getting them motivated to lose with exercise and healthy eating for the everyday person. I think that would be a very beneficial and interesting show.

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