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''My 600-lb Life'' is an American
reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 19 ...
series that has aired on the
TLC TLC may refer to: Arts and entertainment Television * ''TLC'' (TV series), a 2002 British situational comedy television series that aired on BBC2 * TLC (TV network), formerly the Learning Channel, an American cable TV network ** TLC (Asia), an A ...
television network since 2012, Each episode follows a year in the life of morbidly
obese Obesity is a medical condition, sometimes considered a disease, in which excess body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it may negatively affect health. People are classified as obese when their body mass index (BMI)—a person's we ...
individuals, who usually begin the episode weighing at least , and documents their attempts to reduce their weight to a healthy level. Update episodes, called "Where Are They Now?", feature one or more previous patients, picking up a year or more after their original episodes aired. Patients are placed under the care of
Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...
surgeon Younan Nowzaradan (often referred to as "Dr. Now"), who first has them attempt losing weight on their own by following a strict
diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...
, and then depending on the patient's progress may offer
gastric bypass surgery Gastric bypass surgery refers to a technique in which the stomach is divided into a small upper pouch and a much larger lower "remnant" pouch and then the small intestine is rearranged to connect to both. Surgeons have developed several differ ...
or
sleeve gastrectomy Sleeve gastrectomy is a surgical weight-loss procedure in which the stomach is reduced to about 15% of its original size, by surgical removal of a large portion of the stomach along the greater curvature. The result is a sleeve or tube like struc ...
to further assist in
weight loss Weight loss, in the context of medicine, health, or physical fitness, refers to a reduction of the total body mass, by a mean loss of fluid, body fat (adipose tissue), or lean mass (namely bone mineral deposits, muscle, tendon, and other conn ...
.


Concept

This series was originally a five-part
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
involving four morbidly obese patients. Because of its popularity, new episodes were filmed, including a "Where Are They Now?" retrospective in Season 4 that follows up on previous patients to track their weight-loss journey months or years after
bariatric surgery Bariatric surgery (or weight loss surgery) includes a variety of procedures performed on people who are obese. Long term weight loss through the standard of care procedures ( Roux en-Y bypass, sleeve gastrectomy, and biliopancreatic diversion ...
. In Season 1, patients were filmed over seven years (2004–2011). Beginning with Season 2, patients were filmed for only one year. In Season 8, certain patients' stories were filmed for only six months. Beginning with Season 5, new episodes were two hours long instead of one hour. This was previously done with "Melissa's Story" (which was in two parts) and "Lupe's Story". Recap episodes titled "Supersized" and "Extended", which include additional facts and footage respectively, also aired during this season.


Subject outcomes

Thirteen patients have died since appearing on the show. * Henry Foots, who was featured in season one of the show, died of an illness unrelated to his weight on May 16, 2013. * Sean Milliken, who was chronicled on the fourth season of the show, died on February 17, 2019, from cardiac arrest due to an infection from poor hygiene, after having gained over 150 lbs during the previous four weeks. He was 29 years old. * James King, a participant in the show's fifth season, died on April 3, 2020, from multiple organ failure due to his obesity at age 49. * James "LB" Bonner, who was featured on the sixth season of the show, died by suicide on August 2, 2018, at the age of 30. * Lisa Fleming, also a sixth season participant, died of an undisclosed illness on August 23, 2018, which was unrelated to her weight, at the age of 50. * Rob Buchel, also featured in season six, suffered a fatal heart attack on November 15, 2017, during the filming of the show, while staying in a skilled nursing facility in Houston. Buchel's death was the first during the patient's respective episode. Buchel was 41 years old at the time of his death. * Kelly Mason, a participant in the show's seventh season, died on February 15, 2019, from heart failure at the age of 41. Mason's death was the second in the series to be featured during the patient's respective episode. * Coliesa McMillian, featured on the show's eighth season, died on September 22, 2020, after being treated in ICU for two weeks due to acute kidney failure and other complications related to weight loss surgery. She was 41 years old. * Renee Biran, featured on the show's sixth season, died on May 14, 2021. She was 56 years old. *Gina Krasley, featured on the show's eighth season, died on August 1, 2021. She was 30 years old. *Ashley Randall, featured on the show's first season, died of sepsis, complications related to sepsis, and pneumonia on October 2, 2021. She was 40 years old. * Laura Ann Perez, featured on the show’s third season, died on November 17, 2021. She was 48 years old. * Destinee LaShaee, the first transgender person on the show who appeared in the show's seventh season, died on February 8, 2022, at the age of 31. Although the cause of death was not revealed, LaShaee and her family had stated that she struggled with depression and suicidal ideation.


Spin-offs

Beginning in January 2015, TLC began airing '' My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now?''. The purpose of this spin-off was to update viewers on the weight loss journeys of people featured in previous seasons. As of 2021, seven seasons of the ''Where Are They Now?'' follow-ups have aired. In 2016, a second spin-off, '' Skin Tight'', began airing, showing people who struggle with the excess skin remaining after their weight loss successes. Dr. Nowzaradan appears along with other plastic surgeons.


Failed Lawsuits

In 2018 several news outlets reported that several former patients of Dr. Nowzaradan who appeared in the series, and the family of one patient, LB Bonner, who died by suicide, had brought suit against the show's production company, Megalomedia, alleging negligence and claiming that the company failed to cover medical costs. Plaintiff Destinee LaShaee, the first transgender contestant to appear on the show, sued the show after claiming it did not provide the mental health treatments it promised. She died on February 8, 2022, after posting messages on social media "indicative of her depression and possibly suicidal thoughts." A total of ten lawsuits were filed, which were later consolidated into a single proceeding on May 20, 2020. Megalomedia requested summary judgment, which was denied via the judge not ruling on their motion within the time required under Texas law. Megalomedia then appealed their motion to the Appellate court. On April 14, 2022, all ten of the lawsuits were dismissed by the 13th Appellate Court of Texas.https://www.courthousenews.com/reality-tv-20/


Series overview


Subject statistics

{, class="wikitable sortable collapsible" , +Season 9 (2020 - 2021) !Ep !style="background:#FFFF00" , Patient Name !Starting Age !Location !Starting Weight !Ending Weight (12 mos.) !Total Weight Loss (12 mos. or from later peak weight (LPW)) !Notes , - , 1 , Samantha Mason , 35 years old , Denver, Colorado , (later ) , , (LPW) , Largest weight loss of any patient featured in the show , - , 2 , Thederick Barnes , 32 years old , Gretna, Florida , , (@5th month) , (@5th month) , last weighing at 5th month , - , 3 , Carrie Johnson , 37 years old , Huntington, Texas , , , , , , - , 4 , Cindy Vela , 45 years old , Portland, Texas , , , , , - , 5 , Melissa Marescot , 36 years old , Sunrise, Florida , , , , , - , 6 , Kenae' Dolphus , 41 years old , Nacogdoches, Texas , , , , , - , 7 , Krystal Hall , 34 years old , Frankfort, Ohio , , , , , - , 8 , Isaac Martinez , 23 years old , Hutchins, Texas , , , , , - , 9 , Michael Blair , 43 years old , Conroe, Texas , , , , , - , 10 , Shannon Lowery , 39 years old , Tucson, Arizona , , , , , - , 11 , Irene Walker , 39 years old , Houston, Texas , , , , , - , 12 , Tammy Patton , 41 years old , Wichita Falls, Texas , {{convert, 594, lb , {{convert, 468, lb , {{convert, 126, lb , , - , 13 , Chrystal Rollins , 39 years old , Spring Valley, California , {{convert, 610.8, lb , {{convert, 498.3, lb (@8th month) , {{convert, 113.5, lb (@8th month) , ended at 9 mos. {, class="wikitable sortable collapsible" , +Season 10 (2021 - 2022) !Ep !style="background:#45bbed" , Patient Name !Starting Age !Location !Starting Weight !Ending Weight (12 mos.) !Total Weight Loss (12 mos. or from later peak weight (LPW)) !Notes , - , 1 , Nathan Prater , 35 years old , Palestine, Texas , {{convert, 607.2, lb , {{convert, 414.5, lb , {{convert, 192.6, lb , , - , 2 , Julian Valentine , 33 years old , Tucson, Arizona , {{convert, 830.2, lb , {{convert, 640.1, lb , {{convert, 190.1, lb , , - , 3 , Bianca Hayes , 36 years old , Fayetteville, Tennessee , {{convert, 604.2, lb , {{convert, 448.4, lb , {{convert, 155.8, lb , , - , 4 , Mike Meginness , 37 years old , Marion, Ohio , {{convert, 745.7, lb , {{convert, 510.1, lb , {{convert, 235.6, lb , - , 5 , Lacey Buckingham , 36 years old , Kennewick, Washington , {{convert, 593.2, lb , {{convert, 581.9, lb , {{convert, 11.3, lb , Ended at Month 6 , - , 6 , Paul MacNeill , 35 years old , Auburndale, Florida , {{convert, 757.0, lb , {{convert, 641.0, lb , {{convert, 116.0, lb , Ended at Month 6 , - , 7 , Ryan Barkdoll , 31 years old , Columbia Falls, Montana , {{convert, 740, lb , Estimated above {{convert, 660, lb , {{convert, 80.0, lb , Ended at Month 10. First patient to have failed to show up for Dr. Nowzardan's appointments for the entirety of the episode , - , 8 , James Bedard , 38 years old , New York, New York , {{convert, 625.0, lb , {{convert, 506.1, lb , {{convert, 119, lb , Ended at Month 12 , - , 9 , Lucas Higdon , 33 years old , Conroe, Texas , {{convert, 619.3, lb , {{convert, 401.0, lb , {{convert, 218, lb , , - , 10 , Margaret Johnson , 35 years old , Baytown, Texas , {{convert, 750, lb , {{convert, 595, lb , {{convert, 155, lb , , - , 11 , Ontreon Shannon , 36 years old , Plano, Texas , {{convert, 702.4, lb , {{convert, 704.3, lb , {{convert, -1.9, lb (gained weight) , , - , 12 , Dolly Martinez , 25 years old , Fort Worth, Texas , {{convert, 593.2, lb , {{convert, 552.8, lb , {{convert, 40.4, lb (@month 10) , , - , 13 , Larry Myers , 45 years old , Albany, New York , {{convert, 648, lb , {{convert, 529.9, lb , {{convert, 118.1, lb , , - , 14 , Lisa Ebberson , 51 years old , Fairbury, Nebraska , {{convert, 637, lb , {{convert, 554, lb , {{convert, 83, lb , Quit in month 4, briefly reconnected in month 8, never saw Dr Now in person , - , 15 , David Nelson , 30 years old , Idaho Falls, Idaho , {{convert, 763, lb , {{convert, 608, lb , {{convert, 155, lb ,


References

{{Reflist


External links

* {{Official website, https://go.tlc.com/show/my-600-lb-life-tlc * {{IMDb title, 2152112 {{TLC Programming 2012 American television series debuts 2010s American reality television series 2020s American reality television series English-language television shows Obesity in television Obesity in the United States Television shows set in Houston TLC (TV network) original programming