# My 600-lb Life on TLC **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [December 29, 2016, 2:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843 "2016-12-29T14:14:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/41 "2017-01-14T22:08:13Z")
Anybody see the Ashley R episode? What was the condition on her skin that her mother scrubbed off with an abrasive sponge at the beginning? She seemed to have a lot of dark, rough patches. ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 11:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/42 "2017-01-14T23:44:16Z")
> [@SpoilerVirgin](#): > > Yes, the food itself acts as a drug. If every time you feel depressed, or anxious, or bored, or any emotion, you deal with it by eating, you never learn any skills about how to regulate your emotions or deal with your real world problems. That leaves you in the same position as a very young child who doesn’t know how to handle being upset except by throwing a tantrum. I really like this reply --well done! ---
**Author:** ![Jennshark](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Jennshark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jennshark)\ **Post date:** [January 14, 2017, 11:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/43 "2017-01-14T23:58:24Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > Anybody see the Ashley R episode? > > What was the condition on her skin that her mother scrubbed off with an abrasive sponge at the beginning? She seemed to have a lot of dark, rough patches. Maybe a vitiligo type issue? Or is vitiligo always light patches on darker skin? I really liked Ashley. Her husband and family were so sweet and supportive, very different than many we’ve seen on the series. She was still working, socializing, and really invested in changing. I got a bit verklempt when she and Daniel went out on their first “real date” to the little bistro 🙂 Was she really tall as well? At times she seemed more than 6’. How shitty that their nice car’s wheels and tires were stolen! I hope TLC paid for replacements, those babies must be a few thousand. To counter this ep’s loveliness I watched Charity, she of the amazing buttwings and strange 20yo “fiance.” She’s just plain yucky and disturbing. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [January 15, 2017, 1:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/44 "2017-01-15T01:19:36Z")
There seems to be a common theme in that the people are using food to avoid dealing with emotions. When that’s taken away, they don’t have any coping mechanism. Ashley R seemed so sweet and anxious to have a real life (I got the impression she and her husband don’t have sex due to her weight) and I was glad to see she got therapy to address her childhood trauma. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/45 "2017-02-01T01:12:39Z")
Has anybody seen the latest episode, about Kirsten? ---
**Author:** ![WolfpackJeep](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wolfpackjeep/32/2921_2.png) [@WolfpackJeep](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WolfpackJeep)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 1:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/46 "2017-02-01T01:17:26Z")
Yes…I hope that whole family got some counseling. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 3:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/47 "2017-02-01T15:21:57Z")
It sounds like she never had a healthy relationship with her father. And her son, eating Cheetos and a Slurpie in front of her and laughing…screwed up all around. ---
**Author:** ![Misnomer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/misnomer/32/14897_2.png) [@Misnomer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Misnomer)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/48 "2017-02-01T16:47:33Z")
> [@WolfpackJeep](#): > > Yes…I hope that whole family got some counseling. ☹ I second this. This is the first time I’ve been truly surprised by someone: I _really_ didn’t expect her to be able to turn it around. I mean, I kind of knew she had to because there was still a lot of time left in the episode, but I still didn’t think she would. I’d be interested in a followup episode sometime. ---
**Author:** ![Helena330](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/helena330/32/531_2.png) [@Helena330](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Helena330)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 9:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/49 "2017-02-01T21:48:35Z")
It was hard to feel compassion for Kirsten. I felt so badly for her son. Yes, he was acting like a jerk, but he was 14 and stuck with his obese mother in a crummy apartment in Texas. The whole kid’s life has been about her obesity. ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2017, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/50 "2017-02-01T22:34:31Z")
I saw some of the Kirsten ep, but none of the others. It was liberating because I could laugh at and feel superior to a fat person, just like a normal! Jebus, she is a whiny, annoying bitch. “Poor me! Nobody will help me!” Bitch is lucky her mom hasn’t killed her. And her breakfast was what I eat in two days! She’s one of those who needs a fork lift to get her out of bed, but mom said she manages to make it to the kitchen at all hours. Sorry for my sympathy-free tone, but I’m one of the lazy ones. Not a liar about what I eat, I just generally don’t care. But I’m making an effort, which “allows” me to feel superior. ---
**Author:** ![MLS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MLS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MLS)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 8:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/51 "2017-02-02T08:45:40Z")
I saw tonight’s episode, about Doug. This was a nice one in that once he really got serious and figured out that secret snacks and meals still count he was able to lose a lot. Again it raised the question in my mind about how gastric bypass actually changes a person’s food intake. Doug’s wife had it previously, and she certainly looked like she was ingesting rather large meals. How can a person whose stomach is supposedly reduced to the size of a small orange do that? Or does it just stretch out again over time? ---
**Author:** ![bobkitty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/c67d28/32.png) [@bobkitty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobkitty)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2017, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/52 "2017-02-02T13:52:56Z")
It stretches out again over time, which is why it’s so important to learn new eating habits. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [February 9, 2017, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843/53 "2017-02-09T13:42:52Z")
I can see why her family was disgusted with her and didn’t want to help her. She had weight loss surgery when she was 16 (back then it was stomach stapling) but she blew through her staples and got up to 660 pounds. Despite seeing the nutritionist, she still ordered food delivery of stuff she knew she shouldn’t eat. No wonder her family was reluctant to help her. I loved the therapist. She was no-nonsense, in your face, and she had weight loss surgery too so she was not going to let Erica get away with the pity party. It took her nearly a year, but she finally lost enough weight for the surgery. But they ended the show there so we don’t see how she got on after the surgery. How do they treat the horrible swelling in her leg? Does that go away with time? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-600-lb-life-on-tlc/775843.md?page=2)