Health-centered reality shows could be a source of lessons taught about human nature, effort and resilience, as seen in “My 600-lb Life”. However, while no one denies the underlying inspiring theme of these types of shows, anyone who has ever watched it knows that accomplishing their desired weight and appearance isn’t easy by far for its participants.
While one of the reasons the show is so successful is for allowing the audience to see first hand what it means to undertake dangerous and emotionally draining weight loss journeys, it’s never easy to see the participants’ struggles while doing so, especially knowing some of them don’t actually accomplish their goal.
So what are “My 600.lb Life”s most tragic and emotional moments during its 10th season? Take a seat and prepare to see them all in this vid!
Nathan & Amber
Struggles and depressing situations aren’t uncommon for “My 600-lb Life” participants. Although everything starts with their choice to lose weight and change their life, the road is mostly hard, and it isn’t difficult to leave it unfinished.
In the 10th season we got to meet Nathan and Amber Prater, a lovely marriage which was unfortunately troubled by their obesity. Even though Nathan was severely heavier than his wife, his journey was undeniably admirable. and he was able to not only lose hundreds of pounds but also gained access to Dr. Now’s surgery in the end.
While Nathan’s struggles weren’t easily overcome, the most tragic moment about this episode was to see Amber facing even more issues, especially compared to her husband. Despite her claims of being able to accomplish her weight loss goals, Dr. Now easily observed her enabling attitudes were not only affecting Nathan but also herself, easily putting the biggest weight on her shoulders, no pun intended.
Amber ultimately achieved her weight loss goal, but really getting there was truly a tough road.
Ryan
Sometimes facing difficulties is worth it in the end, but other times the biggest obstacles come from ourselves. Unfortunately, that was the case for Ryan Barkdoll, whose weight loss path in the 10th season was cut short due to his lack of compromise.
The first time we saw Ryan, he wasn’t in a good place at all. At 31 years old, he couldn’t leave his bed on his own, lived in his parents’ house and weighed over 700lbs. Upon starting his journey, he was told by Dr. Now to follow a strict diet, which he didn’t follow, breaking his promise by ordering junk food even when his mother prepared healthy meals for him.
Even after moving to Houston, Ryan’s treatment didn’t go any better – he continued to gain weight instead of losing it, ultimately getting kicked out of the program. Although the abrupt end of his treatment saddened viewers, what is really disheartening about his story is how, despite having a good support system and the means to follow his treatment, Ryan wasn’t able to do it.
Julian
Another example of an ultimately successful but very difficult weight loss road, is that of Julian Valentine. His journey started with him at 800lbs, and though he began his path completely convinced that it was the right choice to save his life, in fact lead a normal life, and ensure his future next to the love of his life, his initial efforts to change didn’t lead him anywhere.
Julian repeatedly tried to lose weight, and achieved his goal in the end, but had to endure the bitter taste of failure several times. It was especially disheartening to see him losing over130 pounds in the beginning, only to gain it again after moving to Houston.
Where is Julian Valentine from My 600 Lb Life now? Check out the latest update of Julian from My 600 Pound Life via Dr. Now. Meet him on Instagram. #my600lblife #TLC https://t.co/t0K3ZmnRKq
— Free Folk Nation (@FreeFolkNat) November 17, 2021
While Julian’s path in the show didn’t have a tragic ending, it’s impossible not to feel emotionally involved with his struggle.
Bianca
There were many moments during Bianca Hayes’ episode in “My 600-lb Life” which absolutely broke the hearts of the audience.
As Bianca recalled, she’d been struggling her entire life with her weight, and revealed her first enabler as her mother, whose alcohol addiction led her to give Bianca uncontrolled amounts of food. Though later in life Bianca went through a successful weight loss journey, and bariatric surgery, all her efforts were lost after regaining weight following her pregnancy. As if that wasn’t enough, the most tragic part of her story was to lose her mother, step-father and father in a two-year period, further dragging her away from achieving a healthy weight.
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In the end of the episode, the audience saw Bianca winning in her weight loss journey, and undergoing Dr. Now’s surgery, but it was also disheartening to see her relationship with her boyfriend fall apart at the same time.
Lacey Buckingham
One of the saddest stories in the 10th season of “My 600-lb Life” was that of Lacey Buckingham, from Washington. From her introduction, Lacey’s story was heartbreaking, as she was sexually abused in childhood, but her trauma was dismissed by her mother.
Lacey’s adulthood didn’t go any better, as she steadily faced more obstacles, including losing her job due to mobility issues, and involving herself in toxic relationships with enablers, resulting in her gaining close to 600lbs.
While the support of her fiance Ricky was a motivator to start her journey, Lacey wasn’t able to achieve her goal, losing not only her chance to undergo Dr. Now’s bariatric surgery, but also breaking up with Ricky and almost ending up homeless due to her severe financial problems.
David Nelson
Just like many “My 600-lb Life” participants, David Nelson’s childhood wasn’t one out of a fairytale. After spending his youth in foster homes, he only found a sense of stability at 17 years old, when he was taken in by his definitive foster mother Robin. However, that wasn’t the cure to his many traumas. As he recalled in his episode, his father’s identity was unknown, while the only things he knew about his biological mother was that she gave birth to him at 13 years of age, and was a drug addict.
Besides his emotional turmoil, David suffered a variety of health issues, including being diagnosed with sleep apnea, which obligated him to undergo continuous positive airway pressure therapy all his life. As his food addiction worsened, he developed more issues, but it wasn’t until he was affected by a cellulitis infection that he searched for help.
David’s episode ended on a bittersweet note, as he couldn’t undergo Dr. Now’s surgery, but was still quite optimistic of achieving his goal on his own.
Paul MacNeill
Even though Paul MacNeil desperately wanted the help of Dr. Now, his lack of commitment on his journey was a big issue throughout his “My 600-lb Life” episode. Even his trip to a medical appointment was severely delayed by his problems in traveling, making loved ones fear that they were putting him under a lot of pressure: ‘being crammed into the car, it’s hard on his legs, and it’s really rough, and we’re all tired but I know it’s taking a toll on him worse’, as said by his friend JJ, who was also accompanied by Paul’s mother Teresa.
While Paul was apparently approved for Dr. Now’s bariatric surgery, soon after the episode, his life was hit by a tragedy. As he informed a Facebook group in December 2021, his father Thomas, who briefly appeared in Paul’s episode, had died. While it isn’t known what the cause of his passing was, his loss was deeply disheartening for obvious reasons, but especially given the fact Thomas had been struggling with his weight as well.
Lisa Ebberson
The journey of Lisa Ebberson towards an ideal and healthy weight hasn’t been an easy one. She appeared in episode 14 of the 10th season of “My 600-lb Life”, and though her boyfriend Randy was always beside her in support, he was regarded as one of her enablers, and that definitely took a toll on their already-complicated relationship.
Lisa’s health wasn’t the best, as her weight had left her bedridden for years, and fear of breaking her bones was constant. On top of that, she struggled with lots of trauma from her childhood. Despite being treated by Dr. Now, she often spent several months without contacting him, and that was definitely an obstacle on her journey.
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Unfortunately, tragedy hit her life soon afterwards, as Randy died from complications of COVID-19, with which she was also diagnosed. She then reached for Dr. Now’s help again, which slightly improved her situation, but according to online reports, she left the program for good after the filming wrapped up. All in all, her episode was a rollercoaster of emotions.
Ontreon Shannon
All participants in “My 600-lb Life” have health complications, almost always associated with obesity, but what made Ontreon’s struggle in this regard even more disheartening was the fact that he wasn’t given many positive diagnoses. As he recalled in his episode: ‘I have two or three different doctors that said that I would be lucky to even see 40. The worst has already begun to happen, it’s definitely no way to live’, he said in reference to diabetes and heart failure.
His expectation of his life span wasn’t the best, especially considering that he was 36 years old at the time his episode was filmed, but despite the sad situation, Ontreon’s will to live was inspiring to say the least. Wanting to grow older and keep sharing his life with his loved ones, he entered Dr. Now’s weight loss program looking to achieve his goals and gain bariatric surgery.
While unfortunately his episode ends with him not accomplishing his desired weight, Ontreon’s resilience to keep going made the episode and his story truly memorable.
Margaret Johnson
While Margaret Johnson’s episode in “My 600-lb Life” ended in a positive light, despite not missing out on bariatric surgery, viewers were flabbergasted to learn how deeply sad her life story was.
As she recalled in the show, her weight problems come from her childhood, when she and her siblings suffered severe trauma due to their verbally abusive father, who also often ate most of the food in the house, and left the children to starve. Her father’s weight problems were severe too, but Margaret’s reaction was to steal food from him was her revenge and that quickly became an addiction.
While Margaret’s relationship with her mother Millie wasn’t as traumatic, she was one of her enablers and often lashed out at her daughter. On top of all that, Margaret’s weight affected her mobility to the point of not being able to walk around anymore.
Regardless of Margaret’s many issues, her resilience was inspiring: ‘I’m not gonna let up no matter what, because now I can see the light at the end of the tunnel’, she stated in the episode.
Mike Meginness
As seen in his “My 600-lb Life” episode, the story of Mike Meginness is truly saddening. Once a successful college player, Mike’s life was hit by disappointment after he was twice concussed, which ended his career as an athlete for good.
From then on, his life went downhill for many reasons. Seeing his dreams lost due to losing his scholarship and being dropped from school, Mike developed a food addiction which didn’t stop even after he married and welcomed four children. His weight increased to the point of affecting his mobility, he was diagnosed with depression, and his marriage was ruined.
At some point Mike joined a weight loss program to save his marriage, but despite initially losing weight, he ultimately regained it, leading to his divorce. By the time Mike joined Dr. Now’s program, he weighed 745 pounds and was keen on getting his life back, and though he couldn’t move to Houston for legal reasons, he continued his treatment from afar. All in all, his story wasn’t an easy one, but his will to keep going was stronger than that.
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Dolly Martinez
Featured in the 12th episode of “My 600-lb Life”, Dolly Martinez’s journey was definitely bittersweet to watch. Dolly’s childhood wasn’t easy, as being diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and bipolar disorder made her the constant subject of bullying. Things were hard on the family side as well, due to her father’s abandonment, amounting to several issues which resulted in Dolly’s food addiction.
At sevn years of age, Dolly weighed 120lbs, and she only got heavier from then on, leading her to drop out of high school to escape bullying. In her adulthood she met Ricky, with whom she developed a romantic dependent but toxic relationship. She welcomed a daughter with him, but she was taken away as a baby by the government social services, ultimately giving Dolly’s mom custody.
Seeing herself in a bad place, Dolly tried but failed to achieve her weight loss goals, even rejected by Dr. Now at some point for her lack of commitment.
While Dolly’s story is disheartening, and can be considered tragic given all the issues she faced throughout her life, cases like hers aren’t rare in “My 600-lb Life”. However, while some people fail at accomplishing their goals, there are always others willing to keep trying.
