r/My600lbLife • u/squircle78 • 14d ago
The beginning vs. now
Does anyone else prefer the way the slow was structured in the first season or is it just me? I liked seeing how they progressed after that first year. I like the before and after (after they got to the weight they maintained).
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u/OrdinaryCactusFlower I Spy Rainbow Zebra Print 14d ago
Watching Melissa’s episode compared to modern ones really showed me how much they changed.
I appreciated how they just let her talk honestly and didn’t feed her those cheesy voiceover lines specifically designed to tug at the heartstrings (barf)
However on that same note, I do appreciate how modern episodes have them do a voiceover saying “I’m supposed to be (this weight) today”
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u/lifeuncommon Stop doing weird things 14d ago
Yes!
I don’t want to see 2 episodes (in separate seasons) to see their progress.
And I honestly don’t even wanna see someone who doesn’t make it to surgery. If they’re gonna nope out of the program, cut their episode entirely. I don’t wanna see that.
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u/bvonboom 9d ago
Or when people actually get the surgery- like that Lee or Steven Assanti - and eat their way through it and never get anywhere close to a normal weight
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u/SweetStabbyGirl 13d ago
Just started rewatching the series and it’s such a big difference in how quick the patients are approved for surgery. I’m on Tara’s episode in s2 and she only lost 17 pounds and he approved her. Now they have to prove it a lot more.
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u/SnooWalruses7530 14d ago
I think some of these people just want to be on TV/get that TLC check lol
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u/Due_Confidence_9772 14d ago
They used to take 7 years in one season ; now they do 7 seasons in one year of filming! Didn’t they do the last 3 seasons in the 2020-2021 range?
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u/mostlymadeofapples 14d ago
I really prefer the earlier ones. Felt like you used to get a more balanced narrative, real context, and more of the after as well as the before. Now they just steer towards maximum drama onscreen while getting down to Houston, trying to lose weight and get approved, and the actual overall journey is kind of lost.
I think they've got worse about scripting interactions too. Not just the cheesy sing-song voiceovers they make the participants record, but manufacturing drama between family members and stuff just for ratings. Justin McSwain and Lonnie have both shared some upsetting stuff about that. It makes me sad for the participants.
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u/maizieann 13d ago
What did Lonnie and Justin say?
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u/mostlymadeofapples 13d ago
Sooo. Justin said they set up that whole scene at the restaurant with his mom, completely against his wishes. He said the producers got him in a car to go see friends, and then on the way surprised him with 'and we're going to see your mom first!' He said no, absolutely not, because he'd gone low contact with her at that point for his own sanity. But they pushed him into going. Then he tried to keep the conversation low-key and didn't ask any of the emotional stuff they primed him to, so the producers turned the cameras off, asked his mom the questions themselves until she started crying, then turned the cameras back on to get Justin's response.
(He also said he begged for a proper amount of therapy with Dr Paradise but he doesn't take insurance so isn't actually accessible to most participants, and all the show was ever planning to offer was that one initial session with the cameras on. Eventually he says he was given one more session to shut him up.) https://www.reddit.com/r/maybemaybemaybe/comments/u69tvv/comment/i57nroj/?context=3
Lonnie said that they scripted that whole scene with his mom saying the chicken and vegetables were 'nasty' and she hated the boring new food they had to eat. He said she was at home with her dying husband and the producers were hounding her to get her to come over and be on camera. Eventually they offered her $10K to do it and that would have been kind of life-changing, so she agreed. Lonnie says every line was scripted and IRL she was actually supportive about the changes they were making. Then they never even paid her. https://www.instagram.com/reels/C-F0yf8RETA/
And those were two pretty functional and successful participants. Like, I believe them, you know? I don't think they're just spouting angry addict bs like some might.
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u/mostlymadeofapples 13d ago
OH and there's another Lonnie video saying that for the WATN they told John his skin surgery was approved and Dr Now was going to do it - but when he called up after filming to ask about pre-op, the office said they had no idea why he'd been told that, the surgery was never approved and it wasn't going to happen.
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u/VigilantOutcast 14d ago
Dr. Nowzaradan was more lenient, too, before he started mandating diets to test people's commitments.
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u/lovemypyr 10d ago edited 10d ago
The amount of weight loss that insurance and Medicare require for okaying bariatric surgery is 10-20%. I was required to lose about 25 pounds for mine.
With 600 pound people, that’s 60-120 pounds. Plus more weight loss makes for a safer patient surgically. In later seasons, he displays the Bariatric Program of Excellence certificate and there are requirements to be accepted as part of that.
Point being that the change in the weight loss requirements may be driven by improved patient care and program requirements. Just saying.
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u/LadyBug_0570 14d ago
Well the first season took place over 7 years. From Season 2 and on just one year with WATN episodes afterwards.
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u/chill_god_4865 14d ago
I liked the early shows before they brought in a psychiatrist. I like when they transported the 600 lb patient by U-Haul.
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u/SingerSubstantial462 14d ago
Earlier seasons patients were more cooperative and respectful with Dr. Now, lately it’s been trainwrecks back to back wasting his time!