[MUSIC PLAYING]
JUSTIN (VOICEOVER): Every day, it
gets harder to move, harder to stand, harder to walk,
and harder to breathe.
I know I'm killing myself with food.
And every bite I take, gets me closer to ending my life.
Flying out to meet Dr. Now is just
gut wrenching at this point.
I'm so not used to being out in a public place like an airport.
But I'm trying to hold it together.
And I'm freaking out a little bit.
DR. NOWZARADAN: You're 687 pounds.
So I want to see 100 pounds weight loss in two months.
If you do that, I will approve you for weight loss surgery,
OK?
OK.
Since seeing Dr. Now, I've been hitting
my diet and exercise hard.
I've started working out at a nearby gym.
I'm sticking to eating only three times a day
with food that's on Dr. Now's diet plan.
DR. NOWZARADAN: You lost 92 pounds in two months.
So I am approving you for weight loss surgery.
OK? - All right.
DR. NOWZARADAN: All right?
JUSTIN: Awesome.
But we need someone to move with you down here to Houston.
This could definitely be an opportunity
to rebuild the relationship that I have with my mom.
I'm not gonna be able to be with you, honey.
JUSTIN: This is just really bad timing.
I'll talk to you later.
This isn't the first time that my mom hasn't
been able to come through.
What do you do now?
Who do you take?
I was kind of hoping you'd be able to make it.
If it's got you losing the weight,
we're gonna keep it that way.
Today, we're attempting to do a gastric sleeve
procedure on Justin.
He stayed determined and on track with his weight loss.
So I feel like he's more than ready for this operation.
OK, all finished.
MATTHEW PARADISE: I wonder if there are opportunities
to stick up for yourself with your mom in ways that increase
your self-worth moving forward.
That's what you've always done is you just up and leave.
And all I can ever do is say that I'm sorry for not being
the mother that you deserve.
I just kind of feel like I don't know if words are enough.
That's a good one.
Dude, that's killing it, man.
Yeah, it's a really good one.
So, Justin, you have lost 292 pound from day one I saw you.
Yeah.
DR. NOWZARADAN: So that's almost the loss
of 200 pounds in a year.
That's excellent.
You're doing great.
And at this rate, you're gonna need extra skin removal soon.
JUSTIN: As I prepare to officially cross the one year
mark of my weight-loss journey, I
wanted to do something to give me
a permanent reminder of my journey
so far by getting a tattoo.
And my dad's getting the same exact tattoo, because he's
been on this journey with me.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
It's hard for me to believe how far I was able to come in just
a year and how much my life has changed
for the better with how much I can do now and how good I feel.
I'm gonna be under 300 soon, which is exciting.
But with all that weight loss, the downside
is a lot of excess skin all over my body.
So my next big goal I'm working towards
is to lose enough weight to get skin removal
before that gets a lot worse for me
and starts to be a bigger issue.
Because I don't want to let anything
start to slow me down right now.
I'm more active than I've ever been.
And I want to keep pushing myself to do more.
I've even started jogging.
And that amazes me.
I still can't go far, because I'm still over 300 pounds
and it hurts my back.
But before I started my weight-loss journey,
this level of physical activity could have been fatal to me.
So I'm proud of myself for my progress
and to have the chance to experience new things
and that others are seeing my progress too,
because I got contacted about speaking
at a weight-loss conference.
And I'm excited about that and the chance to inspire others.
My dad is still here with me in Houston.
But I told him that I think I'm ready to be here on my own
if he wants to go back to South Carolina,
because he's put his life on hold long enough for me.
So he plans to go back home in the next month.
And I'm gonna stay down here on my own
to keep working on getting to my goal.
Hey, dad?
Yeah?
JUSTIN: Do you want something for lunch?
JOHNNY: OK, I'll come in here in a minute.
All right.
JOHNNY: I don't think they have words
for how proud I am of him.
He's still losing weight.
And everything's right on track.
I mean, the doctor tells him to lose
another 20 pounds by this day, and sure enough, he'll do it.
I don't think he's missed a number yet.
I try to eat some of the food that he eats.
But he's in no danger of me eating it no more.
I mean, I tried it for a couple days, but yeah--
I'm just totally blown away that he's stuck to it.
He hasn't wavered a bit.
The dedication is just admirable.
It really is.
I'm liking who he's becoming now, because he's got goals.
And he's meeting them.
And he's just not letting something that has affected
him bring him down and under.
You know, he's rising over top of it, which is awesome.
[INAUDIBLE] buddy.
You're getting ready to take some broccoli.
[DOG BARKING]
Yeah, that's right.
JUSTIN: You're gonna make him gassy, man.
[INAUDIBLE] can give him.
Yeah, cause there's food behind him.
Did you go running today?
I tried, yeah.
I still can't go very far, 100 feet or so at a time.
I can imagine. with all that loose skin,
it's not gonna help.
No, it's like running with a lead apron.
Just get your body used to it.
Yeah.
I know I still have a ways to go to get to my goal, and not
just physically.
So I'm also still going to therapy
to try and deal with the issues that drove
me to eat in the first place.
But I'm willing to keep doing all the things I need to stay
on track, because I'm excited about the new experiences I'm
able to have now, like the chance
to inspire others at the conference in a couple of
weeks.
So I just want stuff like that to keep coming to me
so it doesn't stop.
The next big step for me to do that is to have skin removal.
So I'm really hoping I get approved
for that at my next appointment with Dr. Now soon.
You getting your heart rate up?
Dr. Now says it's gotta be 130.
I have low heart rate anyways.
Same here.
Mine's only 92.
I'm here at the Weight Loss Surgery Foundation of America's
conference as a speaker.
I've been asked to share some things
about my weight-loss journey with one
of Dr. Now's other patients, Christina Phillips.
And I'm a little nervous about doing some public speaking.
But I'm excited to have this opportunity
to inspire other people with how far I've come.
It feels really good to think that I could help others who
struggle with their weight by sharing
what I've been able to do.
And it's also really cool to chat with Christina.
Because we've both gone through the same thing in a way,
that makes it feel like we're old friends, even
though we only met recently.
WOMAN: Hello, everybody.
This is a very special session.
Our two speakers, Justin [INAUDIBLE]
and Christina Phillips.
JUSTIN (VOICEOVER): This is crazy
that I'm about to speak to a conference room full of people.
A year ago, I never would have believed
I'd be capable of doing anything like this.
I have my food set up for delivery
at different times of the day.
So I always have what I need, and I
never have to go out, because I don't like to ever go out.
And doing normal things and having a normal day
is just not something that's possible for me anymore.
And here I am now.
And I can hardly believe it.
So I used to weigh 687 pounds.
[APPLAUSE]
Weight-loss surgery has made an incredible difference
on my life.
But one of the most important lessons I've gotten out of it
is that it really is just a tool.
And it takes so much more than that to get yourself
to where you want to be.
I've dealt with a lot of mental health challenges as well.
And I think the hardest part was really the first step
and going to see a therapist regularly
for over a year before I was even
able to reach out for help.
That is where the weight-loss surgery comes into play
and really makes a difference.
It's given me an opportunity to--
to find new interests and new passions.
And I realize that I may be somebody
who deserves a chance at life.
[INAUDIBLE]
[APPLAUSE]
Thank you.
Well, I started my journey in 2012.
At over 700 pounds, I traveled from Memphis
all the way to Houston and talked to Dr. Now.
And I've lost over 500 pounds.
[APPLAUSE]
In the beginning, you feel so alone.
And it was either I try to do this or I die.
But yeah, it's been a long journey.
And it's been really rough.
But I'm better now.
[APPLAUSE]
Good job.
MAN: Congratulations.
Thank you.
This has been such an impactful and flattering experience.
And I'm humbled to be here to have the chance
to do this and help others.
So this whole experience has really motivated me even
more to keep pushing forward.
CHRISTINA (VOICEOVER): Being a part of events like this
really helps me keep motivated.
I had weight-loss surgery six years ago almost.
The surgery changed my life, because I
wasn't able to move more than 8 feet
without being out of breath.
You know, there was one point in my life
where I was just hopeless.
I fear that I'll just keep and bear until my heart stops.
It's terrifying.
I'm ready to change.
I'm ready to change it all.
And now, it feels amazing knowing that I can inspire
someone else, because if it wasn't
for seeing other people's journeys,
I would have never started my own.
JUSTIN (VOICEOVER): My big step is still skin removal.
I feel like I need it now more than ever,
because the skin is really starting to sag
and become uncomfortable.
I have my next appointment with Dr. Now in a few weeks.
And I'm hoping that's when I get my approval.
So that's what I'm working towards.
There's no letting up now, because I'm
never going back to how I was.
[MUSIC PLAYING]