After all the blood, sweat, and tears, the stars of "My 600-Lb Life" are all about living.
But while they're dating, having babies, and walking down the aisle, not everyone's keeping
the weight off.
Keep watching for the varying results.
Donald Shelton first appeared on Season 1 of the show, at 673 pounds — having first
started Dr. Now's program eight years earlier, in 2004.
And thanks to a gastric bypass, diet, and exercise, he lost 300 pounds by the time he
wrapped filming.
But that didn't mark the end of his health struggles.
"I believe what the doctor told me, that I'll be able to walk again.
Fingers crossed."
He experienced complications, post-surgery.
He fell, had trouble walking, and landed in the hospital as a result.
As HuffPost reported, Donald slipped into a coma and was later diagnosed with Guillain-Barré,
which weakened his muscles, causing him to become immobile.
But even in light of the circumstances, Donald is truly enjoying life.
As his Instagram bio reads:
"I am disabled and in a wheelchair but I still have fun and get out and do stuff !!!!"
And according to his posts, he has clearly kept the weight off since the show.
Originally 597 pounds when she appeared on Season 2 of the show, Zsalynn Whitworth wanted
to be more involved in her daughter's life.
She closely followed Dr. Now's advice and put in the work to lose weight.
But while most people might expect her loved ones to be fully supportive of her transformation,
her own husband Gareth wasn't feeling it.
Still, Zsalynn continued to work on her health, shedding a whole bunch of extra pounds in
a divorce.
"I've always liked bigger women.
Why settle for the hot dog when you can have a steak?"
Now that she's post-gastric bypass and skin removal surgery, fans can check out Zsalynn's
Instagram to see how she continues to maintain her healthy lifestyle.
She also got her wish of being more involved in her daughter's life.
And she got engaged to her new love, Jack Lapp, in 2019.
With a tight-knit circle of support for Zsalynn, it's a win-win for this weight loss champ!
These days, Season 2's Christina Phillips looks like a totally different person, after
going from 708 to 183 pounds.
And, according to her Facebook posts, she's enjoying life more than ever.
Christina even became a mom, following her departure from the show, welcoming her son,
Ethan, in February 2021.
"It's weird because before, when I was 700 pounds, I couldn't even get out of the house.
And now that I can, I still don't feel normal."
The reality star has clearly transformed her life.
But fans may remember that she struggled with under-eating after her gastric bypass.
While she was on the show, Dr. Now stressed that Christina should be eating more than
just a few hundred calories per day.
And he recommended that she enroll in therapy to address the underlying issue.
Whatever hard work it took to get there, Christina's got a new lease on life.
And according to her Instagram bio, she confirms,
"Living my life to the fullest now."
Amber Rachdi pulled a 180 while appearing on the show — and, according to The Cinemaholic,
the reality star went on to lose even more weight once the cameras wrapped.
"I surprised myself.
I've come such a long way and I still have a ways to go."
Having debuted on the series at just 23 years old, Amber had clearly been struggling with
being overweight ever since childhood.
It was later revealed that anxiety played a major role in the development of unhealthy
eating habits.
But Amber finally got tired of being a victim of the situation.
The star got professional help, followed Dr. Now's guidance, and is now living life to
its fullest.
These days, Amber is an Instagram influencer with a verified account and over 200,000 loyal
followers.
The stunning beauty posts bold makeup looks and decorated nails for fans to admire and
try for themselves.
While there's not much about Amber's personal life on the platform, the former TLC star
posts plenty of fashion, hair, and wardrobe looks.
Janine Mueller appeared on the show in 2018 and didn't make much progress.
On top of that, she was told that she wasn't a good candidate for gastric bypass, even
though she lost about 115 pounds.
As the star told Newsweek at the time,
"My true goal is to lose enough weight to get knee surgery, lose the scooter and go
dancing.
On the top of my bucket list is to go to Paris."
"I just can't live like this anymore.
I just can't."
But that was only the beginning of Janine's weight loss journey.
Following her stint on the show, she shared on Facebook that she lost 366 pounds!
It seems that producers may have underestimated this woman's determination.
We're hoping Janine gets to live out all her dreams of traveling and visiting the City
of Light!
There are loads of tear-jerker success stories that feature on "My 600-Lb Life."
But it's also not unusual for clients to gain weight after leaving the show.
Some struggle to make the full transition toward a healthy lifestyle — with or without
Dr. Now checking in on their progress.
"I can eat all of this by myself, and it wouldn't be as detrimental to me as not eating."
Unfortunately, Penny Saeger falls into the second category.
And she had a tough time with all of Dr. Now's rules.
As viewers witnessed, Penny made little to no progress and didn't follow her diet plan.
Instead, she had plenty of excuses.
The star debuted on the show at 530 pounds, and was only ever able to drop 35 pounds,
since.
In 2020, her husband, Edgar posted a few photos to Facebook, but beyond that, Penny has seemingly
stepped away from the public eye.
Ryan Barkdoll's episode revealed that his unhealthy eating habits dated back to his
difficult childhood.
At age 13, his grandfather — as well as his biological father — died within the
same year.
And he no longer had a support system to help him navigate life.
"I just wanna enjoy something that tastes good and makes me feel good.
And that'll get me through the rest of the week."
At the start of the show, Ryan reportedly weighed 740 pounds and was very resistant
to altering his eating habits.
Both Dr. Now and Ryan's mother tried to change his mind, but he refused.
One moment even left fans questioning whether Ryan was still alive.
Apparently, Dr. Now was unable to get him to pick up the phone, and Barkdoll was avoiding
the TLC production crew entirely.
And as of early 2022, the former reality star is also silent on social media.
Episode 1 O.G.
Melissa Morris faced many ups and downs while she was on the show, as well as after.
Having started out at 653 pounds, she was more than willing to take a chance on the
new series.
"It's not like I set out to say, 'Ooh, I wanna grow up to be the world's biggest lady.
I want to be 700 pounds.'"
The franchise pioneer followed Dr. Now's guidance and was the first to prove that his regimen
can be successful.
Following her surgery, she clocked in at 157 pounds.
But she went on to face even more challenges after losing weight.
In a follow-up episode, Melissa explained that she regained weight during her pregnancies
and was working to return to her goal weight.
Opening up about her daughter on "Good Morning America," she said,
"She's the great part.
She's worth everything.
She's my whole world."
Despite also going through a divorce from her husband, according to the Daily Mail,
Melissa has been able to manage her weight and can be found on Instagram enjoying her
family and friends.
"It was the worst feeling in the world to watch life go on around you, and not be a
part of it."
Cillas Givens just may be the poster child for "My 600-Lb Life" success stories.
He started out at over 600 pounds and was fully committed to Dr. Now's program.
With the support of his fiancee, Jessica, and her daughters, Cillas dropped to 371 pounds
by the end of his episode.
He proposed to the love of his life, and would lose even more weight in the years following
the show.
Since then, the star has maintained that healthy lifestyle.
As TLC followed his journey, Cillas appeared to be happy and healthy, enjoying outings
with friends and family.
As he shared on the show,
"I can live my life to the fullest now, and that's what I intend to do."
Like many of the show's stars, Marla McCants' battle with over-eating was triggered by trauma
early in her life.
And she turned to food as a way to cope with the pain.
As she explained to Sister Circle in 2019,
"Food is an addiction.
Everybody has a story.
Everybody has the root that they gotta get to, you know?"
But Marla's past didn't stop her from earning some stunning success.
She weighed nearly 800 pounds at the start of the show — and managed to shed the extra
weight and keep it off.
And now, she's sharing her wisdom with others.
According to her Instagram, she became a motivational speaker and philanthropist.
She also hosts events for anyone experiencing grief and loss.
Paula Jones made her debut on the show at over 500 pounds.
And she had struggled with body image issues and low self-esteem for her entire life.
As an adult, Paula had been happily married, but she tragically lost her husband due to
health complications from his weight.
So she decided to make a change for herself, and her kids.
"It makes me happy to eat.
This is my favorite."
Paula committed to losing enough weight to qualify for gastric bypass, and stayed honest
with Dr. Now's program.
And she has since kept up with her healthy lifestyle habits, encouraging others to do
it for themselves, as well.
Paula frequently posts photos of her workouts and balanced meals.
And it seems that she has completely rebuilt her relationship with food, for life.
When it comes to the extreme stories fans see on the show, there are, unfortunately,
a number of stars who have succumbed to their failing health.
And because viewers become completely immersed in the patients' journeys, it's heartbreaking
to discover that a story doesn't have a happy ending.
"I know for a fact that I need to lose weight.
Losing weight is the only way I can survive this."
Well on his way to turning his life around, Sean Milliken's star certainly burned out
much too soon.
According to People, he died at the age of 29.
TMZ first broke the news, pointing to a Facebook post shared by Sean's dad that explained,
"Sunday he was having problems with his breathing, they were able to resuscitate him and a short
time later his heart stopped."
Sean's relationship with his dad had played a major role in his struggle with weight gain.
And on the show, he explained that food helped him deal with their often rocky dynamic.
TLC released a statement following Sean's passing, offering condolences and commending
his incredible 400-pound weight loss.
Ashley Dunn Bratcher made the most of her gastric bypass.
And she has since maintained her healthy eating habits, and has continued to drop the weight.
It's thanks to that dedication, that it seems she's truly able to enjoy her most recent
starring role as a hands-on mom.
"One of the biggest changes is how I can get up and do things for Patrick now, instead
of him having to do everything for me."
Ashley's Facebook feed proves that she absolutely adores her kids and enjoys spending as much
time with them as possible.
And as for her relationship status, the former reality star is still happily married to her
husband Jacob.
In 2017, Ashley opened up about the ups and downs of her weight loss experience in an
interview with People, telling the outlet,
"This whole journey has been not only a physical rollercoaster, it's been very much an emotional
rollercoaster.
I've done fairly decent, but yes, I've had moments where I've broken down."
She went on to note that gastric bypass surgery is not the so-called "the easy way out" that
some people think it is.
And that it comes with its own set of challenges.
But based off of what we can see when it comes to Ashley, she's crushing her goals all the
way.
During a 2020 interview with People, Nikki Webster Gray opened up about her feelings
surrounding her time on "My 600-Lb Life" and how the experience completely changed her
for the better.
As she recalled,
"I've seen commercials and previews, and it's hard to watch.
I recognize myself, but at the same time I feel so different now, and it makes me sad,
the situation I was in.
But it makes me joyous to see where I am today."
"To be able to start to resemble what I felt like on the inside, it's extremely powerful."
Since her stint on the show, Nikki has successfully maintained her healthy lifestyle.
And she even took a trip down the aisle.
She shared a photo to her Instagram, detailing her whirlwind romance, and explaining that
she got engaged and married all within 8 months.
She wrote,
"[I] am ridiculously and blissfully in love and happy with married life."
Well, no questions there!
As for her career, Nikki now sells her own handmade jewelry.
Looks like this reality star was all about changing her entire life for the better.
And we're wishing her the best in whatever she takes on next!
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