On Season 8 of My 600-lb Life, the cameras follow Bethany Stout, a 40-year-old woman who weighs more than 600 lbs. She lives in Alva, Oklahoma with her husband Sheldon and two of their four daughters. Sheldon explains that Bethany spends most of her time on the recliner. She doesn’t go out or cook.
“We never really fought her on it because ‘what momma wants, momma gets.’” After delivering her lunch (fast food cheeseburgers and French fries), Sheldon says, “I’m not going to tell her how to eat or how to take care of herself.”
Once an addiction counselor, Bethany has gotten so big that she can no longer work. Now she risks losing her life if bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan aka Dr. Now can’t help her curb her own addiction. Alas, after the surgery, Bethany continues to gain weight and quits on Dr. Now, telling him that she doesn’t want to continue with his program.
Dr. Now reminds her that she needs to deal with her emotional and psychological issues in order to succeed. “I don’t agree with that,” Bethany says. Dr. Now warns her that there’s no quick fix and “you’re running out of time.”
Dr. Now tells the cameras that Bethany “is playing a very risky game.” He explains, “It’s only a matter of time until her body starts to break down, more than it already has,” and “her health will start to decline rapidly.”
On January 8, 2020, Bethany announced on Facebook that she’s launching a blog called Bariatric Mama. Her blog profile reads: “I have recently joined the “loser’s bench” and had the gastric sleeve performed in November 2019.”
New episodes of My 600-lb Life air Wednesdays at 8 pm on TLC. [BONUS: TLC GO App found here lets you stream any TLC show. Download is FREE.]
