The TLC reality show My 600-lb Life shows the challenges of people who want to undergo drastic weight loss surgery. It's a grueling and difficult process, as they have to make all kinds of changes before they're approved for the surgery by Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, but a lot of them have gotten through it and have shed hundreds of pounds. Some former cast members have checked back in with viewers on My 600-lb Life: Where Are They Now?, while others are showing off their new looks on social media. Let's take a look at what some stars from My 600-lb Life look like today.
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00:00Plenty of reality shows feature dramatic transformations, but few chronicle the intensely emotional
00:06second chances that are documented on TLC's hit series My 600-lb Life.
00:11Dozens of men and women have had their lives changed thanks to the intervention of Dr.
00:15Now, and while the journey hasn't been easy, you won't believe what they look like today.
00:21Melissa Morris
00:23The OG of My 600-lb Life, Melissa Morris, was the very first person ever featured on
00:28the show.
00:29The last time I weighed myself, I weighed 337 pounds, and I thought to myself, that's
00:34not big, that's not bad at all.
00:35But having weighed in back then at 653 pounds, these days, she's living a much different
00:41life.
00:42While her weight has fluctuated over the years, her Instagram proves she's not looking back.
00:45I could tell you this whole journey was easy, but that would be a lie.
00:49But it wouldn't be a lie to tell you it was worth it.
00:52Having children was something Morris desperately wanted, and despite a doctor once telling
00:56her she only had a 2 percent chance of getting pregnant, today, she's a mom of three.
01:01When I go in, I'm not going to tell you only the pretty parts, you're going to see all
01:04of it.
01:05I want the good, the bad, the ugly.
01:07On top of raising her children, Morris also speaks publicly about her journey, proving
01:11there's no slowing her down.
01:14Jalynn Whitworth
01:16Season 2 opened with Jalynn Whitworth's story, which famously included her manipulative husband,
01:21who prioritized his fetish over Whitworth's life.
01:24She looked so big and comfy and soft and squishy.
01:29I like big women, and she was their queen at the time.
01:32Fortunately for her health, the couple finally got a divorce, and they share joint custody
01:36of their daughter.
01:37He didn't want me to lose the weight, and I didn't deserve to feel bad about choosing
01:42my health.
01:43But Whitworth also admitted that she struggled with loneliness and depression, as well as
01:47cravings for sweets following the divorce.
01:49I want to eat things that are bad for me.
01:52I want to eat those sweets that really made me feel wonderful before.
01:57In spite of those challenges, however, she's moving forward and is ready for skin removal
02:01surgery.
02:02And she says she may even start dating.
02:05Paula Jones
02:08After an especially emotional episode of the show, Paula Jones is now enjoying long-term
02:12weight loss success.
02:13These days, she's in great shape, especially when you consider where she started.
02:17My skin is my jail.
02:20I really don't have a life.
02:23I'm just trapped, period.
02:26She's not afraid to pose in a swimsuit, but Jones also admits that she has to stick to
02:30her diet and work out on the reg.
02:31I hate feeling weak.
02:33Some people were born to work out.
02:37I'm not one of them.
02:39She's also outspoken about the obesity epidemic, which has claimed the lives of some of her
02:43friends and loved ones.
02:44She posted on Instagram,
02:46It is so senseless, since it is preventable.
02:48It just isn't easy.
02:49There's no magic pill or even surgery, but it's a lifestyle of eating, exercise, and
02:54healthy habits.
02:56Amber Rashti
02:58Of all of the stars of My 600-lb Life, Amber Rashti is the emerging Instagram queen among
03:03them.
03:04Which makes sense, considering she made her debut on the show at just 23.
03:08Sometimes I think to myself, I'm never gonna change.
03:13And although Rashti is a social media star now, she has no plans to appear in a follow-up
03:17episode, citing some pretty serious beef with the production crew.
03:20Why are you going through all these steps?
03:23Why do you think it's called me to help you?
03:26Because I don't want help.
03:28I just wanted to do it.
03:30She told Starcasm,
03:31The experience was very disorganized and jarring, and there's not a whole lot I can say using
03:35my grown-up tact.
03:36They ran late, reshot difficult-to-replicate scenes, and really sort of acted like bullies.
03:42She continues to take good care of herself, and she works out regularly.
03:46Joe Wexler
03:48On Season 3, viewers were introduced to Joe Wexler, who weighed in at nearly 800 pounds.
03:53I was trying to find some way to off myself.
03:58I kept thinking it would be better for everybody.
04:02Fortunately, Wexler was able to get help from Dr. Now, who performed gastric bypass surgery
04:06after he lost 140 pounds on his own.
04:09It was really tough.
04:11One of the hardest things I ever did.
04:13Ever since, Wexler's had skin removal surgery and has lost 500 pounds.
04:18But the best was yet to come for the reality star.
04:20After he met a woman named Sarah, things got serious quickly for the lovebirds.
04:24When I met you, I met my destiny.
04:27Will you marry me?
04:30Yes.
04:31The Wexlers celebrated their two-year anniversary in August 2018.
04:35Joe is also working hard in the IT sector and is taking online courses with big ambitions
04:39for the future.
04:42Laura Perez
04:44She's experienced a lot of changes since her episode, but for Laura Perez, not all of those
04:48changes were positive.
04:50I feel great about myself.
04:53I'm really happy.
04:54On her Where Are They Now episode, Perez revealed that she and her husband, Joey, were facing
04:58eviction.
04:59But there were deeper issues at play as well.
05:01I want to keep becoming more independent and get a job and have a career.
05:06He doesn't want me to do that.
05:08When Perez told Joey about her beauty school ambitions, he confessed he just wanted her
05:12to stay home and stay dependent.
05:14I'm not 600 pounds anymore, so I don't need to be trapped.
05:19But according to her Facebook, Perez is now remarried to a new man.
05:22She posted up her guy,
05:23Thank God he is a great, hardworking, loving, caring man that puts me first.
05:28I'm blessed to have him.
05:30Nikki Webster
05:31While she was all smiles in her Look Back episode, it was a stark contrast from Nikki
05:37Webster's first appearance on the show.
05:39I feel like I'm trapped because it's just difficult to move my body.
05:47One big change?
05:48Webster was able to go shopping for a pair of pants for the first time in 10 years.
05:53I look cute.
05:56As she slipped into a pair of blue jeans, her joy was contagious.
06:00I feel good in them.
06:02I feel womanly and sassy.
06:04But a pair of pants isn't the only new thing in Webster's life.
06:07Her weight loss has also enabled her to excel at work, something she couldn't do before.
06:11But the really big news?
06:12Webster shared via Facebook in March 2018 that she had recently gotten married — to
06:17Mark, who viewers were introduced to in her follow-up episode.
06:20And as she posted, she's loving her new take on life.
06:23She says,
06:24I've been able to experience a happiness I never thought possible.
06:27It's not that I'm just content, I'm exuberantly gleeful.
06:30To be able to start to resemble what I felt like on the inside, it's extremely powerful.
06:40Britney Fulfer
06:41These days, she's almost unrecognizable compared to how she looked on My 600-lb Life.
06:47A human body should not look the way my body looks.
06:50Viewers first witnessed the dramatic changes in Britney Fulfer's initial Where Are They
06:53Now episode.
06:54Then, in a later follow-up, an even more lean Fulfer appeared after additional surgery.
06:58I'm still adjusting to how much of a change all this has been.
07:02Though it was a bumpy ride, she celebrated her journey by hitting the beach.
07:06Fulfer has been squeezing every drop out of life lately, according to her Facebook page,
07:10and through it all, her husband has been by her side.
07:12She posted,
07:13I'm forever thankful to my husband.
07:15He is truly my strength, and without him, I do not know where I would be.
07:20Nicole Lewis
07:22All of the stories featured on the show involve hardship, but Nicole Lewis had to overcome
07:26some harrowing childhood traumas.
07:28I hate what my life has become, and if I don't change, I'm not gonna be here much longer.
07:34But pains from the past didn't stop the determined mom from putting in the hard work to lose
07:38weight and improve her quality of life.
07:40It's one thing that brings us together, is our love of food, but chips, most definitely.
07:46When TLC caught up with her after her initial episode, viewers learned that Lewis had lost
07:50even more weight, bringing her total to over 200 pounds as of July 2018.
07:54These days, she's doing better than ever, and she recently celebrated five years with
07:58her fiancé, Charlie, according to Facebook.
08:01She wrote,
08:02He's my everything, and we are happy together.
08:03Our relationship is a million, a million times stronger than ever before.
08:07Sounds like Lewis found someone who takes just as good care of her as she now does for
08:11herself.