TLC’s reality show, My 600-lb Life, is known for telling the stories of heavy individuals and documenting their weight loss journeys, most often including bariatric surgery completed by Dr. Nowzaradan.
Michael Blair’s episode played out like so many before. Much of his disordered and chronic over-eating problems stemmed from unresolved childhood trauma. In Michael’s case, it began when his father abandoned him and his mother. The two of them moved in with his grandparents and, according to Michael, his Grandmother overfed him constantly.
His trauma was only deepened further when, at the young age of 11, Michael was molested by a leader at the overnight camp he attended. This caused him to find even more comfort in food.
Michael needed hernia surgery before he would be able to complete weight loss surgery
Michael and his wife, Kim, made their way to Houston, Texas to meet with Dr. Nowzaradan. At his initial weigh-in, Michael weighed in at 609 lbs.
However, he had another hurdle that he would need to overcome in addition to his weight loss. It was discovered that Michael also had a hernia that required repair prior to his bariatric surgery.
Dr. Nowzaradan informed Michael that he would need to lose a total of 150 lbs in order for him to be able to repair the hernia. So, to help jump-start the journey, he was given a goal of losing 100 lbs in the next three months.
Unfortunately, at his first follow-up appointment, Michael had only made it to 548 lbs, meaning he had fallen short of his 100-lb weight loss goal.
Thankfully, Dr. Nowzaradan didn’t give up on him, and after several more months, Michael managed to lose 135 lbs, and this was enough weight to start planning for his hernia repair surgery.
Michael’s episode ended with him feeling optimistic that he’d be able to follow through with the surgery and successfully turn his life around.
Where is Michael now?
According to Michael’s social media, he has just recently started posting recently. Although he has yet to directly post an update on his weight loss progress, Michael has been transparent in his struggles.
Part of his episode included Michael symbolically burning food as part of his healing. Apparently, he received some flack for this, and one of his social media updates at the beginning of March included a status that read, “Just to clear [the] air for the people smashing me and calling me privileged. On my episode of #my600lblife the food I burned was all open and not accepted by shelters or food banks.”
He continued, “For those feeble minded enough to think me heartless I in fact donated 6 boxes of the food the shelter would except [sic]. The sacrificial food was the remnants after the donation, but I thank you for the criticism.”
In addition to this update, Michael has continuously interacted with fans of the show who comment on his posts with words of encouragement.
Although, it remains unclear just how far Michael has made it in his weight loss journey, here’s hoping he’s able to stay on track in order to qualify for the surgery he needs.
My 600-lb Life airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on TLC