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Destinee Lashaee, the second transgender woman to feature on TLC’s My 600 Lb. Life, is the subject of tonight’s season 7 rerun of the show. Destinee began her weight loss journey at 669 pounds; she traveled to Houston to seek out the help of celebrity bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, most commonly known as Dr. Now, to try to shed some weight and get her health back on track.
Destinee was born a boy named Matthew, who was brought up in foster care and developed poor eating habits to cope with an emotionally traumatic childhood. Destinee weighed 150 pounds at age nine, 350 pounds at age fifteen, and over 400 pounds by the time she began living openly as Destinee at age 22.
The synopsis for Destinee’s episode rerun reads, “Born as ‘Matthew,’ Destinee never felt like she fit in. Now, having come out as a 600 pound transgender woman, she likes her curves, but she will need to say goodbye to them if she wants to be approved to transition completely.”
So what’s going on with Destinee today? Since TLC is re-airing her episode tonight, fans might be wondering where she is now, and if she managed to lose anymore weight since she last appeared on the show. Here’s what we know about Destinee’s life today:
Destinee’s Weight Issues Began as a Child & Worsened After Her Brother Died in Her Arms
Destinee’s weight gain began at a young age, when she still identified as Matthew. She started turning to food to “dull the pain” of her childhood, and things got worse when she turned 18 and came out as gay; not everybody in her family accepted her sexuality, and she faced further ridicule once she turned 22 and decided to live as a woman named Destinee instead of Matthew.
When TLC first began filming Destinee’s episode, she was still dealing with the trauma of losing her brother, who died in her arms. According to Destinee, her brother Anthony had just come home after undergoing a minor surgery when he suffered a blot clot that took his life. Destinee blamed herself for his death, believing she should have done more to save his life, which contributed to her preexisting depression and mounting obesity.
Destinee reached 669 pounds by the time she was 27-years-old, and decided to make a change. “My situation is at a breaking point,” she says in the clip above. “I need to get help, I need to be able to lose this weight or they’re going to be burying me next, because I don’t think I could live to next year being this big. At this rate, I give myself a couple months.”
She Responded Positively to Dr. Now’s Diet & Has Continued to Lose Weight Since
Once she began Dr. Now’s strict diet and exercise plan, she responded positively and quickly began losing weight. Although she was approved for her weight loss surgery, Dr. Now had her undergo therapy to help her deal with the guilt, grief and loss she still felt from Anthony’s death. By the end of her episode, Destinee had undergone gastric sleeve surgery and dropped down to 440 pounds, losing 269 in total.
Destinee has continued to lose weight since her episode first aired, and often updates her fans on her progress through social media. The reality star frequently posts before and after photos on Instagram to highlight her weight loss, and just last week she wrote that she is getting the excess skin from her stomach removed soon.
She often posts pictures of herself in dresses to show off her new body alongside inspirational quotes, bible verses and messages to her fans. “Happier then ever ty to the ones who prayed for this moment we made it,” she wrote on an October photo.
Tune in tonight at 8 p.m. ET on TLC to catch Destinee Lashaee’s journey on My 600 Lb. Life and don’t forget to check out this author’s profile for more entertainment news and TV coverage.
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