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The January 27 episode of My 600 Lb Life will feature Melissa Marescot, age 36.
Melissa lives alone in Florida, where she admits her entire life revolves around food. “The weight is on my shoulders and all over my body,” she says. “Of course you’re not supposed to be this weight.”
Food, Melissa says, makes her feel good. It fills her up in a way that nothing else can.
Reflecting on her childhood, Melissa says while she was always a “chunky” child, she didn’t see things getting this out of hand. Melissa acknowledges that her mother was “very verbally abusive”, and she made up for this by feeding her daughter large meals. Now, Melissa acknowledges that she was a child eating adult-sized portions.
Her father, meanwhile, was her best friend. But at age eight, her parents developed a toxic relationship, which led to her father leaving for good. “My father leaving like that devastated me,” Melissa says. Around that time, she noticed that she had started to put on a lot of weight.
At age 13, Melissa weighed 250 lb. “My mother would constantly comment on my weight.”
Melissa says she was able to lose some weight between ages 13 and 15, but then, she became pregnant. “I got pregnant and got an abortion,” she shares. Melissa then fell into a deep depression fueled by regret, and at age 16, she dropped out of high school. “For the next few years, my life was eating and sleeping.”
At 23, Melissa dropped out of college. She weighed about 450 pounds at the time.
From then on, Melissa suffered a number of traumatic experiences, including the death of her father, and, subsequently, her mother. “I was too big to go to her wake or her funeral, and it made me feel so ashamed,” Melissa says through tears.
But with the help of Dr. Now, will Melissa be able to shed the pounds?
Melissa admits the trip to Houston via plane wasn’t as bad as she figured it would be; “Overall, I feel good,” she says upon arriving in Houston.
“This is the first step in getting my life back.”
Melissa’s first weigh-in at the doctor’s office was 592 lb. “I’m hoping Dr. Now will be able to help me. I’m ready for it to change.”
When Melissa meets Dr. Now, she learns that she’s carrying a lot of weight in her midsection. “If anything happens to you, even like a cold, you won’t make it,” the doctor shares with her.
Those new to the show should know that Dr. Now, otherwise known as Dr. Nowzaradan, specializes in vascular surgery and bariatric surgery.
On tonight’s episode, he prescribes Melissa a strict diet, along with exercises, to help her get to the right place for surgery. “Everything is going to be up to you,” Dr. Now advises.
And what does Dr. Now think about Melissa’s situation? He tells the cameras, “Hopefully Melissa means it when she says she realizes the danger of her situation, and that she’s ready to change.”
My 600 Lb Life airs Wednesdays at 8pm ET/PT on TLC.
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