Tammy Slaton was trying to lose weight so she could get bariatric surgery, however, her plans are now delayed.
Body image issues affect most people at some point in life and they can be hard to overcome. Whether someone is skinny, fit, or overweight, they can feel that they are not what fits the ideal, which is usually determined by popular media. The bodies we see on TV or in other media outlets might make us think that we are not okay the way we are, no matter how we are. That being said, if we don't take care of ourselves, it can be detrimental to our health. That can make us feel unhappy with ourselves but we might be stuck in a vicious circle because of mental health issues as well.
People going through these difficulties deserve kindness and compassion, instead of judgment. TLC's reality TV show 1000-Lb Sisters' Tammy Slaton, who is supposed to be losing weight, was unable to do so. Instead, she gained more than 20 lbs, which made her sadder. She suffered from depression since gaining 21 lbs after her last check-in with Dr. Eric Smith. She weighed 665 lbs in the latest episode.
"I mean, sometimes I try to eat healthier, and then other days I’m like, ‘What the heck’s the point?'” she admitted in a sneak peek, as per People. She added that she "just wasn’t doing what I needed to do."
The doctor asked Slaton how she felt about making "those bad choices." She responded, "Even more depressed because I know I shouldn't sit there and eat it all, but I do, and I don't know how to stop." The 1000-Lb star was visibly upset and crying when she made the admission. Her doctor sees it as a breakthrough on her part.
"That's honest," he tells her. "Not so much that you're hungry, but [that] it's an addiction that you have of needing that food to fulfill, maybe when you're down or sad, or something's missing in your life. I think that's something that maybe we need to talk about and deal with."
She also said that she was in the hospital and is now on supplemental oxygen after her COVID-19 battle. Her doctor commended her for not using the infection as a reason for her weight gain. "I'm really proud of you for the fact that you just admitted, 'I don't know how to stop,' because that's the first step in asking somebody to try to help you learn to stop," he says. "You could've blamed [that] you couldn't get out of bed, you could've blamed that you had COVID and you could've blamed that you were in the hospital, and you didn't. And believe it or not, that's a step forward from where you've been in the past. So you just made progress even though your weight went up."
Slaton needed to lose weight so she could get a bariatric surgery, which may be delayed now. "Now, are we closer to surgery? No, we're not, and I think you know that," her doctor tells her. "But are we closer to getting to the root of the problem so we can eventually get to surgery? I think in a small way we are," he added.
Slaton's sister Amy, who was also obese, was able to lose some weight, get bariatric surgery, and then get pregnant as well. She welcomed her baby boy, Gage, in November 2020. However, it was a high-risk surgery since she wasn't supposed to get pregnant soon after her bariatric surgery. Slaton was anxious for her sister's health during the whole process.
"When Amy told me she was pregnant, I didn’t know really what to say, other than like, ‘Really? Are you freakin’ serious? You know you’re not supposed to be pregnant right now,'" Slaton told People. "When I first heard that Amy was pregnant I was feeling all sorts of things, I was mad and sad and worried about her health and safety since it was so soon after her surgery," she added.
Amy was "scared as hell" because she got pregnant just four months after her surgery. Fortunately, the baby is well and so is she.
References:
https://people.com/health/1000-lb-sisters-tammy-slaton-depressed-hits-665-lbs/
Cover image source: TLC/YouTube/1000-lb Sisters
