Marla McCants is one of the most memorable characters from the My 600-lb Life series. She couldn’t walk, was morbidly obese, and weighed more than 800 pounds.

Marla’s Life was in danger if she didn’t get help, so she landed a spot on the show. She’s now lost over 500 pounds, and the transformation is incredible!

A healthy diet can be challenging to maintain. Cooking healthy food can be time-consuming and expensive if you have a family, a partner, or a lot of interests.

‘My 600-pound Life,’ by Marla McCants

Fast food is unquestionably a trap. Sure, it can sometimes be beneficial, but it is detrimental to your health if consumed excessively. That’s why we’re always told to exercise to better our minds, bodies, and souls!

Many inspirational people try to teach us how to live a healthy life by exercising, eating healthy, and working on our inner peace to feel good. People like Marla McCants are just as inspiring as these physically fit people.

She appeared on My 600-lb Life a few years ago, weighing more than 800 pounds. She was thought to be on the verge of death due to her unhealthy lifestyle.

However, with hard work and the assistance of Dr. Now, Marla was able to turn her life around. She looks fantastic these days!

So, how did she pull it off? Here’s everything you need to know about Marla McCant’s fantastic journey!

Even if someone makes it onto the show, there is still much work to be done. Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, also known as “Dr. Now,” was skeptical that he could help Marla McCants when she appeared on My 600-Lb Life.

Marla McCants’ journey to lose weight

Dr. Now has walked away from several patients because he felt he couldn’t help them any longer.

“There were a few patients I felt I couldn’t help any longer,” he told People.

“I will always be available if they require my assistance. If they do not stick to the program, I will no longer be able to assist them, and they will be taking resources away from someone else in need.”

Marla McCants was morbidly obese to the point where she couldn’t even stand up and walk alone. She was eating in bed, even frying food in a small fryer she kept.

Marla was a drug addict. Addictions, as we all know, are challenging to overcome.

Dr. Now’s most difficult patient was Marla McCants. She relocated with her daughter to Houston, Texas, where he was stationed, and underwent gastric bypass surgery to assist her in her weight loss journey.

Refused to cooperate

Things would, however, become complicated. She remained in the hospital for some time before Dr. Now decided enough was enough.

She didn’t appear to want to cooperate, and she refused to try to stand as part of her recovery. She was eventually released.

Dr. Nowzaradan told Houstonia Magazine that he didn’t make any money from the surgeries and instead focused on giving people a second chance.

“When you look at the moral obligation that we have, you see someone who has no life but could have a life,” he said.

“We don’t need to be wealthy. We make a living, but we don’t have to worry about making a living off of every patient.”

So his true motivation is to assist people in living healthy and productive lives rather than eating their lives away.

“I never let the camera change my behavior toward any patient,” explained Dr. Nowzaradan. “I do the same whether the camera is on or not.”

Dr. Now told People that there had been many cases where patients have been unable to maintain their weight loss even after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

‘Necessary with tough love,’ says Dr. Now.

“Working with some patients who can be self-destructive is a daily challenge,” he said.

“My job is not to get aggravated but to find a way to motivate them to work hard to achieve their goals. There are times when I believe tough love is required, and I need to be firm with them, so I express my concern and frustration.”

“Even during those times, my job is to find a way to work with them to get their weight to a healthy place,” Dr. Nowzaradan added. They are the patient because they require assistance, and it is my responsibility to assist them regardless of the circumstances.”

Marla McCants’ journey could have ended when she was released from the hospital. Sierra, her daughter, was the one who decided that this was not the end. She called Dr. Now again, pleading with him to assist her.

For the first time in years, I stood up.

McCants was seen sitting in her bed at home in the follow-up program, still relying on her daughter Sierra for almost everything. She had lost an impressive amount of weight by this point, and weighed 534 pounds.

Her next major operation was a skin removal surgery at the time. Still, she hadn’t lost enough to go through with it.

Marla was cheating on her diet and refusing to get up and walk, which was a problem. She still craved the fried chicken she used to make from her bed.

Marla couldn’t stand up even though it had been almost a year since her bypass surgery when the follow-up episode aired.

“I was kind of depressed a couple of months ago because things weren’t going as I expected, but it’s getting better,” she said. “I’m getting better.”

Marla’s main goal was to be able to stand and walk and then remove excess skin.

Marla McCants has undergone an incredible transformation.

“I moved to Texas to reclaim my Life and be with my grandchildren, but I still don’t feel like I’m in their lives as much as I should. So I can’t wait to have that surgery,” she said in the subsequent episode.

“I still have cravings, especially for fried chicken,” she added. “I was trying to find a way to eat that, I tried using olive oil, but it won’t taste the same, and just eating meat is a little frustrating.

‘”All I can say is that I am a human being. You don’t have to starve yourself; make better choices.”

Sierra had helped her mother with everything for many years. Then, one year after her mother’s gastric bypass surgery, she decided to move on with her life rather than be Marla’s caregiver.

Of course, Marla didn’t want her daughter to be her caregiver.

“I’m frustrated because just getting her up and walking would be a huge step for me,” Sierra explained.

“I realized right then and there—boom—that I could just take off with my life.”

“I would have said it was frustrating sitting in this bed watching people come and go a couple of months ago, but use that as fuel now because I will be out there soon,” Marla explained.

“I’m going to the doctor soon, hoping he’ll give me the green light to have skin surgery.”

Claims of production fraud

Marla McCants may appear to be a hopeless case, but there is more to her than meets the eye.

In a YouTube interview, Rickey Smiley claimed that the production company was faking things and engaging in unethical behavior to make the program appear more dramatic than it was.

“For example, the scene in the hospital. And I refused to get up. You have no idea why I didn’t get it up. “First and foremost, they publicized it a year in advance when it was only one month after I had the gastric bypass,” Marla explained.

“The first month, I lost seventy pounds. My surgery was on February 13th, 2015, and the episode aired in March of that year. So I’d just dropped seventy pounds. He wanted me to get up even though I was malnourished and in the hospital. Seriously? “You want me to get up while bleeding on the bed?”

So, how’s Marla McCants doing these days? It’s safe to say she’s turned her life around – and she looks incredible!

Today’s guest is Marla McCants.

Marla appeared on the Sister Circle in 2019, where she revealed her true new self. She’s shed a whopping 580 pounds. Yes, you read that correctly!

“I’ll never go back there,” McCants said on the show. “How I was treated. I never want to return there. It’s a lonely place.”

Even though Marla has won the most important fight of her life, many others are still fighting. According to Marla, it is critical not to judge those people because she understands how they feel.

“First and foremost, I want to clarify that food is an addiction. That will always be my mindset. “I was struggling with it,” she admitted.

“The way I was treated…you never want to go back there. A book should never be judged by its cover. Everyone has a story to tell, and everyone has roots to visit.

“Those people [who think it’s gross with people on the show] are simply ignorant,” she continued. “You can overcome your difficulties and fears, just as I did.”

Marla frequently posts photos of herself and her family on her Facebook page. We could not be happier for her.

My 600-Lb Life follows Marla McCants on her incredible journey. Please share this article with your friends and family on Facebook to honor her inspirational weight loss journey!