Losing weight is never easy. It takes a lot of discipline and a strong mindset. However, when some people reach certain weight, they know it’s time to change their eating habits, and with that, to change their lives.
Many individuals who are overweight and don’t see a way out of the situation they found themselves in seek help from professionals. One of those professionals who has given a new lease on life to so many obese people is the one and only Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, also known as Dr. Now, a bariatric surgeon.
Over the years, he has helped many overweight people take control of their lives through the TLC show My 600-lb Life.
One of the participants of the show was then 23-year-old mother of two Nicole Lewis. She weighted over 700 pounds at her heaviest and had a hard time performing even the simplest of tasks.
What caught the attention of the viewers was the way Nicole took her baths. Because her bathroom’s door didn’t fit her, she would get outside her house, on the porch, where her daughter or her fiance would bath her using a hose.
This moment being shown on TV was crucial for Nicole to get on the show, according to her. It was embarassing, but it was her only chance to meet the famous doctor.
”When they came to my house, they were like, ‘Okay, we have to do a shower scene, we have to do real life stuff … for you to be a part of this process,” Nicole explained in an interview with Rover Radio in 2017.
”I sat and thought about it for the longest time,” she continued. ”And it was either, me not let them do that, and me not get the help, and possibly not be around another year, or just to let it happen.”
When she went to Texas, Nicole listened to Dr. Now’s advice and started losing weight. However, at one point, she learned she got evicted from her home and was forced to return to Ohio for some time. Despite that, Nicole followed the strict diet, got her surgery, and managed to lose over 300 pounds.
When she thinks of the first ever episode of herself in the show, she says she doesn’t want to watch it because it was the period of her life when she hit the rock bottom.
”I hate the episode because that was a point in my life where I should not have existed other than for my children. I was an annoyance to my family, is what I felt,” she said.
Today, Nicole looks completely unrecognizable. After so many years spent at home, she finally found a regular job. Unlike many of the participants of the show who end their relationships after their transformation, Nicole stayed with her fiance.
Last year, she shared some photos of herself and wrote, “I may not be even close to where im suppose to be! But This comparison shows me… that im sure as heck not where i began in 2016!.. Proud of how far iv come in this journey! I have been soo focused on how much weight iv gained,… when i should be focused on how much iv lost!. 2020 is my year!”
Nicole stayed in touch with Dr. Now but she distanced herself from the show. In fact, in the spring of 2020, she filed a lawsuit against the production company because as she claimed, they never paid for medical costs in connection with the bypass surgery, which she said the company would do.
For more on the inspirational weight-loss journey of Nicole please check out the video below.