The following article mentions sexual abuse and disordered eating.
In Season 2 of TLC’s “My 600-lb Life,” viewers met Paula Jones.
Before she lost weight, Jones shared that she was not happy with her size.
“All the things that people take for granted are very difficult for me to do.”
She underwent a physical transformation, as well as an emotional transformation.
“Before the weight loss journey, I just existed, went through the motions,” she said.
“After going through this journey …
I’m able to live life and experience life and participate in life.”
“Food doesn’t hurt you emotionally.
It does hurt you physically, but it doesn’t hurt you emotionally.
Food has definitely been there when people have not,” she said.
“My husband being overweight, that’s what killed him.
I don’t think that I’m far behind him.”
As she and the counselor noted, this was a positive step.
“It’s not controlling me anymore,” she said.
Jones continues to celebrate his memory to this day.
On what would’ve been their 13th wedding anniversary, Jones posted a tribute to her late husband.
“You were in my dreams this morning and it felt so real!
“I know it isn’t for me to understand but I always thought I would go 1st.”
Her little ones became relatively independent at a young age out of necessity.
“I can’t take care of my family the way that I need to,” she said.
“The kids really are the ones who take care of the house.”
“I know it affects my kids,” she shared.
“My 8-year-old said it.
She said, ‘Mommy I don’t want you to die.'”
Determined to take a first step toward change, Jones hoped to undergo gastric bypass surgery.
Jones told Dr. Now that she hoped that the procedure would help her become more physically active.
However, at her second visit, she learned she gained 17 pounds.
Jones agreed with Dr. Now’s assessment.
“I think it is a food disorder,” she said.
“It’s actually kind of a relief to hear somebody else say it.”
“I still go back to him yearly and fly back to see him.
He’s still my doctor,” she said.
Strict diet, exercise, and surgery
After that second meeting withDr.
Younan Nowzaradan on “My 600-lb Life,“Paula Jones committed to a strict, all-liquid diet.
She stuck to yogurt for breakfast, and soup for lunch and dinner.
““At this point, I have to do it.”
At her second follow-up, Jones learned that she lost over 30 pounds.
Dr. Now approved the procedure for the following week.
She underwent gastric bypass surgery on July 30, 2013.
After Jones recovered from her operation, her sister-in-law encouraged her to seek counseling and start exercising regularly.
Jones also struggled to stick to the diet Dr. Now mapped out for her.
Her initial foray into exercise was not easy, but she was determined to keep at it.
“I feel like I’ve made a positive step.
A year and 10 months into her “My 600-lb Life” journey, Jones reached another goal.
In the “Where Are They Now?”
“New Doo = Feeling Fabulous!”
she wrote onInstagramin 2016.
“That’s really what started my weight gain.
At the end of the episode, Jones told her counselor that she was done holding onto that trauma.
In the follow-up, Jones visited her mother to have a go at deal with old wounds.
“I blamed my mom for a lot of what happened to me as a child.
So I have to go back to the source,” she said.
As nervous as Jones was, the actual sit-down appeared to be a positive and restorative experience.
From the moment they greeted one another with a big hug, any tension seemed to melt away.
“I’m not the old Paula anymore, I can forgive her,” Jones said.
“But I’m glad she was happy to see me.”
Whatever the case, she’d been having a rough go of it.
“Last 10 days have been incredibly taxing both mentally and physically.
she wrote, noting that she had a lot to work through following her hospital stay.
Fortunately, she was eventually able to pull herself out of this difficult spot.
“I am not healed yet but I see the light!
I love my life!”
“I don’t think or plan activities due to my weight!
I just do as if is the norm or habit!”
In 2015, shepostedthat she would be speaking at the upcoming SouthEast WLS Conference.
In 2016, shesharedthat she was a special guest at a Women with Wisdom connection event.
That same year, shepostedthat she’d be returning to the SouthEast WLS Conference.
she wrote onFacebookin 2015.
“Don’t feel guilty.
Just change the behavior!
Go back to the basics!
Diet, exercise, water, vitamins, & sleep!”
Tomorrow’s a new day.
The next meal is a new meal,” she said.
As she shared onInstagram2023, she was in a long-term relationship that came to an abrupt end in 2022.
He just walked away.”
“Accentuate the Positives of 2020!”
This should come as little surprise, but becoming a grandmother sure seems to suit Jones well.
“It is a life style change not a fad.
So get up and start again.
One meal at a time,” she wrote onInstagramin January 2022.
“Your journey needs to work for you.”
“Post COVID weight 250lb.
Progress down 19 lbs.
This journey never ends as long as I still breathe,” she wrote.
In April 2023, Jones posted onInstagramthat she’d temporarily changed her diet to reset her gastric sleeve pouch.
As noted in the photo she shared, the plan involved mostly liquids and pureed foods.
“This is so hard!
I want real food.
I’m not hungry but I want to chew my food,” she wrote.
It’s all a part of her ongoing journey.
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available.
If you need help with an eating disorder, or know someone who does, help is available.
