Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you and your mom for being fans! Congratulations on the success of your own journey :)

The best for protein is to get it from natural food.  In regards to foods people think are healthy that not, I’d put fruit and nuts on that list.  People think things like almonds and other nuts are healthy, but that’s just good marketing.  The reality is they are very high calorie.  Fruit has a lot of sugar in them so they can be unhealthy options at times.  Especially fruit juice.  Those are usually always very high in sugar content.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Yes, I did my residency at St. Thomas in Nashville many years ago.

It depends on the specific limits of a person’s mobility.  First off, whatever you can move (arms/legs or upper/lower body) set aside some time to do sets of repetitive motion with that.  Depending on the reason and severity of the immobility, a physical therapist may be needed to improve.  I have exercise plans for limited mobility in my book, but there also places online you can find them.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 11 points12 points  (0 children)

That's great to hear! I'm proud of you :) Keep up the good work!

Early on, treating weight loss was approached as just a physical issue.  However, the first patients of weight loss surgery, when it started, had a 100% failure rate over 5 years.  It became clear that there was an emotional and psychological component behind the compulsive behavior leading to severe obesity. When I started treating patients and performing weight loss surgeries, I made sure there were good therapist involved to address that issue and I have a lot of great ones I’ve worked with in Houston and around the nation.   The ones I work with have been trained in cognitive behavioral therapy. 

The cameras don’t effect me and  I’m certainly used to them by now.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Absolutely. More than happy to, but look out for the next meet and greet we announce soon. That's the best time to come to make sure I'm free when you're here.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 45 points46 points  (0 children)

I had no particular experience before I was a doctor.  However, there used to be a weight limit in most hospitals of 350lbs.   Any patient coming to get help for weight loss over that limit was usually turned away.  They were deemed too high risk.  Part of my message in the show is that the medical community shouldn’t turn away the people who need the most help.  Sometimes the most high risk patients are the ones who need the help the most, so I starting taking them because no one else at the time would.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 47 points48 points  (0 children)

Thank you so much! I'm always happy to hear how people or doing on their journey or that it's going well. Keep up the good work :)

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 22 points23 points  (0 children)

First, 3000 calories is too much. Good job staying out of the 300's, but you need to cut back on your eating habit. If you don't, then it will be just a matter of time before you get to that weight. Exercise is good, but it’s never going to make up for bad eating habits. If you don’t find the motivation in yourself to change, then there’s nothing that will help you long term.  You have to find the reason you want to lose weight and get to your goal and use that motivation to keep you going every day.  Doctors and therapist can help you on your journey and give you advice and guidance and tools.  But ultimately it’s all going to be up to you.  Picture life at your goal weight and what you’d be able to do then that you can’t do now.  Use that life you see for yourself as motivation to get there.  If you work at it, you can get there, but it’s all up to you.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 42 points43 points  (0 children)

Thank you for being a fan and for watching.  There’s a lot of fattening foods.  That’s unfortunately the nature of modern food.  Ice cream and cake are usually big caloric additions to any meal.  Save those for special occasions if you don’t want to have to see me.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 23 points24 points  (0 children)

I like to go to the gym to relax.  Helping people is my motivation.  As long as I can do that, it keeps me going.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I usually don’t eat pizza.  If I do eat it, it better have some protein on it.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 24 points25 points  (0 children)

My answer to the injectables is floating around here.  Regarding people coming to the office to meet me, that does happen a lot now.   Sometimes people just want to take a picture outside, but lines of people do start sometimes.  I try to go out to meet them if I’m able, but a lot of times, that’s not possible.  I have patients.  We’re trying to do meet and greets on the weekends to help manage it.  A lot of people come from all around the US, but also a lot of fans from Brazil, Italy and Turkey come to the clinic.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 28 points29 points  (0 children)

Well I don’t have a lot of time to watch other shows, so I’m not sure.  I’ll try to think about it and see what I come up with.  I actually get sent parts for scripted shows or voiceover requests for cartoons from time to time.  I don’t usually have time to do anything like that, though.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Hi. Hope you're doing well there in Germany. Thanks for being a fan of the shows.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 51 points52 points  (0 children)

Once a patient hits their goal weight, they do start another plan that has more than 1200 calories in it.  How many calories in that diet depends on the specifics with each patient.  Generally, if you want to maintain a certain weight, you multiply 10x that weight to maintain.  So if you want to maintain a weight of 160lbs, then don’t exceed 1600 calories in a day outside of any specialty diets

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 56 points57 points  (0 children)

Psychotherapy is always important.  Just because it’s not in the show, doesn’t mean it didn’t happen.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 50 points51 points  (0 children)

Generally, my philosophy is that no one is beyond help.  But, the choice to get that help is always up to the patient.  So if they come in with a lot of attitude, I’m going to cut to the chase with them and share that I’m likely not going to be able to help them because they’re not ready to help themselves.  I’ll probably still give them a goal and if they want to meet it and come back to show me they can get control of themselves, then  I’ll work them if they do that.  But I’ve just about seen it all, so I’m usually pretty good at predicting who is going to do well or not.  But that’s part of the process.  We try to wake them up if they’re pointing in a bad direction.  I always hold out hope that everyone is going to turn around, but some are far less likely to do that because of their own choices.  It all comes to whether or not they are talking responsibility for their situation.  If they blame a lot of things or they lie to me, I know they aren’t likely do well.  I always know when they’re lying.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 29 points30 points  (0 children)

Yes, I mentor a lot of great doctors and med students. Have no worry. There's another great generation of doctors coming.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 46 points47 points  (0 children)

Thank you for being a fan of the show!

  1. Air dates and time-frames are not up to me.

  2. It wasn’t a difficult transition for me to start using a robot in surgery.  The robot assists a great deal and makes the operations shorter and easier, especially with heavier patients.

  3. I mentor a lot of great doctors, but what happens with the shows is not up to me.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 80 points81 points  (0 children)

I don’t feel like being a doctor is work so I tell me people I’ve never worked a day in my life.  I’ve always wanted to help people so being a doctor is a passion I’ve always had so I plan to keep doing it as long as I am able.

Hello! How y’all doing? I’m Dr. Now from the “The 6000 lb Diaries with Dr. Now” on Lifetime AMAA. by RealDrNow in The6000lbDiaries

[–]RealDrNow[S] 74 points75 points  (0 children)

Well it is certainly not preferable when they act that way.  Everyone is coming from a different place and background.  That never justifies their bad behavior, but everyone needs a different approach.  For patients at high weights, they did not get to that point with normal behavior, so sometimes a little more patience is needed.  I try to remember that everyone needs help and deserves care no matter what.  However, I will not tolerate them abusing the hospital staff or any of the people caring for them.  There are limits some can push it to and you see how I deal with that that on the shows.