TLC’s ‘My 600-lb Life’ follows the journeys of several extremely obese people who normally weigh around 600 pounds. They enroll in the program to rebuild their lives by trying to lose weight in an effort to get rid of chronic ailments and lead healthy lives. With the guidance of Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, AKA Dr. Now, who helps them by creating personalized weight reduction plans with a customized diet and workouts them, they embrace the difficult process of getting ready for surgery.
Since the debut of the reality show in 2012, a lot of patients seek the doctor for advice and have exhibited perseverance and self-control in their quest for healthy body weight. Some of them find it more difficult than others to handle the stress of quitting their unhealthy habits and adopting a better way of life. Karina Garcia, from season 6, episode 5, had a tough journey in life and even during her weight loss period, but she pushed through it all. Thus, since many of her fans must be curious to know where she is now, here’s everything we found out!
Karina Garcia’s My 600-lb Life Journey
Karina Garcia, a 38-year-old Chicago, Illinois native, weighed 633 pounds while appearing in season 6 of the show. Karina was almost confined to bed as she couldn’t stand on her own and used a wheelchair to get around her house and even outside. She lived in her parents’ living room and depended on them for all her needs, including taking her grocery shopping. Karina recalled her childhood issues that led her to her binge-eating habits. She said that she was the oldest of three kids but was the one who always got sick because of her asthma attacks.
This got her a lot of attention from her parents, which decreased once she recovered. Her parents had to work long hours and double shifts to pay her medical bills, which made her lonely and longing for attention. She thus turned to food for comfort and ate uncontrollably, weighing 100 pounds by age 10, and hitting 250 pounds by the age of 15. After college, at the age of 23, Karina began working as a nurse’s assistant but could not keep her job for long as she weighed over 400 pounds and had difficulty moving around well.
She began living with her parents again and even tried different diets, but nothing worked for her. She slowly weighed up to 600 pounds by the time she was 37 and was already using the wheelchair. She also got a balloon procedure in her stomach to control her appetite, which did help her lose around 120lbs. But after an accident where she injured her leg, she again fell into her old habits. Feeling sorry for her own situation and desperately wanting to change her life, Karina reached out to Dr. Now to help her lose weight professionally.
Even though her family was skeptical about it, she made the journey to Houston and received a customized diet plan to lose weight on her own. Karina did not have a smooth weight loss journey as she frequently lost control and was caught eating junk food. However, she later braced herself and lost enough weight to get approved for gastric bypass surgery.
Karina Garcia is Leading a Happy Life Today
After a successful weight loss surgery, Karina Garcia lost about 235 pounds, which brought her weight down to less than 400 pounds. According to her follow-up ‘Where Are They Now?’ episode in 2019, she continuously kept up with her weight loss journey. She also emphasized that she was eventually able to replace her favorite foods (which were mostly junk food items like chips, soda, ice cream, cupcakes, and cookies) with new ones like fish. She was eventually hoping to get the excess skin removal surgery, and her latest pictures suggest that she did go through the procedure after all.
Karina is no longer using wheelchair or walker and can easily move around and work on her own. She diligently does her diet and workouts necessary to keep her healthy weight in check. After living in Texas for a long time, Karina now lives in Kirby, Texas, and as far as her new job, she was last known to work as a Bilingual Customer Service Representative at Westcorp. She also mentioned working as a customer service representative at Neiman Marcus and a technical support representative at Ibex.
In early 2019, Karina raised eyebrows when she was reported to be dating Gilbert Donovan Jr. He is infamous from season 4 of ‘My 600-lb Life’ as Lupe Donovan’s husband. As per the show, he mistreated Lupe by allegedly pressurizing her into having sex shortly after her surgery, opening up her stitches and causing infections. Karina came across Gilbert after the former searched for a fitness trainer on Facebook and hired the latter.
Karina and Gilbert soon fell for each other, and now he addresses her as his “wife to be,” indicating they might get married soon. Karina thanked him for helping her eat right and exercise, and they also shared tips on how to do so with anyone who needs help. Thus, as the couple moves on to a healthier and happier life, we wish them more happiness and success in the future.
Read More: Kandi Dreier My 600-lb Life Update: Where is She Now?
