Bhaswati Borthakur
The TLC show ‘My 600-lb Life’ presents motivational tales of severely obese people who make an attempt to lose excessive weight and lead healthy lives. The cast members, most of whom weigh 600 pounds or more, go through these experiences where they must adhere to rigid and difficult measures, such as diet and exercise routines. The procedure is aided by the development of individual diet and exercise plans for each patient by renowned bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, AKA Dr. Now, in order to assist them to qualify for weight-loss surgery.
The reality show has featured a variety of people since it first premiered in 2012, documenting their fascinating and challenging attempts to lose weight. Many people have displayed incredible willpower and restraint in their efforts to maintain a healthy weight. Michael Blair, who appeared in season 9 episode 9, also had a similar journey. He tackled various barriers to successfully sail through his journey, which is why his fans might be wondering where he is now. If you’re curious about the same, here’s everything we found out!
Michael Blair’s My 600-lb Life Journey
Michael Blair appeared on the show as a 43-year-old husband and father from Conroe, Texas, who weighed a total of 609 pounds. Although he could walk around, Michael couldn’t do it for long and lived a life of shame, sadness, and despair. He felt like a ticking time bomb that could vanish and leave behind for his wife “600-lb dead meat next to her.” Michael was even ashamed of going out with his family, to his children’s school events and was living with agoraphobia. Thus, he admitted that he needed a lot of help to get past his issues and live a healthy and long life.
Michael’s complicated relationship with food first began after his father left his family, and he and his mother moved in with his grandparents. His grandmother frequently kept feeding him food as a sign of care, which, in turn, led him to gain 110 pounds by age 7. At age 11, at an overnight wilderness camp, Michael faced a horrific incident when he was molested by a supervisor, who sadly also abused several other camp boys. However, as Michael later realized that he was pursued less in comparison to the other boys, he assumed it was because of his weight and felt undesirable, which only made him eat more.
He weighed 250 pounds by age 14 and fell into a vicious cycle of food addiction, where he was bullied by his peers because of his weight and ate more to cope with the bullying. In college, Michael did find some hope with martial arts because as he grew passionate about the practice, he lost a good amount of weight and gained confidence in his job in security. After dropping his weight from 500 to about 380 pounds, he met Kimberly, and they fell in love, got married, and had their children. Slowly, since they both had poor eating habits, they decided to get gastric bypass surgery and reach a healthy weight.
Unfortunately, Michael met with a severe car accident which halted his plans and scarred his abdomen during life-saving surgery. This scar made the tissue around that area too sensitive to be operated on it again for surgery. Thus, he went back into depression, instigated his eating habits, and even developed agoraphobia, limiting his life among the four walls of his house. But he still had hopes of turning his life around with the help of Dr. Now and went to Houston to find out the prerequisites to the surgery. The doctor tested his internal body capability to look at his condition and found a massive hernia which gave him another scare.
Where is Michael Blair Today?
Michael Blair did a great job by following Dr. Now’s advice and sticking to the diet and exercise plan as much as he could. He did have a tough time managing his emotions and remaining consistent with his journey throughout the show. After showing good progress in the first few months, he did admit to going off-track with the diet. However, Michael insisted he gave his best to keep losing weight. He also went to psychotherapy with Dr. Paradise to address his lifelong emotional baggage and try to face them upfront. It helped him to understand his purpose better and remain motivated to face his fears.
Michael also began going out more in public places to face his agoraphobia. After trying everything, he lost 135 pounds, which qualified him for hernia surgery, followed by weight-loss surgery. Meanwhile, he continued to lose weight every month dedicatedly and lost another 30 pounds, as asked by Dr. Now. As of writing, Michael hasn’t confirmed anything about going through the surgeries, probably because of the confidentiality clauses given by the production company. However, from what we can tell, he has lost a huge ton of weight.
Michael also got back to his passion, martial arts, and tried to practice meditation regularly as part of his exercise routine. This also helped him lose weight which can be seen from the pictures shared by his wife while going on a hike. Although he might be suspected to have borderline autism, he now works on helping his sons who live with that condition and also spend time with his daughter and family as much as possible. Thus, we only wish Michael Blair gets to live a healthy and happy life ahead.
Read More: Brandon Scott My 600-lb Life Update: Where Is He Today?
