Christina Phillips lost a jaw-dropping 525 pounds after help from "My 600-lb Life" doctors, gastric bypass surgery, and hard work. You'd think Christina would be ecstatic, but she's not. Weight loss lost her a husband and gained anorexia, fat shame, skewed body image issues, depression, food phobia, depression, and PTSD (post-traumatic stress disorder). Some patients on "My 600-lb Life" choose not to lose weight. Phillips is a show success story that feels more like a failure.Her situation highlightsthe deep-seated psychological impact obesity has on people and also how they can be exploited by manipulative people.
Christina Phillips scared off husband after surgery
When Christina appeared on "My 600-lb Life" she was 708 pounds. Now down to 183 she is unrecognizable emotionally as well as physically. Before she was a bedridden woman who had to rely on others for everything -- food, bathing, toileting. Phillips went into gastric bypass surgery with an Olympian willpower and that helped her bust obesity. It also threatened her husband who liked her better obese. Disabled folk are often sadly targeted by manipulative controllers, especially the obese disabled. It's not loving helpful caregiving but power and exploitation. When Phillips showed that she could beat obesity, was one hot lady under that fat anddidn't need her husband anymore, he panicked.
Her strength rendered him powerless over her. But don't despair -- this story has a happy ending. Christina found love with her newly discovered independence. Another patient on the show, Zsalynn Whitmore scared off her husband after extreme weight loss.
Anorexia, food phobia, PTSD, shame after weight loss
Christina now suffers near-crippling shame over residual skin on arms and legs.
This fat shame is endemic to weight loss. Paradoxically it usually kicks in after you've lost. Obesity blinds you so you're in denial about how you really look. Once you shed pounds you start looking in the mirror again. The blinders are off and you can no longer ignore it. Phillips is terrified of eating and goes into periods of anorexic starvation.
She's haunted by PTSD-like fears of gaining it back. She can't believe her new boyfriend doesn't think she's ugly and that kind of shame could lead to more relationship problems. Phillips has had some skin removal surgery and will have more to reshape arms and legs. What's harder to reframe is the negative body image that still sees herself as fat.
