Louisiana native Chay Guillory is one of the success stories on TLC "My 600-lb Life." Bariatric surgery enabled the morbidly obese man to win at weight loss and accept a transgender lifestyle. But in all the personal growth, "Lola" still struggles with obesity. What's preventing the young woman from losing weight?
Chay Guillory leaves closet for women's fitting room
Two of Chay's best attributes are her southern charm and iron will. Fittingly, transgender Chay will play in a stage adaptation of "Steel Magnolias" soon. And it's this soft-and-strong girl power that enabled Chay to beat obesity.
Unlike many "My 600-lb Life" patients, Guillory didn't give Dr. Younan Nowzaradan a lot of lip. She cooperated with the bariatric surgery specialist and lost the required weight to get gastric bypass surgery. Then the 24-year-old used her newfound confidence to get out of the LGBT closet and into the ladies' dressing room.
"Lola" Guillory takes the high road
Too often, TLC "My 600-lb Life" patients argue with Dr. Now and sabotage their own weight loss. They make excuses, ignore his diet plan and go their own way. Chay didn't agree with everything the reality television physician said and made a few excuses of her own. Guillory felt that what she really needed was gender reassignment surgery as much as weight loss.
Dr. Now said she'd be lucky at her weight to survive gastric bypass, let alone a sex change. So Chay followed the doctor's advice in the hopes of getting healthy enough to have transgender surgery some day.
Chay finds lost weight
In the "My 600-lb Life" Chay's story update, TLC viewers see Lola happily trying on women's clothing and getting a lot of positive response.
The popular LGBT star's Instagram feed is full of cheery pictures of makeup makeovers and messages of gay and lesbian positivity. But resentment against family, self-pity, and excuse-making still plague the Reality TV celebrity. And those bad habits are derailing post-weight loss surgery progress.
Chay's worst enemy
Chay Guillory's biggest disconnect, according to Dr.
Now, is self-pity frosted with blame and sprinkled with excuses. This "diet" of irresponsibility is keeping Lola obese as much as the fast food she lives on. The transgender woman is shown eating Burger King and a huge soda. Her excuses are overwork. She says she's too tired to prepare a salad and a burger is easier. But as one Youtube commenter noted, Burger King sells salads. And the TLC star doesn't need to order the fries and soda pop. The "My 600-lb Life" celebrity admits that if she doesn't quit eating like this, the bariatric surgery will be for naught.
