My 600-lb Life: Where Is Michael Blair, The Star Of ‘My 600-lb Life,’ Now

TLC’s ‘My 600-lb Life‘ is a series that has managed to capture America’s attention since its premiere in 2012. Not only does it give us an in-depth look at what’s going on in the lives of morbidly obese individuals who are trying to turn over a new leaf, but it also highlights their hopes for the future.

Each individual we meet here gets a tailored weight loss plan from world-renowned surgeon Dr. Now, who also provides them with much-needed guidance and supervision.

My 600-lb Life: Michael Blair’s Story

The episode titled ‘Michael Blair’s Story’ is described by TLC as, “A lifetime of abuse and ridicule has left Michael anxious and afraid to leave the house. Now, with the help of his devoted wife, he must follow Dr. Now’s program to avoid eating himself to death.”

At age 43, Michael Blair of Conroe, Texas, weighed a total of 609 pounds when we first met him, which, he said, had turned his life into nothing but a struggle. Although he could still walk, he couldn’t go far. And with rashes and scars covering every crevice of his body, he felt humbled to let someone else take care of him.

Michael Blair’s father had abandoned the family when he was young, which meant he and his mother had to move in with his grandparents, who always kept him fed. This, of course, led to weight gain.

Also, when Michael was 11 years old, he joined a nature club during which he experienced an ordeal that changed his life forever. During an overnight camp, one of the supervisors, who was indulging in small children, molested him. However, when Michael Blair realized that he wasn’t being harassed like the other kids because of his size, he began to eat more. Thus, by the age of 14, he weighed 250 pounds.

Unfortunately, though, that’s when the bullying from his classmates began to affect him. However, since food was Michael Blair’s only source of comfort and happiness, this led to the beginning of a vicious cycle.

Things got a little better for him in college once he recognized that his size could be advantageous in security jobs, but it didn’t last long. After graduating at nearly 500 pounds, Michael went into full-blown martial arts training to further his career, which also helped him lose weight and build confidence. During this time, he met his wife, Kimberly, and fell madly in love with her.

After Michael started a family with his current wife, they both decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery to secure a better future for themselves. But, unfortunately, a car accident took all that away from them. A scar on his abdomen, received during one of the life-saving surgeries he had to undergo, meant that the tissue around the area was/is too sensitive to be cut again. The resulting depression, anxiety and agoraphobia led Michael to go into a tailspin. But he still scheduled an appointment with Dr. Now to see what can be done about his situation and if he can ever be the person he wants to be for his family.

My 600-lb Life: Where Is Michael Blair, The Star Of ‘My 600-lb Life,’ Now

Michael Blair had many health issues in addition to his weight. But through his dedication and willpower, along with the constant optimistic support of his wife, he was able to lose a good amount of weight.

When Dr. Now performed an endoscopy on Michael Blair early in the program, he discovered a massive hernia, which caused another obstacle in the 43-year-old’s journey to receive the surgery he so desperately wanted. But the good news was that Dr. Now believed that if Michael could lose nearly 150 pounds, he could operate on the hernia and heal some of the scar tissue so that bypass surgery was possible.

With this motivation, Michael Blair was able to lose as much as 135 pounds, which led him to gain approval for the first of his many surgeries. His sessions with Dr. Paradise played a considerable role in this, especially in how drastically Michael’s mindset about the whole situation changed.

At the end of the episode, it was revealed that Michael’s hernia surgery was scheduled for three months from then. And if all went well, he could have had the gastric bypass a few months later. Until then, however, he needed to lose another 30 pounds and get down to about 440 pounds. “I’m looking forward to hopefully moving ahead soon.”