What happened to Mercedes from 'My 600 Pounds Life'? Here's an update

My 600-lb Life is a TLC show which is supposed to be a feel-good show that fills its audiences with inspiration and motivation. The show depicts the journey of overweight men and women who with will power, lose weight and undergo surgery to become fitter and thinner. In most cases, the stories of these people start from a tragic point but end on a high note, with them being able to achieve their goals.

However, in some cases, things don’t go as planned and the patients return to their hometown without the desired result. These morbidly obese patients are assisted by Younan Nowzaradan lovingly known as Dr Now, an Iranian-American surgeon, TV personality, and author.

Source: Still from My 600lb life (TLC)

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Dr Now specializes in vascular surgery and bariatric surgery, which helps morbidly obese individuals lose weight and become healthier. Dr Now is best known for being featured in TLC’s My 600-lb Life since 2012 till the present day. Read on to find out, “What happened to Mercedes from my 600 pounds life?"

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What happened to Mercedes from My 600 pounds life?

Mercedes Cephas appeared in Season 7 of My 600 pounds life on TLC in 2019. Back then Mercedes was a 37-years-old mother of two from Cincinnati, Ohio. Mercedes was putting her life in danger with her eating habits and lifestyle. She was also risking the well-being of her two kids. At the time she weighed 773 lbs and was suffering from severe lymphedema.

As a result of her weight, Mercedes from My 600 pound life, was bed-bound and had been taking the help of her extended family for raising her kids. When she met Dr Now, he informed her that her condition is combined with her physical frame, had put her internal organs at risk. On the show Mercedes said, “I can’t believe what I’ve let my life become”.“I’ve gotten so big, it’s hard to do just about anything. And every day, it gets worse.”

Source: Still from My 600lb life (TLC)

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Mercedes Cephas’ food addiction started due to her Childhood trauma

On the show, it was revealed that Mercedes’ food habits and addiction began because of childhood trauma. Her father had repeatedly raped her since she was 11-years-old. She and her sisters had been constantly abused ever since they were kids. To cope with what was happening to her, Mercedes turned to food for comfort and finding solace. However as she began growing in size, roles in her household were reversed and children had to start taking care of the mother, instead of the other way round.

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Where is Mercedes from my 600 pound life now?

Mercedes is not very active on Facebook, but her profile reveals that she is back in Cincinnati, which is a long way from Houston, where she had been living for treatment. This clearly means that she has left the care of Dr Now completely and is off his weight-loss program. Her profile also makes it clear that she is a stay-at-home mom.

From her recent posts, it doesn’t seem like she has lost much weight. During her journey with Dr Now, Mercedes had been uncooperative. She was caught lying and would complain a lot. She also made constant excuses as to why she could not achieve the goals. In all her time in the program, Mercedes lost just 81 lbs, making her end weight 692 lbs.