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'My 600-lb Life': Mike Meginness won't go to Houston, cites kids custody as 'excuse'

'I think Mike is lying about custody of his kids. He’s just making excuses. #my600lblife,' wrote a fan

There are two cardinal rules when it comes to the patients featured on 'My 600-lb Life', one is a sad backstory that led to these individuals packing on such massive weight and the other one is the move to Houston, Texas to receive treatment and weight-loss surgery from Dr Now. The recently aired episode of the TLC show featured 37-year-old Mike Meginness seeking Dr Now's help but refusing to move to Houston for his treatment.

Mike, who was once a college-level football player, turned to food to cope with depression after he was told he could never play football due to multiple concussions. Although he briefly managed to get his life together after he got married and had four children, things once again got worse after his divorce. Following his divorce, Mike lost all sense of direction and was more depressed than ever. He lost his job, house and even children in the custody battle. He moved in with his parents and lived in their basement and turned to binge-eating to cope with his situation. His binge-eating led him to put on 745.7-lbs. 

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After his first consultation with Dr Now, Mike declared that he was determined to lose weight and get healthy so that he could spend more time with his kids and be more involved in their lives. He religiously followed Dr Now's recommended diet plan and exercise routine, which helped him lose a significant amount of weight. Dr Now was pretty pleased with Mike's efforts and approved him for the weight-loss surgery. He asked Mike to make arrangements to move to Houston so that he could focus on his health and recovery after surgery. Although Mike agreed to Dr Now's plan, he later realized that moving to Houston would spell trouble for him.

Mike explained that if he moved to Houston then he would lose the custody of his children and he didn't want that to happen, so he refused to move to Houston. When Dr Now heard about Mike's custody situation, he tweaked the treatment plan to accommodate his situation and suggested he move to Houston for two months instead of a year, and after that he could go back to Ohio and continue his weigh-loss journey with regular visits to Houston for consultations. Mike said that he could the two months move, and went ahead with getting the surgery done.

Although Mike managed to get the surgery and keep up with his weight-loss plan, fans however found his custody story a bit odd. Several fans took to Twitter to point out how something wasn't adding up with his custody situation. Fans wondered why his ex-wife would take away the custody rights when Mike was working on getting healthier for his kids and also to save his own life. A fan tweeted, "That custody stuff don't sound right #my600lblife." Another fan wrote, "I don't believe what he's saying about losing custody of his kids for temporarily moving to Houston for medical treatment. #my600lblife." "I think Mike is lying about custody of his kids. He’s just making excuses. #my600lblife," echoed a fan.

Another fan shared, "His divorce/custody story is not adding up, he's leaving some sh*t out that story. #my600lblife." "I call bullsh*t on him saying he can’t move because lose custody of kids. They don’t live with him. #my600lblife," added a fan. Another fan pointed out, "Who in their right mind would ever agree to a custody arrangement that says you can lose your kids if you move?! There is so much more to this story. #my600lblife."

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'My 600-lb life' airs every Wednesday at 8/7c on TLC.