'My 600-lb Life’: Sarah Neeley lost a whopping 445 pounds only to battle another addiction in rehab
Sarah Neeley, a 25-year-old from Dayton, Ohio, went on to witness the fifth-biggest weight loss on TLC's reality show 'My 600-lb Life'. She entered the show when she weighed about 642 pounds and successfully shed 260 pounds by the end of 12 months. And in the months that followed, Neeley lost a whopping 445 pounds.
Although Neeley managed to overcome her addiction for food, her battle continued as she suffered from substance abuse.
In 2019, on a long Facebook post which has been since taken down, Neeley admitted, "Addiction comes in many different ways. Mine for one was food. That was my drug. It made me feel good it made me feel okay. I never compared it to that of a heroin addict or an alcoholic because to me it just wasn't as bad."
"Addiction is addiction. Whether its food, heroin, gambling, sex, etc. I overcame my food addiction. I fought hard. Only to now be dealing with something that will destroy or kill me if I don't do something now to help myself." In the latter part of the post, she confirmed that she was checking into a rehab to cope with her issues.
"I know for a fact it will take over my life. I'm stepping out on a leap of faith and heading out to a rehab treatment center in the morning, hoping to god I can get as much from it as possible. I'm scared. But I know it's what I have to do. I've grown up with friends who have fallen victim to drug addiction and family members," Neeley had said.
She never revealed what sort of an addiction she was battling, but managed to recover successfully. In her first public update after breaking the news about admitting herself to rehabilitation, Sarah told her fans,
"Just got out of church. Headed to the preacher's house. I prayed hard for the first time in a long time tonight," Sarah added. "Thank God for second chances."
Neeley's struggles don’t end with that. In April 2019, she had herself signed into a mental health facility unable to deal with anxiety and depression, despite having shed a large amount of weight.
In another Facebook post, she revealed that she was over four months pregnant when she entered the facility. Unfortunately, she suffered a miscarriage while she was still admitted there.
She also revealed that she was being filmed for a 'Where Are They Now?' follow up episode when she lost her baby. Despite the horrible tragedy after tragedy that befell her, Neeley managed to achieve her goal weight.