'My 600-lb Life': Where is Irene Walker now? Here's how much weight she lost after being approved for surgery
The Wednesday (March 10) night's episode of 'My 600-lb Life' might seem frustrating to a lot of audiences for the majority of the time. The 85-minute long episode titled 'Irene's Journey' features 39-year-old woman Irene Walker from Houston, Texas who weighed 603 lbs after a life full of tragedies that also included losing her three kids after CPS intervened and removed them from her care.
Irene didn't have an ideal life, she saw her parents separate, her mother being abused by her father, endured bullying in high school because of her weight, became a teen mom, baby daddy walked out soon as he found out about the pregnancy, battled homelessness, and what followed, later on, was drug, alcohol and food addiction sprial after which she lost the right to be a parent to her kids.
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But all was not lost for Irene who had a positive support system in the form of her niece Mimi, friend and caretaker Cameo and son Jacory with whom she was cohabitating. Irene turned up at Dr Now's office and enrolled in the weight loss program and had Cameo by her side during the entire 16 months that she spent trying to lose the weight. Dr Now finally approved her for surgery but here's a summary of her journey that was nothing short of a roller coaster.
How much weight did Irene Walker lose on 'My 600-lb Life'?
Dr Now was extremely concerned about the extremity of Irene's food addiction. To add to that, her constant coughing was what he was worried about and feared that it could be a pulmonary or neurological issue. However, her tests suggested that it was just her weight that was putting a strain on her lungs and her entire body. Dr Now sent her away after her first consultation with a 60 lbs weight loss goal. She weighed 603 lbs when she started the program and Dr Now asked her to return in 60 days weighing 543 lbs.
Cameo helped Irene exercise and even prepared her meals but Irene stumbled in her absence and ate what she wasn't supposed to. At her second consultation, she had just lost 5 lbs disappointing Dr Now but she managed to receive another chance from him but she failed yet again and hadn't lost much and the scales read 591 lbs. Dr Now warned her that he'd fire her as his patient if she kept prioritizing food over her life. What followed was Covid-19 restrictions and she couldn't meet Dr Now for another seven months and she had failed miserably with her diet and exercises.
It had been 13 months on the program for Irene and she had failed to make significant progress but Dr Now's supportive words over a video call was what pushed her once again to snap out of her comfort zone and it was the first time she decided to take a walk outside her home. She also enrolled with Cameo's gym trainer and in the next two months, she was back at Dr Now's office. He had asked her to at least drop down to 545 lbs but Irene now weighed 535 lbs and Dr Now appreciated her hard work and cleared her for weight loss surgery.
Did Irene Walker get her weight loss surgery?
Irene had lost the weight she needed to and made her goal weight. Dr Now cleared her for the surgery but unfortunately could not schedule her for the procedure because of the Covid-19 restrictions because of which certain surgeries were not permissible. Irene was disappointed after hearing the news but she understood the situation and maintained a positive outlook upon hearing the news.
How much weight has Irene Walker lost after being approved for weight loss surgery?
The episode revealed that Irene weighed 535 lbs at the final weigh-in at Dr Now's clinic when he approved her for surgery. He asked Irene to keep losing weight until she got the surgery so that there are no issues when she is finally scheduled to get one. He sent her with a goal of losing 10 pounds per month and it seems like Irene has kept at it. All the fried chicken she was seen consuming at the beginning of the episode was now swapped with cucumbers and tomatoes and healthy protein. She also continued with her exercises and was much more cheerful than she appeared in the initial portion of the episode.
Catch new episodes of 'My 600-lb Life' every Wednesday at 8 pm ET on TLC. You can catch up with Irene Walker and her friend Cameo Lamothe on their Facebook accounts.