A morbidly obese woman who once tipped the scales at 591lbs managed to lose a massive 246lbs after seeking help from a TV surgeon – but not before losing her cheating husband.
Tamy Lyn Murrell, 45, from Covington in Kentucky, began overeating when she was just eight years old after witnessing her father’s sudden death from a heart attack and the mental decline of her depressed mother.
The mother-of-one appared on the TLC series My 600lb Life, having turned to Dr Younan Nowzaradan for help with the weight battle that had plagued her life to the point where folds of skin on her stomach were virtually dragging on the floor.
The surgeon immediately put her on a 1,600 calorie-a-day diet, and promised to removed the lymphedema mass – or swelling – to her stomach if she lost weight.
Within seven months Tamy had dropped 179lbs on her own, but she’d also lost her husband, James, who she revealed had moved out after falling for someone else while his wife battled to lose the weight.
James did help Tamy and their son, Zachary to move to Texas in order for her to undergo gastric sleeve surgery, and she eventually lost a total of 246lbs.
Tammy Murrell said her stomach – which reached the floor – had gotten to the point where ‘it’s got a mind of its own’
But after going on a strict diet Tamy lost a whopping 179lbs on her own before being accepted for gastric sleeve surgery helping her to lose 246lbs in total
Tamy and James’ marriage had become a loveless one, with James a caregiver, rather than a husband, to his wife
Tamy and James’ marriage had become a loveless one, as he was relegated to the role of her caregiver because of her debilitating weight.
In My 600lb Life, the mother-of-one detailed how her obsessive eating caused her weight to spiral out of control – to the point that her stomach was nearly grazing the floor.
Tamy said she was a ‘pretty normal size’ child, but started turning to food for comfort after her father’s death.
Tamy explained that she was the youngest child in her family by a decade, so she basically grew up with just her parents. Her sister is 19 years older than she is, while her brother is 11 years older.
After leaving school at 16 she became a janitor and met James, who she worked with.
She fell pregnant a month after they started dating and things become difficult for the pair when James called her a ‘slob’ and ‘fat cow’ and was prone to anger outbursts – until he was diagnosed with bi-polar.
The on-off pair separated, but when Zachary was diagnosed as special needs James took them back in and Tamy continued to gain weight reaching her heaviest at 591lbs.
After visiting Dr Nowzaradan Tamy lost 42lbs in her first month and he asked her to move to Houston, Texas, for weight loss surgery.
Struggle: Tamy Lyn Murrell, 45, weighed 591lbs and had a sagging stomach that nearly grazed the floor after decades of emotional eating
All smiles: Tamy fell in love with a fellow janitor named James (pictured) whens she was 18 years old
‘Love at first sight: James was the first person who ever paid attention to me,’ she said, while James admitted on the show to always liking ‘bigger girls’
But before she could James moved out and admitted he had fallen in love with someone else. Tamy fell into a depression but still carried on losing weight after undergoing therapy.
James agreed to still help her make the move and the family headed to Texas.
But despite losing another 45lbs, Tamy passed out one day and was diagnosed with pneumonia and her surgery was put on hold.
By month 7 she had lost a staggering 179lbs on her own and was finally given gastric sleeve surgery.
James went back to Kentucky but Tamy and Zachary stayed in Houston and she lost a total of 246lbs, dropping to 346lbs.
Tamy went to consult Dr Nowzaradan who put her on a strict 1,600 calories-a-day diet to help her lose weight
Even though she was progressing Tamy fell ill with pneumonia and her surgery was put on hold
Eventually with her health back on track Tamy was given the gastric sleeve surgery to help her shed more weight
Dr Nowzaradan promised Tamy that she would have more surgery to help remove the mass on her stomach if she lost weight
Tragedy: Tamy was a ‘pretty normal size’ child, but she started obsessively eating junk food after she watched her father die of a heart attack when she was just eight years old
Looking back on her early years, she admitted she ‘wasn’t like everybody else’ because she struggled socially.
She went on to recall how kids would make fun of her because she would get ‘very nervous’ and ‘stutter’.
When she was eight years old, she watched her father collapse to the kitchen floor due to a heart attack and die.
‘After my father passed away, my life was never the same,’ she said.
‘My mom just fell apart. She had a hard time getting out of bed, and she went into a deep depression. It was like I lost my mom too.’
Her mother went into a deep depression following her dad’s sudden death, and Tamy was left to eat whatever she wanted
Tamy was left to do the grocery shopping, which meant she able to buy all of the soda, pies, and ice cream that she wanted
Tamy explained that she was a little child without anyone to take care of her, so she turned to food.
‘I could just eat whatever I wanted, when I wanted, and it was my friend. It was my parent, my friend, my loved one,’ she said of her alarming relationship with food.
While her mother was struggling with depression, Tamy was left to do the grocery shopping, which meant she able to buy all of the soda, pies, and ice cream that she wanted.
‘I bought it because she would just give me money, and she let me get whatever I wanted,’ she recalls.
‘So I ate junk food all of the time, and I would eat to the point of being sick.
Gaining: Tamy, who admitted she would eat junk food until she got sick, said she weighed 140lbs by the time she was 14 years old
Out of control: At 16 years old, Tamy said she weighed ‘well over’ 175lbs
On her own: Tamy dropped out of school as a teen and started working as a janitor to support herself
‘I don’t know why I did it,’ she adds. ‘It was just I wanted it, so I ate it.’
At 14, she weighed about 140lbs and was often bullied over her increasing size. Bye the time she dropped out of high school two years later, she weighed ‘well over’ 175lbs.
Tamy’s mother was in and out of the hospital for depression, so she started working as a janitor to support herself.
When she was 18 years old, she met a fellow janitor named James, and they fell in love.
‘James was the first person who ever paid attention to me,’ she said of their relationship.
‘I tend to like bigger girls, so that’s what attracted me to Tamy,’ James explained in his testimonial. ‘She was a big girl. It was kind of love at first sight.’
Moving quick: Tamy got pregnant just a month after she and James started dating, and her weight continued to soar
Tamy also had a lymphedema mass which caused her stomach to almost drag on the floor
Battling her body: At her heaviest, Tamy could barely get out of bed on her own because of her massive weight
Things progressed quickly between the couple, and Tamy got pregnant just a month after they started dating.
‘For the first time in my whole life things seemed good, but that didn’t last long,’ she said.
Tamy and James had since fallen out of love, but were forced to stay together because he was the only one who would care for her and their troubled teenage son.
Although she longed to get out of her loveless marriage and be a better motger to her son, she continued to find comfort in food while remaining isolated from the outside world.
In addition to the emotional pain she faces, Tamy also struggled with intense physical pain because of her massive weight.
‘Living in my body, it’s miserable,’ she admitted. ‘My belly has gotten to the point where it’s got a mind of its own, and it’s so painful.
‘I feel like I’m not living. I’m just existing. It’s horrible.’