A woman who ballooned to 622 lbs has told how she dropped more than a third of her body weight in a year in a desperate bid to hold on to her former drug addict boyfriend.
Alicia Kirgan, 32, who grew up in a ‘chaotic’ household in Illinois and was 200 lbs by the time she was 10, said her boyfriend Tim did not judge her for her size or her food addiction when they met six years ago.
But after kicking his drug habit, Tim told Alicia he did not want to sit by and watch his girlfriend’s addiction slowly kill her.
Alicia, who appeared on Wednesday night’s episode of My 600 lb Life, said her rocketing weight had left her contemplating suicide. ‘I felt like a failure to my mom, my family and myself,’ she said.
With the help of Tim, and the show’s Dr Nowzaradan, Alicia eventually lost enough weight to be allowed to qualify for bariatric surgery, and a year later had dropped to 436lbs.
Now the couple work out together and have even enjoyed public date nights – something they hadn’t done in years.
Alicia Kirgan was allowed to have bariatric surgery after losing weight, and within 12 months had managed to shed 186lbs
At her heaviest Alicia weighed 622lbs and struggled to manage in her day to day life, she worried her boyfriend Tim was going to leave her
Alicia had met Tim six years ago when he was a drug addict, he is now clean and stuck by his girlfriend to help her diet
Tim stood by Alicia and travelled to Houston, Texas to meet with Dr Nowzaradan who told her she needed to lose weight to get weightloss surgery
Supportive Tim travelled with Alicia to meet Dr Nowzaradan, the resident doctor on the TLC show.
Alicia was instructed to lose 50 lbs in the first month of her programme, with the help of a 1,200 calorie a day diet – but she managed to shed just 18 lbs.
It took her another two months to lose a further 14lbs, prompting a frustrated Dr Nowzaradan to send a dietician to her home.
By month five Alicia had shed 52lbs, and was finally approved for a gastric sleeve procedure.
But after shedding 26lbs in the first month after surgery, Alicia’s food cravings came back, something she finally attributed to having a talked to her mother – triggering painful emotions.
Tim talked her into going to see her mother for a heart-to-heart, and the pair talked and cried together about their relationship, and how Alicia had felt as she was growing up.
After that the weight began dropping off again, and at the end of 12 months Alicia had shed a total of 186lbs and was down to 436lbs.
At her heaviest Alicia weighed in at 622lbs and feared her boyfriend, Tim, was going to leave her if she didn’t get her addiction to food under control
When Alicia failed to lose weight Dr Nowzaradan sent a dietician to her home to help her understand what she should eat
Alicia found daily life difficult and was constantly in pain as her body struggled to cope with the weight
Throwback: Alicia and Tim met six years ago and bonded because they were both addicts
Falling in love: Tim says he was initially drawn to Alicia’s ‘carefree spirit’ and wasn’t bothered by her weight
Obesity: When she was 10 years old (pictured), Alicia had already hit the 200lbs mark
Throughout her journey, Alicia was able to find support in her boyfriend Tim.
‘We met six years ago and we connected quickly because we were both addicts,’ she said.
‘He was addicted to drugs, and so he understood my addiction to food and didn’t judge me.
Tim says Alicia’s size didn’t bother him when the first met; he was drawn to her ‘carefree spirit’ and her ‘laugh.’
After losing 52lbs Alicia was approved for weight loss surgery, she had a gastric sleeve fitted
She went on a restricted calorie controlled diet, but after meeting with her mother fell off the wagon
Bond: Because he was an addict, Tim understood her addiction to food and didn’t judge her for it. However, now that he is clean, he refuses to watch her eat herself to death
‘I really liked being with her because she was always laughing and smiling,’ he recalled. ‘But now its almost like she’s a totally different person, and our relationship has grown stagnant.’
Speaking before her weight loss journey, Tim said that Alicia hardly wanted to do anything besides sit in front of the TV and eat, which frustrated him because they ‘have a life to live together.’
‘Tim was addicted to drugs, but he got clean, and now I am the one killing myself because I can’t stop myself from eating,’ Alicia said. ‘If there is any food in the house, I eat it, so we run out of food quickly.’
Tim encouraged Alicia to speak with her mother and clear up their feelings towards one another, which helped her to understand her issues with food
Frustrated: Tim was worried that Alicia had changed, noting that she only wanted to watch TV and eat
Struggles: Alicia could barely fit into her car, and she only left her house to stock up on food
When Tim was at work, Alicia would drive to the grocery store to get food, and she admitted it was the only thing that got her out of the house.
‘The only thing I am really living for at this point is the next meal,’ she said.
Alicia noted she was the heaviest she has ever been, and that it become physically painful for her to even get into the driver’s seat of her car.
‘I hate going to the grocery store, and I have anxiety about being in public because I have a fear of people judging me,’ she said.
‘I can feel people looking at me. I can feel their stares,’ she added. ‘I feel like an animal that people are looking at to see what I will put in my cart next.’
‘But I ignore it all because when I see all this food — especially all the carbs and sweets — it makes me feel happy.’
Hard to handle: Alicia admitted that she has anxiety about going out in public because she can tell people are judging her
Addiction: Although her trips to the grocery store make her anxious, she feels better as soon as she sees all the food
Tough times: Alicia explains that she started to put weight on at an early age in response to her ‘very chaotic’ childhood
Missing dad: She says her father spent a lot of time drinking at bars and wasn’t around much
Alicia explained in the show that she started to put weight on at an early age in response to her ‘very chaotic’ childhood.
While her mother worked to support their family of four, her father would go out to bars to drink. He wasn’t around much, which left her mom with a lot of anger and resentment towards him.
‘When he would come home, there was always a lot of fighting and sometimes it would get loud and violent,’ she recalled.
Alicia said her grandmother Faye was the person who really raised her and took care of her, but she is also the one who taught her to use food as a coping mechanism.
‘When my parents would fight, she would try to distract me with ice cream, and I remember how it made me feel better,’ she said.
‘Sugar became the thing in my life with my grandmother that I knew could make me feel better when I was afraid or upset.’
Comfort eating: When her father and mother (left) would fight, her grandmother Faye (right) would take her for ice cream to make her feel better
Dependent: Alicia said sugar became the thing in her life that she knew would always make her feel better
Difficulties: By the time she was seven years old, she weighed 160lbs. Her increasing weight gain prompted her mother to yell at her whenever she ate
After Alicia had surgery, she and Tim began working out together and were able to go out on dates for the first time in years
By the time she was seven years old, her weight had skyrocketed to 160lbs. Family and friends would warn her mom that she had a problem.
Alicia said her mom felt her ‘increasing weight ‘made her look bad,’ so she would scream at her for eating and tell her that she was ‘getting too fat.’
‘I started to worry about Alicia’s weight in grade school,’ Alica’s mother JoAnn told the camera. ‘You would hear remarks from other people and wonder, “Well maybe I should be more worried than I am.”
‘I thought maybe she would outgrow it, but she didn’t.’
Alicia said her mom’s response to her weight only made her eating worse because she was even more depressed.
‘I kept going, and I hit 200lbs by the time I was 10,’ she said.