Hello Gina,

It was so nice to see the progress of Sarah, Thank you for posting. I feel like we have a bond since both of our daughters are in this journey together. Just wanted to wish you a very happy Thanksgiving and let you know your family is always in our prayers. Not a day goes by i do not think of how your family is doing. Patience remembers playing With Sarah and asks if she will see her again.

You have a beautiful family.

Much love from
Tennessee

Hi there Meliene,

Its Patiences mom just wanted to say, thank you for posting your story inspired me even more :)
I had posted a few times but not on purpose my computer is  a very old one.
May you contiune with your healthy lifestyle and a very happy life you deserve your a beautiful girl.

I have thought about getting the book for teens for a family member.

With love,
From Tennessee

Hello everyone, its me meilene! I was featured of this show for losing 100lbs.
I just wanna wish you all the best of luck with the children, and let you know that you deserve an applause for making the changes in your childs life now.... its been a long journey for me, and it will continue to be the rest of my life. Be there for your kids and live healthy! :)

First, I would be doing everything for their feelings of self worth.  I have watched at the supermarket as well-intentioned, educated Moms shop.  It occurs to me that while these ladies were preparing for their careers, they did not learn enough nurturing skills or HOW TO COOK FROM SCRATCH! That comes from living in an extended family.  It is not learned on the soccer field or at the mall or at the center of popularity or on You Tube or any media message that the objective for all females is to be hot, sexy, entitled, and wealthy.  The pantry is full of corn dogs, frozen waffles, soft drinks, breaded fish sticks, packaged baked goods because Mom never learned how to feed herself, much less her family.  That is the best she can do.  On the way home from work, she picks up the junk food or the pizza to save time.  This thanksgiving, everybody wants to go over the river and through the woods to grandmother's  house because she is the last generation who knows how to bake a turkey and make mashed potatoes from the real thing. The kids don't know that one can pop corn without a microwave or make fudge without chocolate chips and marshmallow creme.  I guess the bottom line is:  there still needs to be somebody "minding the store" and providing a live example.

I dreaded the show to be aired and really wanted to resist login on to see the comments posted by viewers because people can say some mean things without knowing the whole story but could not resist. I have 2 kids an 18 year old who has been thin since birth and Sarah who has been a little on the chubby side. I am not blaming anyone for the situation we got ourselves in. I am thankful for the guidance and help Dr. Goglia has given us since the show taped Sarah has lost 7.8 pds and we are thrilled. Obviously, a lot of bad choices were made and shortcuts taken at meal time. But when I saw Dr. Goglia on the Doctor's show I e-mailed him for his newsletter and a couple weeks later received a call  from the Dr. Phil show. We agreed and after seeing the show I was more determined than ever to turn things around.  The only time things will change is if you want it and trust me we want it! We have only received one shipment from Bistro MD for my husband and myself and they have not shipped Sarah's food because they are working on it and while weappreciate the help we will get from Bistro MD we are not 100 percent going to rely on it. I am making better food choice while shopping of our meals and actually planning our meals ahead of time we so eat the right thing. Bottom line we are going to continue this and I just wanted to put my two cents in that we didn't just go on the show and come home to our bad habits we did take away what Dr. Goglia told us and I think he is the best part of what we got from the show.  What Dr. Phil said about modeling is true because our daughter is making better choices at schoold as well with her lunch and snacks and that all comes from us discussing what needs to be done and following what Dr. Goglia gave us as a food plan.

Am I the ONLY one who is bored by the "family?"
There are so many good topics to explore, and I really miss them.  I also  do not care  about the private lives of celebrities.  Please.
     Do you  need lists of topics?
     OK, how about  How to teach parenting skills to young and older children, so maybe they would grow up to be better parents.  How many of us would have benefited from this?  We only learn our parents parenting skills.  I could have done without some of this bad stuff and been a better parent.  But, how-dy, am I a really good grandmother !   

I want to thank everyone who fully watched the show. We love our little girl and that is the reason we called the dr. phil show. Our question was is there a medical conditon we are not aware of or is it what we are feeding her. We know we are big we do not deny that? do you not think we dont have a mirror?

The show was about our daughter not us? We have been taking Patience to the same doctor for four years. Went to three different nurtionists and each got a different answer from all. What the show did not show is Patience has two siblings at home that are a normal size? Patience nurtionists had told us we were not adding enough fat in her diet? They ordered us to give her low-fat verisons of  what her siblings were eating? crackers, cookies, whole wheat pasta. We kept saying it is more to it than that.
we already knew to serve whole wheat.  Her typical at home meal was a salad with a small salmon filet and fruit. Whole foods and the weight still piled on. This is alittle girl who went for 40 minutes walks. Not knowing she had a insulin problem we were feeding her the fat free things. As dr. Phil said it isnt what you are feeding her it is how her body processes it.

We have changed doctors and have more testing to do. Losing weight at home we love the dr. phil staff and hope to return in the future. We are a christian family and feel the show was a blessing because we are one step closer to finding answers.

Thank you proudly the parents of Patience
There is no shame in getting help.

Dr. Phil,
I usually don't make comments on any subjects that I see on TV, but this one hit home for me.

I have to say I am very pissed off at how you treated this man. You made this woman such the victim that it made me cry with anger. I can identify with Randy. My estranged wife abandon our marriage years ago. She will tell the story of emotional abuse and how she fell out of love with me because I changed. She will tell you that I became this raging maniac. She will tell you that she became fearful me and that I can go from zero to sixty in a minute. What she will not tell you is her part in all. Call what you want. Passing the buck or making excuses. Once upon of time she belived in me. What went wrong is the story that should be told...

I really felt for Randy yesterday. First off, the way wife talked about the kids as if they were hers alone and Randy didn't help make them appauled me. Why do women always say it's their children like we had nothing to do with making them.

Dr. Phil somewhere in their story was happiness. What made her fall in love Randy. What changed that made their marriage tanked? Why wasn't that explored? Why is it always the women that are always the victim? What really pissed me off was you giving her advice on how to protect herself in a divorce.

I'm sorry Dr. Phil, but that woman looked very healthy and I'm sure she could find work somewhere...

What about Randy? Why didn't you give information to protect himself divorce...?

Why is it always the man who has to give up his life for a wife whom somehow help create this mess...

Yes, I'm very angry at how good men like myself and maybe even Randy are always made out to be worst kinds of husbands???

I challenge you Dr. Phil to bring them back to the show and search a little deeper, I am sure it's not all Randy's fault. My situation and Randy's are identical except in one aspect. My estranged wife is using my youngest daughter as a tool to hurt me. She knows what my daughter means to me. If  I didn't give a crap about my children, she would banging the door down to make me see them. Telling her friend what a no good so and so I am.

My mistake? Was loving my daughters to a fault.

My estranged wife had me arrested for threatening her over the phone for trying to protect my youngest daughter. My oldest daughter called me on numerous occassions because my wife would neglect my daughters because she had a new boyfriend. I am now in 26 weeks domestic violence program because of it. I blame no one but me for this.

She (my estranged wife) tells everyone that I'm jealous of her new boyfriend which is the furthest thing from the truth. My daughters are amd willalways be my main concern.

I saw that in Randy. He loves his children and yes, I agree with him when it comes to raising his children to be responsible and to tow their lines while living in the house...

Whatever happened to the blueprints that our parents gave us on raising our children?

What kind of parents are we if cannot even raise our children to learn how be responsible adults.

It was one of my oldest daughters phone call that prompted my threat.  No buts here Dr. Phil, I did it because my estranged wife's behavior was unmother like for my daughters to see and live with.

I'm not denying my guilt in my threat and I know now I could of handled it  differently.

What makes me angry about yesterday's show was how this woman used her children like ponds in a chess game against Randy.

I agree children has no place in between parents issues. It is almost impossible for them not to be. My oldest daughter told her therapist that she felt she had to take care of me because what she seen my ex and I go through....

Dr. Phil I got both of my daughters in therapy because of the craziness that they were exposed to.

I Ieft the marriage because I wanted to stop the maddness. My youngest daughter made me see that I was always angry at her mother. I placed myself in anger management. I admit I had a ways to go before the threat and the DV program.

My estranged wife and her family flipped my oldest daughter by using tactics that somehow made her afraid to tell me anythin or to even talk to me the way she used to. I used to have a very close relationship with my oldest daughter. The ruthlessness that some women use against men is beyond me.

My estranged wife's mother even had the audacity to tell my oldest daughter "the women in their family has a history of men they love abusing them". My response to my daughter was simple. I asked her to ask her grandmother what role did they play in these men changing and becoming these monsters... 

Well, whatever they did to my oldest daughter, it worked. They flipped my oldest daughter against me before she left for college. I haven't seen my daughters since July and what makes me really mad is that while I am in this DV program she has me served with action for divorce knowing well, I cannot afford a lawyer. Where is the protection for the men Dr. Phil???

I say this to prove a point. Men like Randy and myself wasn't always the monsters that our wives estranged or otherwise make us out to be...

Randy's yelling and rants just didn't come out of the sky. His affairs just didn't happened either. Why didn't you ask his wife what part she played in Randy's cheating? From the surface I could see a man who truly was and is still in love with his wife, but something happened.... I cannot say the same for me. I truly hate my ex and cannot wait for our marriage to be dissolved.

My estranged wife stopped sleeping with me because she felt placed in a boxed as she told our marriage counselor, but she got upset because I stepped out of our marriage and cheated myself. I'm not proud of it. I will never be proud of it. I don't think any man is proud of cheating on his wife. There is major regrets. For some men maybe not...

I'm not condoning cheating husbands. As a man who was totally faithful to his wife and I was, I just feel like in therapy no one explores what leads to certain behaviors. I don't believe that all men are natural cheaters.

Randy was sitting duck in that chair. He was made to look like the worst possible husband in the world. I don't believe in my heart that Randy was always the way you and his wife painted him to be.

My estranged wife right this moment is poisioning youngest daughter's mind by not allowing me to see her. What kind of mother keeps her child from seeing their father...?

I filed for visitation and my estranged wife lawyer file a motion to block me from having my day in court.

I felt for Randy because I know his pain. I sit in a DV program every week hearing about how men are agressors against their signicant others. I am learning some new people skills in this program, but  to hear of the blantant comptempt that most women have for men is beyond me... My late mother was one... I swore to never be like my father who really was selfish in a lot of ways, but was revered by my youngest sister. What's wrong with that picture. My youngest sister knew my father many girlfriends and loved my father until his dying day...

Dr. Phil, I'm not saying that everything Randy did in his marriage was right. He and I lost ourselves in our marriages. We married women who bailed on us at some point because of whatever reasons they bailed.

I just would like once for someone to be brave enough to explore both sides of couples issues....

I don't condone domestic violence and I am not proud of the way of handled my situtaion, but I can no longer sit back and be silent when there are men out here in the world who truly go into marriage to build something with their significant others...

Am I ready for divorce?

Heck yeah!

Am I emotional?

Heck yeah!

Do I feel like Randy and men like us are treated like monsters???

Heck Yeah!!!

All I'm asking for is if you're going to treat one side of the couple, treat both because I didn't feel that Randy was treated fairly on your show....

If you want to chat with me on this matter feel free to call me...

You have my numbers...

Sincerely,
Clint B.

Your story took me back to when I was in 6th grade and used to take money out of my piggy bank and at lunch time go down to the greasy spoon a couple of blocks from school and eat at the counter.  My mother wasn't fat but she would make dessert every night.  It never made my parents or my brother and sister fat, but I was different somehow.

The humiliation of not being able to fit into clothes at a store and my mother making comments was one thing that is burned into my brain.  Don't ever do that, ever.  I felt like I wanted to kill myself when she did that.

When I was in 6th grade they used to weigh us once a year  in front of everyone.  I was 11 years old and weighed 100lbs.  I weighed more than any other girl in my class.  My mother also made me write down my weight in the back of a book to see if I was losing anything on my latest diet e.g. crackers that swelled up in your stomach, amphedemines when they were popular, the egg diet, the grapefruit diet, etc. 

Every night we all sat down to eat and had such things as a vegetable, sometimes potatoes, no bread, salad, fruit with cottage cheese, waldorf salad, milk, and those days, pork chops, meatloaf, salmon cakes, etc.  The typical diet for the 1950's.

When I graduated from high school I weighed about 160lbs.  I didn't discover candy bars until I moved to San Francisco and went to college.  I saw them in the store one day and said to myself "I could actually buy one of those without asking anyone."  We didn't have them growing up. 

I was always active.  Always.  But today I weigh almost 300lbs.  I guess I could kill myself because I'm not a normal weight when people tell me how all I need to do is eat less and exercise more.  The problem with that advice is duh it doesn't do anything but make you temporarily thin.  Whatever it is WILL make you fat again. But I'm hanging on hoping that one day they will be able to provide real answers, not the same old tired ignorant ones.

We all have problems and the people that think they have some effective answer to losing weight and maintaining that weight loss, and have never had to do it, are probably praying their deficiencies aren't visible to others.  People who lie, cheat and steal don't break out in red spots.  Too bad.

and to pretend that we have all the answers does a very big disservice to people struglling with this problem.  I was born fat and am obese 66 years later.  People who make blanket statements saying that if you eat a healty diet you will not be obese sound foolish.  Of course you can.  The girl today had a healthy diet, but as the doctor said, it was out of balance for her metabolic type.  How can a child have developed into a food addict at that young age?  The parents were a little overweight, but not enough to account for the daughter's immense problem with food.

For myself, my parents were a normal weight and both my siblings are not overweight.  We all ate the same food growing up, a healthy diet, but of course what is healthy has changed over the years, but I have always favored veggies, fruits, grains, and fish; very little meat or poultry.  I drink soy milk and eat yogurt and fruit for dessert.  I eat about 2200 calories a day and am 5'6" and swim 3X a week.  So DO NOT tell me I'm imagining being fat.  The cockamame reasons I get for it are someting an idiot could make up such as, you must be miscounting your calories, blah, blah, blah!  I'm sick of people who only regurgitate what they have read and have never done any studies on anything.  If science could provide a real reason they could really provide some help.  So far they have not. Basically it is still the same old tired advice that was around when my mother put me on my first diet at age 9.

By the way I'm only talking about me, not the people of the younger generation who live on fast food and carbs.