What My 600-Lb Life Fans Think About Dr. Now's Tough Love Balance

In the arduous weight loss journey participants must take on TLC reality series "My 600-Lb Life," it's crucial that they have the right people on their side. This not only includes help and support from close family and friends, but also the show's featured surgeon, Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, often simply referred to as Dr. Now. An Iranian-born vascular and bariatric surgeon working out of Houston, Texas, Dr. Now has been practicing in the field for over 50 years. He graduated from the University of Tehran with a Doctor of Medicine degree in 1970 and is a member of various surgery and medical associations.

Since the beginning of "My 600-Lb Life," which was created by his son Jonathan Nowzaradan, Dr. Now has always had an upfront, no-nonsense nature when talking to his patients. Any and all water weight excuses, familial disputes, and complaints about stress fall on deaf ears when Dr. Now is in the room. Dr. Now doesn't hold back with his comments, reminding his patients of the very real danger they pose to themselves with full-on, brutal transparency. And for patients who take his words seriously, their transformation can be tremendous. But are his techniques as effective as we are made to believe? Some passionate fans have thoughts about the subject.

A thread by Redditor u/Calligraphyandcoffee asks, "Is Dr. Now too harsh or just right? In all the episodes I've watched where the patients have problems after surgery they say they're too scared to tell Dr. Now and so they put it off until it's a bigger problem." They ask commenters if patients on the show would feel safer approaching the doctor if his ways weren't as hard-hitting.

u/Gothturnip largely believes in Dr. Now, but feels he can adjust minor aspects to his approach. "I don't think he's too tough at all, but he could do with some rephrasing of his expectations," they comment, "it's some pretty major lifestyle changes and I always get the impression that he doesn't convey what that really looks like." Similarly, u/Greatlakeslinguist believes Dr. Now can ease up on patients with especially rough situations. 

However, the majority of commenters side with Dr. Now. The top-voted comment, made by u/Confident-Tart-915 says, "These people are literally killing themselves, it's time for tough love from Dr. Now. They put things off because they don't want to get called out on their BS, but it's exactly what they need to hear." A reply by u/Spayeddog agrees, mentioning how Dr. Now's medical expertise should not be toyed around with.

u/CasBOscar says, "He's the intervention that none of the family or friends are willing or daring to have ” commenting on the show's many enablers. u/ScarlettNyx1975 brings up how Dr. Now called Adult Protective Services on James King and his wife Lisa when the latter would not stop overfeeding James. Regardless if you agree with his ways or not, Dr. Now's unflinching reality checks don't seem as though they're going away anytime soon.