Once celebrated for a record that was quietly killing her, Pauline Potter reached a point where humiliation hurt more than hunger. The woman who once needed a scooter to move and her son to wash her folds of skin chose to fight for her life instead of a title. My 600-lb Life gave her a path, but it didn’t hand her a miracle; she battled cravings, denial, and the crushing comfort of old habits.
With Dr. Now’s relentless honesty and her own fragile determination, she slowly turned excuses into effort. After surgery, setbacks, and painful honesty with herself, Pauline shed roughly 500 pounds and endured skin removal surgery. At 223 pounds, she finally tasted the freedom most people take for granted: walking unaided, bathing alone, existing without shame. Her journey doesn’t glamorize obesity or weight loss; it shows that recovery from food addiction is brutal, imperfect, and still absolutely possible.
