When Chay Guillory first appeared on the third season of TLC’s hit show My 600-lb Life, viewers saw a 23-year-old living in a state of absolute physical and emotional crisis. She weighed nearly 600 pounds. She was grieving the loss of her grandparents. She felt trapped. But there was something else, a layer of identity that wouldn't even be addressed until a follow-up episode years later. Most people remember Chay 600 Pound Life as a story about weight loss, but it's actually one of the most complex narratives the show has ever documented because it involves a total life transformation that went far beyond the scale.
Honestly, the show has a formula. You know it. There’s the shower scene, the travel to Houston, the stern talk from Dr. Nowzaradan, and the inevitable "did they or didn't they" make the goal weight. Chay followed that path, but her journey was punctuated by a very public gender transition that made her one of the most talked-about participants in the series' history.
The Reality of Chay 600 Pound Life and the Struggle in Louisiana
The weight didn't just happen. Chay, who was living in Charenton, Louisiana at the time of filming, had used food as a protective layer since childhood. Trauma does that. It builds walls of fat to keep the world at a distance. By the time the cameras arrived, Chay was struggling with basic mobility and the crushing weight of depression. She was eating massive amounts of fast food and home-cooked meals, often consuming several thousand calories in a single sitting.
Dr. Nowzaradan, the no-nonsense surgeon at the heart of the show, was clear: she was dying.
Chay's initial goal was the same as everyone else's. Get the gastric bypass surgery. Lose the weight. Reclaim a life. But for Chay, reclaiming a life meant finally being honest about who she was. After losing a significant amount of weight—dropping over 200 pounds—she dropped the bombshell on a "Where Are They Now?" episode. She was a transgender woman. She changed her name to Lola.
Why Her Transition Changed the Weight Loss Equation
Losing weight is hard. Transitioning while the whole world watches you on reality TV is probably harder.
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For Lola, the weight loss was a prerequisite for her transition. Many surgeons won't perform gender-affirming surgeries or even prescribe hormone replacement therapy (HRT) if a patient's BMI is too high because the surgical risks are just too astronomical. Blood clots. Heart failure. Wound dehiscence. It's scary stuff. By focusing on Chay 600 Pound Life as a weight loss goal, she was effectively clearing the path for her true self to emerge.
She eventually moved to Texas. She started living her life authentically. And she kept the weight off, which is actually pretty rare for people who go through the Dr. Now program. We've seen so many participants slip back into old habits once the cameras stop rolling. Not Lola.
The Numbers and the Real-World Results
Let's look at the stats because people always ask about the scale. When she started, she was at 597 pounds. By the end of her first year, she had lost enough to qualify for surgery and was down into the 400s. Eventually, she got down into the low 200s. That is a massive achievement. You're talking about losing a whole adult human being from your frame.
But it wasn't a straight line. Life isn't a montage.
- Initial Weight: 597 lbs
- Weight Post-Surgery: Roughly 379 lbs
- Lowest Reported Weight: Around 200-220 lbs
She faced setbacks. She struggled with skin removal surgery, which is often the "final boss" of weight loss. When you lose that much weight, your skin doesn't just snap back like a rubber band. It hangs. It's heavy. It causes infections. Lola had to fight to get that excess skin removed to finally see the body she had worked so hard for.
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Life After the Cameras Stopped Rolling
Lola's story didn't end when her contract with TLC did. In fact, that's when it really started. She got married. She found a sense of peace that was completely absent in those early episodes where she looked like she was drowning in her own skin.
You've probably seen the updates on social media. She looks like a completely different person. She's active. She’s happy. She’s living proof that while the "600-pound life" is a prison, the door isn't always locked from the outside. You have to turn the key yourself.
Common Misconceptions About Chay's Journey
People love to judge reality TV stars. It’s basically a national pastime. One of the biggest misconceptions about the Chay 600 Pound Life episode is that the weight loss was easy because she was "young."
Age helps with metabolism, sure. But age doesn't help with the psychological addiction to food. Food addiction is a beast. It's like being an alcoholic where you have to take your "drug" three times a day just to survive. You can't just quit food cold turkey. Lola had to relearn how to eat, how to cope with stress, and how to exist in a world that wasn't always kind to her identity.
Another thing people get wrong is the "magic" of the surgery. Gastric bypass isn't a cure. It's a tool. If you eat through the surgery—which is entirely possible by grazing on high-calorie liquids or soft foods—you will gain the weight back. Lola's success came from a total overhaul of her relationship with her body.
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What We Can Learn from Lola’s Transformation
It's about more than calories in versus calories out.
- Identity matters. If you don't like the person you are, you aren't going to take care of the body you have. Lola’s weight loss accelerated once she accepted her gender identity.
- Support systems are fickle. Some people in her life were supportive; others weren't. You have to be your own biggest advocate.
- The "Dr. Now Diet" is just the beginning. The 1,200-calorie, high-protein, low-carb diet he prescribes is meant for rapid loss, but maintenance is a lifelong commitment.
Where is Lola Now?
In 2026, Lola remains one of the standout success stories. While many other cast members have unfortunately passed away or regained the weight, she has stayed the course. She’s been open about the fact that it’s not always easy. There are bad days. There are days when the old urges come back. But she’s built a life that she actually wants to be present for.
She married her husband, Patrick, in a beautiful ceremony that felt like a million miles away from that bedroom in Louisiana where she spent her 20s hiding from the sun.
Actionable Steps for Lasting Transformation
If you're looking at the Chay 600 Pound Life story as inspiration for your own journey, don't just look at the surgery. Look at the mindset.
- Address the "Why": Why are you overeating? Is it grief? Trauma? Boredom? Until you fix the leak in the basement, painting the house won't help.
- Find Your North Star: For Lola, it was living authentically as a woman. You need a goal that is bigger than just "looking good in jeans."
- Build a Sustainable Routine: Dr. Now’s 1,200-calorie diet is extreme. For long-term health, work with a nutritionist to find a caloric intake that fuels your body without triggering a binge.
- Prioritize Mental Health: Therapy is just as important as the gym. Maybe more. Lola’s transition involved significant psychological work, which undoubtedly helped her maintain her physical health.
Transformation is rarely about the destination. It’s about the fact that Lola woke up one day and decided she was worth the effort. That’s the real takeaway. Whether you have 5 pounds to lose or 500, the math stays the same: you have to believe you deserve a better life than the one you’re currently settled for. Lola stopped settling, and that made all the difference.