Amanda Johnson Of ‘Family By The Ton’ Reveals How Her Broken Childhood Fueled Weight Gain
There is no doubt in believing that TLC channel’s obesity-themed series such as Family By The Ton and My 600 Pounds Life have not only revealed the struggles that many people undergo in their day-to-day lives, but also been a source of motivation for many people to do something about their health.
The Wednesday premiere of Family By The Ton will be no different, as it takes viewers into the world of Amanda Johnson — a 37-year-old woman struggling with 650 lbs of weight. And it is not only her morbid obesity that has made Amanda’s life difficult, because she also had to witness the unfortunate event of being diagnosed with endometrial cancer in October 2016.
In order to get treated for her cancer, it has become imperative for Amanda to lose weight, or else lose her life to cancer. In her own words, every day that she doesn’t do anything about her weight is one second and step closer to her grave.
Per People, in the exclusive clip that TLC shared for Wednesday’s premiere, Amanda narrates her ordeal and explains that “now it’s either surgery or death.”
The story will take viewers down Amanda’s memory lane when she was 12 or 13 years of age when she developed the habit of binge eating — an eating disorder that pushes people into a pattern of uncontrollably consuming an excessive quantity of food.
She then shares how her father used to lock the refrigerator and stop her from eating at the table because of her disorder — something that compelled her to eat whatever she could find once her dad would retire to bed.
With the passage of time, Amanda reveals that her obesity continued to worsen, and by the time she became a high school senior, her problem “skyrocketed,” the People article quoted her.
“I went to my first period class and I didn’t see a chair, so I told the teacher, ‘Can I go get a chair?’ and he says, so everyone can hear, ‘If you can’t sit in a desk like a normal person you can sit on the floor for today.’ I just left the school and didn’t come back.”
Talking about her cancer, Amanda tears up and shares with the viewers that she has no idea if her cancer has grown or spread, and believes that she herself is to blame for her ailment.
Season 2 of Family by the Ton, the reality show chronicling weight-loss journeys of bariatric patients that films at Piedmont Atlanta, was featured in @People. The article profiles patients Amanda, Casey, Ed & Amy. The new season starts Jan. 2 on TLC.https://t.co/e563P1CCtS
— Piedmont (@PiedmontHealth) January 2, 2019
“Endometrial cancer is caused in some part by being obese. So I feel like I did it to myself. Or maybe it’s my punishment for abusing my body.”
Amanda isn’t the only one struggling with her weight; three of her cousins — Ed, Amy, and Casey — will also be featured on the show in subsequent episodes, per a separate article by People.
The show premieres on Wednesday, January 2, at 10 p.m. Eastern, 9 p.m. Central on TLC.
