The My 600 Lb Life Renee Biran episode depicted a mother of six who risked organ failure if she didn’t lose weight fast. Fortunately, Renee, who once enjoyed a lucrative career as a plus-sized model, was able to meet with Dr. Nowzaradan and steer herself away from dangerous obesity.
53-year-old Renee Biran explained that she began overeating as a very young girl, because the fact that she had a different father than her siblings made her feel like an outcast. Then, after Renee’s stepfather began molesting her at the age of nine, Renee’s dependency on food intensified. Her stepdad left when Renee was 14, by which point she weighed 280 pounds.
Renee Biran as a plus-size model in 2014, during her days as “Massive Mocha.” Photo via Facebook.
But, as the My 600 Lb Life Renee Biran episode made clear, Renee’s weight problems truly spiraled out of control after she became unable to work her factory job following an injury in a car accident.
“I needed a way to make money, and that’s when I discovered the internet,” Renee said. “Not only did I find out that there were men out there that liked big women, but there was also men out there that loved to watch women eat. They’re called feeders.”
Renee further explained that in addition to becoming a “feedee,” she found men who would pay her for her services as a “squasher,” meaning she would sit and lie on them for money.
Renee’s peak weight of 631 pounds left her in constant pain and fearing for her life. While driving from her home in Valdosta GA to see Dr. Nowzaradan in Houston, Renee said, “I don’t know what’s going on with me, but I feel like I can’t breathe right. I’m feeling lightheaded and everything else. I want to get me to see a doctor that can put some oxygen in my body. I don’t want to die in this car.”
Renee Biran in 2016, close to her peak weight. Photo via Facebook.
Due to her deteriorating condition, Renee did in fact have to meet Dr. Nowzaradan at the emergency room — where he told her that she wasn’t likely to survive much longer with her current lifestyle.
Renee was able to lose 48 pounds on a controlled diet in the hospital, but only twelve more on her own. A second hospitalization helped Renee shed a further 100 pounds; after that, her home weight loss pace accelerated, and she was approved for gastric sleeve surgery.
By episode’s end, Renee was down to 381 pounds — meaning she’d lost a total of 250 pounds, or an impressive 39.6% of her peak weight. A recent Facebook photo update, shared this past February, revealed the extent of her weight loss since the My 600 Lb Life Renee Biran episode:
Though she recently admitted “I try not to put real personal stuff on Facebook,” Renee also shared that she’s keeping a healthy attitude, saying “[I’m] getting there one pound at a time.”
You can stream Renee’s My 600 Lb Life episode here, via TLC.
(Photo credits: My 600 Lb Life Renee Biran via Facebook, TLC)
