Fans Are Floored By ‘1000-lb Sisters’ Star Amy Slaton’s Transformative Weight Loss

Jan 20, 2023 by apost team

The TLC television series "1000-lb Sisters" has become a guilty pleasure for many people in the United States, as well as anyone who can access it in other countries. It is a show that follows the lives of Amy and Tammy Slaton, two sisters who once weighed more than 1,000 pounds put together and depend on each other for support. The series depicts their hardships living as morbidly obese women while trying to find their own path to health and happiness.

Similar to "My 600-lb Life," the show "1000-lb Sisters" has a fan following of people cheering on Amy and Tammy as they navigate their weight loss journey and other obstacles in life, specifically ones related to their health. While many people have grown to adore the sisters for their sense of humor and their relationship with each other, others are disappointed and concerned about how unmotivated the sisters seem at times to truly take care of themselves and take their health situation seriously.

Throughout each season, both sisters try to eat healthier and exercise more to give themselves a better chance at a happier, healthier and longer life. They are assisted by healthcare professionals, who offer them guidance and advice to get their weight, which often teeters on the edge of medical peril, under control. However, their journeys are filled with ups and downs, with many instances in which they give in to their food addiction, to the disappointment of their doctors, as well as themselves.

While Amy began the series as the lighter of the two sisters, her motivation has also come and gone in waves. However, a major difference is that Amy, who is married, was determined to get pregnant, a goal she could only achieve if she could get her weight down. 

The show “1000-lb Sisters” first aired in January 2020. In an explosive introduction, Amy and Tammy – prior to seeking medical advice on undertaking bariatric surgery – were forced to weigh themselves at a junkyard as no other scale could accommodate them. Amy weighed in at 406 pounds, whereas Tammy tipped the scales at 605 pounds. In an emotional moment, both women began to cry as they saw the numbers pop up on the scale. However, the sisters turned to one another and knew that, despite their dismay, they at least had someone who understood their pain and was on the same path toward a better and healthier life.

The Slaton sisters have had some health scares over the years. During the pandemic, Tammy tested positive for COVID-19, according to Distractify. Explaining the severity of the situation, she said, “I was on 15 liters of oxygen and now I’m on three.”

Tammy also suffered a health scare that left her hospitalized and breathing with the aid of a ventilator. She was also put under an induced coma when her body began to shut down. Amy said the family flew into a panic when Tammy appeared to stop breathing, prompting an immediate rush to the emergency room. She “quit breathing,” and “her body shut down,” Amy said. At the hospital, Tammy underwent a tracheotomy. While she later recovered, the harrowing experience taught her some precious life lessons.

“My near-death experience has taught me not to take life for granted,” Tammy told People. "I now live my life how I want to and not how others want me to. It has also mellowed me out. I try harder to not get mad as easily and try to figure out a way around the situation.”

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The sisters have had issues with each other throughout the television series, as Tammy has criticized Amy a handful of times. One instance, in particular, was when the family went to an amusement park. Tammy was in a bad mood the entire time and did not join the rest of the family except for dinner. 

The family decided to get an electric wheelchair for Tammy, but she refused to use one, claiming she would rather use the mechanical one. She then voiced her suspicions that the family only wanted to use the electric wheelchair so they wouldn’t have to push her around anymore. Fans of the show took to social media to share their opinions on what they believed was Tammy’s irrational behavior. 

One fan said on Twitter, “Tammy has an attitude because the electric wheelchair makes it easier on her family. How freaking selfish can one person be?!”

It’s clear that the Slaton sisters have been through a lot of ups and downs in their lives as they work toward creating the life they want while working to achieve all of their personal health goals.

Over the show’s run, many fans have pointed out that it seemed like Amy was making much more progress than her sister, Tammy. Fans have been rooting for the sisters and have shown concern over times when it seemed like they had fallen off their paths. While we might never know how much words of encouragement from the public and their fans have helped the sisters in their journeys, it’s clear the two need each other. Through thick and thin, they are each other’s cheerleaders, disciplinarians, teammates and probably each other’s biggest supporters.

“We always knew that we only had each other,” Amy said of her and her sister toward the beginning of the first season. “We grew up very poor, we grew up with fast food mostly but if we didn't have fast food, the church would give us food.” Also unlike her sister, Amy is able to walk on her own without the assistance of a walker or wheelchair, so she was able to do some exercises, such as swimming. After a few months, Amy was able to lose some of the pounds. 

“In the past, I could barely make it down the driveway and back,” Amy said as she is seen in a clip walking her dog. “I find now that I lost weight, it is easier for me to walk. … I want to do everything in my power to get approved for surgery,” Amy said. She reiterated her goal to keep to her diet plan and drop more weight before her next appointment with her bariatric surgeon, Dr. Charles Proctor. 

“I’m gonna do everything in my power to get approved for surgery,” she remarked.

However, another factor that played into Amy’s motivation was her mother, whom she hasn’t had the smoothest of relationships with. Amy said her mother was doubtful that she would be able to reach her goal of losing enough weight to get the surgery.

“My relationship with my mom was always a little rocky,” Amy explained, adding, “She doesn’t think we’re going to be successful. But I’m trying to fix things with her. And prove that we can do it.” 

In a conversation with her mother, Amy admitted the thought of undergoing surgery frightened her, saying, “I ain’t gonna lie, I’m scared. I mean, I never got put under.”

A few months down the road, however, Amy was finally able to shed enough pounds to undergo the surgery. However, she found she had doubts while waiting on the hospital bed. “I know I’m blubbering like a baby but I’m scared to death,” Amy later said of her experience. “I’m not sure if I want to go through with the surgery or not.” 

In the hospital, Amy found herself unable to stop crying. She then urged her husband, Michael Halterman, to call Tammy. The two shared some jokes, which lightened Amy’s mood. “So all you needed to do was call me and laugh?” Tammy asked lightheartedly. “You’re gonna be ok,” Tammy repeated, adding, “We got a good hospital, a good team. You’re gonna be fine.” After some more words of encouragement from her sister and a hug from her husband, Amy finally went through with the surgery. 

A week later, she went back for a visit to Dr. Proctor. When he asked her how she was keeping up with her weight-loss goal, he was in for a little disappointment.

“I had a couple slip-ups,” Amy admitted, adding, “I ate like, that much of a honey bun, and a little bit of chicken and a couple bites of a breakfast burrito.” Dr. Proctor then hung his head down, clearly unhappy with Amy’s behavior. 

“I’m very disappointed that a week after a gastric bypass, you’ve got part of your body just sewn together and held together by sutures that you would go ahead and have a bite of solid food,” he said.

The conversation served as a wake-up call for Amy, who began to take her food addiction seriously. After all her hard work, Amy's wish came true when she welcomed her firstborn son, Gage, in November 2020. 

Amy’s determination to become a mother led her down a remarkable path, but one that was always at risk of slipping if she ever lost focus. After having her first child, Amy went back to Dr. Proctor, who didn’t have too much good news for her.

“When I first met Amy… one of her goals in life, not only to get married, was to have a baby, and at that point it was impossible for her,” he said in a January 2022 episode. “Surgery’s no guarantee that somebody’s going to not only lose the weight but keep the weight off, and we’ve seen that,” he continued. “From what I’m seeing, she hasn’t put any more effort back into her health. We’ve pretty much stalled out at this point.”

However, Amy got back on the horse, and by February 2022, despite being pregnant with her second child, who would be due in July that same year, she has kept shedding weight to hit a low of 250 pounds from a high of 406 pounds before her 2019 gastric bypass surgery. 

“I feel like I'm actually losing weight with this baby because I'm eating right. Gage's favorite foods are green beans, broccoli, brussels sprouts, and tuna fish,” she told The Sun, adding, “He eats healthy so I eat healthily. But I do have sugar here just in case my sugar gets low, because with this baby my sugar drops into the 40s, with Gage it was always high. I asked my doctor, 'Hey is it okay if I lose weight'. And my doctor said yes, as long as the baby gains it."

She added to The Sun while her family isn’t particularly disciplined when it comes to meal times, she isn’t bingeing as much. 

“I don’t have set meals I just eat when I’m hungry. With a gastric bypass, I’ve lost from 406 to 250. I feel a lot better because now I can run after him (Gage). I do get tired, but it's not as bad as when I was overweight.”

She said she had some strange cravings. “I am craving pickles and garlic powder at the moment,” she told the publication. "And potstickers, which are like a Chinese dumpling. 

As for why she believed she had allowed herself to get as overweight as she was, she cited poor eating habits since childhood.

“We believed in fried foods, butter, whatever was cheaper my grandma bought. My mom worked a lot so it was basically our grandma. She died when I was 10, so it was either take-out or something I could pop in the microwave real quick, something like that ain't very healthy for you,” she said.

“There was a little bit of depression because my grandma just died, but we didn't know how to cook. Once a week my uncle would come over and cook breakfast for us and we thought that was the best, we didn't know how to cook the gravy,” Amy added.

While she has yet to hit her target of 150 pounds, some changes have helped, including her new favorite dish.

“Salad, all I've been wanting is salad, and it has to have chicken breast,” she said.

“I just want to get down to 150, I'm 250 right now. I don't exercise, but running after him (Gage) is exercise, picking him up most of the time is like picking up a 25-pound barbell.”

How amazing is Amy's weight loss journey? Has her determination inspired you to pursue some goals of your own? Let us know, and be sure to pass this along to friends and family as well.