Dr Nowzaradan: Diet Plan, Tough Love, And Net Worth
The very popular TLC’s reality show, My 600-lb Life focuses on morbidly obese people who want to lose their weight for the long term. Dr Nowzaradan or Dr Younan Nowzaradan MD who is fondly called Dr Now is the man behind the transformation of the 600-pound people (Amber Rachdi is one of them).
Dr Now takes them as his patients and helps them to lose weight through his highly effective diet plan and weight loss surgery such as bariatric surgery, gastric bypass surgery, and vascular surgery.
Based in Houston Texas, Dr Now is probably one of the most famous and well-loved doctors around. More about Dr Nowzaradan, his background and all the interesting snippets about him!
Who Is Dr Nowzaradan And How Did He Become So Famous?
Image Source/Affair Post
Dr Now was born in Iran and graduated from the University of Tehran with a Doctor of Medicine degree. He then moved to the United States and joined the Medical Orientation Program at St. Louis University. He also completed a Rotating Surgical Internship at St. Johns Hospital.
Now, he is working for Houston Obesity Surgery in Houston, TX. He had also written two books titled Last Chance To Live in 2017 and The Scale Does Not Lie, People Do in 2019.
However, the reason he is famous is because of his appearance on My 600-lb Life starting from 2012 till date. Audiences love his heartwarming gestures in the show and his fan following keeps growing every season. One of the main reasons he is loved greatly is because he takes on patients who were rejected by most doctors.
“I don’t have a selection process like most doctors have. I don’t have any selection process. Everybody comes and we take care of them.”
Dr Now’s Family…
In 1970, he married Delores McRedmond, who was working as a secretary. They had three children together and Dolores left her job to take care of them.
However, the couple divorced in 2002. Apparently, nothing much is known about their divorce or the reason behind it. Dr Now is said to have not been involved in any romantic affairs after their divorce.
Interestingly, there are sources revealing that they divorced due to a busy work schedule and Delores lacked the support from her husband, Well, Dr Now is indeed very busy. Apparently, he works for 12-14 hours a day, all days every week. Amazingly, he sees 60-80 patients a day!
While nothing much is known about two of his children named Jennifer and Jessica, the remaining one, Jonathan is the producer of My 600-lb Life. He is also the producer of Shipping Wars and Half Ton Teen.
Understandably, Dr Now is a very private person and prefers to keep his personal and family issues far from the public eye!
His Journey On My 600-lb Life…
Source/YouTube
Even before he made an appearance on the show, Dr Nowzaradan was enjoying a successful and fulfilling career. He was a surgeon and was paid very well for being the best in the field. However, the show made him a brand and his fame and income multiplied by folds.
With 20 years of experience in laparoscopic surgery and seven years in Laparoscopic Bariatric surgery, he helped a lot of people who were at the end of their wits.
Dr Now helps his patients to lose weight before conducting surgery on them. Apparently, it is dangerous to undergo surgery while being obese. He also helps them to incorporate healthy lifestyle choices so that his patients continue to lead a healthy lifestyle after they recover from surgery.
Just like celebrities who work hard to stay healthy (the likes of Gemma Atkinson, Amy Tapper, and Johny Vegas), Dr Now’s patients have to work hard too!
Dr Nowzaradan And His Diet Plan
Calorie restriction is the theme of Dr Now’s diet plan. His patients are only allowed to consume 1000-1200 calories per day. Apart from helping them to lose weight quickly, the calorie restriction is also a foundation for their post-surgery food intake.
According to Dr Now,
“[Surgery] may address the mechanics of how much food you will need in order to feel full, or how much of the nutrients and calories are absorbed into your system, but the surgery does not control your own post-surgical behaviour.”
Some of the food that is a big NO in this diet are all kinds of sugar, packages snacks, high-calorie nuts and seeds, fried foods, fruit juice, sodas, energy drinks, and packaged muesli and granola.
On the other hand, Dr Now advocates food such as vegetables, low-sugar fruits, whole grains low-fat and no-fat dairy, fish, seeds and nuts.
Interestingly, a typical lunch that follows Dr Now diet plan consists of baked lean protein, deli meat, non-starchy vegetables, and salads without dressing.
The Tough Love That Motivates And Pushes His Students
Someone has got to be strong and tough when dealing with obese patients who are making big changes in their lives. Dr Now figured out that he would be the tough one. He is compassionate yet he is tough when the time comes.
“It’s a daily challenge to work with some patients that can be self-destructive. My job is not to get aggravated, but to find a way to motivate them to work hard to get to their goals. There are times where I think it’s necessary for some tough love and I have to be stern with them, so I show some of my concern and frustration.”
“Even during those times, my job is to find a way to work with them to get their weight to a healthy place. They are the patient because they need help and it’s my job to help them no matter what.”
What Is Dr Nowzaradan’s Net Worth?
A whopping $6 million!
Having Said That, He Had Also Faced Malpractice Accusations Throughout The Years
In 2007, Dr Now was sued for the death of Tina Shepard. He was accused of not informing her about the risks involved with gastric bypass surgery. Sadly, Tina died a year after her surgery due to liver failure and blood poisoning.
However, Dr Now claims,
“We called and called her to make follow-up appointments, and she said she would come in, but she never showed up.”
Meanwhile, in 2010, he was sued for leaving a 6.69-inch piece of tubing during a surgery done on Michelle Park. But, the suit was dismissed as Dr Now claimed that he was not the one who left the tube there.
In June 2017, he was once again sued by a patient for $1,000,000 for botching his abdominoplasty. Apparently, the patient’s abdomen was deformed and he was in extreme pain.
In September 2017, an old woman sued Dr Now for leaving a stainless steel connector and tubing inside her. Once again, as with all accusations, Dr Now denies the allegations and continues to appear on My 600-lb Life!
