The new TLC series 1000-Lb. Best Friends focuses on four fabulous best friends who are working together to change their lives. One of the stars of the new show is Meghan Crumpler, who has already undergone bariatric surgery to help lose weight. In the season premiere, Meghan’s doctor revealed the shocking news that she hadn’t lost any weight in 6 months. HollywoodLife got the chance to chat EXCLUSIVELY with Meghan about that jaw-dropping moment.
“Triggered would be the ultimate word for me. Triggered,” Meghan told HollywoodLife. “That was very hard to even relive when I watched it because you really got the raw and real from me there. It cut deep because I don’t ever, ever plan on going back to where I was. I know it sounds like excuses and stuff, but I have a lot of reasons why I felt like I stalled so hard.”
In addition to her weight loss journey, Meghan is also navigating health issues and pain. She has a pre-existing lung condition that requires her to be on steroids. She admits the steroids put a “damper on things with the weight loss. The pain is a real thing. I was hoping since I was losing so much [weight] that it would get better, but I just push through. There are days when I can’t even sleep well. And there are days where I’m like, okay, I can do this and those are the days I choose to do the workouts and some things.” Meghan admits her “most difficult challenge” for her at the moment is the “health issues that stumble in my way.”
Meghan’s longtime best friend Vannessa is also on a weight loss journey. During the premiere, Meghan invited Vannessa to come work out with her, but Vannessa ended up yelling at Meghan in a moment of frustration. Meghan told HollywoodLife that it’s “definitely” hard to balance her needs and Vannessa’s, but it’s “worth it” in the end.
“She is a woman of the heart,” Meghan said about Vannessa Cross. “She has good intentions, and I get her frustration. Like, you see in the workout scene, she literally cussed me out. I get her frustration because I’ve been in her shoes. I was literally chained to oxygen 24/7, but what I wanted her to realize that day was it doesn’t matter if you’re doing that hula hoop correctly. You’re just moving. At the end of the day, that’s what counts. You dragged your ass out here, that’s what counts. But I try to take what she says with a grain of salt when she’s angry because I get it.”
Meghan also has a fiance who is “very supportive” of her weight loss journey. “He encourages me to lose weight,” she continued. “But I also don’t try to hinder like what he enjoys because I’m going to have to be around people my whole life who eat whatever the hell they want to. So, in that sense, he’s always told me if you don’t want me to do this, I won’t. But I don’t. It doesn’t bother me to watch him eat badly. He’s very supportive and tries to encourage me. Or if I’m having a bad moment or I feel like I’m struggling or whatever, he’ll be like, ‘What can I do to help you? Do you want me to do this with you?’ Things like that. So he’s very encouraging. A lot of people probably are surprised by that because a lot of times when you’re a larger person, sometimes the people that you’re with like you to stay big. He’s not one of those people. He didn’t fall for me because I’m fat. We met online. He fell for me because I’m awesome. We just clicked because we had a lot in common.” 1000-Lb. Best Friends airs Mondays on TLC.