TLC’s My 600-lb Life has had its share of success stories. Very few of them, however, could compare to the sheer amount of drama involved in the journey of Nashville native Marla McCants. Weighing in at almost 800 pounds when she was first featured on the hit reality TV show, Marla was among the heaviest patients ever featured in My 600-lb Life.

Her situation was so severe that Dr. Nowzaradan, My 600-lb Life’s resident weight-loss expert, feared that she would die before she could get better. Fans of the hit reality TV show from TLC would remember Dr. Now’s iconic statement about Marla, where the bariatric surgeon expressed his concern about the Nashville native’s life.

“She is in the worst condition health wise that I have ever seen… I am not [as] worried about weight loss surgery as [I am about] making sure she will survive the next 24 hours… This is [a] very dangerous situation. She is at the end of her life if we can’t do anything.”

Marla’s weight loss problems stemmed from a traumatic experience involving her ex-boyfriend. During an altercation with her former lover, Marla was abducted and held at gunpoint by her ex, which traumatized her greatly. Even worse, her former lover was on the loose for a while before getting arrested. The entire ordeal and its aftermath caused Marla to engage in emotional eating.

By the time her ex-boyfriend was caught by local authorities, Marla’s weight had already ballooned to around 700 pounds. During this time, Marla was already unable to move from her bed, and even simple tasks such as getting up and cleaning herself became next to impossible unless one of her three daughters helped her.

After a long and arduous process, however, Marla was able to qualify for gastric bypass surgery, as noted by an InTouch Weekly report. At the end of her My 600-lb Life featured episode, Marla weighed 534 pounds — 266 pounds less than her original weight. Marla was also incredibly optimistic when TLC’s cameras stopped filming.

Since then, Marla has pretty much continued in her weight loss journey. While she has not specified her current weight on her personal Facebook page, Marla’s latest uploads featuring herself show that she now looks like a completely different person. If any, Marla seems to have wholly relinquished her old, unhealthy lifestyle.

Needless to say, Marla looks downright stunning in her latest pictures. The My 600-lb Life star, for all intents and purposes, looks like a completely changed woman. She seems happy, confident, and comfortable in her own skin. The latest pictures on her personal Facebook profile were dated late October this year, and they look good. Really, really good.

Overall, it seems like that fateful scene in Marla’s featured My 600-lb Life episode, where she stood for the first time in years, was truly a turning point in her life. Since appearing on the hit reality TV show, Marla seems to have taken her life back.