Vanessa Cross, star of TLC's "1000-Lb. Best Friends," has undergone a remarkable transformation, shedding over 200 pounds and embracing a healthier, more active lifestyle. Her journey, marked by challenges, determination, and the support of her friends, is an inspiration to many.
A Turning Point
Weight was never something Vannessa Cross paid attention to. According to Cross, she felt like she was living a good quality life. The 44-year-old says her mentality was that she was fine and perfect the way she was. The 1000-Lb. Best Friends star says it wasn't until she talked to best friend and costar Meghan Crumpler that she decided it was time to make some lifestyle changes.
Witnessing her best friend and co-star Meghan Crumpler's progress sparked a desire for change. Cross was inspired by Meghan's increased mobility, reduced oxygen dependence, and overall well-being. "I was like, 'Okay, well yeah I'm fine being big, but God look at her!' She's walking easier, she's not using her oxygen so much, she's doing so much better, she's getting attention," Cross says, sharing that it sparked her weight loss journey.
Preparing for Surgery
Cross began preparing for bariatric surgery by losing some weight on her own. She cut out bread, sugar, and soda - minus the occasional Mountain Dew - from her diet. Recognizing the emotional component of her eating habits, Cross also sought therapy. "I started mentally figuring out why," she says, sharing that she started going to therapy. "I opened my mind to try to understand what in my brain is making me want to stay fat and stay helpless."
This combination of dietary changes and therapy proved effective. "I lost almost 50 lbs. on my own before I had surgery. That was not easy," Cross adds, noting that she was down to 398 lbs.
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Life After Bariatric Surgery
Cross says she's no longer a "broken woman" after surgery and is now unfazed by many of the unhealthy foods she used to go crazy for. Following bariatric surgery, Cross experienced a significant shift in her relationship with food. She replaced soda and fried food with vegan smoothies and fruits, and is learning new healthy recipes at home with her children. "Food is no longer something that I look at for pleasure, for joy, for happiness, for comfort. I've now had to figure out in my head what else can I do," Cross explains. "Now when I get that real heavy craving, I'll go for a walk or I'll go to the gym. I just gotta get that out of me. The TLC star adds that she can't believe that she's exercising three times a week now, praising the support from her family and best friends Crumpler, Ashely Sutton and Tina Arnold.
Embracing Exercise
Exercise has become an integral part of Cross's life. "I'm working my core. I'm doing upper, I'm doing lower, I'm doing everything I can. And I've seen a pretty good bit of results in my weight loss," she says. What might be "weird to say it out loud … I do love running," she gushed, explaining that she aims to hit between a half a mile to 1 mile every day. She also enjoys cycling and stair climbing and is working on building arm muscle.
Skin Removal Surgery and Reaching "Wonderland"
Cross says her current goal is to get down to 180 lbs. so that she can qualify for skin removal surgery. In the season finale of 1000-Lb. Best Friends, she visits plastic surgeon Dr. "It usually takes a year, year and a half to get to your ideal weight," Alderman tells Cross in PEOPLE's exclusive clip. "I want to do whatever to be beautiful. That is one of the most important things to me," Cross tells PEOPLE.
In a preview clip for the Tuesday, December 2, episode of 1000-Lb. Best Friends, Vannessa Cross achieved a lifetime milestone weight after her surgery to remove excess skin. In her first weigh-in with her plastic surgeon following her procedure, Vannessa, 46, stepped on a scale to discover she weighed 195 pounds, after clocking in at 220 pounds prior to the surgery. "I've never been under 200 pounds," the TLC star gushed in a confessional. "To see 195 on the scale, I am losing my s--t." Vannessa was thrilled to find out her weight was going to continue downward, as her plastic surgeon, Dr. David Whiteman, explained, "You're still going to have some fluid retention from surgery. It's not going to be your final weight."
Ahead of the season 3 premiere of 1000-Lb. Best Friends, star Vannessa Cross is ready to show off a major transformation: her 200-lb. weight loss."My life has took a 360, let's be honest with this," Cross, 45, declared in an interview with Parade published on Monday, October 21."Going from being 450 pounds to where now I'm under 200, I actually hit wonderland - onederland," she quipped, referring to being in the 100-lb. range."I'm in the hundreds and it has been amazing," she added.
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A New Perspective on Food
Cross has developed a new perspective on food. "Food has, instead of becoming my joy, my life, my go-to, food has just become something you have to do to survive, but that's it. You don't have to eat it for fun," she told Parade. "You don't gotta eat it because you're sad. That took a lot."
Overcoming Emotional Eating
Cross elaborated on her new mindset of using exercise as a healthy outlet when she's struggling with something mentally. "I would rather go and exercise or go and walk instead of eating something for my emotions and feelings now," she noted.
Addressing Excess Skin
During her weight-loss journey, Cross also went under the knife for another procedure - this time, to get her excess skin removed. "So we had Betsy May that hung down here on my side, my big old roll," she joked to Parade. "And we had the bat wings, but as you see, the bat wings are gone. I cried my eyes out when I woke up from surgery." "All I wanted was to be normal,” Vannessa told People in October after undergoing her excess skin removal. “When I lost all my weight but still had that hanging skin, going to gym, every time I ran, you heard the fat roll slapping. People would look. You’re wearing a tank top and you got your bat wings hanging down and they hear ‘pap pap pap.’”“Now I get to go to the gym and run and have no issues whatsoever. That is amazing. I actually live life now.
A Focus on Health and Well-being
Cross shared that while she no longer feels ill after eating some unhealthy foods, she doesn’t want to take the risk. “I can have 12 grams of sugar per serving; So I get my little puddings or my yogurts or something that is the candy bar flavor. Because right now they’ve got key lime pie,” she said. “They got everything in a yogurt. So those are my cheat days. Since I had the surgery, it’s been almost three years,” she shared. “I’m still only getting in around a thousand, maybe 1,500 [calories].
A Desire for More
Vannessa reflected on how she wished her late parents were still alive to witness her achievement. “I never thought I'd make it. I simply feel my mama, my daddy, looking down from heaven and going, 'That's my Boo Boo. She made it. She did it,'” the reality star told the producers. "I worked my butt off to get where I am, but this is just the beginning,” she says. “I want to ride on slides, I want to ride on roller coasters. I want to do it all. “Life has changed immensely for me, from being 450 and now I am under 200 pounds.,” she said. “I actually go to the gym. I actually eat extremely healthy foods. “I actually live life now,” Cross added.
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