Tammy Slaton Opens Up About Her Weight Loss: All About The ‘1,000-Lb. Sisters’ Star’s Health Journey

Tammy Slaton’s family is proud of her progress.

On January 9, Tammy’s sister Amanda Halterman shared a supportive Instagram post encouraging her to keep pushing along her weight-loss journey. The video included a series of photos from FaceTime calls between the siblings while Tammy was in rehabilitation treatment to lose weight.

“@queentammy86 @queentammy86 flashback to rehab FaceTime days. We are so proud of you sis,” Amanda wrote. “Keep pushing forward to accomplish your goals you got this and we got you!”

So far, Tammy has blown away all expectations: In November, Tammy shared on the show that she was down to 281 pounds (from over 700), noting that she now weighs less than her brother. “I think the last time I weighed 281, I was like, fourth or fifth grade,” she said. “I’m the baby sister, but I’m not the ‘big’ baby sister no more.”

After undergoing bariatric surgery in 2022 and subsequently checking herself into weight loss rehab, Tammy has been looking noticeably slimmed down. (The Kentucky native has previously documented her journey on her TLC series alongside sister Amy.)

Tammy has made some major shifts to get to this point. Here’s what she’s shared about her journey so far.

Tammy has lost more than 500 pounds on her journey.

Since her series premiered in 2020, Tammy has lost more than half of her prior body weight. As of December 2024, she’s officially down more than 500 pounds; at her highest, she was 725 pounds, she told People last year.

On August 18, the 1,000-Lb. Sisters star took to TikTok to celebrate the latest benchmark in her weight loss journey. In the clip, Tammy was seen alongside five other “weight loss warriors” who shared that they’ve collectively lost 2,078 pounds.

“Truly absolutely amazing ladies,” the TLC star wrote over the video. “I’m happy to call y’all all my friends. I’m so proud of each and everyone of y’all.”

Tammy has shared that she takes a lot of selfies because “I want to remember how big I was.”

“I reflect, ‘Dude, I was huge,'” Tammy shared in an August 27 Instagram post. “I lost 500 pounds. I would not be able to sit in this chair.”

But the journey didn’t come without its struggles: Tammy added that she was “so focused on losing weight” that she “lost” herself, turning to “alcohol instead of food.”

“At the same time, I was still eating, so I was doing both. Damage in two different ways,” she added. “It would be so easy to fall back into bad habits and gain all the weight back but then what was this all for? Waste of time, waste of money, wasted effort.”

Tammy underwent surgery after a near-death experience.

To do so, Tammy made some major changes to her diet, underwent bariatric surgery in July 2022, and subsequently checked into a 14-month weight loss rehab, per People.

Tammy got bariatric surgery after having a scary health experience, she told People. She stopped breathing and was placed in a medically-induced coma.

“I wised up and got my surgery,” she said. She also was cleared to be off of oxygen during the day.

“Now I only wear my oxygen at night, along with my BiPap machine,” she said. “I monitor my oxygen levels throughout the day and keep my machine on hand in case I need it.”

She’s now able to walk without assistance.

At the start of her journey, Tammy had difficulty with mobility and needed to rely on a walker or wheelchair. But now, she can move around without aid, and no longer needs an oxygen tube to breathe.

“One of the big changes that I have gone through this past year is probably small to most people, but for me it was huge,” Tammy told People. “Just being able to walk without a walker or be pushed in a wheelchair, and no oxygen. I don’t even sleep with it at night anymore.”

Tammy also said that she’s now able to sit in the front seat of a regular vehicle and can fasten the seat belt without using an extender. “What seems minor to some people is giant for me,” she said.

Tammy can now fly on an airplane.

She shared in a January episode of 1,000-Lb Sisters that she took an extra precaution for a flight to make sure she would be able to board the plane by buying two side-by-side seats. But when she sat down, she learned that she could fit into one seat.

Tammy said that she was “comfortable” in her seat and that she was able to buckle her seatbelt. “I was kind of surprised that I didn’t need both seats that we paid for,” she said.

She’s grateful for her new “quality of life.”

Tammy is happy with how her life has changed. “My quality of life has changed so much,” she said in a February TikTok. “Before I went to rehab, I was bitter, unhappy, very super suicidal, depressed, and just mean. Everybody hated me…and they still do…I had this I don’t care attitude back then. I still do, but it’s not as bad. I’m working on myself still.”

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Tammy also said that she’s able to appreciate life more, and is now treating herself and others better in the process. “I have personally seen a lot of growth in how I treat people and my family,” she said. “Just my attitude and how happier I seem. I smile a lot more.”

Tammy also revealed in that video that she was able to enjoy a recent trip to Disney World. “I actually got on rides, and I rode in a hot air balloon,” she said. “I wouldn’t have been able to do any of this two years ago…I’m just giving myself a pat on the back for achieving something. Getting the weight off and living.”

Tammy says diet played a role in her weight gain.

Tammy and her 1,000-Lb Sisters co-star Amy told People in 2023 that they started gaining weight from a young age. “I’ve always had a weight issue,” she said.

She also revealed that her mother worked three jobs when they were children, so she and her sister prepared their own meals. “The microwave was our best friend,” Tammy said. “Ramen noodles, bowls of soup, things that were quick and easy—stuff that adds on carbs.”

Tammy also said that she and her sister “turned to food for comfort” when their grandmother, who helped to care for them, died in 1999.

Tammy has shared her healthy eating tips.

Tammy regularly interacts with fans on Instagram, and she’s been candid about how she’s tweaked her diet to help her lose weight.

“You [eat] proteins, low carbs, no sugars, no pop, portion control,” she said in one 2023 Instagram post, per People.

She also revealed on TikTok that she tries to avoid soda. “I don’t drink sodies that often anymore,” she said in a post that’s been removed, per People. “I mean, maybe two 12-ounce cans a day, sometimes not even that. Sometimes just one, sometimes not at all.”

Tammy also said that she mostly sticks to tea or sugar free Gatorade. “I do like drinking Crystal Light packets and stuff like that sometimes, but (I mostly drink) plain, ordinary water,” she said.

Tammy later shared on Instagram that she was working on her home cooking skills. “Even though I can’t eat much doesn’t mean my family shouldn’t eat good,” she captioned several dishes she had made. “I’m finally able to show off my cooking skills just [call] me chef TT or chef TamTam lol 😂.”

She exercises regularly.

Tammy has several workout routines she likes. “I like chair exercises, lifting weights, running the bike, and walking,” she told Us Weekly.

Is Tammy Slaton getting skin removal surgery?

Tammy has repeatedly been asked by fans about having excess skin from her weight loss removed, but she said she hasn’t scheduled the operation yet.

Among other things, she wanted to lose more weight—and she’s now hit a weight that her doctor recommended she aim for before scheduling the surgery.

In a February TikTok, Tammy shared that she’s planning to get skin removal surgery at some point, but doesn’t know exactly when.

“My ‘chin flap’ is not a chin flap. It’s literally excess skin and yes, it will go away when I get skin removal surgery,” she said. “I cannot answer, before anybody asks, when I’m getting skin removal because I don’t know.”

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But her doctor, Dr. Brad Turner, said on the show in mid-November that Tammy still shouldn’t get the skin removal surgery yet. “Tammy is not currently a candidate for skin removal surgery because she’s only about 13 or 14 months out from her weight loss surgery,” he said. “At this point, she should probably continue to lose weight over the next six months to a year, get to her goal weight and then we can reapproach the topic with her.”

Tammy said on the show that she was frustrated with the news, but Turner encouraged her to stay positive. “I’m gonna let Dr. Smith’s work keep on doing its job, OK?” he said. “I’m definitely not telling you, ‘No.’ I’m just telling you, ‘Not tomorrow.’”

She encourages kindness online.

Tammy has called out people on social media for making mean comments about her. “Can’t I live my life without y’all judging me, making fun of me for every little freaking thing?” she said. “I can’t duet a friend without y’all thinking I’m trying to bang them. I can’t be happy and smile without y’all judging me because my teeth are missing.”

Tammy then encouraged people to be kinder to others. “You don’t understand what people are going through,” she said. “I’m very insecure. I hide it because I don’t want people to think I’m weak and I truly am weak. And calling me a turkey or talking about my face and my teeth it bothers me. I’m human.”

She added, “I just want people to realize that hating is not okay.”