Alana “Honey Boo Boo” Thompson is considering weight-loss surgery when she turns 17 next month.
Thompson confirmed to Entertainment Tonight the surgery is “in the works,” but she hasn’t completely made up her mind. Reports surfaced earlier this week the TLC star may undergo an endoscopic sleeve gastroplasty which costs around $13,000.
“I just wanna make sure that this is actually something I wanna do before I just go and do it,” Thompson explained. “I wanna make sure that it’s, like, not something that’s, like, gonna kill me. And I just wanna make sure it’s something I actually wanna do before I go and do it.”
Thompson, who purportedly hopes to go from 275 pounds to 150, is aware a lifestyle change is necessary to accompany the surgery in order to sustain desired results.
“I know for a fact I could get in the gym and I know for a fact I could diet and I know for a fact I can do this to lose my weight,” Thompson adds. “I’ve tried. I will say I’ve tried, but the one thing with me is I have no motivation. I have no motivation to just keep going to the gym every day. I have no motivation to keep eating healthy because, like, I’m gonna eat what I think is good. I’m not [gonna] sit there and force myself to eat no Caesar salad because I think it’s healthy. No. I’m gonna eat what I think’s good. So, I just think I don’t have motivation, and I feel like the surgery would be, like, probably the easiest way to just, like, lose it fast.”
Thompson’s mother, Mama June Shannon, had weight-loss surgery in 2017 which was documented on Mama June: From Not to Hot. However, the reality star was unable to keep the weight off. Thompson believes she will be different.
“If I do go through with the surgery, I think I would be willing to change my lifestyle because my manager told me, like, you basically lose 100 pounds basically instant[ly],” she tells ET, noting how genetics have made it difficult to lose weight.
“There is a part that does feel like genetics does play because when I was very young, I was on steroids, like, I was very sick all the time,” she adds. “I just always had to take medication, so I was always a bigger kid anyways because of that. And then my mom, she claims she has this thing called lymphedema [swelling in arms or legs caused by a lymphatic system blockage] which supposedly makes her have some fat on her body. So, I mean, that could be possible. I mean, I definitely do eat, so that’s definitely a reason, but I don’t know.”
One reason Thompson may not do the surgery is a fear of going under anesthesia and a painful recovery.
“I just think, like, it’s them putting me to sleep for me,” she explains. “I’m just so nervous. Like, what if I don’t wake up? What if something goes wrong? I’m so nervous about the pain too. Me and pain are not good. Like, pain is not my friend.”
MORE: Honey Boo Boo reportedly undergoing weight loss surgery with her boyfriend
