Bhaswati Borthakur
‘My 600-lb Life,’ a popular TLC series, follows the lives of numerous severely obese people, who normally weigh around 600 pounds. They sign up for the program to lose weight as a way to start over and lead healthier lifestyles. The procedure is aided by the well-known bariatric surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, also known as Dr. Now, who designs demanding, individually tailored diet and exercise treatment plans for each patient. He also assists them in qualifying for weight-loss surgery.
Since its inception in 2012, the reality show has highlighted the weight loss journeys of individuals with diverse challenges and attitudes, along with their reasons for massive weight gains. One such cast member with a complicated background and slower progress in weight loss was David Nelson from season 10 episode 15. As viewers might be curious to know where he is now, here’s everything we found out!
David Nelson’s My 600-lb Life Journey
30-year-old David Nelson from Idaho Falls, Idaho, lived a painful life because of his massive weight of 763 pounds. He lived with his foster mother, Robin, who cooked for him and tried to help him lose weight. David had additional health issues because of his weight such as chronic back and muscle pain, took around 8 painkiller medicines, and needed a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP) machine just to sleep. All he did every day was sleep, eat loads of unhealthy food, sit around watching TV, and sometimes go grocery shopping with Robin.
David’s food addiction was a result of unstable living environments, which sadly began very early in his life. David was born to his 13-year-old young mother who happened to be a cocaine-addict and an absent father. Thus, he was practically raised in various foster homes and foster parents who didn’t always have good intentions. Some parents only took in foster kids for the money given by the state, and some didn’t provide proper nutrition, leaving him to overfeed himself in fear of not getting fed again for days.
By age 6, he got adopted permanently by the Nelson family, but unfortunately, the parents turned out to be abusive. They disciplined him by hitting and slapping, which once even broke his nose. Thus, he again turned to food for emotional comfort throughout his childhood, gaining 250 pounds by the time he was in middle school. However, his involvement in football and wrestling kept him active, and he didn’t have an issue till he turned 15/16 when he got into major trouble. He sadly got kicked out of his family after he, along with his siblings, threw parties while his parents were away for their grandmother’s funeral.
This was a devastating time for David; he went back to foster care, gained 100 pounds in a year, and got depressed. Fortunately, he got adopted by Robin, who saw the goodness in him and wanted to help sort his life. Robin helped him bring down his weight to 280 pounds, gave a positive environment, treated him as her son, and also helped him study and get into the University of Idaho. But college was again difficult for him as he slipped into partying, eating, and drinking, ultimately leaving college and getting a job in his hometown.
Since David’s depression got worse, more money only meant more fast food, and this phase continued for years, making him 800 pounds and even suicidal at times. His wake-up call finally came when he developed a Cellulitis infection and had to go to the emergency room, almost taking his life. Thus, after meeting Dr. Now, he followed the weight-loss plan well and took all the necessary steps to finally lose 68 pounds in 2 months.
Where is David Nelson Today?
After bringing down his weight by 68 pounds to 695 pounds, he immediately qualified for surgery and was asked by Dr. Now to lose another 30 pounds in 2 months until surgery. He was also asked to make arrangements to move to Houston with someone to get the gastric bypass surgery without any issue. However, the stress of moving to Houston and Robin having trouble managing time from work to make the move had David miss the diet sometimes. He also admitted to having cheat meals due to the stress, but he did try different exercises like water aerobics to continue his journey.
As a result, in his next follow-up, David ended up gaining back 38 pounds, becoming 733 pounds. This made him very disappointed in himself and guilty, thinking that he let everybody down, especially Robin. Even after trying for another 2 months, when he only lost 14 pounds, Dr. Now then advised him to seek therapy to deal with his emotional stress, which let him have cheat meals. He also gave him another 2 months to lose 70 pounds and get approved for surgery.
Getting psychotherapy did help David, as he let out his emotions pretty well, and he was, thus, advised to live more independently, looking at his capabilities. Once he started living independently, worked out his emotions, ate healthily, and even went out by himself, David finally gained confidence and lost a total of 155 pounds, weighing 608 pounds. Dr. Now also approved his bariatric surgery, provided he continued the weight-loss plan, and David is, since then, doing great by getting a trainer, eating healthy, and even traveling!
David is now much more mobile, is traveling places in a van by taking help with a GoFundMe to fix his van, visiting California, Idaho falls for a while, and other places in Texas like Galveston Beach, etc. He keeps his encouraging fans updated about his workout sessions, healthy meals, new healthy gifts like a Fitbit, as well as his travels. In March 2022, he also gave an interview to East Idaho News, wherein he talked about his journey. “For the first time in a long time, I feel good,” he said.
In May 2022, David Nelson mentioned that his surgery was coming up soon. Thus, as David continues his journey of reaching his goal weight, we only hope that he gets done with surgery and lives a happy and healthy life ahead.
Read More: Carrie Johnson My 600-lb Update: Where is She Today?
