Man who appeared on ‘My 600-Lb. Life’ shares update on his health journey

By Brittni Johnson

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    IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (eastidahonews.com) — A former Idaho Falls man who appeared on a popular reality TV show ‘My 600-Lb. Life’ is now at a place in his life that for years seemed nearly impossible to reach.

David Nelson, 33, was a participant in season 10 of My 600-Lb. Life, where morbidly obese patients strive to lose weight through diet and weight loss surgery.

Nelson spoke with EastIdahoNews.com in 2022 after the first episode he was featured on aired. At that time, he was visiting people in Idaho Falls, and his van broke down. He was raising funds to drive back to Texas for his weight loss surgery. He weighed 730 pounds, down from his prior weight of 825 pounds.

After fixing his van, Nelson drove to Texas and lived on Galveston Island for about a year. While in Galveston, Nelson said he lost over 100 pounds, putting him at 230 total pounds he had lost up to that point.

It wasn’t an easy journey, but Nelson eventually qualified for weight loss surgery.

“I remember that I didn’t think it was going to happen because there was a problem with insurance,” Nelson stated. “It was literally last minute. Dr. Now (who was planning to perform the surgery) was like, ‘I’m going to pay for it.’”

A ‘My 600-Lb. Life: Where Are They Now?’ episode aired in May 2024 that highlighted Nelson and his gastric sleeve surgery.

“I had surgery Jan. 30, 2023,” he said. “I had surgery at (around) 600 pounds.”

Following surgery, Nelson moved to Park City, Utah, where he stayed for a few months to recover. He lost 120 pounds while living in Utah, which left him weighing 500 pounds in total.

“While I was there, I got to the point (where I was) healthy enough, where I thought I should probably go back to work (and thought) what am I going to do next?” Nelson said.

Nelson, who grew up in foster care, said his friend he was staying with in Utah got him thinking that he should start looking for his family.

“I did a DNA test … and looked up some adoption websites,” Nelson recalled. “My sister found an ad for these people that were looking for a David Keith Anderson … which is my birth name.”

Nelson said it was an older ad and that his aunt’s friend had posted it online.

“I got in touch with her, and she got in touch with my aunt, who got in touch with my dad,” he said. “My dad called me that day for the first time in 30 years.”

He continued, “We started talking, and within two days, he was like, ‘I want to know you.’ I was like, ‘I have to know you. I’ll move to California right now.’ So I did. I moved in with him. It’s great.”

Since moving in with his dad, Nelson said he’s gone from weighing 500 pounds to 340 pounds. He mentioned that his dad is a “big guy” like him and that Nelson helped him lose 75 pounds.

Nelson also learned more about his family situation since being reconnected with his father. While in foster care, he was told his mother was a cocaine addict who had him when she was 13 years old.

Nelson said he’s since learned his father and mother were actually high school sweethearts. She had Nelson — who was their firstborn — after high school and once his parents got married.

His parents did get into drugs, and due to a family incident that had to be investigated, Nelson was put into foster care.

“When my dad told me my actual growing up, there was a mixture of anger and relief,” Nelson mentioned. “It wasn’t so broken as I imagined or as I was told.”

Now that Nelson has undergone surgery and is home with his dad, he said he’s more motivated than ever “to get healthy.” He feels the need to work out every day, and his mindset has shifted to making working out something he wants to do. One activity he enjoys is riding a marathon once a week on his stationary bike.

“I went for a three-mile walk through downtown Sacramento the other day and just did it because I could,” Nelson said, crying. “Getting healthy is the best feeling anybody could ever have. I can’t believe I wasted 20 years getting that big.”

Nelson feels blessed to have received the weight loss surgery and to be where he is right now.

“I almost can’t put it into words about how much happier I am compared with how I was three years ago,” Nelson expressed. “When I go for walks, I’m crying because I’m so happy. It’s amazing.”

Nelson said his new goal weight he’s hoping to reach is 200 pounds.

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