'My 600-lb Life': It's a matter of life and death for Tommy as Dr Nowzaradan warns he doesn't have much time
Tommy Johnson has struggled with his weight since he was a child. Unfortunately, his weight has slowly started controlling his actions. Tommy revealed that he finds it difficult to stand on his two feet or walk around for a long time because of the pain he feels in his knees when he puts pressure on them.
To make things worse, he has to depend on his fiance Amanda with day-to-day activities. This has turned Amanda more like his caretaker than a girlfriend. Tommy knew that he had to work on things and most of all, start losing weight for himself and his girlfriend. He was worried that one day Amanda would leave him.
This led Tommy to decide on meeting Dr Younan Nowzaradan. When he first came for the consultation, he weighed 641lbs. Dr Nowzaradan told Tommy that if he wanted to lose weight, he would have to lose 80lbs in three months.
Dr Nowzaradan advised him to stick to healthy eating and the diet chart that has been provided to him while also exercising to make sure that the body has some sort of activity. He asked Tommy to start by walking twice a day.
Tommy agreed but once he reached home, things did not turn out the way he had expected. Tommy confessed that he was finding it difficult to stick to the diet and there were times when his cravings had the better of him.
This went on for a while and as a result Tommy did not lose enough weight. When he came for the consultation again, he weighed, 613lbs and had lost only 28lbs. Dr Nowzaradan was very disappointed as he knew that Tommy failed to stick to the diet. Amanda revealed that there were times when he would order food and binge on it.
However, Dr Nowzaradan informed both of them that they had been enabling each other. He added that it was important for both of them to support each other and motivate to eat healthily. Dr Nowzaradan knew that Tommy was in a critical state and warned him that he did not have much time and that it is a matter of life and death.
Hearing these words, Tommy knew that it was important for him to work on himself and get his life back on track. He decided to strictly follow the diet and walk as much as he could. Amanda also stopped cooking for him, which forced him to make his own meal and make sure that he is sticking to the diet.
After spending three months sticking to the diet and taking a healthy path in life, Tommy returned for another consultation with Dr Nowzaradan. This time, he had lost 70lbs and he now weighed 543lbs.
Tommy was happy to see that he had lost a lot of weight and so was Dr Nowzaradan. Dr Nowzaradan decided to approve Tommy for the surgery one month from the day of consultation and added that they would go on with the procedure if all the tests came out well.
Luckily for Tommy, he was good to go with the surgery. When the day of the surgery arrived, Tommy was scared but everything turned out well. The surgery was a success. After the surgery, Tommy weighed 484lbs and now he felt like he could walk around the house more.
Tommy felt good about being independent and supporting Amanda just the way she supported him. However, after a couple of weeks, Tommy found it hard to stick to the diet again because he found himself craving for food.
When he went to consult Dr Nowzaradan, Tommy found out that he had lost only 8lbs. Dr Nowzaradan suggested it would be good if Tommy went for therapy. He was hesitant but ultimately agreed. During therapy, Tommy revealed that a family friend of his had sexually molested him and there were times when he was verbally and physically abused.
He further revealed that he hadn't disclosed this to anyone, especially his mom, because he did not want her to feel like she was at fault. The therapist advised Tommy to open up about the event to his mother and fiance. However, she told him that the ultimate decision was up to him.
Tommy decided to open up to Amanda about the sexual assault. He was worried that she would see him differently. He admitted that he was embarrassed but Amanda told him that there was no reason for him to hide it. Tommy felt at ease after opening up about it.
He appreciated how she had reacted but he knew that he still had to open up about it to his mother. Before that, he decided to go for another consultation. This time, Tommy realized that he had lost 28lbs. Even though he was happy with the weight loss, he knew he still had a long way to go.
With the weight loss going the way he had intended, Tommy decided to wait for a while before he opened up to his mother but he made sure that he was sticking to his diet.
'My 600-lb Life' airs on Wednesdays at 8 pm ET on TLC.