'My 600-lb Life': Who is Wess Schulze? Gay sexual abuse survivor from Texas turned to food for comfort
If you or anyone you know suspects child abuse, you are urged to immediately call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential and the hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.
BAY CITY, MICHIGAN: Fans of the TLC show 'My 600-lb Life' are always interested in hearing about the patients who feature on the show. Many individuals have sought aid from Dr Younan Nowzaradan or Dr Now, who is based in Texas. The chances of success for individuals taking part in 'My 600-lb Life' are less than 5%, yet many of them are desperate to make a positive difference in their lives. TLC viewers will see yet another success story in the form of a gay man in small-town Texas in the forthcoming episode.
Tonight's episode of 'My 600-lb Life' introduces viewers to Wess Schulze, and the show concludes with viewers wondering whether there will be a 2023 update on where he is today. Is he making any headway with his weight loss? Was he ever operated on?
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Who is Wess Schulze?
Wess Schulze is a young man from Houston, Texas, who had high plans to lose weight. According to his frequent Facebook updates, he weighed 743 pounds before beginning Dr Now's treatment regimen.
Wess is an Experienced Accounts Receivable Specialist with an established history of working in the environmental services area, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has expertise in Negotiation, Environmental Compliance, Operations Management, Microsoft Word, and Sales. He is also an Accounting specialist with extensive experience in numerous billing systems, including Quickbooks and TMW.
Survivor turned to food for comfort
His family didn't have much money while he was growing up, but his father liked to cook. He used to feed Wess and his sister a "generous, to say the least," portion. Growing up, his concept of a portion was "way jacked up." Wess was raised to associate enormous meals with his father's affection.
Wess' upbringing was "dull and gloom" aside from eating. His parents split when he was three years old. His father was granted custody since his mother was an alcoholic. Wess' father was a long-distance truck driver, which meant he was gone a lot. His 7-year-old sister stepped up to take care of him.
He spent a lot of time at home, which is when a family member was "very sexually abusive" to him, robbing him of his youth. The abuser did things that Wess would not want on his worst enemy. He still hopes they get the care they need, since Wess will never be able to recover from the tragedy.
"When you suffer a traumatic childhood or traumatic event, when you're that young, whatever age it happens, it's almost like you get stuck emotionally. You have to cope with that somehow, so I just ate," he says on the show.
Wess didn't mind because his weight kept people away. He never wanted to be hurt by others, and the easiest way to prevent being harmed was to isolate himself and avoid forming attachments. And the finest way to make himself unlikeable. "If nobody wants me nobody will hurt me." As a result, he would gorge himself on food.
It was difficult for him to consider the possibility that someone would find him attractive. But he was curious. One day, his father caught him fooling around on the internet with an older man to whom Wess was drawn to. As a result, he had no choice but to come out to his father as gay. The revelation was received with resistance. He was informed that that was not acceptable. He was even requested to talk with a local pastor about it. Even after a few sessions with the Pastor on the inside, he didn't believe it.
Wess' childhood trauma became the source of his weight gain #My600lbLife pic.twitter.com/fxEvqpi8ih
— TLC Network (@TLC) February 13, 2023
Wess' journey on 'My 600-lb life'
Wess' father allowed him time to recover and prepare for the big cleansing after he returned from seeing Dr Now. Wess began to question if it was a smart idea for him to accompany his father to visit Dr Now. As he perceives it, his father has seized control of his life, particularly his diet. Wess, on the other hand, dislikes losing control. Wess knows his father loves him, yet he occasionally wants to be alone. Despite knowing how difficult the road is ahead, his father has complete trust in him.
The second month of his therapy has not been easy. Wess, on the other hand, is doing his part. He's been working out and eating with his father, who comes to visit him every other day. Wess, on the other hand, does not want to be a burden to his father. So he suggested the idea that he would accept his help only after he had surgery approval. He wants to go alone up to that point.
On the plus side, Wess has lost a significant amount of weight. Since June 2022, he has been documenting his weight loss progress on his Facebook page. He most likely encountered Dr Now about this time and quickly joined his health program. In January 2023, a man who formerly weighed 743 pounds shared with his followers, "WEEKLY WEIGH IN… ANOTHER 10 pounds! That officialy brings me into the OVER 200 pounds lost category! 528."
He posted again in early February, saying, "OMG I AM FREAKING OUT! I just tried on a pair of jeans… 11 inches or roughly 5 sizes smaller then I use to wear! And they are about 1 size too big!"
A few days ago he requested his followers to tune into TLC for his episode, "Just finished my first 1 hour workout! I’m tired… BUT I DID IT! 220 lbs down! P.S. Don’t forget to watch my episode on My 600lb life Wednesday 02/15/2023!!!"
'Wess' Journey' will air on Wednesday, February 15 at 8 PM ET/PT. Season 11 of 'My 600-lb Life' airs every Wednesday on TLC and Discovery+.