My 600-lb Life Season 13 Episode 1 Recap: Justice For Jonathan

Each season of My 600-lb Life follows the harrowing journey of a morbidly obese person trying to regain control of their life. The reality TV show notes that the odds of a person so overweight being able to do so are less than 5%.

This season on the TLC series, we'll be following the story of 36-year-old Jonathan. Though he once worked as an EMT responder, his weight has gotten so out of control that now he's hardly able to leave his house.

Jonathan Opens Up About His Rough Background

When we first see Jonathan, he's on oxygen at home, lying in his armchair. His wife Tzena explains that, because of his condition, she has to do a lot of the household labor, and that she's the only one of them who's able to hold a job. She looks teary-eyed as she speaks to the camera, and I immediately felt for her, driven to care for the man she loves at any cost.

Jonathan explains that he had a tough upbringing: his family was poor, without running water and sometimes without food, so that whenever he did get it, he would be sure to gorge himself. He said his father was also a terrible alcoholic and his brother ended up abandoning the family, making food even more of a source of comfort for him. When the bullying at school became too severe, Jonathan convinced his mother to homeschool him, only furthering his access to fast food.

Hearing about Jonathan's rough childhood sets us up to have a deeper understanding of his psychology: where he wasn't able to find love in his life, food could fill that hole, and I felt immense sympathy for everything he'd gone through pretty immediately. He explains that while he'd tried to lose weight after marrying Tzena, losing both of his parents set him back:

It totally threw me into a tailspin. I gave up the gym, started eating the things I shouldn't have ate [sic] again.

Eventually, his growing weight meant he had to give up his EMT work as well. I applaud Jonathan for being as self-aware as he is; the irony that he used to work in the medical field and now can't control his fast food addiction isn't lost on him. More than anything, I'm invested in how Tzena herself will navigate his struggles, as she tells the cameras she's scared of his condition and often feels like they're "wasting time" because of her husband's limitations.

Jonathan Meets With Dr. Nowzaradan

Desperate to turn his life around, Jonathan and his wife drive to Houston to meet Dr. Younan Nowzaradan. He finds it "shameful" that he weighs in at 641 pounds and assures Dr. Nowzaradan that he's through with his emotional eating:

I have chosen that depression's not the way I want to go with my life, and I'm ready to change it.

To his credit, Dr. Nowzaradan seems skeptical that Jonathan will listen to a doctor if he won't even listen to the nurse that he has in his wife. He assigns him "homework," including some reading about metabolism as well as a diet and exercise, telling him that she should be able to lose 80 pounds in two months. Hearing this number shocked me, as it sounded impossible within the short time frame, but perhaps even a small amount of regular exercise will have a major impact on his results.

Jonathan returns to Dr. Nowzaradan's office at his three-month mark to discover that he's lost 87 pounds. Given his success, Dr. Nowzaradan approves him for weight-loss surgery, which means he and Tzena will need to move to Houston. At the five-month mark, Jonathan looks markedly different and is even able to move around the yard more easily with Tzena.

I continue to feel like Tzena is the true hero of the season — she joins Jonathan on his diet and exercise plan and is also trying to get her nursing license in Texas to accommodate their move to Houston. For now, however, Jonathan will go ahead to Texas on his own.

In the end, Dr. Now tells Jonathan that he's approving him for surgery in two months' time, by which point he'll need to lose another 30 pounds. In the meantime, Tzena is pleased to see that Jonathan has more energy and is able to walk around the park with her. When his nine-month mark rolls around, he goes in for gastric sleeve surgery to remove 80-90% of his stomach.

The surgery goes smoothly, though Dr. Now notes that Jonathan still has over 300 pounds to lose. Since the surgery, Jonathan notes he's eating slower and a lot less, a feat which even amazes himself. I really appreciate how humble and dedicated he's been throughout the process, and I look forward to watching more of his journey this season because he's so genuine and easy to root for.