One man who weighed 650lbs and had never had sex looked unrecognisable after dropping more than half his body weight – but he’s now piled the pounds back on and is “in hospice”.
David Elmore Smith appeared on the TLC TV special back in 2009, where he was helped by personal trainer Chris Powell to shift 400lbs. David looked incredible after his transformation, sporting huge biceps and even getting himself a girlfriend. At his heaviest, he had weighed 710lbs (nearly 51 stone).
Before his weight loss, the star confessed he was too afraid to go outside during the daytime because people would stare and laugh at him. On the show, he revealed: “Up until now, my life has been nothing. I ate, I slept, I watched TV and that’s about it.”
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He quipped: “Instead of being a dud, I want to be a stud.” Appearing on The Today Show in 2009 at his lowest weight, David documented his incredible workout and diet journey alongside Chris.
The long-time virgin even got himself a girlfriend, Megan Povar. He lost his virginity aged 32, when Megan was 18. They later tied the knot.
But since then, David has piled on 300lbs, rocketing up to 500lbs. In 2012, he could already feel his health deteriorating once again. He revealed: “I’ve gained more than 250lbs in two years, and with all that extra weight so quickly added to my body, I don’t know how I’m still living right now… The way I’m going, I’m not going to live for too much longer.”
David said although he “looked really good on the outside”, he was a “terrible mess” inside after losing so much weight so quickly. He said: “All my life I was this monster in my head and all of a sudden, to be this good looking guy, it blew my mind away. I didn’t know how to deal with it.”
He had undergone multiple surgeries in an attempt to get rid of the excess skin from his weight loss, but none had succeeded entirely and left him scarred. The star turned to drugs and alcohol, but eventually went back to binge eating and his weight spiralled out of control once more.
The star said his newfound fame wasn’t easy to cope with either, telling the Today Show: “It was tough. A lot of people were counting on me to be inspiring, and I didn’t want to let anybody down, but I just felt so bad. I didn’t know how to cope.”
Thankfully, Megan stuck by him at the time, encouraging David to head to the gym to try and shift the weight. In 2012, she said: “He’s really finally ready for it this time, of course I’m going to be there. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for since he started gaining. For him to really want to be healthy again.”
Sadly, it appears things ended between the pair, and in his latest social media update this week (November 20, 2023), David was using a CPAP machine to aid with his breathing. He seemed to be having difficulty speaking as he updated fans in a video: “Today has been one of the two worst days of my life.”
He admitted he’s “going to hospice”. Two years ago, he was hospitalised and in a coma, going in and out of various medical facilities, with reports his kidneys are failing.
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In an update about his ex-wife Megan, David wrote online: “I never told anyone but today my ex-wife left me because I never had balls. No balls, no kids. We even tested it 0%… no sperm.
“The guy she married got her pregnant, I couldn’t. […] As soon as she kicked me out he moved in. […] She had me watch the kids after working 12 hour shifts in a call centre.” He went on to allege: “She had the kids lying about the new improved guy.
“I broke down. The youngest was adopted by the guy. Writing on the wall. I’m overwhelmed with emotions.”
David claims to be under 400lbs with “only half a working kidney”, and says his “balls never dropped due to swelling” in an Instagram post shared with fans.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
