From 600 Pounds to Hope: Nikki Webster’s Remarkable Journey to Reclaim Her Life

Her weight made simple daily tasks—like getting out of bed or washing up in the bathroom—extremely difficult. She shares her experiences and hardships on TLC’s *My 600lb Life*, airing on February 28th.

Nikki admitted, “My weight was destroying my health. My body was suffering, and I hated myself for it. But I finally recognized that food had become my addiction—and that this addiction was killing me.”

It took Nikki and her father, Terry, eight hours to travel from her home in Little Rock, Arkansas, to Houston, Texas, where she consulted with Dr. Yunan Nauzaradan. During that appointment, she learned she needed to lose 22–23 kilograms on a strict diet before qualifying for gastric bypass surgery.

She reached that initial goal in just three months, and Dr. Yunan approved her for the procedure. Once her stomach was surgically reduced, Webster began shedding weight rapidly—losing about 90 kilograms within a year.

Nikki also worked with a psychotherapist to strengthen her progress and prevent a return to overeating. Those sessions eventually culminated in an emotional heart-to-heart conversation with her mother, Llewellyn, and her sister, Courtney.

Before Nikki’s transformation began, Courtney refused to let her children see their aunt, fearing Nikki’s appearance would frighten them.

Webster now plans to lose an additional 200 pounds over the next 12–18 months. The Arkansas native will be featured as the opening story of the fourth season of *My 600lb Life*. During filming, she had already lost 28.5 kilograms in just one month.

She confessed to Dr. Nauzaradan that she doubted her ability to meet the weight-loss requirements in time. Further medical tests revealed she had pulmonary hypertension caused by her obesity, meaning her heart could not supply enough oxygen to her body—making surgery very risky.

Despite this, Webster pushed herself with everything she had. She managed to silence the fear that her efforts might fail, and three months later, she was successfully operated on.

Even before starting the program, Nikki openly acknowledged her food addiction. She explained that she couldn’t stop eating or wasting money on food—even when the fear of death loomed over her.

“I did this to myself. Eating has always been an inseparable habit for me. This addiction was killing me,” she said through tears.

Though now in her 40s, Nikki still lives with her parents, who never restricted her and allowed her overeating to continue.

“When my day started, all I could think about was eating,” she recalled. “My mom or dad would send a plate of food up the lift so I wouldn’t have to go downstairs for breakfast.”

Nikki eventually admitted that her family played a significant role in enabling her addiction, turning ordinary tasks like getting out of bed or bathing into painful challenges.

“My parents are both cooks, and they’ll make anything I ask for,” she said.

Each hour-long episode of *My 600lb Life* follows an obese individual traveling to Houston, Texas, to meet Dr. Younan Nauzaradan in hopes of receiving gastric bypass surgery.