William Keefer From 'My 600-lb Life Now' Season 12 Struggled to Follow a Diet — Where Is He Now?
William was given several chances by Dr. Now to lose weight, but struggled to stay on track and ultimately made little progress.
Published March 13 2024, 8:00 p.m. ET
Season 12 of TLC's My 600-lb Life, a reality TV series that follows the weight loss journeys of individuals struggling with obesity, is in full swing. In the season's first episode, we followed Krystal S' (now Krystal Anglesey) weight loss journey from Menan, Idaho. In Episode 2, we met William Keefer from Round Rock, Texas.
William, who was 34 at the time of his episode, had a starting weight of 620 pounds. Unlike some other folks on the show, he was still fairly mobile, but because of his weight, he could not drive a car and relied on his mother, Dorothy, to drive him places, namely the grocery store.
William's dad left before he was born, likely creating an emptiness in his life. Growing up, William played sports in school, but after tearing his ACL, he got depressed and seemingly stepped away from athletics. Not to mention, his mom got another job in a different state, so his grandparents mostly cared for him. After high school, he went to his local job corps where he met a woman. Within three months, he had married her and they moved to Colorado. Unfortunately, they got divorced, and William moved back to Texas.
William Keefer and his mom Dorothy in Dr. Now's waiting room
Whenever life got difficult, William turned to food. He said he would drink a six-pack of soda within a few hours. The episode followed William's journey over a year as he tried to lose weight and began working with the show's resident surgeon Dr. Younan Nowzaradan, aka Dr. Now in Houston. Unfortunately, throughout William's year-long journey, his progress was not linear.
When he first met Dr. Now, he was 592 pounds. After Dr. Now gave him several chances to lose weight to qualify for weight surgery, William's last weigh-in after almost a year of trying to transform his life was 588 pounds. He lost only four pounds.
You may be wondering where William is today. Here's what we know.
Where is William Keefer now from 'My 600-lb Life?'
It is unknown where William Keefer is now, but given his behavior during the episode, it seems unlikely he took control of his weight. William is not found on social media except for an outdated LinkedIn account, which notes that he previously worked at Subway as an assistant manager and as a crew member at Dunkin'.
Dr. Now told him that he needed to lose 70 pounds in two months to qualify for surgery. William repeatedly failed that goal and ended up gaining a few pounds.
When William first met Dr. Now, he was unemployed. However, within a few months, he managed to secure a job at a food restaurant. This new job seemed to pose a challenge to his weight loss efforts. Despite his mother's initial promise to join him in his weight loss journey, Dorothy also seemed to struggle to commit.
Dr. Now confronted William about his habit of making excuses and lying during their sessions. He also recommended therapy to address his honesty issues. In one session with psychotherapist Dr. Matthew Paradise, William shared a heartbreaking story about his wife divorcing him on his birthday, then packing his stuff up for him and driving him to the airport so he could leave her.
Watch My 600-lb Life on TLC on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST.