Posted on 03/08/2007 1:11:12 PM PST by DeerfieldObserver
Manuel Uribe, who once weighed half a ton, left his house on Wednesday for the first time in five years.
Six people pushed Uribe's wheel-equipped iron bed out to the street, as a mariachi band played and a crowd gathered to see the man who once weighed 1,235 pounds.
"It's nice [being outside]. Many thanks to my travelling Mariachis," Uribe said after taking a sip from a champagne bottle.
Unable to leave his bed for more than five years, Uribe has lost 397 pounds since he began a high-protein diet a year ago. He now weighs about 840 pounds.
To celebrate the milestone, a forklift lifted Uribe's bed onto a trailer pulled by a pickup truck and the 41-year-old mechanic rode through the streets of San Nicolas de los Garza, a Monterrey suburb.
"I'm very proud of him and very happy. I hope God continues to give him the strength to move forward," Uribe's neighbour, Leonor Garza said.
Uribe was a chubby kid, weighing more than 250 pounds as an adolescent.
In 1992, he said his weight began to balloon further.
Since the summer of 2002, Uribe has been bedridden, relying on his mother and friends to feed and clean him.
He drew worldwide attention when he pleaded for help on national television in January 2006.
Afterwards, an Italian and a Spanish doctor both visited and offered him gastric bypass surgery.
But Uribe chose to accept help from Mexican nutritionists working with the Zone diet which he says he will stick to until he reaches his goal weight of 265 pounds.
Doctors say it may take between three and four years for Uribe to reach his goal.
Uribe said he plans to start a foundation to help overweight people get medical assistance and teach them about healthy eating habits.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.aol.com ...
"I hope God continues to give him the strength to move forward,"
I said about the same thing re: that big woman in stretch pants ahead of me in the WalMart checkout line.
What...what can one say? How could you get like that? I mean, did he wake up one morning and decide "I'm too fat to get out of bed"? He must just eat and crap in place.
Looks like his legs and feet have little blood circulation. Sad.
Sorry, my fat hand must have laid on the mouse too long...
Face looks a little like Bill Richardson after his burrito breakfast, lunch and supper.
I think I figured out a way to stop illegals. We just fatten them up like this dude then build a very small fence.
i.e., He ate too much.
LOL!!!
It's probably half sloth and gluttony, and half his genetic metabolism.
You can't really blame him. . it's not like he can go on the treadmill and work out.
i do believe that is one of the more disturbing pix i have ever seen.
My goodness! I remember reading about this fellow.
It did.
He must be a food mechanic - he's worked on many a meal.
but really what sort of caloric intake is required to SUSTAIN that weight? it seems that weight loss would be inevitable if you just cut that down gradually, doesn't it?
He obviously DID eat too much, but it's more than that. The vast majority of people couldn't get that big even if they ate all day every day.
"Does this sheet make me look fat?"
Stillbig.com
Oh, and of course his mid-morning brunch, afternoon snack and bedtime gallon of milk and carton of cookies.
build a very small fence......
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