Obese man loses 350 pounds by eating food grown on his farm
Story and video from SWNS
A man who once drank four two-litre bottles of cola per day lost over 350 pounds (25 stone) by ditching the beverage, eating home-grown veggies - and avoiding exercise.
Morbidly obese Zach Moore, 39, weighed a staggering 500 pounds (37 stone) in December of 2013. After dropping almost two thirds of his bodyweight he remained slim by eating veggies he grows on his family's farm and by never hitting the gym.
"I lost my weight without working out. I can't get to a gym and I don't live near a gym. I lost my weight through nutrition," said Zach, from Pierson, Florida.
When he was at his heaviest Zach's diet consisted almost entirely of fast food. "For breakfast, I'd probably eat three or four Egg McMuffins with a two-litre bottle of Coca-Cola.
'Huge meal landed him in hospital'
"I'd probably drink three to four two-litre bottles per day. For lunch, we'd eat pizza. Going to Pizza Hut and getting one pie for myself and one for the family was normal.
"Dinner would be something like French fries and hotdogs and hamburgers". He vowed to change his eating habits after one particularly huge meal landed him in hospital."
This all changed after a medical emergency following a huge takeaway forced Zach to confront his health problems.
"I got food poisoning and lost 60 pounds in a week
"It was all vomiting and diarrhea. While I was in the hospital, I started to think 'I'm gonna die.'
"I knew that obesity kills. I didn't want my son to be visiting my tombstone. I didn't want to put my kid through that. I just wanted to be a better dad.
"I couldn't teach him anything or play with him. It was terrible."
'The surgery was complicated'
Zach cut carbs, beef, and pork out of his diet in early 2014 in order to lose enough weight to qualify for gastric bypass surgery. By the time of his surgery in May of 2014, he was down to 392 pounds, but despite his weight loss, the surgery was complicated.
"My surgery was supposed to be two hours, but it lasted seven."I flatlined on the table and was fatter than the doctor thought."
After surgery his weight plummeted further: "I lost 110 pounds in 100 days over the summer of 2014, by August 2015, I was 170 pounds."
"I understand nutrition now. If food has high fructose corn syrup in it, I won't touch it. If it has a lot of sugar, I don't touch it. I avoid soy, wheat and gluten. I do a mix of keto and paleo nutrition."
Zach then had surgery to remove his excess skin. "That was terrible. I was under anesthetic for nine hours. I had 2,400 stitches. They did a butt lift. They went up my sternum. They went into my armpits and reduced the breast size."
He thanks his wife, Amber, for sticking with him through his weight problems. "Without her, I would have failed," he said.
"She drove me to every surgery. Amber's always been there. She's been my everything."
