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.
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In before the Michael Moore jokes
Ready to go night-clubing.
What, no pictures?
(JUST KIDDING)
In before the Algore jokes
It's hard to believe that the human body can sustain that much weight.
He must've stayed up more than 20 hours a day to eat that much.
How many cars can he work on from the bed inside his house?
geez, is that his sack hanging out? NASTY!
Is that Before or After the diet?
It can't.
Wow. If you lipo'd this guy you'd have enough Crisco for 5 years.
I shudder to think of his elimination process.
I refuse to contemplate the "cleaning" required of something that eats so much...gag
Whatever, those thighs must way about 300 lbs, each.
Whatever, those thighs must way about 300 lbs, each.
Looks like his thigh.
To die due to sloth and gluttony is so sad. I wish him the best. May God help him to achieve his goal weight, and may he be an inspiration to others.
That's his THIGH.
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