Carlos OroscoA man who weighed a grand total of 651lbs has lost more than half of his body weight after a doctor warned him he wouldn’t make it to the age of 40 if he didn’t turn his life around.
Carlos Orosco from Saginaw, Michigan, appeared on Today where he revealed how developing a love for running and changing his eating habits helped him shed an incredible 466lbs (211kg) in just three years.
The 42-year-old, who is now training for his first marathon, now weighs an impressive 185lbs and admits feeling like he was given a ‘second chance’ to live after suffering a number of different obesity-related illnesses.
Carlos OroscoAt his heaviest, Carlos had a blood infection caused by swelling and ulcers in his legs, as well as sleep apnea and extreme gout.
Measuring in at six-foot-one in height, Carlos says he has ‘always been a bigger person’ but his weight started to get out of control during his late 20s.
After moving away from his parents, he turned to food and alcohol for comfort, but at first he didn’t think much of it because he could still ‘function and play sports.’
However, after years of indulging on fast food, fried meals, bread and alcohol, Carlos reached his heaviest weight of 651lbs (295kg) at the age of 38.
Carlos OroscoWhen Carlos became poorly as a result of his obesity-related illnesses, he met with a surgeon to discuss getting a laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy. During the procedure, about 75 per cent of the stomach is removed, limiting the amount of food the patient can consume.
Carlos recalled: ‘He told me bluntly that if I didn’t change my lifestyle, I probably wouldn’t make it to my early 40s. I was stunned by his prognosis.’
He booked in to have the surgery but was told if he didn’t lose 100lbs in six months, it would be cancelled.
Carlos worked with a dietician who helped him swap junk food for healthy options and he started going on three mile walks each day.
Carlos OroscoHe continued: The first few months were really tough. I was constantly fighting urges and cried myself to sleep many nights.
In December 2016, Carlos woke up on the morning of his surgery weighing 555lbs — just 5lbs shy of his weight-loss goal.
His weight started to plateau at around 350lbs, but after running a 5k in memory of a friend who passed away, Carlos developed a love for running, which helped him shift the remainder of his weight.
Carlos OroscoCarlos said:
I feel like a new person, really. I have been blessed with a second chance, another opportunity.
I realize that not everybody has the chance, has that second opportunity to do it, and that’s really what it feels like to me, a chance to do things the right way this time.
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.