A morbidly obese man who was forced to buy two aeroplane seats has ditched his 15,000 calorie a day diet to hit the gym and now looks unrecognisable.
Ross Gardner, 39, from Florida, dropped from 392 lbs (28 stone) to just 2013 lbs (14 stone 7 lbs) after doctors warned he had just three years to live.
While he once consumed around 15,000 calories every day - six times the recommended daily amount for the average male - Ross struggled to squeeze into size XXXXL clothing.
On a luxury trip to the Bahamas, Ross was left red-faced after he was stopped at the airport and forced to pay double the price for two seats due to his size.
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Doctors then warned Ross that his life was at risk so, in a desperate bid to turn his life around, he waved goodbye to his daily diet of pizza, burgers and whiskey.
He managed to shed half his body weight in 10 months and, after undergoing surgery to remove 6 lbs of excess skin, he now has his life back on track.
Ross, a chiropractor, said: ‘I didn't recognise the person staring back at me in the mirror, I was absolutely huge.
‘One day at work, I bent down to pick up a napkin and my trousers ripped completely in half. It was awful and I had to go straight home to change them.
‘And I was left completely humiliated when I was forced to buy two plane seats on a flight from Ohio to Miami.
‘In five years I had put on 14 stone and, despite telling myself daily that I would start a diet, I never did.'
I didn't take my shirt off once in six years in front of anyone, I was too ashamed of my bulging belly,' he said.
I now feel like a new man and I want to encourage others that it is never too late to turn your life around.’
In just ten months, Ross lost more than half of his body weight but, due to his extreme weight loss, he was left with no other option than to have a body lift to remove his severe excess skin.
He said: ‘My belly button was down by my knees and I had to tuck my skin into my shorts to hide it, it was humiliating.
‘The surgeon removed 6lbs of excess skin from around my torso and after the long and difficult recovery I felt like a new man.
‘I went to the gym six or seven times a week, and still do now, and because of this I didn't have to have surgery on my arms or legs which was a great relief.'
Now weighing a healthy 203 lbs (14 stone 7 lbs), Ross is determined to help others.
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