Zach Moore, 36, from Pierson in Florida, was so sure his obesity would kill him that he made a "goodbye video" for his eight-year-old son, Zach Jr
A DAD who came close to eating himself to death turned his life around after losing 25 stone of body weight - and then having two stone of excess skin removed.
Zach Moore, 36, from Pierson in Florida, was so sure his obesity would kill him that he made a "goodbye video" for his eight-year-old son, Zach Jr.
In the heartbreaking clip, Zach recorded himself reading Green Eggs and Ham by Dr. Seuss, so his son would have something to remember him by.
Three years ago, he weighed in at a staggering 33 stone, with a BMI of 60.
Zach felt like he was "playing Russian roulette" with his life by "eating himself to death", and ended up in hospital with food poisoning in 2013.
It was a turning point, and made the flabby dad realise he had to change his life if he wanted to be there for his son and his wife, Amber, 30.
So fizzy drinks, fags and sugar were out, and weight-loss surgery was in.
With the help of a gastric bypass and an exercise routine which involved 10,000 steps a day, Zach shed 25 stone in under two years.
But such a drastic transformation left Zach with two stone of excess skin hanging off his body which caused sores, infections and made it hard to move.
Since then he's been under the knife to remove the skin and, five months after his final op, Zach is loving his new life - particularly being able to play with his son.
The ab dad, who promotes MMA fights, said: "I truly felt like my life was coming to an end. I knew it was near. It's not a good feeling knowing that all you have left to offer your family is memories."
"I almost ate myself to death, but instead I found inner strength and worked very hard to get to where I am today."
"The thought of not being around kicked me into gear. I didn't want my son growing up with a tombstone for a father and it pushed me to keep fighting during the hard moments."
"I watch that video all the time. It's brought me to tears thinking I was so close to not being here. Because I fought so hard I can now tell my story to others."
Zach's 10 surgeries include a tummy tuck with muscle repair, bum lift, breast reduction with areola reconstruction and belly button revision.
But the slim dad wants even more operations to cut away the excess skin on his thighs and arms.
Before he trimmed down, Zach used to scoff takeaways for every meal and knocked back over two litres of cola every day.
Living like he did, with a staggering 70-inch weight, his muscles wasted away, and it's been a battle to build up his strength from scratch.
14.05.14 RNY (Gastric Bypass)
26.06.15 Endoscope (Negative for Ulcer)
12.07.16 Fleur De Lis Tummy Tuck
12.07.16 Muscle Repair
12.07.16 Umbilical Hernia Repair #1
12.07.16 Butt Lift
12.07.16 Breast Reduction w/ Areola Reconstruction
08.02.17 MPFL Replaced (Left Knee)
10.02.17 Emergency Foot Surgery (Right Foot)
29.03.17 Endoscope (Negative for Ulcer)
26.05.17 Umbilical Hernia Revision #2
26.05.17 Belly Button Revision
But Zach has made impressive progress already - and he has no plans to return to his dangerous old lifestyle.
He said: "There are a lot of simple everyday things I'm able to do now, that I couldn't do when I was obese.
"Things like driving a car, sitting comfortably in an airplane seat, walking through the market without stopping to catch my breath, going on field trips with my sons class, and making plans with friends and not cancelling on them.
"I'm even able to do more daring things like 5k runs, going to the gym, and heading to the beach and theme parks with my family, I'm just so much more confident."
Next up for Zach is surgery to slice off the excess skin on this thighs which he says hangs down like an extra pair of testicles.
However, before he can go under the knife.
Zach said: "It's kind of funny, although it's also quite challenging to have to wear compression garments every day to keep the excess skin from flapping around and falling out of my shorts.
"It's hard to go clothes shopping for shorts and pants. I have a lot of issues with my thighs and upper arms.
"Someday I'm hoping my skin removal surgery will be complete.
"It will help complete my journey, and make me feel a lot better about myself."
You can donate to Zach's You Caring page .
Previously, we told how a super-slimmer lost ten stone before her wedding day after struggling to fit into her dress.
We also revealed the awful reason men aren't asking one woman out after her 10-stone weight loss.
