An amputee from the US has told his inspiring story of how he managed to lose more than 200kg with only one leg - but the journey isn't over yet.
Stanley Hollar, 42, lost his right leg after a "devastating injury" during a football game in 1996. In an emotional essay for Yahoo Australia, Mr Hollar wrote that even before the injury, there wasn't a time when weight wasn't an issue.
"My family tried to say something several times about my weight but there were more words than actions, and I unfortunately just got used to the noise," he explained.
Mr Hollar wrote that "the final turning point" came in February 2016, when he was at his heaviest. His doctor told him if he didn't lose the weight, he would be dead before his next birthday.
"I wasn't even 40 years old yet," Mr Hollar wrote. "The fear of dying was the motivation I needed."
He began exercising with a hand bike and cutting junk food out of his diet, eventually losing 31kg, allowing him to qualify for bariatric surgery.
Post-surgery, Mr Hollar said he joined a gym, got a trainer, and kept working on shedding the weight. As he worked harder, the weight kept coming off until he managed to lose 221kg in three years.
"I did and continue to do this with only one leg, hopping around the gym from station to station along with my wheelchair," Mr Hollar writes.
"How did I tackle my weight loss in the early stages? The same way you eat an elephant one bite at time. You start small and build. You go a little farther or you do a little more each day."
While he says even he can't believe what he achieved, there is still a sore point. Doctors want to fit Mr Hollar with a prosthetic leg, which he cannot get until the lose skin around his knee is removed. Friends of Mr Hollar have started a crowd-funding website to help raise the money for the elective, 'cosmetic' surgery. So far the fund has raised around US$10,000, which means Mr Hollar is still not even halfway of reaching his goal of US$25,000.
"I am strong and healthy, but at times I still feel defeated because I have accomplished so much, but I still cannot run or even walk. I desperately want to walk and run. In a few years, I want to run that [5km] without the use of the chair. I just want to feel normal," Mr Hollar says.
Newshub.
