Man loses 350 pounds by eating produce grown on his own farm
One man has lost a staggering 350 pounds by ditching his high-calorie diet - which consisted of four two-litre bottles of Coca-Cola per day - and eating home-grown produce from his farm.
Zach Moore admits he never went to the gym during his weight-loss regime and instead stuck to eating veggies to lose almost two thirds of his body weight.
The 39-year-old, who credits his weight loss to purely a nutritional change, said his diet consisted of almost exclusively fast food.
“I lost my weight without working out. I can’t get to a gym and I don’t live near a gym. I lost my weight through nutrition,” Moore explained.
Moore weighed around 500 pounds (37 stone) at his heaviest but after one particularly bad meal landed him in hospital, he decided to change the way he ate for good.
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“For breakfast, I’d probably eat three or four Egg McMuffins with a two-litre bottle of Coca-Cola.
“I’d probably drink three to four two-litre bottles per day.
“For lunch, we’d eat pizza. Going to Pizza Hut and getting one pie for myself and one for the family was normal.
“Dinner would be something like French fries and hotdogs and hamburgers.”
Talking about his stint in hospital, Moore explains: “I stopped and got Panda Express and a family meal and I ate a whole thing of orange chicken.
“I got food poisoning and lost 60 pounds in a week.
“It was all vomiting and diarrhoea. While I was in the hospital, I started to think ‘I’m gonna die.’
“I actually recorded a goodbye message to my son and my wife. That’s when I committed to myself and put effort behind losing weight.
“I knew that obesity kills. I didn’t want my son to be visiting my tombstone. I didn’t want to put my kid through that. I just wanted to be a better dad.
“I couldn’t teach him anything or play with him. It was terrible.”
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It was at that point that Moore knew he needed to change his ways, which started with father-of-one cutting out carbs, beef, and pork in order to lose enough weight to qualify for gastric bypass surgery.
“My surgery was supposed to be two hours, but it lasted seven.
“I flatlined on the table and was fatter than the doctor thought,” Moore explained.
After the surgery, Moore lost 110 pounds in 100 days, bringing him down to 170 pounds.
During this time he began to learn about food and how eating different diets can affect the body.
“I understand nutrition now. If food has high fructose corn syrup in it, I won’t touch it. If it has a lot of sugar, I don’t touch it. I avoid soy, wheat and gluten. I do a mix of keto and paleo nutrition.”
The weight loss wasn’t over for Moore, though, who then had to go on to have surgery to remove his excess skin.
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“That was terrible. I was under anaesthetic for nine hours. I had 2,400 stitches.
“They did a butt lift. They went up my sternum. They went into my armpits and reduced the breast size.”
By introducing farming into his diet, he’s now able to lead a self-sufficient lifestyle.
“I have over 100 chickens on my farm. I’ve also got ducks, guinea hens, and turkeys. I’ve had goats and horses. We’re also starting to grow a huge garden,” Moore explains.
“We grow beans, sprouts, tomatoes, really anything that I like.
“My wife is into garlic and onions. She grows onions and potatoes. Right now we’re also growing green beans, celery, and garbanzo beans.
“I miss candy. I had a sweet tooth. If I smell fried food at the fair and stuff, the aromas are amazing, but I don’t desire food like I once did.
“When I was heavy, I didn’t expect to live until 40, and that’s in six months.”
Speaking about his weight struggles, he thanked his wife Amber for sticking by him throughout the issues he faced.
“Without her, I would have failed, I know that.
“She drove me to every surgery. Amber’s always been there. She’s been my everything.”