Obese Young Man Who Weighed 820 Pounds Now Unrecognizable After Dropping 600

(Courtesy of Casey King)

A formerly-obese man whose weight crisis was aired on global TV has amazingly turned his life around. After having surgery, transforming his diet, changing his lifestyle, and—not least of all—adopting a new mental outlook, he’s lost nearly 600 pounds and today says with confidence: “I’m happy with who I am.”

Now 38, Casey King from Georgia became enormously obese during high school, leaving him feeling socially ostracized. And peaking at 823 pounds, food became his refuge. “I was kind of always an outcast kid,” King told The Epoch Times. “I was just always weird or different, high energy, loud, and I didn’t have a ton of friends so I just ate a lot.” Then, after high school, he worked at several restaurants and leaned into eating to cope with feelings of loneliness. The more he ate, the bigger he got.

After a debilitating ankle injury left him immobilized for a couple of months, King’s food habit grew out of control.

Casey King as an overweight youth. (Courtesy of Casey King)

Casey King, prior to his weight loss transformation, tipped the scale at 823 pounds at his peak. (Courtesy of Casey King)

“I just ate all day, every day,” he said. “I played video games; I didn’t really go outside much; I wasn’t very active at all.” King spent the whole day indoors. He didn’t visit his friends and only saw his family on “super-special occasions,” he said, adding that he felt “trapped inside.”

Having lived with his father for almost 14 years, King recalls his go-to takeout meal: 12 to 15 chicken tenders tossed in Buffalo and barbecue sauce, a large order of tater tots, and a large sweet tea. Often, he and his dad would polish off two large pizzas themselves. “We didn’t count calories or anything,” King said. “We just ate until we were full.”

Eventually, his parents confronted him about his ballooning weight, insisting that only he could change himself. His mom in particular was always his champion, but the message didn’t sink in—nor did he see any changes—until after he became an uncle.

Casey King with his nephew, who inspired King's weight loss journey. (Courtesy of Casey King)

“Ten years ago, I was so big that I couldn’t really get off the ground,” he said. “We went to the hospital the next day, and they were like, ‘If you’re barely able to breathe, you’re not getting the oxygen into your blood you need. That’s why you’re always tired and not wanting to move. You’re gonna die.’

“Right around that time was when my nephew was born. I was like, ‘I gotta change my life for this kid because I love him and I want to be a good uncle.’”

Sick of Always Being Tired

So, King took his health into his own hands. In 2019, then weighing 711 pounds, he participated in season two of TLC’s reality show “Family By The Ton.” Before being offered weight-loss surgery, he was asked to lose some of the weight himself to demonstrate his commitment, and King dropped to 630 pounds in a healthy way before having vertical sleeve gastrectomy surgery. Afterward, he swapped out his massive meals for more frequent, smaller dishes consisting of salads, grilled vegetables, and grilled meat. As his stomach adjusted to the new regime, so did he.

Before and after photos show Casey King as an obese young man and more recently, having undertaken his weight loss program. (Courtesy of Casey King)

“I lost weight, I got more active, and then as I got more active I started to mess around with my diet more,” he said.

King started getting compliments on his looks. Some even said he “was cute,” which felt “great,” and as the compliments kept pouring in he “felt better and better,” he said, adding that the more people championed his cause, the more he “just never wanted to stop.”

Through hiking, walking, swimming, and eating healthily, King entered an ascending, positive spiral. Since having surgery, he has lost 388 pounds, now weighs 242 pounds, and is not far from his ultimate goal of 215 pounds, though he admits some days are tough. “I still get jealous of people that are able to eat normal food. I still want things and crave things,” he said. “At certain times, the weight loss really stalled out. ... I would be really hard on myself physically, on how I looked, [but] I knew I didn’t want to go back to being enormous.”

Casey King demonstrates his weight loss achievement by wearing his old clothes. (Courtesy of Casey King)

Now King, who works at a Home Depot fulfillment center near his home, is unrecognizable from his high school days. He chronicles his ongoing health journey on Instagram, and says he is more active physically, mentally, and emotionally than ever before. “I really am happy with who I am as a person,” he said. “You don’t know how unhappy you are until you get to experience these other things.”

King had never dated in his former years. Love was simply a “non-factor” as he felt unattractive and absolutely like “a human waste of flesh,” he said. “None of these things were options before I went from literally just existing in this world to now living my life.”

Before and after photos show Casey King during different stages of his weight loss journey. (Courtesy of Casey King)

Today, King is researching skin removal surgery as his copious derma no longer suits his narrower body size. It’s “complicated and extremely expensive,” he said, though his goal of becoming comfortable taking his shirt off in front of others to go swimming keeps him motivated.

But with his parents, siblings, and friends all in his corner, King’s support system emboldens him to feel like a superhero. “I’m pretty humble normally,” he said. “But when I’m starting to get compliments, I completely throw my humbleness away! I just started leaning into the fact that I am a literal inspiration to the world, and I am an amazing human being.”

Before and after photos show a shirtless Casey King during different stages of his weight loss program. (Courtesy of Casey King)

There is no right diet, King says. In anyone’s weight-loss journey, it’s important to find the one that works for you. “Don’t put your life at risk; don’t do something that’s gonna kill you within a year or two, but do what works for you,” he said. “You don’t have to make drastic changes to your life unless you’re literally on the verge of death.” Rather, tweak little things such as choosing diet soda, eating less fried food and more grilled food, adding more veggies to your plate, and getting more active: then you will see changes over time.

He has one last tip.

“Get a dog! Take your dog for a walk,” he said, adding that “it’s not always a fast journey, but it is possible and you can do it.”

A recent photo of Casey King, after going through a rigorous weight loss program. (Courtesy of Casey King)

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