I was one of country’s fattest men at 56st & got stuck in my shower for 11 hrs… now I’ve shed 41st girls want my number
WET, in pain and unable to move, Casey King felt a wave of sheer panic as he realised he was stuck.
Tipping the scales at over 56st, his fear turned to shame as he realised he'd become so fat, he could no longer get out of his shower.
Recalling that horror moment in July 2014, Casey, from Georgia, US, tells The Sun: "God, this is dark, but I tried to get out and it just hurt too much and then I tried over and over again.
"Eventually I was so exhausted and started breathing heavily. I just could not position myself in a way I could get out, so I just sat in the shower for 11 hours."
It was the wake-up call Casey, now 38, needed to take drastic action. He has since lost a staggering 41st and says he feels better than ever.
Casey, who appeared on the TLC show My 3,000lb Life, claims he's finally able to do normal things like dating - and is thrilled that girls are sliding into his DMs.
read more REAL LIFE FEATURES
But it hasn't been an easy journey - and it isn't over yet, as he's been left with rolls of sagging skin.
During his teenage years Casey's weight began to pile on, fuelled by a diet of fast food and zero exercise.
He explains: "I was a social outcast. I was loud and wild so my friends’ parents didn’t want me around.
"There were limited people for me to be friends with. Food was the only thing that kept me happy.
Most read in The Sun
"From the age of 10, I'd deep-fry a whole bag of French fries and just cover it with ketchup and eat that all summer.
"I'd eat full Big Mac supersized meals and when my sister couldn't finish hers I'd eat it. I always wanted more... I couldn't get enough."
Casey's mother became concerned about his ballooning weight and ended up using unconventional means to help him lose it.
He recalls: "I can't even remember all the pills I tried when I was in high school - there was one that was in the early stages of development and I had to get bloodwork done in order to take it."
I'd eat full Big Mac supersized meals and when my sister couldn't finish hers I'd eat it. I always wanted more... I couldn't get enough
Casey King
Nothing worked, however, as food was the only thing Casey found solace in.
By his mid-20s he'd become one of the fattest people in his town.
At his heaviest Casey couldn't do basic tasks alone and had to depend on his family.
He explains: "I couldn’t get up to use the bathroom, I couldn’t wipe my own behind or clean myself.
"Sometimes I would not able to put on my shoes or even manage to get clothes on. There were so many things that I needed assistance to do.
"The only places I went to were family things with my dad. He would have to drive me everywhere.
"If we ever managed to go to the movies - which we only started doing when I began losing weight - it would be matinee movies in the middle of the day so I wouldn't be seen by other people.
"I lived life through Facebook because I had no life. At the time, I would share over 10 posts in one hour. I didn't have friends. I was just this blob of a person that existed.
I didn't have friends. I was just this blob of a person that existed
Casey King
"It was like I was a piece of mould on the lawn or fungus and just there and never did anything with my life."
Casey's condition and lack of social life was catastrophic for his mental health.
"I felt alone," he recalls. "I leaned into my dad being my only friend a lot. It was sad.
"I would get upset so easily and I didn’t know how to control my anger. I was like a man-child.
"The only thing that would make me happy was food."
He likens his obsession with food to a "really awful drug addiction", adding: "You rationalise all these things in your life that are weird and different to everyone else - 'No, I’m not going to leave the house all week because a person my size shouldn’t'.
"No, I can't bathe today and that's normal because a normal person this big can't bathe'."
Casey's only interaction with women was during video gaming sessions, which he says was his outlet.
"I would convince myself that they liked me and they were romantically into me when we had never had those conversations," he admits.
"I would tell myself they were impressed with how well I was playing. I didn't know how relationships worked because I never had one.
"It was sad. You don't realise how bad something was until you get out."
Turning point
Casey's big turning point came when he visited his newborn nephew Thomas at hospital in 2011.
He says: "I remember thinking I have to be an uncle for this baby. I am the only uncle in his life.
"I needed to be smart, personable, fun, and loving. But I wasn't going to be able to do that being over 800lbs."
For a few years his brother brought his nephew to visit him, and he treated his body "like a jungle", jumping all over it.
Casey registered at the gym and began going four times a week, while reducing his calorie intake.
"I started getting pretty consistent," he says. "I was only swimming and walking. I would walk around 300 laps in the pool.
"I would be there for two hours and eventually do some swimming."
'Living for a purpose'
Casey had weight loss surgery in 2018, going from 45st to 17st, which made him more determined to drop more.
He says: "I wanted to look better because I started getting so many compliments.
"It was so foreign for a girl to find me attractive, but I started getting messages on Instagram, more likes on Tinder and Bumble.
"People from high school kept telling me how great I looked and saying I was cute and attractive. People were hitting on me.
"I got a girl's number at McDonald's - she gave it to me, I didn't have to ask for it. I was so amazed.
"People were now flirting with me in DMs, saying how great we'd look together, making passes at me... I can't even put into words how it feels."
Casey, who now has a job working at a home improvement store, adds: "There are things in my life that I never thought I would be able to experience because of where I was.
"Now I have money I'm able to drive, I travel and go to concerts.
"I never thought about dating girls, sex, and any of that was going to be a thing for me. Now I can go out to dinner with someone because they actually want to."
Casey says he's working hard to lose even more weight and hopes to go under the knife to have the excess skin from his weight loss removed.
READ MORE SUN STORIES
He has raised $17,000 on a GoFundMe page, but expects the first operation will cost $23,000 and the second a further $15,000.
"The goal is to have the surgery later this year," he says. "As scary as it sounds, I will pick a doctor and get it done."
