AND Durham, North Carolina, man turned his life around after receiving serious medical news.
Derek Barnett, 55, was diagnosed with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease 10 years ago, according to a SWNS report.
At his heaviest, Barnett weighed 240 pounds and was a size 38.
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Barnett, a construction worker who is currently unemployed due to health problemshe dismissed his diagnosis, telling SWNS he “didn’t think anything of it”.
“Everybody has some kind of thing,” he said.
At his heaviest, Barnett weighed 240 pounds and was a size 38. (SWNS)
But the man’s condition worsened, progressing to cirrhosis and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma, also known as liver cancer.
In January 2024, Barnett received a letter from his doctor delivering the bad news – he potentially only had six months to live if the cancer continued to grow.
“When they gave me that letter last year, it became real,” he reflected.
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“That message said, ‘If the cancer becomes aggressive, you have six months to live.’ I looked after him, looked at him every day and he beat me.”
Barnett’s doctors informed him that the best way to regain his health would be to lose weight – and he knew it was time to get motivated and act.
I played college baseball, tennis and football in the 80s, but as I got older, I gained weight, Barnett said. (SWNS)
“I thought, ‘OK, we can do it,'” he told SWNS. “I’m a fruit lover. I went to main fruit diet basically.”
Barnett began limiting his diet to “very small meals” throughout the day, including lots of his favorite fruit.
“It’s about eating right, staying active and never giving up.”
“I can eat a whole watermelon in one day, but I also eat apples, oranges and grapes — whatever’s in season,” he said.
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– I also drink protein shakes, I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat a lot of meat because it’s too filling.
Barnett recently struck out record low weight from 164 pounds. He reported that he lost weight with this diet and that “the results look fantastic”.
Barnett reported feeling “fantastic, and I’m just getting started.” (SWNS)
“I haven’t weighed this since I was probably 15,” he said.
Barnett said he still has work to do toning your muscles to “make up for the loss of skin” but continues to push forward.
My clothes are a little too big and baggy and it’s hard to afford clothes when you lose weight so quickly, but I feel fantastic, he said.
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Barnett also kept his weight off stay activedespite his physical limitations.
“I have osteoarthritis in my right knee and I need a knee replacement,” he revealed. “I can’t run or take the stairs, but I do what I can.”
Barnett was able to lose more than 70 pounds on a diet of fruit and protein shakes, along with consistent exercise. (SWNS)
He reported that his workouts usually involve sitting in chairs and “using small dumbbells.”
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“I’m nonstop, but I do it without getting hurt,” he added. “Losing weight is easy [about] stay active, find anything you can do to get off the couch.”
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Barnett told SWNS that he will find out the status of his prognosis in February and hopes to inspire others with his successful weight loss journey.
“I definitely don’t want cancer anymore,” he said. “I don’t want a liver transplant. I want to live an active lifestyle.” (SWNS)
“If I can do this, anyone can,” he said. “I did everything the doctors told me. It’s about eating right, staying active and never giving up.”
“I was 55 and going on 90,” he continued. “I’m 55 now, going back to 20 again.”
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Barnett hopes to return to work and live “a full, active life“, states SWNS.
“I want to ring that bell the next time I see my doctors and tell them I did it,” he said. – This is just the beginning.
