Man Who Lost 650 Pounds Loses Even More

The New York Times has an inspiring update on the man once known as the world's fattest. Paul Mason, who at one point weighed as much as 980 pounds, had to be removed from his apartment with a forklift in order to receive gastric bypass surgery in 2010. After six years of improvements and setbacks, he had his second surgery to remove excess skin on Wednesday. "For someone who's so emotionally complicated, who could have given up many times—he hasn't," one of Mason's three doctors tells the Times. "It's one of the most interesting parts of it, that you have someone who seems to have every reason to throw in the towel, and yet who has fought all the way."

The 55-year-old Mason had 50 pounds of excess skin removed from his body last year. He lost another 10 pounds of skin Wednesday. To understand what that means to Mason, who says he felt "trapped" by the extra skin, the Times asks readers to picture a "loose sac weighing three pounds attached to the bottom of each of your upper arms." Mason calls Wednesday's surgery "life-changing." His doctors say it was the "most extreme" case of skin removal they've ever seen. Post-surgery, Mason—who was down to 310 pounds but has since gone back up to 350—hopes to treat his arthritic knees, get back to the gym, and buy a car. Read the full story here. (More obesity stories.)