We've all had those moments of self-loathing when we step on the scale the morning after a Big Mac Attack. But imagine how you would feel if you weren't just a little heavy-you were one of the fattest people on the planet. The heavyweights below have known that feeling, having gained notoriety for their larger-than-life bodies. Read on-and put the brownie down.
Renee Williams
Texas housewife Renee Williams made headlines earlier this year when she became, according to The Daily Mail, the heaviest woman known to undergo gastric bypass surgery. Williams tipped the scales at 841 pounds and was unable to care for her children or leave her bed. "It was a hundred percent guaranteed I was gonna die," Williams said at the time of her operation. She was reportedly turned down for the procedure by more than a dozen doctors because of her enormous weight; special hospital equipment had to be brought in to accommodate her size. Unfortunately, the surgery proved too much for the 29-year-old's health, and died after suffering a heart attack just two weeks later
Manuel Uribe Garza
Mexico's Manuel Uribe Garza weighs 840 pounds-and that's good news, because he used to weigh 1,235 and was at one point considered the fattest man in the world. According to The Washington Post, the 41-year-old attributed his weight loss to a high-protein diet. The paper also states that Garza's massive weight left him bedridden for years, until he gained international attention in 2006 by pleading for help. After initially considering gastric bypass surgery, Garza chose to instead work with nutritionists on maintaining a healthy diet; he plans to continue that until he reaches his ultimate goal of 265 pounds. "My goal is to leave the house on my own but I know that will be a long process," he said.
Rosalie Bradford
When 63-year-old Rosalie Bradford passed away last November, she left behind quite a legacy. In addition to at one point being the third largest person in the world, as her website, RosalieBradford.com, states, Bradford also held not one but two distinctions from the Guinness Book of World Records during her lifetime: one for being the heaviest woman in history (at a weight of approximately 1,200 pounds), and one for having the largest weight loss ever recorded-a staggering 950 pounds, for which she credited Richard Simmons. Bradford was amazingly able to whittle her weight down to 200 pounds, Wikipedia.com reports (note to self: purchase copy of "Sweatin' to the Oldies"), but suffered health complications after having surgery to remove excess skin.