A man from Durham, North Carolina, has 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 report from SWNS.
At his heaviest, Barnett weighed 240 pounds and was a size 38.
Barnett, a construction worker who is currently unemployed due to health issues, dismissed his diagnosis, telling SWNS he “didn’t think anything of it”.
“Everybody has some kind of thing,” he said.
But the man’s condition worsened, progressing to cirrhosis and eventually hepatocellular carcinoma, also known as liver cancer.
In January 2024, Barnett was given a letter from his doctor delivering 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.
“That note said, ‘If the cancer gets aggressive, you have six months to live.’ I saved it, looked at it every day, and it 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 take action.
“I said, ‘OK, we can do this,'” he told SWNS. “I’m a fruit aholic. I basically went on a big fruit diet.”
Barnett began limiting his diet to “very small meals” throughout the day, including lots of his favorite fruit.
“I can eat a whole watermelon in a day, but I also eat apples, oranges and grapes – whatever’s in season,” he said.
“I also make protein shakes. I’m not a vegetarian, but I don’t eat a lot of meat because it fills me up too much.”
Barnett recently weighed in at a record low of 164 pounds. He reported that he lost pounds following this diet and that “his spots are looking fantastic.”
“I haven’t weighed this since I was probably 15,” he said.
Barnett said he still has work to do on toning his muscles to “catch up on skin loss,” but he’s moving forward.
“My clothes are a bit too big and baggy, and it’s hard to fit into clothes when you’re losing weight so quickly, but I feel fantastic,” he said.
Barnett has also kept the weight off by staying active despite his physical limitations.
“I have osteoarthritis in my right knee and I need a knee replacement,” he revealed. “I can’t run or climb stairs, but I do what I can.”
He reported that his workouts usually involve sitting in a chair and “using small dumbbells.”
“I am nonstop, but I do it without harming myself,” he added. “Losing weight is simple [about] staying active, finding anything you can do to get off the couch.”
Barnett told SWNS that he will learn the status of his prognosis in February and that he hopes to inspire others with his successful weight loss journey.
“If I can do it, 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 going on 90,” he continued. “I’m 55 now, I’ll be 20 again.”
Barnett hopes to return to work and live a “full, active life,” according to SWNS.
“I want to ring the bell the next time I see my doctors and tell them I did it,” he said. “This is just the beginning.”
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