Manuel Uribe and His Struggle to Walk Again

Manuel Uribe, 43, of Monterrey, Mexico was awarded the title "The Heaviest Man in the World" in Jan. 2006 by Guinness World Records. At that time he weighed 1,235 lbs. He has since lost over 500 lbs and now weighs about 700 lbs thanks to the Zone diet. He had been bed-ridden since 2001 and has one goal in mind - to be able to walk again.

Manuel Uribe is beyond the kind of overweight that comes from fast food and lack of exercise. Doctors call it morbid obesity. According to the National Institutes of Health, obesity means weighing 20 percent or more than your ideal body weight, and it's a health risk. Morbid obesity is altogether different. Sometimes called "clinically severe obesity," it means you're 100 pounds or more over ideal body weight, with a body mass index of 40 or higher.

Uribe doesn't gain weight like the rest of us. Brain chemistry, genetic mutation, addiction, psychological pain -- or an unhappy combination of all of them -- makes morbid obesity one of the biggest mysteries of medicine.

An operation in 2001 - to remove 180 lbs of growth tissue from his thighs and pelvic areas - proved unsuccessful and Manuel feared that he would not be able to walk again. In addition to his weight problems, his wife of 14 years left him. He continued to over-eat and became depressed and at one point contemplated suicide.

Things began to change after he was noticed by a local journalist, Jose Luis Garcia, who interviewed him and told his story to the world. In the interview Manuel asked for someone to help him lose weight. Doctors and dietitians visited him. After much consultation Manuel decided to go on a diet, the Zone diet, rather than undergo more surgery which came with significant risks to his health.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7F5XD306VGg&feature=related]

Manuel not only started losing weight on his new diet but he also found love again. He met Claudia Solis and they both decided to get married. The following video chronicles Manuel's transformation from depression to romance.

Manuel and Claudia

[wpvideo RfsQ7bfw]

Manuel Gets Married

[wpvideo UYR4w5rs]

Even though Manuel is still not able to walk, he has plans to be mobile. He is now having a 1989 Chevrolet Astrovan outfitted specially for him. The minivan is being converted into an open-air, flatbed pickup. Manuel says he will put a bed on the back of the van to drive around town, with his new wife at the wheel.

With his new found lease on life, Manuel now wants to open an auto parts store. He is also making plans to visit the beach soon with his wife. He plans to continue with his diet and exercise and maybe someday he will be able to walk again. Below is a clip with Dr. Barry Sears, the creator of the Zone diet.

[wpvideo MKcUOHnE]

Manuel Uribe sums it up like this:

"I love life , I love God and I have someone to love, Thank God!!"

Suresh Joachim Sets New World Record

Have you ever heard of Suresh Joachim? Not many people have, but according to Wikipedia he now holds at least 58 world records; he has even broken some of his own. His achievements are documented in the Guinness Book of World Records.

In his most recent accomplishment Suresh Joachim has broken his own Guinness world record for nonstop broadcast-television watching, clocking 72 hours. He had previously set a record of 69 hours, 48 minutes, in 2005.

"I feel fine, I drank between 25 and 30 cups of coffee," Joachim said.

Joachim, a Sri Lanka native who lives in Toronto, watched three seasons of the drama series "24" featuring Kiefer Sutherland, said Swedish TV4 spokeswoman Janina Witkowski.

Joachim has set world records in dancing, bowling, running, broadcasting and even at his own marriage ceremony where the wedding featured a record 79 bridesmaids, a record 47 groomsmen, and a record 60.09 m (197 ft 1 in) long wedding bouquet, held by the bride.

One would think that Joachim was satisfied with these accomplishments......but he has set even bigger goals for himself.

“I, Suresh Joachim, am deeply disturbed and stirred by the ongoing violence and its direct impact on children. Poverty, disease and war have increased the number of suffering children and all my endeavors will be designed to help suffering children all over the world. To spread my message in World I am attempting new world records with the aim of spreading world peace and to create an awareness of suffering children.The UFFORSC (Universal Fund For Suffering Children) branch has been inaugurated in Australia, Canada for helping millions of suffering children in Asia and Africa. My ultimate aim is to carry a peace torch commencing in 2009 from Jerusalem (Jesus Birth Place) to Canada covering 54 countries including 88 major cities passing the torch to dignitaries in these countries.I will be covering 6,000 km to raise one billion dollars for my purpose.Also Suresh Joachim will submit a petition to the United Nation with million signatures to make June 24 a global cease fire day. I welcome all like-minded people to join and work for the same .”

Read more about this amazing individual at his website and sign up for video clips of his current and future attempts at setting or breaking world records.

The Longest Dreadlocks

Asha Mandela, 46, is going for the Guinness World Records. Her hair, or more precisely her dreadlocks, is her pride. She has been growing them for 20 years. They are longer than she is tall. Mandela has submitted her hair to Guinness World Records as the Longest Dreadlocks, the first entry in a new category.

In order to qualify for this category Mandela had to have her three longest locks measured and verified by witnesses. One such witness was Ryan Spinella, executive assistant to Longwood's city administrator. He watched the unfurling and measuring of Mandela's hair.

"I couldn't say what to compare it with. Just a lot of hair," Spinella said. "You don't believe it until you measure it, really."

Her longest dreadlock was measured at 8ft 9ins - it would have been 11 inches longer if she had not accidentally stepped on it and broken off the piece that she still carries around in her purse. In fact her dreadlocks is longer than the tallest man in the world - Leonid Stadnik, who is 8ft 2ins tall.

Asha Mandela of Davenport, Polk County, Fl. started growing her dreadlocks 20 years ago when she decided that she would no longer use chemical in her hair. Mandela, who is originally from Trinidad but was living in Brooklyn at the time, shaved all the hair off her head. When it started to grow back she began corkscrewing it into curls that in turn were twisted together into dreadlocks.

Mandela is really proud of her hair but there is one person who is no fan - her own mother. As her dreadlocks started to grow she sent a picture to her mother. Her mother told her not to send anymore pictures, complaining that Mandela was spoiling her hair:

'I took such good care of your nice curly hair, and this is what you are doing with it?'

Nevertheless Mandela is pleased with her hair. She calls it her baby, comparing it to raising a child from infancy to 20 years old. But caring for almost 9ft of hair can be burdensome. It takes one bottle of shampoo and one bottle of conditioner every time she washes her hair. She started off by washing it 3 times a week but because of the time and energy involved she now only does it once a week.

She wrings out the water as you would a wet beach towel. When the days are hot, and she takes it out by the pool in the backyard, it takes two hours to dry. When it's humid and cloudy or cool outside, it might take all day for her wet hair to lose its dampness.

It may take a few weeks for certification from Guinness World Records. Afterwards Mandela will then have to defend her title against all the unknown contenders with dreadlocks who would just love to take the title away from her. Guess who she fears the most - the Rastafarians of Jamaica.

He Pingping - The World's Smallest Man

It's Official! the Guinness World Records has named He Pingping the world's shortest, non-disabled, man. Born July 1988, the 20-year-old is 2ft 5in tall and weighs just 16lbs. He Pingping was born in the city of Wulanchabu (also called Ulanqab) in northern China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region, he has two married sisters who are of normal height. He Pingping is a keen poker player and smokes two packets of cigarettes a day.

According to his father, He Yun, at birth He Pingping was as small as his father's palm and had to be fed through a tiny straw because his mouth was so small. He has Primordial Dwarfism a rare form of dwarfism in which individuals are extremely small for their age, even as a fetus. It is rare for individuals affected by primordial dwarfism to live past the age of 30.

Meet He Pingping - The World's Smallest Man

He Pingping has some fun with a British guard:

He Pingping met up with Svetlana Pankratova, 36, who has the distinction of being the woman with the longest legs (4ft 3.9in long) in the world. The pair met to publicize the release of "Guinness World Records 2009" at Trafalgar Square's steps in central London. It was striking to compare the two of them side by side. He called Svetlana Pankratova's legs "very beautiful."

The world's smallest man has always been popular at home in Inner Mongolia and even has his own manager. It is rumored he is now so protective of his image, he refuses to have his photo taken unless he is paid a substantial fee. See some pics of He Pingping here.

Pingping's life changed after his brother-in-law Liu spoke to a local journalist about him, and they contacted Guinness. Despite his growing reputation, Pingping's ambitions are fairly modest.

"I just want to have a normal life, get married and have children," he said.