US News
\'Fat Man\' completes weight-loss walk across the US
By DPA
May 10, 2006, 19:00 GMT

New York - An obese American who walked across the United States to \'lose weight and regain my life\' arrived in New York, 100 pounds (45 kilograms) lighter after a 13-month trek but saying he feels strong.

Fat Man Walking, aka Steve Vaught, crossed the George Washington Bridge from New Jersey to Manhattan to end a trip he hopes will inspire others who feel bad about their body to lose weight.

\'I really thought I would be finally crawling over the bridge, it\'s so far away,\' Vaught told reporters after arriving Tuesday. ?But, now that I\'m here, I feel strong. \'

Vaught, 40, began his trip on began April 10, 2005 in San Diego, California. The married father of two slept in tents and motels, wearing out 15 pairs of shoes, twice as many pairs of socks and six backpacks, news reports said.

\'I am not happy because I am fat and being fat makes every day unhappy,\' Vaught says on his website, www.thefatmanwalking.com. \'Being fat is physically and emotionally painful.\'

The Youngstown, Ohio native laments his former self as a lanky teenager and a \'muscular\' US Marine, and says he was tired of being looked down upon because of his girth.

So he set out to lose weight, not with weight-loss drugs, diets or machines, but by mobilizing with \'the most incredible machine ever built\' - the human body.

\'I hope my story and actions serve to encourage others to take their lives back - to get up and do something about it today,\' he says. \'I hope to remind people like me, that we each have the strength and ability to do anything we want.\'