After making a help plea on the national television in January, then 1,235 pound Manuel Uribe has finally shed 200 pounds. The Mexican aims to lose other 770 pounds.

According to the AP, being bed-ridden by his weight for five years, the 41-year-old mechanic in the northern industrial city of Monterrey, made a desperate plea for help on the Televisa television network in January.

His plea was answered by doctors and nutritionists who prescribed a high-protein diet, helping him lose about 200 pounds since then.

Gilberto Montiel, health secretary for Nuevo Leon state, said medical officials have been monitoring Uribe's weight and confirmed the loss.

"I feel better now, I can stretch and move a bit more," AP quoted Uribe as saying Monday, flanked by Dr. Barry Sears, creator of "The Zone" diet, who came to check on his progress.

Uribe who was a chubby as a kid, weighing more than 250 pounds as an adolescent said starting in 1992 his weight began ballooning further.

Speaking of his progress, Uribe said he still has just enough energy to sit up and move the sheet that covers his body.

Uribe, who is confined to bed, keeps a television and a computer he uses to update his Web site near his iron bed.

"People think that I can eat a whole cow but it's not just overeating, it's also a hormonal problem," Uribe said. "For now, I'll keep doing the diet and if I get stuck I'll consider the surgery."