U.S. Sumo champ "Tiny" slimming down to compete

A former sumo wrestling champion and U.S.-ranked judo competitor is trying to lose 200 pounds (90.7 kilograms) in an effort to improve his health and possibly take to the ring again in competitive sports.
"I was sick and tired of being sick and tired," said Emanuel "Tiny" Yarbrough, 42, describing why he decided to shed some of his 752 pounds (341 kilos). "I want to just get back to my life."
Under a doctor's supervision, he is trying to drop down to about 550 pounds (250 kilos), and hopefully take part next year in the U.S. Olympic judo qualifying match as well as the Sumo World Championships.
The giant, deep-voiced Yarbrough, is in some ways an oddity — a black man in a predominantly Japanese sport where he outweighs even the other heavyweights.
Although he has a brown belt in judo and has he competed in other sports, including college football at Morgan State University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he earned the nickname "Tiny," it was an invitation to the World Sumo Championships in 1992, an amateur event in Japan, that introduced him to a sport seemingly custom-made for his ample body and powerful legs.
"I thought sumo was two fat guys bumping bellies," Yarbrough said.
But he became fascinated by the rituals and culture associated with the sport. He placed second, and his sumo career took off. He captured the world amateur title in 1995, and landed guest spots on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and a profile on Nightline, to name a few.
Yarbrough's former trainer, Yoshisada Yonezuka, who owns the Judo & Karate Center in Cranford, New Jersey, said Yarbrough was always bigger than the average sumo wrestler who usually weigh in at 450-500 pounds (204-227 kilos), but carried his weight well.
"When he was 650, he could move fast," said Yonezuka. "The biggest problem was that he gained too much weight."
His battle with the bulge reflects that of many other Americans.
Yarbrough said he did not intentionally gain the weight for sumo. He put on the pounds (kilos) the same way most people do: not enough exercise and too much eating.
His already poor eating habits did not help.
Raised in New Jersey by two parents from the American South, he grew up eating a lot of fried foods. By the time he was 14, he already weighed 320 pounds (145 kilograms). As an adult, meals often meant fast food in bulk, such as several hamburgers as well as a large fries and drink or milkshake.
His weight made turned ordinary events into daily challenges. He said he has to call ahead to restaurants to make sure their chairs can support him. His large sport utility vehicle was specially modified so the seat moves back an additional few inches to accommodate his height and girth. Short walks tire him out.
His weight also led to a host of health problems including hypertension, high blood pressure and congestive heart failure.
Surgery was not an option he wanted — or could — pursue. A friend of his died from after such a procedure and his doctor, Leah Solomon, said patients must be no more than 500 pounds (227 kilograms) to even be a candidate for the operation.
Solomon, a specialist in obesity issues, recommended to him a combination of pre-made shakes and nutrition bars during the day and an evening meal which is half comprised of vegetables with the other half starch and protein. Water takes the place of sodas.
He is allowed the occasional slice of pizza and lifts weights a few times a week, though Solomon said she does not force him to exercise.
A week after he changed his eating habits, he has lost about 26 pounds (12 kilograms).
Though Yarbrough said a reality television show featuring him is in works, his size has made it almost impossible to find a traditional full-time job and, as a result, he is on disability benefits. Medicare, the government-run insurance program, covers his doctor appointments and Nutrimed, the company that makes his shakes and nutrition bars, is donating them.
Sitting in his doctor's office, Yarbrough said he knows that the odds are stacked against him competing again, but he wants to give it a try.
"I feel that at least I have a fighting chance," he said.