Man becomes instant celeb as News details amazing drop of 430 pounds

He's the unbuttered toast of the town.

The day after he appeared on the cover of the Daily News, weight-loss success story Ernesto Suncar was fielding calls from "Good Morning America," CBS News, Telemundo and Univision.

"My friend just texted me, 'Happy New Year Mr. Front Page,' said Suncar, who inspired readers by dropping 430 pounds after undergoing gastric bypass surgery.

"People kept ringing the bell this morning. We were out last night, so we were sleeping," said Suncar's girlfriend, Andreea Stanica.

"We figured they had the wrong apartment. Then we finally answered, and there was a television camera at the door."

Suncar, 33, said he is ready to tell his story over and over in the hopes that other overweight people will realize that they can shed unwanted pounds.

The 6-foot-2 Hells Kitchen resident has held a steady weight of about 210 pounds for a year.

"I hope Oprah calls," he said. "Then I would reach even more people and I could have time to tell the whole story."

Suncar said a cousin told him he went to a store near his Manhattan home and snatched up almost all the copies of the Daily News.

"I told him, 'Hey, what about the other people?'" said Suncar, laughing. "He said he left one for them."

The weight-loss champion's mom had already called him several times by midafternoon. "You know how moms are. She's calling everybody," he said. "She's telling everybody, 'That's my son.'"

Suncar is taking courses in business management at Bronx Community College, but the father of three says what he really needs now is a job.

"It's really hard to get hired when you're that big," he said.

Suncar said he couldn't have gone through with the surgery in September 2006 or his followup weight loss and exercise plan without the support of his girlfriend and his family.

"You need help to make this happen. I hope people hearing about me will help somebody else," said Suncar. "It's fun now, but it was not fun when I was that person."

mkolodner@nydailynews.com


Source: nydailynews.com