A Missouri man who weighs 570 pounds has vowed to run a 5K every month for the next nine months in an inspirational bid to change his life around before it 's too late . Derek Mitchell , 34 , of Kansas City learned five years ago he had a pituitary tumor contributing to his 625 weight at the time . However , removing the tumor was n't enough to help Derek battle the bulge , so now he 's fighting to turn his life around by kicking his soda addiction and adopting a vegan diet in order to get his life back and ensure he 's got a healthy , hopeful future to look forward to . Took a good look : Derek Mitchell of Kansas City decided to turn his life around reaching 625 pounds . ' I just knew I had to do something if I had hope for a future or anything like that , ' Mitchell told Fox4KC.com . After giving up soda as a New Year 's resolution , he decided to take things a step further by putting one foot in front of the other as part of his nightly neighborhood walks . ' I started just walking around in my neighborhood , and I started at a mile and then worked my way up to a little over two miles a day , ' Mitchell said this month after a month or so of his walks . Mitchell uses an app to post maps of his walks to Facebook and he 's had a mob of supporters urging him on after every walk . Fight of his life : Derek learned 5 years ago that he had a pituitary tumor that was contributing to his obesity . Even with it removed , he knew he had to fight to get the weight off . Mitchell says he 's planning to run another 5K next month and one every month thereafter for the rest of the year . He 's since lost some 75 pounds . Mitchell did his first 5K on March 14 . 'If I can walk a 5K , anyone can , and I 'm living proof of that now , ' he said . The 3.1 miles took home around an hour and a half , he said . It was his marathon enthusiast sister who suggested the 5K , reports BuzzFeed . ' I wanted to cross the finish line with my hands up , because that 's how it felt ! It was pretty awesome , ' Mitchell told Fox4KC . So excited , in fact , that Mitchell says he 's planning to run another 5K next month and one every month thereafter for the rest of the year . Big change : The 34-year-old has now made the switch from competing to eat giant pancakes ( left ) to competing against himself to stay vegan for a month . Still going : Seen here in 2013 , Derek has since dropped his soda habit along with 75 pounds and he does n't plan to stop losing it any time soon .
Derek Mitchell of Kansas City decided his life needed to change 5 years ago after he was told a tumor had contributed to his 625-pound frame . Now 3.1 miles , Mitchell has turned to running in a bid to get himself fit after fears set in that he 'd have no future unless he changed his ways . 'If I can walk a 5K , anyone can , and I 'm living proof of that now , ' he said earlier this month as he 'd switched to vegan options and a more active life .