Brian Flemming was going to miss his flight to London - and, with it, the chance to spend time with the woman who helped change his life. Fourteen months earlier, getting on the plane wouldn't have been a problem.

But in December 2013, the 32-year-old Canton resident and former Eastern Michigan University student looked nothing like the 600 pound man in his identification photos.

In 19 months, Flemming has lost 385 pounds, a shocking transformation which has made headlines around the world in part because of the dramatic weight loss, but also the friendship that inspired it.

“Brian gives me far too much credit for my part in his transformation - he did all the hard work. I just shone a light on some pathways for him,” said Jackie Eastham, the friend who inspired Flemming to lose the weight.

“That said, I would still say that Brian’s transformation is my greatest achievement.”

Eventually, Flemming got on that flight in December to meet Eastham in person for the first time where he expressed his gratitude and showed off his transformation. He returned again in April, but had no problems boarding the second time around.

Flemming now weighs around 240 pounds and credits Eastham for providing the motivation he needed to make the change in his life. Eastham admits she is not a professional therapist, just someone who wanted to see a friend turn his life around. Through her encouragement, Flemming started taking those steps, quite literally.

Because of his weight, Flemming couldn't do much exercise right away, so he started walking in place for five minutes a day. As he continued, Flemming added more time each day until he could start doing other activities.

“The weight just started pouring off of me. My blood pressure used to be through the roof,” Flemming said about his weight loss. “Now I’m off of my blood pressure medication."

After about three months he’d lost 100 pounds, in large part because he thinks that cleaning up his eating habits flushed his body.

“It’s overwhelming. When I started lose weight, I wasn’t trying to make news headlines or anything.”

The friendship between Flemming and Eastham started over an online game called "Draw Something." The pair was brought together randomly by a player matching program in the game. After chatting a few times and becoming friends on Facebook, the two finally saw each face-to-face over a Skype chat in 2012.

At the time, Flemming said, he was an alcoholic and was deeply depressed about his life. Eastham was aware of his weight issues, but not the other battles he was facing.

“I was a bit of a shut in. I didn’t get out much. I was expecting sympathy out of her and instead she got angry with me and started yelling at me,” Flemming said.

“She said ‘there are people out there fighting to save their own lives’ and there’s me, I have all these opportunities."

Eastham said she was angered by Flemming’s comments looking for sympathy and his suggestion that quitting alcohol would “hurt.”

“I felt this was a superficial gesture to appease me, and not being one for self-pity his ‘hurt’ statement enraged me. However, he actually really did give up alcohol there and then and it did hurt, but he didn’t complain,” Eastham said in an email.

“After a couple of days, I realized he was totally committed to sobriety and he has never looked back.”

Flemming says that conversation made him feel like Eastham was challenging him and he was letting her down as a friend. On Oct. 13, 2012, Flemming quit drinking alcohol cold turkey. While it was difficult at first, abstaining from alcohol helped him realize he could change his eating habits, too.

Flemming began to cut processed sugars out of his diet and focused on eating better. He avoided red meat and began exercising as best as he could. Because of his excessive size, he was limited in what he could do initially, but Flemming was persistent.

Throughout the process, Flemming said he would get discouraged about his progress as he would occasionally plateau and not lose weight as fast as he had in the past. Every time he got down, however, Eastham was there to push him harder and get him back on track. And, at times, she reminded him that he can still reward himself, too.

“Whenever I felt he was beginning to become obsessed, I would encourage him have a little food treat or have a day off exercising to show him that he can live in the real world without detriment to himself,” Eastham said.

“I don’t feel like I could have done it without her,” Flemming said.

A big moment in the process for Flemming was buying a scale that could support him. Once he got to that point, he was able to keep a daily record of his weight. However, it also put fear into him.

“It was a bit intimidating because I knew how far I had to go,” he said.

Flemming began running and eventually started entering 5K races. On his 32nd birthday this past April, he set a personal record of 34 minutes during the Big House 5K race.

“It was tough because I had been training on flat surface,” Flemming said, adding the hills give him problems at times.

Still, ending the race at the 50-yard line of Michigan Stadium was an incredible experience, Flemming said.

Although he is thrilled to have lost all the weight, Flemming said the excess skin around his stomach and back is beginning to cause him problems as he runs. He is looking to have the skin removed, but was recently quoted $22,000 for one of the surgeries.

While he doesn't have the funds to pay for it himself, a friend has started a campaign to help raise the money for him.

“I’m completely overwhelmed by people’s generosity and people putting that out there,” Flemming said, adding any money left that isn’t used on his surgery will be donated to the Myotonic Dystrophy Association.

Why the MDA? Eastham suffers from the disease.

As his change continues to make news, Flemming is hoping to find a way to help others who are looking to overcome their own addictions or problems. He's started a Facebook page to tell his story and allow others to share their experiences.

“Everybody can find some sort of motivation. It doesn’t have to be a person or a friend, it can be something,” Flemming said.

“If our group can help even one person in their journey to lose weight and gain better health without surgery or the need to bankroll a weight-loss company, then it will all be worth it,” Eastham said.

Flemming added he would like to find a way to model his relationship with Eastham for others who’re looking for people to help inspire them. Flemming said he is considering returning to school to pursue a career in social work or psychology.

“I’m kind of up in the air right now. A lot of doors are opening,” he said.

“I have a lot of possibilities and I’m kind of figuring out what I want to do. It’s exciting and kind of scary at the same time.”

Matt Durr covers Ypsilanti for The Ann Arbor News. Email him at mattdurr@mlive.com or follow him on Twitter.