A South Carolina man who lost 360 pounds but struggled with so much excess skin he couldn’t walk has signed up for surgery to remove the extra wrinkles.
Cole Prochaska, 39, once weighed 585 pounds (lbs) after switching to a diet that included 12 cans of soda a day and five cheeseburgers a meal.
He was able to reduce his weight to 226 pounds by taking up running and eliminating all junk food from his diet – but then he had another problem: he had large amounts of sagging skin.
“I’m trapped,” Mr. Prochaska told Today.com as he revealed he’s now signed up for five surgeries in two years to have the wrinkles removed.
Cole Prochaska began documenting his weight loss journey less than two years ago (pictured left). He shared the results of his 360-pound weight loss on Twitter (right). His next step is body contouring, also known as body contouring or skin removal surgery
“I’ve lost so much weight and have muscle, but when I take my shirt off I’m still unsettled by the sagging skin.” “I have sagging skin on my legs. So when I try to walk, I have a hard time walking.”
“I have to wear pants that are bigger than I should because my skin is pinching into the pants from the stomach.”
He has documented his weight loss journey He tweeted, “It’s very hard to share a shirtless pic, but I did it.”
Mr. Prochaska recently flew to California to meet with a plastic surgeon about body contouring surgeries.
Also called body contouring or skin removal, this surgical procedure removes loose skin that remains after massive weight loss.
Focus can be placed on any of the following areas: arms, breasts, face, lower abdomen, thighs, and upper body.
The American Board of Cosmetic Surgery states that good body contouring candidates have reached their goal weight and have remained stable for at least six months.
Mr. Prochaska estimates that he consumed about 5,000 calories a day. He’s now down to 2,000-2,500, walks 10,000 steps a day, and lifts weights three times a week
Mr Prochaska said he had always been a big kid and had only gotten bigger as he got older.
Overeating and a sedentary lifestyle led to his obesity. He said he would regularly eat a whole bag of chips and drink a 12-pack of soda cans in a day. At fast food restaurants, he ordered up to five cheeseburgers or a whole pizza.
He estimates that’s around 5,000 calories a day.
Mr. Prochaska also felt too out of breath to exercise.
“I was pretty bad,” he said.
“I would always dress to look cheerful because that’s what a lot of tall people do.” But I was a pretty lonely person.’
“You don’t want to go to anything because you don’t want to worry about fitting in the chairs and you don’t want to worry about having to walk very far what you’re going to wear.”
Mr. Prochaska started walking small. He started with just a few blocks and then made more progress every day.
He also cut out junk food and sugary drinks, monitored his calorie intake, and started eating a high-protein diet.
Eventually he went to a gym and started weightlifting.
Mr. Prochaska now walks 10,000 steps “every day, no matter what” and lifts weights three times a day.
His diet consists of lean beef, turkey, chicken and beans, with moderation of bread and other carbohydrates.
Although he has lost weight, he still stays away from sweets as he is still addicted to them.
“I just decided that this is what’s going to change my life,” he said.
“I feel so great.”
He now eats around 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day.
In terms of the surgery, Mr. Prochaska plans to first focus on his torso, including his arms and chest, and then work from there. This could result in three to five surgeries over the next two years.
He’s not sure how much it will cost.
The 2020 Plastic Surgery Statistics Report estimates body contouring surgeries cost between $4,000 and $15,000.
“You never went too far.” It’s never too late. “You can come back anytime,” said Mr. Prochaska.
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