Over $75,000 has been raised for a man who is now "trapped" by all of his loose skin after he underwent a massive weight loss transformation.
Cole Prochaska from South Carolina lost 360 pounds after he started taking better care of his body but despite the benefits of this, he was left with a lot of extremely loose skin which made him more self-conscious.
Speaking to TODAY, the 39-year-old explained how sharing his journey has actually made him stronger mentally, as well as physically.
"But then I thought, I’ve got to show people where I’m at," he told the outlet back in June. "It’s really helped because it’s like, well, everyone in the world has seen it. So what’s the big deal?"
Prochaska now documents his journey on Instagram, sharing before-and-after pictures as well as workout routines and motivational talks in the hopes that his transformation will not only inspire others but also urge him to continue on his own journey.
In 2021, the influencer was at the maximum weight of his scales after years of overeating. That's when he decided to take control of his life and lose the excess weight without surgery or any sort of weight-loss drugs.
"I felt pretty bad," Prochaska recalls of the times he was overweight. "I would always put on a happy exterior because that’s what a lot of big people do. But I was a pretty lonely person. You don’t want to go to anything because you don’t want to have to worry about fitting in the chairs and worry about having to walk very far, what you’re going to wear."
Not only did his size have an impact on himself, but it also impacted his relationship.
"I knew she had lost respect for me because I was just a really big person and didn’t do anything, and I wasn’t going anywhere in life where I needed to go," the store manager stated. "I was trying to save the relationship. I didn’t save the relationship, but I saved myself."
Prochaska's routine involved a lot of walking (10,000 steps a day minimum), eating a high protein diet and cutting out sugar and fizzy drinks. Alongside that, he also went to the gym to do 20-30 minutes of cardio as well as lifting heavy weights at least three times a week.
Cole Prochaska started going to the gym and eating better in order to achieve his weight-loss goals. Credit: Mike Harrington/Getty
Prochaska now weighs approximately 226 pounds and has managed to maintain that number.
However, even after all that work to reduce his weight, what he was not prepared for was all the loose skin he would have afterward.
"I’m trapped," Prochaska said. "I’ve lost all this weight and I have muscles, but if I take my shirt off, I’m still self-conscious about all the loose skin. I’ve got loose skin on my legs, so if I try to go running, it’s hard to run. ...I have to wear a pant size bigger than I should because I’ve got my skin tucked into my pants from my stomach."
That's why he started a GoFundMe account in order to aid his surgery to remove the extra skin and has already managed to raise over $75,000.
On the page, he writes: "My weight goal has been reached but my life is not complete, and it will not be complete until I can get rid of this excess skin. I must tuck extra skin in my pants and still wear loose clothing to conceal the flab. I have been heavy since I was 6 years old and at 38, I have never walked on a beach without a shirt on and always avoided pool parties. I’m still trapped."
"I just want to keep helping inspire as many people as possible to overcome whatever it is that they’re battling, but definitely people who are trying to lose weight," Prochaska added. "You’re never too far gone. It’s never too late. You can always come back."
Let's hope he manages to undergo his surgery!
