A South Carolina man who lost 360 pounds but had so much excess skin he couldn’t run has signed up for surgery to have the extra folds removed.
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 brought his weight down to 226 pounds by starting to walk and cut all junk food from his diet – but then ran into another problem: he had massive amounts of loose skin.
“I’m trapped,” Mr. Prochaska said Today. comas he revealed, he has now signed up for five surgeries in two years to have the folds removed.
Cole Prochaska began documenting his weight loss journey less than two years ago (pictured left). He shared the results of his 360lb weight loss on Twitter (right). His next step is body contouring, also called body sculpting or skin removal surgery
“I’ve lost all this weight and I have muscle, but when I take my shirt off I’m still insecure about all the loose skin. I have loose skin on my legs, so when I try to run, it’s hard to run.”
“I have to wear a pants size bigger than I should because I put my skin in my pants from my belly.”
He has documented his weight loss journey on Twitter, writing, “It’s really hard to share a photo without a shirt, but I’ve come this far.
Mr. Prochaska recently flew to California to meet with a plastic surgeon about body contouring surgery.
Also called body sculpting or skin removal, this surgical procedure removes the loose skin left over after losing massive amounts of weight.
It can be targeted to any of the following areas: arms, breasts, face, lower abdomen, thighs, and upper body.
The American Council on Cosmetic Surgery states that good candidates for body contouring have reached their goal weight and remained stable for at least six months.
Mr. Prochaska estimates that he ate about 5,000 calories a day. He’s now cut that 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 boy and he kept getting bigger as he grew up.
Overeating and a sedentary lifestyle led to his obesity. He said he regularly ate an entire bag of chips and drank 12 cans of soda in one day. At fast food restaurants, he ordered five cheeseburgers or an entire pizza.
This came out to about 5,000 calories a day, he estimates.
Mr. Prochaska was also too breathless to exercise.
“I felt pretty bad,” he said.
‘I would always put on a cheerful appearance, because that’s what a lot of grown-ups do. But I was quite lonely.’
“You don’t want to go anywhere because you don’t want to worry about fitting into the seats and don’t want to worry about having to walk very far, which is what you’re going to wear.”
Mr. Prochaska began to walk slowly. He started with a few blocks and continued every day.
He also eliminated all junk food and sugary drinks, tracked his calories, and began eating a high-protein diet.
Eventually, he joined a gym and started lifting weights.
Mr. Prochaska now takes 10,000 steps “every day, no matter what,” along with lifting weights three times a day.
His diet consists of lean beef, turkey, chicken and beans, as well as bread and other carbohydrates in moderation.
Although he has lost weight, he still stays away from sweets as he remains addicted to them.
“It was just me coming to the conclusion that this is it, it’s going to be a life change,” he said.
“I feel so great.”
He now eats about 2,000 to 2,500 calories a day.
As for the surgery, Mr. Prochaska plans to focus on his upper body first, including his arms and chest, and then move on. This can result in three to five surgeries over the next two years.
He doesn’t know how much it will cost.
The Plastic Surgery Statistics Report 2020 estimates that body contouring surgeries cost anywhere from $4,000 to $15,000.
‘You’re never too far away. It’s never too late. You can always come back,’ Mr Prochaska said.