Bernds Excess Skin Removal Surgery
Donation protected
My Name is Bernd, 48 years old and on the 22nd of October 2015 my weight was 154,8kg (341,27lbs). I was massively overweight, had knee and backpain, was sweating like hell, couldn’t sleep well and my doctor told me I was going to die early because of bad health.
Since my father died when I was 13 years old I didn’t want to let this happen to my wife, my 3 children (7, 5 and 3 years old) and myself. So I decided to get fit. I applied to the german TV show The Biggest Loser. Unfortunately I got kicked out in the first episode and had to go home again. Luckily the show gave me another chance and integrated me as “Web candidate” with the chance to get back on the show at a later point. They provided me with a training program (www.mach-dich-krass.de) which provided me with all basics for the Slow Carb Diet and made the german TV host Daniel Aminati my personal trainer for this period of time. Until today I am more than thankful for the support he and his team have offered me through the time. Although Daniel is pretty popular in Germany he is an amazing guy and always pushed me to my limits.
Since my main motivation came through my family it didn’t matter that I got kicked out of the show. I motivated myself and lost 51,36% of my bodyweight – close to 80kg – until the 28th of april in 2016. (6 months).
In the first 6 months I trained 60 minutes - doing bodyweight workout (like pushups, planks, crunches, squats etc.) - every day and did 2 hours of cardio in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. I kept track of my daily calorie intake with the App Fatsecret.
But what was even more important in my opinion was the complete change of my diet. Low Carb (e.g. scrambled eggs and ham in the morning, meat with some healthy greens for lunch and some lowfat quark for dinner. I didn’t eat any rice, potatoes, pasta, anything wheat based, milk, cheese etc. Additionally I drank water and tea. Like a lot. And to keep myself awake when I woke up early for my cardio I drank coffee.
Like that I was able to reduce my calorie intake from time to time. First to 1400 and at the “best times” down to 500. My body fat percentage at the end of the six months was 8.7% and luckily there was (except for 2cm) almost no excess skin.
After that radical weight loss I started my muscle training. I wanted to look more manly and trained. My dream and ultimate goal definitely was (and is) a visible sixpack. So I trained. 2-3 hours a day with exercises from my program www.mach-dich-krass.de and the machines in the studio. I gained muscle. The first few months I was very optimistic and everything seemed to be working out. Unfortunately my excess skin seemed to be growing. I didn’t really understand why and kept going. My fitness coaches and my doctors began to tell me that I would probably not be able to get rid of the excess skin. But that pushed me even further. I kept going and going. I did sports and workouts up to 4 hours a day until the beginning of December:
Months had gone past without any visible results. The excess skin kept growing and I had some kind of breakdown. All that positivity was gone. Was everything for nothing? At least that was what I thought. The worst moment came when I had a sincere look in the mirror and took some photos. I felt ugly. Sure I’m fit and healthy now but the price is this disgusting excess skin just hanging there. And whatever I do – it won’t go away.
Unfortunately my insurance will not cover the costs for a surgery and I cannot pay the needed 7000 – 10000€ myself because I have to provide for a family of 5. And through to some additional work related problems that came up after the show – I didn’t receive income for more than 5 months now and had to take up some debt.
And this brings me to today. The day I thought: I need help. Mental help. Positivity in my life. And my post in the wonderful reddit community - which received over 20.000 Upvotes - that has shown me so much love and positive feedback.
And at last: Since I don’t have the money to get rid of the excess skin – which is currently my biggest problem for my mental health and my motivation to keep going forward - and so many have asked how they can support me I had the idea to setup a GoFundMe campaign for the surgery.
Thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to read my text and to everyone who donates: I will be forever grateful.
Best regards,
Bernd
Since my father died when I was 13 years old I didn’t want to let this happen to my wife, my 3 children (7, 5 and 3 years old) and myself. So I decided to get fit. I applied to the german TV show The Biggest Loser. Unfortunately I got kicked out in the first episode and had to go home again. Luckily the show gave me another chance and integrated me as “Web candidate” with the chance to get back on the show at a later point. They provided me with a training program (www.mach-dich-krass.de) which provided me with all basics for the Slow Carb Diet and made the german TV host Daniel Aminati my personal trainer for this period of time. Until today I am more than thankful for the support he and his team have offered me through the time. Although Daniel is pretty popular in Germany he is an amazing guy and always pushed me to my limits.
Since my main motivation came through my family it didn’t matter that I got kicked out of the show. I motivated myself and lost 51,36% of my bodyweight – close to 80kg – until the 28th of april in 2016. (6 months).
In the first 6 months I trained 60 minutes - doing bodyweight workout (like pushups, planks, crunches, squats etc.) - every day and did 2 hours of cardio in the morning and 2 hours in the evening. I kept track of my daily calorie intake with the App Fatsecret.
But what was even more important in my opinion was the complete change of my diet. Low Carb (e.g. scrambled eggs and ham in the morning, meat with some healthy greens for lunch and some lowfat quark for dinner. I didn’t eat any rice, potatoes, pasta, anything wheat based, milk, cheese etc. Additionally I drank water and tea. Like a lot. And to keep myself awake when I woke up early for my cardio I drank coffee.
Like that I was able to reduce my calorie intake from time to time. First to 1400 and at the “best times” down to 500. My body fat percentage at the end of the six months was 8.7% and luckily there was (except for 2cm) almost no excess skin.
After that radical weight loss I started my muscle training. I wanted to look more manly and trained. My dream and ultimate goal definitely was (and is) a visible sixpack. So I trained. 2-3 hours a day with exercises from my program www.mach-dich-krass.de and the machines in the studio. I gained muscle. The first few months I was very optimistic and everything seemed to be working out. Unfortunately my excess skin seemed to be growing. I didn’t really understand why and kept going. My fitness coaches and my doctors began to tell me that I would probably not be able to get rid of the excess skin. But that pushed me even further. I kept going and going. I did sports and workouts up to 4 hours a day until the beginning of December:
Months had gone past without any visible results. The excess skin kept growing and I had some kind of breakdown. All that positivity was gone. Was everything for nothing? At least that was what I thought. The worst moment came when I had a sincere look in the mirror and took some photos. I felt ugly. Sure I’m fit and healthy now but the price is this disgusting excess skin just hanging there. And whatever I do – it won’t go away.
Unfortunately my insurance will not cover the costs for a surgery and I cannot pay the needed 7000 – 10000€ myself because I have to provide for a family of 5. And through to some additional work related problems that came up after the show – I didn’t receive income for more than 5 months now and had to take up some debt.
And this brings me to today. The day I thought: I need help. Mental help. Positivity in my life. And my post in the wonderful reddit community - which received over 20.000 Upvotes - that has shown me so much love and positive feedback.
And at last: Since I don’t have the money to get rid of the excess skin – which is currently my biggest problem for my mental health and my motivation to keep going forward - and so many have asked how they can support me I had the idea to setup a GoFundMe campaign for the surgery.
Thanks to each and every one of you who took the time to read my text and to everyone who donates: I will be forever grateful.
Best regards,
Bernd
Organizer
Lucky Boe
Organizer
Dortmund
