Skin removal surgery after 150 lbs weight loss

Carpenter Potato to Lean Mean Rollerblading Queen

 

Hi, my name is Sarah.  I used to weigh 325 lbs. and this is my story....

“You are what you eat” they say.  Well, it’s true.  At 325 lbs., (my heaviest weight) I would joke about being made of muscles and potatoes.  You see, I’m a carpenter and I do a lot of hard manual labor, but I ate potatoes at pretty much every meal, every day--it didn’t matter what kind, I loved potatoes! They were cheap, easy, and comforting. I didn’t realize, or maybe I didn’t care, what I was doing to my body.  I didn’t realize how bad I felt, how tired I was, and how sore my body was becoming. Additionally, I experienced two back injuries (ruptured disks), a major hand injury, and some female problems.  My injuries created stress and a bit of depression which led to me stuffing my face with comfort food. I know it’s no excuse, but I had been overweight since childhood, and had learned to cope with stress by eating.  In August of 2017 all that changed.

Late August 2017 is a time I will never forget. I had my annual physical and had to get blood drawn for labs. That day I weighed in at 317 lbs., only a little lower then my heaviest weight. When I got my lab results my doctor called and asked me to come in for a follow up to discuss my labs. He told me I was becoming prediabetic. He asked me “what do you eat and drink the most of?” I said, “mostly potatoes, soda and Gatorade.” He said, “Sarah, if you stop eating potatoes, soda and Gatorade, you will lose 30 lbs. in the next couple months.” So, what did I do? I stopped eating my favorite food, the food I was made of, the food that gave me comfort, potatoes! That was one of the hardest things I have done! I also stopped drinking soda and Gatorade as the doctor advised. Soda and Gatorade were not a problem to give up, butpotatoes--that was another story. I literally dreamt about eating potatoes!  For three months, Iwould wake up terrified that I had made a mistake and eaten a potato. It was horrible! However, I am proud to say that since August 2017, I haven’t purposely eaten potatoes.  I have had them three times by accident though--potatoes seem to be in everything! Well, the doctor was right and I lost 30 lbs. within a couple months. The weight loss made me so happy. Those simple modifications to my diet resulted in changes that got me feeling better about myself. I knew I could keep going, but then it happened--I hit a weight loss plateau!

In January 2018, I had another appointment with the doctor. This was a follow up to make sure my blood sugar was going down, and it was! I wasn’t even close to being prediabetic anymore and I was 30 lbs. lighter but I had stopped losing weight and my doctor said that because of how active I was (I’m a carpenter, I lift heavy things, I’m on my feet all day, I’m constantly moving, I make things pretty!) there was no reason I shouldn’t continue losing weight.He said I must be eating hidden calories, so I decided that day that I would count my calories. I decided on 1,500 a day with one cheat day a month. I then downloaded the MyFitnessPal app and bought a Fitbit. I started logging everything I ate on MyFitnessPal that next day! I still haven’t missed a day. I have now logged for 446 days as of this writing. I have found that counting calories isn’t fun, it makes you mad sometimes, but it does keep you accountable. It made me see what I was putting in my face and it helped me loose more weight.  I didn’t have to cut out any major food groups or starve myself, I just had to be honest with myself and stop eating when I ran out of calories.

By July 2018 I had lost 90 lbs.! It was time to up my game again. I was already active at work and counting calories, so I started trying to drink a gallon of water every day for hydration.  By this time, I had more energy but wasn’t at my goal weight so I decided I needed to start exercising on purpose. So, I got out my old rollerblades and started skating!  I started gradually building up miles and speed.  First, four miles a few times a week, then seven miles, and ninemiles.   Now I can do 14 miles! I skated so much I had to buy a new pair of Rollerblades that I have put a few hundred miles on since last year. I was even invited to join the local Roller Derby Team, the Enid Roller Girls—which marked the first time in my life that I participated in an organized sport! When the weather turned cold, I started jogging. I had no coaching or training, I just started running--I pushed myself. A few weeks ago, I ran my first 5K race!  I got third in my age bracket! Before now, I would have laughed at you if you had suggested that I would run anywhere on purpose. It is somewhat fitting that my first race was for an organization called “Knees 2 War”, whose slogan is “Run with Purpose”! I run with purpose! I run away from the fat chick who had been me my whole life, I run to get fit and I run in hopes of helping someone else in their weight loss journey one day.

This journey has been anything but easy--dropping my favorite food, being dedicated with my calorie counting, taking time to add aerobic exercise to my already exhausting day—no it hasn’t been easy, but today I am proud to say I am down over 150 lbs.!  At 165 lbs. I no longer take ANY medications, I have more energy than I know what to do with, and I’m stronger than ever.  But now I have loose skin.  I’m no longer potatoes and muscle, I’m healthy and lean but have LOTS of loose skin that will not shrink no matter how much I work out. I had been bad to my body for too long, fat for too long.  There is no doubt I have reduced my body size dramatically, but I have trouble seeing the results of all my hard work.   I can’t see the strong body I have built up because I see rolls of skin in the same places my fat was. I have skin on my arms that hangs down about four inches and I worry that I will get it caught on a sharp cabinet, tool or machinery on my job, and injure myself. I have skin on my legs that makes it painful to jog because of its weight and the jerking motion that jogging and some other exercises create. I have tons of loose skin on my stomach that I must avoid pinching, and I won’t even mention my breasts.

Now it is May of 2019 and I thought losing weight was the hard part but I think asking for help is harder. I’m the type of person who just doesn’t ask for help, ever, unless I physically cannot do something, and I don’t like to ask for favors.  But, my husband and I need your help in order for me to finish my weight loss journey and move on with my healthier life.

 

I need to get rid of the loose skin. Insurance won’t help me because to have it removed Is considered cosmetic surgery, even though it is a safety hazard in my line of work. I had two consultations and the cost to repair my skin is great.  The doctors say it will take three surgeries.  I will require two months off from my job after each surgery to heal, for a total of six months lost wages, and the surgical cost will be $40,000.

My husband and I don’t have the funds to accomplish this and I’m truly heartbroken. I have made it all this way and I haven’t had to ask for help, but now I have no choice. I must ask for help because no matter how strong I am I just don’t have the financial means to take this last step.  I need YOU!  Please help me if you can, either financially, or with your prayers so that I can complete my journey.  

I promise that if you have questions about my weight loss that I can answer to help you on your own journey, I will be more than willing to chat with you. I want my hard work to help someone besides myself! Please consider being my benefactor. Help me help myself; help me help someone else. If you can’t help me financially, please pray for me and add me to your prayer chain at church.  God specializes in the impossible and raising this money seems as impossible as losing 150 lbs. did a little over year ago, but he helped me do it!

Thank you, God, for always providing me strength to keep going. Thank you to my husband for always supporting me and not sabotaging my efforts. Thank you to my family and friends who have encouraged me along the road to better health because I couldn’t have done this without you! Thank you to my future friends, now unknown, who are going to help me finish my journey! God Bless you!