Help Christell Heal After 200-Pound Journey

So here goes…. Round 2

I am Christell Faith. A single mom to a wonderful son named Daren James. I am from Chattanooga Tennessee. I am a weight loss contestant that is winning and will forever stay a winner.

I created a go fund me page and I had some lovely friends give me some donations and for some reason go fund me refunded the money back to each of yalls accounts. I still don’t know why.

so here goes….

I used to be a very large, fat, unhealthy, girl. I was depressed and just didn’t deal with my emotions. I tried bulimia, not eating, eating with my emotions, and so many different diet fads which nothing helped.

Fast forward to 2.5 years ago. My son told me I was fat. True I had heard I was fat, obese, a truck, and a whole bunch of other words to describe a large person. I was struggling with my blood pressure, insulin resistance, pcos, bones hurting, and extreme fatigue. Let me tell you that when your own kid tells you that you’re fat… it breaks your heart

Darens words pierced my heart and this fire lit within me. I started eating better, I started therapy, I started to want to do something better, be a better mom and live longer, I wanted more. I created goals.

I started with a small goal and pushed for more. Once I met one goal I created another and another and kept pushing myself.

Soon the weight started coming off. I was becoming happier. I was seeing progress. I saw myself happier and healthier. Daren saw me putting forth the effort and pushed me forward.

Now here we are 2.5 years later. Over 200 pounds gone. Blood pressure, pcos, insulin resistance in check, fatigue was getting better, counseling was giving me a new perspective, and my body was feeling amazing. This change was bringing me happiness.

Now I’m healthy. No health issues. Clean bill of health. I saw Dr Thurston a plastic surgeon and had surgery APRIL 4, 2025. I had an abdominalplasty and a panniculectomy. I lost almost 11 pounds of skin removed and now I am ALMOST 3 weeks post op.

Recovery has been painful and slow. I took a little more than a week off from work as this surgery is no joke when it comes to pain. I thought Dr Thurston had killed me the first few days.

The amount that is due is what I owe on my credit card. Any and all funds are going to paying the credit card off. If by chance I get more than what the credit card is then I will use that towards bills that are/were accruing while I missed work. The surgery was $33,000 and I was responsible for just over $6,000.  I have paid off about half of it. Eating super carefully, not going out, and just being frugal. 

thanks for being my rock and supporting, loving, cheering me on even when I was wanting to give up. Without everyone I wouldn’t be where where I am today.

love and frogs.

*** here is my original post **** 

Hi guys! Just wanted to share why I am creating this… I used to be a very large person. I used to weigh over 300 pounds and was having all kinds of health problems and muscular issues. After hearing so much constant hate and being sick one too many times, I decided to take my health into my control. I had tried so many different diets and fads and they all seemed to fail. I was giving up hope. I tried bulimia, I tried just not eating, I tried eating once a day, I even just fed my face out of boredom. Trust me, I tried it all. My depression as a whole was sinking and I was losing my spirit to even want to live. The only reason that kept me going was my son. So, here I am at rock bottom… I’m over 300 pounds and my son had told me I was fat! That broke my soul and ignited a fire in me. I started exercising and taking control of my life. I worked on myself from the inside out. 2 years ago this January, I poured my heart and soul into my health journey and I can proudly say I weigh around 130-135. It took work. It took courage. It took determination. So what brings me to ask for money? I’ve lost so much skin from surgery that I have about an extra 10-15 pounds just in my stomach area of loose skin that’s getting in the way. My health insurance will pay for 1 out of the 2 surgeries I need done. Dr. Thurston here at Erlanger states that I will need this 2nd surgery. The surgeries don’t have to be at the same time but will save me about $25,000 if done at the same time. None of these surgeries are for the sheer pleasure of plastic surgery. After the surgery, I should be able to run again without having all this loose skin “flapping” around or getting in my way. Erlanger requires me to pay 10 percent down the day I schedule surgery and the 90 percent has to be paid in full 10 business days later. It would be a day surgery and home that night. Will be out of work for about a week. Thank you for reading and contributing to my weight loss journey. I haven’t reached the end of my journey or story. I am just at the beginning and want to help so many others achieve what I have accomplished as well. ❤️ love and frogs