A man who has shed a staggering 25 stone is now being forced to fork out £230,000 to have his excess skin removed.
Cole Prochaska used to weigh 42 stone and wear size 8XL clothes after living on meals like McDonald’s breakfasts, pizza, burgers and at least two litres of fizzy drinks a day.
Swapping junk food for salads, lean beef and protein shakes, and committing to walking as much as possible, he has shed an incredible 25 stone in just two years, with his current dress size 1XL.
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While the 40-year-old is overjoyed to have a new lease of life, the journey is far from over.
He requires expensive surgery including three operations on his arms, back, legs, stomach and chest.
“It really affects my confidence and mental health,” Cole, from Columbia, South Carolina, told What’s The Jam.
“I worked really hard and I can still see the leftovers of that fat guy.
“I still can’t go to the beach or pool, and I don’t take my shirt off.
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“A lot of my weight is the skin.
“It weighs at least one stone.
“It’s really killing me. I can’t run because it slaps around.
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“It’s aggravating.”
The asset protection investigator first started putting weight on when he was just six years old following a stressful house move.
Cole’s diet got worse as he became a teenager when he would eat meals cooked by his mum before snacking on sweets, crisps and fizzy drinks.
He said: “My mum and dad worked so we just had whatever they could make.
“We had tacos, burgers and always did pizza and movie Fridays.”
Food became the Cole’s comfort in the years following and as an adult, he would gorge on takeaways and meals high in saturated fat.
At his biggest, Cole couldn’t fit on a rollercoaster or into a booth at a restaurant.
He said: “I was getting bigger and bigger.
“Food was my comfort.
“Pizza was my favourite. I liked cakes, sweets, crisps and junk food.
“I used to eat until I went to sleep and I weighed more than the scales could measure.
“It affected my health; I couldn’t get up the stairs without getting out of breath.
“I couldn’t fit on a rollercoaster or into a booth at a restaurant, and I just had to hope that chairs would hold me up.”
My feet hurt so bad and they were swollen.
“I didn’t want to go out and be seen.
“I lived my life hoping I wouldn’t die.”
Cole finally decided to transform his life after fearing he’d be diagnosed with diabetes in 2021.
When his seven-year relationship also came to an end, he decided that enough was enough.
Cole said: “I was trying to save my relationship by losing weight but I ended up saving myself.
“People in my family have diabetes and I didn’t want to end up that way as well.
“I didn’t want diabetes or die and leave a legacy being this guy who is funny but never took care of his health.”
Cole took on a one-day-at-a-time approach – starting by cutting out sugary drinks and junk food, and going for regular walks.
He started doing full-body work outs and muscle lifts.
But he says he couldn’t have done it without the support of his friends and family who “always believed in him”.
Cole said: “I started walking and moving a little bit more every day.
“I started eating better and stopped snacking on crisps and chocolate, as well as cut back on bread and sugar.
“Salads became my main meal.
“I learned more about food and joined a gym.
“It’s very hard joining the gym as a bigger man.
“You assume that everyone is looking at you and sometimes they are but they’re happy to see you there.
“I do full body splits, combo lifts and I slowly added more muscle specific lifts.
“Now, my health and life is amazing.
“It’s getting better every day.
“People respect you more when you’re in shape.
“I used to get comments about my size all the time. I tried not to show that it hurt to hear.
“In public, people would call me fat.
“Kids are the worst because they say whatever they’re thinking.
“A kid would point and say ‘look how big that guy is’ and that really bothered me inside.”
Since his weight loss, old school friends and colleagues have walked past Cole in the street without recognising him.
He said: “My friends and family are so proud and happy for me.
“They’ve always been supportive.
“I’ve walked past people I went to school with or used to work with and they will walk straight by.
“I stop them and they’ll say they didn’t even know it was me.”
Cole is fundraising to raise approximately £85,000 ($100,000) to contribute towards his surgery.
He may have to start another fundraiser to raise the rest of the cash.
He added: “Anyone can do this and I’m proof of that.
It’s not a diet, it’s a lifestyle change.
“Life’s only getting better for me and I can’t wait to have my skin cut off.”
DIET BEFORE
Breakfast: Either no breakfast or McDonald’s double sausage sandwich with egg, cheese and hash browns
Lunch: No lunch
Dinner: Two burgers with fries, one and a half large pizzas
Snacks: Two litres of fizzy pop, sweets and a share bag of crisps
DIET AFTER
Breakfast: No breakfast
Lunch: Protein shake, lean beef, burger steak with potatoes and carrots
Dinner: Eggs, lean beef, chicken
Snacks: Rice Krispie treat or a protein yoghurt
