Matt's Excess Skin Removal Surgery
Donation protected
From the age of 16, I've lost around 270 pounds, total. I weighed 497 pounds at my heaviest weight.
Now, 6 years later, I need your help.
This is only an estimation, but based on what I'm seeing online I'm estimating I'll need around 20,000 dollars in order to get the chest, tummy and arm work that will go into fixing my excess skin. I plan on getting a consultation soon, so this is subject to change, but this is what I'm estimating for right now.
Here's what the Upworthy article written about me had to say:
To stay motivated, he started sharing his journey on social media, posting before-and-after photos, answering questions and giving support to followers, and even sharing his meals and favorite workouts. Six years later, Matt is down over 270 pounds and is a very active voice in the online body-positivity movement.
But in all his years of sharing his story, the one thing he's never done is showed what his body looks like after 200+ pounds of weight loss. So he decided to upload a video to his Tumblr and show his followers his true self.
What follows are a series of questions I answered in that article!
What's the response been like? Anything particularly unexpected?
"I think that putting any opinion on the Internet will garner a certain amount of negativity and cynicism, but I haven't seen anything like that at all. I've read every comment and message since the video has gone up, literally thousands, and they're all so thoughtful.
A really surprising side-effect were the number of transgender people who've thanked me saying that they understood my struggle, even though their body-related insecurity grew from different roots. I'd never even begun to [think] of what that must be like, and the fact that my message could help even though my problems began somewhere else is really incredible."
What advice or words of encouragement do you have for someone who's struggling to love their body?
"I know it's difficult, especially when you're starting out. I want you to remember that you are not the problem, certain aspects of society are the problem. You'll constantly be told that you're too heavy or too tall to be attractive, or you're not masculine or feminine enough, or that your skin isn't the right tone or your hair isn't the right color, and these people are always always always wrong.
Luckily, we're slowly starting to see these ideas get phased out by modernity. Plus-sized, unretouched models are getting more attention in major brands, more attention is being put on the alternative scene for high fashion, it's becoming clear that these negative ideas are not going to last, though it's going to take a while."
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and for donating if you have.
Now, 6 years later, I need your help.
This is only an estimation, but based on what I'm seeing online I'm estimating I'll need around 20,000 dollars in order to get the chest, tummy and arm work that will go into fixing my excess skin. I plan on getting a consultation soon, so this is subject to change, but this is what I'm estimating for right now.
Here's what the Upworthy article written about me had to say:
To stay motivated, he started sharing his journey on social media, posting before-and-after photos, answering questions and giving support to followers, and even sharing his meals and favorite workouts. Six years later, Matt is down over 270 pounds and is a very active voice in the online body-positivity movement.
But in all his years of sharing his story, the one thing he's never done is showed what his body looks like after 200+ pounds of weight loss. So he decided to upload a video to his Tumblr and show his followers his true self.
What follows are a series of questions I answered in that article!
What's the response been like? Anything particularly unexpected?
"I think that putting any opinion on the Internet will garner a certain amount of negativity and cynicism, but I haven't seen anything like that at all. I've read every comment and message since the video has gone up, literally thousands, and they're all so thoughtful.
A really surprising side-effect were the number of transgender people who've thanked me saying that they understood my struggle, even though their body-related insecurity grew from different roots. I'd never even begun to [think] of what that must be like, and the fact that my message could help even though my problems began somewhere else is really incredible."
What advice or words of encouragement do you have for someone who's struggling to love their body?
"I know it's difficult, especially when you're starting out. I want you to remember that you are not the problem, certain aspects of society are the problem. You'll constantly be told that you're too heavy or too tall to be attractive, or you're not masculine or feminine enough, or that your skin isn't the right tone or your hair isn't the right color, and these people are always always always wrong.
Luckily, we're slowly starting to see these ideas get phased out by modernity. Plus-sized, unretouched models are getting more attention in major brands, more attention is being put on the alternative scene for high fashion, it's becoming clear that these negative ideas are not going to last, though it's going to take a while."
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and for donating if you have.
Organizer
Matt Diaz
Organizer
Brooklyn, NY