Weight Loss Journey-- Excess Skin Removal

Hi everyone, my name is Enrique Ramirez and I am 25 years old. For as long as I can remember, I was morbidly obese. As the anxiety and depression of being 411 pounds was crippling any joy I could have in life, I decided I had enough and wanted to do something about my weight. In 2016, I scheduled a procedure to get the weight-loss surgery done. I decided to cancel the surgery two days before I was going to go in, and instead challenged myself to make the change on my own through hard work. The results of that were jarring! What I once thought would be impossible, became a reality, as I started to see my body slim down, by changing my eating habits and working out every single day. I’ve lost over 150 pounds, and I still continue to maintain healthy eating habits, workout, and run every day to keep the results I’ve accomplished.

However, with the weight loss came excess skin, and the anxiety and depression from being overweight has shifted to having anxiety and depression over being in a sense “deformed”. I am very proud of how far I’ve come in my journey, but seeing the excess skin has created a different type of insecurity and makes me feel limited in my accomplishments. Some days it is even demotivating to me when I can’t fully see the results I can be capable of because when I look in the mirror, the loose skin is the first thing I notice and I just start listing off imperfections. Even fully dressed I feel self conscious about the way my body looks underneath my clothes. When I am in public I get uptight and uncomfortable and begin to pick at the way my clothes are positioned against my body because I am worried about the excess skin showing.

Earlier this year I scheduled a circular tummy tuck, which is the recommended surgery for the amount of excess skin I have around my waist and my back. The procedure is scheduled for mid December. I have saved up over half the amount in costs on my own, but due to COVID, my work has been reduced and I have not been able to save as quickly and as much as I originally planned.

I was hesitant at first to create a GoFundMe, as I can be very prideful, but the loved ones I surround myself with encouraged me because they’ve seen how far I’ve come on this journey, and they want to see me continue with reaching my fullest potential.

Thank you for taking the time to read about me! I truly appreciate any donation, no matter the size, anything will help me in reaching my goal. If you are unable to donate, a share would also be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again!