Woman left with 15 pounds of ‘painful’ excess skin that ‘bounces’ after losing 12 stone appeals to strangers to raise funds for £17K surgery
- Steff Kent, 32, from Poole, Dorset, has dropped down to 20 stone from 32 stone
- Has struggled with her weight all her life despite living active, healthy lifestyle
- Underwent gastric bypass in December 2018 but left with 15lbs of saggy skin
- Now struggles to run due to the pain of the bouncing skin and feels insecure
A woman claims she’s been left with 15 pounds of painful excess skin after shedding 12 stone – and is crowdfunding to raise money to have it removed.
Steff Kent, 32, from Poole, Dorset, is asking strangers for £15,000 towards the £17,000 she needs to go under the knife and finally get the body of her dreams.
The brewery worker was 32 stone at her heaviest – but has shed 12 stone after years of battling with her weight, leaving her with saggy skin which bounces whenever she moves.
She said: ‘Having the skin removed would be life changing. I’ve spent my entire life getting gradually bigger regardless of the effort I’ve put into exercise or dieting.
Steff Kent, 32, from Poole, Dorset, is asking strangers for £15,000 to have her excess skin removed following her weightloss
‘I have never been slim or able to wear a skirt or shorts without feeling horrific or getting dirty looks or comments made.
‘Being able to not feel like the biggest person in the room, being able to look in the mirror and like what I see will change my life.
Admitting she has always been overweight despite living an active and healthy lifestyle, Steff said she weighed two stone at the age of two and was 10 stone by the time she was 10 years old.
‘I’ve had people shout “run fatty” half way round a marathon from a pub bench whilst drinking beer,’ she added.
Steff previously tipped the scales at 32 stone at her heaviest but has managed to drop down to 20 stone
‘Even at that weight [32 stone] I was running and exercising as much as I could.
‘I had run several marathons in the previous years, was going to gym several times a week, swimming and working a job on my feet anything up to 18 hours a day at times, but even when I told people this they told me I must be lying.
‘I was constant battle of having to take medals in to show the doctors or photographs of me taken during a run.
‘I showed them my fitness logs just to try and get them to believe me, often to be told I could have purchased the medal on eBay.
‘I’d show them food logs and food diaries only to be told I must be lying.’
Steff said she has always struggled with her weight despite living an active and healthy lifestyle
Steff said she’s spent her life raising money for other people by running marathons, so she’s now fundraising for herself
Steff, who had tried for over a decade to shed the pounds after a lifetime of being obese, finally decided to have a gastric bypass in December 2018.
Now weighing 20 stone following gastric band surgery, Steff said that despite her dramatic weightloss she still feels insecure and uncomfortable about her body after she was left with saggy excess skin on her stomach, arms and legs.
She said: ‘Under my stomach and the top of my legs get sore and wobble with every step.
‘I get a rash on the skin on my arms. I can’t really run anymore exercise-wise due to the pain of the bouncing skin.
Pictured before her weightloss, Steff would keep food diaries and fitness logs to try and get doctors to believe her that she was living an active lifestyle
After trying for over a decade to shed the pounds following a lifetime of being obese, Steff finally decided to have a gastric bypass in December 2018
‘At night I wake up due to pain in my neck and shoulders which means I constantly have zero energy.
‘I don’t like wearing short sleeves as my arms literally flap. You can also hear my legs clapping together as I walk which is embarrassing.’
Steff is currently trying to raise £15,000 which will be used to pay for surgery in America to remove her excess skin. She intends to donate any money left over to charity.
Now weighing 20 stone following gastric band surgery, Steff said that despite her dramatic weightloss she still feels insecure and uncomfortable about her body
Pictured before and after her weightloss, Steff said she needs the skin removal surgery to ‘get her life back on track’
‘This is the first time I’ve put myself first,’ she explained. ‘I’ve run marathons for charity and done lots of things for other people.
‘I realise it’s a large sum but being able to raise this money on GoFundMe will change my life.
‘I’m trying to put myself first, I badly need the surgery to get my life back on track.
‘The pain can be pretty bad, I just want to get my life back.’
You can donate to Steff’s appeal here.
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