A man who previously weighed two baby elephants has released pictures of his incredible results after losing 65 percent of his body weight.
Jeff Peters, 38, from Chicago, topped the ‘good’ scales at over 500lbs in 2017 – but could only guess his real weight because the scales weren’t high enough.
Now she’s the smallest she’s been since she was a kid, dropping 325lbs to 175lbs.
But his transformation isn’t complete – he’s been left with so much loose skin that it’s now a health problem in its own right.
Jeff said: ‘I’ve been big all my life. In fact, I’m smaller now than I was in third grade—my jacket is now two sizes bigger than in elementary school.
Jeff’s heaviest weight was over 500 pounds but he’s not sure how much his scales only tipped that much and would give an ‘error’ message when they did.
Jeff has now lost over 65% of his body weight and trimmed 175lbs following a strict low-carb diet and undergoing gastric sleeve surgery.
Despite overcoming massive weight loss hurdles, Jeff now has a stark reminder of his former life of carrying over 40 pounds of loose skin.
‘My heaviest weight was over 500 pounds, although unfortunately I’ve never had a scale like that in 2017.
‘Then I saw one of my best friends die – he was two years older than me, and he was a bit overweight – but seeing that made me really want to change.’
Even realizing he wanted to lose weight, Jeff says the process started slow but he took small victories when he could.
By January 2019 Jeff says he was light enough to get anything other than an error message from his scale, but he continued to hover around 500lbs for several more years.
Then, in 2020, her father fell ill and her marriage broke up.
‘All this pushed me to take my life back,’ he said.
Jeff began a low-carb diet, which he combined with weightlifting and cycling.
He said: ‘I would estimate my intake was around 2,000-2,500 calories a day – a huge dip from my previous 5,000.’
After losing 150 pounds, Jeff found that following a low-carb diet no longer gave him the same results and caused him some problems.
Doctors advise that following such a diet can cause mild to severe symptoms such as fatigue, headaches, dizziness and nausea, heart arrhythmia, osteoporosis, kidney damage, increased risk of cancer and sudden death.
Jeff decided to perform a vertical gastric sleeve surgery – a procedure that reduces the size of the stomach, causing patients to feel full more quickly.
After the operation, Jeff lost another 175 pounds, consuming about 2,000 calories a day.
He hit his current weight in late May, but now doctors estimate he’s carrying around 40 pounds of loose skin.
Faced with a daily struggle to keep his body healthy, Jeff, with the help of his sister Sarah, is now fighting to raise the funds to surgically remove it and complete his transformation.
She said: ‘Even at my biggest it felt like loose skin, it had been stretched for so long.
‘But I really started noticing it after losing about 150 pounds.
‘Loose skin, unfortunately, brings with it many health problems – posture and spine problems are really a concern.
‘I’ve developed a hunch from the weight and current hanging skin.
‘Skin irritation, infection and breakdown is a concern.
‘It requires a daily care and routine to ensure I can keep it clean and healthy, including prescription creams to prevent eczema and skin breakdown.’
He continued: ‘Doctors determined the removal was medically necessary.
‘But insurance doesn’t cover all aspects of it, so I’ll save for the rest of the out-of-pocket costs.’
For anyone reading his stories who are struggling to lose weight, Jeff has a simple message for you: ‘Never give up’.
He said: ‘Every day is harder, a little harder than the last, but at the end of the day when you see that scale go down to 400, then 300, then 200 – those are the moments you remember.
‘You won’t remember the Italian beef you didn’t eat, or the Chinese takeout you didn’t have.
‘You will remember the feeling of “I did it” and one day, you will achieve what you set out to do in less time than you thought.’
The 38-year-old has turned his life around but now needs life-saving surgery to remove excess skin. Carrying it around took a huge toll on his body and he developed a hunchback
Jeff, pictured here after dropping 200 pounds, was inspired to lose weight when a friend, who was heavier than him, died.
Jeff says his loose skin brings many health issues, including his posture and spine, and he faces a constant battle against skin irritations and infections, and has a daily routine to ensure it stays clean and healthy.
Jeff is now raising money for surgery to get rid of the skin and needs $25,000 to make it happen
Jeff has a bit of advice for anyone struggling to lose weight, ‘never give up’. She reveals that even though the day is tough, it will all be worth it when you start seeing the scales fall off.
Jeff’s sister, Sarah Peters, created a GoFundMe to raise $25,000 for his procedure.
With the total currently sitting at $7,875, Jeff expressed that he was overwhelmed by people’s generosity.
He wrote: ‘I am incredibly humbled by everyone’s donations to help achieve this surgery goal!
‘It’s still a long road with many surgeries over the next few years, but I will cross that finish line! I never imagined the kind of support you have shown.
‘As many of you know the total cost for all of them was significantly higher than I thought and was able to save for. Thank you all from the bottom of my heart!’
If you would like to donate please go here.
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