As a teen, Matt Diaz weighed 495 pounds at his heaviest. In about six years, the 22-year-old New Yorker has managed to shed 270 pounds. That's a remarkable amount of weight to lose! I admire his strength in so many ways. In a video, Diaz documents his story and talks about the challenge that comes with excessive weight loss, which is excess skin. "I'm a big advocate for body positivity, but I've never shown what my excess skin really looks like … I've never done this before ever, and I'm really, really scared," he said. I'm so proud of Diaz for being brave enough to share his story. Wait until you see what he looks like now!
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Embedded content: https://youtu.be/-ZJN9eY_8qE
Diaz looks unrecognizable! I hope he is celebrating his triumph of losing almost 300 pounds every single day. He truly looks incredible and serves as a source of inspiration for all of us. Weight loss is a battle that so many people face, but very few share with the public. It's especially hard to lose the weight after struggling with obesity at such an early age.
Diaz launched a GoFund campaign to help raise $20,000 for excess skin removal surgery. As of today, he has raised $54,869!!! That's nearly triple the amount he asked for. In the page, he writes, "Aside from the medical costs, and a little I'll be holding onto just so my bills don't bury me while I can't work, I'm going to be giving this money back to the community that supported me."
He's serving as such an excellent example for our youth! I hope Diaz continues to share his journey with us. It's one thing to look at before and after photos and another to truly understand the pain and struggle it takes to transform yourself. Diaz pushed to live a healthier lifestyle and I'm thrilled that supporters are coming out and offering him the treatment he needs. His life will be forever changed and I'm confident he's changed many lives in the process.
Images via Matt Diaz/Tumblr
