A dad-of-one who shed half his body weight has launched a fundraiser so he can pay £13,000 to remove his excess sagging skin.
Daniel Cushen shed just over 16 stone by joining Slimming World and introducing a new exercise regime but despite his successful he said he feels unable to show off his new physique because he has too much skin.
The 34-year-old, from Barry in Wales, weighed just under 30 and a half stone at his heaviest as his diet consisted of nothing but the highly calorific dishes.
But the procedure to remove his skin is unavailable on the NHS so Daniel is pleading with people to help him complete the leg of his final journey, Wales Online reports.
He said: "Imagine how much I've saved the NHS by not having operations to lose my weight and it's the one bit of help I'm asking for. It seems a bit unfair."
His weight loss mission began after he stepped on the scales three years ago and was horrified by what he saw that he ended his relationship and his love affair with takeaways.
"I was in a relationship where we ate nothing but takeaways and unhealthy foods and I was uneducated about how to eat healthily," he said.
"Chocolate was one of the biggest things for me and I would love a Chinese, Indian, Subway or McDonald's.
"I ended the relationship and that day I weighed myself and decided to do something about it."
Daniel managed to shed just over 16 stone by a complete diet overhaul and new exercise regime.
He said: "At first it was just the eating side of it that I changed and I had a Slimming World book which I read through.
"I was too big to exercise. I've always enjoyed walking but it was harder back then.
"A year ago I joined the gym and I've mostly just been eating differently by following Slimming World. It's not a diet where I'm still hungry.
"I do a lot of cooking now and I now know how to eat healthily.
"One of my favourite things now is not having to buy clothes online as I can go into shops and try things on there."
But despite his impressive weight loss, Daniel hasn't felt able to show off his slimmer figure because of the excess skin which has knocked his confidence.
Trips to the beach and taking his nine-year-old daughter swimming are still out of reach for him due to the sagging skin on his stomach and legs.
"I want to stay fully clothed so people can't see my skin," Daniel said.
"Swimming is a no go but I would love to take my daughter. She is so much happier now because I can do a lot more with her but I can't go swimming.
"The more weight I lost the lower it hung down on my stomach.
"There were some points where I thought if I kept the weight on at least it would fill the skin.
"It's affecting me mentally more than physically and it's the last hurdle in my journey.
"I've been to countless doctors about it but because it's not causing me physical pain it's not something they can do."
Daniel currently deliberately wears clothes that are too big to hide his excess skin and even wears a coat during trips to the beach.
Explaining that having the procedure would "give me my life back", he said: "I started running not long ago but I noticed my stomach and legs were clapping and rubbing so I couldn't do that for long.
"Swimming and going down the beach and taking my top off would love things I would love to do.
"I'm one of those people on the beach with a coat on.
"I tend to overdress to cover it up and I wear long t-shirts to hide it on my stomach.
"It would change my life massively, with exercise more than anything."
To make a donation visit here .
