Phat results: Morgan shatters hospital record with 207 pounds lost in a year

By ROBERT MORGAN

Northwest assistant athletic director Gary Prescott was amazed at my progress when we crossed paths at a basketball game. He congratulated me several times and even joked that soon I'm just going to blow away.

Funny, but flattering. He was kind enough to ask how I have been doing and if everything is going well, and of course pat me on the back some more. I went on to tell him that I was just one of the lucky ones, and that dropping 200 pounds from my 509-pound frame in less than a year was unexplainable.

Prescott corrected me just as soon as the words rolled off my tongue. He said it had nothing to do with luck, but rather hard work. He repeated that rare success stories like mine (so far), don't come easily.

He got me to thinking, and he is right. I have spent many, many hours in the gym. I have gone hungry when craving that good ol' quarter-pounder from McDonald's, and I still miss my frappacinos.

None of it has made me stray from my new eating habits after a year, and Prescott is one of many people who have contributed in an indirect way to my first 200 pound loss.

My one-year "bandiversary" (my slang reference for anniversary from the day my stomach was banded) was coincidentally the same day as our monthly Lap-Band support group meeting in Denton. I looked forward to telling our room full of other losers about my accomplishment.

I hate bragging about my weight loss, and those who ask me at games will tell you I rarely throw out how much I have lost. But this opportunity was on a night that I could inspire other banders to stop eating from the "do not devour" list or help convince someone attending that is contemplating surgery.

Dr. Curtis Mosier, who is the man responsible for the new-and-improved Robert Morgan, tracked me down before the September meeting to shake my hand for a job well done ... so far. I had not seen him since July, and it was refreshing to see the man that saved my life before the support group meeting.

He watched as I got on the scale for my one-year weigh-in and was shocked. The digital display flashed 302, that is 207 pounds gone in exactly a year to the day - Sept. 20, 2006, to Sept. 20, 2007.

My family and I made our way to our monthly meeting room where we got a special surprise. The room was decorated with balloons and signs. One of the dry-erase boards was even littered with congratulatory comments about my success.

It took all of 30 seconds to absorb the nice thing that Lap-Band coordinator Judy Spira did to honor my amazing weight loss. After that, I was back to being embarrassed. I didn't want to show off my success in front of others who are struggling to lose anything at all.

Near the end of the meeting I was presented a plaque from Presbyterian Hospital of Denton congratulating me on losing 207 pounds in the first year, which is a hospital record for total weight loss as well as weight loss in a year.

That was the best part of the night. It also served as motivation as I worked through football season.

To say working this football season was great is an understatement. Getting around in a much smaller body was amazing. It was the best football season I've been a part of since my junior year in college.

It was considerably better than last year when I covered football the first three months after surgery. My weight was still in the mid 400s and the smell of the those grilled burgers that saturated the stadium was torture. Never wave a cheeseburger in the face of a fat guy.

This year, however, it didn't phase me. I can't eat hamburgers because the meat will get stuck and I haven't had bread in more than a year and have no desire to ever have any again.

The playoffs were even better. I spent every game pacing the sidelines along with the teams. I even got accused of not being at games because my family and I were not in our normal seats near the band. And to make things even better, many people did not know that the guy in the black jacket on the field was me.

The fall also cut into my gym time as I had football, volleyball and cross county four days of the week. My visits scaled back to two or three times a week, but I made every one of them count. My routine remained the same as I started with 45 minutes of cardio workouts followed by an hour and a half of weight training.

My diet has not changed as I stick mostly with chicken and either salad or broccoli for my veggies. It had been nearly six months since my last Lap-Band adjustment, so my appetite has increased to about a cup and a half of food. That isn't much, but it is 50 percent more than I have consumed in a year.

Thanksgiving was much easier this time around as I did not crave the stuffing and cakes. I was satisfied with finely-diced ham pieces and green bean casserole.

Not much of a selection since the rest of our family had a slew of options, but I was happy. Besides, my mother-in-law Donna makes a mean casserole.

I also had a little dessert for the first time in my journey. I had a slice of pumpkin pie but just ate the filling. The crust is off limits and would likely get stuck in my pipes anyway.

I had plenty to give thanks for over the holiday as I reached another milestone. I dropped below the 300-pound mark for the first time since 1999.

Football season and the holidays were very good to me. I lost seven pounds in October and November as I tipped the scales at 295.

December was even better. Just as the weight loss had slowed down (as it should with my plummeting weight), I got an extra Christmas present and Santa had nothing to do with it. I lost another six pounds between the two biggest holidays and ended the year at 289 pounds - down 220 in 15 months.

There were days that eating my normal meals were more than enough, but then there were those times it didn't seem like enough.

I often contemplated going in to have my Lap-Band tightened before Jan. 1, but I continuously reminded myself that I needed to control my head hunger a little better - that's what they call it when you want to keep eating just because it looks good or taste great.

Life as a loser was easier with each passing month. I work 12 hour days, spend my nights at more games than ever before and I'm always on the go even during my weekends.

Like millions of others who ring in the New Year, I made my resolutions when Marissa and I toasted at midnight. However, January was nothing like I wanted.

I developed some unexplainable pains that kept me up at nights and brought me to tears. I wondered if my stomach tore from the Lap-Band's grip like I have heard in some rare cases. Did the medical device slip? Is my body rejecting it? All the worst-case scenarios crossed my mind while kneeling in pain.

It was finally time to call Dr. Mosier for the first time since July.