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On March 10, 2003, senior Michael Brogan weighed 463 pounds. His unhealthy eating habits, lifestyle and employment, among other things, had caused him to pack on all the weight throughout his life.

While friends and family quietly worried about him, the then self-conscious Brogan never discussed the issue.

But after several failed attempts to get his weight down and finally discussing the issue with others, Brogan decided it was time for change.

Today, Brogan’s weight is down to 230 pounds, or around there, anyway. He doesn’t weigh himself nearly as much as he used to. He said he’s just happy he could weigh himself if he wanted to, because if he hadn’t decided to undergo gastric bypass surgery, he may not have been around to tell his story.

The road to obesity
“I’ve always been a big kid,” Brogan said. “When I was in high school, I weighed 325 pounds when I was on the football team. In junior high, I was about 275 pounds, so I’ve just always been a big guy.”

In grade school, Brogan said he was always “the fattest kid in the class” and was picked on regularly. He also grew up with an abusive stepfather who didn’t make things any easier, as he constantly used physical force or ridiculed him about his weight.

The comments made by peers and his stepfather, in addition to the negative thoughts he already had, caused Brogan to mostly keep to himself.

“I was always very self-conscious on how I looked,” he said. “I would always have my shirt tucked in and pull it out as much as I could so I could cover up as much as I could. I wouldn’t wear certain clothes if I thought (they) made me look bad. I was always self-conscious about everything.”

Brogan’s wife, Nicole, who was there for him throughout the entire process, agreed.

“He was about as introverted as a person could be,” she said. “I had to ask him out for our first date. He was very shy.”

After high school, Brogan went to technical college and earned a two-year associates degree; however, he was unable to find employment in accounting and ended up being a truck driver.

Being seated for long periods of time and constantly eating and drinking soda didn’t help his weight either, he said.

“All those calories just started to add up,” Brogan said. “You don’t realize it, yourself, that you’re getting bigger, and nobody really tells you because everyone’s afraid to say something.”

The next thing he knew, he was more than 400 pounds.

The path to change
With his weight at 463 pounds and his blood pressure at a dangerously high 190/90, despite medication, he and his doctors started to worry.

“We were worried about his blood pressure,” Nicole said. “We just wanted the chance to have him around for another 50 years.”

He tried various diets, such as the low-carbohydrate or low-fat diets, and they would work for a short time. Brogan would lose as much as 25 pounds, but the minute he would get off the diet, the weight would come back at least as strong, if not stronger.

With the diets backfiring, the doctors suggested gastric bypass surgery, a method that became famous after celebrities, such as the “Today Show”‘s Al Roker, underwent the procedure.

Before friends and family found out about his surgery, they usually didn’t say anything and only privately expressed concerns. But after the surgery was announced, Brogan’s loved ones came to his side.

“I was very open about everything,” he said. “Everyone knew up-front what was going on, and they were very supportive.”

Nicole added, “If there wasn’t as much family support, I don’t think he would have been as successful.”

Brogan credits his doctors for helping him make the decision, patiently answering all of his questions and always checking with him to make sure he was OK.

“They were so supportive about everything,” he said. “Even after the surgery when I felt like I was dying, they were just so good about it.”

The surgery took place March 11, at Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis. Doctors cut off the top part of his stomach that was attached to the esphogus and stapled it, Brogan explained. The other part of his stomach drained for nearly three days. When the surgery was done, his stomach was about the size of an egg.

“It’s one of the scariest things I’ve ever been through,” Nicole said. “It was hard to watch him go into surgery.”

But everything went extremely well, he said, as he feels “very blessed” to be one of the few who has no complications, including common symptoms such as skin rashes or infections.

Not done yet
Contrary to popular belief, people do not undergo the treatment and magically lose weight immediately. The process of shedding pounds continues well after the procedure, and diet and exercise are a must.

“That’s one thing I think a lot of people who aren’t successful with gastric bypass fail to realize,” Brogan said. “You still have to exercise and keep a physical presence about yourself. You can’t just sit around and eat what you can.”

To stay active, Brogan golfs in the summer and bikes extensively. He put 460 miles on his bike the first summer after the bypass and another 550 miles on it this past summer.

“I know what I’ve been through,” he said. “I feel like I’m a success. People see me, and they’re jealous of not the fact that I’ve lost the weight, but that I have a whole (new) energy about me.

“Before, I would just be loathing and sit around and (say), ‘I don’t feel like doing this.’ Now it’s like, ‘I want to do this, I want to do that.’ This whole energy inside me … I feel like I’m glowing between now and then.”

This is quite a far cry away from the way he used to be, Nicole said.

“Once he got active, he was a completely different person,” she said. “He is the same person, except the complete opposite.”

Words of wisdom
Brogan worked for about three and a half years as an accounting assistant, but couldn’t move up with just an associate’s degree, so the 31-year-old came to UW-Eau Claire full-time as an accounting student. He plans to graduate in May.

When participating in ice-breakers in class, it’s not hard to figure out what fact Brogan shares about himself.

But, as successful as the procedure was, he said it will vary from person to person and that someone considering it should research it thoroughly.

“People have to realize that it’s not for everybody,” Brogan said. “Some people aren’t going to be able to handle it. It’s a big change and a lot to handle.”

He recommended www.obseityhelp.com, the Web site where he found much of his information, for anyone thinking about undergoing the operation.

And for Brogan, the support of his family, especially from his wife, may have been the biggest key, he said.

“Without her on my side, I’m not sure I would have went through the surgery,” he said. “And if I had not gone through the surgery, I’m not sure I would be alive.”