Michael Hebranko's story is a stark reminder of the complexities of obesity and the challenges individuals face in their struggle with weight. Throughout his life, Hebranko experienced extreme weight fluctuations, reaching a peak of 1,120 pounds and achieving a record-breaking weight loss of over 700 pounds, only to regain much of it. His journey, marked by both remarkable achievements and devastating setbacks, highlights the multifaceted nature of weight management and the importance of addressing the underlying causes of obesity.
Early Life and Weight Gain
Brooklyn native Michael John Hebranko, Jr., became one of the heaviest men in the world. At 34, he reached his heaviest weight: 1,100 pounds. Hebranko's weight issues started early in his life. He admitted to being an "all or nothing kind of guy." At his worst, Michael would wolf down bagfuls of pork chops, two pounds of bacon, and three dozen eggs at one sitting, or secretly eat six Big Macs on the way home from work. His meals added up to 13,260 calories - enough to feed a healthy man for a week. This extreme eating pattern contributed to his rapid weight gain and subsequent health problems.
The Suicide Attempt and Turning Point
Michael says he reached rock bottom when he lost his will to live. "I put the gun in my mouth; I went to pull the trigger," he says. But Michael didn't go through with it-instead, he wrote a letter to weight loss personality Richard Simmons. On Jan. 21, 1988, Hebranko reached his lowest point as he sat alone in his office contemplating suicide with a gun his friend gave him. "At that point I felt my wife deserved a better husband," Hebranko said, confined to a hospital bed in his Great Kills home. "I was so exhausted, I was ready to lay down and give it up." With a shaking hand, unable to pull the trigger, Hebranko felt "the Lord's intervention." He put the gun down, and began to write a six-page letter to "this Richard Simmons on 'Hollywood Squares.'"
The Partnership with Richard Simmons and Record-Breaking Weight Loss
Less than a week later, the health guru reached out to Hebranko to offer support Simmons sent Hebranko a box of "Deal-A-Meal" and his original "Sweatin' to the Oldies" workout video. Richard quickly became Michael's biggest supporter, coaching him through a world record-setting weight loss of more than 700 pounds in 19 months. A bit dismayed, Hebranko told Simmons "you sent me a diet;" at more than 1,000 pounds and near the end of his rope, he felt gypped but decided to give it a try since he admittedly likes the "oldies." Slowly, he began trying to work out, a little at first, but in a year's time he could make it through the entire tape and began losing weight. After a year, Simmons urged Hebranko to go to St. Luke's Hospital to treat the "other aspects" of weight loss for someone his size, and couple days after being admitted, Hebranko suffered a heart attack. "If I would have been home when that happened, they would have never known what to do," Hebranko said. In 1990, Hebranko made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for losing 706 pounds. After the extreme weight loss, Hebranko had to have surgery to remove an extra 40 pounds of skin from his body, he said.
The Weight Regain and Ongoing Struggles
Michael's battle didn't end there. As soon as he hit 198 pounds, he says he went out to celebrate. His victory meal? Four hot dogs and french fries with melted cheese. In need of medical attention, Michael went to rehab, but the only way to get him out of the house was with a forklift. Over the next year and a half, Michael got down to 600 pounds. But as soon as he left rehab, the story repeated itself. Despite his lifelong battle with weight, Michael says he's doing well. During his lifetime, Michael Hebranko has gained and lost over 3,000 pounds. Hebranko says when he lost the weight the first time around, his approach to weight loss was flawed, which was why the pounds came back so quickly. "I was on a diet for 19 months, and I had hit my goal. I wanted to be less than 200 pounds," he says. "So like any person who had a goal…I won the gold medal, and the next day I didn't have to get up and train, so I relaxed. Going on a diet means someday you're going to go off a diet. You can't be on a diet your whole life.
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In the past three years, Michael says he's been in and out of rehab. In the past two and a half years, he says he hasn't fallen off the wagon. "I had a bad day or two, but I have been on a steady downhill with the numbers, and I've lost close to 300 pounds in the last two and half years on a slow basis." The more he loses, the more Michael is able to live, he says. For the past 18 months, he's been able to go to church, go to the park with his grandson and even go to Disneyworld. Hebranko's yo-yo dieting has taken him down from 1,120 pounds to 198 pounds at his thinnest and then back up throughout his 58 years.
Medical Emergencies and Hospitalizations
In the past three years, Michael says he's been in and out of rehab. Last week Michael Hebranko was forklifted through the picture window of his Brooklyn home. Weighing 1,100 pounds, Hebranko, age 46, was returned to a hospital to lose weight. In need of medical attention, Michael went to rehab, but the only way to get him out of the house was with a forklift.
In February, workers ripped out a bay window and several rows of bricks from a house Friday to remove a nearly 1,000-pound man--possibly the heaviest person in the world--and take him to the hospital. Michael Hebranko, who once lost 700 pounds and became a spokesman for Richard Simmons’ Deal-A-Meal diet program, was carried through the 10-by-5-foot hole on a stretcher used to move small whales. He was transferred to an ambulance by forklift.
Last October 29, Hebranko fell inside his home, and paramedics, police officers and about 14 firefighters came to his aid; they picked all 600 pounds of him up "like a puppet," slinging bed sheets under his ankles and shoulders. Hebranko's body was covered in black and blue marks two days later, and he had what he described as an "eggplant" colored bubble on his shoulder. "I kept saying to everybody there's something wrong with this one; I feel like it's splitting inside of me," Hebranko recalled. Three days later, the bubble burst and Hebranko woke up covered in blood. He needed to be rushed to the hospital as he was passing out and "bleeding to death."
Health Complications and Underlying Issues
Hebranko, 43, suffers from heart disease, respiratory ailments and a severe skin infection in his legs. He spent the last 2 1/2 months confined to a love seat in his Brooklyn home, unable to stand for more than 30 seconds. Because no clothes will fit his 110-inch waist, he sat wrapped in sheets. Hebranko has suffered two strokes, says his heart is giving him problems, his kidneys are failing, he is suffering from pneumonia and he is having liver problems, not from his weight, but from a bad blood transfusion he received almost 30 years ago. "I [wound] up having hepatitis C, not from any drugs, not from dirty sex, not even from a dirty thought," Hebranko said. "It's not active right now, but any time I start getting an infection, it affects my liver. On top of that, I have COPD and a host of other things."
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Hebranko likens his addiction to food as being similar to alcoholics, cigarette smokers or drug addicts -- but with a twist. Some substance abusers can eventually avoid, altogether, whatever it is they were hooked on, but food addicts still must eat to live. "It's hard, and we [food addicts] have it the hardest," Hebranko said. "And people still laugh at us."
The Role of Genetics and Addiction
Lying in a bed that took up a sizeable part of the small living room and conversing easily with reporters, Hebranko said his obesity results from both overeating and genetics. "It has to do with genes," he said. "Not everyone can get to this size. I don't eat what people think I eat … my body holds fat. That's genes." Hebranko likened his eating habit to alcoholism and drug addiction. "Once I start eating I cannot stop. It's a disease, it's an addiction." Hebranko believes food addiction is genetic to a certain extent and physiological.
The Importance of Lifestyle Change
These days, Michael says he looks at nutrition as a lifestyle change. His current weight is in the mid-350s, and he says the pounds are coming off at a slow, healthy pace. "It's not about the numbers anymore," he says. "Today I have the same battle as a person who has to lose 5 pounds. We all have to do the same thing. …
Hebranko's doctors want him to eat about 1,800 calories a day to try and lose some more weight, but he has given up setting goals, because if he fails to meet them, he feels miserable, but if he attains his goals, then he relaxes and slips back into old eating habits. The bottom line? "I cannot diet," Hebranko said, as if someone had put a curse on him, adding, "I can lose weight. I can gain weight. I can't maintain weight." This time around, Michael says he's learned not to have a specific weight loss goal. "My goal is to live," he says.
The Media Attention and Public Perception
Michael says many people don't understand how he got to the point where firefighters had to knock down his wall and lift him out of his home with a forklift. "I didn't just wake up one morning and say, 'Oh, I've got to go to the hospital.' I knew I was getting sick," he says. The media jumped on Michael's story. "What I was feeling the most for was my son in college," he says. During the next four or five years Hebranko was everywhere, appearing on everything from "Good Morning America" to the "Howard Stern Show." "I just wanted to let people know there was hope," Hebranko said. "Whether you were 1,000 pounds -- I went down to 198 pounds. But I believe there is hope."
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The Family Support
Despite his problems, Hebranko and Madeleine, his wife of 37 years, share good times, laugh and most importantly, keep a positive outlook -- which he attributes to the success of his marriage. Michael is married with a 32-year-old son and says his greatest regret is putting his family through hard times. "My battle is personal, and for what I've done, I don't blame anybody," he says. "The people I feel and hurt for the most are the people closest to me. Though doctors have told him he wouldn't live past 30, Michael is now 55 and says one of his greatest blessings is his grandson. "He's going to be 4 years old, and I live for him every day," he says. "God willing, in June I'm going to be a grandpa again. What else is there in life?
Gastric Bypass Surgery Consideration
Though Michael says he considered gastric bypass surgery, it ultimately wasn't for him. When he first started focusing on weight loss, he says he was too heavy to be a candidate for the surgery. While he applauds anyone who has succeeded with gastric bypass, Michael says it wouldn't solve his illness. "Unless they're ready to do a bypass in my brain, it's not going to work," he says. "I'm never hungry in my stomach; I'm never full in my stomach. I need the bypass [in my head], where I have the disease. That's where I fight the battle every day." Hebranko's doctors would not approve gastric bypass surgery since he has too many medical problems. "My problem isn't in my stomach," he said, noting, I'm not hungry. I am never full."