- 11,234
- 185
- Joined
- May 19, 2004
http://www.wfaa.com/v/?i=106472874http://www.wfaa.com/v/?i=106472874 http://www.wfaa.com/v/?i=106472874http://www.wfaa.com/v/?i=106472874
@ Prime.
[h2]Former Cowboys star Nate Newton has lost 175 pounds[/h2]
By Chris Chase
At his heaviest, Nate Newton weighed 401 pounds. He was so big during his playing days that he forced the Dallas Cowboysequipment manager to rearrange his entire ordering system (and earnedthe nickname "The Kitchen" because of it). He used to joke about hissize, saying that when he retired from the NFL he was going to get intothe weight-gaining business because "I know all the wrong things to do."
He stayed big after retiring and through his 32-month stint in prisonand it eventually got to the point where Newton, 48, stopped jokingabout his size and became fearful of it instead. When he came to therealization that his obesity might not let him live long enough to seehis youngest son graduate from high school, he decided to do somethingabout.
The Dallas Morning news reportsthat in February, Newton underwent a new surgery called "verticalgastrectomy," an operation which removes up to 75 percent of thepatient's stomach and staples the remaining portion. Today, he weighs220 pounds. It's the thinnest he's been since eighth grade.
Thevertical gastrectomy operation is usually reserved for people who aretoo heavy to undergo other forms of weight-loss surgery. At this point,it's an uncommon procedure because few doctors perform it and mostinsurance companies regard it as experimental. Newton's doctor insistsit's safe, but the extreme weight loss the former NFL star hasexperienced isn't normal.
Newton has resumed working out and istraining like he did in the old days, sometimes going for as long astwo hours per day. He eventually hopes to get down to 196 pounds, whichwould be 200 less than when he started.
Even at 220, he lookslike a new man. Deion Sanders, who recently had coffee with Newton,said he could hardly believe his eyes when he saw his old teammate.http://
"I'mhappy for him because I know I'm going to have him for another 70, 80years," Sanders said. (That's an optimistic life expectancy expectationfrom Deion; in 80 years, Newton would be 128 years old.)
Newton says there is one downside to his svelte, new frame though.
"I don't get discounts anymore because nobody recognizes me until they see my credit card," he told the Dallas Morning News.
It's a small price to pay for a big lifestyle change.
