BigSean’s FatBlog

Hopped on the scale and got a good 40 minute workout (included 5 min warmup, 5 min cooldown).

Today I went to the gym and weighed in at 336 pounds, definitely a move in the wrong direction. When I’m not posting, it’s a pretty safe bet that I’m off the rails. I did 30 minutes on the treadmill on a weight loss program setting, burning 310 kilocalories. My knee has been fully recovered for about a month.

I went for a swim this morning. The University Natatorium is open for the summer and while I woke up late (6:25ish), I made it and got in a good 45 minutes in the pool. Wow, that really takes it out of you. Swimming is supposed to be great exercise for the morbidly obese and for those with knee and back problems. Heck, I guess it’s good for anybody, but the point is that if you’re broken in some fashion, the pool is a great place to be.

I weighed in at 339.5 today. Clearly the head-in-the-sand diet, the ice cream-sugar-fat-and-soda diet, and no-exercise calorie burning philosophy isn’t working out.

Fat Man Unleashed creator Israel Lagares has big stones and has put his weight loss journey out there for all to see. If his feedburner stats are any indication, he’s a guy who’s doing what most of us only wish we would do. Get our big, fat, junk-food eating asses out of the lounge chair and into motion. Success is what this guy is experiencing.

He’s started vlogging, something I’ve also been telling myself to do.

So what are you waiting for?

Does anyone have recommendations for exercise without using one’s legs? My bad knee finally gave out tonight popping out of place. I’ve been staying away from the gym, but can’t stand it and need alternatives. I can walk, but only with a cane and knee support for the time being.

I bought a medicine ball earlier today and am planning to use the nautilus at the gym for bench pressing and that sort of thing. I have some dumbbells at home.

Disappointing, but you work with what you have.

With my knees and back killing me, I took off yesterday and instead went to sleep shortly after I got home. I was exhausted.

I have an engagement tonight, so it’s back to the gym on Friday. Hopefully the two day break will be enough to heal up a bit. I’m also looking at alternatives to the cross-trainer. I think I can do 3 days a week on that puppy and really tear it up, but need to find something back and knee friendly for alternating days.

Somehow I didn’t get the photo, but did 40 minutes burning 363 kcal and weighed in at 326.5. I had to stop the workout after my knees and back started hurting, especially my bad knee. I’ll play it by ear tomorrow.

My back is mostly just sore, but my knees are killing me.

When I weighed in, I was pissed.

Yes, pissed.

I’ve been busting my ass for what? 329 pounds! Screw that noise. I was mad, so I got my ass in the NuStep Recumbent Cross-Trainer, cranked it up to 7, and cranked up my iPhone with my mix Cheesiest Pop Music of the 1980s. I was determined to bust my ass and see if I could burn off those two ice cream waffle cones I had last night.

With “just a little further” I set my ultimate goal at burning 1/3 of a pound, 1167 kilocalories. I made it with 1 extra. I kept resetting the difficulty between 6 and 7, depending on what my back and heart were telling me and when I needed to down some water. I’m still drenched in sweat.

HUAH. Frackin’ A!!!

Somewhere when I got to the roughest part of the workout, I was hit with that almost forgotten feeling - the endorphin rush. I haven’t felt that since my running days when I was an Army ROTC wannabe infantry officer. I’m telling you, when that rush hit, I got my second and third fracking wind.

Now, I’m very likely to skip tomorrow because I know I’m going to be sore as all hell; however, nothing beats the feeling of a great workout. Screw the 329 pounds. This ain’t bingo. As long as I consistently burn more than I’m taking in, I’m golden.

I’m skipping my workout today. My back is hurting with sciatic pain shooting down the backs of my legs. It’s not super-bad, but enough to make me pause. I’ll rest today and see how it feels tomorrow.

A bad back, exacerbated by morbid obesity, requires additional consideration when exercising. I’d rather miss a day or two than re-injure my back and be out of action for weeks or worse.

Update: Thanks for the ice packs, Joe.