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Anonymous
I'd like some advice. I'm currently recovering from an illness that reduced my mobility quite a bit. I currently resemble a whale, and a fat whale at that. It's fucking miserable.

I lost quite a bit of strength as well, and I currently have to use a cane to get around...this sucks ass, since walking is a decent means of shedding the pounds. I also tend to get tired pretty easily, but I think the obesity has something to do with that as well.

While I've been trying do some walking everyday, winter is coming. Since I was less than steady, I had a pretty bad fall last spring trying to walk on the ice and snow (and that was with ice cleats even).

I'm thinking that this year, I'd like to try something indoors to build up my strength.

I picked up some free weights (8 and 15 lbs) to help with my upper body, but I kinda wanted more of a whole body workout. I've been thinking a rowing machine would be good, but the only ones I've seen are crappy pneumatic junk.

What does /fit/ think? Is there a rowing machine you'd recommend? Or something else I should consider? I've got a small house, not an apartment, so I have some space.

in b/4 become an hero and all that shit.


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>> Anonymous
if you're having that much trouble walking, you need to focus on your legs first, for sure.

can you do squats? can you do 1 squat? I'd say do 1 or 2 every hour or if you're having trouble. that way by the end of the day you'll have a dozen or so squats behind you. over time you can up the number and build muscle in your legs and back and so forth to where you can walk easier.
>> Anonymous
>>387362
Seriously dude I hope you're kidding, telling an obese guy walking with a cane to do squats. The stress will break his knees if he jumps to that.

To OP: More important for your mobility would be losing weight if you are very fat. Diet has much more effect on this than exercise (going from none to max exercise will only boost your daily energy consumption 13-15%, the rest is body composition, age and height). Try to watch your calories, eat only about 2000 a day and do some light aerobic exercise like swimming 'til you've lost weight. Not that upper body exercise would probably hurt, just remember it won't eat that much calories.
>> Anonymous
>>387377
i didn't tell him to do 40 squats...just one or two at a time. and he doesn't have tog o all the way down. just low enough to engage the muscles.

to be on 4chan i'm assuming he's at least under 40 so i doubt his bones are brittle enough to shatter under one squat attempt.
>> Anonymous
>>387362
>>387377

OP back. Yeah, I've been trying to do some squats for the last couple of months. I stand in the doorway so I can use the sides as support. I can't get down very low yet, but it's helped already. I'm also doing this exercise where I basically rise up on my toes and then go back down, about 25-30 reps if I can handle it, and some other exercises to strengthen my ankles (rotating my foot, flexing it / unflexing).

When I fell last spring, I had run out with the dog (well, maybe "run" is an exaggeration), and didn't take the cane...practically had to crawl back home. Never want that pain and humiliation again unless it's a really hot dominatrix.

Age is 42, incidentally. Changed my diet radically last January. Was getting massive cortisone injections and something else (don't remember now), and all of the sudden, started craving fresh fruit and veggies, couldn't stand chocolate (I love it normally, but usually eat it in moderation anyhow) and coffee.

I decided that there were worse side effects, and my diet had been shit anyhow. Result of that has probably been about a 20-25lb drop in my weight since then, but it's remained pretty steady for the last couple of months.
>> Anonymous
>>387407
thats awesome.

what you may want to consider is ankle weights. you can sit in a chair and lift one leg at a time (leg extensions). then lay on your stomach and curl your leg up (leg curls).
>> Anonymous
>>387378
Not his bones, I'm worried about his ligaments which will be weaker in that condition. The quadriceps muscle which holds the patella in place may not be strong, and there's more stress on these structures from obesity. I did mean unsupported full squats though.
>> Anonymous
>>387377

Thanks for info on energy consumption; haven't figured out how many Kcals I'm taking in per day, but I'm sure I can definitely cut back. I've been trying to be conscious of how much fat I eat a day for the last couple of months, but haven't seen any benefit yet.

Not the sort that raids the fridge in the middle of night and binges, don't snack during the day either, but I do tend to eat my main meal late at night because of my work schedule. I know that's not good, still trying to figure out an alternative for that.
>> Anonymous
>>387413

Thanks, that's an excellent suggestion! I'll pick some up tomorrow.
>> Anonymous
>>387418

Well, my strength seems to be coming back very slowly. Full squats are still pretty far off, but I'll remember not to get carried away.

I used to have really strong legs, ran, worked out...this has been kinda depressing (something else that working out helps, however!).
>> Anonymous
>>387420
Well, to lose weight you need to cut back on extra energy. Just exercise won't do it. A male of normal weight needs about 2000kcal/day to maintain weight. A 100g chocolate bar can have as much as 500kcal. You have to pay attention to more things than just fat.
>> Anonymous
>>387420
try to eat 5-6 small meals through out the day.

start with breakfast to kick start your metabolism.

by constantly eating small meals, you metabolism remains active and burning for much longer periods of time, burning more calories during the day.

and all fat isn't bad. always avoid trans fat and try to limit the saturated fat as much as possible. mono saturated and polyunsaturated fats are good for you. you want those.

be sure to always eat breakfast.....its the most important meal of the day, not just a cliche.
>> Anonymous
>>387354
you should ask CWheezy what he does for exercise, since he is also a fat whale.
>> Anonymous
>>387438
Disagree. Eat 3-4 larger meals a day, and no snacking. That way it's easier to watch your calories. Also, physiologically, eating increases insulin (anabolic steroid) secretion increases storage of energy in the body. Between meals the levels of glucagon (catabolic hormone) rise as blood sugar becomes lower and the body starts burning its energy store. So it's the exact opposite, your body will burn more and build less (fat or muscle) if you eat fewer meals. Which makes sense evolutionarily too - the body wants to store energy after eating for periods of no food later.
>> Anonymous
>>387434

>...as much as 500kcal.

Holy shit. Yeah, I remember someone saying something to effect that you have to walk two football field lengths to burn the calories in a single peanut M&M. Glad I can enjoy a little chocolate again, but very much tastes really strange now...just as well for the time being

>>387438

Most days it's hard to get away just to take a piss, I'm not sure about the 5-6 meals. I'll have to think about how I can do that.

My girlfriend actually wakes me up with breakfast now and threatens to force feed me if I don't eat it (never used to eat breakfast, it made me nauseous; and yes, I'm very lucky...can't believe she's stuck with me through this crap).

However, I've had a hard time getting her to do other options than the traditional sausage, eggs, toast since that's what she likes for herself.

I've gotten her to cut down on the eggs so we do those maybe two-three times a month. She was getting some prepared sausage links that were disgusting in taste and fat content. Instead, I cook up a lower fat sausage or something else at the start of the week, drain everything, and then she can just nuke it in the morning. It tastes much better as well.

I usually have something like oatmeal, grits, or cold cereal, or some fresh fruits like pears, pineapple or melon, maybe a plain yogurt or cottage cheese, and one sausage patty (was two, cut back to one about a month ago; some combination of these, not all of them!).

Lunch lately has usually been rice with a curry sauce or a salad. I'm not a snacker, too busy, and I don't like stuff like pop; if I have anything at my desk, it's usually either water or tea.

So it's dinner is where I usually fall apart..it's late, and since we're both tired, we rely on take-out food too much. We're going to have to change both of our patterns to fix that problem, I guess.
>> Anonymous
>>387458
if you want chocolate...

jello sugar free pudding snacks.. 60 calories
or fudge sickles. 40 calories.
>> Anonymous
>>387458
Other than the sausage patty, that sounds pretty decent until dinner. You might want to try a calorie counter (e.g. http://www.thecaloriecounter.com/) to estimate your daily calories and a calorie calculator to estimate your need (but remember, hospital calculators calculating based on your weight usually calculate based on need to maintain weight, so input your target weight for dieting). Should be in the 2200-2600 range probably. You could try keeping a food log a few days if you feel up to it to see how consistent your energy intake is. Most people with weight problems aren't very aware of the smaller but energy dense things they eat like dressings, cheeses and such, I know from work.
>> Anonymous
>>387447

Well, to be honest here, most of my life I ate 1-2 meals a day. We were rather poor growing up (relative to some people), and I guess I just got used to it.

When I eat more than three times in a day, I feel like I've been chowing down all day...and I always seem to put on the lbs. So, I'm kinda hesitant about increased meals.

I actually go on cruises and lose weight, since I eat earlier and don't do the 24-hour buffet.

Hmm...maybe if I could convince my doctor a long cruise is medically necessary, insurance will cover it...riiiiight ; )

Back to the rowing machine idea, though...sound OK?
>> Anonymous
I'm signing off, it's getting pretty late. Thanks for all of the tips; I'll pick up some ankle weights tomorrow, and start keeping a food log.

Thanks again, and good night!
>> Anonymous
>>387494
goodnight, goodluck.