The last two weeks has seen some ups and downs in my ability to walk – let alone get fit!

I am slowly getting over epidural treatment and spine manipulation in hospital to try and speed up the healing process on my split discs – and along the way have made some interesting observations about life with back pain and being massively over weight.

Turning up to hospital at 7am, being ‘nil by mouth’ and gasping for a cup of tea and my pain killers had two effects on me.  I am not normally known for being a nervous “girly girl”, but I soon turned into a tearful wreck when it was my turn to go to the operating theatre. 

It turned out that the thought of big needles being put into the space where my spinal cord sits, and then being stretched and man-handled like a medieval prisoner was not an event I was looking forward to.

This was not helped by my bed having to be changed for an electric one – so the nurses didn’t risk their own backs by hauling my lump of a body around afterwards.  Fair enough I suppose – I am living with back pain, mainly due to my weight – so why put anyone else through it?

It was a shame I was so drugged up after the procedure that I didn’t really get a chance to play with the buttons though…

One positive thing was the use of the hospitals industrial strength digital scales, which actually put me a stone lighter than I thought I was.  I did put this down to not having eaten for 12 hours – but it was soon pointed out to me that you can’t lose a stone by staying off the biscuits for 12 hours.  Now, that really did upset me, as I thought I was onto a winner there!

One week on, I can walk around pretty much unaided, and have very little of the “original” pain. I do have funny throbbing pains in my bum, and go a bit wonky every now and then. I am hoping these get better soon as I am a bit fed up of feeling like someone is kicking me in my big fat behind! 

Sitting in one place for too long is still the problem. I can only manage about an hour at a time – and this will be a problem for returning to work.

With my new found mobility, I have been able to go out a few times with Alan, mainly to get a bit of fresh air and so on. It’s nice to have a walk – and I have my walking stick for help if he walks to quick for me, which is all of the time.

We stopped in at a well known sports shop at Lakeside last night for Alan to pick up a boot bag, and while we were there, I decided I wanted to look at the exercise machines with an aim to getting one for home so I can start getting my fitness back.

I am no stranger to exercise machines. It wasn’t too many years ago that I was in the gym every night using them.  I was shocked however to find one common thing with almost all the cross training machines, the small step machines, the bikes, and the running machines… There is a maximum weight for the person using them.

If you are over 110 kilos – or roughly 17 stone – you are pretty much told to forget buying one of these machines. They won’t work properly due to the way the resistance is set, which means you won’t get the full benefit and you could injure yourself. They are also liable to break, which let alone being humiliating, is incredibly dangerous (visions of me doing a swan dive across the lounge during Eastenders has a comical value to it I’m sure)…

Even the small step machines that fit under the bed are not supposed to be used for people over 110 kilos. Sadly the store assistants did not seem to get what my point was when I asked them about it. I hazard a guess that they would not be able to advise me properly on the right way to use the machines anyway – as “they are just sales assistants and don’t know the technical stuff”.

This is a real shame – and potentially a major floor in the way they deal with their customers, let alone risk peoples health.  No wonder it is so hard for people who need to exercise to actually find out the right way to do it!

The main gripe I have is this. Am I being told that if I weigh over 110 kilos I am too fat to exercise? 

I have been in many a gym where I have stood next to a guy who is well over 20 stone – and one of the fittest people there.  Muscle is heavy – so you can easily be heavy, and fit, and need to exercise.

I have never been told in a gym that I am too heavy to use a particular machine. Granted, they are expensive machines that are designed for continuous use – but does this mean I can only use these machines in a gym – and I am too fat to use this equipment in my own home?

One of the biggest problems people have when trying to get fit or lose weight is going to the gym.  It is an environment where thin and fat people alike can easily feel inadequate and embarrassed, which is a recipe for disaster, as invariably you will stop going if you don’t feel comfortable.

Gyms are expensive places – but do have many benefits. A well run gym with knowledgeable staff is something that will help with improving fitness, muscle tone, stamina and over-all health, in an environment where you can get advice on “how to do it properly”.

But, if like me, you want to start working out at home, and don’t necessarily have the time, money or inclination to join a gym, it seems that the message is “no problem - as long as you aren’t too fat”.

Of course, you don’t have to go to a gym to exercise and get fit.  There are many things you can do which don’t involve spending any money at all, and I am going to start looking into those options. I have set up the “cheapest and most fun way to do some exercise” list on the forum. It would be good to see what your ideas are.

I can think of a few already – but my back prevents me from practising them at present, and I am sure I wouldn’t be able to go into detail in public… Ah well, onwards and upwards!