Doug Losing Weight

Well the big dog antibiotics are done – so back to the gym I go.

I get there yesterday morning and the ONE bike that works for me has another fanny on it already…

You see, when you are 6’7″, and in the 390 neighborhood, there’s lots of things that ‘should’ fit, that really don’t.  Most of the machines at my gym are in this category.  So it’s one bike, or a treadmill.

Now I’m about to quote a sign that I read over and over while I eat lunch in the food court – really, if you can’t believe food court signs, what can you believe?

It’s a public service ad from the National Arthritis Foundation – or something like that.  I guess I don’t read that part very much.  But what I DO read is the fact that every extra pound I have puts an additional 4 pounds of pressure on my knees and ankles.  So to reduce arthritis pain I should move more, and lose weight.

So I figure my ankles and knees are absorbing 560 more pounds of pressure than they are designed to handle.  Really, when you put it like that (or when I put it like that) it’s pretty remarkable how much the human body can endure isn’t it?

So yesterday when I get on the treadmill and walk almost a mile in 20 minutes, well that’s a fair amount of steps coming down on some ankles and knees that haven’t done anything for 10 days.  Do I have to tell you what getting up this morning felt like?

I got to the gym, and my bike was free, so I could do my thing on the bike.  My knees and ankles were so sore that I had to do a little tiny 8 month old baby workout (it’s a setting on the bike, I was surprised too) and then I hobbled back down the stairs, out to my car, and on with my day.

Here’s the happy ending.

About 2:00 today, I realized my ankles had stopped hurting!  I got up and walked around the office and I felt so good!  Strong!  My muscles felt like running, my ankles and knees had no pain, my feet felt great too!

That sign in the food court was right!  Moving, and continuing to move seems to help my arthritic pain in my joints and feet.

I’m very happy about that – it’s not the first time I’ve realized it, but it’s the first time I’ve seen it work AND read it on a sign in a food court.  I thought it was worth remarking over.