I wasn't quite sure where exactly to post this question, but I felt that this subforum would have the best chance at having the right mix of people experienced with losing weight, several who have experienced martial arts while being overweight, etc.
I am currently around 366 lbs, 6'2", and 25 years old. It's no ones fault but my own for spending years and years eating crap. Eating at the wrong time, eating to much, eating single meals of huge calorie amounts, drinking soda after soda, you name the bad eating habit I probably did it.
For the a little more than a month though, I've been mostly eating clean (except for Christmas and New Years, basically those weekends and the week in between were a bust). This forum has helped me figure out how to eat clean and space out my calories and alot more little tips from reading. I've lost about an inch around my waist already.
I work out on an elliptical machine about 3 times a week for about 35 minutes. I'm on week 2 of the program at this page (
http://www.trainforstrength.com/Endurance1.shtml). Took some extra weeks to really make sure I was ready to progress. I think I was right to go to the next week since I was almost but not quite totally whipped by the end of the work out. I do 5 min warm up, 10 min cardio (target heart rate), interval part of program, finish off remaining part of 34 minute with cardio. I know this is the dieting forum, but I just wanted to demonstrate that I wasn't some sad bastard bound to his bed that has to have the wall cut out to wheel him out to the ambulance. I'm fat but I'm mobile.
I also work at FedEx loading trucks for 2-3 hrs 5 days a week for a little workout there.
Anyways, I've discovered that there are Judo classes offered in my town on Tuesdays and Thursdays, 1 hour each day.
My main question involves whether or not I should lose more weight before starting the classes or use the classes to help me lose more weight.
My gut reaction so far has been to get under 300 before I start for nothing else then just thinking falling at my current weight is gonna hurt.
About a year ago (circa 355 lbs) I tried some Aikido at my campus. I could easily do the knealing rolls, but had trouble with the standing rolls/breakfalls. Honestly the few times I did it it crunched my shoulder. I could have been doing it wrong, but the instructor wasn't very helpful, and I was hurting, so I didn't go back.
But I may have been doing it fairly well and just didn't have enough upper body strength compared to my weight to pull it off. Its really hard to tell at this point.
I think with the elliptical/interval training and swimming once school starts back up next week I can get down to 300 without Judo. I also need to do some body wieght stuff as well, its just really damn hard at this weight.
I think given my frame/size/etc. that at around 250 I'll be doing cart wheels and crushing skulls I'll be so bad ass. Not sure exactly what my optimal weight would be but I don't think its 200 lbs.
I really would just like to get some opinions and discussions from people who have trained overweight. Also I'm interested in hearing from people who have had to train with overweight people as well. I'm not so caught up in myself that I can't recognize most people don't want to get a hernia trying to throw me.
I'm thick-skinned so don't worry about holding back. Let me have it guys. What do you think.