...to office chairs

Big & Tall Contoured Office Chair - Black Fabric

I've broken a lot of chairs in the last decade.  It comes partly from being extremely heavy (my skeleton was replaced with adamantium), and partly from forgetting that I am and sitting like an eight year old.  And it can get pretty expensive replacing your office chair every few months.

My newest chair, by Global Industries,  is just what I've been looking for.  It's a bit pricey, but so far it's held up great.  It has a high weight limit, a metal base, and most importantly, the arm rest are optional.  This is a big deal.  Most of the chairs out there use the arm rests to hold the chair together, so if you're large enough to push against them, it weakens the whole chair.  Luckily I'm not too wode to use them, but if I were I could just take them off with no penalty.

I give this chair a five star rating.

...To Where to Buy Clothes

1Those of you within the size range that most airlines think people fit into (with 18 inch shoulders), aren't going to understand how difficult it is for big folks to find clothes.  And believe it or not, showing up at a job interview with your shower curtain stitched into a pair of pants doesn't play out well for anyone.  Most stores in the area consider "Large" as big enough.  I haven't fit into a large since I was in elementary school, and I didn't even get really heavy until I got married.

So here are my top three sources of ginormous clothing.

1. JCPenny - They have a good selection online, a small selection at most of their stores, and reasonable prices.
2. Casual Male XL - Good selection, although sometimes a bit pricey.  Not the somewhat queer looking stuff they sell for sexy pirates, but normal (read: straight) clothes for big guys.  And a few things like chairs that can hold a battleship.
3. Amazon - Although you have to hunt around sometimes, there's certainly a lot of choices.

Chairs

One of the problems I never thought I'd have is where to sit.  Just like in the movie, Shallow Hal, some chairs just aren't up to the task of holding me, or holding me comfortably.  A lot of chairs just aren't designed with weight in mind.  And precious few are designed with extreme weight in mind.

The best types of chairs to look for in restaurants are those without arms, as well as straight leg chairs.  Also, metal is only better than wood if the metal is thick and welded properly.

Office chairs have been the hardest to find.  A lot of the chairs that say they can handle up to 500 pounds, for example, have broken under my weight (and I'm far from 500 pounds).  But they aren't really lying, it's just that they aren't saying what PART of the chair can handle that much weight.  I had one chair that had an all metal base (good) that could handle the weight, but the arms were flimsy plastic things that couldn't handle much weight at all.  And the back of the chair was held on by those arms (very common).  Another chair was solid except for the wheels, which were little plastic things again, that couldn't stand up to much.

As a temporary measure I suggest solid living room chairs.  They tend to do better with weight, but then you run the risk of injuries to your wrist and rotator cuff.  They just aren't very ergonomic, especially when computer work is concerned. 

So pay close attention to all the details of a chairs design, and be prepared to spend some dough.