Catch 22

carriparton

I feel like I am trapped in a catch 22. I know I need to lose weight. I know that in order to lose weight I need to exercise. My problem is that I broke my ankle and tore a tendon 4 years ago and had surgery to repair it 3 years ago. Ever since my surgery, I have battled with a lot of pain and swelling. I know that the extra weight I am carrying right now is not helping the pain and swelling in my ankle, and is probably making it worse. And to make matters worse, my lower back is killing me for favoring my foot.

Working out (mostly walking) makes my ankle hurt more and swell up to the size of a softball. I don't have access to a pool right now, I know that would be the best form of exercise for me as there is only resistance and no jarring movements.

I guess my question is what should I do? Everytime I try to work out, I end up taking a few days off afterwards to help the swelling go down. And I know that when I lose weight, I have less problems with my foot.

Charliebarleymo

Technically you don't need to exercise to lose weight. Weight loss comes from eating less, though many people find a little (or a lot!) of exercise helps! Maybe try sitting down exercises? Dumbells, twists, stretches... I bet there are plenty of suggestions on the web. And just walk as much as you can. Good luck with your journey x

Try Googling Chairobics or Sit to be Fit!

Nutrition1st

If you have access to a gym, you can still workout with machines.

mcarter99

I agree that you don't have to exercise to lose weight. I lost 50 lbs. once without it.

carriparton

Thanks for the feedback. I will just start my getting my calorie intake under control again!

flukes9

Swimming!!!! It's easy on your joints and low-impact. If you don't have access to a pool, at least work your upper body and try to get your heartrate up for your cardio.

jamiem1102

What about the elliptical? That's pretty low impact.

Tropical_Turtle

swimming, water aerobics (very low impact but great to work out musles and get your cardio in)

yarwell

I know that in order to lose weight I need to exercise

Your "knowledge" is defective. You can lose 50 lbs lying in a hospital bed eating less calories than you're using. Exercise can make a modest contribution to weight loss, but it takes hours to rack up the sort of calorie deficit that is trivial to achieve by eating less.