Need advice please.

Is there a gym with a pool where you can do something in the water? A YMCA? Aqua zumba? I think walking is great start and as you loose weight the pain and joint problems will probably go away.

www.teamddpyoga.com


YRG is a great place to start

Walking for 15 minutes is a great start. As you lose weight and become stronger, you will be able to increase.

I started at 357 and couldn't walk through my own house without getting out of breath - plus my knees and back were major problems. After I had lost about 30 pounds, I started exercising in the pool. I did that all summer and when it got too cool to swim, I started walking on the treadmill. The treadmill is a much softer walking surface than the street or sidewalk and it is easier on your joints. I built up from 5 minutes at 2.5 miles per hour to 40 minutes at 3.5 mph. When the next summer came, I combined the two, walking on the treadmill before exercising in the pool. I have lost 168 pounds in the last two years (no surgery, just eating right, logging on MFP, and becoming much more active) and am now alternating the treadmill with visits to a gym, where I bicycle (good for knees), do the elliptical (harder work than the treadmill but easier on the knees than walking on a hard surface), and work out on weight machines. I don't get out of breath ever! My knees (which I once thought were going to require a knee replacement) rarely bother me any more. I want to lose another 30 to 40 pounds but I am still struggling with the food control issues. My loss is going really slowly but now that I feel so great, I can live with that. Today is my 68th birthday!

My best advice is to start with low impact (pool, bicycling, treadmill) but do whatever you can to strengthen your joints and build up slowly. A good trainer at a gym might have some good suggestions for you, as well.

You have gotten to a great start.

Have you added more time to your walks, yet?

Some other no impact options:

-water aerobics - if there aren't any classes, just find a pool that comes to about your chest and start by walking across the pool. Lift your knees higher and higher until you are jogging across the pool. Side step across the pool...
-chair aerobics
-leslie sasone's Walk away the pounds: these can be even easier than walking, because you move different muscles, but you burn calories, because you also swing your arms around a lot.
-recumbent bike (bigger seats, so less of the discomfort that bikes can cause on our bigger bums)
-seated shadow boxing: sit on a chair or bench that makes you sit up (rather than leaning against the back) and your feet are solid on the ground. Now punch the living daylights out of whatever is bothering you today.
-stretching: experiment with videos online until you find something that fits you.
-Chris Powell's Extreme Weight Loss level 1 (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hV_4qKFV6E): it really is designed to just get you moving.
-If you have a Wii, many of the original sports and resort games can be played by swing your arms around while sitting down.