So annoying!! Any one else got knee issues????

I used to be really into hiking.

I wore lineman's boots at work all day. in 2010 i injured my ankle on a hike and the PT told me because i wore big rigid boots all day the muscle around my ankle never got built up.
over the next year i wore below-the-ankle shoes whenever possible and in 2011 i hiked 2700 miles from Mexico to Canada all in running shoes and without any injury.

side note... my left knee hurts whenever i run or bike now, i called i "worn out old man syndrome".

have you seen a physical therapist ? have you had an MRI? you may be missing cartilage or something to that effect.

I was a lifter and runner prior to having kids, at 135lbs. Now after three kids, I was sitting at 185lbs with joints so stiff I could barely sit up and down (I would grunt like an old man everytime), and going up the stairs was a struggle, it would take me so long, one step at a time. I too am at home and no access to a gym or pool. Like others said, the only necessary thing to lose weight is to eat less calories than you burn. But if you are looking to improve your quality of life by getting moving, I totally get it! That was my whole motivation for getting back moving last spring.

I found that as I gained the weight I was too heavy for my strength, and so I would let myself flop onto chairs without holding my weight. When I would try to get up, I would lean way forward and my knees would point out, as my gut was in the way and I was trying to compensate for my lack of strength. So you really can't get yourself out of the chair squats... They will help you build strength while practicing good form. It hurts, so don't push yourself too far, but over the span of a couple weeks to a month I was so surprised with my progress! I was able to squat after warming up, and do many other exercises I would have deemed impossible when starting.

My back and hips were really tight. I was in huge pain. My knees were very painful as well, they would crack and get inflammed and I just couldn't do any exercise really. The trick was to get moving anyway. At first, I would do half (or at that point I would call that a quarter, LOL) squats while standing. Just try to flex the knees slightly. Then I would lean against the wall and lower myself as much as I could, and helping me with my hands to get back up. I would go as slow as I could, trying to go lower and lower. My arms did a lot of the lifting back up too, but it was necessary to improve my range of motion. What was important was to practice flexing while removing the tension (with my arms pushing against the wall to help myself up, that is). Then I used the stairs. I would sit in the stairs (or like you said a chair would work too) so that you can pause, before getting back up. Squats are a functional exercise and that's why you kinda need to master them, they will help you greatly. At the beginning my knees would crack still, but I just kept going, going slowly as needed.

So, to the risk of repeating myself, the only solution here is to get moving. In any way you currently can. Gently practice and you will improve at your own rythm. I still am here hanging at 180lbs and trying to lose the weight, but I have regained my flexibility (nothing amazing here, I'm not doing the splits but the flexibility to move, sit down, get on my knees, climb up the stairs) and it is so freeing! I can once again climb up the stairs jumping, 2 to 3 stairs at a time. I make a point to do it everytime, it's like a game and part of my exercises lol. I refuse to let myself seize up to the point I had before. I don't take for granted things as simple as sitting down and being able to walk up the stairs normally.

So to resume:
1. Practice flexing the knees while standing up, even just a little.
2. When your range of motion has improved, trying leaning against a wall while holding your weight with your hands to practice lowering further down with minimal pressure against your joints.
3. Once you are comfortable with that, practice squatting down on a chair or in the stairs. Pause when you sit down, and get back up.
4. Squat down to the chair/stairs and tap briefly without sitting before getting back up.
5. BAM! You can do a squat unassisted

You can do it too! It seems impossible, but just go with baby steps and it has to improve overtime. You will be so glad you did it!! I hope this helps, good luck!! oxoxox

PS. I am assuming that you didn't have a major accident to your knee, only sedentary for a long time so that your joints seized up from the excess weight and lack of maintaining posture. I also have three kids and my husband is basically never there. And when he is, he never helps with anything. I try and fit my exercises either when the kids nap, or else I put them in front of a movie while I take 30 minutes to work on myself. It's hard, but I chose to make myself a priority so that I can better take care of my family!

Knee issues?
Yeah, I can relate.

My left knee & kneecap is twisted at about a 30-45 degree angle towards the right leg.
My left achilles tendon is also artificial, having been surgically replaced and lengthened. Twice.
But orthopedic surgeons can only do so much.

Due to this:
I've had arthritis in my left ankle and knee since I was in my early 20's
My left leg is about 2 inches shorter than my right one
My left foot is about a size 8 while my right foot is about an 11
My left foot has required "reconstruction" as well
(I could go on)

Also:
I'll be 48 in April
I am a MMA coach, Combatives instructor, and Defensive Tactics instructor
Semi-retired full-contact fighter
6th degree black belt
I hit a 325 lb deadlift & a 265 lb squat for sets of 5 (last week) - at a body weight of 159 lbs & about 13% body fat.
The pain an swelling is just now subsiding in time for me to try the deadlift again this evening

If you want to do it bad enough you will find a way and you will also find people willing to help you.

Whining & venting happens. Get over it and do something about it.
Start by tracking everything you eat & drink so you can eat less that you are now
Then you can go from there.

Oh and I forgot to say... best info I ever got here is that weight loss is 80% kitchen, 20% exercise. My weight loss math backs this up. "It's hard to outrun your fork."

Also, my wife has a torn MCL (medial collateral ligament).
Due to sparring full-contact against a guy twice her size.

She still did The Winter's Tale (William Shakespeare) -including designing and building the sets for 2 weeks- in a compression stocking.
It took about 2 or 3 weeks for the swelling to go down after it was all said and done, but the audience had no idea.

I gained 40 lbs in 3 years. The first place I felt it was my knees. They popped cracked and ached all the time. I’m down 22 lbs in 8 weeks and the first place I noticed it was my knees! I use a gazelle and stationary bike and do at least 20 squats a day. My knees don’t ache anymore and I just have the occasional pop and crack but it’s not with every step I take anymore!