Hi, I'm new Here, anyways. I finally got my elliptical machine on Dec 27th and have been taking walks on it every day since. My problem is this. For the past 3 or 4 years, if I walked more than 2 or 3 minutes, my feet and hips would seize up unbearably. I would try and walk my nieces to school and end up practically crawling in the door by the time we got home.

I then moved here to Texas (from Canada) and have steadily lost weight in the 2 years I've been here... approx 80 lbs so far, which is scary because I'm 315 now. The problem is, although my hips no longer hurt when I walk, I can only use the elliptical for 5 mins at a time before the arches of my feet completely seize up. I've been working at doing 5 mins in the morning and 5 in the afternoon and build myself up from that each week, but I'm stuck at 5 mins because of my feet.

Does anyone else have this problem? I'm not going to let it stop me, but I don't mind telling ya, it's discouraging.

My first thought was about shoes. Do yours have a nice contoured insole?
Then I thought about stretching, yoga, pilates.
Then I thought about calcium.
Just some ideas for you to kick around.

I was just telling my husband last night that I thought it was time to get better shoes... these ones are purely for comfort and don't give much stability for walking, so that could be it. I also have a problem with calcium deficiency... I went to the doc a few years ago because if I did anything strenuous, my arms would go all tingly and start folding up on their own. It happened when he was checking my blood pressure and he said it was a classic case of calcium deficiency. I have been working hard to have yogurt, high fiber/calcium breads, etc, but it might still be a problem *blah*

Thanks

I just take a calcium suppliment and my multi vit has calcium in it too. Ask your Doc the next time if he thinks you need something more powerful than that.

We'll get ya fixed right up.

I have always noted that muscle cramping is due to either lack of hydration or even more so, lack of magnesium. Anyone I know that has suffered from cramping during exercise has found that the addition of a magnesium supplement worked almost immediately. this has helped myself, my boyfriend and a member of an exercise class htat I was taking last summer. Hope this helps-hang in there!!!

Hi, Do you have a problem walking with your feet? I did and went to a podietrist...and I got inserts for my shoes they really help for long stretches on my feet...seems that heavyier people have problems with their arch and it needs more support especially if you tend to walk on the insides (ball part of your feet.) You might think about this...

Yep, I have inserts too. Not ones from a pediatrist but the Dr. Schols one per the podiatrist a good walking shoe plus these inserts are just as good.

Oh man, I was gonna post a thread on this exact same thing! Even though I am not what you might consider heavy... I am more chubby than heavy... I just did a 10 minute kickboxing routine (Quik Fix Cardio Kick Janis Saffell) and my arches are KILLING me! I think I could have done a lot more if it had not been for my blasted arches. My shoes are a bit old, I do admit, but I don't know what sort of shoes to buy for kickboxing... I am open to all ideas... PS... I get plenty of water, take coral calcium daily and I did stretch afterward which helped out a bit. HELP!

*waves to Vampi*

I gotta agree with just about every option mentioned so far. Dehydration is the number one source of my muscle cramping post excercise. As for shoes.. it's really important for you to have shoes that fit right and breathe. Keep in mind also, you might wanna think about having a pair of shoes specifically for excercise. My workout shoes wear out alot differently than my everyday sneakers, and shoes have limited "mileage". My rule - replace my walking shoes every after 200 miles (which doesn't take long to rack up with daily walking) and "workout shoes - roughly every 4 months.

Make sure you get that multivitamin in daily too. Make it part of your breakfast routine. Viactiv also makes a tasty chocolate calcium supplement (20 calories) but getting the yogurt in is a better idea. If you really must have a "tasty" source of calcium, try the sugar free - fat free pudding (jello). Make it with fat free milk. It tastes much better than it sounds - lol.

Starting weight - 310
current weight - 150
goal weight - 140
total lost - 160

I forgot to mention one thing - remember to do some simple stretches before and after the machine.. and try doing some isometrics (like flexing calves and rotating ankles) while you're sitting at your desk.. perhaps doing something artistic - lol *winks*