I've been doing really well with sticking to my exercise routine up till now, but this week I've run into a snag.

I'm working for a temp agency, which is sending me to a factory for this week and next. That means I've been on my feet eight hours a day, on a concrete floor. Even though I wear the best shoes I can with good arch supports, my feet are no good for any sort of workout by the time I get home. I've tried to counter this by stopping at a gym right after work and using the exercycle, but today, even that was too much on my foot. Swimming is out of the question. The only pool I can use is at a local military base, and there is just no way I'm putting this overweight, middle-aged body into a swimsuit that displays all the blobs and bulges to a bunch of young fit, airmen. I'm way too self-conscious for that. But is there something I'm missing? Is there any form of aerobic exercise, other than swimming and biking, that doesn't require being on your feet?

Have you got access to a rowing machine? I did that when I sprained my ankle, to try and get it used to bending again without weight bearing.

What are your working out trainers like (um sportshoes whatever you call em over there!! I get so confused having to be multilingual ) I bought some horrendously expensive Mizuno Wave Nirvana fitted professionally and they have made a big difference to my foot pain. Still being heavy puts a lot of pressure on our poor feet, doesn't it?

Have you considered subbing cardio for another typr of excercise?
I have flat feet and somedays my feet hurt too much to be on them, so I do lying side floor leg work, or weight lifting for the upper body, or pilates or yoga (or combo of the 2 for core training.)
If yoga/pilates aren't forms you like, you might want to lift weights b/c it has been proven that training with weights can give you the same cardio benefits as cardio only workouts.

A rowing machine, duh! Why didn't I think of that? I'm pretty sure they have a rowing machine at the gym. I also have a Pilates tape that I've been meaning to try, but I've been neglecting it in favor of aerobics to try to build up some endurance first for a race in two months. Maybe I should alternate a day of rowing with a day of Pilates while I'm on this job.

The custom shoes sound wonderful, but they'll have to wait till I find a job that pays decently. After this assigment ends, I'll be telling the temp agency that I can't accept any more of this type of work, at least not till I lose more weight. I'm not sacrificing my feet for minimum wage.

Thanks for the ideas, Kykaree and Firmgirl!