readytobeme2010 & Bac0s, I'm in DE, too! I live in Bear & work in Wilmington.

what else is there?
 

I also hate it hate it hate it.

I think I would also hate pain, so I think you should stop doing things that are painful, and if you are in pain right away, it may not be right for you.
What alternatives do you have and what can you afford.
Walking in a pool, or waterjogging are much lower impact. Some pools also have arthritic exercise pools that are quite warm too and you can exercise there. You can still hate the exercise, but avoid the pain at least.
And exercise bike can also get the heart rate up, but avoid the impact on the knees and you can get them very cheap at second hand stores. A lot of folks buy them, never use them and sell or discard stationary bikes, so unless you want a very special one, they don't have to be expensive. Set it up so you can watch TV. I make myself get on the treadmill during my fav show, I am not allowed to watch it otherwise, so I get a reward for getting on the treadmill.

I like to cross country ski, and don't consider it exercise. I also like yoga now, and go to hot yoga a couple of times a week. THis is definitely one of those, I feel better afterward kind of exercises, but that took a while.

I think as the weight goes down it will get easier and less painful, but you may never like it much, but will adapt to it, and as someone else said, you will like, even love, what it does for you.
I haven't lost much weight over the last year, but have lost some, but have toned alot, enough that I and others notice. That really helps.
If you are diabetic or pre-diabetic, you will also find it really helps stabilize your blood sugars.
Hope you can find something that works for you.
good luck

Forcing yourself to do something you loathe doesn't seem very sustainable to me. It sounds as though you hate the pain and discomfort more than anything, so why not stop walking for now until you get lighter and build some muscle to support your arthritic knee?

I think there has been some excellent suggestion so far in this thread, and I would just like to add that I think moving in general is the key. Keep busy. You don't have to allocate x number of minutes daily for "exercise", but rather constantly do things. Do some extra house work. Make sure you move all your furniture when you hoover, do a bit extra here and there. Little things like that I find very efficient. Make sure that the time spent sitting on your bum is as little as possible.
Do you enjoy activities with your friends/family? Things that don't feel like exercise but still burn calories, like kayaking (sp?), cycling, in-lines etc etc.

There are so many things to do just living life I see no need for you to "grin and bear it" with the walking :)