OK I am back after gaining alot of weight again. Now both knees are killing me-I have had 7 knee surgeries and the dr. said that I have some kind of bone problem in my heel. Walking even short distances really hurts, we don't have a pool that will allow lap swimming because it is basically for the kids and teens. I am a member of a gym-pay my dues, don't go, but it has a weight room, etc. They said that I should use the stair stepper, they won't believe me when I say that my knees will not allow it! When i do my left knee moves out of position as I have no inside leg muscle due to injury and surgery-am held together with nuts and bolts. I really liked using a air strider which is like a gazelle machine but it broke and was thrown away. What can I do? I love doing situps when I get motivated to do them-do they actually help? I can do regular lying down situps and can also do reverser ones? Laying down and lifting both legs up to almost straight position. Sorry this is so long.

I have fibromyaglia, I used to have problems doing anything. If you belong to a gym they probably have hours that the pool is for adults only. Get some shoes (even regular tennis shoes will work) and walk laps in the shallow end. Also, the water aerobics classes are really neat. They look hard from the sideline but once you get in and try it its not so bad. Being in the water is easier on joints and your foot. Good Luck

If I were in your situation, I would consider doing some exercises that are a cross between anaerobic and aerobic. You could start using very light weights (i.e. dumbbells) and do a complete workout , lots of repetitions, with those; such as curls, overhead presses, bent-arm tricep stuff, etc. This would hopefully help you build muscle and endurance, and fuel your metabolism.

Walking would probably be your best land exercise, or an elliptical trainer, but your knees apparently won't handle it. Maybe once the weight comes off you can try walking again.

Situps will burn calories and build your ab muscles, but it won't burn fat off of your waist from a concentrated area or anything. Any exercise is helpful, but I doubt plain old situps are going to do anything revolutionary for you unless you just really love to do them.

I hope this helps. Good luck and take care!

Thank you for your suggestions.

You could try an Aquajogger. It allows you do "run" in the deep end with zero impact. It might aggravate your knee, though, but it's worth trying, because if it works, it's a compact, excellent exercise. www.aquajogger.com

You could try some really gentle weight loss yoga. I went to some yoga classes and I was getting into positions in no time at all! Yoga is really relaxing, too.

Here's a few moves you might like to experiment with.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CTZIGHg-9MA