Hello,

On 04/08/23, I weighed in at 317.8 lbs. I began working out and changing my eating habits. Today, 5/02/23, I am 299.00 lbs. I began this with mostly calisthenics, mostly focused on upper body, but quickly became too sore to do much other than work my lower body. On the 24th, weighing 307.4 lbs, I began trying to run a mile while at work. I am an armed guard that wears 25 lbs of gear on top of my current weight. That was a bit much, and I worried about hurting myself. So I began to speed walk/ jog. I walked a circuit around a parking lot, up then down the side of a levee, through a short level trail, and back up then down a levee, eventually returning to my starting position. I did 4 laps of this, which equaled just over a mile, every hour for six hours for a week straight.

Towards the end of that week, the top of my knees became a little swollen, and then I noticed some swelling specifically on top of my shins, nowhere else. I continued my routine despite this issue. I wore compression socks, a compression sleeve over my knee, and would elevate my legs for a few minutes after each mile. It's been 4 days since I finished, and the swelling is now gone. It dissipated after 2 days, but the outter sides of my left knee are very sore. The inner side of my thigh down to my knee is also sore.

I would like to get back to my routine and work my way up to running, but I do not know if I have put my knees in danger of serious damage. Currently, the pain is not excessive, no more than the soreness I'd feel after a good weightlifting session. My question is, in your opinion, would it be more prudent to rest up a bit longer, or is it reasonable to begin with some light exercise again? Maybe working on knee strengthening exercises.

Thank you for any suggestions you may have or for simply sharing your opinion. Also, I have an appointment with my physician, 2 weeks from now, to talk about this, but I am a bit impatient.