@thornbearer Just chiming in to agree and add my two cents. First off, congratulations on taking steps to care for yourself! This is a huge gift you are giving to your future self and everyone who cares about you.
Nutrition:
100% agree that you need to fuel yourself properly to have energy and recover. You
need protein. Literally every cell in your body is made of proteins! Over time those cells wear out, get damaged, etc. If you don't eat enough protein, you have nothing to build new cells with. That's bad news for your health!
Exercise can increase the amount of protein you need even if you're not trying to build lots of muscle, because exercise causes more wear and tear on your bones and muscles. That's a good thing - it signals your body to repair and strengthen those tissues - but if you don't have the raw materials to make repairs then you're basically just grinding yourself down more and more each workout.
Exercising while obese? Been there, done that, bought the XL t-shirt. It's normal to have a lot of muscle soreness when starting a new workout plan, no matter what you weigh. That'll go away over a few weeks if you keep working out.
Watch out for any of the following:
- Sharp, stabbing, or shooting pain anywhere in your body
- Pain that feels like it's in your bones or joints (as opposed to your muscles)
- Pain that is accompanied by swelling, redness, or heat
These are signs of possible injury, so take a recovery break to heal if you notice them. If it doesn't go away on its own after a week or so of rest, talk to a doctor.
Extra weight increases the stress on your body from high-impact exercise like jogging, many sports, dancing, etc. Walking is okay for a lot of people even at higher weights - it's pretty gentle on your joints. Just make sure you have good supportive walking shoes. But if you do notice joint pain from walking more, try switching to low-impact cardio like a stationary bike or an elliptical until you get some more weight off.
