Aibu to think there must be some exercise I can do?

[Stressedgiraffe]

I need to lose weight. I have a terrible buddy belly. So need to find a cheap/free exercise I can do.
I have a knackered ankle so can't stand on it. Can only walk for about 30 mins without using a stick and needing to sit down.
Swimming is out as I can't see without my glasses- can only see about a ft in front of me. Would need to get prescription goggles.
I've tried yoga but don't have the balance anymore.
What can I do that is free/cheap?

He's fantastic!

Seated little foot bike whilst wfh

Funny story, I am blind as a bat without my glasses, back in my teens I used to swim early morning and just went in without glasses because I figured I could see just well enough to see if someone was directly in front of me so why bother. I had a part time job as a GP receptionist, and one day this old fella came up to the desk and said "you look different with your clothes on!" I was speechless and very confused till he said " I swim with you every day in the same lane". I had to explain I'd never actually seen him before.

Basic simple prescription goggles are not expensive if you look online. If you only want them for swimming then they might do. Personally i just wear an old pair of specs in the pool and keep my head out of water.

30 mins walking is good. Better than nothing. And it might even strengthen your ankle if you build up how much you use it.

Regarding swimming - this could be such an amazing exercise that it would be worth buying prescription goggles. However, I wear my glasses when swimming. I do the breast stroke so my head doesn't go under the water. It works absolutely fine.

If you want then PM me and I'll give you a link for 60 days free peloton app (cancel on day 59 if you don't want it after!)

You could do - upper body weights (if you need weights Aldi has some at the min or use whatever you have), there are walking ones, lower body barre (lying down), Pilates, yoga and also adaptive strength training (wheelchair users, amputees etc)
It's quite diverse with what's available on there. There's also good stretching classes

Offer open to anyone, it's unlimited and doesn't gain me anything

Example of what's on there

To lose weight- diet is more important.
if you can afford to then join a gym and they will work out a program for you taking into account your abilities.

Check out Lucy Wyndhan Read on youtube. She has so much variety to chose from. Quite gentle and all body parts covered.

I managed to get -8 prescription goggles off the shelf at the optician. Cost about £30. I also cold water swim which is bloody awesome for pain relief.

Chair yoga. YouTube has some great videos

I have a knackered ankle and at times struggle to walk. I do three hours of weight lifting a week, there is stuff like squats and lunges I can’t do but plenty I can. I also cycle and do spin classes.

Don't take the children swimming with you. Invest in yourself and your own health. If you take them with you, you'll spend all your time focusing on what they're doing.

Yes, I was v v obese at one stage. Hurt to do anything. Exercise that I could reliably do was chair yoga, walking in water- you become much less heavy, and your ankle won't hurt as much, and aquasize.
I loved aquasize, was so much fun.
Upper body workouts could be good too!

I also agree with PP saying 30 minutes walking. If that's a struggle, start at 15, see if you can increase or whether you are better off breaking it into two 15 minute walks a day.

DH is in a similar position. He had an ankle reconstruction several years ago due to snapped ligaments that has unfortunately now failed. Physio referred him to orthopedics who scanned him and his has surgery booked this month (NHS)

exercise wise walking is great as is swimming (if you can find a solution to the steamed up glasses), it’s possible to do lots of seated exercises - could you borrow or buy some cheap dumbbells? Things like seated overhead press etc is a good starting point

You don't really need to see to swim if you go to lane sessions. If you wear contacts pop goggles over the top, but if not you could always get a visually impaired swimmer cap and crack on. Worst that will happen is you'll graze someone's ankle.

Aquafit can give you a really hard workout for both cardio and strength, with hardly any weight on the ankle joints.

Pilates is almost entirely done sitting or lying down, and is good for balance, strength and flexibility.

I have found a local chair based exercise group near me. It's aimed at the elderly (who sit around watching TV types) and the disabled but anybody can join. Atm someone who is recovering from a leg operation has joined and is loving it. It's based at a community village hall rather than a gym. Maybe there's one near you.