Walking whilst overweight

Hello everyone I'm new to this site so please forgive me if I have posted this in the wrong section :)

I am a very over weight guy weighing in at 30 stones 4lbs however 8 weeks ago I decided to change my life and start living again,so far I have lost 2 stones and gone down 3 jean sizes I have also started walking 2.5 miles everyday and at first this was taking me an hour and a half but now I'm down to just 35 minutes :) however my concern/question is the last 3-4 days I have found that both my knees and ankles are swollen and my knees are acheing alot,I'm having one rest day a week from excise.

Do you think I should keep as I am and hope the pains and aches go away or should I be taking more rest days ? I'm worried about resting because I feel like I'm giving myself excuses not to excise.

Your thoughts please.

Thank you

Nigel UK

Firstly well done on having made a decision to get fitter and lose weight! Secondly woah!!! You don't say how much exercise you did if any before 8 /9 weeks ago or just how sedentary your life was or what you do for work etc, but i think your knees and ankles are complaining about your amazing increase in exercise. They still have a number of stones to carry and I think you need to rethink your exercise programm to reduce the joint strain. It could get worse if you continue but I wouldn't recomend more rest days, gentle exercise should be part of every day. You need a change in type of exercise to less weightbearing and including other body parts, and including some cardio training BUT keeping it gentle to start with. Swimming, with crawl to reduce repetitive bending and straightening the knees would be OK. General exercise in water including walking also reduces the weight on legs but water resistance can be used for arm strength. Core stability for trunk, realy gentle first would also be good. It depends a bit on what you like doing and how much time you have to do it, your chosen sport must fit in with every day life or the excuses start :) You probably need some advice from a good professional who could see you, assess your needs and help design a sensible progression over the next months and avoid overdoing it. You'll have to adress the dietary requirements too and not lose muscle..again consult an expert nearby. Wish you loads of success in the coming year!:)