I need advice on exercising to help me lose weight. I used to do loads of walking, but the neuropathy in my feet and calves prevents me from doing this.
Can anyone suggest anything else that I can do, that burns as many calories
that doesn't involve lots of use of my legs?
Sorry to say, but exercise is not the way to lose weight.
Exercise is very good in that it increases your general fitness, reduces insulin resistance, and can also pump you full of endorphins so you feel good about yourself and are not tempted to cheer yourself up with a snack.
However it is suggested that a pound of body fat is equal to about 3500 calories.
I'm struggling a bit with Google because I thought you burned that in about 2.5 hours vigorous cycling but my current searches are suggesting that you burn about 900 calories per hour through vigorous cycling which would mean that you would have to cycle vigorously for nearly 4 hours to burn off a pound of fat.
So to lose weight you have to eat less.
If you are eating just enough to maintain your weight then exercise can tip the balance, but this will not be in a dramatic way - cycle vigorously for an hour every day for a week AND don't let yourself eat more because exercise makes you hungry and you think you deserve a treat, and then you can start to slowly lose weight at just over a pound a week.
Exercises for fitness if you have foot problems - you may still be able to cycle because the bike takes about 70% of the load which makes it much easier for your feet to cope. Swimming is also good. If you can get to a gym then rowing machines and upper body weights can tone you up and improve your general fitness. Any exercise is better than no exercise.
Hope this helps.
LGC