Am I too heavy to jog?

I've been jogging for about a month now, working my way up from 10 minutes to 45 minutes. My first week I did have to start really slow because I felt like my left calf was constantly about to get a charly horse. I got through that and haven't had any problems, but now my left ankle (outer/top of ankle) hurts whenever I start to run. I'm even limping while walking. I gave it 2 days of no jogging and my ankle has felt better but not even 1 minute into it this morning and the pain is back. So my plan for 45 minutes jogging turning into 10 with hardly a sweat. I was wondering if I'm putting too much weight on my ankles and that is whats causing my pain. Should I push through it maybe? By the way, I jog inside my house on carpet without shoes.

I'm not a big fan of jogging and think that walking is much better for our bodies. I would switch to brisk walking since it is low impact and see how you feel.

Your body may still be getting use to jogging. In time, you will get stronger. Definately if you experience any pain- STOP until the pain goes away. Weight does increase the impact on your bones and joints, but as you become lighter, the impact will lessen, your joints and muscles will become stronger, and your jogging will get easier. Good job working your way up to 45 mins!

Maybe the pain to the ankle has to do with lack of support since you aren't using shoes. I have issues with my Achilles at times and after research found you need to find the appropriate shoes for proper support dependent on how you landed on your feet, as well as some stretches/exercises to reduce risk of injury.

If your not familiar with the Couch to 5K training (aka C25K) program you should check it out.

Pretty much anyone can jog, and our respiratory system comes around much faster than our muscular/skeleton can. In summary, you can do it, but you might break down eventually and mess something up.

I did C25K at about 250 lbs a few years back, I was not in shape, and had to repeat weeks, but I did it. I eventually did a 5K too.

Now I am biking, its much lower impact, and more fun imho. It reminds me of being a kid, I can explore, and it does not seem like exercise.

You need proper support for your feet and ankles when running. You should not be doing any serious jogging (indoors or out) without giving them what they need. If you don't have arch support you can roll your ankles and cause problems.

For a quick fix, a friend of mine is going to give me an elyptical, I imagine it will be much lower impact. As for shoes, I did think it would be okay since I make a large (relatively I suppose) loop and stay on carpet in my house so I thought no shoes would be ok. When I get up the courage the go outside I'll definitely wear my running shoes

Personally I prefer not to jog until I will drop a significant amount of weight, since jogging can be traumatic on joints.I try to swim when I have the possibility and I think it is the best activity for people who are overweight.
I do play tennis since I love it, even though it is probably not ideal being overweight, but I try not to do it too often...

As long as you have good running form and don't try to increase your mileage too quickly, running is not traumatic to your joints. Running actually promotes/boosts bone density, and it definitely does more good than harm. That being said, it is a higher-impact activity than other forms of exercise, so I guess I can see why some people shy away from it and why it has gotten a bad reputation - but I wish more people would try it!! Callisandra, I agree with holfraz, don't push yourself to jog through the pain, especially if you are limping just from walking!! Be sure to ice your ankle to reduce any swelling and speed up the recovery process..

What is good running form? I haven't been thinking of that aspect except to put one foot in front of the other and repeat.

Watch this video, it tells you all you need to know.

Best Running Technique

Most importantly is foot strike. Avoid heel strike as much as possible, this is where you get all sorts of injuries, you want fore foot strike.

Erika is right, running isn't traumatic on the joints, it's how you run.

Go outside and run, dont be afraid of what people might think. Enjoy the nice weather and the scenery!