Fruitjars,
I feel for you, I also broke my ankle late August, had surgury also. You absolutely have to get back out there. I forced myself to stay as active as possible and it was rough especially during the holidays. I ended up gaining 25 pounds. That was very disheartening since I had spent an entire year losing 65 pounds. I am now back to 100% of where I was when I broke my ankle as far as running, riding, and lifting. It was hard getting re-acquainted but definitely worth the effort. I have since lost 17 of those pounds gained. Stay focused and beat yourself up about it until you are back into a routine. Walking in snow, even though it's cold, is an extremely awesome workout, almost like running in sand...the same but different (hehe).

I am also and outdoor walker and have done it everyday for the past 5 - 6 years first thing in the a.m. After a while it doesn't help with weight loss if you don't increase you intensity. With the treadmill, it is likely easier to increase intensity as you know the speed which you can increase or the incline. Definitely a treadmill is a great start.

Treadmill
 

I bought my first treadmill the day after Christmas, I have lost 15lbs. My son is a personal trainer and he advises me yesterday to do a walk warm up first.

Double leg Bridge-10reps(lie on back, bend knees, feet of ground, hands down by side.. Push hips up and squeeze but for 1count repeat 10times

Single leg Bridge-- same as above, but pusing offof one foot only, the other at a 90 dress angle 10 with each leg

straight leg-leg kicks, lie on back, legs straight, hands by sides. keeping your legs straight, kick your right leg up and down 10 times to stretch the hamstring, repeat with other leg. He says your legs are going to want to bend
but DO NOT allow them to.

He says to do 3 sets of these before you walk, (I started with 1 set the first time0

Enjoy your walk and have a fabulous day...

The treadmill is a great piece of exercise equipment, so do not feel like you're not going anywhere with it... heh. Sorry.

I walk on the treadmill at the gym almost every day, and the thing I like about it is that you have so much flexibility. You can increase speed, distance and incline to vary your workouts. Shape magazine has a different treadmill workout in it each month, which is great if you're just starting out and need help figuring out what the heck to do on the thing.

Nothing sculpts your legs like running... nothing. And talk about a calorie burn... it's amazing. Be careful about taking the "calories burned" from the treadmill readout as absolute, because different machines really vary. I have found the elliptical to say I've burned almost double the calories that I really have.

If you're serious about keeping tract of your calories, and carefully measuring your intake and output, invest in a heart rate monitor. You input your specific info and then the readout tells you calories burned for the duration of whatever activity you're doing.... housework, running, walking, cycling, weights, etc. Then, if you keep tract of your calories with the food diary on this site, you can really see what you take in and what you burn and where your weight loss will be. Such a great tool.

Good luck. You can do it!

The Sole of a Treadmill
 

Alright, So you only have a tredmill, yet it has trouble with incline?

I should hope that you get that fixed as soon as possible because inclines are you best calorie-butt-kicking friend.

When I was beginning weightlifting, my trainer told me to begin my day with an hour on the treadmill at 10-11 incline and 2.5-3.5 speed. I did the math and this burns more than an hour on the elliptical (For a 5'6, 170lb female)

If you do not get your incline fixed then the best bet is to do a 5 min warm up followed by some fast paced walking. Then ramp it up with 3-5 mins running (if you're just beginning then I suggest 6.0 which is a 10 min mile). Continue to alternate walking, jogging, and running until you've reached your desired intensity level.

I got a really great pedometer leately by Omron. I make it a point to walk as much as I can during work. I'm lucky enough to have a job that allows a lot of walking. By the end of each days, I've done about 9 miles.

I've been reading online that walking 10, 000 steps a day will help lose weight. It really has.

Walking makes a huge difference.

Did you know that cycling can put a lot of pressure on your lower back?
 

Yeah, lots of folks use treadmills. It's a convenient way to get your cardio in.