Greetings,
I have upper left hip pain today from going on a jog yesterday around my neighborhood. I am overweight and trying to lose weight. I am eating healthy and warming up and cooling down after I jog. The pain is only in my upper right hip area and not my left. Any thoughts?

To clarify - the pain is only in my upper left hip area and not my right.

A few questions:

By "hip" where exactly do you mean? I know that sounds like a funny thing to ask but people use the term hip in reference to a pretty broad area.

Is this more located near your hipbone? More so around on your groin/abdomen above your left thigh? Right in the crease at the top of your left quad?

How long have you been jogging? Just started? Been jogging a while?

What distance/pace are you running?

How overweight are you?

Are the shoes you are running in a new, hi-quality pair of cushioned running shoes specific for your gait? If not, go to a running store and have your gait analyzed and they can put you in a shoe that is right for you. You would be amazed at how often this one thing prevents or "cures" running injuries.

It's also possible that your hip abductor/adductor muscles are weak and causing your foot to strike in such a way that it is sending the majority of the "shock" right to where your pain is centralized. A good exercise for that is laying on your side, butt up against a wall, and slowly raise the heel on the top leg up to a 30-45° angle and then back down again. Do a 2-3 sets of 10-15 each leg. You can also wrap a resistance band (the wide flat kind that looks like a strip of balloon material) tied in a loop around your ankles and do a similar move while standing on one leg.

A LOT of people also have very weak hip-flexor muscles or ones that are very "short" due to lack of use. Not to mention, glutes, hamstrings, etc.

Prior to your runs, after you get your heart rate up with a short warm up, make sure you really get your hip-flexors, hamstrings, glutes, calves and quads ready for the work they are about to undertake.

Try the following stretches. Do about 15 seconds per side prior to your run and about 30-45 seconds per leg after:
Hip Flexor - Kneeling Hip Flexor Stretch
Glutes -- Lying Glute Stretch
Hamstrings -- Seated Single Leg Hamstring Stretch followed by Seated Hamstring Stretch
Quads -- Standing Quadriceps Stretch
Calves -- Single Leg Pike Straight Leg Calf Stretch

Add some good lower back stretches in too, and a Cobra stretch to get your core nice and limber http://i.ehow.com/images/ehows/hero/cobrapose3_hero.jpg

I can almost guarantee that the muscles on the back of your body are tighter/shorter than those on the front. Focus your stretching on those muscles and you will notice an increase in performance and a resistance to injury. Don't neglect the rest though. Stretch just to the point of discomfort.

In the meantime, consider walking instead of running or maybe dialing your pace and distance back and just focus on stretching, maybe soaking in some Epsom salts, and see if an anti-inflammatory like Aleve or Advil has any effect.

If all else fails and none of that helps in a week or two, go see a sports medicine doctor or orthopedist if you can.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

just wanted to say what an excellent and helpful post, Charlie Golf.

Charlie golf got hits the point.
Be specific on the "hip",
and maybe you eat before you jog,sometimes it is the cause.
I actually experienced a little pain,but got resolved it by proper warn-up tips.