New guy in need of weight loss

[kwe1966]

Hey everyone.  I'm new on here and need to loose weight.  I'm hoping to loose to about 170 or less by the time I'm 50 (2 and half years). Right now I'm 215.  The hard part for me is I have emphysema, so exercise is difficult.  I still have fairly decent lung function (about 72%), but still can't do a lot at 1 time.  Part of what attracted e to the rebellion was the exercises being less difficult for me.  Happy New Year to all and here's to us all meeting our 2014 goals!

[El Exorcisto]

Cutting weight is entirely a function of diet. Get a notebook and track your calories. If just cutting wieght is the priority then all you need is a scale. Step on it the sae day and time every week. If the weight goes up or remains the same, cut calories. If it goes down then stay where you are. It's pretty straightforward stuff. If you can tolerate some suffering then you can cut your 40 pounds in a few months. I started at 202 and cut to 182 in two months.

 

As for exercise, don't fall into the "easy" trap. I'm assuming by 72% you are referring to FEV1 on your PFT (the measurement that matters most in COPD). That's really not bad at all. I would steer away from aerobic type exercise and pick up heavy shit. You can pace yourself more, and getting more efficient energy systems through weight training will carry over for much longer down the road than aerobic conditioning.

 

You did quit smoking, right?

[alienjenn]

Hey man I hear ya on the breathing issues... I have severe interstitial lung disease... it's hard.. but you can still lose weight and get fit... it's all about baby steps and learning where your limitations are... when I first started I couldn't ride my bike an entire mile... I thought I was dying... I worked my way up slowly and painfully and now I can ride long distances (I'm talking we take trips and do 160 miles in three or four days).... when I first started I couldn't walk a mile without stopping (and feeling like I was dying) now I can run a 5k I climb mountains and I'm training to hike the two thousand mile Appalachian trail...

weight loss comes as part of decreasing your calories yes.... but it's also about increasing muscle... a lot of lungers do well with a low carb higher fat and protein diet... I've switched to paleo and I'm doing insanely well... I notice a difference in lung function when I don't get enough protein for a few days... and I've lost a hundred pounds so far so I'd say something is working for me

I'm not trying to brag on myself but to show you it's possible... it's all about baby steps... learning that line... the more than this kills me but less than this makes me grow line... it's about listening to your body... pushing when you can resting when you need to...

(sent by the phone. .. all mistakes are the phones fault)

[alienjenn]

You did quit smoking, right?

Please don't assume... I haven't checked his other threads to see if he's talked about smoking....

Emphysema doesn't always come from smoking... my lung disease is considered emphysematic and I was diagnosed at 13 and I've never smoked a day in my life

(sent by the phone. .. all mistakes are the phones fault)

[El Exorcisto]

If you have interstitial lung disease then your diagnosis was wrong if it was called "emhysematic" which to the best of my knowledge isn't a descriptor used in any modern literature. The two pathologies could not be farther from each other and I apologize for your misinformation. To the best of my knowledge no restrictive pathologies have ever been tied to cigarette smoking. That said, what you have accomplished with a restrictive lung disease is quite astounding an I applaud you for the effort.

 

As to quitting smoking, I've had exactly two patients with COPD that did not have a smoking history and one of them had A1A deficiency. If I somehow offended the OP by the insinuation I apologize. It's typically the first place to start and the one that will yield the biggest benefit soonest.

[alienjenn]

A1a deficiency (what I have) is an emphysematic disease... I also have components of scaring which makes it also interstitial...

Sorry to hijack the thread... it just frustrates me when people assume that emphysema automatically means the person smoked... because I know many many people with emphysema who haven't ever smoked

(sent by the phone. .. all mistakes are the phones fault)

[El Exorcisto]

Indeed, apologies for the hijack.

[Basement Cat]

Welcome Kwe!

 

Good luck with your goals and keep us posted!

 

Lung conditions are jsut as easily caused by pollution...

[kwe1966]

Yes, I am an alpha.  My mother's entire family died of emphysema.  My mom died of it and never smoked.  My bother died at 54, but he smoked.  I quit smoking many years ago, then found I had alpha 1.  Most of my doctors agree that if I hadn't smoked, I would likely have been undiagnosed until much later in life.  Thanks for the cheerleading.  I'm happy to know that someone out there does understand what it's like trying to lose weight when you are limited on what exercise you can do. 

 

I didn't mean to imply that the exercises on here were easy; just that they are easier for me since the cardio isn't as heavy.  I walk as much as I can, but usually it amounts to no more than 30 minutes at a time; although, I try to walk between 3.5 and 4 mph. 

 

At any rate, thanks to you all for the encouragement. 

[alienjenn]

oh yeah... it's taken me a long time to actually ENJOY cardio... and now I mountain climb and run and bike ride... 

 

one of the most important things for me was realizing that I hold my breath and so learning to use a pattern like this one (square breathing) or using the tips on this site... both were important in helping me to increase my capacity

 

and I don't think I said it already... WELCOME to the rebellion!!

[WarfighterKev]

Go get 'em, Kwe! Good luck!