|
Author: Kate
Date: 06-15-04 09:19
Hi everyone,
I was wondering if anyone here suffers from asthma. I have been asthmatic my whole life but the last few months my asthma has been really bad. I have not been able to work out like I want to and it has slowed my weight loss down almost to a complete stop. I was hoping that someone else might have any suggestions on diffrent ways to exercise without totally over doing it.
I would normally run on the treadmill for 45 minutes a day 5 days a week or rollerblade 1 or 2 days instead, but until my asthma is back under control I really am not able to use that workout. I thought about weights but I get really bored.
Any thoughts?
Thanks!
Kate
235-157-140
Program Start: January 2002
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: whitetigerjaide
Date: 06-15-04 09:24
I have it.
So does my 3 year old son.
I can exercise ok, but when I run I get out of breath.
I am ok, but I bring my inhaler with me when I go out.
There is no pleasure in life equal to that of the conquest of a vicious habit.
- unknown
Starting weight 144
Present weight 136
Goal weight 120
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: BFL Michelle
Date: 06-15-04 09:26
Reduce your calories to make up for the lack of activity and you will still lose weight. I don't suffer from asthma so I don't know what to tell you about the exercise. Maybe just taking it easy with a walk or some light weight lifting...then you're doing something which is better than nothing, right? Have you asked the doc for suggestions?
139/104/104 - 5'1
Post Edited (06-15-04 09:26)
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: miranda
Date: 06-15-04 09:26
Can you walk around your neighborhood, no matter how slowly? That would be less boring that walking slowly on a treadmill, if you can do it.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
miranda
230/169.5/145
"I don't need to compromise my principles, because they don't have the slightest bearing on what happens to me anyway."--Bill Watterson, "Calvin and Hobbes"
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: Kate
Date: 06-15-04 09:32
I have been working the the doctor trying new medications but we still have not found anything that will control it during a workout.
I eat 1300 - 1400 calories a day and I really would hate to reduce it much more. I already feel like I am starving by the end of the day!
Kate
235-157-140
Program Start: January 2002
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: BFL Michelle
Date: 06-15-04 09:35
At your current weight it would seem to be that 1300-1400 would still have you in a calorie deficit w/o exercise so you should still lose.
Have you used the calcultor at practicalweightloss.com to see what your intake should be w/o exercise?
139/104/104 - 5'1
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: Kate
Date: 06-15-04 10:04
Yeah I have. I know how many calories I need to maintain and what I eat without exercising will only put me about 1/2 pound down a week. I wright everything that I eat down and I don't always make the best choices (I'm a junk food junkie) but I do count everything that goes into my mouth.
Between retaining water and somtimes going over the calories allowed I fell like the scale never moves!!!
Kate
235-157-140
Program Start: January 2002
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: Jenn
Date: 06-15-04 14:49
hi kate!
I am a lifelong asthmatic.... i also have other health considerations which at times make it very difficult to work out (genetic lung disease which gives me 84% lung function, bad back, migranes, asthma... etc also for the longest time we had no cooling and i live in arizona where the only time its under 90 degrees is between 10 pm and 5 am which are WAY not the times for me to be out!!!!)
I have found ways to get around it....
1. if you are feeling tight.... take your inhalor 1/2 hour BEFORE exercising... if you do it DURRING you can have problems with dizzieness (most inhalors can slightly increass your heart rate.... if you add that to the increase you get from exercising you can get dizzy)
2. do not under any circumstances get dehydrated.... your lungs are surrounded by something called the "pleural sac" which is a thin membrane that helps keep your lungs from sticking together and to the wall of your chest... it also helps them to move better without pain... when you get dehydrated the first things to show it are the mucus membranes (externally) like the sinus membranes and the inside of your mouth... INSIDE though the first thing to show signs of dehydration is the plueral sac and the other organ surrounding membranes (i guess cause the organs themselves need the fluid) .... when this plueral sac dries a little it can cause irratation (plueresy) and that hurts... very much bad it hurts.... so.... drink lots... water, juice, herbal tea.... stay away from caffiene, sugary drinks and carbonation (all diuretics)
3. invest in a good quality fan.... i do all my workouts in front of the tv (i use walk away the pounds by leslie sansone on dvd) i have a overhead fan (a little one) and an industrial fan on a shelf at the back of the room.... keeping the air mooving keeps you cooler therefore keeps you breathing easier
4. keep water near you while you work out... if you have ice cold water and take a sip every min or so (not guzzling.... i go through a 20 oz bottle of ice water in a 45 min session.... but dont forget its 90 degrees IN here!) the ice water will help ease your throat.... a lot of times what we FEEL is tightness in our LUNGS is tightness in the throat.... and drinking ice cold water will help to keep your trachea cool and relaxed (asthma is mostly just spasiming with some mucus thrown in... keep the spasms down and it dosent bother you as much)
5. i dont know how to stress this enough.... make sure your bra fits you properly.... if it is too restrictive it can impede your air flow and make it harder to breathe.... according to sears (i used to work in the leingere department) 9 out of 10 women wear the wrong size bra..... too small and it can make breathing VERY hard... to loose and it can damage your breasts (if you are large breasted) so have it checked!
6. learn your body.... i know that my prime "bad air" times are about an hour after eating and dusk.... i also know that if i hear the neighbors cutting grass i will not be exercising that day (not at home anyways!) your body is wonderfull at letting you know what is wrong, you just have to learn how to listen to it.... (i can tell 3 days before bloodwork or doctors can if i am "comming down with something" just from learning how to listen to my body)
7. if your doc gives you inhaled steroids make sure you take them on time every time... skipping a dose can be as bad as not being on them....
do you use a nebulizer? which meds are you on (some of those i can give you better tips as to how to deal with the side effects.... i have been on almost every asthma medication out there! LOL) some of those should not be used immediately before exercising.....
good luck!
jenn
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: Elizabeth Ann
Date: 06-16-04 09:38
I am asthmatic, too. The last time I was involved in a really good workout, I ended up in the hospital due to an asthma attack. It was so bad the doctor told me to not even try to exercise. I was disappointed, and I had to dropmy class. My asthma is still just as bad. I can walk on my treadmill and do yoga... but that's about it. I don't want to go to te E.R. again... I hate that placxe... but I too am having trouble keeping in shape. I've not yet found a solution for myself.
~Elizabeth Ann~
205-195-135
10 lbs lost since 8/20/04
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: Elizabeth Ann
Date: 06-16-04 09:46
Wow, I never knew all that about asthma. I've had it since I was 13. I came down with pneumonia and developed it. I got pneumonia each winter for the next tree years, too. My asthma is horrible now. My hopes of joining the Air Force got smashed like a fly. : )
I live in Arizona, too. and it is SO HOT in my town. (Casa Grande) I don't know how there can be people riding around on bicycles during the day... but they do. I can barely go outside for more than a few minutes without feeling hot and tired. LOL
I'll have to try the inhaler half and hour before I work out. I miss being active. I hope it works.
~Elizabeth Ann~
205-195-135
10 lbs lost since 8/20/04
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Author: Kate
Date: 06-17-04 06:41
Wow Jenn, this is great information! I do a lot of the tricks that you said to try like the fan and water. The morning and at night are the worst time for me. I am pretty good in the middle of the day, but that's when I am at work. I think it's because I am in the AC and my allergies don't have time to act up.
I never really thought much about the bra being to tight, but now that I think about it every time I have an attack I usually take my bra off becuase I feel so constricted! I dives me crazy when I am trying to get a good breath of air and my bra feels tight on me.
The last thing the doctor had be on is Advair but she told me that it is not something she was going to keep me on for a long time. My ashtma had been under control for years and just within the past 3 months it has been much worse. My proplem is that I can pass the lung capacity test and during the day I am not wheezing so the doctor doesn't realize how bad it gets at night. It is very frustrating to me.
Thanks again for all of the great information!
Kate
235-157-140
Program Start: January 2002
|
|
Reply To This Message
|
|
Click here
for a great cookbook
with quick & healthy
recipes
Weight Lifting
For Absolute Beginners:
Illustrated Guide
CLICK HERE
|
