Hello

[ebow99]

Everyone,

Very happy to see this forum. I quit smoking a little over 4 years ago and shortly after was diagnosed with COPD. Since then I've gained a lot of weight and am finding it very hard to lose it. I eat healthy but I eat lots. Seem to have an intolerance to being in the hungry state. I wear a pedometer and seem to have no problem exceeding 10K steps. My excess weight is around my waist which is really unbecoming. Anyone else have this issue?
Best regards,

Liz

[Blossom/Jackie W.]

Hi Liz......

First ... congrats on quitting! You obviously have a lot of will power!

I wish I could comment on why the mid drift..... w/o knowing your stage or exercise capacity or, or.... Sometimes we give up one thing for another... maybe for you it's food but after 4 years maybe you're getting over the hump? Or wanting to.....?

What meds are you on?

I was thinking.... 10,000 steps..... could you equate that? I've never checked my steps over the course of a day.... and frankly everyone's stride is different so it's based on the indiviudal.

Is it walking around the house or yard?

I hope you'll tell us a bit more about you......

[susanny]

Welcome, Liz,

I have a couple of considerations for you. The first is, as Blossom inquired, what meds are you on? If you are taking steroids, esp. the oral kind, such as pred., that will put the weight on. Not only does it increase your appetite, but a side effect of it is fat deposits on the upper back.....and just where we really want it, our midriff. Personally, I look about 7-8 mos. pregnant and am otherwise small. Very frustrating.

Another thing is our lungs are longer and push down on our diaphragm and stomach, which pushes everything else down, and out.

And then there's the quitting smoking on it's own.

I lost quite a bit of my pred. weight by cutting out sodas, except on rare occasions, and drinking only iced tea or water, about 2 lts per day. You are eating healthy, so eat smaller amounts more often, say 6 small meals a day. Do not skip breakfast!! It will only make you hungrier later and more apt to eat too much. Plus, I read that if you skip meals your body thinks it's going into starvation mode, slows down the metabolism, and hangs onto whatever fat you have. Defeats your purpose. (can't quote where I read this, but guess you could do a search online for the info.) I don't know how far or how long it takes you to walk the 10K. Are you doing this on a treadmill or outdoors all at one time, or are you counting your steps throughout the day? You really need to be doing the walking all at once, working up to a minimum of 30 mins. per session. If you have to start out slow and not for long, so be it. Work your way up. Start with the length of time and adjust the speed up after you've got the time amount in. Might take a few weeks, but it will help cut the weight down. My dr. has me walking 10 mins. at an average speed, then speed up for 5 mins, then average again, fast again... etc. for 30 - 45 mins, depending on how I'm feeling. It does help.

Good luck. I'm sure there are others with more ideas.

Sue