Just a short post today. Passed the 22 month mark since my last cigarette. Weight on October 1 2006 was 212 buck n*ked. Could not do yard work. Could barely make it up a set of stairs without resting to catch my breath. After 3 minutes on the exercise bike at minimum resistance, I was totally out of breath and it took 10 minutes or more to regain normal breathing and heart rate.
June 24, 2007.
Weight 187
10 minutes on the exercise bike at level 4 resistance.
2 minutes recovery time.
I apologize for those supporting me. I slipped a little bit and enjoyed too many carbs and too little exercise during June. July will be spent in Canada, fishing and getting in better shape. It will be a real challenge to my diplomacy as I visit friends and relatives and attempt to maintain some resemblance of a low carb diet.
Next post planned for early July.
PS. A good friend of mine Don Schmidt, did not have a smoking challenge, but was significantly overweight. He is around my age, about 60 and about my height at 5 foot 10 inches. His weight last fall was 235. He set out a 1.3 mile walking course last fall walked it once per day. When he started he had to stop about every 100 feet and rest, sit down and rest. People would stop their cars and ask him if he needed medical assistance. He did not care. He finished the walking course every day. He went on several diets and a cleanse and detox regimen. We chatted this month and he reports his weight at 180. He can complete the walking course easily now and often does several circuits per day. He has totally turned his life around. He did not smoke. That is the factor he did not need to defeat. Through will power he has got his weight under control and gets regular exercise. Without the extra burden of recovering from smoking he is seeing results of his exceptional effort sooner and more dramatically. Just another reason to not smoke or quit smoking. Life is hard enough as it is, do not complicate it further by added a very negative component to your quality of life. Enough preaching, see you next month.
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Case Study - Recovering from Smoking - Introduction
I promised you a case study to demonstrate what results are possible after 40 years of smoking 1 to 2 packs of cigarettes per day. To put all this in some perspective, I have gathered some general data from my GP as follows:
Date...........Wt.. BP......... TRG..TC..FEV..FCV..O2
8/24/89..180..110/72
5/14/90.......... 118/70
11/8/90..176...108/72
3/19/91..179...120/74
6/4/91....186...132/88
4/16/93..184...130/72
4/13/94..179...126/78.....220
4/28/94...........136/70
12/3/96..183...138/92.....274...242
12/1/97..185...132/96
1/6/98....185...120/82
8/10/98..189...120/80
9/22/98...........138/80
12/7/98..187...116/80
8/16/99...........120/80
9/14/99..190...102/70
12/8/99..188.....90/62
12/29/99..........110/70
4/6/0......189...112/64
4/11/0..............120/60....425...194
11/6/0....189...112/76
8/28/1...197...108/76
11/12/1..196...122/90
5/28/2...196...120/78
6/25/2...195...124/90.....358...230
11/6/2...189...118/82
1/3/3.....186...114/74
6/17/3...192...134/84
11/24/3.191...120/80
5/21/4...195...106/74....291...253
10/18/4.186...104/67
3/28/5...185...116/68
4/7/5...............124/68
*******************Doctor told me to quit smoking or else.
8/17/5 *************Quit smoking completely
1/31/6...203...104/80
********************Referred to Pulmonary Specialist
2/13/6..206.......................................21%...32%..90%
2/28/6..210...........................................................94%
4/7/6.......................................202
5/1/6.....212......................................29%...52%..91%
10/11/6...........80/70
10/16/6.210..........................................................90%
12/5/6...203..........................................................93%
1/2/7......200..110/64......178...185
2/16/7...198.......................................29%...67%..92%
6/8/7.....193.......................................29%...77%..90%
BP - Blood Pressure
TRG - Triglycerides
TC - Total Cholersterol
FEC - % lung evacuation in first second
FVC - predicted % of total lung evacuation
O2 - % Oxygen absorbed in blood
Notes: up until 1997 physical exercise included amateur adult hockey 5 times/wk.
-from 1996 to 2000 - physcial activity at work was extensive.
-from 2000 to 2003, physical activity at work declined to almost nil.
-2003 to 2006, 0 physcial activity.
-fall of 2006 started on exercise bike - 3 minutes per day at lowest level.
-current - 10 or 15 minutes per day on exercise bike at medium level.
Notes:
-weight peaked at 218 in September of 2006.
-started Adkins type diet in September 2006. After 2 months, switched to a very
relaxed Adkins low carb type diet.
Since the Spring of 2006, the Pulmonary specialist has indicated that I have severe
COPD with borderline hypoxemia. It was recommended that I use Oxygen, but
to date I have refused as I am working to solve this health issue not develop
lifetime crutches.
Furthermore, all literature and the advice of the specialist indicate that there is
no return from COPD. In other words, you can not get back the lost capacity
of your lungs. OK, we have a baseline here and I propose to reverse the effects
of COPD using a combination of exercise and diet.
I believe at 5 foot 9.5 inches that my weight should be ideally 170 pounds.
I currently weigh 189.
My daily regimen for exercise is 10 minutes before breakfast on the exercise
bike at the 4 star level. I skip perhaps once or twice per week.
I believe that I should aim to increase the bike activity to 10 minutes before
breakfast, 5 minutes before lunch and 5 minutes before dinner. The level of
resistence will increase as I am able.
Every 3 months I will visit the Pulmonary group and obtain the FEV, the
FCV and Saturated Oxygen readings. This will be used to evaluate the
condition of my lungs and brochial system.
Every Wednesday I will report my weight and my exercise regimen for the
past week. Any special activities or issues will be noted.
This is not a scientific case study, there is no double blind or group sampling, I know
this, but if my personal case study can give hope to those with COPD, then it will
be of some worth.
It is my personal opinion that apathy is the real devil in this situation. You smoke
for a lifetime, you quit and are proud of yourself. You are surprized that you do
not regain your breath or health as everyone has promised. Because your breath
has not returned, you can not exercise consistently and physical activity is
difficult. This lack of physical activity allows your weight to balloon up. Other
factors in the weight issue are -nicotene appetite suppression, frustration and
personal apathy. As the weight increases, breathing is even more difficult and
exercise becomes impossible. It becomes a catch 22. The apathy increases and
your will to live disappears. It is my opinion that this is the cycle for most COPD
patients. Attacked the weight issue and forcing oneself to exercise no matter how
minimal is critical if you are to break the apathy cycle.
See you next Wednesday, June 20 2007.
Date...........Wt.. BP......... TRG..TC..FEV..FCV..O2
8/24/89..180..110/72
5/14/90.......... 118/70
11/8/90..176...108/72
3/19/91..179...120/74
6/4/91....186...132/88
4/16/93..184...130/72
4/13/94..179...126/78.....220
4/28/94...........136/70
12/3/96..183...138/92.....274...242
12/1/97..185...132/96
1/6/98....185...120/82
8/10/98..189...120/80
9/22/98...........138/80
12/7/98..187...116/80
8/16/99...........120/80
9/14/99..190...102/70
12/8/99..188.....90/62
12/29/99..........110/70
4/6/0......189...112/64
4/11/0..............120/60....425...194
11/6/0....189...112/76
8/28/1...197...108/76
11/12/1..196...122/90
5/28/2...196...120/78
6/25/2...195...124/90.....358...230
11/6/2...189...118/82
1/3/3.....186...114/74
6/17/3...192...134/84
11/24/3.191...120/80
5/21/4...195...106/74....291...253
10/18/4.186...104/67
3/28/5...185...116/68
4/7/5...............124/68
*******************Doctor told me to quit smoking or else.
8/17/5 *************Quit smoking completely
1/31/6...203...104/80
********************Referred to Pulmonary Specialist
2/13/6..206.......................................21%...32%..90%
2/28/6..210...........................................................94%
4/7/6.......................................202
5/1/6.....212......................................29%...52%..91%
10/11/6...........80/70
10/16/6.210..........................................................90%
12/5/6...203..........................................................93%
1/2/7......200..110/64......178...185
2/16/7...198.......................................29%...67%..92%
6/8/7.....193.......................................29%...77%..90%
BP - Blood Pressure
TRG - Triglycerides
TC - Total Cholersterol
FEC - % lung evacuation in first second
FVC - predicted % of total lung evacuation
O2 - % Oxygen absorbed in blood
Notes: up until 1997 physical exercise included amateur adult hockey 5 times/wk.
-from 1996 to 2000 - physcial activity at work was extensive.
-from 2000 to 2003, physical activity at work declined to almost nil.
-2003 to 2006, 0 physcial activity.
-fall of 2006 started on exercise bike - 3 minutes per day at lowest level.
-current - 10 or 15 minutes per day on exercise bike at medium level.
Notes:
-weight peaked at 218 in September of 2006.
-started Adkins type diet in September 2006. After 2 months, switched to a very
relaxed Adkins low carb type diet.
Since the Spring of 2006, the Pulmonary specialist has indicated that I have severe
COPD with borderline hypoxemia. It was recommended that I use Oxygen, but
to date I have refused as I am working to solve this health issue not develop
lifetime crutches.
Furthermore, all literature and the advice of the specialist indicate that there is
no return from COPD. In other words, you can not get back the lost capacity
of your lungs. OK, we have a baseline here and I propose to reverse the effects
of COPD using a combination of exercise and diet.
I believe at 5 foot 9.5 inches that my weight should be ideally 170 pounds.
I currently weigh 189.
My daily regimen for exercise is 10 minutes before breakfast on the exercise
bike at the 4 star level. I skip perhaps once or twice per week.
I believe that I should aim to increase the bike activity to 10 minutes before
breakfast, 5 minutes before lunch and 5 minutes before dinner. The level of
resistence will increase as I am able.
Every 3 months I will visit the Pulmonary group and obtain the FEV, the
FCV and Saturated Oxygen readings. This will be used to evaluate the
condition of my lungs and brochial system.
Every Wednesday I will report my weight and my exercise regimen for the
past week. Any special activities or issues will be noted.
This is not a scientific case study, there is no double blind or group sampling, I know
this, but if my personal case study can give hope to those with COPD, then it will
be of some worth.
It is my personal opinion that apathy is the real devil in this situation. You smoke
for a lifetime, you quit and are proud of yourself. You are surprized that you do
not regain your breath or health as everyone has promised. Because your breath
has not returned, you can not exercise consistently and physical activity is
difficult. This lack of physical activity allows your weight to balloon up. Other
factors in the weight issue are -nicotene appetite suppression, frustration and
personal apathy. As the weight increases, breathing is even more difficult and
exercise becomes impossible. It becomes a catch 22. The apathy increases and
your will to live disappears. It is my opinion that this is the cycle for most COPD
patients. Attacked the weight issue and forcing oneself to exercise no matter how
minimal is critical if you are to break the apathy cycle.
See you next Wednesday, June 20 2007.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Journal - Smoker to ExSmoker
OK, now the rant about the 3rd biggest lie has been said, let's get down to business. To understand where I am and where I am going, you need to understand where I have been.
As a young person I could eat a horse. I could not put on weight. I weighed a little over 100 pounds and I was 5 foot tall on my 16th birthday. I played sports but mainly ice hockey and I was at least OK at it. On my 17th birthday I was almost 6 foot tall and I weighed about 140. That year of amazing growth sidetracked a promising hockey career. The reason I tell you this is so that you will understand that as a young person I was gristle and bones, maybe a little muscle. I could not put on weight. Around 18 I smoked a little to fit in socially, hey, back in the 60's it was the in thing.
I went away to university and by then hockey was no longer my life's passion, girls and cars and so on...I continued to smoke lightly through university and slowly built the habit up to a pack a day. I put on a little weight but was hard pressed to pass 165 at almost 6 foot tall. This continued for 15 years. I overate, overdrank, underexercised and stayed at about 170 and 6 foot. I was getting out of shape but then we bought a farm to race standbred horses and suddenly all my spare time was spent on chores around the farm. That continued until I was 38. I smoked about 2 packs a day, drank too much but I was in good shape at about 175 and 6 foot.We sold the horses and the farm and moved to Georgia in 1985.
We bought a house in Roswell a suburb of Atlanta and the level of my physical activity just about disappeared. 5 years later I worked a job at strange hours and joined an industrial league for ice hockey. I played regularly and got back into shape. I still smoked about 2 packs but my weight stablized at about 175 and I was about 5 foot 11 by them. Gravity sucks. This continued off and on for about 8 years until another shift in employment brought me to residential contruction.
Working by myself initially, I installed roofing felt for builders to dry in new houses as the roofers were very busy and difficult to schedule. This was a very profitable business and I was overwhelmed with potential business. I worked so hard physically that I got in very good shape. I still smoked 2 packs a day but I was as fit as I ever. My wife joked about my job as I started to hire help; she said I should call it Nassau Fitness - I had a Nassau tan and not much body fat at all, running around roof tops carrying rolls of felt, always at some level of danger due to the roof pitch, and working long hours without real breaks. Hey it was tough but rewarding. She thought I should charge people to work for me, not pay them. This continued until about 2000.
I was too successful. As I expanding into framing and trim work, I spent all my time running from job to job and spent little if any time working with my hands and my back. I smoked at lot, ate fast food and my health started to deteriorate. First my breath went. I couldn't run around the roof tops anymore, I had to take it slow. Second my weight started up, 180, 185. My doctor started to bitch at me about smoking and drinking too much. One day I just stopped drinking alcohol as I usually did, no more drink until a major buzz. I might have the odd beer here and there but nothing like the power drinking of the old days. I still smoked, now only 1 and half packs per day. By 2002, the local construction business was challenging because of the influx of spanish speaking labor. I did not speak Spanish and I was tired of the rat race of dealing with subcontractors and employees. I packed it in and looked to my computer for a new career.
That's great and it has been very rewarding financially but it certainly did not solve my physical health issues: weight gain and smoking. OK, that brings you up to speed as of the Spring of 2005. More later.
As a young person I could eat a horse. I could not put on weight. I weighed a little over 100 pounds and I was 5 foot tall on my 16th birthday. I played sports but mainly ice hockey and I was at least OK at it. On my 17th birthday I was almost 6 foot tall and I weighed about 140. That year of amazing growth sidetracked a promising hockey career. The reason I tell you this is so that you will understand that as a young person I was gristle and bones, maybe a little muscle. I could not put on weight. Around 18 I smoked a little to fit in socially, hey, back in the 60's it was the in thing.
I went away to university and by then hockey was no longer my life's passion, girls and cars and so on...I continued to smoke lightly through university and slowly built the habit up to a pack a day. I put on a little weight but was hard pressed to pass 165 at almost 6 foot tall. This continued for 15 years. I overate, overdrank, underexercised and stayed at about 170 and 6 foot. I was getting out of shape but then we bought a farm to race standbred horses and suddenly all my spare time was spent on chores around the farm. That continued until I was 38. I smoked about 2 packs a day, drank too much but I was in good shape at about 175 and 6 foot.We sold the horses and the farm and moved to Georgia in 1985.
We bought a house in Roswell a suburb of Atlanta and the level of my physical activity just about disappeared. 5 years later I worked a job at strange hours and joined an industrial league for ice hockey. I played regularly and got back into shape. I still smoked about 2 packs but my weight stablized at about 175 and I was about 5 foot 11 by them. Gravity sucks. This continued off and on for about 8 years until another shift in employment brought me to residential contruction.
Working by myself initially, I installed roofing felt for builders to dry in new houses as the roofers were very busy and difficult to schedule. This was a very profitable business and I was overwhelmed with potential business. I worked so hard physically that I got in very good shape. I still smoked 2 packs a day but I was as fit as I ever. My wife joked about my job as I started to hire help; she said I should call it Nassau Fitness - I had a Nassau tan and not much body fat at all, running around roof tops carrying rolls of felt, always at some level of danger due to the roof pitch, and working long hours without real breaks. Hey it was tough but rewarding. She thought I should charge people to work for me, not pay them. This continued until about 2000.
I was too successful. As I expanding into framing and trim work, I spent all my time running from job to job and spent little if any time working with my hands and my back. I smoked at lot, ate fast food and my health started to deteriorate. First my breath went. I couldn't run around the roof tops anymore, I had to take it slow. Second my weight started up, 180, 185. My doctor started to bitch at me about smoking and drinking too much. One day I just stopped drinking alcohol as I usually did, no more drink until a major buzz. I might have the odd beer here and there but nothing like the power drinking of the old days. I still smoked, now only 1 and half packs per day. By 2002, the local construction business was challenging because of the influx of spanish speaking labor. I did not speak Spanish and I was tired of the rat race of dealing with subcontractors and employees. I packed it in and looked to my computer for a new career.
That's great and it has been very rewarding financially but it certainly did not solve my physical health issues: weight gain and smoking. OK, that brings you up to speed as of the Spring of 2005. More later.
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