The 2011 exercise routine

I started doing the Body-For-Life program again. I actually started it as my 2010 resolution, and I lost 20 pounds doing this program while also participating in a Biggest Loser competition at work. By summer 2010 I was 188 pounds and feeling great.

Yet then I had strabismus surgery and had to quit. Then I had another minor surgery, and had to quit again. So as of today I'm 201 pounds. To be honest that's actually pretty good, especially considering I've been lifting weights on a regular basis the best I can. I didn't want to quit completely because I didn't want to lose every thing I gained.

Of course I should also mention here that I lost those 20 pounds last spring when my wife was pregnant. I had to do that because the time we had a child before that (in 2008) I gained weight with my wife. By the time Helana was born I was up to 210 pounds and was winded all the time mainly due to being out of shape (asthma under good control).

So now my goal this year is to get back into shape and stay there. Repeat: I want to get in shape and stay there. This year I think I can obtain that goal because I see no scheduled vacations in until next summer, and no holidays, and no planned surgeries.

I've been doing the BFL on and off since July of 2001. I actually lost 30 pounds doing this so I looked great for my wedding in 2002. Of course then we went on a cruise and had KK, and I gained it all back and some.

Then I did it again, and got down close to 170 pounds. That's significant, considering my starting weight was 215. Yet we had Helana and most recently Myles in August 2010. Myles didn't cause me to gain weight because I did the BFL while he was in the oven, yet as soon as he popped out it was very stressful around the house, and the weight came back -- although not all of it.

Like I said, I have continued to work out as best I can. In fact, at one point I was down to 188. Yet when you're married with children, your family comes first. Many workouts had to be put on hold.

Yet here I am again at 201 again. This is a roller coaster I plan to end right now. I definitely don't want to get up to 210 where I started. I can tell when I start to gain weight, because I get winded. My asthma starts to get worse.

The goal this time is to get all the way down to 170. I know I can do it. It just takes motivation.
The hardest part is the first two weeks. I know that from experience. Once those two weeks are up it's all down hill from there.

Another thing I'd like to note is I do the BFL completely on my own. I don't use any supplements, and I don't keep track of anything.

I know that's not recommended, yet I suck at record keeping stuff. I like to just eat things that are "relatively" good every 2-3 hours and work out once a day, trying to push to my limits.

I have a very supportive wife who hopefully will do this with me again this time. Either way, she cooks healthy food just for me that fits into the BFL mode quite well (although sometimes we cheat a little).

Likewise, I do not participate in the competition. I should, but I don't.

I also know that if you're 5'8" and 200 pounds you won't have a six pack when you are done. So, to make yourself look like the pics on the main page of BFL and the BFL book, you'll probably have to be under 20% body fat when you start. This means you'll have to do the BFL 12 week program 2-3 times in a row.

I'm realistic: there will be no six pack for me. The goal is to reach a healthy weight and stay their and to have good asthma control.

So my goal this time around is to stick with this WAY past the first 12 week cycle. However, I'm realistic. Having kids and working as a full time RT provides stress. So I'm realistic to the fact that I'll probably get pulled away for a week or two from time to time. They key, though, is to get back in to the routine as soon as you can, and not let the weeks off be a set back.

I also work night shifts once a week. This is a challenge not addressed in the BFL book nor anywhere on this site that I can see. When I work nights I basically eat every 2-3 hours while I'm awake, even if this amounts to more than 6 meals in a day. It works -- trust me.

Look, my asthma was so bad when I was a kid I wasn't even allowed to participate in gym class, and now I run 3-4 miles 3-4 times a week during the summer. This is a result of modern asthma wisdom and modern asthma medicines (Advair and Singulair).

For motivation and support I thought about starting a blog on the BFL website, yet then I decided why bother with that when I already have this space created with friends already attached.

I've noticed that many lung bloggers have a secondary focus on their blogs about some exercise routine they participate in. Mostly it's running or jogging or simply walking.

So here we go. I encourage you to join me -- us.

A kid a cure for asthma

I think a good cure for asthma is to have a baby. I'm serious. Ever since my 4th child was born 5 months ago my asthma has been perfect, and I have rarely used my Ventolin. Interesting hey?

The reason, I think, is because I haven't been able to involve myself in any projects. I haven't been able to finish my remodeling project in the basement. And Lord knows those little projects rummage up the dust.

I suppose another cure for asthma is snow. With snow all the outdoor allergens are covered up. Plus with snow and little kids, you don't get outside much. So even if you have exercise induced asthma (an allergy to the cold of sorts), you don't get out much.

So in that sense, babies and kids and snow are good for asthma. The problem with kids falls more along the lines of mental stimulation. Yes it's true that we parents yearn for an adult to talk with, or a day away -- or something like Calgon to take us away.

This goes along the lines of what I've written about before, that allergy avoidance is key to good asthma control, it's very hard to do. HEPA filters are expensive. Reading dusty books is fun. And nobody else is going to clean YOUR basement.

However, since my little one has been born, my basement hasn't seen the light of my eyes except when I've been working out. The mess down there has gone untouched. And, quite frankly, that is good for my asthma.

It's bad for my mental well being per se, yet very good for my asthma.

So, I suppose I'm implying if you need a good excuse to stay away from your asthma triggers, have a kid.

happy thanksgiving

i think my 7 yo daughter summed up this thanksgiving better than anyone, so i'm going to allow her to write my post today;

She wrote; 'i am happy. i love thanksgiving. even though i had two grandmas die in past week, we are still going to have a lot of people at our house. i love thanksgiving. even if you can't hear, even if you can't see, you can still be thankful. i am happy. i love thanksgiving. i am thankful for my family.'

That's a summary of what she wrote in her diary today, and i had her permission to write that here.

I've had a home nebulizer since 1985

During the course of taking care of many COPD and Asthma patients here at Shoreline Medical today a thought occurred to me: I have never taken care of a patient who'se had nebulizers at home longer than I have.

I took my first breathing treatment probably sometime around 1980 in a hospital up close to here, yet I was given a nebulizer for home use in 1985 after I was released from the Asthma Hospital.

The funny thing is, I still have that old beast. I can't find a picture of it on the web, so I'll have to take a picture of it so you can see. I've had two new ones since then, and both of them have since broke down.

Yet that old 1985 beast is brown with the residue of old Albuterol, Atropine, Alupent and whatever other stuff I inhaled by it over the years. And the handle on top is busted off.

In fact, the thing is so old the filter had to be taken out and now I have to use it without a filter because they no longer make filters to fit it. Yet it still works like a charm. It's loud, perhaps as loud as a deisel truck. Yet it works.

I really don't use it often anymore, because I have a new one that serves that purpose. My classic 1985 beast is stored in the basement where it collects dust. Although I do still use it from time to time. Actually, when I went camping a few years ago I used it to blow up the air mattress. It takes a while, but it's better than mouthing it.

I have a new nebulzier, yet I don't even use that very often. Yet I do still have a nebulizer at home, and way longer than any of my COPD and asthmatic friends, coworkers and patients. I ask all the time.

I have patients I take care of that are 80 and 90 years old. Yet while they may have me whipped in the age department, and wisdom department, they don't come even close in the nebulizer department. I win hands down.

Other than my asthmatic friends from National Jewish back in the 1980s (perhaps they no need or even have their old nebulizer friend) the only person I can think of who might have had a nebulizer at home longer than me is Breathin Stephen. I don't remember if I ever asked him.

So if you think you've had nebs longer than your humble RT, feel free to let me know in the comments below and I'll give you credit.

Asthma history: 1981 (asthma and exercise)

So we know now that exercise is good for asthma. In fact, we knew it way back in the 19th century. The problem with exercise and asthma is it's hard to do when you are having asthma trouble, and if you have exercise induced asthma (which 75% of asthmatics do), that's an extra incentive NOT to exercise.

Yet asthma should not be avoided. This we knew way back in 1981, and was part of a lecture we received asthma patients at national Jewish Health back in 1985:

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I. Exercise -- Should not be avoided, even if there is an exercise component

1. Use pretreat when necessary.

A. Why is it important?

1. Improved strength in musculature increases the body's ability to fight off attacks -- particularly in muscles associated with breathing
2. Child will have a healthier appetite and sleep better if he/she is exercising regularly
3. Aids in weight control
4. Can possibly effectively increase lung capacity

B. What kind of exercises?

1. Any exercise is beneficial, providing you know your limits, attend to your early signs of distress, and take pretreats if prescribed
2. Swimming is particularly excellent because it exercises most muscles and teaches breathing control

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Now we would add that the more you exercise, the more tolerant you become to exercise. The more you exercise, the less fatigued you will get, and the less dyspnea you will experience with normal movement.

Exercise is good all the way around. I think in my Asthma Central Shareposts I write about this more often than any other subject regarding asthma, because I find it to be so true. The more I exercise, the better my asthma becomes.

Yet when I go months without exercise, when my life becomes sedentary, I find I get dyspneic even while sitting. I think this is worse for asthmatics than those who do not have asthma. Exercise! Do it! I wrote about this in more detail here.

Asthma history: 1981 (stomach)

I will get to this in more detail in a later post, but the asthma experts of the 19th century noticed that asthma was often worse after eating large meals. Therefore one of the leading asthma remedies was epicac, which induced vomiting.

Yes it is true eating large meals may cause asthma. Even back in 1981, as noted in my handout, "Learning about asthma," I was given upon my NJH visit in 1985. The following was the wisdom provided about nutrition. Of course prior to this was the lecture about exercise, and much of the wisdom is the same as is taught today.

Anyway, here it is:

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II. Nutrition

A. Importance of eating three well-ballanced meals for all people

B. Breakfast should not be skipped -- may be most important meal for all children, especially if child takes morning medications. (helps to coat stomach so meds won't irritate stomach lining)

C. Be aware of food allergies and learn to avoid contact with food allergens. (Sometimes allergic foods are hidden in food recipes, so know what goes into what you eat. For example, many cookies and cakes can contain things like peanut derivitives or peanus oil no readily obvious -- ALWAYS ASK!

D. Avoid becomeing overweight*

1. Carrying extra weight is an extra burned for all organs, especially lungs and heart. Asthma meds like adrenalin already put a strain on the heart.
2. Overeating can make breathing mroe difficult due to stomach pressure on diaphragm. Should be avoided.

History of asthma: 1981 (alcohol and asthma)

I recently wrote a post on the effects of alcohol and asthma as you can see here. I spent hours trying to find proof that alcohol dries out the lungs and has mold in it, when all I had to do was look in the handout I was given when I was a patient of National Jewish way back in 1985.

In the pamphlet I was given titled, "Learning about asthma," the following was written about asthmatics drinking alcohol. I think this was emphasized in the book because in the 19th century asthma was believed to be physiological (all in your head), and alcohol was sometimes recommended to calm the mind and soothe the effects.

Yet while recent studies do show alcohol has some bronchodilating effects, I would imagine the negative consequences of drinking it negate any good results.

So I know some of my teenage friends at National Jewish did some drinking on the side, and this was a warning to them. So since alcohol was perceived to be an issue with teenagers, and many of us were, this was a warning to us:

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C. Alcohol -- becoming the biggest problem with teenagers in the U.S.
1. A habit-forming drug which can cause severe damage to all bodily functions when used in excess, especially stomach, liver and brain cells. In a 14-year-old, cirrhosis of the liver can occur in 20 months of excessive alcohol consumption.
2. Problems for asthmatics

• a. interaction with asthma medications can cause serious problems
• alcohol is made from molds and can cause allergic reaction to those with mold allergies
• dehydration, leading to thickening of mucus in the bronchial tubes, causing more difficulty getting the mucus out
• depresses bodies ability to cough out mucus and fight off attacks

3. Cause many social problems

• 3 million alcoholics between 10 and 19 years old
• 1/2 of all automobile deaths
• 1/2 of all murders
• 1/4 of all suicides
• also child abuse, crime, job absenteeism, shoddy workmanship, job loss are all traced in large part to alcohol abuse

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So you can see that the negative consequences of alcohol on asthma were known way back in 1985. Yet in 1988 when I started college and was pressured into my first few drinks, I had completely forgotten what I had learned just a few years earlier.

Yes, I have noticed that when I do drink my asthma is worse the next day. Coincidence? I think not. Anything in moderation is a good thing. Anything abused, especially alcohol, can lead to poor asthma control for us asthmatics.