I would like some input about my situation

Nikilet

I'm 66 years old. I have COPD and I am on oxygen 24/7. I have been pretty inactive for a while, but I am trying to change that. I was a heavy smoker from age 15, and after the COPD diagnosis I stopped smoking. I was 140 lbs. at that time. When I started dieting the end of March of 2013, I weighed 188.9 lbs. I have kept myself pretty strictly to my diet for over a year and at this time I am still weighing 162 lbs. Based on my eating habits and my faithfulness to the diet, I should easily have reached my goal of 140 a long time ago. Now I'm starting to get discouraged and depressed. I need some help, some encouragement ... something.

In my situation, I've been told by the COPD information I receive on a regular basis that a person with COPD will use twice as much energy doing a particular thing as someone who does not have it. I've been trying to do my own housekeeping, and it's a lot of work because I'm a bit of a fanatic about having a clean house.

In addition, daily I try do 30 minutes at from 2.0 to 2.4 mph on my treadmill. That might not sound like much to many who will read this but it's a real workout for me that leaves me sweating. I can't do the whole 30 minutes without stopping, but when I get too winded I stop and rest for a minute or less and then go again, until my time reaches 30 minutes. It's very seldom that I miss a day.

A couple of weeks ago I purchased one of those gym chairs outfitted with resistance bands for both legs and chest/arms. I knew that I needed something to tone up and build some muscle on top because people with COPD depend a lot on chest muscle for their breathing. I am well pleased with this chair I have been doing 60 minutes a day on it. I do each exercise to the very best of my ability.

My daily calorie intake is usually below 1200.

When I started with the chair I had broken a barrier and finally hit the 160-lb. mark. Now I am weighing in at 162. I don't see any way I could be gaining weight. Is there a possibility that this increase could be that I have attained some muscle mass from doing the resistance training on the chair? I've been doing the 60 minutes a day for about 2-1/2 weeks now.

I'm sorry this is so long but I would so appreciate some help and wanted whoever responds to understand what my situation is.

Thank you.

Jaxsonjess

I am no ways an expert but when I started working out I gained a bit, water retention from muscles being used they hold on to anything they can get. I once was told something about when you start to work out more your fat holds onto water too and then in like 3-4 weeks time it releases water. I think your body is just getting used to doing something more and it freaking out a bit. Just keep doing it. We always get focused on the numbers, but with your situation and alot of other peoples being healthy is the main goal and by doing your weights you are getting stronger and will be able to do more in the long run.

WBB55

If you're eating 1200 calories per day, you haven't gained any fat. You're retaining water. Your body needs this water to repair the muscles you're using. Congratulations on taking charge of your health.