smoking with asthma and exercise PLEASE HELP

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  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    My power comes from will power. I feel accomplished when I do more than I give myself credit for. I quit by buying a pack of cigarettes, smoking one, then putting the rest in a drawer and leaving them there. I didn't pick up more when I was out because "it can wait until I get home," and I didn't smoke the ones I had at home because "I'm too powerful, my life is too important, and if I don't I win and I have something to prove to myself." I had the benefit of living with a non-smoker, which helped of course. You and the hubs need to do it as a team, and if one faulters it's not a matter of "well s/he did it so it's okay that I do to," but a matter of "well, s/he did it, so we need to regroup and tackle this again." One mind set sabatoges you both, while the other reinforces your committment to do the thing together. If you're painting a room together and one drips paint the other doesn't say "well s/he did it so I'm going to splatter this *kitten* from one end of the house to the other," you say "Damn, well, let's see how WE can clean up this mess."

    As far as exercise, start the Couch to 5K program and start lifting.
  • mariposa224
    mariposa224 Posts: 1,269 Member
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    Now, I know you are reading this and prolly just gonna reply with "If you have asthma, why are you smoking, you should stop, its bad for you, etc. etc." If that is the case THEN PLEASE DO NOT REPLY. I have made choices in my life and they are mine. I can only fix one thing at a time.

    My question is-

    Is there anyone out there that has been able to lose weight with having limited lung capacity? what type of workouts did you do?

    I just really need ideas. Please help!

    I used to be a smoker. And I still smoke sometimes. I've had asthma my whole life. Walking as much as you can on a regular basis is a very good place to start. It will help. Since April, I've done 3 of Jillian Michaels DVD programs: 30 Day Shred, Ripped in 30 & Kickbox FastFix. I'm now working on her 6 Week 6 Pack. I think the walking that I had been doing for several months prior to starting these workouts helped my lungs immensely.
  • mariposa224
    mariposa224 Posts: 1,269 Member
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    I say carry on smoking but the doctor should no longer prescribe you with asthma medications.

    Are you effing KIDDING me?????? Her doctor shouldn't give her medications that could save her LIFE????? Do you realize that an asthma attack can KILL you?????? Yes, smoking is bad, but who are you to say her doctor shouldn't give her the medication to treat an ACTUAL disease????? SMH
  • Espressocycle
    Espressocycle Posts: 2,245 Member
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    Smoking or not, exercise will increase your lung capacity as your overall fitness improves. Just start slow and work your way up.
  • DawnCargile
    DawnCargile Posts: 15
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    :glasses: I too have limited lung capacity from acute anemia. I walk my treadmill almost daily for 20 to 30 min. at a pace of @ 27mph with a slight incline for the first 15 min if I can take it. I have lost 22lbs althoughbeit slowly but I'm not in a hurry to lose. I think we get too caught up in the rapid weight lose game that we forget that losing is losing no matter how long it takes.
  • dragonc321
    dragonc321 Posts: 33
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    I quit smoking cold turkey 2 weeks ago... Best decision of my life. I started here on MFP before that. I would get winded, tired all the time, lethargic. After a workout I would light up to "catch my breath". Since quitting I have more endurance, stamina, can breathe deeper and easier. As a friend put it to me shortly before my quit date... Why bother starting on a road to a healthier lifestyle if you are still going to put that crap into your body? It is your life and your decisions, you are right. But quit looking for an easy way out and asking a question you already truly know the answer to.
  • ummommyme
    ummommyme Posts: 362 Member
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    for all the people telling me to quit:

    I have two beautiful children, 2 and 7. The day that I found out that I was pregnant with them, I quit smoking, all the way up until I was done breastfeeding them. I don't smoke in my house, or in my car. I change my clothes when i get in the house. They BOTH have asthma. I have tried to quit several other times, but with a husband that smokes and the stress of my life, i have picked the habit up again and again. I will NEVER give up on quitting. My health all around is what is at risk right now, not just from smoking. I am prediabetic, and severly obese. I am cutting down on smoking, but need to get the weight down as well. That was my reason for this post. I KNOW i need to quit. I was looking for some guidance. Walk a mile in my shoes before you type the easy workds on the keyboard. This is a place for people to get support, not for people to send messages to me bashing my choices. My mother in law died from lung cancer. I was by her bed for the month journey from diagnosis to death. I know the risks and if seeing her decline hasn't helped me any, your telling me to quit isn't going to either. Please keep your negativity to yourself.

    You have responded to the people who you feel are criticising... what about your thoughts on the other advice that people have given you?

    I think it's all great. I was just checking out online the ECig, hopeing that maybe I can do as one person suggested and cut down on the junk stick, and then cut it out completely. when my son gets up from his nap, we three are going to walk to the market (which is about a mile from my house) so that way I can get some walking in. (which also saves on gas, which is a plus) I am thinking about just not buying any more. The idea teriifies me, but the others are right to, if I want to make the changes in my life, I can't just talk about it, I have to be about it.
    Good for you girl, go get it and don't look back. The past is behind you and you only have today to worry about, dont worry about tomorrow yet. I quit cold turkey after 6-7 yrs of smoking. I decided and just didn't buy any more. I picked a date and threw away the rest of my pack right before i get in bed the last night-didn't sit there and finish them. Then it has never even been an option to buy or smoke any since. Literally i don't sit there and think oh i could just have one or i can always pick up a pack if things get to rough. Your kids deserve to have at least one parent who doesn't smoke for a good example. Your kids will be so proud of you and so will you. It's like being an alcoholic-one day at a time!! Now get your walk on and enjoy it!!
    wanted to add, my husband smokes and at the time all my friends smoked, i was in pool halls, having fun and everyone else teased me that i couldn't do it because i'd tried before. l think it helped really because it was like saying a big F U to them when i actually quit and they couldn't. Tell me i can't do something and watch me show you how strong i can really be.
  • Asha0714
    Asha0714 Posts: 88
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    for all the people telling me to quit:

    I have two beautiful children, 2 and 7. The day that I found out that I was pregnant with them, I quit smoking, all the way up until I was done breastfeeding them. I don't smoke in my house, or in my car. I change my clothes when i get in the house. They BOTH have asthma. I have tried to quit several other times, but with a husband that smokes and the stress of my life, i have picked the habit up again and again. I will NEVER give up on quitting. My health all around is what is at risk right now, not just from smoking. I am prediabetic, and severly obese. I am cutting down on smoking, but need to get the weight down as well. That was my reason for this post. I KNOW i need to quit. I was looking for some guidance. Walk a mile in my shoes before you type the easy workds on the keyboard. This is a place for people to get support, not for people to send messages to me bashing my choices. My mother in law died from lung cancer. I was by her bed for the month journey from diagnosis to death. I know the risks and if seeing her decline hasn't helped me any, your telling me to quit isn't going to either. Please keep your negativity to yourself.
  • yoovie
    yoovie Posts: 17,121 Member
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    now I need a cigarette.
  • econut2000
    econut2000 Posts: 395 Member
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    I'm not a smoker but I do have asthma and have had it my whole life. I was a runner (as you can see from my profile pic) and even ran a half marathon. I did it by walking - I would walk around the track near my house and then jog a quarter of the track and walk till I caught my breath again. I would continue to do this and increase my speed and the amount I could run until I was up to 3 miles. Running 3 miles on a track is boring so I started running around my neighborhood. My longest run was 17 miles!

    As someone who has had trouble breathing her entire life, I ask why you would want to limit that even further by smoking? I know it's a challenge to quit and we all have our vices, BUT....
  • _725
    _725 Posts: 5
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    Maybe if you can't give up cigarettes entirely, take it on a day-to-day basis and just try not smoking only on your workout days. Then the more often you start to work out, the less you'll be smoking. This way you can do it without feeling like you're "quitting" and your lung capacity will feel at least modestly better on those smoke-free, workout days.
  • allisona28
    allisona28 Posts: 186 Member
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    I say carry on smoking but the doctor should no longer prescribe you with asthma medications.

    Are you effing KIDDING me?????? Her doctor shouldn't give her medications that could save her LIFE????? Do you realize that an asthma attack can KILL you?????? Yes, smoking is bad, but who are you to say her doctor shouldn't give her the medication to treat an ACTUAL disease????? SMH
    This.
  • vtachycardia
    vtachycardia Posts: 374
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    I say carry on smoking but the doctor should no longer prescribe you with asthma medications.

    Are you effing KIDDING me?????? Her doctor shouldn't give her medications that could save her LIFE????? Do you realize that an asthma attack can KILL you?????? Yes, smoking is bad, but who are you to say her doctor shouldn't give her the medication to treat an ACTUAL disease????? SMH

    Asthma plus smoking plus medication that enables you to carry on smoking. I assure you, that if an asthmatic who smoked could no longer have medication to cure the asthma attack then being a smoking asthmatic becomes a thing of the past.

    So I am not effing kidding anyone, in the same way that I could think of numerous drugs that enable people to carry on with an unsustainable lifestyle.

    And as a UK citizen, my taxes go to paying for billions in unworthy medicine, top of the list being sports injuries. So, why should I care about someones medicine if in the long run they are committing a slow suicide. And this opinion is not aimed at the OP, it is EVERYONE.
  • BigGuy47
    BigGuy47 Posts: 1,768 Member
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    I walk my treadmill almost daily for 20 to 30 min. at a pace of @ 27mph with a slight incline for the first 15 min
    I can barely get up to 5mph. How many cals do you burn at 27mph?
  • stormieweather
    stormieweather Posts: 2,550 Member
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    I walk my treadmill almost daily for 20 to 30 min. at a pace of @ 27mph with a slight incline for the first 15 min
    I can barely get up to 5mph. How many cals do you burn at 27mph?

    /smack



    lol.
  • Tony_Brewski
    Tony_Brewski Posts: 1,376 Member
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    Quit smoking.. It'll all get better.
  • 600racer
    600racer Posts: 149 Member
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    My problem is similar but different. I have a problem with chronic fatigue so I can't exert myself in a workout which means I couldn't do cardio or I would burnout. Much like you, I could not get to the point I was breathing heavy for very long. I got my eating right starting with getting an ACCURATE 2000 diet down and started weights. A light work out, one set of 12 one about 6 weight machines which took about 20 to 30 minutes. At first I could only handle once a week but I was able to slowly increase to twice and 3 times a week and 3 sets of 12. My diet goal was/is 45% protein, 45% carb, 10% fat. That was may GOAL. I slowly gained strength but was not loosing weight and made two adjustments to my calories, first to 1800 and then to my present 1700. I'm now at about the weight I feel I might want to stay at so I'll be going to 1800 calories soon and can hopefully stand up to doing some cardio in the near future.

    Slow moderation was my answer with commitment.
  • Nessiechickie
    Nessiechickie Posts: 1,392 Member
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    I'm a smoker too but wish i never started. Some days I feel like "f%&k what anyone has to say about it" and then some days I just want to quit. But I know I can't workout to what I use to be able to do because of my smokers lungs and I don't even smoke a lot (3-5 a day... but as everyone else says one is too many). I would start with walking and build it up. I find when i first go back to working out after not it is hard but once my body and lungs are use to workouts it is easier to breath. Also i find different exercises are hard, biking/elliptical and sometimes stair climber i don't find it hard but running is.
    Good Luck !
  • nickhuffman74
    nickhuffman74 Posts: 198 Member
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    I say carry on smoking but the doctor should no longer prescribe you with asthma medications.

    Are you effing KIDDING me?????? Her doctor shouldn't give her medications that could save her LIFE????? Do you realize that an asthma attack can KILL you?????? Yes, smoking is bad, but who are you to say her doctor shouldn't give her the medication to treat an ACTUAL disease????? SMH



    Asthma plus smoking plus medication that enables you to carry on smoking. I assure you, that if an asthmatic who smoked could no longer have medication to cure the asthma attack then being a smoking asthmatic becomes a thing of the past.

    So I am not effing kidding anyone, in the same way that I could think of numerous drugs that enable people to carry on with an unsustainable lifestyle.

    And as a UK citizen, my taxes go to paying for billions in unworthy medicine, top of the list being sports injuries. So, why should I care about someones medicine if in the long run they are committing a slow suicide. And this opinion is not aimed at the OP, it is EVERYONE.

    ^this for sure! So you have kids who have asthma, you have asthma and you smoke around said kids? JESUS WHAT THE *&$% IS WRONG HERE!? Stop smoking or stop *****ing.
  • Bakkasan
    Bakkasan Posts: 1,027 Member
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    Quit smoking. I know you don't want to hear it, it's not the easy answer, but it is the answer.

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