Friday, December 10, 2010
Our winter holidays are a wonderful time of year, with joy in the air, perhaps soft snow falling, people exchanging gifts and gathering with families and friends for holiday cheer... and lots of good food.
Unfortunately, being overweight when you have COPD can make it harder to breathe, not ...
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I was diagnosed with COPD about 18 months ago. I have advanced stage. I am 55 and have quit smoking. I have also gained around 30lbs. I am finding it harder to breathe and feel like I have used all of my will power to quit smoking. I was exercising really good for awhile but now have fallen off the exercise wagon and am sure that has added to my weight gain. I really need some good diet advice and exercise advice. I was able to do the treadmill for 30 min. at 3mph but that is history now. Please help.
Hi Debbie... The key to weight loss (and then maintenance) is combining both healthy eating habits and exercise of any kind. Since you can no longer walk the treadmill at 3MPH, try going slower or for shorter periods. Or even just strolling around the house or yard or even dancing will burn calories. Some people even do chair exercises. The key is to stay as active as you can. If you can only tolerate short periods of activity, that's OK. Just rest and recover and then get active again for 5 to 10 minutes. It all helps.
As far as diet, your best bet is to just make healthy food choices. Here are some tips to get you started.
- Watch your portion size. Most people eat far more than they need to. About 3 ounces of protein and 1/3 to 1/2 cup carbs per meal is usually plenty. Veggies you can eat in larger quantities. Fruit is good, but watch your intake of fruit juice, which often has a lot of sugar. A great way to control portions is to eat only until you no longer feel hungry. Don't keep eating till you feel full... by then, you've already eaten more than you need to.
- Avoid fatty foods. Make substitutions wherever you can, e.g., olive oil spray instead of butter, etc. Trim fat off of proteins that you eat. Things like that.
- Limit your intake of sugars and sugary foods. Avoid snack foods altogether. Munch on carrots or celery when you feel munchy.
- Limit alcohol intake, which can be very fattening and high in calories.
-Use whole grain products instead of white flour, white bread, regular pasta and white rice.
Those are just a few tips to get you started.
Best,
Kathi