First off, thanks to all for your oh so amazing suggestions re: exercising. I did indeed incorporate ALL of them into the assignment I gave to the Almighty T this afternoon, and here's what we came up with:
Running: completely banned. So, no jogging outside or on the treadmill. For cardio, I am welcome to use the elliptical machine or the exercise bike. I am only allowed a max of 30 minutes of cardio, and an hour of exercise total - so I am going to do 30 minutes of cardio (soooo important to build up my lungs!) and then do 30 minutes of toning/weight training.
I'm also going to be going to the gym with the Big Bster so that should help me from getting too weird or OCD and from pushing myself too hard.
I also cannot exercise 2 days in a row - has to be at least every other day.
I'm also going to try some classes at the gym...there are some that have been banned for me, like kick boxing and their "boot camp" class, but I am going to do yoga and pilates and their class that does intervals of weight lifting and cardio. The classes banned from me are not for ED reasons, but for strictly asthma/lung reasons...
So...I'm all ready to go I'm thinkin', you know, I'm feelin' good about eating extra food to compensate for energy expended, and I'm feeling good about the plan that I came up with to make exercise enjoyable and as non-ED as possible...
but
and there's a big BUT
I still can't exercise. Yet.
SIGH.
Because I went and saw my allergist today, and even at a healthy weight, my lungs are only functioning at 60% (read: that's BAD.) So I can't exercise until I get medical clearance from both my allergist and my GP ED doc, and I have to get them saying I can exercise in writing, give that to my T, before she'll be okay with me exercising. So annoying, and I really want to write more about this - about my visit with the el allergisto today and how it went, etc, because I'm kinda freakin' and I could use some love from you guys.
Just...
Sad to know I've permanently damaged my lungs. Sad that even after gaining xx lbs, my lungs still don't function that well. Sad to know that my quality of life will never be as good as it could be.
Oh well.
Tha's life, right? We take what comes and we learn to live with it and move on.
But
Thanks again to ALL for helping me out with your exercise suggestions...I'm excited to start exercising again (provided I get the okay from my medical peeps who don't think I'll keel over and DIE while sweatin' it out...)
Love you.
Thursday, September 9, 2010
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11 comments:
I'm REALLY glad you're taking such a smart and healthy approach to making this plan out, instead of just throwing yourself back into the gym to let old habits creep back in. Major score!
Really sorry to hear about your lungs though. This is all none of my business or anyone elses, but do you have any meds that are supposed to be helping that? Does anyone in your family have lung issues, so you could have been predisposed to it and so it suffered extra when your health was bad? Sorry, you know the scientist in me is a compulsive questioner. What is the air quality like in SLC?
Anyway, I think just being conscientious enough to make out a plan like this is a huge step and something to be proud of, will be pulling for those lungs of yours to build themselves back up. Hugs.
This is amazing Brie! I am so happy that you totally got into the muck + wrote this. I am soo glad you are to a point in therapy + treatment that you are all in. I am so excited to read about all of your progress!
It pains me to read about your lungs - but I totally am in the same boat with the body destroyed by ED. My GI system is in not so hot of shape either.... Praying for you!
Mucho hugs + loves.
Your exercise plan inspires me to take better care of myself. As far as the lungs go, asthma damage is a real bummer. But, by limiting triggers (allergens, etc) and slowly building up your exercise tolerance with your MD's clearance, you can improve it. Happy to talk more about it if you want. Otherwise, keep hanging in there. You're doin' great!
Poor little lungs. I'm so sorry you have to suffer with that. But remember that you will be cleared one day and then you'll be read for it.
<3
I like the sound of the plan [going with the husband, every other day, etc] it sounds like a faiiiirly safe way to not become to obsessive about exercise [which I hope you are able to avoid--what a miserable feeling it is when exercise loses it's enjoyment because you feel you HAVE to do it and that you can't stop until so many miles and so many calories have been expended]. I hope you can do it with enjoyment and freedom and get those little lungs functioning a bit better!
On that note, as frustrating as it sounds, I do think it's good that your T wants you to be cleared by 'the man' before you can approach the gym. I care about you and your health and I wouldnt want something bad to happen to you! [My opinion really counts, you know ;) ]
Best if luck in getting cleared! Three cheers for yoga!
Don't feel bad! You'll get there soon! I do yoga now 1 or 2 times a week and I feel great. I still can't do any cardio because I've damaged my knees so much from running etc that I'm still having trouble walking... You're attitude is so inspiring though. Keep it up!
I'm so glad that you're making awesome choices and doing so well Brie! Bummer that you can't go ahead with the exercise right away but you will soon! You're awesome Brie and you can do anything you want! :)
{HUGS}
hey all, thanks for the comments!
cammy, to answer your questions:
yes, i am on TONS of meds for my lungs, and the problem too is that i'm on maximum doses for these meds, so even when my lungs are bad (like now, they're only functioning at 60%) i can't be raised on the meds to help because it isn't safe to take higher doses than i already am.
and no, no one in my family has lung issues like i do. just a combination of poor health and anorexia and bad luck, i guess...
oh - and the air quality in utah is AWFUL - especially in the winter with the inversion, they often warn people with asthma and bad lungs to stay in the house on certain days because of how awful the air is...it's no bueno for my lungs...
sigh.
love you!
Just found your blog and I wanted to say it's amazing. Thank you for your honesty and openness. I'm sure you are helping more people than you know to fight their ED.
-Jade
For me it was helpful to take up exercises I hadn't used during my ED, so I didn't have like a physical memory of doing them in an unhealthy way. It was also made exercise a sorta new/fun thing rather than doing something rote that felt like a watered down version of my fave [and most destructive] exercise [running].
So I learned how to swim, which was easier on my body than running & ultimately really good for my asthma. And surprisingly good for my confidence too [if you're familiar with DBT... there's one skill called 'building mastery' that's basically about letting yourself become confident for learning something well]. My lungs have gotten a lot better since I stopped using certain behaviors, and my docs have said swimming may have helped me rebuild lung capacity too.
I also have done better when I exercise with others-- but you have to be careful to exercise with *healthy* others, and it's surprising to me how unhealthy a lot of my coworkers/classmates were w/r/t exercise.
For me it was helpful to take up exercises I hadn't used during my ED, so I didn't have like a physical memory of doing them in an unhealthy way. It was also made exercise a sorta new/fun thing rather than doing something rote that felt like a watered down version of my fave [and most destructive] exercise [running].
So I learned how to swim, which was easier on my body than running & ultimately really good for my asthma. And surprisingly good for my confidence too [if you're familiar with DBT... there's one skill called 'building mastery' that's basically about letting yourself become confident for learning something well]. My lungs have gotten a lot better since I stopped using certain behaviors, and my docs have said swimming may have helped me rebuild lung capacity too.
I also have done better when I exercise with others-- but you have to be careful to exercise with *healthy* others, and it's surprising to me how unhealthy a lot of my coworkers/classmates were w/r/t exercise.
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