That’s another thing .. my copd prevents me from exercising .. some days it’s an effort to walk downstairs never mind try getting back up!.. when I don’t have a copd flare up I do try to keep as active as my disease allows.. then my consultant constantly harps on about loosing weight.. how the hell can I loose weight? I don’t drink or smoke so the only thing I have and look forward to is bloody food! I can’t win..
Weight gain.. : That’s another thing... - Lung Conditions C...
Weight gain..
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Candyred
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55 Replies
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Hello Candyred .
You aren't alone. Many people (not just us with lung issues) have a very hard time losing weight. It is literally so hard to excercise and being so tired all the time does not help. I understand.
I suppose your doctor's concerns would be the risk of developing other diseases on top of COPD like diabetes or heart disease. Extra weight also makes it so much harder to breathe. I am wondering if you've been to respiratory therapy yet? A therapist would be able to offer advice about exercise and possibly set up a plan, starting off very slowly and gently and gradually increasing it? I do understand about food. Since I stopped work, what I'm having for lunch has become the highlight of my day. 😐 I just put in as many greens and fruit as I can. And try to stay away from sugar.
it is hard. But with some encouragement and support you may surprise yourself. Have a good weekend. 😊🐚⛵
Cas xx 🙋🐕
Weight gain seems to happen so easily and weight loss is so difficult! I too need to lose weight but just don't seem to be losing any at all, though I'm very fortunate in that I'm active although I don't exercise as such. But I really look forward to my food (although lately I've been feeling nauseous alot which is horrible but I have actually lost some weight. I don't recommend this method though! I've even been off chocolate!!) and meals often are the highlight of my day and something to look forward to. Losing weight really is hard and some people just don't seem able to understand that. A health worker ought to understand that though and be more sympathetic and helpful, not just tell you to lose weight. I don't have any useful suggestions unfortunately, I could use some myself too!
I could have written that post, I am v lucky as I am able to walk a lot, although the hills are a pain. Food is my big vice. Like you I don’t smoke or drink, but love my food. Having been taught to appreciate food by eating everything on my plate, have decided the only way forward is to use saucers. 🤣🤣
Made me smile, don't use saucers but have some plates which used to be used in times gone by for none main courses, they are bigger than Tplates, smaller than dinner plates but on the same idea you suggested with saucers 
reducing plate size . has a physcological effect but not sure it works on the appetite, might push you to snacking later.
Hi Candy,
Do you find the steroids make you put on weight? I could eat the house when on them, the trouble is i need them when i get bad. I get bad quite a lot these days. I totally sympathise with you , i get it totally, i hope things improve for you.
Sheila1kerry
Yes they did with me the consultant looked at changing my meds by reducing steroid tablets and it seems to be helping so far.
Hi Lizzric, did he change the steroids or just reduced the dose? I wish there was another med instead that did the same job.
Sheila1kerry
He reduced the amount I was tskong
Hi sheila1kerry yes I could eat the entire kitchen even the stuff I don’t like! Past 4 years I have been on steroids constantly, my weight gain has been around 2 stones taking me to 15stone. Just can’t win.. and I find it extremely hard to loose weight when I don’t take the steroids. Thanks for the reply xx
I too have been on them way too many times. The other side effects are getting bad. My skin is thin and dry, it feels disgusting. I have bottles and bottles of body moisturisers but no breath to put them on. When i get out of the shower i am usually in trouble so have to pass on skin lotions.
I am starting a juice diet on Monday/ Tuesday next week. I will be posting to let you all know how well it works.
Have a lovely weekend anyway.
“ Tomorrow is another day “
My name is Sheila ( kerryvis my lovely dog)
Huge hugs.
Aww Sheila my skin is a bloody mess to and like you when I come out the shower I am done in .. mind you I’m done in, in the shower to!
Yes please let me know how you get on with the juice diet I’m intrigued. I’m Rosie very pleased to meet you and thanks for the reply xx
Hi Rosie, happy to meet you as well. We sound very similar, our situations must be almost the same. I will message you once i start juicing. Xxx
Love them Hate Them, we are all the same with Steroids (maybe some not). They keep our Condition under control, But OMG, We can eat for England with them. I truly believe you must Push yourself to be active , Yes , after being 50 kilos my whole life, First the COPD , Then Steroids, then Food......3 years on after the creeping weight gain, Now 68 Kilos. I am having to keep the weight in Order for my potential Double Lung Transplant. Be Strong, Be Positive, and as Sukee52 says "saucers", I do Portion Control on a very small plate, I can still maintain my Exercise Schedule and if you look at my previous Post you can see.. Above all, remember we have an Illness that is cruel, we have to try and live with it with control, and above all, Be Happy. Good Luck Hun. .. Carolina XXXX
Hi Carolina, i am happy that you are getting a transplant, very rare news on here. Yes it is a cruel condition, a constant battle, a daily even hourly battle. Still we are warriors, we are strong, we have to be stronger than COPD.
Keep up the good fight Carolina. ❤️
Thank you Sheila, Yes, we have to be strong and Positive. I have been n the Transplant List for 2 years, so I continue to Exercise and To be ready for when I get That call. Lots of Love to You Hun. XXXX
Yes stay positive, you have a lot to look forward to. Just think when it is done it will be like a second life. Xxxx
Major on fruit and veg; have healthy portion sizes of meat (deck of cards size) & fish (cheque book size), or use lentils and beans instead; avoid fried foods and processed foods and sticky sauces; have small portion of starchy foods like bread, potatoes, pasta and rice; keep treat foods like chocolate, cake and biscuits down to one of one a day or less.
I had been struggling to reduce my weight on doctor's orders to lower resistant high blood pressure; but finally managed to drop from 70.5 kg when I got back from Spain at the end of May, to 63.8 kg yesterday. Bear in mind that water retention may sometimes upset your best intentions - I had a micro-meal yesterday and today my weight has shot up to 64.4 kg due to water retention through higher salt intake.
Like Hacienda, I'm a firm believer in exercising whether I want to or not. Even dancing to music while sitting in a chair is exercise, and anyone can do that. Someone on this site gave us all the warning 3 years ago not to commit suicide by sofa, which was a wake-up call to me.
Brilliant reply. You are so sensible, why oh why can i not be sensible. The dilemma for me, like many others on here, you move around too much, you are in trouble with breathing. Stay still too much, trouble with weight, depression, muscles getting wasted. Like most things, trying to find a happy medium.
Love and hugs to all .❤️ Xxxx
Totally agree!
I put on weight with me it was medication consultant said not to put on any more weight. I can't get up the stairs so had a chairlift put in. Managed to get one refurbished so not to expensive. I do walk around in the house do lifts with a small weight on my ankles lift my feet up and down . Did they arrange for you to classes for exercise and advice. They were helpful. The only problem I have except for copd lol.is arthritis in both wrists so certain exercises couldn't do but the physiotherapist wouldn't listen and caused me problems but she kept pushing me to use my hands I was so upset I wouldn't go back. But kept up exercise at home and maybe eat more fruit and smaller portions might help you.
At home I try to keep as active as I possibly can.. some days are better than others as you will know .. x
I went to Pulmonary Rehab and wound up in hospital the next day!!! My own stupid fault as i obviously overdid it. The doctor said it might have happened anyway, though i disagree as that is the only timeci have been in hospital as an emergency since being diagnosed.
Sheila1kerry
Steroids are terrible for causing weight gain. Until a while ago I somehow hadn't realised they cause increased appetite, I thought they were causing me to balloon. I don't know how I thought that. Maybe I subconsciously didn't want to see. Portion control is definitely the best way but I really struggle with that even though I know it. I start off with a sensible portion but then still feel hungry even though I can't be and have another plate of food. Whatever's causing my nausea recently though is also causing lack of appetite like the opposite effect of steroids.
Yes, I felt hungry when I was losing weight, but I just remembered all the people who have to use food banks and the people in countries where the harvest has failed and the refugees dependent on food parcels, said prayers for them and realised that I didn't have to eat that extra food.
You're totally right and I do try to tell myself every time I think I feel hungry that in fact I have no idea what hunger is. I know I'm incredibly fortunate and blessed, and when things get me down I remind myself how lucky I actually am.
You are so obviously a really good person, sadly i have a little devil on one shoulder and sometimes i listen to him instead of my little angel. ❤️
I just realized you mean this for me. Thanks for thinking it! But I'm not particularly a good person, I just try to be the best I can. Not that I always succeed.
At least you try .. and hey maybe one day you will succeed!..
My twin Candy red just wrote exactly what i was going to say. SPOOKY STUFF ❤️
I have a twin/ soul sister
I think i am starving ALL the time on steroids. Just feel empty, i think they make you retain water as well so you blow up. I feel huge, i was always tiny and i feel so strange, so large i had to buy a new wardrobe as nothing was fitting me. You are not alone, we are all in the same boat.
Love and hugs, stay strong. ❤️
Hi Sheila, when I started to increase in Size, I sorted all my Small Clothes and took them to the Charity Shop. Ever Since I have bought some lovely Clothes from the Charity Shops, some being brand new. I do however love the F&F (best Fitting)Clothes in Tesco, and George at Asda, They are my Nearest Big Shops and the Prices are very Reasonable. A lot of friends Boo hoo the charity shops NOW, they go there also. Just saying xxxx
I used to work in the fashion industry so i know what a con it is. You would not believe how little the poor factory gets, then you see what the shops charge, the prices are ridiculous but they get away with it. Good for you buying from charity shops at least you are helping others in the process. Xxx
Hi yes I can also relate to that .. thank you
Hi Candyred
I think it's good to be a little overweight if you have have COPD as a lot of people with it lose a lot and become seriously underweight and that's a problem too. If you are seriously overweight I'd recommend substituting one or two meals a day with shakes. I lost a lot of weight last year doing it for a few months. They helped me to regain control of my appetite. I did a shake for breakfast and lunch, snacked on fruit and that allowed me to eat anything I liked for for dinner without having to think about calories etc so could eat the same as my family. The weight came off easily and I felt so much better it spurred me on to keep going.
I also bought a cheap second hand exercise bike and used that as my physio daughter said it was good to keep the leg muscles strong as I have knee joint problems and strong legs helps going up and down stairs. I also go swimming when I can.
I've managed to keep most of the weight off and if I put on a few pounds I use the shakes again for a couple of days.
I feel so much better and have more energy.
Might be worth a try.
Whatever you decide to do I wish you luck and better health
Best wishes
Corin
Thanks Corin tell me what shakes you use and I’ll look into it .. x
Thank you for being so blunt. I feel very much like you that the only basic pleasure I have left is food. I have other reasons for not being able to exercise besides COPD limitations, and like you feel they harp on too much about text book weights for text book heights. I was advised to eat lesser amounts on the plate, which reduced my weight by 2kilo or halve a stone, cannot crash diet as I have Gout which flares up if you crash diet. Exasperation what can we do?? Oh I can only do light exercise due to osteo arthritis ,gout & COPD But I do my best to keep fit and away from hospital, but fail miserably on weight loss, so don't beat yourself up just keep trying. Good luck
Thank you Katieoxo60 .. day by day I take my life each day as it comes now .. and thank you for sharing xx
Me too, sometimes hour by hour, or minute to minute. It is so changeable, one minute i don’t feel too bad, then there i am ~ on the floor gasping for breath.
Weight gain seems to be something that affects a lot of people. Clearly I felt better and breathed easier when I weighed less but losing the weight just isn't simple. I can't understand how a health worker can't see that. If it was that simple to lose weight or eat less most people would do that. To make you feel bad about your weight, or insinuate that it's your "fault" is pretty unsympathetic and shows a lack of understanding. Doubtless in their medical opinion losing weight will improve your health, but it's not going to just happen just by telling you.
I buy jawbreakers (the big hard sweets) so at least I can't eat anything else while I've got one of those in my mouth! (I always worry I'm going to choke on it though!)
I feel your pain. I have mild emphysema, but am also down to 3 lung lobes (lost 2 of them over the last 5 years to lung cancer). Over the last 10 years I have gained about 40 lbs, and can't seem to lose it. For the most part I eat healthy, toast for breakfast (when I actually eat breakfast), usually some fruit for lunch, a small dinner, which usually consists of very little meat, very little carbs, mostly vegetables, I can't eat a lot in one sitting anyway. I can't do the weight loss shakes because they contain milk and I am lactose intolerant. But a few hours after dinner...I am hungry so I usually have my one indulgence, a bowl of lactose free vanilla ice cream (not a scoop...a bowl) with chocolate drizzled on it.
I don't smoke, don't drink, but I do have an ice cream monkey on my back.
I know I need to be more active, but I can't walk to the end of my driveway and back without having difficulty (even with the supplemental oxygen). I live in farm country and have a fairly long driveway, but damn. Before I started having all my medical issues (about 10 years ago), I walked during lunch at work 5 days a week, after that I was a real estate agent for 4 years, constantly on the go. I don't know how much weight I lost, but I was down to a size 12. I had never in my life been a size 12, (I have struggled with my weight all my life).
I have an exercise bike, but am physically unable to use it. You can't adjust the tension on it, so it is a struggle for me just to turn the petals.
Maybe the next time your consultant harps on you to lose weight, you should look him/her right in the eyes and say something like; if you can suggest something I haven't already tried, just maybe I will try it.
Some of these "medical professionals" need to learn compassion and empathy.
I agree! And you know what I will look him straight in the eye and say that .. thank you for your reply .. hope your ok today xx
Maybe you will be able to teach him to have some empathy. Maybe make things a little better for his other patients.
Hi, I ensure I fast for at least 12 hours every night and only buy healthy lovely veg, apples, pears, nuts for snacks and chicken or fish for main meal. If there was a pack of biscuits in the house I'd eat the whole pack, no willpower whatsoever sadly. Plain yoghurt, seeds, very low sugar granola, ground flaxseed and 2 tbsp I'd oat bran at breakfast/brunch. There are loads of chair exercises on YouTube, start small and build up - even one minute per hour is better than nothing. X
There was a girl at work who was very overweight and was told to lose a lot of weight to get an ivf. She bought one of these frozen or microwave meal diets, not sure which one. She was at the other site so i only saw her every few weeks. Every time i saw her i could see a difference. One week i said Holly you've got a neck. She stuck to the diet strictly, lost 8st, had her ivf and got pregnant. She was determined to lose weight and did.
I hear what your saying I really do .. I stopped smoking as I was determined .. I stopped drinking as I was determined however I feel different about eating. Eating is my get out of jail free card it’s all I have right now .. thank is for the reply ..
I have medical weed it makes my evenings a bit better and moods .. Do you have hobbies I paint ..
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