Hi everyone! Here's a brief explanation of my situation: I'm 24 years old, 5'6", about 125lbs. I know that textbooks say this is a good weight for my height, but I used to weigh 110lbs and this extra 15lbs came on very suddenly and all went to my stomach.. in a very unpleasant looking way lol.
The weight came from a mixture of three things: the medication I've been on for 2 years (a birth-control shot), bad eating habits and I quit smoking 6 weeks ago which puts on a few pounds.
I have a membership at the gym and try to make the most of everything: strength equipment, free weights, cardio machines, classes, etc. I can figure out the diet and all that, but my problem is that I was a heavy smoker (a pack a day) for 12 years. Strength training is not a problem for me, I'm actually pretty strong naturally, it's weight-loss exercises that I have a problem with, but that's what I need to do the most. I want to lose weight but my lungs won't allow me to work hard enough to sweat, jump and run around doing classes or get a good workout from cardio equipment, etc. My doctor has already examined me and said that my lungs WILL improve, I have not done any permanent damage, but it's only been 6 weeks since I quit so it will still be a while before they get better. In the meantime I'm having trouble keeping up in a class or going above a speed of 3.7 on the treadmill.
Does anyone have any workout suggestions that won't cause me to drop dead until my lungs improve? Lol. Any kind of running or jumping seems to be out of the question for now.. but I want to sweat and drop pounds and do whatever else I can do. I'm definitely willing to work very hard, I just don't have the great lungs at the moment
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
The weight came from a mixture of three things: the medication I've been on for 2 years (a birth-control shot), bad eating habits and I quit smoking 6 weeks ago which puts on a few pounds.
I have a membership at the gym and try to make the most of everything: strength equipment, free weights, cardio machines, classes, etc. I can figure out the diet and all that, but my problem is that I was a heavy smoker (a pack a day) for 12 years. Strength training is not a problem for me, I'm actually pretty strong naturally, it's weight-loss exercises that I have a problem with, but that's what I need to do the most. I want to lose weight but my lungs won't allow me to work hard enough to sweat, jump and run around doing classes or get a good workout from cardio equipment, etc. My doctor has already examined me and said that my lungs WILL improve, I have not done any permanent damage, but it's only been 6 weeks since I quit so it will still be a while before they get better. In the meantime I'm having trouble keeping up in a class or going above a speed of 3.7 on the treadmill.
Does anyone have any workout suggestions that won't cause me to drop dead until my lungs improve? Lol. Any kind of running or jumping seems to be out of the question for now.. but I want to sweat and drop pounds and do whatever else I can do. I'm definitely willing to work very hard, I just don't have the great lungs at the moment
Any help will be greatly appreciated!
