Sunday, April 19, 2009

Getting there...

It has been almost 2 weeks since I was diagnosed with pneumonia and I am on my second course of antibiotics. Thank god I'm off the Levaquin and can start working out again.

Today I weighed in at 160.2, but I attribute a lot of my recent weight loss to my illness. I have not worked out regularly in almost two weeks and I miss it. I did get on my stationary bike today for 20 minutes and it was pretty difficult to stick it out that long. Before I got sick, I was on it for 30 minutes at a time.

As for quitting smoking...I have not completely kicked the habit yet but I have cut down dramatically. I'm smoking maybe 1/3 the number of cigarettes that I was previously. The idea is to keep cutting that down until I'm not smoking at all anymore. I can't just quit cold turkey, I've tried and it is a recipe for disaster. I really want to quit smoking...two serious respiratory illnesses in six months is telling me something: smoking is bad for you! I knew that, but I also have asthma and asthmatics ESPECIALLY shouldn't smoke.

I need to be as kind to my lungs as I am trying to be to the rest of my body. The rest of my body has rewarded my efforts with improved energy, stamina, and vigor, plus a reliably healthy blood pressure for the first time in my adult life and the confidence and energy I need to get out there and really enjoy my life. I think my lungs are JEALOUS. That's why they went and got pneumonia. They're trying to tell me something. Finally, I am ready to listen. I am ready to love my lungs.

7 comments:

jo said...

Cheering you on! Sorry you're not up to par yet, but you will be soon. Good job on your 20 minutes!

You need to set an example for me so I can quit, too.

Bragger said...

I hope you continue to recover. Love those lungs!

FatGirl said...

So far I'm doing a LOT better than I was last week. I'm on a different antibiotic (and have only one day left on it) and the heinous side effects of the Levaquin are gone. I need to stay disciplined about cutting down the smoking/smoking as little as I can manage. The patch is helping a LOT! I figure if I can lose almost 100 pounds I can quit smoking too!

Juice said...

Keep it up! You are definitely moving in the right direction. :)

Anonymous said...

I did a "smoke enders" version to quit smoking over 10 years ago.

The premise is that you wean yourself from the habits when you smoke.

So you can't smoke in your car, you can't smoke while talking on the phone, you can't smoke for 30 minutes after you eat - cold turkey is way too hard!

Good luck though!! Hope you are feeling better too! :D

Mariann said...

Just checking in to see how you're doing. You haven't posted in a week and I'm missing you...

I hope you are feeling better and looking forward to seeing you hit your goals!

SeaShore said...

Good luck quitting! It's hard to do, but it's also the best thing you can do for your health. (I quit in 1996 :) You can do it!