Mid-October 2009 Health Update

It's been mostly plateaued since last post. I finished pulmonary rehab a couple weeks ago and have already started to fall off the exercise wagon. I really don't have a lot of energy reserves and it's hard to compel myself even though I know intellectually exercise is not just good for me - it's essential. I found a strength training program that I like the concept of and I think will work for me. It's simple and achievable even initially in my rather weakened state. Cardio is another issue. I think I really have to do it every day in order to get myself into a habit, at least for the time being.

I did see some specialists at USC last week with whom I was very impressed; I'm trying to get on board with them for some more testing. They said the first order of business is to figure out why I'm losing weight, fix that issue, and fatten me up. One theory is improper enzyme balance (which has been presented by my infectious disease doctor as well). They also recommended switching brands on the nebulizer medicine to alleviate the bronchospasm side effect.

A good nutritional plan also continues to elude me - I just have trouble really sticking to anything when I don't see conclusive results after several days or a week. Some of my recent research has indicated that maybe my body is in an acidic state and I need more alkalizing foods in my diet. I do know that I've been getting heartburn pretty regularly and my digestion hasn't been so good for about a week. I have been monitoring my weight and haven't lost anything so that's good at least.

My mood in reaction to this progresslessness is kind of split: part of me is frustrated that nothing seems to do much permanently, part of me has accepted that this is the way things are, and part of me admits that I'm not even doing all the right things I am aware of and is determined to change that.