A personal response...was....Lean Muscle

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Peggy, Perhaps that is part of what I mean when I say I have 'won my war'. Although I have PF badly enough to fear a common cold and the flu, I have very few of the typical symptoms that plagued me in the ftwo years of my illness. I now love my life again and hope I live many more years precisely because I now understand how to control it instead of letting it control me. I can finally see that PF may actually have been a blessing as it forced me to see my life from a whole new perspective. Every once in a while, I face a situation in which I am reminded that my lungs handicap me. However, those days are fewer and further between! It took many battles, much study and research and much personal experimentation to get where I am. It was not an easy or smooth journey. However, once I was able to understand and overcome respiratory acidosis, the most frustrating symptoms

began to decline. That is why I am trying to share with others. My husband has uncontolled glaucoma. I would rather have PF than his disease! I am sorry if my post are long. Perhaps, if they are a problem for most in the group, those who are interested can post me privately. There simply is no way to give this information (in a manner that can benefit others) in short bursts. I did not return to the group to find support but to share. Again, I am sorry if this is too difficult for some of you. It was not my intent to add to your burdens. Peggy wrote: Hi Sandi, It wasn't just the raw meat part for me. I could not concentrate long enough to get through the post.. and Bruce. You guys do know about the lack of concentration that we get with this monster... shorten up a bit.maybe you don't.Love and Prayers, Peggyipf 6/04 Florida"Worry looks around,Sorry looks back,Faith looks up."I was going to say the same thing I cant eat raw meat at all and iwas wondering did I read that correctly.Sandie> >> > When I was in rehab, the emphasis was on aerobic-type exercise(eg> treadmill). When I questioned as to why this> was so important (as I> could do it for 30 minutes but then went home and collapsed!), she> stated that it was to burn fat so that I could have a better Lean> Muscle:Body Fat ratio. The more LM I had, the more efficiently my> body could burn 02.> >> > I did not have a problem with the concept. However, over these

4> past years, I have come to realize that the reality is skewed. One> does NOT burn fat as a result of aerobic exercise UNLESS one'sblood> sugar is in the fat-burning zone (70-95) and, even then, only ifone> has sufficient LM to burn the fat! If the BG is higher than 95, you> are in the glycogen-burning zone and your body will break down itsLM> to get the needed glycogens to burn during the exercise! This meant> that aerobic exericse was counterproductive. (Now, keep in mind,that> cardio exercise is about circulating the blood while aerobicexericse> stresses the heart and lungs. True cardio...done in the> fat-burning> zone...does not breakdown LM). Since LM is the primary burner of> fat, unless you have a lot of surplus LM, aerobic exercise is> actually counter-productive.> >> > As I got more knowledge, I contacted the local pulmonary

rehab> people in my new location and asked why they did not focus on> teaching people with lung disease how to INCREASE Lean Muscle (to> burn the fat) instead of focusing on aerobic exercise which would> break down what litle LM they had? The only answer I was given was> that they were trying to improve the LM:BF ratio by burning thefat!> In other words, without even knowing if the client was in the fat-> burning zone, they were having the person do aerobic exercise toburn> fat! However, by using this method, you are only decreasing your> LM. The weight lost is not body fat but LM. Are any of you having> your body fat tested regularly or doing it yourself with calipers?> The idea of> increasing LM and monitoring BF% was a novel idea to the> rehab people. In fact, the woman I spoke with was intrigued withthe> fact that, when I finally stopped focusing on trying to

do aerobic> exericse (even at only 2 miles per hour) and> > began focusing on increasing LM, I finally began to notice> continued improvement in my energy level. (I dramatically inprovedmy> LM:BF ratio ....increasing my LBM by 30# and decreasing BF by 16%in> 18 months!) It was only AFTER I increased my LM that I noticed the> dramatic improvement in my energy that allowed me to seem normal to> others (even though my 02 diffusion and lung volume had not> changed!)> >> > Why? Fat-burning does not result in a C02 residue while glycogen-> burning does!> >> > I am not talking about getting muscle-bound. I used hand weights> and some DVD programs that did not involve aerobics> (www.joycevedral. com). I also went to body-building> websites and> asked many questions. It was on one of these websties> (www.jayrobb. com) that I learned

about the fat-burning zone and> decided to purchase a blood glucose meter. (BTW....every body-builder> I contacted over the internet was more than willing to respondanswer> my questions.)> >> > When I exercise in the fat-burning zone, I do not experience the> exhaustion/tirednes s that follows exercise done in the glycogen-> burning zone (95+ Blood Glucose). The reason is simple; Fat-> burning does not increase C02 in the blood! Glycogen-burning does> increase C02 in the blood. That C02 has to get out of my blood via> my lungs....which is where the crux of the problem lies! People who> do not have lung disease can hyper-ventilate to get rid of theexcess> C02 generated by aerobic exercise (done in the glycogen-burningzone)> but those of us with lung disease will have much more difficulty> removing it! The> unremoved C02 decreases our energy!>

>> > How does one lose weight without aerobic exercise? I discovered> that the champion body-builders only use aerobic exercise to getbody> fat % below 10% (abnormally low) by doing very high intensity> exercise which takes their HR to 85% of Maximum. This generatesLOTS> OF C02! They refuse to do the kind of 'aerobic' exercise we are> taught in rehab because, they have discovered, it takes too much> time, burns only minimal fat, and risks breaking down LM!!!! Until> the last 6 weeks prior to a major competition, they use diet (tokeep> them in the fat-burning zone) and lean muscle (to burn the fatduring> daily activities)! They use diet to get them into the fat-burning> zone (70-95 blood glucose) as, in this zone, the body is NATURALLY> oxygenated at it best. As long as they have LM and stay in this> zone, the body NATURALLY burns fat for every

activity...evensitting> and breathing!>> >> > You don't have to have 'extreme' muscles to burn fat in the fat-> burning zone. However, you do have to have LM! When I began trying> to increase my LM (3 years ago), I discovered that. at 190#, my BF%> was 42%. My LBM was only 110#. Most of this weight had been gained> after I lost LM when I couldn't eat or breathe! (My prior weightwas> 140# with 28% BF.) I realized that I did not have sufficient LM to> burn fat at more than a snail's pace. Even then, I would haveregular> setbacks when I tried to do even cardio exercise three days in a> row! Therefore, I spent 18 months increasing LM. One month ago, I> weighed 190# with only 26% BF......that means I now have 141# of> LBM. My weight did not go down because LM weighs more than BF.> However, when I finally could not do more weight-training (cannot>

lift more than 8# because of scar tissue from lung biopsy), Istopped> losing body fat. Please note that I did not need> to lift more than> 8# in order to increase my LBM by 30#.> > However, I did need to learn how to do weight training properly> and I found Joyce Vedral's programs to be the easiest to understand> and use. (She was trained by Weider and participated in women's> championship programs. She is currently 61. Her programs are for> men and women. )> >> > Although I knew about the fat-burning zone, I only learned about> using a Blood Glucose monitor to check my blood sugar about amonths> ago when I got Jay Robb's THE FAT-BURNING BOOK. Now that I have a> way to monitor whether or not I am in the fat-burning zone, I have> finally begun using my LM to burn BF.....except at night when I> desaturate to about 82% during a deep sleep. I have lost 8#

in this> past month....none of it LM as my BF has also decreased by 1.5%!> >> > Now...before I begin any exercise, I take my BG. If it is greater> than 90, I DON'T exercise as I> know I will enter the glycogen-burning> zone too easily. It is more important to me to stay in the fat-> burning zone than to exercise as exercise in the glycogen-burning> zone will result in an increase in C02 which I will have to remove> from my lungs. In other words, it is counter-productive. If my BG> is in the 80's, I exercise in my cardio range (about 50%-60% of my> MHR). I then check my BG 15 minutes after completing my exercise.> >> > 1. If there is only minimal change (decrease) in my BG, I have> done good.> > 2. If my BG has decreased, I have increased C02....which will> need to be released through quiet time. Generally the amount of> increase is only

slight.> > 3. If my BG has increased, I have broken down LM for glycogen.> Generally this is only a small increase when I am doing my strength> yoga.> >> > For example, if I begin exercising when my BG is above 90, it is> not unusual for my BG to> go up by 20-30 points during the exercise as> my body breaks down LM for its glycogen. If I exercise in my fat-> burning zone, my BG rarely goes up. But if it does, it is by nomore> than 3-5 points....LM breakdown is limited. Please keep in mindthat> I try to do 30-45 minutes of strength yoga (which does repeatedpush-> ups) every day! This is an isometric form of strength training. It> took me two years to build up the strength to be able to> do 'chaturanga' because of the scarring in my lungs from the open> lung biopsy!> >> > Again, I do not know if anyone is even interested in

this> information but, since it took me 4 years to accumulate these facts> (mainly from body-builders) and 3 years of experimentation to prove> they work, I want to pass them on. I keep hoping that someone else> will be able to benefit from this knowledge.> >> > BTW....> >> > How did my morbidly obese friend (350# at 52% BF) with> severe> ashtma (from black mold exposure) benefit from this? She began> focusing on increasing LM (using hand weights) for 1` year. (LBM=> 168#; BF=182#) Her weight did not change but her LM:BF ratio did as> her BF% dropped from 52% to 52%. LBM=203 and BF=147. Then she began> doing taiji (which increases oxygen in the body.) 2.5 years ago,she> could not walk 20' without being significantly out of breath. She> needed to sleep 3 hours every afternoon. Now she does not takenaps,> does 45 minutes of taiji daily,

and is able to go on trips with her> husband! (She is at a taiji seminar this weekend.) Now my friend is> monitoring her Blood Glucose. She realizes that she was very close> to full-fledged diabetes. AFter 3 weeks of making dietary changes> (using her monitor to measure success/failure in her choices), her> blood glucose is much closer to normal. After 3 years of steady> weight gain (over 100# in just 1 year> > during> the black mold exposure), she if finally starting to lose> weight. And....she still cannot do any aerobic exercise as it will> cause major shortness of breath! However, she can do taiji...which> is cardio!> >> > > >> >> >> >> >> >> > ____________ _________ _________ _________ _________ __> >