Frustrated

[nauticus66]

Hi, (New here and so far impressed with the site),

Here's issue... I used to work out hard and developed a good body with 17' neck/biceps/calves with fairly good control over fat. I started smoking like a dumb and when I tried to quit years later, I gained a lot of fat. Now how ever at 47 I am over 300 lbs and have had enough.

problem is I have a large amount of muscle under fat. Heavy and defined (I can feel it and you can see it ). I eat all the healthy food Dr. Oz mentions, almonds, spinach, fruits and veg, I cook with olive oil and only use real butter, etc, I work on a drill ship and we have loads of stairs, so I'm doing 400- 1000 stairs a day, plus I try to go to the gym on board 2-3 times a week. problem is I don't seem to be loosing any fat! I feel like because of the muscle I already have I need to do a lot more work out to see any results.

question is in terms of exercise what is the difference between cardio and fat burning? What am I doing wrong? Does anyone have any advice or constructive criticism?

[Boss Man]

Cardio can influence fat burning but so can muscle, as 1lb of added muscle can burn an extra 45-50 calories per day.

If you lost any muscle, you could find that has a negative effect on fat loss and you may replace the muscle with fat, causing weight stagnation.

Your diet is the key thing here and it is not just about quality of food, but also quantity.

What foods do you eat and what times do you eat them?

[Alinshop]

Hi there.

When did you start exercising again?

I also am curious what your calorie content is like...

[nauticus66]

Well I'm not a saint when it comes to eating out here... currently on the drill ship mentioned in the first post. A typical day's food intake:

Breakfast (note I work 12 noon to 12 midnight so diet is restricted to what they cook)
large bowl of shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped cucumbers, cilantro, 2 boiled eggs, olive oil and white vinegar for dressing plus salt and pepper. 12 oz. cup water.
Chicken breast, chicken leg X 2, cup of soup (could be clear veg. soup or gumbo), 4 - 5 slices of carrot.

3:00 PM Snack: 4 Cream crackers with slice of brie each.

6:00 PM Lunch: Lean water buffalo steak (some times 2), 2 grilled chicken legs, salad (again shredded cabbage etc...) 12 oz. cup water

9:00 PM snack sometimes 2-3 cream crackers plain.

12:00 AM Dinner: 3 eggs scrambled on 2 slices of toast with butter, Bowl of soup.

Another day I might have:
large bowl of shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped cucumbers, cilantro, 2 boiled eggs, olive oil and white vinegar for dressing plus salt and pepper. 12 oz. cup water.
2 chunks of baked tuna (I don't know sizes , these are fresh caught here, The chunk is about as big as 2 playing card packs stacked) cup of soup (could be clear veg. soup or gumbo), 4 - 5 slices of carrot.

3:00 PM Snack: 2 cream crackers with brie plus 1/2 sandwich of plain egg omelet.

6:00 PM Lunch: Stir fry chicken with veggies, salad (again shredded cabbage etc...) 12 oz. cup water

9:00 PM snack sometimes 2-3 cream crackers plain.

12:00 AM Dinner: 3 eggs scrambled on 2 slices of toast with butter, Bowl of soup (same as above).

It doesn't vary much from this... I stay away from potatoes, pasta and rice but sometimes the western choices are bad like pork and lamb (neither of which I eat) so I'll have a small bowl of rice with Dal(lentil stew) on top (very rare).
Sometimes the snack is home made pizza and I'll break down and have 2-3 slices (square slice is about 3" by 2").

I drink a lot of coffee and water, no sodas, no fruit drinks.

When I go to the gym it's in the morning before breakfast;
Mon, Wed Fri, I'll do rehab with a rubber band ( chiropractor has me doing these upper back/neck exercises) get on the elliptical machine for 15 min then hit the sauna for 15 min.
Tue, Thur, Sat I'll do weights (bench, curls, tri extensions, lat pull downs... 2 - 3 sets each, then elliptical for 15 and sauna for 15.)

So I tend to loose about 2-5 kilos per trip then gain it back at home. The first 2 weeks at home I'm good, lean meats, fresh veggies etc. but the last 2 weeks I slide off and eat pizza or stop by chick-fil-a or
throw a microwave burrito in the oven but still trying to maintain by snacking on nuts and cranberries...

Hmm writing this I can already see people shaking their heads... Brie on crackers? cut out the toast! Comon! don't be a wimp the last two weeks home! 15 min on the elliptical? do another 15 on the treadmill or the stairs!

[Boss Man]

Breakfast (note I work 12 noon to 12 midnight so diet is restricted to what they cook)
large bowl of shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped cucumbers, cilantro, 2 boiled eggs, olive oil and white vinegar for dressing plus salt and pepper. 12 oz. cup water.
Chicken breast, chicken leg X 2, cup of soup (could be clear veg. soup or gumbo), 4 - 5 slices of carrot.

(That seems okay)

3:00 PM Snack: 4 Cream crackers with slice of brie each.

(You could change that to a low fat cheese sandwich)

6:00 PM Lunch: Lean water buffalo steak (some times 2), 2 grilled chicken legs, salad (again shredded cabbage etc...) 12 oz. cup water

(Seems fine)

9:00 PM snack sometimes 2-3 cream crackers plain.

(Change that by having something better, options include chicken, turkey, ham or beef from a packet, low fat cheese, nuts, peanuts, celery sticks, carrot sticks, flaxseeds, fruits including tomato and cucumber, microwave baked bean, rice and soup meals, boiled eggs and chicken breasts, (prepared in advance), tofu, yoghurt pots, oat granolas and sandwiches.

Remember that some of these could represent whole snacks and some represent snack components.)

12:00 AM Dinner: 3 eggs scrambled on 2 slices of toast with butter, Bowl of soup.

(Fine)

Another day I might have:
large bowl of shredded cabbage, chopped tomatoes, chopped onions, chopped cucumbers, cilantro, 2 boiled eggs, olive oil and white vinegar for dressing plus salt and pepper. 12 oz. cup water.

(Fine)

2 chunks of baked tuna (I don't know sizes , these are fresh caught here, The chunk is about as big as 2 playing card packs stacked) cup of soup (could be clear veg. soup or gumbo), 4 - 5 slices of carrot.

(That's fine, but as tuna is reccomended at 3 portions a week at the moment due to metal concerns, I'd limit its consumption per week)

3:00 PM Snack: 2 cream crackers with brie plus 1/2 sandwich of plain egg omelet.

(Fine)

6:00 PM Lunch: Stir fry chicken with veggies, salad (again shredded cabbage etc...) 12 oz. cup water

(fine)

9:00 PM snack sometimes 2-3 cream crackers plain.

(Use the snack options discussed above)

12:00 AM Dinner: 3 eggs scrambled on 2 slices of toast with butter, Bowl of soup (same as above).

(Fine)

It doesn't vary much from this... I stay away from potatoes, pasta and rice but sometimes the western choices are bad like pork and lamb (neither of which I eat) so I'll have a small bowl of rice with Dal(lentil stew) on top (very rare).
Sometimes the snack is home made pizza and I'll break down and have 2-3 slices (square slice is about 3" by 2").

I drink a lot of coffee and water, no sodas, no fruit drinks.

(I'd ditch the coffee. Caffeine constricts the bloodvessels, blocks iron absorption and the xanthines in it can be converted to uric acid and contribute to gout. Also some types of decaffeinated coffee are made using a jet washing system, that involves a carcinogenic chemical, so avoid that too.

By not having coffee, the more iron you have, the more erythrocytes, (red blood cells), you could have and the more myoglobin production for oxygen storage in muscles you could have and more circulating oxygen that is also more free flowing, because of adequately dilated bloodvessels is better for exercise, for getting more and quicker oxygen delivery to muscles and organs, reducing lactic acid production and potentially improving ATP production, as ATP carries oxygen molecules and is used to help muscles contract.)

[Alinshop]

The diet you posted actually looks pretty good. 400-1000 stairs a day? Good gosh!

How is your progress going? You might want to change up your gym/exercise routine if it has been the same for a while. If your body get's used to the same amount of cardio each day then it could definitely stall you with fat loss.

[Boss Man]

The quantiy of cardio is less likely to stall progress than the type I feel.

Steady state may in the long-term stall progress, but something like interval shouldn't, because there is no repetitive heartrate throughtout, it fluctuates, so you never use the same heartrate every time for 30-60 minutes, or however long the individual does their cardio .

[Alinshop]

The quantiy of cardio is less likely to stall progress than the type I feel.

Steady state may in the long-term stall progress, but something like interval shouldn't, because there is no repetitive heartrate throughtout, it fluctuates, so you never use the same heartrate every time for 30-60 minutes, or however long the individual does their cardio .

Yes, i believe you are correct