problems burning remaining fat

TTPjake

TTPjake

Member
So here's my story: I'm having trouble burning off my fat now that I lost 40 lbs. I need to lose another 20 by the end of the summer and I need a little boost because dieting and exercise aren't enough. I was 232lbs in January, I am 192lbs as of today and need to be at 172lbs to be at a healthy weight. I need to lose the weight because of my back problems and let's face it... I wanna look good too.

I can't push myself any harder physically or eat any less because I'm runnig out of steam already. At the end of each day I am totally burned out and feel weak.

I ride my fatbike 2 miles each way to and from work almost everyday (pending on the weather). I work in a truck equipment shop and do heavy manual labor 8 hours a day. Twice a week I go swimming for an hour. 2-3 days a week I workout on my bowflex, iron gym and perfect situp.

I eat 5 small meals a day. I use an app called "MyNetDiary" to help me count the calories and keep track of sodium, sugars, fats and fiber intake. I don't eat processed, fried, fatty, sweetened or junk food. I eat lots of fiber and protein rich foods. I eat grilled chicken and turkey. I rarely eat any beef or pork. I do not eat seafood because I don't like it and I think I may be allergic to shellfish. I eat my veggies and fruits daily. I eat Kashi Go Lean cereal and use Boar's Head brand deli meats and Nature's Promise whole wheat bread for my sandwiches. I drink water, unflavored seltzer, orange juice and green tea. I also have fat free milk with my cereal. No soda or other juices.

I don't take any supplements other than Centrum, which I'm about to run out of and I'm planning on switching to GNC Mega Man Sport supplement packs.

I can't take any energy boosters because in the past they gave me heart problems. I don't even drink redbulls and I avoid coffee. But I was wondering if there's any fat burning supplements out there that most doctors may consider "safe" that would help me burn the fat without the use of ephedra, guarana or caffeine.

At first I was losing an unsafe 5 lbs a week but now I'm down to losing half a pound biweekly. I also noticed I'm gaining muscle mass.

Any suggestions on the fat burning supplements? Perhaps any insight on my diet and exercise plan I'm following?
 
For one I would change your 2-3 day a week workouts to a cardio workout (jump rope, run on treadmill, fatbike, etc). 4 miles a day on the fatbike isnt going to cut it even if you hammer door to door. You dont burn anywhere near the same amount of calories by using the bowflex or other strength training. Also, you say your job consists of heavy manual labor so it's not like you are going to become weak if you stop doing the strength training. Diet seems fine.
 
Diet seems good but if you are gaining muscle mass you still possibly are burning fat just converting it to muscle. I dont recommend using fat burners because i dont think they really work to well. I would continue doing what you are doing, but maybe add more cardio or weight training. You have less fat to burn so it will take longer. Keep up with the good work and congrats on the weight loss.
 
Weight lose is simple math. Reduce intake and increase expenditure. From your description, you appear to be eating healthy. Many people dramatically underestimate their portions. Are you actually measuring or weighing food that you eat? You can gain weight eating healthy food if you eat twice as much as you should. People also conveniently forget to add up many little things that amount to a ton of calories. Butter, cooking oil, sauces, and gravies are common calorie bombs that people underestimate or forgot about altogether.

Based on your explanation, your exercise is not burning a lot of energy. It is simply putting strain on the body. You are doing strenuous stuff and the body reacts by maintaining bulky muscles.

I suggest cutting back on the resistance training. Your job likely provides all the weight related training you need. Increase the cardio exercise to burn more energy. It is likely that you have shed unnecessary fat mass already. In order to continue dropping weight, you should expect to lose both fat and muscle.

Congrats on the previous weight lose and good luck.
 
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You shouldn't feel exhausted/weak every single day. Tired and ready for bed, yes, but exhaustion is a sign of overtraining or poor nutrition.

Whatever the reason is you need to make some changes. You have to experiment. Are you tracking your ratios? Try increasing carbs and lowering protein for two weeks. Or increase your calories for a day or two each week.

You also may want to switch out your bowflex routine for something different, to confuse your body. Focus on multi joint movements like pullups, pushups, core work, lunges, etc. Maybe join a local crossfit class instead of swimming, and use your bowflex time for more riding.

Good luck. 😀
 
How many calories are you consuming, are you consuming enough?
You may also try changing up your rountine, adding different cardio, maybe jogging. Losing weight slowly is always the best way to lose it, although it doesn't always make us happy.
 
I consume about 2000-2300 calories a day. I can not eat any less, it wont be enough and my body will actually store more fat for later use when there isn't enough fuel getting ingested. I dont know if I want to eat more, I feel it may slow the fat burning process down also.

No, I do not count stuff like dressings or oils. That is because I only use a small ammount or virgin olive oil when grilling on my ribbed pan. I only use enough to lightly coat the pan to avoid initial sticking of the meat. For dressings i only use a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil on my salads or single use packets of low fat dressings (in which case I do include those nutritional facts into my daily intake). I don't use salt as most foods already have some kind of sodium in them and I can live without the additional flavoring.

I'm going to lay off the Bowflex for a month and ride my fatbike more often. I'm going to take longer distance trips on the weekends if its nice out (10-20 miles). I use my Iron Gym for pullups, chin ups and pushups. I use the Perfect Situp for my core workout and it actually works if you actually follow the instructions.

As for the fat burners, I'm still very interested if theres anything out there that actually works and isnt just media hype and advertisement gimmicks. I'm going to consult my doctor about that one ont my next visit.
 
How tall are you and what is your age? These factors will help. Have you been to your dr for a checkup and blood test? 2000 - 2300 calories sounds like too much.
 
I'm 25 years old and I'm 5'7" and currently weigh in at 192lbs which puts my BMI at 30.1 which is borderline obese. I know BMI doesn't calculate thicker bone structure or muscle mass. I was really obese a few months ago and I'm definately still overweight. BMI tells me that "normal" weight is 159lbs or less. I feel that its crazy to consider that normal. I'm aiming for 172lbs. Exactly 60lbs lighter since the beginnig of my weight loss program. I'm going to my doctor for a check up soon to see what he thinks my goals should be. He hasn't seen me since he told me to go on this diet so I'm sure he will be shocked to see me so much thinner than last time. I think I should aim for a 1900 calorie diet, no less
 
One more thing I'd like to point out: I used to wear size 42 pants, now I wear size 36 comfortably but I wear them BTG (below the gut at the hip). I'm actually 40" in the waist (belly button height). I'd like my waist to match my pant size. My goal is size 32-34 pants
 
Whats your salt and water intake. Those #'s might spark some additional suggestions.
 
Gluten?

Have you investigated the impacts of gluten to your diet? I have started looking at it. I don't think I have celiac disease ( i.e. people allergic to gluten ), but I have tried to go off gluten for a little while ( man it is hard and I haven't been all that strict ) and have noticed some small changes but can't really attribute those changes directly to the reduction in gluten as have amped up my running/biking.

I don't think it the benefits for me are worth keeping it up, but from the reading it seems if a person has even a mild case, it could be a benefit to reduce that amount of gluten. Soooo, with that said it might be worth it to check for yourself. You can start here Celiac Central, and good luck with your efforts.
 
I have been drinking more water now that its getting hotter out and I sweat a lot. Im more conscious about dehydration in the warmer months than in the winter. That may be one of my problems.

I dont keep track of my glutens as much as you did but I do look out for the "gluten free" products. Especially my deli meats.

I've cut back on the sandwiches and instead now eat only one small sammich during my coffee break and I eat steamer packs of veggies for lunch instead.... just one problem- I cant stop farting!!! LOL Too much fiber I guess. I also cut out all juices and the seltzer. My fluids are only bottled water and green tea now.

I think a major contributor to my diet not working as well as it should is my "cheat" days. Earlier in my diet when I had tons of fat to burn off, I was able to get away with having a treat or two per week. But now that I am slimming down and have less and less fat to trim off I think my body is storing those calories and empty carbs. I guess its time to get more strict with my eating habits!
 
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Jake - not sure how things are going (I see the thread is a bit old):

1. Try the HAMWI formula for calculating IDEAL BODY WEIGHT. Calculate 2 so that you have a range. This is a clinical dietician tool (to be used along with BMI, body composition, and blood screen profile).

2. If you haven't already: see if you can get a referral (from Dr.) for an appointment with a nutritionist (RD who works at a hospital).

...hope this helps, ask me if you have any more questions.
 
Just skimmed through this thread. It seems like you have the basic understandings of dieting and nutrition. A lot of people make the mistake of not eating enough when the're trying to loose weight. It looks like your in the aprox range of daily cals for your stats. ld stick to a 500 cal deficit when loosing weight. You lost a lot of weight, once you start getting to the end it will get tougher. Keep up with what your doing.

Updates?
 
bravo

well done cutting out the soda and sticking to just water and green tea. it seems like your really dedicated to getting to your desired weight. doing good man.awesome job.
 
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