Diet and Cardio Questions for burning the fat

[darksol]

Ok, I am trying to cut the fat.  I am doing 30-45 minutes cardio / day. 
6' 4" 215.  Its not so much my weight, but the spare tire I am trying to shed.
I am not looking for over night results. I don't want to loose my muscle gains I have achieved.

I have several questions:
I have read that some guys can do cardio twice a day until they eventually have shed all the fat.  Does this work?  IE can a person do cardio and burn fat forever or eventually does the body stop burning fat and start burning muscle?  Lets say I do 4 hours of straight cardio.  Will my body burn fat the entire 4 hours, or will it only burn fat for the first 45 minutes, and then breaks down my muscle tissue the rest of the time?  If there is a limited amount of time that a person can do cardio and get results what is the time?  What kind of recovery is needed between sessions? 

Next question is I know a lot of it depends on the calorie intake.  and they say you need to take in less calories than you burn to loose fat.  How much less?  IE if calories are reduced too much I assume that your body will start to break down muscle tissue.  How much should I reduce calorie intake to ensure I am burning fat and not muscle? 

Another question. recently I had a vitimin water after working out.  Full of B vitimins.  I felt great and it went down very easy ( low carbs too ).  My question is are certain vitimins and minerals required to burn fat?  and does drinking plain water strip these needed vitimins and minerals from your system, making you less efficient at burning fat?

[Deicide]

Ok, I am trying to cut the fat.  I am doing 30-45 minutes cardio / day. 
6' 4" 215.  Its not so much my weight, but the spare tire I am trying to shed.
I am not looking for over night results. I don't want to loose my muscle gains I have achieved.

I have several questions:
I have read that some guys can do cardio twice a day until they eventually have shed all the fat.  Does this work?  IE can a person do cardio and burn fat forever or eventually does the body stop burning fat and start burning muscle?  Lets say I do 4 hours of straight cardio.  Will my body burn fat the entire 4 hours, or will it only burn fat for the first 45 minutes, and then breaks down my muscle tissue the rest of the time?  If there is a limited amount of time that a person can do cardio and get results what is the time?  What kind of recovery is needed between sessions? 

Next question is I know a lot of it depends on the calorie intake.  and they say you need to take in less calories than you burn to loose fat.  How much less?  IE if calories are reduced too much I assume that your body will start to break down muscle tissue.  How much should I reduce calorie intake to ensure I am burning fat and not muscle? 

Another question. recently I had a vitimin water after working out.  Full of B vitimins.  I felt great and it went down very easy ( low carbs too ).  My question is are certain vitimins and minerals required to burn fat?  and does drinking plain water strip these needed vitimins and minerals from your system, making you less efficient at burning fat?

Drop 300-500 calories a day, eat enough protein, diet finished. That simple.

[tbombz]

those are really good questions. i don't know the answers to all of them. i do know a few things that might help you out =

 the human body does adapt to cardio activity. overtime your body's cardiovascular system becomes more and more efficient (aka"getting in shape"), and you burn less and less calories performing the same amount of activity. a way to reverse this would only to let your cardiovascular system become less efficient (aka "out of shape")

As you drop calories your protein needs increase because your body will be using a bit of protein for fuel, so you have to eat enough to cover the increase in demand, or else you will eat into the protein which your body will use for sustaining your muscle mass. most people need about 1.5 grams per pound while dieting.

yes certain vitamins and minerals are needed for burning fat, but no drinking plain water does not negatively effect the levels of these vitamins in your body.

[Princess L]

6'4"/215 sounds very thin to me.  Are you "skinny-fat"?  What are you doing to preserve or gain muscle?  More muscle = more fat loss.  Interval training would be more effective than long steady state cardio.

[Deicide]

WLDP

[Montague]

6'4"/215 sounds very thin to me.  Are you "skinny-fat"?  What are you doing to preserve or gain muscle?  More muscle = more fat loss.  Interval training would be more effective than long steady state cardio.

Hey, no need to insult the man.

Seriously,
According to Darksol’s post, you’re only trying to lose a “spare tire,” so going by that and your current body weight it’s probably a safe bet that you don’t have far to go.

As PL suggests, interval cardio is very effective, and most who use it swear it has greater muscle sparing effects than doing moderate cardio for longer periods of time.
Search “Tabata.”
I wouldn’t do the “4 hrs. of cardio at once” thing – you’ll almost certainly start burning through muscle by that point.

Maybe drop some carbs and/or fats from your diet, replacing them with lean, protein rich foods.
Try spreading your calories over a greater number of smaller portions to boost your metabolism.

Vit B-12 does help metabolize food into energy, but I don’t know if it has any kind of significant impact on fat burning.

[darksol]

Thanks for all the replies. 
I wouldn't say I am skinny fat.  I just have genetically gifted fat stores around my mid section.

36" waist
48" chest
16" bicep
17" calves

Most of my lifting focuses on upper body.
With cardio on an elliptical or stair master

I have noticed my cardio seems to be yielding less and less results over time.

I will try the interval cardio like you suggest.

Is there any physical way to know when you are burning fat vs muscle?
I am assuming that sweat is not the indicator of anything but increase in body temp.

[calfzilla]

At 6'4 215 you shouldnt have much fat. 

[Montague]

I have noticed my cardio seems to be yielding less and less results over time.

I will try the interval cardio like you suggest.

Is there any physical way to know when you are burning fat vs muscle?
I am assuming that sweat is not the indicator of anything but increase in body temp.

If you’ve never done interval cardio before then your body may react very well to it since it’s something new – not just different.

And no, sweat is not the “be all, end all” indication of exercising hard, or being in shape.
Some people – even ones who are in good shape – just naturally perspire a lot.
I’ve known a few experienced trainers who sweat profusely with minimal effort.
Sweating doesn’t (always) mean anything.

As for fat vs. muscle burning, look in the mirror.
As you lose fat, you should see more muscle shape and definition with the muscles looking visibly harder and fuller.
If instead you’re taking on more of a “scrawny” appearance, then you’re probably losing muscle along with the fat.
It’s hard to retain 100% of your lean mass as you shed fat, but done right, you should be able to keep most of it.

Add a bit more protein throughout the day, and lay off the simple sugars and hydrogenated fats.
May also consider picking up a good BCAA powder to surround your workouts with. They’ve helped a lot of people preserve muscle mass when dieting.
I often use them in my carb drink while lifting, and not just when cutting.