Okay, I should begin with an introduction.

I'm a 23-year-old male with several "handicaps." First and foremost, I am asthmatic and have deteriating knee joints (also beginning to have problems with my shoulders from a hit-and-run where I was a pedestrian). My second handicap, I'm a great chef and I L-O-V-E food! LOL!!!

Now, here's my problem. Due to the combination of my knees and my asthma, I have a hard time doing cardio to burn fat. My normal gym routine is as follows:

30 mins cardio, usually 3-6% incline @ 3.5-3.7 mph, brisk walk
30-45 minutes of weights. Lots of squats and lats till my shoulders start to click.

I know I should do another set of cardio before I leave, but just getting to the gym is hard enough with my and my wifes hectic scheduals. We usually end up going at night (I work a midshift, noon to 8:30, she works 7a-3:30) and we can't stay late since she has to be up early. We both have noticed that we tend to slack when we go by ourselves, so we make sure to go with each other.

What I need help on is, how can I go about losing the belly fat, love handles and lower back fat? I want to do it by the summer time so I can go to the beach and not look like a slob. I have abs, but from all the food, you can't see them.

Any advice?

Edit: I want to add that I don't drink often. Normally only once a month and never more than 2 pints and a shot, at worst. It's not a beer gut, incase anyone was wondering. LOL!!!

Here's the deal. Your belly fat is the last to go and is mostly dependent on diet. While I would encourage you to continue with cardio at least three times a week for 30 to 40 minutes (making sure that you are going at a pace that still allows you to carry on a conversation), your love handles will disappear if you begin to eat four to six small meals a day which consist of part protein, part complex carb, and healthy fats. You love to cook, so stick to healthy fats, such as olive and canola oils, and ditch the processed foods, including all refined sugars and flours. Good luck.

Can't do long cardio. After about 20 minutes or so, you start to break down muscle to burn off as protien, instead of the fat you have stored up. Aside from that, my knees can't handle more than 30 mins at a time. I'm hard pressed to manage a 15 minute walk after a workout.

As far as the oils go, I only use olive oil. I rarely fry anything. I bake my fries and chicken.

I'm going to give the Abs Diet a try and see what happens. Thanks for your help.

- Lettuce

Lettuce, check out this article:

Broe Fitness - The Bodyfat Blueprint

Do you have any idea how many calories you consume each day - i.e do you track your daily caloric intake ?

That's very unlikely - who told you that ?

Does that apply to ALL cardio machines - treadmills, ellipticals, rowers, bikes ?

Actually....by popular theory, it takes about 20 minutes of exertion to burn through the sugars/glycogen in your blood and stored in your liver BEFORE your body resorts to burning fat. Going past 20 minutes is generally regarded as getting into your fat-burning zone.

Keeping it simple:

Get into some weight-training
Get into some cardio...swimming is good if you have knee issues
Forget spot-reduction, you just need to lose weight in general
Eat healthy and eat less then you need to lose weight (think calorie deficit)
Forget fad diets, underneath it's all calorie reduction anyways

Take the meds you need so you can exercise. If you exercise, eat right and lose weight...you probably won't need those meds soon enough!

As it turns out, you only have ONE life to live....make the most of it.

I've read in many places that after 20 mins of cardio you start to break down protein. I finally found one book, I can't remember what it's called at the moment, that said otherwise about the "20 minute rule." After talking with my wifes youngest brother, who runs for about 2 hours a day, I'm adding additional cardio to my workout. I think I may try to work myself to a point of about an hour worth of cardio.

If I start to take my Glucosamine, Chondroitin, MSM again, my knees will improve to allow me to walk/run more. I had quit smoking for a year, but made a very dumb choice to start again after a family issue (no need to burden you with the in's and out's) and did that for a week so now my asthma is acting up again. I feel really dumb pulling out an inhailer while running on a treadmill in the gym. As far as the elliptical, I try to do that now and again, but most of the time my feet start to slide around on the tracks and I feel a bit unsteady.

I don't count calories. I did it once and I flat out refuse to do it again. It's pointless and will only make you more hungry than you were before. A few people that I work with, along with myself when I did this, ended up either hungry all the time or actually gaining weight back after dropping a few pounds. I have, however, changed my diet. Along with whey protein shakes, I've added breakfast to my menu, which should help some. I'm eating more protein and fiber filled meals to keep me fuller longer and subside my hunger pangs and, of course, I have my cheat day.

I dawdle in the kitchen a bit and LOVE cooking and trying new dishes. And as far as my body fat goes, it is truely all on my belly. My calves, thighs and glutes are solid, barely a pinch on them. My arms, chest and shoulders are solid. My only body fat is on my belly, just above my waist line and my lower back. I've gained somewhere around 40 pounds in the past two years and I need now to drop about 25. My belly is sticking out and my lower back is getting "poofy."

Candersoncscs, Thanks for that link. I need to stop stressing out at work so darn much. LOL!! They get me worked up like no ones business!

You are correct... I suggest you do not do over 20 mins of protein and continue to lift weights as much as you can. Building muscle is your number one priority here to help boost that resting metabolism.

If you want to see faster results the answer to your belly fat issue lies in your diet! I noticed you don't count calories... you might need to for a little bit to know how much you are taking in. If you can take in about 400 or 500 less than you burn on weight lifting days then your body fat will continue to go down and your muscle will build.

There are more drastic ways but I normally dont talk about those... I did a 2 week 1500 calorie a day diet and lost a lot of fat. It was hard as heck though...

The "talk test". 30 to 40 mins seems to be steady state cardio. I'm sure others will prefer HIIT though.

I've never read any such info that suggest you shouldn't do cardio for more then 20 minutes on account of burning protein (catabolism). That's borderline crazy, if anything, you need to do cardio for more then 20 minutes to get past the energy in your blood/liver and then start cutting into your fat reserves. Please research that further. I'd like to see any links or material suggesting not to go past 20 minutes. Cardio has done very well for me, I can't imagine not doing it.

I have a saying about runners....there are only 2 kinds: those who have blown-out their knees, and those who will blow-out their knees. Given your situation, low-impact is the way to go...let's keep the irritation & impact to a minimum. Try different machines until you find what works best. Again, I love biking. Running, no.

I don't count calories either, but I do maintain a keen sense of just how much I'm eating. Time and again people grossly underestimate how many calories they're actually/honestly taking in over the course of the day. Calories can sneak-up on you and it's super-easy to underestimate just how much you're putting in your mouth. As a friend of mine is fond of saying, "more then anything, it's what you put in your mouth that will determine your size/body-fat".

Look dude.....it's unfair, but for survival our bodies are still programmed like Toyota Priuis's...we get a lot of bang for the calorie and our bodies are still very efficient; this is how we survived when food was scarce some ten's of thousands of years ago. Today, we eat like our bodies are Hummers....food taste good, we don't have to exert energy hunting for it and we don't have periods of scarcity (and I ain't talkin' about when the keg runs dry). Just remember; food has more calories then we often imagine AND our bodies are more efficient then we think. We all wish we had a control panel where we could dial our efficiency down to 7 mpg instead of 54 mpg.

What I've found is that over time we become accustomed to eating a bit more then we need to. As we get older, it catches up to us. Sooner or later you have to decide: am I gonna just accept my fatness and hope I survive my heart attack and then get serious about saving my life.....OR do you wanna get on it now and not roll the dice on your life & health??

Here's the good news. At first it does seem like deprivation (less food) and hard work (working-out)...BUT over time you'll adapt to it and get used to it. The first month or two is tough, your psychologically and physiologically used to eating bigger meals and living the life casual, but with each passing week you'll get more used to your newer healthy lifestyle. Clothes will start fitting looser, people will make comments and you'll feel better. Your new healthy-style "gorge" will be a fraction of what it used to be...and here's the magic: YOU'LL FEEL JUST AS SATISFIED as the old days.

Also, the exercise won't be as uncomfortable. You'll get that "runner's high" after good cardio and you won't want to eat heavy junk food and counter-act all that weight-training you did. It's all about momentum and mind-set.

So here's the thing....you have to decide. It's black & white. Either you're gonna embrace this new lifestyle and totally get into shape, or just forget about it. Why bother spending a few months losing weight and getting in shape only to fall off the wagon and revert back to the old ways? Don't waste your time yo-yo'ing. It's like building a house just to turn around and burn it down. I say, it's now or never. Don't make an effort if it's bound to be an exercise of futility. Sit yourself down and ask if you're really ready to make this happen. The fact that you're on this board suggest you're getting your sights set and willing to do the distance. If you do it, you won't be sorry....but it is going to be work and you will need to endure a period of adjustment: nothing worth having comes without work.

Same here....solid everywhere and just had some in my belly. It's just stored fat, but it's also the most dangerous kind of fat to carry on your body: it surrounds your organs! Want a scare: get your bloodwork done, I bet your triglycerides are ugly and your cholesterol isn't too good. At least your shape isn't distorted like some other heavy people.

The fact that you know how to cook is your advantage...just keep healthy foods in your home and learn to eat within your means. The lean protein and high-fiber whole foods are good.

I'm excited for ya!

Thanks for the kind words Steve. I might as well add that I work in an Operating room in the local community hospital (for now) and seeing these morbidly obese people come in day in and day out makes me care more about taking care of myself. A bit after I started here a young girl came in, about 21-y-o. She was roughly 400 pounds. She came in by ambulance and left in a body bag. Died of a combination of cardiovascular and respitory failure. At that time, I was sitting at about 140-150. Fast forward 3 years, I'm bouncing between 185 and 195 and getting pissed every time I go into the locker room at the gym and seeing these young guys with their ripped abs and great metabalisms. I'm getting spiteful. I'm catching myself saying, "That's okay, it'll catch up to them soon."

I know I eat a bit more than I should and I am working on eating better foods and making 6 meals a day. As far as counting, I'm no good at that. You need a chackbook balanced, you need to figure out what you need to retire, I can help you. What I can't do is count calories. I'd be sitting there counting the calories on one meal while snacking on something else or ending up starving later, which in turn adds "stored fat."

Two things are slowing me at the moment. We currently live in my wifes parents house while her and I are finishing college. I leave the house as soon as she does in the morning so I really don't have time to sit around and make up a breakfast. I'm working on resetting my biological clock so I can get up before her and work on breakfast or just making some stuff up the night before. The second thing is, I am stuck for at least another week with the junk-y food we have until the weekend. Than I can go out and get more good foods.

The gym is going to be cramped now with all the "Resolutioners" coming in which may get in our way for the next two months, but we'll be there anyway. We signed up in late February and between March and now has been beautiful, but we've been hearing the horror stories lately.

I'm going out tonight to have my last drinks until Valentine's day, skipping the gym tomorrow (will do some smaller stuff at home) and gonna watch my foods and make sure to work out enough to lose 15 pounds by V-Day and 25 by time the beach weather comes around. I wanna take my shirt off at the beach and look like I did 2 1/2 years ago!

Remember...after 25 we lose like 5% of our lean muscle each 5 years we age (or something like that). That's why people think their metabolism slows down as they get older. In fact, it's just that our bodies require less energy due to having less muscle. To keep the muscle, maintian bone density and stay healthy, we need to keep a load on our muscles and remind our bodies that we need our muscle. Weight-training & exercise become more critical as we get older.

I know it's odd to site, but I just was reading through the Costco flyer and they had a thing on Jack LaLanne....he says we need to do weights 2-3x per week and get 30-60 minutes of moderate cardio DAILY. That and eating whole foods and a well balanced diet. The guy is like 96 and still kickin' strong. Then there's the obese chick who kicked it in your ER. The choice is yours......and you know what you need to do.

I'm 42 and I regret having waited this long to get it together. Please don't let time slip by and your fitness ambitions become relagated in the same manner as a New Years resolution. I'm wishing you the best! Good luck and Happy New Year to ya!

I'd do anything Jack LaLanne said to do!!!

At 70 he pulled 70 boats 1.5 miles while shackled!!!

LaLanne Wiki

Better late than never as far as your age is concerned. I wish you the best brother.

stomach fat is so stubborn! But i love to cook too, i use it to my advantage to a healthy diet. I can play around with flavors and good stuff without getting the bad processed foods. Think about avoiding high fructose corn syrup too. Its kinda hard at first but then it is second nature! And like most others above, keep cardio under 25 minutes. I used to run for 60 mins and now that i go for 25 max i see bigger results