How to stop weight loss and electrolyte depletion?

badfishfor2oh · June 2014

hi everyone, this is my first post on this forum but i've done a lot of reading on here lol. this may be the wrong category for this question, but i picked the closest one. i've posted on a few general health forums but no one's giving me a real good answer

while i work out a little, most of my physical excercise is done at my job. i work 6:00AM till about 6-7 pm. i work on an oystering boat, and it is VERY physically demanding. the dredges (600lbs empty,1200-1600 full) are hydraulically lifted, but i have to swing them, and push them off the boat after i dump it. so imagine a crane that only lifts things, and you have to push it to move it side to side. well needless to say, i've built up my legs a lot from this, as well as my upper back and arms from all of the pulling, and my tris, chest and lega from pushing. but my real question is:

how do i stop this from depleting my muslce mass? doing this ALL day must weaken me a little. i'm 5'6 and 175lbs, and not interested at ALL in losing any weight. when lifting (i'm in college so the months that i don't work fulltime i lift weights) i bulk up very easily, but lose it easily too. am i likely to lose muscle mass from working this hard all day and not resting them? and how can i prevent this?

my other question, which is more important to me (so please don't ignore lol) is how can i keep electrolytes replenished throughout the day? it's a boat in the summer, and i drink on average 1-1.5 gallons of water per day, plus a gatorade and an occasional energy drink. i usually pee like once a day, so if you didn't figure it out, i sweat a LOT. i always find myself fatigued, and caffeine or food doesn't help. i believe it's because my body is low on electrolytes, because of the amount of water passing through my system. and i don't know what to do. i CAN'T drink sugary gatorade for all of it, and there has to be better alternatives. so what do guys suggest?

my daily work diet consists of:
breakfast: coffee, a little sugar, little milk, and a bagel.
lunch: deli sandwich, good amount of meat and vegies on it.
drinks: 1 gallon water, 1 gatorade, occasionally i drink sweetened iced black tea as well.

i know i don't eat a lot during the day, but it's a hard job and there aren't many breaks throughout the day. please let me know what you think, and sorry if this is the wrong forum lol

Linnaea27 · June 2014

Well, for your first question, the way to not lose any weight is to make sure you eat enough to maintain your weight and take into account the massive amount of exercise you do in your job. I don't think you'd lose very much muscle, if any, from not having rest days, as long as you are eating an appropriate amount (which is going to be quite a lot of food). MFP member Heybales came up with an excellent calculator spreadsheet that allows you to put in how much time each day you spend doing certain types of exercise, and it produces a calorie goal and many other pieces of information based on what you're doing and what your goals are. Here is the link to it he has up on his (publicly viewable) profile: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE

It is an open document free to copy and use as you wish. I use it sometimes. It is the only calculator I know of that will take into account as much activity as you're doing. All the others seem to cap activity at 21 hours of strenuous exercise a week, and you're doing more than that. The only other way to somewhat accurately calculate how much you need to eat would be to log several hours of something. . . calisthenics or circuit training perhaps. . . as exercise on MFP, on top of a "very active" base activity level.

For the second question, about electrolytes, try bringing electrolyte pills with you and taking them during the workday. I spent some time in the desert Southwest (was outdoors most of the time while there on a research trip) and had problems with getting dehydrated and having stomach issues from electrolyte depletion, and found that the electrolyte pills were extremely helpful, and don't have the excess sugar and weird flavoring you get from drinking huge amounts of Gatorade or similar. Coconut water is an ideal electrolyte-balance liquid, but it is not terribly cheap and I'm sure you wouldn't want to drink a gallon of it each day! It might be a nice change from Gatorade and/or electrolyte pills sometimes, though.

Add more calories to the food you can bring with you. Eat 2 bagels with lots of butter or cream cheese for breakfast instead of one if you can. Use half-and-half or cream in your coffee instead of milk. Put extra (real, full-fat) mayonnaise and a couple extra slices of full-fat cheese and/or some olive oil on your sandwich. And eat a really big dinner once you get home!

ScottDowell · July 2014

Well, for your first question, the way to not lose any weight is to make sure you eat enough to maintain your weight and take into account the massive amount of exercise you do in your job. I don't think you'd lose very much muscle, if any, from not having rest days, as long as you are eating an appropriate amount (which is going to be quite a lot of food). MFP member Heybales came up with an excellent calculator spreadsheet that allows you to put in how much time each day you spend doing certain types of exercise, and it produces a calorie goal and many other pieces of information based on what you're doing and what your goals are. Here is the link to it he has up on his (publicly viewable) profile: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0Amt7QBR9-c6MdGVTbGswLUUzUHNVVUlNSW9wZWloeUE

It is an open document free to copy and use as you wish. I use it sometimes. It is the only calculator I know of that will take into account as much activity as you're doing. All the others seem to cap activity at 21 hours of strenuous exercise a week, and you're doing more than that. The only other way to somewhat accurately calculate how much you need to eat would be to log several hours of something. . . calisthenics or circuit training perhaps. . . as exercise on MFP, on top of a "very active" base activity level.

For the second question, about electrolytes, try bringing electrolyte pills with you and taking them during the workday. I spent some time in the desert Southwest (was outdoors most of the time while there on a research trip) and had problems with getting dehydrated and having stomach issues from electrolyte depletion, and found that the electrolyte pills were extremely helpful, and don't have the excess sugar and weird flavoring you get from drinking huge amounts of Gatorade or similar. Coconut water is an ideal electrolyte-balance liquid, but it is not terribly cheap and I'm sure you wouldn't want to drink a gallon of it each day! It might be a nice change from Gatorade and/or electrolyte pills sometimes, though.

Add more calories to the food you can bring with you. Eat 2 bagels with lots of butter or cream cheese for breakfast instead of one if you can. Use half-and-half or cream in your coffee instead of milk. Put extra (real, full-fat) mayonnaise and a couple extra slices of full-fat cheese and/or some olive oil on your sandwich. And eat a really big dinner once you get home!

I am agreeing with Linnaea27. You have to follow her instructions. It is a perfect suggestion according to me. I also feel the same.

macelmer · July 2014

Have you tried coconut water to replenish your lost electrolytes and potassium. It may take a while to get used to the taste, but it is recommended as an alternative to gatorade or powerade. There are also recipes on the internet to make your own electrolyte replacement drinks.

How to stop weight loss and electrolyte depletion?

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