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I can’t help it. I’m just built this way.
Ladies, it’s true. Women have a much harder time losing weight than men. It’s not fair, I know. I always say, it ain’t easy bein’ a girl. Here’s more proof!
Men DO lose weight faster than women
I started dieting at the end of August. I cut down on food: 1,200 calories a day or less. In two months I’ve lost ten pounds. In addition, I’ve been training for a marathon and have been running a gazillion miles. Ok, maybe not a gazillion, but sure seems like it.
Case in point: My friend, Daniel, has been dieting for five months and playing soccer. He’s lost thirty pounds so far. I’m still dieting and running, and I haven’t dropped any more weight.
I’ve also heard other women complain that men seem to lose weight faster. I did a search online, and all of the articles I found confirmed my suspicions.
Men=More Testosterone=More Muscle Mass=Higher Metabolism
It’s biological. Men are programmed to have more lean muscle mass than women. More muscle translates into higher metabolism. They burn more calories faster. And get this, they burn more calories even when they are resting! Pfffft. No fair! In fact, research has shown that mens’ metabolism is 5% to 10% higher.
Women=More Estrogen=Store More Fat
Estrogen is the hormone that works to keep fat on womens’ bodies to make it easier for us to get pregnant. This means we have to work harder to lose weight than men. Lovely.
Women are more likely to stress eat
Women are more likely to eat when they are stressed, anxious, sad, or bored. In addition, we tend to go for the packaged stuff: chocolate, sweets, and breads. These are all foods that are easy to overeat. Men are more likely to go for home cooked meals: meat and potatoes. You know, just like mom used to make.
Dieting alone won’t get great results
When trying to drop pounds, women tend to diet more. Dieting slows metabolism. Cutting calories eats away at muscle and triggers hormonal changes that promote fat storage. This means dieting alone won’t get great results. Women have to exercise to keep or build muscle to increase metabolism and burn more calories.
Men, on the other hand, can lose weight with exercise alone. Again, so NOT fair.
What’s a girl to do?
Scream and kick and throw a tantrum? Sometimes I feel like I just might!
For me, cutting calories and running have helped, to a point. I did drop ten pounds and have managed to keep it off. I guess better work on my strength training next and put on a little muscle. My goal is to lose 5 more pounds by the end of November.
I just finished my marathon this weekend. I’m going to keep doing cardio, but will probably stick to 10K runs a few times a week. And I plan on starting this P90 thing that you’ve all probably heard about. It’s got a little bit of everything and I’m looking forward to it.
Stop the madness. Make more time to work out.
This girl has also been swamped with lots of things lately. Fortunately, the number of those things have gone down. I’ve vowed not to add more crazy on top of the crazy so I can carve out time for my fitness goals.
November is my month. All mine. I will lose five more!
Here are some of the articles I came across:
Why Men Lose Faster than Women, weightwatchers.com
Do Men Lose Weight Faster Than Women?, About.com
10 Reasons Men Lose Weight Faster Than Women, theadventurouswriter.com/blog
Just a gurl 