Women and Weight Loss

LunaStar2008

What do MFP men think when they hear statements like weight loss is different for women?

I'll presume to speak only for myself and in generalities.

Women are not a 'special population' when it comes to weight loss. They are half the population. On the simplest level, it's always kcal(in) < kcal(out) to lose weight. Your specific genotype may determine what TDEE is (mine is about 5% lower than all online calculators) but going under TDEE will always work.

Now, if you're talking building muscle, that's a different ballgame only insofar as women cannot build muscle at the same rate or mass that men can due to the massive endocrine and other systems that make men and women men and women and not androgynous. The mechanisms for building that muscle are exactly the same - overload, recovery, adaptation.

tl;dr: It's bull****.

^^^^This :flowerforyou:

veganbettie

losing weight is easy if you get down to the nitty gritty.

The only time I would say a woman has it harder is if and when she is breastfeeding a child. That makes you hungerer than an alligator at a chicken farm...but it's still possible once you get the hang of it.

People need to stop making excuses, everyone has struggles, you've had your body your whole darn life, you should be able to figure out how it works.

erickirb

:laugh: Okay Okay.
So concerns related to pregnancy, TOM, or great support for the "knockers" don't influence your opinions??

a 500 cal/day deficit will result in, on average, a 1 lb/week weight loss regardless of gender. The issue I could see is that a guy and the same height and weight typically has a higher caloric goal due to more lean body mass. So if the complaint is how little they have to eat to lose weight vs. a guy, valid point, harder to lose weight, not so.

Blueberry09

I have sympathy for the plight of women, as am one. I have experienced the plight of hormone fluctuations and imbalances for a couple of years, and it makes it extremely difficult to lose weight. No matter what some posters here say, it's not always calories in vs calories out. It's way more complicated than that for some. I'm living it. Feel free to msg me to discuss further.

I hear ya sista!!

Sabine_Stroehm

While I think the CiCO approach is generally effective, I *do* believe there are fundamental differences between men and women, and tailor my replies based on that. And age, and current weight...

shadesof66

:laugh: Okay Okay.
So concerns related to pregnancy, TOM, or great support for the "knockers" don't influence your opinions??

No, because a calorie deficit will eventually prevail.

+1 and that is all anyone male/female young or old needs to fully understand...

JosieRawr

:laugh: Okay Okay.
So concerns related to pregnancy, TOM, or great support for the "knockers" don't influence your opinions??

Here's my entire advice regarding the "knockers"
Tie those suckers down and hope the supports don't snap!!

erickirb

I have sympathy for the plight of women, as am one. I have experienced the plight of hormone fluctuations and imbalances for a couple of years, and it makes it extremely difficult to lose weight. No matter what some posters here say, it's not always calories in vs calories out. It's way more complicated than that for some. I'm living it. Feel free to msg me to discuss further.

I hear ya sista!!

Not 100%, the hormones change the calories out portion of the equation, but is still cals in and out

mathandcats

it is only different for women in terms of our caloric intake, we run lower then men, we cannot "eat like a man" and lose weight.

While we are not "special snowflakes" we do have different caloric needs then men.

Pretty much what I was going to say. I think that most of the complaining about men "losing easier" is that they can generally eat far more than a woman and still have the same deficit. A higher goal means you can more easily fit treats or high calorie foods, and it's definitely easier for most men to fit a typical restaurant meal into their goals than most women.

My brother started losing weight about a month before I did, and we have a similar amount to lose. He's about 8" taller than I am, so he gets to eat a lot more, but we're losing at about the same rate - he's lost 5lb more than me with that additional month. I don't think it's any "easier" for him than me, beyond the larger portions... His fiancee gets frustrated, but I think that's what other people have already mentioned - women eating the same portion sizes as men, but not losing while the man does.

Complaints about TOM and such are, for the most part, just whining. If you have a medical condition making your periods very difficult, maybe that's different, but for those of us who don't... it's just something you have to deal with. Don't let yourself make excuses - it's going to come back next month too!

JTick

I'm kinda stuck on why you think having boobs affects weight loss? I mean, wear a bra and get on with it.

Also Team Get-Over-It. The TOM threads twist my undies in a knot. I bled non-stop for almost a year...and lost weight while doing it. I must be Wonder Woman.

Galatea_Stone

I eat more when I want to gain, eat less when I want to lose. My hormones have been all over the place because of medical treatments, but it still works. It just takes sticking to things and not slacking or mindlessly munching on goldfish crackers all day long. I used to use the "I can't lose weight anyway" excuse all the time. It justified me having the banana cream pie after a huge steak dinner, the extra Manhattan cocktail, the cheeseburger on the way home, eating all the extra bites of bacon and eggs off the kids' plates when they were finished eating....And it was my excuse for sitting on my butt and watching Food Network instead of going for a simple 1 mile walk.

The day I changed my mindset and resolve was the day I started to change my body.

People who complain that they aren't losing tend to be eating way more than they think and exercising way less than they think. A handful of this, a pinch of that, a taste of this, a lick of that. It all adds up.

Momf3boys

I have lost 130 pounds in the past....worked my *kitten* off, ate right and did it in a year.....got cancer, had another baby and now in forced menopause....working harder than I did before, eating better than I did before and the scales barely move. My doctor is shocked at my current weight loss because she said that after having ovaries removed it is extremely difficult to lose weight....that's just my personal experience.

rebeccaplatt21

I have sympathy for the plight of women, as am one. I have experienced the plight of hormone fluctuations and imbalances for a couple of years, and it makes it extremely difficult to lose weight. No matter what some posters here say, it's not always calories in vs calories out. It's way more complicated than that for some. I'm living it. Feel free to msg me to discuss further.

i agree with her. for me, with PCOS, it seems much harder than it does for most. it FEELS like i have to work twice as long and twice as hard as someone without PCOS to achieve the same goal. it's not an excuse for me, i still do the work, i just lose much slower and i (grudgingly) accept that.

kwaz29

:laugh: Okay Okay.
So concerns related to pregnancy, TOM, or great support for the "knockers" don't influence your opinions??

If by concerns you mean excuses, then no, they don't influence my opinion.

I have not been pregnant and honestly don't plan on it, so can't really comment on that, but I think you can and probably should still eat right and do at least low impact exercise as long as you are medically cleared to do it.

As for TOM, I will never understand how grown women who have been getting their period since puberty continue to panic each month like it's never happened before. You know it's coming...it's not a surprise. How can people freak out each month about something that has happened 12 times a year since you were in middle school? It happens, deal with it, and keep going! You know the weight won't stay, you know that you should still be working out. Again, just an excuse, not a legitimate reason why you can't lose weight.

As for boobs...trust me I have more than a fair share, but I still run, lift, snowboard, bike, do mud runs, etc and surprisingly I'm still alive! Even with boobs! Who would have thunk it? Just buy a good sports bra like every other normal woman who works out.

TLDR: stop looking for excuses for why you aren't losing weight, rather than putting in hard work and being accountable. Women and men both have to work hard to lose weight-you don't get a special pity party because you have girl parts.

PikaKnight

:laugh: Okay Okay.
So concerns related to pregnancy, TOM, or great support for the "knockers" don't influence your opinions??

If by concerns you mean excuses, then no, they don't influence my opinion.

I have not been pregnant and honestly don't plan on it, so can't really comment on that, but I think you can and probably should still eat right and do at least low impact exercise as long as you are medically cleared to do it.

As for TOM, I will never understand how grown women who have been getting their period since puberty continue to panic each month like it's never happened before. You know it's coming...it's not a surprise. How can people freak out each month about something that has happened 12 times a year since you were in middle school? It happens, deal with it, and keep going! You know the weight won't stay, you know that you should still be working out. Again, just an excuse, not a legitimate reason why you can't lose weight.

As for boobs...trust me I have more than a fair share, but I still run, lift, snowboard, bike, do mud runs, etc and surprisingly I'm still alive! Even with boobs! Who would have thunk it? Just buy a good sports bra like every other normal woman who works out.

TLDR: stop looking for excuses for why you aren't losing weight, rather than putting in hard work and being accountable. Women and men both have to work hard to lose weight-you don't get a special pity party because you have girl parts.

Sabine_Stroehm

Also, anyone should be able to eat 2,500 calories per day and still lose weight. Just burn off the excess through exercise. It's about net calories at the end of the day for me, and obeying my set calorie deficit goal.

Actually, I'd rather not approach it this way at all. I don't exercise (just) so I can eat more. I exercise because it's good for me, just like I eat healthy and delicious foods because they're good for me.

I doubt, for me, using exercise that way would lead to long term (as in lifetime) success.
But then, to lose at 2500 calories (using your number), I'd need to burn about 1,000 calories a day via exercise each day. To think of it that way would annoy me.
In fact, I think it's an unhealthy way to view things. But that's just me.

likitisplit

Also, anyone should be able to eat 2,500 calories per day and still lose weight. Just burn off the excess through exercise. It's about net calories at the end of the day for me, and obeying my set calorie deficit goal.

Actually, I'd rather not approach it this way at all. I don't exercise (just) so I can eat more. I exercise because it's good for me, just like I eat healthy and delicious foods because they're good for me.

I doubt, for me, using exercise that way would lead to long term (as in lifetime) success.
But then, to lose at 2500 calories (using your number), I'd need to burn about 1,000 calories a day via exercise each day. To think of it that way would annoy me.
In fact, I think it's an unhealthy way to view things. But that's just me.

^^^ I agree with this.

3dogsrunning

Also, anyone should be able to eat 2,500 calories per day and still lose weight. Just burn off the excess through exercise. It's about net calories at the end of the day for me, and obeying my set calorie deficit goal.

Actually, I'd rather not approach it this way at all. I don't exercise (just) so I can eat more. I exercise because it's good for me, just like I eat healthy and delicious foods because they're good for me.

I doubt, for me, using exercise that way would lead to long term (as in lifetime) success.
But then, to lose at 2500 calories (using your number), I'd need to burn about 1,000 calories a day via exercise each day. To think of it that way would annoy me.
In fact, I think it's an unhealthy way to view things. But that's just me.

^^^ I agree with this.

I somewhat agree. I mean, if your goal is 2100 and are looking to burn an extra 300-400, I don't think it is necessarily a bad way to look at it, especially if it is incentive for someone to get moving who would otherwise be sedentary. Plus, someone who is larger starting out will have a higher calorie goal even at deficit and will burn extra calories so it is easier to do that.
But I don't agree with the overall mentality of "needing" to burn xxxx calories, particularly a set number like that. There is a significant difference between aiming to burn a couple hundred calories a day and aiming for upwards of 1000 or more, particularly as an individual gets closer to goal weight.

likitisplit

:laugh: Okay Okay.
So concerns related to pregnancy, TOM, or great support for the "knockers" don't influence your opinions??

If by concerns you mean excuses, then no, they don't influence my opinion.

I have not been pregnant and honestly don't plan on it, so can't really comment on that, but I think you can and probably should still eat right and do at least low impact exercise as long as you are medically cleared to do it.

As for TOM, I will never understand how grown women who have been getting their period since puberty continue to panic each month like it's never happened before. You know it's coming...it's not a surprise. How can people freak out each month about something that has happened 12 times a year since you were in middle school? It happens, deal with it, and keep going! You know the weight won't stay, you know that you should still be working out. Again, just an excuse, not a legitimate reason why you can't lose weight.

As for boobs...trust me I have more than a fair share, but I still run, lift, snowboard, bike, do mud runs, etc and surprisingly I'm still alive! Even with boobs! Who would have thunk it? Just buy a good sports bra like every other normal woman who works out.

TLDR: stop looking for excuses for why you aren't losing weight, rather than putting in hard work and being accountable. Women and men both have to work hard to lose weight-you don't get a special pity party because you have girl parts.

Since you did such an excellent job on the rest of it, let me cover pregnancy. Pregnancy and childbirth is an awesome process. Not like "woo hoo." Awesome like "Wow. Oh, wow."

It is a natural physical process. As such, being fit and healthy before, during and after pregnancy is important. However, there are manifold side effects of pregnancy and any or all of these may put a damper on your focus on health. Ride the wave and do the best you can. It's only 10 months (preceding the biggest life change you'll ever face, but we're talking about women here and parenthood effects everybody).

After you have the baby, it will take some time for your body to readjust. A lot of stuff takes about 6 weeks. Some stuff takes longer, especially if you're lactating. Listen to your body and do what you can. The better you eat and the more you move, the more energy you will have (hahahaha). Especially after they are sleeping 4 hours in a row.

Once the kid is a year old, the party is on if you haven't had the opportunity to get back 100% yet. You might still be nursing but it's unlikely that any diet changes will affect your supply. It's time for Mommy to get her groove back - just add the 250 - 500 calories of nursing to your diet. You are no special snowflake, it's just another process your body is doing that requires fueling. CICO.

StaciMarie1974

Weight loss is different IMO for women vs men. Not in the basics though. Its still calories in vs calories out. Just looking at my husband and myself: we have different caloric needs. His BMR is higher than mine, and so even if we do the same activities at the same exertion level: he burns more. Meaning he can have a reasonable deficit and eat at a higher range and/or be less diligent with weighing, logging his food and still get results.

To a certain extent I think advice here in the forums is always tailored to the individual, regardless of gender. The journey for someone with 100 pounds to lose is a little different than for someone with 20.