Estrogen vs. Testosterone & BMR

asb46

There is a reason why men lose weight more quickly than women do. There's a reason why womens' weight fluctuates with their cycles, and why it's even more frustrating for peri-menopausal women to try and lose weight. There's a reason why middle-aged men who've been trim all their lives suddenly develop a beer gut and love handles and have trouble getting it off.

Calories in do not equal calories out.

Not all the time and not for women.

OMG...did I just write that? Yes.

Here's the deal. The BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate) is a snapshot. Everyone's metabolic rate can change from time to time and is influenced by hormones. Estrogen and progesterone are the mac-mamas of hormones. We all have it, including all those macho muscle-bound hero types. Except for them, the estrogen is kept in check by testosterone until the T begins to wane in their middle years.

Women's estrogen levels change throughout their cycles, and begin to fall off completely during menopause as their ovaries shrivel up and die.

These hormones influence our metabolism, and how, how much, what kind and where fat is deposited on our bodies. Men deposit more fat on their bellies that is readily accessible and more easily shed. Women (until after menopause when the Testosterone is out of balance with the declining estrogen) produce fat on their hips and thighs that is for long-term storage and not so easily lost.

If my BMR measured at 2000, eating 1500 calories a day will not guarantee me a 1 pound per week weight loss, since hormonal issues can drop my metabolism down to 1200 calories per day AND I WON"T EVEN KNOW IT. Further compounding this problem, certain foods, including complex carbohydrates, metabolise at a rate that is not equivalent to their lab-tested combustion calories, due to hormonal and enzymatic chemical reactions in people with metabolic disorders.

A calorie isn't a calorie. Forget what you've learned, muscle boy.

The takeaway is this: eat as healthy as possible, understand what's in the food you eat and practice portion control. Do it for the long haul, and be patient.

asb46

And oh, by the way, the ticker means nothing. I've been researching food nutrition, diet, metabolism and medical management of weight loss for 30 years.

Jadzea42

So do you think some foods make you fat? while other foods may keep you fat? And depending on the chemicals in them be so toxic to your system that its impossible for you to burn fat? or lose weight. I feel like this is true for me and I lose weight a whole lot faster and easier when I eat more healthy types of things, not to mention feel better and seem to have better more quality workouts, Like and engine burning a better cleaner higher octane gasoline. However I must say that at some point I get to a level of "fitness" where I feel like I can eat pretty much anything, and not gain a pound, or in fact lose weight, At that point I think it becomes calories in/ calories out.

MMAQueen

it's still calories in vs calories out. just some times calories out isn't always the same.

gingerveg

This is an excellent post thank you so much for posting this!

gingerveg

it's still calories in vs calories out. just some times calories out isn't always the same.

No kidding, but there are more layers to it. That's like taking two people, one rich and one poor, and saying a dollar is a dollar. Yeah a dollar spent is a dollar spent, but a dollar to a rich person is nothing compared to what it actually costs the poor person.

I'm realizing this is much more complex than any catch phrase (electrolytes it's what plants crave!)