Men Vs Women-Easier to Lose Weight?

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jjl0412
jjl0412 Posts: 278 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
I was told recently, by a lady friend, that weight loss was much easier for men than women. We are not talking about activity or habits. Just a simple 'fact'. I don't agree. Dear Abby, who's right?

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  • GauchoMark
    GauchoMark Posts: 1,804 Member
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    I sense a LOT of opinions in your future!

    I've always heard that too. The only thing I can figure is that men tend to have more muscle mass, so we tend to burn more. Other than that, no clue.
  • onikonor
    onikonor Posts: 473 Member
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    A man would burn more calories doing the exact same workout than a woman (who are both about similar fitness level).

    A women needs to eat less calories than a man of the same height to lose the same amount of weight, which can be harder to do for women that have to eat say only 1200 calories a day.
  • PhilyPhresh
    PhilyPhresh Posts: 600 Member
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    I agree in a sense that women tend to eat less protein then men do and in that substitute carbs. This is why they have a harder time losing weight. My wife used to be the same way until I got her to finally give in to some opinions and ideas and now she loses weight faster than I do! So no, i think that statement is false and is just another excuse that so many people (women) have convinced themselves of to be fact....
  • manhn1
    manhn1 Posts: 137 Member
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    I'm a guy and I think it's generally easier for men to lose weight than women. One example, men don't get pregnant. I would imagine that could easily derail my weight loss goals.

    However, I think weight maintenance is about evenly hard for men and women.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    Across the board, men will lose faster than women. There will always be exceptions, but men have faster metabolisms in general, and unless your comparison is really skewed (a 6' 180lb man with a 5'5" 250lb woman do not have comparable amounts of fat to lose), the man is going to win the weight loss contest.

    Weight maintenance is about self-control and exercise, so I agree that's a pretty even match, with a slight edge to the male by having a faster metabolism than a female.
  • mikeyboy
    mikeyboy Posts: 1,057 Member
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    Across the board, men will lose faster than women. There will always be exceptions, but men have faster metabolisms in general, and unless your comparison is really skewed (a 6' 180lb man with a 5'5" 250lb woman do not have comparable amounts of fat to lose), the man is going to win the weight loss contest.

    Weight maintenance is about self-control and exercise, so I agree that's a pretty even match, with a slight edge to the male by having a faster metabolism than a female.

    Very true, and for the most part more muscle mass which means burning more calories for the same amount of excersize. Age also plays a factor with both genders.
  • jmelyan23
    jmelyan23 Posts: 1,664 Member
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    It's easier for men. I believe it has to do with higher muscle mass as well as testosterone in men vs. estrogen in women.
  • umer76
    umer76 Posts: 1,272 Member
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    My wife would agree to this thread much more than me:) I have lost 27 lbs in 3.5 months and she has lost 5 lbs in the same time. I would say she is more active in exercising than me. We are eating the same food and still she is not losing. She is discouraged to the point that she wants to leave diet control. I can only tell her to exercise more. I have also told her to start eating normally and add some junk for few days then start all over again. May be it will help.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    My wife would agree to this thread much more than me:) I have lost 27 lbs in 3.5 months and she has lost 5 lbs in the same time. I would say she is more active in exercising than me. We are eating the same food and still she is not losing. She is discouraged to the point that she wants to leave diet control. I can only tell her to exercise more. I have also told her to start eating normally and add some junk for few days then start all over again. May be it will help.

    "Exercise more" is not good advice, sorry. It comes down to diet and portion control, especially for a woman. I know lots of men who can eat whatever they want as long as they exercise, but for women, exercise just doesn't make as big a dent. Her diet is going to have a much bigger impact than her activity level.
  • alexis831
    alexis831 Posts: 469 Member
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    Considering that our body fat is what 8% higher then men’s, we have to take in less calories, and we burn less then men at our workouts. I would say women have it harder. With are chest and childbearing hips, estrogen vx. testosterone, our larger buts, our cycles, and hormones that mess everything up and our bodies natural inclination to store more fat then men… yes. However if you throw a man and woman into the desert with no food... we will live longer then the man because of our body fat! ;)
  • umer76
    umer76 Posts: 1,272 Member
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    @ secretlobster...so would you advise breaking this diet control cycle say for one week and then start all over again? Any advice will be appreciated.
  • Captain_Tightpants
    Captain_Tightpants Posts: 2,215 Member
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    Yes. Women's bodies generally have less muscle mass and there is also a genetic propensity for more adipose storage - probably because of the child carrying design, but I'm not exactly sure if that's the sole reason.

    There's another thing (and I hope I don't get too slammed for saying this as I HATE gender specific segregational concepts) - in my experience, women seem more likely to approach weight loss from a "fad" perspective than men, and those who do fail to build the sustainable habits that are required for long-term success. I've no idea why this is.
  • Erisad
    Erisad Posts: 1,580
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    Yeaaah, my bf is going to start losing weight and I can tell that while it took me 2 years to drop 53 pounds (probably will take another 2 years to lose the rest), he'll probably reach his goal much faster. It's hard not to be jealous. :/
  • AlsDonkBoxSquat
    AlsDonkBoxSquat Posts: 6,128 Member
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    I hear this a lot, but my experience doesn't reflect that opinion. I carry my weight differently than my hubs, but we struggle just the same. He's jealous of my ability to have nice defined abs (his problem area) and I'm jealous of his ability to quickly rid himself of all traces of cellulite on his *kitten* and have no overlap cheeks (my problem area). I'm also very jealous of his ability to eat twice as much as me and burn twice as much as me in the same amount of time doing the same exact thing at an identical intensity due to our comparative heights and weights. I really think that if a man and a woman made the same adjustments in ratio to their proportions they'd get similar progress in weight loss, however I do think that hormonal balance plays a huge roll in this as well and don't want to negate the importance that hormones play in performance abilities and visual progress.
  • secretlobster
    secretlobster Posts: 3,566 Member
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    @ secretlobster...so would you advise breaking this diet control cycle say for one week and then start all over again? Any advice will be appreciated.

    I'd have to see what she was eating... It's easy to give general advice but when you say what she's doing isn't working for her, I'd have to know what she's doing exactly
  • soehlerking
    soehlerking Posts: 589 Member
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    http://ideas.time.com/2012/07/03/double-standard-women-must-work-harder-to-lose-weight/

    That's the best article I've found (in my not-so-extensive research) to explain it. Hope it helps!
  • gamblerpl1
    gamblerpl1 Posts: 21 Member
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    That lady friend was his wife!!! Thank you all for letting him know that I was right!!! LOL Although it's not as simple as "it's easier for men to lose weight than it is women" just because of the sex... there are a lot of other variables such as the ones mentioned by the people posting comments... Thank you for being so helpful!!
  • Lasirenn
    Lasirenn Posts: 50 Member
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    There are many reasons why men lose weight faster (and more easily) than women. They tend to be taller and have larger bodies in general (typically the larger you are, the faster your BMR), they naturally have more muscle, which burns more calories while you're sitting around doing nothing, and I don't think men experience hormone shifts like women that causes them to temporarily gain weight/retain water (i.e. menstrual bloating.) Women also naturally have more body fat than men, even if they are slim. Long story short, in general, men have faster metabolisms than women.

    HOWEVER, I also think men tend to approach weight loss in a way that supplements their natural advantage to burning more calories. They tend to go for weights and strength training while a lot of women head straight for the treadmill or aerobics classes. I think guys in general are also more satisfied on higher protein and fat diets, while women tend to go for diets that are lower in fat, but contain more carbs which may cause bloating in some people.

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