Do men really burn that many more calories than women?

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DebbieLyn63
DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I discovered online calorie burn calculators based on heart rate the other day, and was happy to see that it was right on target with my Polar FT4.

I started playing around with the numbers to see how many calories I could burn in an hour, and as a 49 yo female, 196 lbs, at my max HR of 174, for one hour, the most I could burn is 714 calories.

Interestingly, MFP gives me around that amount for a 1 hour of Moderate Cycling, 12-14 MPH. My average HR is no where near that when I am on a moderate bike ride, so where MFP gets those numbers, I haven't a clue. But I digress.

Out of curiosity, I changed it from female to male to see if there was a difference.

I was shocked to see 1179 calories. And only 714 for women??

I assume that the difference is due to muscle mass, but that is just crazy!

I understand that the online calculators are only giving an approximate guideline, and can't give you exact numbers, but does this large of a difference between genders sound right?

So not fair! I really need to build some muscles!

Replies

  • SWEETS1234
    SWEETS1234 Posts: 243 Member
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    I know it's crazy. If your female you have to work harder to burn more but men typical consume more as well.
  • starrchiild
    starrchiild Posts: 38 Member
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    It's muscle mass. The bigger the engine the more fuel you need....

    not that I have a powerful engine yet.....yet
  • BackTatJIM
    BackTatJIM Posts: 1,140 Member
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    I know it's crazy. If your female you have to work harder to burn more but men typical consume more as well.


    you have to work harder??? that makes sense....not ;-)
  • BenderFitness
    BenderFitness Posts: 349
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    It's proportional to the muscle mass, and body fat percentage. It definitely varies.
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    So we have to shave our legs AND workout longer to burn the same calories? I so should have been a dude. :grumble:
  • Synapze
    Synapze Posts: 499
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    Im not sure about Calories but i walk with my Wife every night and because she takes more steps than i do coz shes a short a:huh: she 'apparently' walks further than i do. :grumble:

    How the hell does that work out ??? :laugh:

    Damn apps... :tongue:
  • tmauck4472
    tmauck4472 Posts: 1,785 Member
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    I'm not ready to start building muscle yet maybe after another 50 lbs gone. Soon though real soon. Then I can burn a few more calories and drop some of the flab. I'm hoping to talk myself into liking it. I think it's boring as heck.
  • North44
    North44 Posts: 359 Member
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    Just look at it this way- women are more efficient "machines."

    It may seem tougher to be female in our land of plenty but if you were in a place where food was hard to come by, as women, we'd be golden. :laugh:

    Oh and we probably wouldn't be worried about shaving our legs either. :tongue: :tongue:
  • barbaramitchell101
    barbaramitchell101 Posts: 360 Member
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    SOOO NOT FAIR....
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    Just look at it this way- women are more efficient "machines."

    It may seem tougher to be female in our land of plenty but if you were in a place where food was hard to come by, as women, we'd be golden. :laugh:

    Oh and we probably wouldn't be worried about shaving our legs either. :tongue: :tongue:

    Yessss!
  • Manapaws
    Manapaws Posts: 72 Member
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    yes,
  • bcrivers14
    bcrivers14 Posts: 2 Member
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    Women tend to live longer than men. So in the end it evens out. :-)
  • DebbieLyn63
    DebbieLyn63 Posts: 2,650 Member
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    Good point! And they kill spiders and stuff.:smile:
  • debdelilah
    debdelilah Posts: 82
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    I think that difference sounds like a bit much...the figure I've read is that men tend to have resting metabolisms 5% to 10% higher than women at the same height and weight. That difference I wouldn't think could translate into a man burning 1100 while a woman burns 700 while doing the same activity with the exact same speed and resistance and same duration, especially because if the man is stronger and more fit at the same height and weight you would expect the exercise not to raise his heart rate as much - it might be light exercise for him while its moderate for her. But I am not an expert and was hoping someone would chime in who could definitively answer your question, because I am curious, too, how you got those numbers on your machine.

    If a man and a woman have identical measured body fat percentages and also have the same height and weight, I would think their burn rates would be identical doing an identical exercise that raises the heart to an identical rate - A 150 lb, 5'10 woman with 17% body fat should probably burn as much as a 150 lb, 5'10 man with 17% body fat - but that is unusual due to the natural effects of estrogen and testosterone - as a very fit woman you might have identical lean mass with a sedentary, "skinny fat" man your same age, height and weight.

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