Men's vs. Women's Calorie Goals

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danibrosseau
danibrosseau Posts: 45
in Food and Nutrition
Hiya. So.. my boyfriend is on this site, too. We're doing this together. :) Neither of us is seriously overweight or anything--we just want to look better.

Basically.. I was writing to say that because we're doing this together, I see his calorie goals and whatnot. We have similar lifestyles, but he gets a HUGE amount of calories! He gets 2700-ish to my 1300-ish.

Let me rephrase...
HE GETS TO EAT TWICE AS MUCH AS ME?! WHAT IS THIS NONSENSE?!

Is there an actual, legitimate reason why men get so many more calories? I know they're bigger, but.. does it really count that much? Jeez.

Replies

  • SherryTeach
    SherryTeach Posts: 2,836 Member
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    Men are bigger and generally have more muscle mass. I know, it's not fair. But other than that, I'm perfectly fine being a woman.
  • Alluminati
    Alluminati Posts: 6,208 Member
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    Is this question srs?
  • LINIA
    LINIA Posts: 1,138 Member
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    There is a way for you to eat much more if you are willing to seriously increase your exercise, but be sure you have time to continue to move, lift, run or swim at that level.

    A better way to handle this is to enjoy, learn to love or continue to enjoy foods that are filling and bulky.....many delicious vegetables fall into that category. if you, for example, eat a huge plate of spinach, kale, cut up peppers (if you like onions and mushrooms include those--i don't, but you may) , green beans and stir fry those with great spices--cilantro, ginger, cinnamon (your choice) and a tiny bit of olive oil with a lean protein (2 or 3 ounces) --you can eat a lot of food for few calories.

    This can be done---not sure of your height but if you are following a very healthy diet and you truly love the foods you choose, you have no reason to care what your boyfriend is eating. My DH eats all kinds of stuff and i never want ANY of it!!!

    Hopefully you have many foods you enjoy and love that you are happy eating and they are not too many calories for the height/weight you already maintain or want to achieve.
    GL
  • WalkingAlong
    WalkingAlong Posts: 4,926 Member
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    Is he twice your size?

    Would you feed a chihuahua and a collie the same amount? :smile:
  • alimac92
    alimac92 Posts: 705 Member
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    Ha ha, exactly what I thought years a go when I did weight watchers with my hubby.
    He was constantly in the fridge looking for his next snack albeit healthy snacks.
    I was famished on a lower allocation of WW points.

    It really did not seem fair, I was working out his points for him and preparing meals. He would bank his points for his weekend boozy drinks.
    Amazingly and because he really set his mind to it He lost 6 stones!

    I found MFP , encouragement, exercise and lots of NSV's

    We have both been here for a while and it makes it easier for me to help count his meals rather than using two fitness sites.

    It doesn't bother me these days if he eats more or less than me. Or picks and picks because it works for him..
    We encourage each other and I leave food for him to help himself to because he works nights and the meals I was leaving were too big to eat in the early hours.

    ????
  • yarwell
    yarwell Posts: 10,477 Member
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    You see published data that says things like "mean TDEE of 2443 ± 397 kcal/d that was, on average, 20% (580 kcal/d) higher in men than in women (P < 0.0001)" and RMR equations with -338 kcal/d if female so it's a real effect with the higher fat % (less muscle) in women.

    If you set the same loss goal 1 lb/week and activity level 1.5 then BMRs are..

    Him 2700 + 500 = 3200 /1.5 = 2133
    Her 1300 + 500 = 1800/1.5 = 1200

    is conceivable for a short woman vs a tall heavy guy, but at the upper end of the difference you'll see.
  • honeyboobookitten
    honeyboobookitten Posts: 4 Member
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    It is sooo not fair. My boyfriend literally eats WHATEVER he wants and stays at 135 pounds. :( Ugh..
  • _Zardoz_
    _Zardoz_ Posts: 3,987 Member
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    Life's not fair
  • KarenJanine
    KarenJanine Posts: 3,497 Member
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    1300 might be too low for you - most people can lose weight eating more than this. I lose when I eat 2000-2200 cals per day as my maintenance is around 2500-2700.

    MFP is also set up so that it is intended you eat back exercise calories; so if you workout you can eat more.
  • hookilau
    hookilau Posts: 3,134 Member
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    :laugh:
    Regardless of what we're told as little girls, women & men are *not* equal.
    The older you get, the more apparent this becomes in different ways.

    That and the law of large numbers are why he gets to eat more.
  • neandermagnon
    neandermagnon Posts: 7,436 Member
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    Men are bigger and generally have more muscle mass. I know, it's not fair. But other than that, I'm perfectly fine being a woman.

    ^^^ this

    did you put in the same goal? e.g. did he put in to lose 1lb a week and you to lose 2lb a week? thta will make a difference, as will your activity factor.... but even if everything else is equal, he will get to eat more calories than you due to the above.

    if you want to get to eat more then do more exercise

    you could always try a different calculator - personally I find that MFP massively underestimates my daily calorie burn, probably because I have more lean mass than average for my height. the Katch McArdle formula is the most accurate for me, in terms of comparing what it predicts with my actual real world results. Which one is most accurate will vary from person to person though.


    Also, one reason why a lot of women gain weight after getting married or being in a serious relationship, is because they eat the same size portions as their partner... but as you can see men need to eat more food than women, so she gets fat while he stays lean.

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