[Question about Weight loss between Males and Females]

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q8yhon1993
q8yhon1993 Posts: 2 Member
edited August 2021 in Health and Weight Loss
Good day,

It's time that I post on my favorite website to seek guidance.

My wife and I wanted to go through a weight loss journey we started 2 months ago, i'm an experienced weight lifter 10+ years, 28 yo 170 cm, [71 KG before weight cut, 65 KG now, around 19% BF, losing at 3 KG/Month], and I set my calorie deficit at 1850 calories, and I workout 4x/week.

She is 22 yo .164 cm, [66 KG before weight cut, and now 64.3 KG as of today, around 35% BF] setting calories at 1400 and she works out 4x/week + cardio 30-35 mins after training] she's a newbie weight lifter 1+ years.

I'm losing at a steady pace and the weight loss is going perfectly for me, as for her, in those 2 months she's lost only 1.7 KG, the problem is she is getting demotivated whenever she sees my daily weigh in.

The question is, (i need some wrinkle brains) on what is she doing wrong or how females weight loss should go because I have no idea about how females body weight loss works, all i know that females lose weight harder than men.

We are tracking/weighing everything we eat and the water consumption is on point everyday.

Thanks.

Replies

  • Lietchi
    Lietchi Posts: 6,316 Member
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    I'm about the same size and weight as your girlfriend and I'm eating quite a bit more than her (between 1700 and 2000 on average), losing at about the same rate. Granted, I'm doing more cardio and less strength training (strength training doesn't burn a lot of calories).
    Is she eating 1400 as a fixed number, or 1400 exercise calories?

    For women, it can be harder because we are a lot more susceptible to water retention, from hormonal fluctuations to simply retaining water more easily from stress (for example by not eating enough).
    She might also be retaining water from the strength training, which can mask fat loss on the scale (in case she started weight training during her weight loss, or increased the intensity/frequency).

    Comparing with you really isn't a good idea, she should pursue her own goals :smile: I don't think anything is wrong. Slower weight loss is sensible, especially since she's already at a healthy weight. Women have a harder time building muscle and losing too quickly can lead to muscle loss, so I'd just continue as is (being patient) or perhaps experiment with eating a bit more for a few weeks. At her weight, she might consider doing recomp instead of weight loss: aiming for a stable weight on the scale, while increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat mass (following a progressive strength training plan and ensuring sufficient protein intake).
  • q8yhon1993
    q8yhon1993 Posts: 2 Member
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    Lietchi wrote: »
    I'm about the same size and weight as your girlfriend and I'm eating quite a bit more than her (between 1700 and 2000 on average), losing at about the same rate. Granted, I'm doing more cardio and less strength training (strength training doesn't burn a lot of calories).
    Is she eating 1400 as a fixed number, or 1400 exercise calories?

    For women, it can be harder because we are a lot more susceptible to water retention, from hormonal fluctuations to simply retaining water more easily from stress (for example by not eating enough).
    She might also be retaining water from the strength training, which can mask fat loss on the scale (in case she started weight training during her weight loss, or increased the intensity/frequency).

    Comparing with you really isn't a good idea, she should pursue her own goals :smile: I don't think anything is wrong. Slower weight loss is sensible, especially since she's already at a healthy weight. Women have a harder time building muscle and losing too quickly can lead to muscle loss, so I'd just continue as is (being patient) or perhaps experiment with eating a bit more for a few weeks. At her weight, she might consider doing recomp instead of weight loss: aiming for a stable weight on the scale, while increasing muscle mass and decreasing fat mass (following a progressive strength training plan and ensuring sufficient protein intake).

    She's eating 1400 as a fixed number, choosing this specific calorie consumption is because she leads a sedentary lifestyle.
  • nanastaci2020
    nanastaci2020 Posts: 1,072 Member
    edited August 2021
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    Her BMR is about 1400, meaning that before considering exercise: she burns about 1680 per day sedentary. Meaning her deficit is fairly small, and the scale weight IS easily influenced by water fluctuations as already mentioned. Factoring in exercise a few times a week, she might expect to lose at most 1 pound per week. "At most" being the key phrase. Seems that she is losing about .5 pounds roughly per week. That could mean she's EXTREMELY sedentary (burning less than the 1680 estimate), she burns calories a little slower than the average person, or that there are some errors in food logging. Or a bit of all 3.

    What can she do? One approach is to appreciate that there is nothing wrong with slow weight loss. She can look for ways to increase her general activity. Not just exercise - but more movement in general. And it wouldn't hurt to check for logging accuracy. Using a food scale, weighing in grams is the most accurate for solid food logging.
  • MaltedTea
    MaltedTea Posts: 6,286 Member
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    All of the above. Plus, what are her body composition goals beyond weightloss?

    I ask because that may help her find a program that works for her (at 5' 4" and ~140 lb).

    While couple workouts are super cute and Insta-worthy, it's not a long-term solution. Maybe for warm-ups, cooldowns and "finishers" that could work. You didn't say you were doing this, OP, but I note that you both train the same number of days per week.

    Also tracking diligently throughout her cycle to see if there are patterns may be insightful.

    Lastly, you two sound sweet together 😍
  • wunderkindking
    wunderkindking Posts: 1,615 Member
    edited August 2021
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    Absolutely track through cycle - I mostly maintain, gain a little right before my period, and only show scale weight loss right as my period starts.

    Also, it's not necessarily a male/female thing. The simple fact of the matter is, in my scenario, I have more muscle and more activity than my husband. I've lost 50 something pounds over the past year to his 30 something. This doesn't surprise me. It surprises him (GUYS ARE SUPPOSED TO LOSE MORE!) but one of us does some resistance training and works with dogs as a second job and the other one ONLY has the desk job. Frankly our TDEEs are similar but again I have more recreational and work related burn. I also work from home which comes with stairs in order to go pee and I can move around whenever I want and do. He walks 10 feet to the bathroom and his walking is occasional and only when he's needed in the lab.

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