Why do men lose weight faster than women?
A client I saw recently said something to me that I know resonates with millions of women about women’s weight loss.
“I work out so hard,” she told me. “I follow my diet to the letter, and it’s a battle just to lose a couple of pounds in a month. But my boyfriend – even if he cheats on his diet a little bit – still experiences weight loss week after week. It’s just not fair!”
Fair or not, that’s just the way it is. But why? Why do men tend to lose more quickly than women?
Too many women figure that they’re ‘not trying hard enough’. But it usually isn’t that they aren’t doing enough – or that men are trying harder. It really comes down to the fact that men and women are simply made differently – and those differences have a big impact on women’s weight loss rates.
Here’s what’s at play. The number of calories that your body requires – just to fuel its most basic functions – is determined by a couple of things. First is simply your total body size – it takes more calories to fuel a large body than it does a smaller one. Most men are larger than women, so chalk up one for the guys.
Then there’s the issue of body composition – every pound of lean body mass you have burns about 14 calories a day, while every pound of fat you have only burns about 2 calories. So, the more muscle you carry (and the less fat) the greater your daily calorie burn. Score another one for the guys…not only are their bodies bigger, they tend to carry more muscle than women do, too.
As if that weren’t enough, men are more likely to burn more calories when they exercise. Again, it’s not that they’re necessarily pushing themselves that much harder – it’s just that the larger the body, the more calories it takes to move that body through space. A 250-pound guy is going to burn more calories running for an hour than a gal weighing 150 pounds – even if they go at the same pace.
So it boils down to this: the number of calories it takes for the average man to maintain his weight is higher than it is for the average woman. And that can be a big advantage to men when it comes to weight loss. A heavy-set guy who maintains his weight on 2500 calories a day can cut out 1000 calories or so from his daily intake, still have a reasonable 1500 calories to spend on his meals and snacks, and drop a couple of pounds a week.
On the other hand, his girlfriend who is struggling with her weight might be maintaining on only 1600 calories or so. To lose weight safely, she shouldn’t cut her intake to less than 1200 calories a day – which means that while he can easily create a 1000 calorie-per-day shortage, the 400 calories that she’s able to cut means she’ll be hard-pressed to lose even a half a pound in a week’s time.
I think it’s great when couples work together to try to get in shape. Because, when it works, they can help support and motivate each other. But when it doesn’t work, it’s often because she resents him for losing more quickly, or he faults her for ‘not trying hard enough’. It’s not a contest, and even if it were, the playing field simply isn’t level. And in any other match-up, that just wouldn’t be fair.
Written by Susan Bowerman, MS, RD, CSSD. Susan is a paid consultant for Herbalife.
Tags: best diet, body composition, calorie counting, Healthy Eating, Herbalife, man lose weight, Susan Bowerman, Weight Loss, WeightLoss, woman lose weight
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[...] [...]
There’s no shoes which fit everyone. There are exercises which may work for you but won’t work for others. Personally, I think everyone should understand his needs, his enthusiasm for losing weight first and then choose a sport he’s truly interested in.
[...] 3Here are the links: http://www.livestrong.com/article/193153-do-men-lose-weight-faster-than-women/ http://www.discovergoodnutrition.com/2012/07/womensweightloss/ [...]
I enjoy reading what others are posting thanks alot…..
Well, sorry girls, but as Susan says we are different in our body structures. However, this means there are areas where you have advantages over us. Keep exercising.
It is a logical explanation why men lose weight faster than women keeping he-ght-weight or BMI parameters equal. By nature women have low muscle mass compared to the shape of body when they are overweight as compared to similar conditions with men. But the rate of losing weight goes to more or less equal for both men & women at the … end closer to ideal weight on BMI calculations. Thanks Susan for your valuable explanation!
Let to get a healthy weight loss right now
Sometimes we are jealous of men because of its easy to lose weight
Dear Judith,
Congratulations for your progress in the weight loss challenge! The rate of weight loss that you’re experiencing is absolutely normal, so don’t get discouraged! Most people find that they lose quite a bit of weight when they first start a diet – in large part because they experience significant water weight. As your challenge continues, you’re experiencing more ‘true’ weight loss – in the form of body fat. Please also keep in mind that since you are exercising, it’s quite possible that you are losing body fat, but gaining lean muscle mass, so you may not be seeing as much of a change on the scale. That’s one reason that we also suggest that you pay attention to the positive changes in your body, your energy level and how your clothes fit, and don’t let the numbers on the scale be the only measure of your progress. You’ve lost more than 12 pounds already, and that’s fantastic progress!
Susan B.
Were on our 5th week of wt loss challenge and i’m starting to get disappointed with my wt loss.i loss 4.8 lbs on the 1st week,2.6,2.4,1.6,1.6 respectively.i wonder what went wrong?after taking my meal plan(shake)strictly,tabs,gym..can someone help me figure this out…
If someone is 10 percent over a target weight of 200 pounds then he needs to lose 20 pounds. If someone is 10 percent over a target weight of 100 pounds then she only needs to lose 10 pounds. Bottom line: Forget about it. Everyone is different. Do what is right for you.
Thanks Susan for another well written postdiscover Good Nutrition is a huge help to all of us.
@ Louis, I do Wt Loss Challenges for women & men in same class because the winners are determined by percentage of body fat lost.
Hi Susan,
‘A heavy-set guy who maintains his weight on 2500 calories a day can cut out 1000 calories or so from his daily intake, still have a reasonable 1500 calories to spend on his meals and snacks, and drop a couple of pounds a week’
I’m having problems reducing my body fat from 28% & my BMR is 2050 if I drop below my BMR as per the example above will this not cause my body to go in to starvation mode?
Kind regards
Barney
Physiologically, men are build different from women & there are a lot of research papers & tests that found that what Susan said is very valid. There’s a minimum caloric intake that the body must be at or the body will go into survival mode or fat gain. Men just simply have more leeway because of muscle mass & activity.
Why is it ok for the man to cut 40% of his calorie intake while the woman can only safely cut 25% ?
Maybe weight loss chalenges could be geared for two seperate groups,one for women and one for men.