Why weight loss is much easier for men than women
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Here’s the scenario – a man and a woman both go on the same weight loss diet at the same time. Guess which one will lose more weight, lose it faster, and have an easier time doing so? You guessed it – the man will.
It may not seem fair to women, but when it comes to losing weight, men tend to have a clear advantage. It doesn’t mean women are not working as hard at it as a man but rather it has to do with basic physiology and the differences there are between men and women. These subtle differences can add up to a greater ability to burn more calories resulting in a more significant weight loss between the sexes.
To look at why men have the upper hand on losing weight, it is important to understand three things as to why men have this advantage – one is men burn more calories, two, men have more muscle mass, and three, men are usually more physically active than women. Let’s take a closer look at these three advantages:
1. Men will burn more calories
Men typically are bigger than women. They tend to be taller, weigh more and have a bigger frame on them. Because men live in a larger body, men require more calories which creates a larger amount of calories burned. Since they have a higher calorie need, any modification they make will create larger amounts of calories being burned making their basic burn rate of calories larger to begin with. A woman with a smaller frame, lighter weight and usually not as tall, will not burn as many calories a day as a larger man will and any caloric deficit she creates will not be as large as a man’s caloric deficit.
For example, both a man and a woman may go out for a jog. The man weighs 190 pounds while the woman weighs 130 pounds. Both jog at approximately the same speed and duration but the man will burn more calories than the woman will because of his larger size.
2. Men have a faster metabolism because of more muscle mass
Biologically, men are programmed to have a higher amount of lean muscle mass than women. Lean muscle mass is the key factor determining the rate of a person’s metabolism which is the rate at which the body burns calories. Since men have this advantage of having more muscle mass, their metabolisms are higher and even when they are at rest, a man will be burning more calories than a woman will. This means men will experience a more rapid weight loss than women do. Research has found that on average the metabolism of men is 5 to 10 percent higher than that of a woman of the same weight and height.
3. Men tend to be more active
Since men generally are more physically active than women, they can usually lose weight quicker than women. Studies have discovered that women burn an average of 16 percent fewer daily calories than men. The researchers looked into that difference finding that women’s resting metabolic rate was 6 percent lower than that of men and that the number of calories burned in physical activity was 37 percent lower than that of men. Basically, women were simply not moving as much as the men were thus, they were burning fewer calories.
How women can make weight loss work for them
Even though women can’t change their height or frame size, there are other ways a woman can step up her ability to lose weight in the long run:
· Build more muscle mass by lifting weights. Some women have this notion they are too weak or they will end up looking too bulky and less feminine. But if a woman wants to help herself lose weight quicker and easier, they need to embrace weight lifting. The more muscle mass they can build, the more calories their body will burn as muscle naturally uses more calories than fat does – even while at rest. Strength training does not necessarily mean lifting heavy weight – lifting lighter hand weights or even using their body as a weight such as when doing pushups or pullups, can be very effective at building muscle.
· Use their tendency to detail to their advantage – Women are more likely to be detailed oriented than men and this can go to their advantage when trying to lose weight. Women can pay more attention to their food choices, portion sizes and making a better connection between food and their emotions.
· Remember, in the long run weight differences tend to even out between the sexes – Just because a woman may be at a disadvantage in the beginning of a weight loss attempt, the gap in weight loss will begin to narrow as both genders continue on a diet. Usually by six months the rates of weight loss among both men and women often end up being identical. So keep working towards those goals, ladies. It will pay off sooner or later.