Women are different from men, we all know that. But there are some dramatic differences between the sexes that make it much more difficult for women to lose weight.
Men have it easy.
The normal advice from a doctor when men want to lose weight is to eat better and exercise. Following that advice (or simply following the exercise part of that advice) and many men are able to shed pounds.
For women, it is a different story.
Women have a much more difficult time losing weight than men. But why is that? The answer to that question is a bit complicated but has to do with women’s physiology, brain chemistry, hormonal and other issues.
Let’s take a look at what makes women so unique.
- Pregnancy: It is not pregnancy that makes it difficult to lose weight (although this can be true); it is the potential for pregnancy that makes it difficult to lose weight. Women’s bodies have 20 percent more fat, larger fat cells, and have more enzymes that store fat – all to help support the possibility of pregnancy.
- Body Mass: Women have less lean body mass than men. Lean body mass is a measurement of the percentage of muscle a person has. This is important because muscle is what largely determines your metabolism (at least the part of your metabolism that you can change).
- Thyroid: Women, more than men, have a problem with their thyroids. It is estimated that one in eight women (age 35 to 65) and one in five women over the age of 65 have some form of thyroid disease. A low amount of certain thyroid hormones means a slower metabolism.
- Estrogens: Estrogen actually works to keep weight off, but this all changes in menopause when estrogen plummets. It is also thought that normal monthly estrogen fluctuations can make it harder to lose weight during certain times of the month.
- Brains: This is the last thing you want to hear, but women’s brains seem to have a much more difficult time resisting favorite foods than men. A new study showed the women are more likely to overeat then men and more likely to have eating disorders or behaviors such as binge eating.
- Insulin Insensitivity : While there are only slightly more women than men who have insulin insensitivity and diabetes, the conversion of sugar into fat remains a major problem for anyone trying to lose weight.
- Exercise: Everyone knows that they need to start some sort of exercise program if they want to lose weight, what most people don’t know is how hard they need to exercise in order to change their weight. You need to exercise at 80 percent of maximum and you need to include some form of weight lifting if you want to see those extra pounds go away. A heart rate monitor can help you determine 80 percent of maximum. You want to exercise at this level for around 20 to 60 minutes, 3-5 times a week.
- Stress: Stress leads to weight gain. While the science behind this is a bit complicated, it can be simplified by saying the brain and the body are connected and when you are under stress your brain releases hormones that releases other hormones (mostly cortisol) that lead to an increase in appetite and causing you to overeat. The important thing to know about this brain-body connection is that it is especially strong when the stress is constant and there is no relief.
- Sleep: Guess what else causes cortisol to rise? Lack of sleep. There is a close relationship between stress and sleep: Most people feel more stressed when they don’t sleep.
- Going it Alone: The biggest mistake you can make when you try and lose weight is to try and do it alone. Studies have shown that it helps to have support whenever you are trying to make a change in your diet.
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