You’re not crazy, Men do lose weight faster than Women.
Men, thanks to their body composition, have more muscle and a higher metabolic rate than women. This means that if a man and woman are just sitting together on the couch, the man is burning more calories just while resting.
Let’s talk about hormones:
Men have about 10 times more testosterone than women. Testosterone increases protein synthesis and lean body mass, which in turn increases your resting metabolic rate – which means men burn more calories than women.
Women have more estrogen than men. This is because a woman’s body is meant to bear children. Women have about 6-11% more body fat than men. A study done at the University of New South Wales found that estrogen reduces women’s ability to burn energy after eating. Basically, this means that women are better at holding on to fat than men are.
Body Composition:
Men typically have more weight in their midsection (visceral fat). When people lose visceral fat it improves their metabolic rate, helping them to burn more calories.
Women typically have more subcutaneous fat (fat around the thighs, rear, and hips). When people lose subcutaneous fat, this does not improve their metabolic risk factors because this type of fat is not metabolically active.
Read More Muscle Can’t Turn into Fat
In it for the long haul:
Ladies, there is hope! In a study with men and women on the same weight loss diet, men lost twice as much weight and three times as much body fat after the first 2 months. At six months, the weight loss had evened out, with men just slightly in the lead. Consistency helps even the playing field.
Women can boost their fat-burning metabolic rate through resistance training – lift weights!! Having more lean muscle mass means that your metabolism increases, and that you’ll be burning more calories while resting.
