On several recent episodes of the “Biggest Loser,” the men seem to lose significantly more weight than the women. Is this just a weird statistical anomaly or is there scientific truth involved? Well, both.
Genetically speaking, men can tone and build muscle faster than women can. This is an important edge the men have over women. Remember, toning muscle is key to long term weight loss. Muscle tissue is the most metabolically active tissue and it follows, the more you have the more calories you’ll burn.
But, don’t think that women should throw in the towel. They should also follow an exercise plan with resistance training, maybe just not as much as men. A few studies have shown that women do best with aerobic workouts while men do best with resistance training. Now imagine the success women could experience by devoting some of their exercise time to resistance training while keeping aerobic workouts the main type.
As a matter of fact, men may lose weight faster than women, but women can sustain a certain weight longer. If you belong to the better gender, stay consistent, stay focused, and add resistance exercises to a predominantly aerobic workout and, in time, you’ll eventually succeed for years to come. Men, on the other hand, will re-gain their gut and have to start all over with a new diet plan in a year or two.
A baseball coach of mine, years ago, told me to practice what I was bad at doing, not what I was good at doing. I never was a great bunter…but I practiced at it only a fraction of the time I spent driving the ball to the gaps. Maybe there’s a pattern to recognize…practice what you’re bad at doing and just maybe you’ll get better.
So for women, this means adding more resistance training to your exercise plan. It also means focusing on the more emotional side of eating: motivations, associations, and goal setting.
For men, run or walk or skip or simply move more. Watch the physical side of eating: how much you’re eating, how fast you’re eating, and how often you’re eating.
In reality, there’s no gender difference with weight loss. Some things work best for men and others for women. Capitalize on what works well and improve on what doesn’t. Success is just around the corner!
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