Men and Women Are Different When it Comes to Losing Weight
This is a little different than normal but the question seems to always come up as to whether it is easier for men to lose weight. Honestly I have given this much thought and don’t find that to be the case. Of course there are going to be people to agree and other that disagree but it’s something I must address.
You see I personally think that men are just simply fueled more to lose weight and have a stronger desire than most women to be in shape. Does this mean that women don’t want to be in shape and have sexy bodies? The answer is NO, but when you look at all the reasons men end up losing weight and actually keeping it off there is a big difference.
A Man’s #1 Reason for Losing Weight – WOMEN!
Most men I think will probably agree that nothing makes them want to lose weight and get a great body like a woman. That’s right men want to look great so that women will think he’s sexy and it makes his confidence that much higher. The fact is that almost everything men do in some regards is to gain some type of recognition from women. It’s just how we are built mentally!
From the cars we drive, the clothes we wear, and even the places we go are usually with one thing in mind and that’s to find that beautiful attractive woman. For women on the other hand it’s not really the same. It’s about how they feel and though they want to look sexy they are not going to go to the gym and kill themselves just to look good for men.
We Enjoy Things Most Women Consider Working Out
Let’s think about this for a moment. Most women consider hanging out shopping, going to the movies, and having lunch with friends fun. However a lot of women consider exercising and running to be strictly forms of working out and a weight loss process. What you will find with men on the other hand is because of our competitive nature we play basketball, football, volleyball, and things of the like.
Though these things are fun men tend to spend hours outdoors doing some type of activity and thus are burning more calories. I’m not saying that women don’t but what you will find is that the males and females that go surfing, play volleyball, football, skating, and jog for fun tend to be in better shape.
Many women consider anything that makes them sweat to be something that should be considered a workout. And if she is already going to the gym why should she be working out again when she could be having fun doing something else?
This is Just Part 1 of the Post
Sorry but I don’t want this to be entirely too long so I am breaking this into 2 separate posts. Plus I want to hear what others think and this may help me write up the second part of my article. I really want to get your input on this.
I wrote this post on my experiences with friends, clients, and even the interaction I have with my wife when it comes to her working out and staying in shape. Feel free to give you input comments are always welcome. Also look out for the FREE e-book that I should be offering soon to my site visitors.
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I know that I think of working out as a chore and have been looking for some form of exercise that I could find to be fun that will make me workout more.
@ LD – The only person that can find something that you consider fun is you. Going to the gym is one thing but having something else that requires you to get up and moving is different. Some people prefer dancing while others like jogging or rollerblading.
@ Christine – As with LD is doesn’t have to be a sport as such could be something like dancing, walking, karate, and even boxing. There are a lot of classes at the gym but there again lies the problem with it being considered a workout.
@ Lillu – Thats great maybe you could shed some light on this subject for Christine and LD so they have some ideas that maybe they could use to be more active. Its easy for me to say basketball, football, volleyball and running because those are things I actually enjoy.
@ Veronica – I have had my share of people who say if you go to the gym why are you going running. For me running is a release! Time for me to be alone with the road and music. Plus most of my friends like going to the beach and stuff men are just competitive so we find things to do.
@ Mike – Great points as usual thats one of the reasons I decided to just leave this open because I knew I would miss something. Attitude does play a big role in losing weight. I knew exactly where you are coming from with this when women have a bad day the whole week is shot! Don’t worry about the generalizations the points are well understood.
@ Kai – Its great actually hearing this from a woman. As a man I can only go from my experiences and those around me. Why do people let one bad thing mess up the entire week or the rest of the day for that matter?
@ Ashley – Well everyone is entitled to there opinion this is what the site is for open discussion to get what works and what doesn’t. My question to you Ashley though is since you don’t feel like doing anything else have you been able to lose the weight that you want and if not wouldn’t that mean that something needs to be changed? If a person is losing the weight they want by just going to the gym and eating properly (fewer calories) then by all means make no changes.
@ April – I couldn’t agree with you more!
@ Sam – Great points as I too think that we all have down fall but by nature we are just competitive. That doesn’t mean our bodies burn fat in a different way just that like you say its more of a A to B focus. If we have a bad day we may actually want to go to the gym to release frustration or go play basketball to beat up on someone to get your mind off of what happened.
Thanks for posting everyone!
- Thomas
It is hard for someone who never played any sports as a child to find a fun activity as a woman….can you help?
I have found what works for me by finding what I truly enjoy doing and that has helped me to feel like I am not working out but having fun.
I know that as a woman I certainly enjoy working out but I see where you are coming from. A lot of my friends think I work out too much and I only go to the gym 3 days per week.
When they see me rollerblading and playing beach volleyball they think I am doing it as a workout but these are things I enjoy doing for fun as you mentioned.
You kind of touch on it but I think part of it has to do with the attitude of men. We’re problem solvers by nature. We see that we’re overweight. We finally come to the conclusion that we don’t want to be overweight anymore. We set up a plan and follow through with it until it’s done.
Another point is how both men and women react to setbacks. A woman can have a bad weekend of crazy eating, and the following Monday feel down and depressed about it and may very well give up the whole losing weight thing.
A man though will say “okay, that was bad, but time to get back on track.” In other words, men don’t feel as guilty when they cheat, they simply admit it and move forward, whereas a woman could be full of regret that could make them give up.
Sorry, realize there’s a lot of generalizations in there but, just working with the 80/20 rule from what I’ve seen.:)
I have to some what agree with Mike on this one. Some of your points are valid but I think its mostly about the attitudes of men vs that of women.
How my day goes can directly affect how my workout goes if I decide to work out at all that day. I must admit at one point I just refuse to let go of the belief that it was easier for men to lose weight.
A big problem for me is feeling guilty and letting it ruin my whole week instead of saying it was a bad day it becomes a bad week.
I didnt think I should have to workout at the gym and then on the weekends. There has simply got to be a better way. I have worked out 5 days per week and still not lost any weight. I’m sorry but I still say that its easier for men to lose weight because our bodies differ.
I think that its about wanting it. It not really a matter of man or woman but rather being willing to do what it takes and being realistic.
I think you are right that a lot of women feel like gym time is about losing weight. The gym is only half of the battle. What you eat vs how active you are makes a really big difference in losing weight, being in shape, and not gaining it back.
Interesting points. I think that for men it does make it easier to do things that keep us active because of our competitive nature.
I’m with Mike on the points he brings up. Women will often be very hard on themselves even when the progress she’s made has been awesome. One slip in diet, or a week of workouts and she will revert to negative self talk and even give up or set herself back dramatically.
For a guy we will do things like research, make a plan, compete with ourselves and others by going hard on our workouts. But too often it either leads to inaction from too much planning or getting hurt because of the competitive nature in us.
We all have our downfalls. But I do feel that when it comes to physically being able to lose weight we are equal.
-Sam
I think men have it easier than women. Or maybe its just seems that way. When my husband and I seem to do all the same things he still loses more weight that I do and he is the one eating more and have more so call cheat days. That just sucks!
Thanks for the post but men just seem to have a gear that some women don’t. Maybe it is just that we don’t give ourselves enough credit for the changes we make and the lbs we do lose.
Its seems that people who have not problems losing weight think that there is no difference between men and women and the ones struggling do. I guess it just depends which side of the fence you are on. Can’t wait until the Part 2.
I think its great to hear from both sides. I never really looked at it from a man’s point of view just thought they loved working out and their bodies burn fat differently. I still say we women have it tough.
I work out and eat less and find that when I am active not just playing but moving about it helps. I use to complain about losing weight but all I really did was sit on my bum all day only moving to get something to eat and go to the restroom
Excellent point about how guys are more motivated by impressing women and their competitive nature. Since I married, I’m beyond the impressing women stage, but I still am driven by my internal motivation to constantly improve myself.
Women are motivated but I don’t that we give what we are doing a chance to actually make a difference in our bodies. We want results that people can see soon but men in my opinion tend to have more patience. What can women do
As women we tend to use food as comfort and when we get together to hang out, we usually get something to eat which makes it hard to reach our weight goals. How can we have a balance of both?