A little healthy competition could be just what the doctor ordered. Losing weight with a partner is a great idea as you can help motivate each other to achieve faster results. However if you are a couple losing weight together, it’s important to remember that males and females will experience different results, even when making the same effort. It sounds unfair but it all comes down to a few simple facts of biology.
Physiologically men are able to lose weight faster than women. Why?
Men carry a greater percentage of muscle than women and muscle tissue is the body’s “motor” that uses kilojoules. Therefore as men move and exercise they use more kilojoules than women. When restricting your kilojoule intake to lose weight the kilojoule shortfall will be greater for men, so they can expect to lose weight about 50% faster than their female counterparts.
This is encouraging news for the men but ladies don’t be discouraged, you can take comfort in the knowledge that your slower results are to be expected, and not the result of your doing anything wrong.
cheers and good luck
Dr Tim
