Who are the best dieters - men or women?

Harrie

Silver Member
I was listening to Women's Hour yesterday and they said men found it easier to diet than women because men are used to taking things to the extreme - so extreme dieting comes easier for them. They then lose weight easier and are better dieters.

True? Any men here? What do you think?
 
My father is brilliant at extreme dieting. He'll lose heaps of weight, lose interest once it gets to about week 3 or 4 and then pile it back on again. I'm not for one minute saying it is indicative of all men because these sorts of sweeping statements, unless they have cast iron research to back it up, really get my goat!

I think men have it harder than women losing weight in that it is not 'manly' to be on a diet. A woman pulls out a Ryvita and a conversation starts about different diets a woman has been on. A man pulls out a Ryvita and he'll never live it down.

There's a great story on the SW website about a man who has lost 14 stone. The more men who 'go public' like this, the less stigma will be attached.
 
The best dieter, is one that keeps there eye on the goal. man or woman
very wise.

i think men tend to loose more, in my class anyway and generally i think there are a lot of factors with women that make things harder, water retention, after pregnancy, various contraception, hormones etc.etc.

weight DROPS off my OH when he puts his mind to it whereas for me im on sw probably 90% of the time and weight loss is so slow for me
 
very wise.

i think men tend to loose more, in my class anyway and generally i think there are a lot of factors with women that make things harder, water retention, after pregnancy, various contraception, hormones etc.etc.

weight DROPS off my OH when he puts his mind to it whereas for me im on sw probably 90% of the time and weight loss is so slow for me


I completley agree with this cos when i did lighter life.... for my sins.... I lost a stone a month and my mate who was a man lost 2 stone or more a month! He lost 7 stone in 3 months!!!!! I was gutted!
x
 
My DH tends to do a "radical" diet like now he is doing Atkins and will loose loads however the moment he comes off it he puts it back on! Although he would stay on it forever if he could but I dont think its so great for the health long term.

He def finds it easier to loose weight it drops off him whereas I need to work twice as hard for less off!

The best dieter is te one who reaches goal and maintains, whether that be a man or a woman.
 
I replied to another one about this earlier today

Here

You might find it interesting :)
 
My man finds it easy to lose weight, he just gives up his daily lager and it soon goes. Men have more muscle than women, so they tend to have a higher metabolic rate. That's where I go wrong, having mansize meals!
 
well arent we a liberal fair bunch lol i think that men definately loose it quicker and women have to work much harder but it depends on the individual.Plus men get a much higher calorie intake than women because there metabolism is greater mens bodies are designed not to store as much fat as womens and they dont suffer with the same water retension they also store fat differently meaning they are not as prone to cellulite as us.
 
I must confess that I find it a little frustrating when people say that it is 'easy' for men to loose weight. Purely biologically speaking, it is 'easier' for a man to loose weight than a woman... but that's doesn't make it easy. And, as was alluded to earlier, there are complex social factors that contribute to a male weight loss being difficult.

If weight loss was only about biology, and not related to what is in our minds, then yep - it'd be much easier for men.

Many men naturally manage their weight, notice (usually without scales!) that they are putting on a few pounds and naturally make healthy choices for a little while. But those who are unable to do that are often in a pickle.

Whilst it is probably socially more acceptable for men to be overweight a few pounds, it isn't socially acceptable for men to be very overweight.

I was about 4 1/2 stone overweight when I started dieting, and I've lost 3 1/2 of it. I went to Slimming World and my class, in the middle of a cosmopolitan city, had me, one other bloke and about 30 women. The support structure just isn't there for many men. Whether we like it or not - diet clubs are for girls. Of course, that's a bit ridiculous and men should just join up anyway... but it can feel a little odd given all the marketing, promotional material and so on are related to women.

You know, Slimming World have an annual big competition where they offer 'Slimmer of the Year' awards and so on. And the woman Slimmer of the Year gets about £5k more than the man! Of course, they'd justify it by saying that many more women enter etc etc, but it's those kind of subtle (and not so subtle!) messages to men that diet clubs are not for them (or they'd that be welcome, but only as an afterthought) that make things very difficult at times.

It's easier for me as the whole manly butch emasculation crap kinda goes out the window, given I'm gay. You often find that there's not much point worrying about being embarrassed in front of other men because you're going to a diet club or something - when you've already committed the major sin to masculinity of being gay!

But I do feel for some men who are in a pickle and struggling with their weight - although it might be biologically easier, it can be socially much harder to get weight off because of the sheer lack of support systems made available for men.
 
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We have a handful of men come to our class and the one before. In all bar 3 cases they are there with their wives. 1 of the other guys went to school with a couple of the ladies, one goes with his mum and the other doesn't stay to class.
 
Men have a higher metabolism than women that burns energy faster, and they also need to eat more calories each day which is why they lose weight quicker. Men are also far likely to be emotional eaters and are supposed to just eat until they're full - which again helps them to lose weight quicker.

By no means does this apply to all men, as i'm sure we all know we all gain or lose weight for different reasons and in different ways. Respect goes to any man who continues to attend classes where they're in a typically female enviroment - most men I know drop out after a couple of weeks!
 
I have worked 1-2-1 with loads of men and women but the common factor in success is whether people see it is as a massive positive in their life, whatever sex they are then they will reach their goals and more importantly maintain.

Diets should never be about losing weight, they are merely the first phase of weight maintenance, it isn't a race, it isn't a competition, it is just phase 1 of the rest of your life.

M.
 
Diets should never be about losing weight, they are merely the first phase of weight maintenance, it isn't a race, it isn't a competition, it is just phase 1 of the rest of your life..

here here! Or in my words, the diet is the journey to the starting line :)
 
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