Common Road Blocks Women Face During Weight Loss

The battle between men and women when it comes to weight loss can be a rather competitive ordeal that you might not want to get into! While great motivation comes from working out with your partner and challenging each other, many couples find themselves fighting dirty when it comes to who will win the competition. Women seem to become so frustrated as they watch their male counterpart shed the pounds at a much faster pace. But while men might say women are just being poor sports, there might actually be a reason men and women should just give up competing with one another.

Different Lifestyles or Different Structures?

There are two main reasons why you aren’t comparing apples to apples when you challenge your husband or wife to a weight loss competition. The fact that men and women are created differently structurally has a lot to do with why men shed their fat faster. Scientifically, women’s bodies hold onto fat. This makes it harder for them to shed those stubborn pounds. So women typically have to put in an extra effort at eating right and exercising to keep up with their male competition. Men are naturally structured as larger human beings who have more muscle than women. Since muscle helps to burn fat faster, men have an advantage when it comes to their body type.

Besides having different body types, men and women tend to follow different lifestyles. Below are some common reasons why the fact that women face road blocks during weight loss can be traced to their lifestyles.

• Stress. It seems like all human beings are stressed these days, but with trying to balance work, the house, family, and extra-curricular activities for the kids, women tend to hold onto stress throughout the day.
• Prescription Drugs. Some common prescription drugs that women take on a daily basis actually add to their weight gain. If this is the case, you can ask your doctor about changing your medication. If there aren’t other options, be extra vigilant about eating healthy and exercising regularly.
• Lack of exercise. It is a fact. Women tend to skip exercise more regularly than men do.
• Skipping breakfast. Breakfast is the most important part of the day because it kick starts your metabolism. Many women skip breakfast as they are trying to get everyone on the bus, walk the dog, and get to work on time.
• Alcohol consumption. Although a nice glass of wine at the end of the day helps you to unwind, alcohol can lead to calorie overdose.
• Lack of sleep. So you can’t wind down at the end of the night because you are thinking of everything that needs to be done tomorrow? Not enough sleep actually produces more cortisol which is the stress hormone that stimulates appetite. Shoot for 7 hours a night!
• Thyroid issues. Hypothyroidism is common in women and when they are not putting out enough of the hormone, it could lead to weight gain.
• Not eating. It might sound crazy, but not eating throws your body into starvation mode which actually slows down your metabolism and makes burning calories take a much longer time.
• Not drinking enough. Not drinking enough water can also slow down your ability to burn fat fast! Many people use a regular glass at home for what they believe is one serving of their favorite drink when most cups actually hold 3 servings.

Instead of competing with your spouse or loved one over who can lose the most weight, take that drive and use it to challenge each other. For example, see who can last longer during a cardio session. This is a much healthier competition than trying to compare who will shed the most pounds. And remember, it is not about what the scale says when it comes to weight loss. Too many people focus on the number flashing on the scale when they actually may have turned pounds of fat into lean muscle. Go for the overall result of how you feel and how your clothes fit!