Why It's More Difficult for Women to Lose Weight and How We Can Help

It’s not just a trope you find in cartoons or sitcoms: Men tend to be able to eat more without gaining weight when compared with women. Women are also more likely to experience food cravings that lead to overeating and weight gain. 

If you and your male partner go on a diet at the same time, you might be frustrated that he loses weight faster and keeps it off better than you do. However, medical weight management takes into consideration personal factors such as gender and lifestyle pressures to help you achieve your weight loss goals.

Experienced physician Mark R. Rosenberg, DO, and our team at Macomb Medical Clinic aim to help all of our patients – women, men, and nonbinary – achieve and maintain a healthy weight. Not only do you feel better and look better when you’re at a weight and body composition that’s right for your frame, but you also minimize your risk for health problems such as:

• Cardiovascular disease
• Diabetes
• Certain cancers
• Stroke
• Dementia

It’s not harder for you to lose weight because you have less willpower than men, but physical and emotional differences do come into play. Following are five reasons why it’s often more difficult for women to lose weight.

1. Women tend to have less muscle

Muscle increases your resting metabolic rate. Men tend to have more muscle than women do, which means that they naturally burn more calories throughout the day, even when you’re doing the same exact activities. 

In fact, men burn more calories than you do, even when you’re both just hanging out and breathing or digesting your latest meal. Muscle mass demands more energy than fatty tissue does. Just to keep those muscles strong requires that you burn calories at rest.

You can counter this imbalance by adding resistance training to your workout routine. As you build more muscle mass, your body uses more calories to maintain it, so those extra treats end up in your biceps, and not around your middle.

2. Women experience more food cravings

Women are more inclined than men to crave sugary, higher-carbohydrate foods, such as chocolates and pastries. Your sex hormones are the likely culprits — you may notice that you’re more likely to crave sweets during certain phases of your menstrual cycle.

Dr. Rosenberg designs individualized weight-loss programs that take food cravings into consideration. After a thorough evaluation, he may help you stabilize your blood sugar to reduce your need for sweets.

3. Stress may trigger emotional eating more in women

Men may indulge in emotional eating, too, but it tends to affect women more often. The differences in the way women and men handle stress may send a woman to the fridge sooner than it sends a man.

Emotional eating is a type of self-medication to help you feel better when the stress from work or daily living overwhelms you. We offer nutritional counseling to help you choose more nutritious snacks, and we work with you to find healthier stress management techniques, such as exercise and deep breathing.

4. Women have less testosterone

The hormone testosterone is a major player in how many calories you burn, how your body utilizes energy, and how your body distributes fat. Men have much higher testosterone levels than women, making it naturally easier to lose body fat, especially in problems areas like the belly.

We test your hormones to identify any imbalances. If you’re in perimenopause or menopause, we may recommend hormone replacement therapy.

5. Women are more prone to yo-yo dieting 

Because of the relentless pressure on women to look their best every day, you may have a history of yo-yo dieting, the pattern of losing weight, then gaining it back – or gaining back more – and then trying another diet to lose again. 

The constant shift between “starvation” periods of caloric restrictions combined with a return to “normal” eating negatively affects your hormones and metabolism. Eventually, it becomes even more difficult to lose weight each time you try a new diet.

A hormone panel can identify any underlying issues that could sabotage your weight loss efforts, and hormone therapy can help restore balance.

Get the help you need to improve your health, your outlook, and your look. You can learn more about proven, effective medical weight management by contacting Macomb Medical Clinic in Sterling Heights, Michigan, today.