Easier for men to get in shape than women over 40

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Those of you that say you have a fit DH. Mirror his exercise plan and eat the exact same meals he eats (smaller portions) for 30 days and watch what happens to your body. Take before and after pictures

I do more than my DH and it’s just not the same.

We both lift weights, but I do it more. We both do cardio, but I do it more. I eat healthier and less than he does. He drinks, I don’t. He loses weight, I don’t. It’s really frustrating.

Mine isn’t a short-term push. I’ve always lifted weights, worked out, and eaten healthy. I just can’t shake the weight. It’s depressing but I have to remind myself I do it for mental and cardio health, not the scale.

My DH would easily tell you I put in way more effort on health with less results. He has genetics and gender on his side.

Ok? And? I am South Asian and we are genetically known to have less muscle mass than other racial groups and have more fat stores in our stomach. I can hardly imagine the negative action if I came in here and started complaining that it was easier for white woman to get into shape. Someone will always have more than you and an easier time than you in some way. Life just is what it is, and we just have to get on with it.

[Anonymous]

Of course hormones are at play. Men don’t have hormones coursing through and changing everyday and even more so in middle age.

And small changes work faster for men. A man drinking a lot of soda can drop it and lose 10lbs and a woman will see little to no change.

I stopped drinking alcohol and lost nothing. I was drinking thousands of extra calories a week in wine. A man can stop and lose 10lbs. Haha

[Anonymous]

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It’s not easier for men to lose weight. A calorie is a calorie. Fat contains the same amount of energy in it per gram in men as it does women. Your husband is making healthier decisions and is doing intense exercise. It isn’t advanced calculus here.


The problem with many women is that they say they exercise and workout, but all they really do is poo poo in the gym with light weights or some easy going cardio doing things like the elliptical for 20 minutes. Or jogging on the treadmill at a pace below 6.0 for 15 minutes. Then they wonder why they’re not losing weight.


Well yeah, you’re hardly burning any cals. Just to burn off a glass of wine you need to run about 1.5 miles on a speed of about 6.0-6.5.


Many men will take up new exercising regimens with much more intensity. I’m not saying men will sustain it, but you’ll lose weight when you exercise with much more vigor and intensity. [/quote]

Oh god, it’s the “poo poo” person.[/quote]



Oh god, it’s the lady at the gym who does 20 minutes on the elliptical and 200 arm curl reps with 5 lb weights, then wonders why she’s never losing weight and claims it must be easier to lose weight as a man than a woman.




[/quote]

You got the wrong lady, buddy. I do bootcamp 4 days a week, Solidcore and yoga the other days. I’m just fascinated by your continued misuse of this term. It does not mean what you think it does.

[Anonymous]

My DH was paying $1000/mo for personal trainer, tracking his food and lost maybe 5 or 10 pounds over 6 months. I cut out sugar/junk and walked a lot and lost 40 pounds in 7 months and kept if off for 3 years and counting.

I continue to eat a lot more than he does and I weigh <120 while he's 230. I doubt my 60-75 minutes of daily "poo poo-ing" on the Peloton could burn any calories so I can't explain why it's so much easier for me.

[Anonymous]

Menopause has a big impact

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH is late 40s; never really “fat” but typical dad bod with more than average upper body tone. Maybe 15lbs overweight?

He was muscular/abs up until early 30s.

He has always gone to gym for weights but nothing serious in years, and went the typical dad bod route as most do.

Fast forward to our teen starting to want to lift (going into HS) and after a few months of going more regularly DH flipped a switch, joined instagram and started following male fitness people.
Quit all alcohol, lowered carbs and eating healthy- drinking water non-stop. Does intense cardio 3-4 times a week and lifts almost every day.

I thought it was a fad and short lived that he could get his body of his late 20s back.

He is no where close to looking like when we were young, but I have to say it appears almost possible?

His gut is about gone and muscles defined.

Why is it so easy for guys, especially older to get back into shape so quickly when I have been moderately exercising/running and barely drink alcohol and still carry about 15 extra pounds?

Very frustrating.

You mention a commitment to lifestyle changes he has sustained for "months" and are whining that it's just magically easier for men?

Really?

I know, right?


* Quits alcohol

* Ditched carbs

* Eats healthy

* Does intense cardio 4 days a week

* Lifts weights every day

That should work for 95% of able body humans to get in shape. It is not that big of a mystery.

[Anonymous]

The hormones play a role for sure. I've lifted since my 20s and I still have to adjust every few years (I'm 40) or I'll gain. My partner consumes 3000-4000 calories daily to avoid losing weight.lol

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Of course hormones are at play. Men don’t have hormones coursing through and changing everyday and even more so in middle age.

And small changes work faster for men. A man drinking a lot of soda can drop it and lose 10lbs and a woman will see little to no change.

I stopped drinking alcohol and lost nothing. I was drinking thousands of extra calories a week in wine. A man can stop and lose 10lbs. Haha

This.

I know a guy in his 50s who simply stopped drinking beer and soda and started walking 2 or 3 miles a day while carrying small weights, and he dropped 50+ pounds. He had been overweight and once he cut out the empty calories and quickly saw results, he was inspired to eat better.

I literally have to starve myself and eat clean in order to drop and keep off 5-10 lbs. It hardly seems worth it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Two factors:

- Women often do little to no strength training when they are young. They have recently started discovering that strength training and weight lifting is hugely helpful in middle age to control weight. But it's an uphill battle because they have to start from scratch. And women start out with less muscle mass generally, so it's even harder.

- Men are much more likely to do strength training in their youth. They might lose that body, but the muscle memory of that training holds on and it's much easier to build up strength again if you've had it before. Men also have more muscle mass to begin with due to the way our bodies develop and how our hormones work.

- Women are also often at a huge disadvantage due to years of yo-yo dieting and restrictive diets. It's screws with how your body processes calories and can lead to weight gain because deprivation combined with increase exercise is actually a recipe for weight gain, longterm. Men eat more normally and intuitively, and thus their bodies are more primed to respond to a regimen of healthier eating (not even necessarily lower calories, but shifting from high fat, high processed foods to more lean proteins and vegetables) and increased exercise, especially strength training.

I am a woman and I have never dieted and I did a lot of strength training in my 20s and 30s. Right now I'm mid-40s and had gotten out of shape post kids, as had my DH. We've both been working to get in shape and we are on the exact same trajectory in terms of weight because I took strength training seriously in my youth (instead of just doing cardio obsessively to "burn calories" as many women of my generation did) and because I didn't screw up my body with a bunch of BS restrictive diets in an effort to slim down for wedding season or bikini season or some BS.

OP - please don’t overlook this response. Weight training is a big deal for women. Weight training+ Nutrition (watching calories and macros) really is the silver bullet for having your best body.

[Anonymous]

“I'm saying men just start with more muscle mass and it makes it easier for them to get fit.”

It’s not easy to squat or dead 5x5 to failure. If it’s easy then you didn’t have enough weight on the bar. We have more muscle mass but we still have to work hard to get results.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My DH is late 40s; never really “fat” but typical dad bod with more than average upper body tone. Maybe 15lbs overweight?

He was muscular/abs up until early 30s.

He has always gone to gym for weights but nothing serious in years, and went the typical dad bod route as most do.

Fast forward to our teen starting to want to lift (going into HS) and after a few months of going more regularly DH flipped a switch, joined instagram and started following male fitness people.
Quit all alcohol, lowered carbs and eating healthy- drinking water non-stop. Does intense cardio 3-4 times a week and lifts almost every day.

I thought it was a fad and short lived that he could get his body of his late 20s back.

He is no where close to looking like when we were young, but I have to say it appears almost possible?

His gut is about gone and muscles defined.

Why is it so easy for guys, especially older to get back into shape so quickly when I have been moderately exercising/running and barely drink alcohol and still carry about 15 extra pounds?

Very frustrating.

The factor you can control is that you're not training hard enough - train with him

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's not hormones. It's the muscle.

It's both. They naturally have more muscle mass and have testosterone.

That's why most professional women bodybuilders take steroids to achieve that level of muscularity because its very hard to compete on a pro level while being natty.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH is late 40s; never really “fat” but typical dad bod with more than average upper body tone. Maybe 15lbs overweight?

He was muscular/abs up until early 30s.

He has always gone to gym for weights but nothing serious in years, and went the typical dad bod route as most do.

Fast forward to our teen starting to want to lift (going into HS) and after a few months of going more regularly DH flipped a switch, joined instagram and started following male fitness people.
Quit all alcohol, lowered carbs and eating healthy- drinking water non-stop. Does intense cardio 3-4 times a week and lifts almost every day.

I thought it was a fad and short lived that he could get his body of his late 20s back.

He is no where close to looking like when we were young, but I have to say it appears almost possible?

His gut is about gone and muscles defined.

Why is it so easy for guys, especially older to get back into shape so quickly when I have been moderately exercising/running and barely drink alcohol and still carry about 15 extra pounds?

Very frustrating.

The factor you can control is that you're not training hard enough - train with him

Sure - many women could train "harder", but they still won't achieve results as quickly as a male. Males are already starting with several advantages: 1) testosterone, 2) larger lung capacity, 3) no cyclic hormonal variations. My 14 year old son can lift heavier than me and has more muscle mass. Two years ago, I could take him in arm wrestling and beat him in sprints. No longer. Testosterone is a hell of a drug.

[Anonymous]

It’s ultimately not helpful to focus on that

Read books by Dr Stacy Simms

Lift heavy, sprints, high protein food

Follow inspirational people on Instagram: Liz Plosser, Joan MacDonald, Jenn Reed

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My DH is late 40s; never really “fat” but typical dad bod with more than average upper body tone. Maybe 15lbs overweight?

He was muscular/abs up until early 30s.

He has always gone to gym for weights but nothing serious in years, and went the typical dad bod route as most do.

Fast forward to our teen starting to want to lift (going into HS) and after a few months of going more regularly DH flipped a switch, joined instagram and started following male fitness people.
Quit all alcohol, lowered carbs and eating healthy- drinking water non-stop. Does intense cardio 3-4 times a week and lifts almost every day.

I thought it was a fad and short lived that he could get his body of his late 20s back.

He is no where close to looking like when we were young, but I have to say it appears almost possible?

His gut is about gone and muscles defined.

Why is it so easy for guys, especially older to get back into shape so quickly when I have been moderately exercising/running and barely drink alcohol and still carry about 15 extra pounds?

Very frustrating.

The factor you can control is that you're not training hard enough - train with him

Sure - many women could train "harder", but they still won't achieve results as quickly as a male. Males are already starting with several advantages: 1) testosterone, 2) larger lung capacity, 3) no cyclic hormonal variations. My 14 year old son can lift heavier than me and has more muscle mass. Two years ago, I could take him in arm wrestling and beat him in sprints. No longer. Testosterone is a hell of a drug.

We are not talking about professional body building. So many excuses, my word.