How We Lose Weight The Two Sexes Do It Differently

How to lose weight? It’s a topic that women and men share an interest in. But knowing that weight loss is needed is one thing, and actually losing weight is another. In addition, men and women differ in how often they take action and the general strategies they use. Like Traci, women are more likely than men to start a weight-loss plan. Many women have a long history of trying a variety of diets and weight-loss approaches. Perhaps because of their varied experience, they tend to want to know all the details before they make the decision to try a new approach what, how much, and when they will eat; how much weight they can expect to lose; how much it will cost; and whether they need to exercise.

Armed with that knowledge, the typical woman will then discuss the approach with others to get their opinions and thoughts on the topic before getting started. Most men, on the other hand, respond more the way Jeff did. Part of the reason is that the average guy, generally speaking, has less experience with a variety of weight-loss approaches than his female friends. When most guys are deciding to lose weight, they are less likely to amass a lot of detailed information or compare the specifics of various dieting methods.

They are also less likely to ask a bunch of people for their opinion of which method to use. Instead, men tend to focus on the basics of the approach what they can and cannot do.With that information in hand and perhaps after a consultation with someone he considers a weight-loss expert, the typical man will start. Then, as he is losing weight and seeing progress, he will get more information, and as he gains experience with the method, he will explore it in more detail. Trying to get a man to lose weight the way a woman does is unlikely to succeed.

Likewise, women do not respond well to a man’s way of losing weight. This article will help women and men appreciate that there is no right approach to deciding what weight-loss method to follow.The important thing to remember is that both women and men can achieve successful weight loss if they take the time to consider their different perspectives and support each other’s preferred weightloss approach.

Making the Effort

Given that two-thirds of adult Americans are overweight and five out of the ten leading causes of death in the United States and Canada (heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes, and kidney disease) are associated with being overweight, weight loss is an issue that both women and men must face.

Many adults have a fair amount of experience when trying to lose weight. Here are some of the findings from four U.S. surveys that have looked at the health practices of men and women:

• 33 to 40 percent of adult women are working to lose weight, and 20 to 24 percent of adult men are doing so.

• 28 percent of both men and women said that they were working to maintain their current weight.

• Over the past year, women who work at trying to lose weight report spending an average of 6.4 months in the effort; men say that they spent an average of 5.8 months.

• Over a two-year period, the average woman says that she’s made 2.5 weight-loss attempts; the average man indicates that he made 2.

• Among those working to lose weight, 84 percent of women and 76 percent of men reported following a low-calorie diet, and 60 percent of both men and women reported increasing their physical activity.

What do these numbers mean? First, the percentage of people actively engaged in weight loss is quite low compared with the numbers who are overweight and obese. This is particularly true for men. Second, the statistics indicate that most people’s attempts at weight loss are an on-again, off-again experience as opposed to an ongoing effort using a lifestyle approach. Finally, many people have a tendency to make a choice either to restrict food or to exercise as the means to achieve success, but not both. Clearly, achieving lasting weight loss needs to be a priority to stem the growing rates of overweight and obesity among men and women. It’s apparent that there is much room for improvement in the approaches that both women and men take to make that happen.

FROM A WOMAN’S VIEWPOINT MAKING THE EFFORT

Women tend to accumulate more weight loss experience than men. As the surveys discussed above show, women are more likely to be working at weight loss at any given time, they make more attempts per year, and they spend more time in each attempt. But there is another fact that adds to women’s experience with weight loss: they tend to start younger. According to a U.S. National Institutes of Health report, when a nationally representative sample of high school students was given a self-administered questionnaire, 44 percent of the female students and 15 percent of the male students reported that they were trying to lose weight; another 26 percent of the female students said that they were working to keep from gaining weight as compared with 15 percent of the male students. The impact of all that weight-loss experience is difficult to evaluate and depends a lot on the individual.

As the saying goes, there is no better teacher than experience, and trying different weight-loss approaches can provide valuable lessons in what works and what doesn’t. On the other hand, repeated attempts at losing weight with ineffective approaches can lead to frustration, discouragement, and the decision to stop trying. Picking a comprehensive weightmanagement approach with proven results makes the most sense for a woman wanting to lose weight, regardless of her level of experience.

FROM A MAN’S VIEWPOINT MAKING THE EFFORT

The survey just mentioned didn’t look at the genders by age, and Weight Watchers research indicates that age may be an important factor. Research done for Weight Watchers has found that men under the age of forty-five are gaining weight at a younger age than their fathers and grandfathers. They are more concerned about their appearance and their health, and they are thinking about taking action to lose weight.Younger men were more likely than men over the age of fortyfive to state that they expected to follow a structured eating plan in the next 6 months.

How Women and Men Decide What They’ll Do

The thought processes and the logic used to arrive at a decision about what weight-loss approach to take tends to be different for women and men. Most women prefer diplomacy; they want to have in-depth discussions with a variety of people and explore as many solutions as possible. Most men, on the other hand, declare war. Guys are much less inclined to spend a lot of time talking with a lot of people; they prefer to make a decision and act on it. Before starting a weight-loss program, many women feel compelled to discuss their options and goals with others men and women. A woman is much more likely than a man to talk for quite some time weeks, months, even years about her desire to lose weight.

That’s because before she makes her final decision, a woman needs to confer with several other people her spouse or significant other, family members, coworkers, friends, and, most important, other successful “losers” at weight loss. Primarily, they are investigating what weight-loss methods are likely to have the best results for them. For example, it is not uncommon for a woman to ask a coworker who lost a visible amount of weight to share his or her insight on the topic. If the coworker is a woman, most likely she will welcome the opportunity to share her story, and the two women will enter into a long dialogue about what works and what doesn’t. If the coworker is a man, he will probably appreciate the fact that the woman noticed his weight loss, but he’ll be much less likely to provide a blow-by-blow account of what he’s done to achieve it. Looking at the way many men make their decisions regarding weight can be baffling to women.

That’s because when a man announces that he is going to get into shape and lose weight, it often takes a woman by surprise; it may even be the first time she has heard him talk about it. What many women don’t understand is that most men prefer to solve their problems silently and on their own rather than discuss them with others. So when a man announces his intention to lose weight, it’s more than likely that he’s been mulling over the decision for some time.

In a survey of male users of Weight Watchers Online, the guys reported that the decision to subscribe was not a spur-of-the-moment event but the outcome of a period of dissatisfaction with their weight. The fact that women and men both eventually make the decision to lose weight and then pick an approach puts them on common ground. What members of the opposite sex need to realize and respect is that the processes each sex uses to arrive at that point are different and serve different purposes.

FROM A WOMAN’S VIEWPOINT HOW WOMEN AND MEN DECIDE WHAT THEY’LL DO

Most women will be the first to admit that they need the support of others in order to lose weight successfully. Whom or what do women turn to when they need help losing weight? The media, books, and friends.

FROM A MAN’S VIEWPOINT HOW WOMEN AND MEN DECIDE WHAT THEY’LL DO

The fact that men tend to be more private in making their weightrelated decisions doesn’t mean that they will not seek out help if they feel that doing so will improve their decision. Rather than talking to a variety of people, however, the typical guy will seek out an expert. According to research conducted for Weight Watchers, men’s preferred source for nutrition information is their spouse. It appears that men notice all the research that women do in preparation for losing weight and they respect their wives’ opinions and advice especially if provided in response to their request.