Should Men And Women Have The Same Goals And Expectations For Weight Loss?

Leslie Bonci answers the question: 'Weight Loss Differences in Men, Women?'

ByABC News
December 22, 2008, 3:55 PM

February 1, 2009 -- Question: Should men and women have the same goals and expectations for weight loss?

Answer: One of the things about men is men tend to lose weight more quickly, and that is very frustrating to women. So, if husband and wife are trying to lose weight together, don't talk to each other about what that number is on the scale. The reason for that being, is men have a higher muscle mass; therefore, they can actually burn calories a little bit more efficiently than women.

It's not right or wrong, it's just the way it is. So again, setting these realistic goals: for a woman, perhaps it might be one-half to one pound a week; for a man, probably even upwards of 2 to 3 pounds a week.

The good news is that most of the time women will be able to maintain a lower-calorie eating plan over a longer period of time. So although we might start out slow, we usually end up being able to stick with it longer.