The gender calorie gap

Why it's harder for women to lose fat

It is significantly harder for women to lose weight.

& it’s not just because we are genetically predisposed to store more fat or because of the side effects of hormonal fluctuations (low mood/motivation, increased cravings, water retention & thus reaction to scale weight)

It’s because of the environment we live in.

Not only is there a gender pay gap. There is also a gender calorie gap.

(this is more accurately a sex calorie gap as it is less relevant for trans women as you’ll see below)

The average man needs significantly more calories than the average woman.

This is because the average man expends more energy than the average woman. This is primarily down to men usually being bigger and having more muscle mass than women.

(If a man and woman were the same size with the same muscle mass and did the same activity level I would imagine energy expenditure to be very similar)

Women need less calories because they expend less energy - that seems pretty simple until you consider the environment we live in.

Food doesn’t come in varying portion sizes to suit individual needs.

This means that the ‘cheeky Nandos’ you have with your boyfriend on a Monday night might be pretty inconsequential to his calorie intake for the day but could easily be 70%-100% of yours depending on what you choose (see incredible infographic from @thefitnesschef)

I have a few tips:

1) Move more if you can.

This will increase your energy expenditure & it doesn’t have to be exercise. If you’re going out for dinner, can you walk there

2) If you’re finding dieting as a woman tough don’t beat yourself up about it.

It is tough & research shows most people who successfully lose and maintain fat have professional support. (Feel free to reach out - I am always happy to help!)

3) And this is the most important one…Stop dating men.

Studies have found same sex couples are leaner (Please don’t ask me for ref. Its currently unpublished research/I made this part up)