Men vs. Women: The truth about our bodies

by Martha Edwards (Subscribe to Martha Edwards's posts)
Oct 7th 2008 2:00PM

Categories: Fitness

Sometimes it just doesn't seem fair: Men seem to eat whatever they want without gaining in their hips and when they do want to lose weight, it's practically effortless -- a couple of trips to the gym and they're looking toned and trim. At least, that's the case with the men in my life. You too?

If so, listen up. Over at Divine Caroline, trainer Scott Keppel recently discussed the main differences between women's and men's bodies when it comes to fitness and weight:

Women naturally have more fat cells than men (bummer).
Monthly menstrual cycles affect fluid retention and cravings, meaning we have more fluctuations in weight.
Women have about 1/10th the muscle-building testosterone of men, meaning we likely won't get bulky regardless of how much we weight train.
Women can usually match men in lower body strength, but not in upper body strength.

Hmm. Well, I guess that explains it, kind of. Still, doesn't make it any less frustrating.

Source

Comments (8)

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

katherine 10-07-2008 @ 6:11PM

More fat cells. Assuming that's for childbearing some how. Still seems unfair.

Stig Nordas 10-07-2008 @ 6:57PM

Oh, men get it in the hips too, handles are no fun!

Salma 10-07-2008 @ 7:17PM

I see my weight fluctuate up to 5 pounds every month....i never get use to it.

Hayden 10-07-2008 @ 7:18PM

Hmmm, another way to look at this then is men...why are you so soft? You have 10 times the ability to produce muscle as women...uh, that means you have 10 times fewer excuses ;)

tamara 10-07-2008 @ 7:39PM

All true enough. But no one gets off free. Wouldn't we agree that men, poor darlings, are by far the more likely victims of those hugely unfortunate low slung bellies - also known as beer bellies whether or not that's where they come from.

tamara 10-07-2008 @ 7:52PM

All true enough. But no one gets off free. Wouldn't we agree that it's mostly men, the poor darlings, who fall victim to those hugely unfortunate beer bellies?

Kevin 10-08-2008 @ 5:53AM

i think though, that you will find that women can pull off a much higher bf%. Men will look "soft" as you say at around 12-15 % bf and above, while women can still look atractive in the low 20's.

Alex Costa - minimizeme.tv 10-29-2008 @ 10:22AM

"Men seem to eat whatever they want without gaining in their hips and when they do want to lose weight, it's practically effortless -- a couple of trips to the gym and they're looking toned and trim."

That's a ridiculous statement otherwise you wouldn't have more fat guys than girls.

You can use those facts as an excuse but when a woman wants to lose weight she will, doesn't matter how hard it is.

6 years ago I lost 100 lbs and it took me 2 years, so it's not easy for men.

In fact it's hard, I mean very hard for both genders.