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Do men lose weight more easily than women? -- Marie, Phoenix, Ariz.

There are a lot of cliches about men -- they're slobs; they love meat; they're mesmerized by bright, shiny objects. I won't comment on any of these. But there is one true statement about those with a Y chromosome: They have an easier time shedding pounds.

Men are born with greater muscle mass and less fat than women. Although there's no exact standard, it's generally accepted that a healthy man should carry between 12 and 20 percent body fat, whereas a healthy woman should carry between 16 and 30 percent body fat. Since muscle is more metabolically active than fat, that means men have a head start in the calorie-burning department, even when they are simply plopped on the couch channel surfing. (Note: The American College of Sports Medicine now judges body fat percentage on a scale of above average to below average based on age and sex; you can learn more about these guidelines here.)

Men also have more testosterone, a hormone that just loves to churn through calories and body fat. Women, on the other hand, have more estrogen, a hormone that is programmed to store body fat in order to help women get pregnant and support breastfeeding. This means men have a metabolism that is approximately five to 10 percent higher than that of a woman of the same height and weight.

Back to channel surfing: it seems that women tend to do more of it. One study reported in the American Journal of Physiology found that women burn off 16 percent fewer calories doing daily activities than men, meaning they move less and engage in more sedentary pastimes. And when they do exercise, the study found that their burn rate was 37 percent lower on average than men. There are many reasons for this: Women tend to weigh less, have less muscle and a smaller lung capacity, and move more slowly compared to male exercisers.

Also, it would be hard to argue that men seem to have fewer psychological bonds to food, weight and body image. Even the most secure woman tends to spend a lot of time obsessing about what she's going to eat, not going to eat, the size of her thighs, dieting, pudding, losing weight, gaining weight, fitting into that dress -- the list goes on. As a result, she's constantly falling on and off the wagon, which is likely to further mess with her metabolism and make it even more challenging to lose weight.

I don't have any studies to prove it, but it has been my observation that men typically don't suffer as much from the same issues. They are usually more at peace with their mushy bellies and tight jeans and seem to experience no guilt after consuming a piece of cake. And when they decide to lose weight, they seem to be able to just flip a switch without a lot of pain and agony.

But perhaps I've slipped back into cliches? Maybe women are more secure than I think, and men are secretly counting calories and checking out their butts in the mirror every chance they get. You tell me. Post your comments here. Don't get personal but don't hold back. Or tweet me.

While you're at it, you can learn more about weight loss groups for men and how to choose a weight loss program in general.

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Will drinking water help me lose weight? - Katie, Penn.

Whether it's South Beach, Zone or American Heart Association, all diets seem to make the same claim: Drinking water will help speed up weight loss. But actually, the evidence concerning this assumption is all over the map.

One 2004 German study found that drinking 17 ounces of water sped up the metabolic rate of volunteers by more than 30 percent for about 30 minutes. When subjects downed six glasses (51 ounces) of water in a day, they burned calories at a rate that would theoretically add up to a five-pound weight loss over the course of a year. The study was quite small, only 14 healthy young people, but the results are compelling enough to make you think twice about passing by a water fountain without taking a drink.

Another study done in 2009 at Virginia Tech found that those who guzzle a glass of water before a meal eat 75 fewer calories. Though just the equivalent of a few forkfuls of pasta or a few bites of dessert, you could theoretically wind up nearly 15 pounds lighter in a year simply by making this one little change. Indeed, the water drinkers lost 44 percent more than the nonwater drinkers over a 12-week period. All good, until you consider that their total weight loss was less than a pound.

Another group's approach to the question is far more clever, in my opinion. University of Pennsylvania researchers examined how drinking water affects calorie consumption by comparing one group of women who ate a chicken-and-rice casserole, a second group who ate the same casserole and downed a large glass of water and a third who ate a bowl of chicken soup containing roughly the same number of calories as the casserole.

Both chicken casserole-eating groups reported the same level of satisfaction and ate approximately the same number of calories in later meals. Drinking water didn't seem to offer any calorie-reducing advantage.

But interestingly, the soup eaters reported feeling the most satisfied and subsequently ate about one-third fewer calories. This led the researchers to speculate that drinking water with a meal doesn't fill you up or leave you feeling any more satisfied, but watery foods may, for reasons that are still unclear, leave you feeling fuller and more satisfied than drinking water with your meal. So perhaps watery foods, rather than water itself, will do the trick.

Dr. Joanna Dolgoff, a childhood obesity pedestrian and author of "Red Light, Green Light, Eat Right," said people often mistake thirst for hunger, turning to food when all they really need is a glass of water. For that reason, it's possible that staying well hydrated can indirectly help with calorie control.

She also points out that when you substitute water for sugary, high-calorie beverages (as I mentioned in a previous post), there is a very good chance you will wring calories from your diet that may be the cause of your perpetual belt tightening. An Oakland Research Institute investigation found that dieters who replace sugary drinks with water lose an extra five pounds a year. This is one of the reasons that Dolgoff asks the participants of her Online Weight Loss Program for kids to drink more water.

Weight control aside, there are plenty of important reasons to wet your whistle. Made up of nearly 70 percent water, your body is a veritable ocean. You lose water during various biological functions, such as breathing, perspiring and urinating. Taking in adequate amounts of water keeps your skin healthy, your brain functioning properly and your blood flowing freely. "But the idea that you must have eight glasses of water a day isn't really true," Dolgoff said. "As long as you're getting the equivalent of at least four through liquids and watery foods, you aren't at risk for dehydration."

Here's a list of some common activities and the amount of water you potentially shed when you do them. Keep in mind that you have a built-in mechanism for thirst, so the best advice is simply to listen to your body and drink when you feel parched.

What do you think? Has water helped you lose weight or do you think this theory is all washed up? Dish your opinion here, please, or tweet me @lizzyfit.

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My weight loss program was going great, and I've lost 30 pounds in the last few months. But recently I've hit a weight plateau, and the scale simply won't budge. I've been sticking to my plan, and I haven't cheated, but I'm not losing any more weight. Could I be stuck? Rhonda -- PA.

There is nothing more frustrating than when you have been cruising along doing everything right, losing weight steadily and BAM!, suddenly the brakes slam on and your weight doesn't budge for days, weeks and, eventually, more than a month. It's tempting to give up and walk away -- straight toward the fridge. But nearly everyone who attempts to drop pounds -- even doing it the right way by going slowly and making moderate changes -- will experience hitting the weight loss wall at some point. Experts theorize that as your body adjusts to eating and burning habits, it reaches a new set point weight and decides to settle there.

Surprisingly, there's little research on weight loss plateaus. Not surprisingly, there's plenty of advice about how to get past one. Let me offer you five methods I think are worth considering. Try them all separately, in some combination or all at once, and see what works for you.

Method 1 - Calorie confusion. Your body is smart, but easily confused. It quickly realizes when you're giving it, say, 1,800 calories a day but is thrown off kilter when you alter your calorie intake from day to day. Many dieters purport that upping calorie intake by 300 calories for two days, dipping below that threshold for two days and continuing that cycle for several weeks will keep your body guessing and jolt it back into the fat-melting business.

Method 2 - Split workouts. Exercise does not cause a permanent uptick in metabolism, but it does cause a temporary increase each time you hit the treadmill or weight room, especially if you don't just go through the motions. Working out several times a day (two to three short, quick, intense workouts lasting anywhere from 10 to 30 minutes) not only burns the same number of calories as if you did it all at once but presumably delivers several periods of metabolic "after-burn," during which the body continues to burn calories at a higher rate even after you have stopped exercising. So instead of one after-burn period, you now have several and should theoretically burn slightly more calories.

How many more? It's hard to say. It may not add up to more than 20 to 30 calories over the course of a 24-hour period, but in the weight loss game, little changes can potentially mean a lot. They might be the few extra calories that tip the scales in your favor.

Method 3 - Change your exercise routine. In any way. If you run, cycle. If you ellipticize, walk. If you swim, dry yourself off, change your clothes and hit a step class. This is based on the same principle as calorie confusion, which is that any change is good and will get the body's fat-burning gears revved up and moving once again. One change I've found especially helpful is to emphasize strength training for a while, especially if you've recently slacked off in that area. Strength training, particularly at a high intensity, will give you a greater after-burn. Though, as with split workouts, it's unlikely to provide much in the way of permanent metabolic effect, those temporary turbo boosts may add up to some real body composition changes.

Method 4 - Fidget. If exercise and diet aren't doing it for you, aim to burn several 100 more calories throughout the day through lifestyle activities. Many people who are dedicated exercisers and watch what they eat sit at a desk all day without so much as shifting in their chairs (as I mentioned in a recent post, the average American now spends more than half the day sitting). Even if you just commit to standing for several hours a day, the calorie burn could add up. Sitting at your desk burns about 80 calories an hour, whereas standing burns about 115. Over the course of the day, that's an opportunity to expend about 175 calories. Multiply that out for an entire year, and that's 64,000 calories you didn't burn, or 18 pounds you either gained or didn't lose.

And that's just one example of how adding more movement to your lifestyle could potentially help you drop a clothing size. The old adage to park at the far end of the parking lot may seem boring but it can really work. Here are some more tips on how to add movement into your daily routine.

Method 5 - Get real. Have you really been as virtuous as you say you've been? Let's go to the videotape. Or at least the food and workout journal. If you haven't been losing ground or if you've even been gaining ground, start keeping a diary and pore over it to see what's truly going on. This will do two things for you: It will make you think twice before reaching for that second cookie, and it will help you see what typical eating and movement patterns emerge. (Here's a free journal for you to use.)

As I told you recently (and you really, really didn't like hearing), exercise may not always help with weight loss, either because it makes people hungrier and they eat more or because it creates a sense of entitlement (I went to the gym today, therefore I deserve that piece of cake). You may have fallen into this "earn and burn" pattern without even realizing it. But if you stopped to think that the piece of cake you just ate cost you 400 calories and the 30-minute workout burned only 300, perhaps you'd think twice before digging in. Identifying and correcting this syndrome may be all that is needed to help you jump-start your weight loss again.

Got any other ideas about getting out of a weight-loss rut? Have you tried any of the above methods? Have they worked? Post your comments here or tweet what you think.

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That's Fit: What do you think is the hardest part of the body to keep up?

LL Cool J: The abs are the hardest, because I have to really focus and watch what I'm eating.

TF: How do you encourage your kids to be healthy?

LLCJ: The kids see me working out all the time. They see me in the gym, coming home sweating, drinking protein shakes, doing the stuff that I need to do. At mealtime, I have grilled chicken when everyone else is having fried. It's the little things. We have so much healthy food in the house, the kids gravitate towards it. Of course we indulge sometimes, they cheat and I cheat, but that is OK. It's more living it, it's not about forcing it.

TF: Is it working, do they exercise regularly?

LLCJ: Yeah, my son goes in the gym and works out. My daughters, too, even my 9-year-old gets on the treadmill. My wife works out as well. She just had surgery on her leg, she's had four kids, but she still goes to the gym.

TF: What is your trainer and co-author Dave "Scooter" Honig like in real life?

LLCJ: Scooter is like sticking your finger in a light socket every six and a half minutes. He's always talking, full of energy and has a brilliant mind, but he's tough! He's a real tough trainer. Some trainers' biggest concern is their paycheck, he's more focused on getting you in the best shape. I like candor, I like it straight up.

TF: What food can't you resist?

LLCJ: I can resist anything when I have to, but I love ice cream. Vanilla, chocolate and strawberry ... it takes me to another level of gluttony, passion and greed. I tear ice cream up! Apple pie and cobbler come in second.

TF: Why did you decide to write this follow-up to 2006's "LL Cool J's Platinum Workout: Sculpt Your Best Body Ever with Hollywood's Fittest Star?"

LLCJ: It made sense to share with the world not only the physical aspects of workouts, but also about finding balance in life, being successful and maximizing your potential. It was about digging deeper as a next step. I was also doing some inspirational tweets on Twitter, and a lot of people were really into that.

TF: What do you want people to take away from your book?

LLCJ: Men and women are the architects of their own fortune. You have to balance mind, body and soul and make that your lifestyle. You can't just be a guy with washboard abs and a shallow, undeveloped mind. It's about reading, broadening your horizons and being passionate about developing your spirit.

Take Michael Jackson, for example. The thing that made him special was that he wasn't trying to compete with latest teen pop sensation. He was growing and constantly innovating to be the best he could be, to take his artistry to the next level.

You can't be some middle aged man trying to compete with the next teenager. You have to be the best who you are; maximize your own personal life. That's what the book is about.


Find out how celebs Julia Roberts, Kris Jenner and Kim Basinger stay toned and fit.

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I want to eat a bagel for breakfast sometimes but I know they are bad for me. But if I do eat one, which is the lesser of these two evils, butter or cream cheese? - Nigel Anderson, New York, N.Y.

I don't let my four-year-old daughter go to McDonald's, but I do let her go to Dunkin' Donuts. I justify this with the belief that McDonald's represents an unhealthy way of life and Dunkin' Donuts is simply her favorite snack. I am fully aware of the hypocrisy in this (I point out my health hypocrisies a lot in this blog), but I tell you about it to illustrate how crazy irrational we can all be about food.

Are bagels the devil? If you start out with the premise that a food has the power of good or evil, you head down a very twisted and confusing nutritional road, one that usually ends in a dead end in terms of your diet and health efforts. Not that some foods aren't better for you than others, but when you put a particular food on your no-fly list, you are practically begging to crash and burn into a 3:00 a.m. binge.

The worst diet approach you can take is vowing to give up any food you absolutely love. Sooner or later, there is always a bagel with your name on it. If it helps in this case, bagels aren't the most nutritionally devoid item that can pass through your lips, although they certainly aren't the healthiest, either. There are smart ways to have your bagel and eat it too.

So here are five tips for Nigel and all you other bagel mongers [or insert name of favorite forbidden food here] out there:

Continue reading Can You Lose Weight By Eating Bagels?

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