This week I share with you an interesting article on the differences between men and women when it comes to fat loss. Is one struggling more than the other or are we both the same? Let’s find out from the summary below:
- Some studies are suggesting that men and women may process, store, and use fat differently, both while exercising and while at rest.
- It is important to note that men and women typically carry fat differently on their bodies; females carrying a greater portion of it in the hip and thigh area, while males tend to focus their fat in the abdominal region.
- Additionally, females do have a higher essential body fat requirement due to the fact that their bodies must be capable of giving birth and their reproduction system will require more body fat stores.
- In order to effectively decrease body fat stores, you are going to have to mobilize the fat, which is the process of releasing the fat from the storage site into the body so then it can be broken down through the process of lipolysis.
- The key factor at play here when discussing men and women and fat loss is that it appears as though body fat cells in the abdominal area are more sensitive to beta receptors (which signal the start of lipolysis, i.e. fat loss) than thigh fat cells are.
- Because women typically tend to store more of their body fat in their thighs, while men store more in their abdominal area, as stated above, this could be one reason why women seem to have that “stubborn fat” that just won’t seem to leave.
- However, women have an advantage when it comes to hormones: Estrogen seems to help increase the rate of fat metabolism while you are both exercising and at rest.
- However, you still must keep in mind that regardless of anything, you must burn more calories per day than you consume in order to lose body fat.
- Even if women do have an enhanced capacity to rely on fat for fuel during exercise for example, if they are consuming a whole bunch of carbohydrates through the diet, these carbohydrates will just turn to more body fat anyway, replacing that which was burnt off.
Read the full article on bodybuilding.com
Inspired by Miranda 