Women over 40 almost always find it harder to lose weight than they did in their younger days, and it’s even more frustrating when they see their 40 plus male partners dropping the pounds with far less effert. Here’s the main reasons why this is so:
SLEEP DEPRIVATION
Whether due to the night-waking of young children or hot flashes from the onset of perimenopause, middle-age is when sleep quality goes downhill for many women. Lack of sleep has long been linkedto an increased risk of obesity and diabetes, because it’s harder for the body to regulate glucose leading to something called insulin resistance, which can cause weight gain.
MEN ARE BIGGER
If you’re scratching your head wondering why your husband can lose 25 pounds in two months by making some simple lifestyle changes, here’s why. “Women naturally have a higher percentage of body fat and lower muscle mass than men do,” explains Gillian Mueller Goddard, M.D., endocrinologist at Park Avenue Endocrinology & Nutrition PLLC in New York City. “Muscle is more metabolically active than fat is, it utilizes more energy in the form of calories. The average man is also just larger than the average woman, so it takes more calories to maintain a larger body mass. Between these two differences, men can consume more calories to maintain or lose weight than women can.”
We literally have to consume fewer calories to maintain or lose weight.
SLOWER METABOLISM
Goddard says estrogen levels begin to decline as a woman begins perimenopause. “As a result, we lose muscle mass, and that loss results in a decrease in metabolism — we literally have to consume fewer calories to maintain or lose weight,” she says. “The loss of estrogen also leads to a propensity to deposit fat in the mid-section, which leads to further metabolic derangement (or an inefficient metabolism). It increases insulin resistance, can lead to pre-diabetes and diabetes, and increases the risk for heart disease.”… Read More
Read the full article at nbcnews.com
Have you passed the 40 barrier? If so then have you found it harder to lose that excess weight? Please comment and let us know – Thanks
The Reasons Why It’s Harder For Women