Iām female and myself and my male partner have restarted clean IF (only water or black coffee during fast) for 3 weeks. We have eaten the same meals (different portions) and trained more or less the same. He has lost 14lbs and I have lost 1lb. I know I hear it all the time that men lose faster and it will come in time but although Iām super proud of him, itās super soul destroying.
Super frustrating, isnāt it? My husband and I did a two week juice diet one time (way before I learned about IF), he lost 11 lbs, I lost 1. Annoying! You might need to shorten your eating window- hubby does fine on a 18:6 schedule, Iām doing better with 22:2.
Many years ago, I was on weight watchers. The few men that attended the meetings lost weight much faster than all the women.
I donāt know why. Itās just like that. I donāt know if men gain faster than women.
The thing to do is stick with it. Measure yourself because you may be changing body composition (fat is less dense than muscle).
And itās great to see him doing well. It canāt be a competition. We are all different.
Also, my weight loss was cyclical, intertwined with my monthly cycle. Iād see a āwooshā of loss after my period. The week before Iād stay the same weight or go up slightly.
Keep going.
I doubt he lost 14 ārealā pounds in 3 weeks - Thatās a 49,000 calorie defecit, or a 2,333 calorie defecit a day! Even with exercise thatās very hard to actually do! Youād basically need to only eat the calories you burned during workouts.
Most likely he was quite bloated/retaining water weight in the initial weigh-in, where perhaps you had less water retention. I can swing 6 pounds easily in water retention, if Iām very lean and then pig out on a load of carbs!
Also what were your respective starting weights? Itās much easier to lose weight at higher starting points (but the weight loss is less noticeable, so itās swings and roundabouts). As higher weights have higher TDEE, that 2333 daily calorie defecit is much easier to hit at say, 400 pounds, as youāll be burning about 3,500+ a day by doing nothing.
Try taking other measurements, like waist size, and start noticing things like how much better youāre feeling in yourself.
I do think you have to be very patient, weight will never come off in a month. Iām way older and even though my eating habits maybe havenāt been perfect (but Iām human for god sake) Iām always been consistent. Like always exercised, even if it was just walking. And never over ate. I always eat when Iām hungry not when others say itās meal time. I canāt eat like a man, I donāt want to either. Plus you have to move. It doesnāt have to be hard core but if you think about a whole day one hour of exercise is important. Sleep as well. If Iām over tired I can eat a horse. Alway do not ever compare yourself to others. Weāre built differently and weight loss is a journey itās not a 1/2 hour sprint. Your future self will appreciate it
Iād like to add- lifting weights is important for women in my opinion. I donāt get big doing it. Itās kept me lean. I read some where that your body keeps burning after weight training. I keep it up 4 days a week and absolutely love it
Iāve also been doing IF for about a month, do spin for an hour every day. I havenāt lost anything meaningful and eat mostly veggies. I only have about 10 lbs to lose. It seems unfair. I heard that women have more fat cells so if there is ever a famine they can still carry and feed their babies. Not sure if it is true though. Donāt let the holidays derail you though!
People really underestimate the role non exercise movement plays in weight loss. Men tend to be more physical in their daily lives. They also generally have more muscle which helps them burn fat.
People with more fat tend to see more initial loss. Does he have that much more to lose? 1lb over 3 weeks is .3lbs a week. Thereās nothing wrong with losing slowly but you say youāre frustrated. Iād take a look at my portion sizes as well as how much Iām moving when Iām not intentionally working out.
You are eating the same meals, then you are likely getting more calories than you should? I know I loved the idea that as long as I ate in my window, t did not matter what I ateā¦but every time I plateau, it is because I am eating more than is needed and lower quality (i.e. not the most nutrition packed foods, i.e. chips etc). I refocus on portions appropriate to me, and on quality calories (veggies, fruits, fiber, focus for me as a vegetarian). I donāt count calories, but I do pay more attention to portions and such and the weight starts to come off again.
If youāre very fertile, and in that part of your life, your body will be resistant to losing weight because it is not ideal for child bearing. Stress is another very understated factor, which tends to additionally influence your bodyās resistance to weight loss for the above reason.
Hormones are a bitch.
>trained more or less the same
Obviously he either burned more calories or was more water-fat to begin with. I think he might just be more active during the day.
Find some physical things you like to do to increase the amount of calories you burn. Swimming, treadmill, fitness bike, they all help.
Itās a simple equation of being more active or just eating less. But eating less might be unhealthy, so strive to be more active.
I totally hear your struggle! Also try to measure the scale has never been much of a moral booster for me.
I heard on this podcast https://open.spotify.com/episode/1UgKwzwCciobavF6U8e9LJ?si=MiKvR_dSRROMFkKO3iYtzQ&utm_source=copy-link that men lose in a totally different way then woman that really encouraged me no to focus on the pounds but the new lifestyle of healthy habits Iām building. You got this!
I also have been IF fasting since June 2022, I lose sometime 1 pound a month. But the inches and other benefits are much faster. There is also body recomp happening perhaps muscle is replacing that fat.
>I have lost 1lb
I found this with my wife. The difference is that her body was changing composition. She put on muscle tone (no idea why?) and I was just losing fat and muscle (mostly fat).
Do you check body fat %? Sometimes you need to look at more than one number to see progress.
I think the difference between men and women regarding weight loss from fasting has been a topic on the Fasting Method Podcast. I canāt remember which episode, but I believe they stated that itās typical for men to lose a lot quickly early on but that women usually catch up.