Comments on: Boy, girl, boy, girl

By: Amy

Amy — Sun, 22 Apr 2007 14:37:57 +0000

This is a great post. I’ve got PCOS as well, and there really isn’t always rhyme or reason to weight loss. It would be lovely if everyone’s bodies were as simple as car engines (a similie I hear EVERYWHERE), but they’re so much more intricate than that. If we have to run with the engine imagery, having PCOS with all those hormones splashing around in the wrong amounts is like putting windshield wiper fluid where the oil is supposed to go. Let’s see how well the engine runs now! After dealing with the multitude of (male) doctors that don’t know jack about PCOS, I have some serious distatste for the Old White Guys thinking they know what’s up with women’s bodies, too.

I love your page… this is my first time here so I haven’t read much yet. I got here through Girls that Eat Pizza & I’m so excited that there’s so very very much here to read! :-) Take care!

By: Marla

Marla — Mon, 02 Apr 2007 12:22:09 +0000

I am absolutely completely totally positive that it works differently for men and women. That’s not to say that men don’t have to work hard to lose weight, it’s that women work just as hard and nothing happens. I know the hormonal differences are a big part of it, but that doesn’t seem to get the acknowledgment it deserves. It’s not just the menstruation-related hormonal changes either; apparently men’s greater amount of testosterone helps them to build more muscles, and as we all know, muscle is metabolically active and fat is NOT. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn. Men have more muscle – LOTS more muscle – to start with, and they can build muscle more easily. Maybe that alone explains the difference, I don’t know.

That aspect of it doesn’t concern me much – since I’ll never be male, it doesn’t really matter whether they lose more easily than I do, but I think you’re onto something with the Old White Guys comments. I joined John Berardi’s Precision Nutrition at the beginning of the year, and one of the features is access to a message board. You would not believe how many guys write in and say: “My wife and I are both doing PN, I’ve lost 20 pounds, she weighs exactly the same as when she started. I swear she is following the program, she’s not cheating on her diet or exercise.” And the suggestions that come back are just more and more arcane. I don’t think anyone really knows. (I’m not criticizing PN, but think it shares this same blindness as any other program). It seems crazy that there should be such a bias in research, but we’ve all seen quite recent examples of medical studies being done only on men (or only on white men, for that matter). So, I say this: there is a fabulously huge vacuum in research waited to be filled, and whoever fills it will become famous as hell and also the richest person on earth if they also figure out a plan or product that actually works.

By: Les

Les — Fri, 30 Mar 2007 11:38:08 +0000

Oh how I love reading about women’s periods:) Really, I honestly admire women and how they handle themselves through all they have to go through.

By: John

John — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:39:35 +0000

What about the fact that men are on average more overweight than women? In the phone book for my city, at least 3/4 of dieticians are women. What old white guys?

By: KatieP

KatieP — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 22:13:58 +0000

I couldn’t agree more — it’s the old 2 steps forward one step back routine that turns into 2 steps forward, 2 steps back for me as my hormones are crazed harpies 2 weeks out of 4. I think we should all retreat for the week of PMT and the week of our period to some secure sanitorium where carbohydrates are banned and leeches are applied to suck out the water! Then we might get ahead of the game :)
Old White Guys would cry and refuse to go to work if they got a excrutiatingly sore breasts every month!!

By: Connie

Connie — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 19:06:12 +0000

Well written post, and right on the money. Get that femminist out of that dark corner and have her write a bestseller – that’ll teach those OWGs to mess with us!

By: PastaQueen

PastaQueen — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 18:27:29 +0000

Heh, I was going to comment and say the same thing happens during my period but then you went and linked to my chart which I’d forgotten I’d even posted.

I don’t watch The Biggest Loser television show, but I’m pretty sure a man always wins, exactly for all the reasons you’re talking about. I’ve also never gone to a Weight Watcher’s meeting, but I hear sometimes a man starts showing up, loses weight really quickly and all the women hate him.

By: Debbi

Debbi — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 14:49:07 +0000

Well, you're right, of course. Women's bodies are built differently from men's. And wait until you go through menopause. It's a completely different ball game then! Nothing works the same as it used to, and you have to learn everything all over again. I'm as discouraged as I've ever been this morning, and I'm still not ready to quit. Am I nuts? Some would say so ...