Men and women know they have different diet preferences. But when it comes to weight loss, finding a diet that works for men may seem more challenging than it actually is. Just because men tend to eat more meat and starches while women are more likely to eat more fruit doesn’t mean there cannot be a meeting of the minds.
Weight Loss for Men: Nutritional Requirements
While all adults are encouraged to eat more healthily and lose weight, diets for men differ from those for women in part because men can eat more calories and protein than women. A man’s diet allows 400 to 600 more calories per day than women who have comparable physical activity habits. Daily calorie requirements for men 31 to 50 years old are: 2,200 calories if sedentary, 2,400 to 2,600 if moderately active, and 2,800 to 3,000 calories if active.
Since protein requirements are based on body weight (you need about 0.36 grams per pound), the inclusion of more protein in a man’s diet “is because men tend to be larger than women,” explains dietitian Naomi Reyes, RD, of the Temple University Center for Obesity Research in Philadelphia. But, she adds, “We get plenty of protein here in the United States.”
Weight Loss for Men: What’s the Best Diet
Accepted wisdom is that since men like to eat a lot of meat, they should be on a low-carb diet. This is not necessarily the case — men do just as well with diets that emphasize eating a lot of low-fat, low-calorie foods, says Barbara Rolls, PhD, director of the Laboratory for the Study of Human Ingestive Behavior at Pennsylvania State University in University Park.
“We have done some clinical trials in men and women and they performed similarly — men like ‘Volumetrics’ (a diet plan that focuses on increasing the amount of low-calorie veggies in a diet) because they can eat so much food. I think men are particularly fearful of eating tiny portions,” explains Rolls. National recommendations state that men should eat about two cups of fruit and three cups of vegetables a day.
Recent research has shown that reducing calories is the key to weight loss, regardless of the type of diet you choose (low-carb, low-fat or Mediterranean). This is true for women and men. The key is finding healthy lifestyle changes a man will stick with so that he can succeed and keep the weight off.
Reyes says dieting may be easier for men than women once they decide to commit. “As far as the research goes there is not a lot that differentiates between men and women as far as success, but anecdotally I think that men have less of an emotional attachment to food. Women may feel more deprived if they have to cut out whole types of foods,” she explains.
Weight Loss for Men: Getting Your Man to Eat Better
Nagging won’t work, but providing your man with a tasty meal could do the trick, says dietitian Donna L. Weihofen, RD, MS, nutritionist at the University of Wisconsin Hospital and Clinics in Madison.
“My husband is now totally converted,” Weihofen says. “He is eating salmon so much more than red meat now. I mixed black beans with hamburger and he liked it better because it’s moister. I think if we are just a little bit more experimental with our food, and do it regularly, they will like healthy eating more.”
To introduce new low-calorie vegetables into your spouse’s diet, Rolls suggests choosing younger vegetables, which are less bitter, and adding a little bit of cheese or other flavoring to make vegetables tastier. Add more veggies overall by increasing the proportion of vegetables in mixed dishes such as soups, stews, and casseroles.
The upshot is that the differences between men and women in the weight-loss arena may be more perception than reality. Start cooking up some tasty low-fat, low-calorie meals and soon you may enjoy losing weight together
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