In this conversational video, Eric Roberts explains why women often experience slower weight loss compared to men. He attributes the difference primarily to hormonal fluctuations during the menstrual cycle, which can increase hunger, cravings, cause lower energy, bloating, and temporary water‑weight gain, making adherence to nutrition and exercise more challenging. Roberts also notes that, on average, men are taller and have more muscle mass, leading to a higher basal metabolic rate; consequently, men can lose weight while consuming more calories than women of comparable body composition. He provides concrete calorie‑deficit examples (e.g., a 6'4" 250‑lb man at 3,400 kcal maintenance losing weight on 2,400 kcal, versus a 5'5" 180‑lb woman needing ~1,600 kcal to lose a pound per week). Throughout, he emphasizes that the physiological hurdles do not make weight loss impossible for women—consistent calorie deficit, regular workouts, and step counts will still produce results, albeit sometimes more slowly. The video ends with motivational encouragement to focus on personal progress rather than comparing to others.
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Eric, I have a feeling that men lose weight faster and easier than women. Oh, well, Karen, you actually might be onto something there. I knew it! Okay, do you want me to explain why, or— Yeah, yeah, sure, go ahead, but I just know that I was right. Okay, wonderful. Let's cover exactly why it might be harder and slower for women to lose weight than men. First and foremost, we can have a little chitty-chat about hormones. Yes, Hormones. Women have different levels of hormones than men do. Can we agree on this, right? Let's just use that time of the month for example. When women get their period, you are usually going to be hungrier and have more cravings and have less energy during that time of the month. Us men, we don't have ovaries, and so we don't have this time of the month. So while women are going through this, That probably makes it a little bit harder for you to stay on track with your nutrition or go get your workouts in or make sure you meal prep. And so from that simple fact right there, yes, it very well might make it harder for you to lose weight, which may make the process a little bit slower. It doesn't make it impossible because you can still stay on track. You can still get your workouts. You can still get your steps. While it may be harder, we can both agree on that. It doesn't make it impossible. Let's stay on this topic of that time of the month a bit longer. During that time of the month for ladies, what is also normally going to come along with more cravings, more hunger, less energy? Usually you're also going to be a little bit more bloated and have some water weight retention during that time of the month as well, right? Us guys, we don't have that, and so therefore your weight might spike up on the scale during that week of the time of the month, whereas our weight might just keep going on down because we don't have a period. So again, it may make it slower in the short term, but let's just say, for example, the week before your period you were 200 pounds. Let's say the week of your period you spike up to 203 pounds. If you remain in a calorie deficit even during that week— I'm not saying you have to, I'm just saying if you did— you would still lose body fat during that week even if the scale wasn't necessarily showing and reflecting it right away. And so what would happen was you'd be 200 before your period, you got your period, spike up to 203. When your period is gone and the water weight is gone, you would go back down to let's say 198 or 199 because you were still losing body fat during that time because you stayed in your calorie deficit. And so the scale would reflect that after your period is gone. So again, in the short term it may seem like it's going slower, but in the long term it really will all even out. And again, let's just say you don't stay in your calorie deficit during that time of the month. Cool. Again, it may make it slower than what a man would do. And so yes, maybe me losing 20 pounds versus you losing 20 pounds might take a little bit longer for yourself, but again, that doesn't mean it's impossible. And as long as you keep going, you will get to where you want to be. We can also touch on your metabolism. Yes, your metabolism. You knew it was coming. You were waiting for it. The truth is, typically speaking, men are a little bit taller, they have a little bit more muscle mass, and overall they just have a little bit faster metabolisms because of those 2 things. Not all men, making a general statement. So because that's true, men can typically lose more weight even with eating more food. For example, I am 6'4, 250 pounds. My maintenance calories are 3,400 calories. So if I ate 2,400 calories per day, I am going to lose roughly about 2 pounds per week. I know, probably pisses you off. Whereas let's say you're a 5'5 woman who is 180 pounds. You might have to eat 1,500, 1,600, 1,700 calories per day to lose weight. And you might only lose a pound or half a pound per week. I know, I'm sorry. What do you want me to tell you? So yes, it might be harder and it might be slower at times. So I can agree with you, it kind of sucks. Your husband or your siblings or your family members, coworkers, whoever, might not be working nearly as hard as you do, and yet they're still seeing progress. It probably pisses you off, and I get it, but that doesn't mean that you still can't see progress. Like we talked about earlier, as long as you continue to hit your calories and as long as you continue to get your steps and get your workouts in and do all the things, you will continue to see progress, slower or not. Remember, this journey isn't about anybody else but you. So what this person is doing or that person is doing, it's really irrelevant. It's not a competition against any of these other people. It's just a competition against you. So keep showing up, keep crushing it, and honestly, it'll feel that much better when you do reach your goal. Hope this video helped.
