How Can a Woman Lose Weight?

It's probably not a shock to you that women and men are different. Among the long list of qualities which define us as opposites, there's also the weight issue. When it comes to an effort to lose weight, a woman should take into account the nature of her body composition if she wants to achieve more effective results.

Women's Body Composition

• Women have higher percentages of body fat, while men have more muscle mass. Because muscle requires more energy to maintain than fat does, men have a faster metabolism and a higher calorie threshold.

  The higher fat percentage of women makes women more vulnerable to weight gain and makes losing weight more difficult. While the extra fat plays a critical role in childbearing, too much can become a health complication. When the goal is to improve physical fitness, not all weight loss is good weight loss. Fitness is enriched by the reduction of excess body fat, not muscle or water.

Resistance Training

• Building muscle is not just for men. Resistance training should be a part of a woman's workout routine, too. By training with lighter weights (simply with more repetitions), and performing strength exercises that stretch the muscles (such as power yoga or Pilates), a woman can gain the benefit of building, toned, elongated muscles which are every bit the fat burner as the bulkier muscles of men.

Aerobic Exercise

• Aerobic exercise is essential to any good weight loss plan. Spend at least 30 minutes a day in nonstop aerobic activity such as jogging, playing tennis or racquet ball, swimming or water aerobics. Pick an activity you enjoy so you will stick to it. The goal is to get your heart beat pumping at 50 to 85 percent of its maximum capacity, the "aerobic range." This is the range at which fat, as opposed to protein or carbohydrates, becomes the topmost fuel burned to meet the body's energy demands.

Diet

• The only way to lose weight is to burn more calories than you consume. But don't fast or starve yourself. Fasting depresses your metabolism, making weight gain even easier once the fast is over. You also don't want to starve your body of the vital nutrients it needs. You need to eat to stoke your metabolism; simply make healthier food choices. Eat a varied but balanced diet of foods that are low in calories but rich in vitamins, minerals, fiber, amino acids, essential fats and even carbohydrates. Stick mainly to the foods on the lower end of the glycemic spectrum. Get adequate amounts of calcium and iron in your diet.