Why is it that a healthy and active man can lose weight faster than a woman who religiously does aerobics and follows her diet? Men are different from women; everyone knows that. But do they know that men have faster metabolisms? A faster metabolism can be a reason as to why men lose weight faster, but having the wrong diet and little or no confidence is the real cause! That’s why we better change our habits and why we need to start feeling better about ourselves. Now we’re on the road to dieting like a guy!

FIRST, we should start to diet like a man. In other words, stop dieting. The perfect diet would be following the food pyramid, but we girls tend to think that following the food pyramid equals eating too much. Imagine how much carbs and fats it requires us to take in everyday! That’s why we like to stick to our hard to follow diets that make the diet dreadful and like a chore. What men do when they’re in a diet: instead of starving, they only eat healthy foods. Guys don’t set impossible restrictions, they are more likely to stick to healthy choices.

SECOND, don’t feel guilty when you eat. Just don’t overindulge and then hate yourself afterwards. Only eat when you’re hungry and not whenever you see food. Don’t think of eating as a past-time, do it because of necessity. But always remember, it’s not good skipping it because food is fuel for your body

THIRD, stop doing fat math. Admit it; we girls tend to shop for foods that have “no-fat” or “low-fat” labels on it. But what most guys do? They ignore it. Instead, they buy foods that don’t really contain fats! Here’s a fact: a low-fat yogurt contains more calories than a regular yogurt. Funny, isn’t it? And weight gain comes from taking in more calories and burning less of those. So next time, buy the regular ones and don’t force yourself to like those pasty tasting foods!

FOURTH, earn the right to indulge. At parties, men don’t usually restrain themselves from eating. It’s a party, hello??! They usually eat what they like and don’t feel guilty at all. Do you know why? Because they know that they’ll just have to burn it all off at the gym the next morning. Yep, losing weight is not by how much you don’t eat…but by how many calories you burn. If you burn more calories than you take in, then you’re losing weight. And if hitting the gym is not your type, than do sports instead. Choose the sport you like, and losing weight will be much more enjoyable!

FIFTH, grunt and sweat. I admit, I don’t really prefer lifting weights as exercise. I’m afraid of growing muscles like Arnold Schwarzenegger! But what I learned is that our bodies don’t tend to grow them as big as men do. It is because instead of having testosterone in our female bodies, we have estrogen. Having estrogen in our bodies instead of testosterone makes it nearly impossible for us to gain muscles like a guy. And another great thing is, muscles help burn fat too; the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn each hour. And there’s a plus too… even if we’re just doing nothing, muscles are continuously burning calories! Isn’t that great? So, don’t be afraid to lift weights. Choose weights that will tire you and lift them slowly.

SIXTH, ignore the scale. This is where I am most guilty! I check my weight more than once EVERYDAY! Haha, I am just too paranoid I guess! I know, I better quit that weird habit. The fit body that we dream of doesn’t weigh that light. A fit body has more muscle and less fat, but muscles weigh 3 times heavier than fat. It’s not bad at all though! Just imagine this, a toned 120-lb you can slip into those low-riders better than a flabby 110-lb you. Now, which do you prefer?

LASTLY, enjoy your body. Most guys aren’t really concerned about how their body looks. Most of them are more concerned on what their body can do. It’s like a man who has a big belly but can repair tires in seconds. Don’t be a sucker for hell of a gorgeous body that can’t do anything. Think practical – think healthy! The more you accept what you see in the mirror, imperfections included, the easier it is to be active. If you focus on your flaws though, it won’t be long before you give up. In our perspective: whenever we work out, we should think that that flabby lady in the mirror is a sexy goddess inside, I just need to make her break free…and that will be accomplished by working out!

IMPORTANT WORDS: stay active and eat healthy.