They're Not Like Us: Why Men Lose Weight Faster & Women Struggle in Midlife

Drop the one-size-fits-all fitness and nutrition advice because, ladies—they're not like us.

Men and women don’t play by the same biological rulebook when it comes to weight loss, muscle, and metabolism. So why are we still following fitness plans designed for men in their 30s?

In this episode, we’re breaking down why men lose weight faster, build muscle easier, and seem to bounce back from workouts like superheroes—while we’re over here counting macros, lifting weights, and wondering why our jeans still feel snug. 

Spoiler: It’s not your fault! Hormones, metabolism, and stress all hit differently in midlife, and it’s time to start training smarter, not harder.

We’ll cover:
💪 Why cardio alone won’t cut it in menopause (and what actually works)
🥩 The truth about protein and how to fuel your body post-45
🔥 Why men recover faster—and how you can optimize rest for better results
🚫 The #1 mistake women make when trying to lose weight in midlife

It’s time to stop playing by their rules and start training in a way that works for you. Tune in and let’s rewrite the menopause fitness playbook together. 

Get the Menopause Minis! 10-minute strength workouts that are perfect if your workouts feel like a CHORE! https://www.camoyler.com/meno-minis

Key Takeaways:
-Men and menopausal women have different fitness and nutrition needs.
-Fasting may not be effective for most women.
-Testosterone helps men build muscle and burn fat efficiently.
-Women lose muscle mass starting at age 30, affecting metabolism.
-Estrogen decline during menopause leads to changes in fat storage.
-Cortisol can hinder weight loss and muscle retention in women.
-Strength training can significantly reduce the risk of osteoporosis.
-Strict caloric restriction can backfire for menopausal women.
-Protein intake is crucial for maintaining muscle mass in menopause.
-Managing stress is essential for overall health during menopause.

Timestamps:
00:00
Exercise Strategies for Menopausal Women
05:37
Nutrition: The Importance of Protein
09:08
Practical Solutions for Fitness and Nutrition

Transcript

0:00

Have you ever watched a man cut out beer for a week and suddenly drops 10 pounds while you're over here eating protein, lifting weights, and still wondering where your waistline went? Yeah. Same. The truth is when it comes to exercise and nutrition, men and menopausal women are not playing the same game. Hey there. I'm Cam. Welcome back to the menopause method. We are gonna talk about the difference between men and women and what does that have to do with our fitness and nutrition now that we're on this side of menopause. Today, we're diving into the science behind why and what you can do to make your workouts and your diets actually work for you. Before we get started, I wanna tell you a quick story about my husband. He decided to do a water fast over the weekend. So for thirty eight hours, he drank black coffee and water. During that time, he actually had energy. He wasn't crabby. He got stuff done around the house and he reported back that he lost seven pounds by doing this water fast. Have you ever tried a water fast? If I did that, that would not have been my results. In fact, a few years ago, I did a fast, and what I want to say is I felt tired and crabby. I felt bloated, which made no sense because there wasn't food in my system. And I learned quickly that fasts are not for me. Have you ever tried to fast? I'd love to know if it worked for you because honestly, fasting that long does not work for most women. So let's start with the science. Obviously, there's some differences between men and women. Let's start there. Men have testosterone. In fact, they have anywhere from 10 to 20 times more testosterone than us. The thing about testosterone, it actually helps you build muscle. And if you build muscle, you can burn fat more efficiently. So muscle is the key and they have this hormone testosterone that actually helps them keep their muscles. We, on the other hand, don't have that much testosterone. And in menopause, our estrogen declines. And when that happens in menopause, it makes muscle maintenance more difficult, not impossible, more difficult. We have to play a different game. Here's another difference. Let's talk about muscle. Our metabolism tends to slow down because we as women lose anywhere from three to 8% of our muscle mass per decade, beginning at the age of 30. Honestly, that makes me a little sad because I didn't start lifting weights until I was 41. So strength training and muscle is one of the keys that makes our metabolism slow down. Men do not see this dramatic shift in their muscle loss. Now let's talk about fat storage. Men tend to store fat in their belly, you know, the typical beer belly. We call that visceral fat. Well, before menopause, women tend to store their weight in their hips and their, thighs. But after menopause, women tend to store their weight in their belly, and that is because of the declining estrogen. Estrogen is very protective. It protects our brain, our muscles, our bones. And when we reach to the other side of postmenopause, meaning we've been twelve months without our period, our estrogen reaches its lowest level and we lose that protection. We have estrogen receptors all over our body. And when this hormone that is very important to our health and our longevity and our everything gets to its lowest level, of course, your body's gonna notice. Research says that women's resting metabolic rate decreases two to 3% a decade, meaning if we do not adjust our habits in menopause, weight gain is almost inevitable. I want to talk about what is a metabolic resting rate. That is how many calories or energy your body needs at rest. Not for life, not for exercise, just to function, for your heart to beat and your eyes to blink and all the things like that. Let's move on to exercise because what works for men doesn't work for us. In fact, cardio is not the answer. Men tend to drop weight with cardio alone, but too much cardio for the menopausal woman actually raises cortisol. And guess what cortisol does? It's a fat storage hormone. And if you're running on cortisol, it also is catabolic to your muscles. That means you can't keep your muscles around if you are in a chronic stressed out state. When I work with my clients, we talk all about insulin, which is your food, but also your cortisol. It is your job to find ways to take the burden away from your body and then a pause. I feel like midlife awakening tells us finally that it's okay to take care of ourselves and learning how to manage our stress is so, so, so important. We also know that strength training is a must. Studies show that twice weekly can actually increase your muscle mass three to 5% in menopausal women. And that is amazing. The more muscle you have, the more active your metabolism is gonna be and the healthier your bones are gonna be. If working out two longer times a week sounds like too much, please check out the menopause minis, which are ten minute strength workouts. You can find those in the show notes. They are a game changer if time is your problem and your workouts feel like a chore. Doing these ten minute workouts will help you be consistent, so check them out. They are amazing. You may also notice that your recovery is taking longer. Men tend to bounce right back because they've got that high testosterone. While women, us, we need to focus on our sleep, our hydration, our stress management. One last word about lifting weights in menopause. Studies show that postmenopausal women who strength train can reduce the risk of osteoporosis related fractures by sixty eight percent. That is a good news. So even though our estrogen is declining, if we change our habits and use strength training as one of the ways we exercise, we can really avoid some nasty stuff in menopause. Let's move on to the topic of nutrition. We grew up in a diet culture where eat less and exercise more was the way. That was what we were told worked, But it completely fails us when it comes to menopause. Strict calorie restriction in menopause backfires. Men got the calories and dropped the weight like my husband did this weekend. But for menopausal women, it is too low and it increases stress too much and that actually slows the metabolism further. We know that our protein needs are higher than we think. Now men are really good at eating protein, but women, we we weren't, like, raised to eat protein like that. In a 2021 study, it found that women, menopausal women, who need at least 25 to 30 grams of protein per meal in order to maintain muscle and manage your cravings. The way I look at food now is when I'm getting ready to eat, I figure out where is my protein, and I estimate how much protein is on my plate. Here's an interesting stat. Research shows that menopausal women who eat 30% of their daily calories from protein experience less muscle loss and better weight management than those that don't. If that's not a good enough reason to eat more protein, do it. Okay. Let's talk about the solutions. How can we make fitness and nutrition work for you in midlife? Strength training is top of the list. At least twice a week, your full body compound movements. And if the idea of two longer workouts doesn't work for your life or your energy, then please give the menopause minis a try. These ten minutes strength workouts will change the game for your consistent habit of strength training. Next up, we have to talk about protein. Protein at every every single meal, 25 to 30 grams every time you eat. And here's another target. If you take your ideal, like, lean body mass and you eat one gram of protein per pound, that's a really good target. When I'm working with clients, we always, like, start with a discovery period and actually track our food to see exactly how much we're actually eating. And then what we do from there is we work up to 100 grams because most women are not to 100 grams. And then we'll slowly bump that north towards their lean body mass goal. Next up, reduce that excess cardio, walk more daily movement like walking really helps regulate your metabolism without stressing your body. Remember, cortisol is a stored trauma. Let me back up for a second. The right amount of cortisol is amazing. Your get up and go in the morning, that's your cortisol. But when you're running on get up and go all day, that's too much. Number four, manage stress like it's your job. It is your job. This is your life and your body. So figure out your sleep, figure out if breath work works for you. Mindful practices, keeping that cortisol in check will make a difference. If you've been following diet and fitness advice made for men in their thirties and you realize it's not working for you anymore, let's stop playing by the rules and start thriving on our own rules. If this episode was helpful for you, do me a favor. Please like and share it. That is the best way to help other women in menopause understand what's happening with their body so they can end their frustration and feel amazing. If you found today's episode helpful because we're not like them, please hit the follow button. No woman in menopause deserves to feel alone and frustrated. You deserve understanding of what's happening to your body. Thanks for joining me, and I'll see you next week.