Being overweight isn’t just a long-term health problem; it’s an immediate everyday inconvenience.

Work

Excess fat causes you to have less energy, be less productive at work and feel more stressed.

You’re also more likely to have backache and sore knees and ankles. In addition, overweight people have poorer balance, so are more at risk of having an accident.

Play

If you play sport, being overweight will make you less fit, less nimble and more prone to injury.

When you do get an injury, you will take longer to recover because excess fat increases the inflammatory response and delays healing.

Overweight men are more prone to lower testosterone, lower fertility and greater risk of erectile dysfunction. According to a survey published in the British Medical Journal:

• Obese men are two and half times more likely to experience erectile dysfunction than their health weight counterparts. 
• Obese men are 70% less likely to have had more than one sexual partner in the last 12 months. 

Despite the greater risk of health problems, many men are in denial about their weight or are not doing anything about it. Overweight men are more likely than women to see themselves as overweight, and women are more likely than men to diet in order to lose weight. Men are less likely to eat healthy foods like fruit, vegetable and salads – or want to eat them more often.

Men may have traditionally been less likely to be concerned about their weight, but if you’re reading this, the chances are that you’re one of the new generation of men who are better informed and motivated to help themselves. More men are successfully losing weight with All About Weight every month.

Why it’s easier for men to lose weight

The differences between overweight men and women don’t end with the health risks. On those, men fare worse than women, but men have several advantages over women when it comes to losing weight.

Men are often more successful than women at dieting due to differences in the way the two sexes see themselves and food.

• Men set more realistic and achievable goals for weight loss – they don’t want to achieve a perfect celebrity body, just get generally slimmer and fitter. 
• Men have a more positive body image to start out with, and so they’re more likely to be pleased with any success, rather than only being satisfied with dramatic weight loss week after week. 
• Men are often more confident and assertive. Being sure that you can succeed at losing weight makes success more likely. 
• Men have less emotional attachment to food. A no-nonsense approach towards food means that they are less vulnerable to temptation and comfort eating than women. 
• A more businesslike approach to their weight loss means that men often “manage” themselves better than women and evaluate their progress to learn from success and mistakes. Therefore, if men have a setback they are more likely get back on track than give up and return to unhealthy eating. 

So you start out with the right mental attitude! 

There are physical advantages, too... 

• Because they are generally bigger, men don’t need to restrict their calorie intake as dramatically as women to get results. This means you can eat more and still lose weight, as well as lose weight faster on a calorie controlled diet. 

• Men have more muscle than women. The more muscle you have, the faster your metabolic rate and the more calories you burn,  even at rest. 
• Men produce more muscle-building hormones like testosterone, so it’s far easier for men to build muscle than women when they work out. Consequently, you have more potential to increase the calories you burn through exercise. 

All this contributes to faster weight loss for men on All About Weight plans. Because our plans are calorie controlled and nutritionally complete, you know you are eating enough to stay healthy, but not enough to stay overweight. There’s no need to get bogged down in counting calories or risk overeating because the plans have been carefully designed for you with approved food lists and portion guides to follow. It’s the no-nonsense way to lose weight. Just follow your plan and get building a better body.

Why should men care about their weight? >

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