Women Lose Weight Slower Than Men But Menstrual Cycle Can Tell Women When Body Burns Most Fat

It's already 2010. And lots of people are trying to lose weight in the new year.

The ugly fact: Women do lose weight slow-wwwwer than men. How frustrating is that, especially partners that take the weight loss journey together, only to see their male counterparts losing lbs. so quickly.

But women do have a little weight loss weapon they don't even know about. It's called your menstrual cycle. And learning how your monthly cycle works, can give you clues to when your body burns the most fat.

Here at Beauty Tip Today, we have tackled this issue before, and we recently received an email from a reader who wanted us to re-explain how a woman's menstrual cycle can help one lose weight. So let us begin.

First, let's look at some basics:

1. Men tend to lose weight faster than women for a few reasons.

2. Women tend to store and retain fat, because we have higher levels of estrogen, which keeps fat on a woman's body.

3. Men have more muscle on their frames which equals a faster metabolism. So, they can burn more calories, even when lying on the couch, doing zero.

4. Women have more fat on hips and thighs, which are tougher fat zones to remove, whereas men have more belly fat, which is a fat zone that melts away quicker.

Now, lets' look at women's menstrual cycles, and see how your period, and the days in between that, offer you the best shot for burning fat. Exercise plays a big role here:

Muscle & Fitness magazine did an article on the female fat cycle. And according to researchers from Australia, all women are equal and alike during certain times of their menstrual cycle.

For instance, one study found that, "the female body burns much more fat, especially during high-intensity aerobic exercise, during the luteal phase of your menstrual cycle than it does during the follicular phase." In other words, you will lose more weight during days 14-28 of your cycle than during days 1-13 of your cycle.(Remember: Day 1 of your cycle always equals the first day of your period). It has to do with the estrogen and progesterone levels during a woman's cycle.

Now to take advantage of your own fat burning machine, do lower-intensity exercise when you get your period. Use about 60%-70% of your maximum heart rate for about 40-60 minutes per session for days 1-13. Do cardio on the treadmill or elliptical climber. Then around day 14, switch over to high-intensity exercise, where you use 80%-90% maximum heart rate for about 30 minutes per session. Do that tougher exercise regimen for days 14-28.(These days are generally your ovulation time). Push your cardio on the stationary bike or stair-stepper.

This plan will help you really strip the fat and lose weight.