Weight Loss and Gender Differences
I’m back! Ok, so don’t get any ideas…I am likely to go back to editing and not blog for a while. Anyhow…
I’ve be wrestling with some issues dealing with our film, as it comes to our female documentary subjects…keep in mind, that I’m not defining the programs our subjects follow, although as we proceed to follow these people, we do try to help them at the breaking point, where they might normally quit what they are doing. So here’s just an observation based on the many people we know who have been incredibly successful during the weight loss/transformation process -
It seems as if women have a greater need for a strong social support network when trying to lose weight. Obviously, we see this with programs such as Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig, where the clients are predominantly women, but we’ve seen so many women fall off track, and ultimately quit, when they have no real strong support or partners while attempting to lose weight. It seems to make sense, as women’s thoughts and behaviors may tend to be more emotionally driven, and often our emotions are directly related to our interaction with friends and family…and coworkers. So it would make sense that women might be more easly swayed to eat due to emotional stress, or swayed by friends or family who are bad influences.
I’m not saying that women have less willpower, but I do think that a critical key to success for women (in general) is that there are strong positive forces in their daily lives. This might be a supportive spouse or boyfriend, a workout partner, trainer, or group of friends who have all decided to get into shape. We have seen an incredible challenge for documentary subjects who have little positive support in their lives for their weight loss goals, and plenty of negative influences when it comes to eating junk food and not exercising.
So, while it holds true for all of us, men and women…women do need to pay more attention to those who surround them, and the role they play in staying on track. However, it just so happens that the male subjects we’ve followed have had some positive influences in their lives…so it may just be coincidence and it might be the same for us all. Choose your friends carefully! 
Thoughts?
I linked to this posting. You said it well.
I had just been noticing a trend in (little groups of bloggers)
people stagnating in their get healthier journey and
people moving forward in their get healthier journey,
In fact I have a link for Codependency under one blog,
so that I remember to take those words from that point of view
and not let the words move over into my thinking -
So I remember where the line is.
This is GREAT. And soo true. Women are not the same creatures men are…so that perspective has to be adjusted for. But clearly, CLEARLY women need to be CHOOSEY with the company they keep. I think society has done a huge disservice to women in general; as a woman, and one who comes from a less than desirable background, we are almost BRED to be pleasers, which means we ARE NOT selective in who are friends are. Our “friends” are who we are told they can be; we are not respected or given the credit due us..we cannot imagine or realize our full potential because we are typically not given “permission” to see ourselves as THAT worthwhile..we are dispensible..there are many of us. We can conform and “obey” or be dismissed.
These statements I have just made are such lies, yet we are fed them, and to a point brainwashed to believe them. We don’t need to be like the saying “I am woman, hear me roar” but..we do need to change the mindset, change our behavior, change what we ACCEPT or should I say, SETTLE for, …see ourselves as the gifts we are..with the value we TRULY have…and then we would STOP seeing the trend u mention…
It’s OK to choose…it’s OK to have expectations and NOT settle…we should be respected, encouraged, loved, accepted, as anyone should.
Someday, I hope that we are more on an equal emotional field..sadly, however…the reality is for now, THIS is where we are…