Men burn fat by default, here’s why women don’t

Your body doesn’t just “burn calories.” At any given moment, it’s primarily using one of two fuel sources:

• Glucose: derived from carbohydrates you eat (or if those are absent, derived from other substrates like protein)

• Fat: dietary fat from food or stored body fat

And what determines which fuel your body uses is influenced by:

• Your biological sex

• Your body type

• Your body composition (fat vs. muscle)

• Your height, weight, and age

• What, how much, and when you eat

• Physical activity, including exercise

• Your stress levels

• Your hormones

• Your insulin sensitivity 

And this is where most women get completely misled.

Because the advice we've been given around workouts, calories, and diets has been studied in and is largely based on a man’s physiology.

That's why intermittent fasting, Zone 2 cardio, and low carb or keto often work well (and quickly) for men, but not for most women.

Even if you’re doing regular workouts and eating “healthy,” women's bodies may still be spending most of the day in a low fat-burning state because:

• Men tend to have a higher baseline capacity for fat oxidation, especially at rest, largely due to higher muscle mass, more testosterone, and generally higher total energy expenditure.

• Women often rely more on glucose, especially when enduring higher stress, under-fueling, higher intensity training and hormonal shifts (luteal phase, perimenopause).

That means, ladies: your body’s ability to access fat is highly dependent on how you eat, how you recover, and how you move throughout the day. 

This is why low intensity, consistent movement like walking matters more than most women realize:

Walking supports the female body in actually accessing and using fat as fuel, not just during a workout, but across your entire day. 

Now layer on top of that the habits that most modern women are practicing:

• Inconsistent meal sizing

• Imbalanced macros (too much fat, too little protein)

• Under-eating earlier in the day and in the luteal phase

• Skipping meals, especially breakfast, and/or snacking all day

• Too many high intensity workouts without enough recovery from food and rest days

• Hormonal changes in perimenopause that reduce stress tolerance

• Living mostly indoors, wearing sunglasses, and not protecting their eyes from artificial blue light, especially after sunset (women are more sensitive to light than men, which has an impact on our hormones, appetite, glucose levels and more)

And you get the exact symptoms so many women are experiencing:

• Energy crashes

• Cravings

• Erratic mood

• Weight that won’t move

Not because your body is broken. But because you're just not a man.

Your inputs don’t match how your physiology actually works.

Awaken Your Nutrition Is Now Open

So you end up working hard, doing “everything right” (for men), and still not seeing your body respond the way you expect.

This is the gap we close inside Awaken Your Nutrition.

We don’t just look at what you’re eating. We deep dive into:

• how your meals are structured

• how your body is responding

• how your energy is shifting throughout the day 

Then we adjust in real time based on how your unique body responds.

Because once your inputs match your unique physiology and you stop trying to rush the process... your body starts responding because it feels safe and heard.

If this is starting to click for you, this is exactly the work we do inside our Awaken Your Nutrition. We start the week of June 1st, and you can join us through May 31st for $500 off:

👉 [Click here to apply for Awaken Your Nutrition]

You'll speak directly with one us on a complimentary Zoom session so we can audit your current habits and map out a game plan for your next steps.

We look forward to connecting with you soon!

💚 Lisa and Shannon

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Co-Founders of The Green Door Life | NAMS Certified Nutrition Consultants