Fitness: man vs. woman

by Jennifer Dyer

Hubby and I made an interesting observation the other day. Our clothes seemed to be fitting a bit tighter than before. Although certain it was the dryer's fault, my husband took brave action and stepped on the Wii Fit, which is the only scale we own. I was too chicken to follow his example and preferred to blame the appliances. 

Whatever the cause of our waistband woes, Hubby decided we should become more fit. He suggested we go for walks, and he swore off soft drinks. After a three-day caffeine-withdrawal headache, he seemed to have turned over a new leaf, or pants size, I should say. He braved the Wii scale and announced he'd lost three pounds in that many days. Emboldened by his success, I marched over to the Wii and suggested it should be nice if it didn't want to become a placemat for the dog's bowl. And you know what? Electronics are cruel. I left feeling deflated ... well, inflated, actually.

Anyway, after dinner that night we took a long family walk. We spent an hour sweating and listening to our old Labrador pant and lunge after the occasional rabbit. When we got home, Hubby decided to see what the scale had to say. In a gleeful voice, the Wii announced he'd lost 1.1 more pounds.

"Wait, what?" I said from the kitchen.

"Cool," was all he had to say.

In light of his success, I decided I could brave it one more time. So, I hopped on. And guess what? In its little happy voice, the Wii declared I'd gained 0.9 pounds. In an hour. After sweating and holding onto the dog while she lunged after small animals. And don't forget chasing the kids through the park for hours the day before and carrying heavy rafts up countless flights of steps at a water park the month before.

So, my husband quits drinking soft drinks and loses four pounds in three days while I gained five after sweating and chasing children through the swimming pool for three months. Go figure.

Comments

[Susan T]

It isn't fair!! I have experienced this phenomenon and it just stinks!! :-)

[Sue]

For this reason, I think it's best to share in a weight loss challenge with our female friends. Our husbands do lose weight at a lot faster pace than us women. It can be disheartening! Keep up the walks with hubby and encourage one another but try not to compare your weight loss to his. Good luck to you both!

[Jane]

Hang in there! Getting fit is more important than being thin.

[Tiffany]

Just wanted you to know that your post encouraged me to get fit with my son on his wii fit plus. i used to just watch and cheer him on while he begged me to join him. It looked fun but hard. Now it's just hard fun! I love it!
Thanks for sharing