Cheryl Forberg, RD. Biggest Loser Nutritionist

A friend of mine recently posted on Facebook: “OK, so why does the husband lose 7 pounds and I only lose 3 in the past 10 days of the ‘new regimen?’... so not right.” So, does this sound familiar?

Many times when a husband and wife, or male and female couple start a weight loss journey together it seems that the man loses weight faster and more easily than the woman does. For us women, that’s downright frustrating.

There are several explanations for this phenomenon, but it’s also important to keep the focus on you, and to only compare yourself to you, not to others. So, to cut to the chase, here are a few of the reasons why men tend to lose weight faster and more easily than women:

Women tend to be more prone to “emotional eating”: In 2009, the Brookhaven National Laboratory conducted a brain imaging study to look at how we control our brain response to our favorite foods. Men were better able to control their responses. This may explain part of the puzzle on why women typically have a harder time dropping the pounds.

Men may be more competitive than women. Some research has shown that when money was awarded for every pound lost, men did better than women. It is interesting to note the percentage of men winners on the Biggest Loser compared to women (70% of the winners have been male).

Men have more muscle mass: Men tend to have more muscle than women, and we all know that muscle burns more calories than fat. Having a higher muscle composition leads to a higher metabolism. Based on several studies, the metabolism of a man has been found to be anywhere from 3-10% higher than that of a women of the same weight and age.

Female hormones play a role: Female hormones, such as estrogen, make it easier for the body to deposit fat.

With all this stacked against women, don’t be discouraged. Focus on you and don’t compare to yourself to your man! Pay attention to your eating habits and take note if you’re eating for emotional reasons or for true hunger. Keep a food journal and record your emotions/feelings in it throughout the day. Add resistance/weight training to your workout routine to help increase your muscle mass (and metabolism).

Most important, don’t give up. Take small steps toward a healthier, more active lifestyle and you will see results.

Eating and sleeping are two of our most basic functions, and they bear an important relationship to one another. Clients and Biggest Loser contestants have often asked me, "What is the best time to eat dinner?" It's not so much a question of the best time to eat the meal, as it is of when's best for you.

The time that you eat dinner is not as important as how close it is to your bedtime. If you’re eating dinner too close to your bedtime, you may experience reflux (heartburn), not sleep as well as you otherwise might, or skip breakfast the next morning (this is quite a common pitfall).

It works the other way, too. The proper amount of sleep is important to your meals. Sleep deprivation may actually cause you to eat more to help you "wake-up." This can cause unwanted weight gain, and may lead to less exercise because you may feel too tired for a workout. Not good.

Eating dinner 2-3 hours before bedtime may help with several common issues:

As the saying goes, we eat with our eyes first. Our meal is more appetizing when the food looks pretty on the plate. Using bright vibrant colors helps with this, but here’s the best thing about cooking with color: it’s healthy for us!

Red bell peppers are one of my favorite reds to use in recipes. They can be stuffed and used as a main course, or sliced and thrown in a salad, grilled on the BBQ, roasted or used in sauces.

Bell peppers have a recessive gene for capsaicin, the plant chemical responsible for the heat in other peppers. This is the reason they aren’t hot like the others. One cup of sliced raw red bell pepper has 29 calories, 2 grams of fiber and it’s packed with nutrients including 58 percent of our daily value of vitamin A and 156 percent of our daily value of vitamin C.

When choosing your bell peppers at the grocery store, look for ones that feel heavy for their size. Make sure the skin doesn’t have any wrinkles and is firm. Skip over the peppers that have bruises, sunken areas, cracks and slashes or black spots. Store them in a plastic bag in the refrigerator and they should last for about a week.

As delicious and crispy as bell peppers are raw on their own or served as part of a crudité, roasting peppers intensifies them and adds a layer of smokiness. Roasting peppers, as you would red peppers for my Easy Sofrito Sauce in this recipe for Huevos Sofritos from Flavor First, is relatively simple.

Roast the whole bell pepper under a broiler or over a gas flame, turning occasionally, until you see the skin blister and notice the degree of char you want (5 to 10 minutes over an open flame). Place in a bowl and cover with a lid (or put the pepper in a paper bag), and allow the steam to loosen the skin. When it’s cooled enough to handle, carefully peel away the skin and remove the seeds.

Looking and feeling great requires a comprehensive approach. If you aren't sure where to begin, here are 10 Positively Ageless tips to a healthier you, from head to toe.

1. Get physical. Depending on your overall health, you should have a physical exam every 1 to 5 years from age 30 onward. After 65, you should have an exam annually. The tests your health provider orders will depend on your history. Generally, your work-up will include a blood pressure check, a blood test, and sometimes urinalysis. Ask your doctor which biomarker exams may be beneficial to you. Be sure to record all values in your journal to serve as your baseline. You can track your progress over weeks, months and years.

2. Get a face-lift -- for your kitchen. The contents of your fridge and cupboards mirror your health. If your shelves are loaded with sugar and white stuff—chips, crackers, microwave popcorn packets (with oil and “flavorings”)—and your freezer is filled with ice cream treats, it’s time to take out the garbage. Remember, the prize for eating white stuff, processed foods, and soft drinks is a ticket on the Wrinkle Express. Toss the junk and make room for your new best friends. The prize for eating Positively Ageless foods is a slow ride to a healthy longevity.