DIET WARS!

Men are better at dieting than women, according to a study. Writer Clare O’Reilly challenged her husband to see just how true that is

- CLARE O'REILLY

I’m not saying my husband of 16 years and I are competitive but when he tells me he loves me, I always say, ‘I love you more,’ so that I win. Jon and I learnt early on after a couple of board games and sharing a few desserts that we were both competitive – each having to ‘win’ even when nothing is at stake, and since then we’ve done our best to keep the combative side of us well away from one another. We know we both like to compete, so we choose different areas to try and excel rather than end up in direct competition with one another.

But a recent study from Australia pitted women against men in weight loss – an incredibly incendiary topic in even the most harmonious relationship – and found men, yes them, fare better in almost every way when it comes to losing weight. It was only using weight-loss jabs where women lost more weight than men.

While neither of us is gigantic, we’d both be happy to lose a few pounds ahead of the warm weather and shorts season, and when I throw down the gauntlet, Jon’s more than happy to square up. We opt for exercise and mindful eating for our week-long challenge and while I’ve always prided myself on having a bigger appetite than Jon – often finishing his meal for him when we’re out – I head into the challenge confident of success.

DAY 1

Both working from home, we tend to share mealtimes but I purposefully wait until Jon’s had his porridge before opting for a banana and a coffee instead. Lunch is homemade soup and where I’d normally finish off what he leaves, I don’t finish mine either.