On the difference between men and women losing fat at a different rate .. there's also the estrogen factor. Some prehistoric built-in survival of the species thing, that allows women to retain their fat stores longer in times of famine, in order to preserve reproductive capability. It's well known that overtraining female athletes, and anorexics who go below a certain % fat level .. will stop ovulating and all female hormonal processes come to a halt.

Doreen