My boyfriend amazes me.

The guy always had many qualities that I admired — patience, incredible generosity, the ability to whip up dinner and change a light fixture in one swift movement.

But I recently discovered something else about him I wish I had: his metabolism.

I'm telling you, it's impressive. And, if I'm allowed to whine for a moment, it's a little unfair.

We both embarked on a healthier lifestyle a few weeks ago, replacing our regular routine of junk food and oversized portions with veggies and brisk walks.

He lost 10 pounds and shrank his waist by two belt pukas. I'm still struggling to fit pants I wore a year ago.

Metabolically speaking, the guy is kicking my patootie.

Now, I'm not naive about the general physiological differences between the sexes. I've read about how men on average have a higher muscle mass that enables them to burn more calories than women.

There's even a commercial for a diet supplement that highlights, via an amusing cartoon couple, how much harder it is for women to lose weight compared to men. I'm starting to identify with the annoyed, hand-drawn lady in the ad. We're not pleased with this biological injustice.

But the main reason for my frustration is that — at least on paper — I should have narrowed the gap.

I drizzle my salads with a wee bit of vinaigrette.

My boyfriend dips his veggies in a mayonnaise-shoyu mixture.

I added jogging to my exercise routine.

His regimen includes knocking back a couple of beers after coming home from work.

C'mon. Doesn't this defy some degree of caloric logic? Doesn't beer precede belly?

I brought up this inequity with my boyfriend the other night.

"But it's Coors LIGHT," he said as he took a gulp between sets of sit-ups. "It's only 96 calories."

Actually, it's 102 calories a can, but apparently his body believes it's closer to zero. And did I mention his period of weight loss also included a Vegas trip with his co-workers and several slices of chocolate-haupia pie?

Hello? How can this be?

This may be the final frontier, ladies. After all the progress we've made, must we still have to work twice as hard to lose the same amount of weight that a man does?

Of course, this is biology. Alas, you can't reason with science, no matter how many protests or lawsuits you throw at it.

And, truth be told, I'm cheering the boyfriend on. I also decided to cut myself a break. After all, he has metabolic super powers.

(Sigh.) Amazing.

Reach Lynda Arakawa at larakawa@honoluluadvertiser.com.