Women, like men have to pay attention to their diet if they want to build a lean muscular body. You have to consume more calories than you need for maintenance and daily activities. According to bodybuilder Katie Lobliner, a high calorie bodybuilding diet with the right proportion of macro-nutrients, allied with intense, heavy workouts will see you attain the sexy muscular body that is the envy of your friends.
Calories
Women carry less muscle mass than men, so their metabolic rates are lower. You need fewer calories than male bodybuilders, though your caloric intake should outstrip that of a sedentary non-bodybuilding woman. Katie Lobliner believes the amount of macro-nutrients --- fats, carbohydrates and proteins --- you eat is dependent on your caloric intake. However, merely eating a lot of food to increase your calories will make you gain fat. Your ladies bodybuilding diet should consist of nutritious food.
Carbohydrates
Avoid simple carbohydrates like refined grains, refined sugar, candies, cakes, and chips. These cause a sugar and insulin spike, which drives excess energy to your fat stores. You naturally carry more fat stores than men, so you need to be particularly aware of the simple carbs you eat. Most of your carbs should be slowly digested complex carbs like oats, brown rice, spelt, quinoa, sweet potatoes, yams and legumes.
Protein
Protein provides the building blocks for your muscles.. A study by Jacob Wilson and Gabriel Wilson of the California State University, reported in the June 2006 issue of the "Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition," found people who undergo intense resistance training require more protein than sedentary people. You need between 1.2 and 2.2 g of protein for every 2.2 lb of body-weight. Your protein should come from whole eggs, fish, lean cuts of meat, diary products, beans, nuts and legumes.
Fats
Animal and diary sources of protein will provide saturated fats in your diet. Avoid refined vegetable oils like corn oil, canola oil and sunflower oil. Nutritionist and certified personal trainer Mike Geary, believes they cause inflammation, poor health and weight gain.
Include essential fatty acids or omega-3 and omega-6 fats in your ladies bodybuilding diet. Hemp seed oil, flax seed oil, and pumpkin seed oil, provide the optimal balance of EFAs or essential fatty acids. EFAs play a vital role in the body, including fat metabolism. Add them to your protein smoothie, or use as condiments in food. Geary warns against cooking with EFAs. Their chemical structure results in a release a harmful free radicals when subject to the heat of cooking.
Frequency
Eat every three to four hours, the equivalent of four to six small meals a day, to ensure your body has a regular supply of muscle building nutrients. Eat protein with each meal. Katie Lobliner recommends you minimize your carb intake to control body-fat levels. This is particularly significant if you gain weight easily. Eat carbohydrates with only two or three meals. Replace them with a variety of vegetables. If you are a lean hard-gainer, eat carbs with more meals.
Water
Lobliner recommends you drink at least eight glasses of water a day to keep hydrated. Water also helps in the efficient removal of toxins and waste products, ensuring a healthy and properly functioning body.
Member Comments