If you're a woman with a fitness goal of building muscle, you need the correct ratio of macronutrients in your diet to facilitate packing on lean muscle mass while minimizing the amount of body fat you add. Consuming high-quality proteins, energy-dense carbs and healthy fats in the right amounts will help you meet your goal as well as maintain optimal health. Seek the advice of a sports nutritionist or dietitian before modifying your diet for building muscle.
Background
Building muscle is a multi-faceted process for women. One component is a fitness regimen that incorporates lifting progressively heavier weights over time. This type of routine increasingly stresses your muscles, causing an adaptive response such that they rebuild and increase in size and strength. In addition to weightlifting, your muscles require sufficient rest to recover properly and lay down new muscle mass. However, without adequate nutrition, your muscles lack the energy and building blocks necessary to grow. As a woman, you need plenty of protein in your diet, as well as carbs and fat in the proper ratio, to support this muscle growth.
Protein-to-Carb Ratio
The protein you consume supplies your body with amino acids to create new proteins you need to synthesize reproductive tissue, maintain your blood supply and manufacture hormones such as insulin and estrogen. Once these basic needs are met, dietary protein builds new muscle tissue. Therefore, a muscle-building diet requires enough protein for both maintenance and growth. In addition, your body requires carbohydrates to fuel your intense strength-training workouts as well as for repairing and rebuilding muscle fibers. Furthermore, sufficient dietary carbs ensure the protein you consume goes toward building muscle instead of use as an energy source. To build muscle, aim for a daily intake of 1.2 to 1.7 grams of protein and 5 to 8 grams of carbs for each kilogram you weigh. These amounts correlate to a protein-to-carb ratio of roughly 0.25 to 1. In other words, for every gram of protein you consume, eat 4 grams of carbs.
Protein-to-Fat Ratio
Along with the 1.2 to 1.7 grams of high-quality protein you take in every day as a woman trying to add muscle mass, include 1 gram of heart-healthy fats for each kilogram of body weight. Dietary fat supplies you with a concentrated source of energy that, as with carbs, helps preserve your dietary protein for its muscle-building and maintenance functions. Fat in your diet also contributes fat-soluble vitamins and keeps your cell membranes functioning properly. A protein-to-fat ratio of approximately 1.5 to 1 meets your needs for both protein and fat.
Considerations
Building muscle can be difficult for women, as females lack sufficient testosterone to assist in packing on significant muscle mass. However, the process also depends on your particular body type, and you might add muscle or body fat more easily than other women do. For optimal gains, you may need to play around with both your fitness routine and your meal plan to find what works best for you.
References
- University of Illinois McKinley Health Center; Macronutrients: The Importance of Carbohydrate, Protein, and Fat; March 2008
- “American College of Sports Medicine Fit Society Page”; Nutrition: Who Needs it? If You’re an Athlete . . . You Do!; Jane LeBlond, Katherine Beals; Winter 2007
- “Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition”; International Society of Sports Nutrition Position Stand: Protein and Exercise; Bill Campbell et al.; September 2007
- American Council on Exercise: How Women Build Muscle
Member Comments