Diet plan for women who want to build muscle

qiaralim

anyone can help?how to maintain low calories but at the same time eat high protein food

janjunie

0% fat Greek yogurt has plenty of protein and is what I would consider to be low calorie. But you cannot build muscle in a calorie deficit...

arditarose

Well for starters you don't maintain low calories if you want to build muscle...you eat a surplus of calories.

bella189000

Any good food ideas for building muscle for women.. ?

Debmal77

arditarose wrote: »

Well for starters you don't maintain low calories if you want to build muscle...you eat a surplus of calories.

This.

arditarose

OP, perhaps we can help you though.

What are your stats?
What are your physique/fitness goals?
Do you lift?

LKArgh

There is no special diet to build muscle. But you are not going to lose much weight and build muscle at the same time. At least you need to eat at maintenance, and it will be slow.

sinbadfxdl

arditarose wrote: »

Well for starters you don't maintain low calories if you want to build muscle...you eat a surplus of calories.

Not too sure about that. It just takes a long time. By then, you would have lost most of your weight. I recommend just to eat all your exercise calories.

AnvilHead

sinbadfxdl wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

Well for starters you don't maintain low calories if you want to build muscle...you eat a surplus of calories.

Not too sure about that. It just takes a long time. By then, you would have lost most of your weight. I recommend just to eat all your exercise calories.

If you're eating in a caloric deficit, building muscle (to any significant degree) is basically impossible. Your muscles may look bigger/more defined due to the decreased bodyfat and the glycogen/water loading from weight training, but you won't add any appreciable muscle mass.

Think about it - if you're in a deficit, you're eating less than what your body needs to maintain your current weight. Losing weight entails a loss of both fat and lean body mass (of which muscle is a component). If you're losing weight, you're losing muscle, not building it. You can't create something from nothing. Think of it this way: you have a brick wall (your body) and you'd like to build it three rows higher (more muscle), but every night somebody is coming along and stealing a few bricks off the existing wall (the muscle loss from being at a deficit). You don't have any new bricks to replace the ones being taken (because you're in a deficit), so rather than getting bigger, the wall is getting smaller. The only way you're going to make the wall bigger is to have a surplus of bricks (calories), so you can replace the ones being stolen and have some left to add on and keep building the wall.

You can build muscle and lose fat by eating at maintenance with adequate protein intake and strength training (called a "recomp"), but the process is very slow and inefficient. It's more efficient to alternate bulk (surplus) and cut (deficit) cycles.

qiaralim

what if i lift to lose weight and then i start tu build muscle?

arditarose

Is that a recent profile pic of you? You don't need to lose weight. What are your stats?

arditarose

annacsophia wrote: »

Following. I just started a fitness program. I would like to lose 15lbs, but would like to get to a size 8 and tone up more.

Toning up is just a word the fitness industry kind of made up. It's basically losing fat but maintaining muscle, which you do by eating at a deficit and running a heavy lifting program with a progressive overload.

arditarose

annacsophia wrote: »

Hmm, thanks for the fancy terms! I'm still learning. Enjoying it quite a bit. I like feeling strong.

What term is fancy?

arditarose

annacsophia wrote: »

So it means to increase weights as you go? That's what I'm doing now it sounds like.

Yeah yeah! I was just checking with you to see if I could help explain. Yes, you want a program that increases weights. Best beginners programs are Strong Lifts 5x5, Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting for Women. They all add weight each week. 5 lbs for upper body, 10 for lower.

sijomial

AnvilHead wrote: »

sinbadfxdl wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

Well for starters you don't maintain low calories if you want to build muscle...you eat a surplus of calories.

Not too sure about that. It just takes a long time. By then, you would have lost most of your weight. I recommend just to eat all your exercise calories.

If you're eating in a caloric deficit, building muscle (to any significant degree) is basically impossible. Your muscles may look bigger/more defined due to the decreased bodyfat and the glycogen/water loading from weight training, but you won't add any appreciable muscle mass.

Think about it - if you're in a deficit, you're eating less than what your body needs to maintain your current weight. Losing weight entails a loss of both fat and lean body mass (of which muscle is a component). If you're losing weight, you're losing muscle, not building it. You can't create something from nothing. Think of it this way: you have a brick wall (your body) and you'd like to build it three rows higher (more muscle), but every night somebody is coming along and stealing a few bricks off the existing wall (the muscle loss from being at a deficit). You don't have any new bricks to replace the ones being taken (because you're in a deficit), so rather than getting bigger, the wall is getting smaller. The only way you're going to make the wall bigger is to have a surplus of bricks (calories), so you can replace the ones being stolen and have some left to add on and keep building the wall.

You can build muscle and lose fat by eating at maintenance with adequate protein intake and strength training (called a "recomp"), but the process is very slow and inefficient. It's more efficient to alternate bulk (surplus) and cut (deficit) cycles.

A lot of generalisations. Most of what you have stated only applies to highly trained and lean individuals.

You don't have to lose muscle in a deficit. Remember deficit =/= large deficit.

Eating at a deficit =/= nothing. For me anything under 2500 is a deficit.

Not everyone need a surplus to build muscle.

Recomp isn't slow for everyone. Depends where you are starting from, age, gender etc. etc.

Inefficient isn't the right word for recomp. Losing fat and gaining muscle at the same time is more efficient than lose/gain/lose/gain etc. Think you mean fast not efficient - but again that varies for individuals and isn't a universal rule.

Sued0nim

@arditarose damn your av is fine

Listen to her ..she's right

riffraff2112

arditarose wrote: »

annacsophia wrote: »

So it means to increase weights as you go? That's what I'm doing now it sounds like.

Yeah yeah! I was just checking with you to see if I could help explain. Yes, you want a program that increases weights. Best beginners programs are Strong Lifts 5x5, Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting for Women. They all add weight each week. 5 lbs for upper body, 10 for lower.

Listen to this lady. She knows her stuff.

mlboyer100

What program are you using? is it cardio or strength building... or a combo?

DaddieCat

riffraff2112 wrote: »

arditarose wrote: »

annacsophia wrote: »

So it means to increase weights as you go? That's what I'm doing now it sounds like.

Yeah yeah! I was just checking with you to see if I could help explain. Yes, you want a program that increases weights. Best beginners programs are Strong Lifts 5x5, Starting Strength, New Rules of Lifting for Women. They all add weight each week. 5 lbs for upper body, 10 for lower.

Listen to this lady. She knows her stuff.

seconded. OP... you are getting some great advice from @arditarose

arditarose

The OP first posted on Oct 30 and didn't come back until today...Not sure what's going on there.