Carbs - Build Muscle (Female)

[crazyqueet]

So do you need to eat a lot of carbs for a female to build muscle?

What does your typical day of eating look like?

[PNWDiver]

Well you will find a lot of people who have their own opinions. I know someone who is doing the KETO thing. Which is basically limiting your carbs and sugars. He has over the past 2 years lost 120lbs without going to the gym. As they say REAL foods. Stay out of the aisles of the grocery stores. To build muscles you need protein and you can get healthy carbs from fruits and veggies. I am not a trainer nor a dietitian. I do need to drop 30-40 lbs and I have started limited my carbs and sugars which for me is a HUGE change. I am a sugar addict to be honest. I have just started and my meals have to be easy cause well I am a lazy cook. Chicken breasts or Hamburger patty with mild cheddar NO BUNS. 😉

[Esya]

Muscles are made of protein, therefore make sure to eat enough of that if you are interested in building them. The guidelines I found on internet suggest to eat 0.8 to 1.5 grams of protein per kg of your body weight.

My typical day of eating looks like:

Oatmeal with almond milk for breakfast (with nuts and some seeds etc.)

A tossed salad for lunch containing something from the protein food groups

Dinner can be all over the place for me. I just cook what I fancy. Typically recipes have protein in them. But loads of food you can cook that have protein, from wholegrain products to beans/lentils and quinoa/couscous to not even mention the animal products. If I notice after dinner in my food logs I am low on protein though, I do an evening snack with nut butter.

[MagsOnTheBeach]

You need carbs to get through workouts.  If you don't have enough, you can't push yourself harder or longer.  

[GershonSurge]

Food doesn't build muscles. Working out does. 

There are foods like dairy products that help muscles grow quicker. Problem is, it does the same for cancer cells.

[Dominique · Accepted solution]

First of all, the "recipe" for building muscle is the same for females and males alike: provide your muscles with a stimulus (resistance training program that focuses on progressive overload), eat enough protein, get enough rest to recover. The main difference between genders is the process tends to be slower for females.

The main purpose of carbs is to provide fuel for your training. You don’t necessarily eat a lot of it, but enough your performance in the gym won’t suffer because of lack of energy.

Finally, the optimal environment for muscle growth is being in a caloric surplus.

[crazyqueet]

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@Dominique wrote:

First of all, the "recipe" for building muscle is the same for females and males alike: provide your muscles with a stimulus (resistance training program that focuses on progressive overload), eat enough protein, get enough rest to recover. The main difference between genders is the process tends to be slower for females.

The main purpose of carbs is to provide fuel for your training. You don’t necessarily eat a lot of it, but enough your performance in the gym won’t suffer because of lack of energy.

Finally, the optimal environment for muscle growth is being in a caloric surplus.

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So I would need to eat more calories to build muscle? I was thinking of doing some days low carb but maybe days I do 2 workouts don't really restrict my carbs as long as I eat healthy. I don't know. Never really had this much trouble with my eating before. I did low carb because it really helped with my weight loss and helped me get over a plateau. Afraid my weight will go back up. 

[Dominique]

I said a caloric surplus is optimal (for muscle gains). This means all things being equal (e.g. same training volume), you will gain more muscle in a caloric surplus than in a caloric deficit. Now you have to define your priorities: if your main priority is to lose fat, then you should be in a deficit. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do resistance training and couldn’t gain any muscle (in a deficit): in fact, it’s a good idea to do resistance training; worst case scenario, it will minimize lean mass loss; best case scenario, you’ll be able to gain some muscle (though you would gain more in a surplus).

It’s very hard for lean people to gain muscle in a deficit. People carrying more fat have an advantage here: it’s easier for them to gain muscle in a deficit (their own fat stores can fuel muscle growth, especially if they’re new to resistance training).

[Esya]

Worry less about your food. For weight loss calories (being in a deficit) are way more important than the macros. Most likely the low carbs helped with the weight loss as you have less water retention. If you eat more carbs and start new exercise, your weight might increase, but this is only temporary and due to water retention.

For muscles you are looking to have enough protein in your diet, but once you reach that amount I feel the rest of your food from that day could be carbs and fat. In the end you are looking to create a lifestyle you can maintain and keep up. So don't beat yourself up over the carbs. Having said that, I do make sure I eat healthy carbs, which for me means vegetables, fruits and wholegrain products. No white pasta or bread for me. You will find the wholegrain products actually have quite some protein in them.

The muscle building will be slow and need time and if you do the right exercise for it and are new to it, you will get there. If you are doing it while in a calories deficit and losing weight, you might not actually build muscle, but it will help towards a toned body. You have to be really patient with it. Doing this I managed to build muscle while maintaining my weight. See this post for reference.

[chappy78rva]

Hi!  Try putting your stats into a macronutrients calculator (apps are available). 

When I put my numbers in recently, I entered them two different ways.  I put them in saying that I want to lose weight...my numbers were obviously lower.  When I entered them into maintaining weight, my carbs number was a lot higher.  If you enter that you want to build muscle, again those carb numbers will sky rocket.

I would like to maintain weight between 150-155...  I am running three days per week and also just starting to lift weights.  I would also like to "move" things around!  Weigh the same, but look different!  

[SunsetRunner]

Sorry, completely off topic, but cool profile pic chappy  🙂