3 Ways Women Can Improve Lean Muscle With Food
More and more women are recognizing that they lean muscle is the key component to having a healthy weight, longevity, and energy, but how exactly do you help maintain or even improve your lean muscle as a woman?
Well, as a women we are uniquely different than men, and so as we age we can tend to lose our muscle if we are not taking appropriate measures. But, this doesn’t mean we SUDDENLY go catabolic…no, no, no. However, we can easily lose muscle if we are making some key mistakes.
Firstly, lets talk about what DOESN’T improve lean muscle and what can actually impact your lean muscle/body fat. What I mean is.. what causes someone to have more lean body mass (muscle) and less fat than others? Actually, a few things…
One, women who eat only 1-2 meals (protein rich) tend to have lower lean muscle and more body fat (even if you weight the exact same) as a women who eats 3 meals per day. What we learn from this is that they body love CONSISTENT protein intake and not 1-2 larger intakes of protein. So, if you’ve been trying to get by off of just 1-2 meals to try and manage your weight.. it could be negatively impacting your overall body fat and lean muscle.
Second, is women love fasted exercise. In fact, you may have even been pushed to do this, and also might not feel like a meal before an early am spin or Orange Theory class. BUT! It is actually even MORE important for women to not enter fasted exercise. Men can “get away” with it (although I still do not recommend), but women have different fluctuating hormone and also show to carry more inflammation and for longer when they are fasted exercising. Also, your body DOES NOT enter into fat burning during a fasted state. Yes, you MAY use a little fat, but your body BURN YOUR MUSCLE for fuel as well. Why? Because protein can be converted into carbs/glucose (your preferred fuel source) for that exercise. I recommend starting with some light and simple carbohydrates in the morning. Maybe an apple sauce packet, fig bar, or a piece of toast.
Okay.. so what helps?
Eating 3 protein rich meals with 20-30grams of protein per meal. YES i’m going to keep saying it!! This shows to help the most with maintaining lean muscle for women. You may need more depending on your specific situation/weight/goals, but this is a great way to start.
Eating ENOUGH calories and taking breaks from weight loss/low calorie attempts in order to continue to keep a happy and healthy burning metabolism. No, your body does not like being underfed in calories and you will not help your body find a healthy weight by always being in a deficit.
Adding any form of resistance training a few times per week. No, you don’t have to be a gym rat, but you should try and add anything from weight lifting to pilates to body weight exercises to give your muscles some extra resistance work in. I recommend picking whichever work you enjoy the most, and enjoy pushing yourself in. Not something that so-and-so does because they say it’s best. If you are new, start with 20minutes and work up to 30-60 minutes. You don’t have to do a lot to be effective!
I hope this was helpful, and less intimidating approach to building lean muscle. Lastly, you cannot build and maintain lean muscle in deprivation. Your body does not thrive and so if you are hoping you will be able to change your lean muscle & drop lots of weight. I encourage you to rethink your strategy. This doesn’t mean you have to give up your weight loss goals, in fact, a muscle building focus can be the exact KEY you need to doing so.
If you feel a bit lost… like… how do you fit this into a plan that works for you? I have a free training and its a great place to start:
