What is the best diet for female bodybuilding?

[Keviinn]

I am trying to bodybuild but it is more like figure building rather than building muscle. I have been told to eat about 40% of my body weight in protein and no more thatn 25 grams of fat a day. Any suggestions on suppliments or food options?

 

[Strategus]

First of all, bodybuilding or the new Physique category is something that takes YEARS of training and eating to accomplish. It definitely requires heavy lifting to build up what you need for the category...You're not going to decide you wanna compete one year and actually compete that year LOL!

The training is probably THE most important thing for bodybuilding or physique - you sort of have to enjoy lifting!!!

Figure and bikini are situations where young gals who are already in pretty good shape can build muscle for a year or two and then diet properly and show up nicely. Maybe they've been running for a couple of years and they add a little bit of weights to that....

Bodybuilding especially but also probably the new Physique thing are situations generally for women who are a little older than the bikini girls and maybe? older than the figure girls. They require several years of heavy lifting and semi-proper eating before there is enough muscle to even be there to be appropriate to the category.

So, briefly, the diet for the first three or four years, which are just training (heavy and I mean the basic lifts like squats, deadlifts, bench, rows etc. as well as curls, tricep work etc.) is enough protein, carbs, and nutrients (veggies, vitamins) so you can build muscle without having your waistline go much over 30 inches (for a female). I'm a fan of ethnic food that isn't vegetarian. So, anything from chicken shawarma to curry chicken to chicken tacos to beef fajitas will fill the bill!!

You can have cheat type stuff but just stay away from the really bad cr*p like soda, twinkies, you know that sort of thing. Make sure the meals have something nutritious there even if you're broke and it's just rice and beans....

And, of course oatmeal, whey protein, bananas and snacks like that too!! When you are in "off-season" and trying to increase your lifts, you do have to eat consistently so they'll go up.

It also depends whether you start out at an appropriate weight for height or if you start out a little overweight or how? If you start out overweight, you will want to watch the food more carefully than if you start out weighing less than you want to weigh.

Supplements for off-season gals who want to do physique or BB in a couple of years I would say just the basics like a good multivitamin, whey, and some BCAA's.

As far as the contest diet, generally the competitors do that with the help of a coach for the 12 or so weeks before the contest....that part is more similar to what the figure girls do.

It's the offseason eating that is more, um, munchier for girls who lift heavier and may want to do the physique sort of stuff.

Well, I hope I helped.....what is the year you maybe want to compete??

 

[Ness]

Id try 35g pro/ 10g fat/ 20g carbs for every meal.

 

[Sassy]

The formula that I've always go by for protein intake is 1 to 1.5 grams of protein for every pound of body weight. Example: weight: 115 pounds = 115 to 172.5 grams of protein per day

As for the amount of fat intake per day, that depends on which fuel source you are using for your body's energy source. The body uses fat and carbs as fuel.
If your body runs better off fats, then you need more fats -- less carbs. If you choose to run off carbs, then you will need more carbs -- lower fats. When you take in an equal amount of carbs and fat = fat storage. What you're body doesn't burn, it will store as fat.

Depending on your goals (bulking vs cutting), determines how many calories you eat per day. Reduce calories for cutting and increase calories for bulking. Some people adjust these ratios during the different cutting/bulking cycles.

There are a lot of variable when it come to bodybuilding. You have to figure out which ones work for your body. That's why bodybuilding isn't as easy as some people think. Don't get discourage. Everyone has to learn how to do this and you are on the right track by asking questions.

 

[razorsedge]

I am trying to bodybuild but it is more like figure building rather than building muscle. I have been told to eat about 40% of my body weight in protein and no more thatn 25 grams of fat a day. Any suggestions on suppliments or food options?

Maybe before you read too deep into anything here, let us know your background / history with athletics / training, ur age, ht weight, any limitations you may have etc.

Every person is different ..... if you set ur mind to it, you can do it

 

[mo chuisle]

I suggest keeping a clean diet all year round. If you train heavy and eat enough, you should build quality muscle without adding much excess fat.

There's no magic formula that works for everyone; try some different macros and see what works best for you.

It's impossible to give you macros to follow if we don't know your stats (weight, height, etc.).