Eating to actually get lean, strong and fit doesn’t come by eating like a bird!
But why eat more?
How does that even work?
Here’s the skinny on eating enough to get lean + strong…
eat enough to prevent hangry
Instead of opting for the largest calorie deficit possible across the whole week, opt for the smallest one. Just as you wouldn’t just up a 50 lb. dumbbell if you’ve only been working with 20 lb. weights, it’s better to incrementally adjust your nutrition.
eat enough to keep hormones happy
When setting your protein, fat and carbohydrate targets, visualize a pizza that’s pretty evenly split in portion sizes between you and two of your friends. We wouldn’t want one friend to get a tiny pie sliver while another is enjoying a gigantic portion all to themselves. Same goes for macros. Percentage of calories coming from protein, fat and carbohydrates should be catered to your personal preference and activity level, but you’re looking for ranges such as 20-30% for protein, 25-35% for fat, 35-45% for carbohydrates to keep hormones happy.
For your goals, it matters that you eat enough muscle-building foods. Tracking macros — particularly protein macros — ensures you strengthen and maintain muscle in the pursuit of an athletic physique + weight room prowess.
eat enough carbs to fuel your workouts + protect lean muscle
After you’ve calculated your carbohydrate targets with your personal preferences and training modalities in mind, do a double check to see your target is not lower than 1 gram per pound of body weight. In an example of a 160 pound active woman, we would not want to see her calculated carbohydrate macro targets lower than 160 g per day as a general rule of thumb. If your target is lower, consider bumping up your percent of calories coming from carbohydrates to find a new, higher carbohydrate target.
eat enough protein to support fat loss, not muscle loss
After you’ve calculated your protein targets with your personal preferences and training modalities in mind, do a double check to see your target is not lower than .8 g per pound of body weight. If you’re vegetarian, you’ll shoot for .7 g per pound of body weight or more. In an example of a 160 pound active woman, we would not want to see her calculated protein macro targets lower than about 115-130 g per day as a general rule of thumb. If you calculated your macros and the protein target is lower, consider bumping up your percent of calories coming from protein to find a new, higher protein target.
If you’re not sure where your macros should be set, check out my DIY Macros Guide or my Personalized Macro Calculation. Both can help you secure your macro prescription and feel confident it’s right for you!