The food you eat provide you the energy necessary to perform your workout properly. But good nutrition plays also a big role in muscle toning and recovery after a workout.
This nutrition plan will contain all the meals necessary to get your dream body or at least move you in the right direction!
Calories Are What Matters The Most In A Nutrition Plan
Whether you want to get toned, lose fat or maintain your weight, nutrition will play a big role during this process! Your nutrition is what fuels your body with food, which is measured in calories.
You caloric consumption will determine what kind of body you will obtain:
Get Toned: Toning your muscles means; building lean muscle mass progressively without getting too much fat. In order to do so, you will have to eat more calories than you burn, often called: caloric surplus. If you increase your calories too quickly, your body will store fat. This why it’s important to do it progressively, so you can track your progress and avoid looking bulky.
Maintain Weight: This is when you burn as many calories as you consume, often called: calorie maintenance. Knowing the caloric intake you need in order to maintain your weight is the starting point. From there, you can determine how you would have to eat in order to tone your body or lose fat. Use this calorie calculator!
Lose Fat: If you want to lose fat, you will have to burn more calories than you consume, often called: caloric deficit. It’s when your body uses fat stores for energy, which leads to weight loss. Be aware, the body can also use muscle tissue; which is bad. This is why you must lose fat progressively, if you’re doing it too quickly you will kill your health and most certainly give up.
Explanations Of Macronutrients Ratio
Macronutrients are nutrients that our body needs in large amount: Carbohydrate, Protein and Fat. It’s important to define the right macronutrient ratio according to your fitness goal; whether you want to tone your body or lose fat.
In short words, this ratio will depend on:
Your Fitness Goal: If you want to burn fat, you won’t have the same macronutrient ratio that someone who wants to tone up.
Your Body Type: Some people tend to gain more weight than other. They should consume less carbohydrates and fats than the ones having a hard time toning up.
Your Gender: Women are generally more efficient at burning fat and would often consume less carbohydrates than men.
Macronutrients Ratio According To Your Fitness Goals
During this women’s nutrition plan we will define a general macronutrient ratio for each fitness goal: toning, burning fat and maintaining weight. Like said earlier, we all have different body types, so it will be your job to slightly change this ratio if your body doesn’t respond to it.
The macronutrient ratios are:
Muscle Toning: Carbohydrate 40% – Protein 40% – Fat 20%
Maintain Weight: Carbohydrate 35% – Protein 35% – Fat 30%
Burn Fat: Carbohydrate 30% – Protein 40% – Fat 30%
There Is Good Fat In This Nutrition Plan
“I want to lose fat, shouldn’t I avoid eating fat?”. This is good question, in fact there is several type of fats. Some are bad and others are required by your body. I recommend you to read this article: good fat versus bad fat.
Eating Healthy Is Not The Key Factor To Good Nutrition
“Eat fruits, vegetables and drink water and everything will be all right”. This is what you read in magazines or on the internet. However, that sentence is not completely true. These days, eating healthy means consuming foods low in fat and high in micronutrients; vitamins and minerals.
Indeed foods with vitamins make you have a better health. However, you can eat all the healthy food of the world, but if you don’t hit your daily macronutrient; you won’t get the results you want. Does it make sense?
In short words; calories are calories. If you want to achieve your fitness goals you will have to first worry about your macronutrients, whether it’s with “healthy food” or not. It’s pure science!
The More Often You Eat, The Better You Will Feel
We all know that person that tried every diet that exists on earth and always give up because it’s too hard. Nowadays, diets are all about food restrictions so you feel guilty if you eat one more rice grain than indicated. But again, what is really important there is your ability to hit your daily macronutrient.
Whether you want to lose some weight or tone your body, we will aim for 3 main meals and 1-2 snacks. However, if you can attain your calories in less meals, feel free to do it.
Why? Because eating every 3-4 hours will allow you to never feel hungry, which will help you to stop craving junk food.
This women’s nutrition plan will be an example, so you can organize it according to your schedule. It’s very important to eat something between your main meals and once again hit your macronutrients!
Daily Calorie Intake For Women
You calorie intake depends on your age, height, gender and how often you exercise weekly. I recommend you to try a calorie calculator. Click on this link and try it for yourself! http://www.calculator.net/calorie-calculator.html
For a healthy woman with a balanced diet, who is moderately active it’s recommended to eat between 1800 and 2200 calories. We will start with these numbers.
Converting Percentage To Grams
It’s very easy to calcule how many grams you should have for each macronutrient.
First you need to know how many calories contain each macronutrient :
Carbohydrate: 4 Calories per gram
Protein: 4 Calories per gram
Fats: 9 Calories per gram
Then, let’s take 2200 calories as an example and our macronutrient ratio for maintaining weight:
35% Carbohydrate -> 2200 x 0.35 / 4 = 192.5g
35% Protein -> 2200 x 0.35 / 4 = 192.5g
30% Fat -> 2200 x 0.3 / 9 = 73.3g
Cheat Meals And Women’s Nutrition Plan
You can reward yourself with one cheat meal per week, where you won’t count your calories at all; yes you deserve it!
Women’s Nutrition Plan To Maintain Weight
This women’s nutrition plan will be the basis for the other ones, so take notes. Just a few changes will be made in order to hit your macronutrients.
Download the women’s nutrition plan!
Nutrition Facts
Carbohydrate: 35%
Protein: 35%
Fat: 30%
Calories: 2200 calories
Meal 1 – Breakfast (470 calories)
250ml Skimmed Milk (1 glass)
1 Large Banana
20g Oats
32g Peanut Butter (2 Tablespoons)
Snack 1 – Morning (350 calories)
40g Almonds
1 Apple
Meal 2 – Lunch (500 calories)
60g White Basmati Rice
100g Carrots
200g Broccoli
1 Chicken Fillet
Snack 2 – Pre-workout (250 calories)
250ml Skimmed Milk (1 glass)
1 Apple
1 Scoop Whey Protein (25g)
Snack 3 – Post-Workout (250 calories)
0.5 Large Banana
2 Scoops Whey Protein (50g)
Meal 3 – Dinner (380 calories)
200g Green Beans
1 Salmon Fillet Frozen
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
Women’s Nutrition Plan To Get Toned
The women’s nutrition plan to get toned will use the same organization as the maintenance one. However, we will make a caloric surplus with a few changes in the meals.
Download the women’s nutrition plan!
Nutrition Facts
Carbohydrate: 40%
Protein: 40%
Fat: 20%
Calories: 2500 calories
What food has been added or removed from the maintenance nutrition plan?
Meal 1 – Breakfast
16g Peanut Butter (1 Tablespoon) instead of 32g
1 Scoop Whey Protein (25g)
Snack 1 – Morning
20g Almonds instead of 40g
250g Greek Yoghurt 0%
Meal 2 – Lunch
200g Carrots instead of 100g
Snack 2 – Pre-workout
375ml Skimmed Milk (1,5 glass) instead of 250ml
Snack 3 – Post-workout
250ml Skimmed Milk (1 glass)
1 Large Banana instead of 0.5
Meal 3 – Dinner
100g Carrots
1,5 Salmon Fillet Frozen instead of 1
Women’s Nutrition Plan To Lose Fat
The women’s nutrition plan for losing fat will use the same structure as the maintenance one. However, we will make a caloric deficit with a few changes in the meals.
Download the women’s nutrition plan!
Nutrition Facts
Carbohydrate: 30%
Protein: 40%
Fat: 30%
Calories: 1950 calories
What food has been added or removed from the maintenance nutrition plan?
Meal 1 – Breakfast
Oats removed instead of 20g
48g Peanut Butter (3 Tablespoons) instead of 32g
1 Apple instead of 1 large banana
Snack 1 – Morning
20 Almonds instead of 40g
1 Apple Removed
1 Scoop Whey Protein (25g)
Meal 2 – Lunch
White Basmatic Rice removed instead of 60g
300g Broccoli instead of 200g
200g Carrots instead of 100g
Meal 3 – Dinner
100g Carrots
0.5 Tablespoon Olive Oil instead of 1
You Can Download Each Women’s Nutrition Plan
Get Toned
Maintain Weight
Lose Fat
In Conclusion
This women’s nutrition plan will help you get toned and lose fat, but remember this should be used as an example of how you structure your meals. We all have different bodies, it’s important to listen to it.
Let’s summarize what we’ve just learned:
Nutrition is key to obtain the body you want!
Change your daily calorie intake according to your fitness goals.
Watch your macro nutrient ratio and listen to your body.
Calories are calories. Care less about whether it is healthy or not and hit your macronutrients.
Indeed, eating healthy is good for your body, but if you’re on a cheap diet you can’t always go healthy.
This women’s nutrition plan is an example, change it to what you can afford.
Take time to prepare your meal plan according to your schedule.
Lift Heavy Stuff, eat balanced meals and have a attitude of gratitude! We are all truly blessed and are able to choose what goes in our body and mind. This is your year my friend! Hold Nothing Back! Never Stop and Never Settle, for Greatness is with us all!
Your friend and coach,
Crystal aka Barbell Barbie. NY
References:
http://www.eatingwell.com/nutrition_health/weight_loss_diet_plans/diet_meal_plans/7_day_diet_meal_plan_to_lose_weight_1200_calories
http://www.gymaholic.co/articles/nutrition/59/women-nutrition-plan-toning-and-lose-fat