Differences in Diets for Women

[MsCheetah]

I want to achieve muscle tone with minimal bodyfat...
AND
-still have enough energry for long distance running (10mi)
-still have enough energy for 3 lifts/week
-enough protein intake to maintain/recover from the above workouts

Can anyone provide a sample diet for such goals?

[RisingAgainst]

Originally Posted by cclark

I want to achieve muscle tone with minimal bodyfat...
AND
-still have enough energry for long distance running (10mi)
-still have enough energy for 3 lifts/week
-enough protein intake to maintain/recover from the above workouts

Can anyone provide a sample diet for such goals?

Stats?? This is cake actually, eat at a maintenance level, EAT CLEAN, work out hard, and you will be fine... you can consider protein as 'free calories' eat/drink as much as your heart desires.

[growstrong]

Originally Posted by RisingAgainst

Stats?? This is cake actually, eat at a maintenance level, EAT CLEAN, work out hard, and you will be fine... you can consider protein as 'free calories' eat/drink as much as your heart desires.

RA this is my mother and she was looking for something a little more indepth and i told her this board would rock something pretty good for her... can u do me a favor and go into a little more depth. pleeeease

And this is not just to RA obviously... all comments are welcome!
THanks guys

[MsCheetah]

Originally Posted by RisingAgainst

Stats?? This is cake actually, eat at a maintenance level, EAT CLEAN, work out hard, and you will be fine... you can consider protein as 'free calories' eat/drink as much as your heart desires.

RA--Thanks much! Am 118lbs and 5'6. I am pretty good at keep weight under control--want more definition and get tired out after the run and time is an issue. Need to get cardo and lifts condensed into 3 - 4 days max total. So--on workout days need to work--then run and lift. Also, I am in my fab 40's. Looking for optimum expenditure of time and energy.

[ENIGMA]

Originally Posted by cclark

RA--Thanks much! Am 118lbs and 5'6. I am pretty good at keep weight under control--want more definition and get tired out after the run and time is an issue. Need to get cardo and lifts condensed into 3 - 4 days max total. So--on workout days need to work--then run and lift. Also, I am in my fab 40's. Looking for optimum expenditure of time and energy.

I checked a few calorie counters and plugged your stats in and im getting anywhere from 1650-1850 calories per day to maintain your current weight(which seems high to me, but might be what you need to really keep the energy where you want it). It sounds like you are fairly active, so that will play an overall factor in you the total calories you will need to maintain your current weight or gain/lose weight. I will work on an overall diet that I would personally recommend, but it will take a little time so i will get back to you later tonight. How many times a day do you currently eat now? If its only 3-4, I would recommend increasing to 5-6 times a day if possible.

Im not sure what your workouts look like right now, but if your set on lifting and running on the same days/time slots I would recommend doing your lifts before your cardio. Ideally if your going to do cardio and lift on the same days you would want them spread apart( run early in the morning and lift later that day). If this isnt an option for you, try and do cardio after your strength training. Also for someone who is on limited time you might want to look into HIIT training(high intensity interval training). I know you are into the long distance running, but HIIT really takes less time and alot of people, me included, feel that it shows greater fat loss while providing good muscle retention. Just look at the physique differences between most long distance runners and sprinters. Sprinters generally will show more build than a distance runner, while keeping a very low bf%. Basically you are doing 30 seconds high intensity, 30 seconds/1minute of low intensity or something similar, and the idea is to really get your heart rate up on the high intensity bursts. If you do it right, you will find its hard to go past 15-20 minutes the first couple times. You can do this on an eliptical, bike, outside sprints, etc but it is hard to do on a treadmill. As for the strength training, I would recommend something pretty high in reps and concentrate on the main core lifts. I would steer away from doing "auxilary" excercises( curls, alot of ab work, etc) and stick with the big lifts like squats, db incline bench, etc which will in turn work big muscle groups as well as smaller ones. I will come up with something specific you can try and get back to you tonight .

[MsCheetah]

Originally Posted by ENIGMA

I checked a few calorie counters and plugged your stats in and im getting anywhere from 1650-1850 calories per day to maintain your current weight(which seems high to me, but might be what you need to really keep the energy where you want it). It sounds like you are fairly active, so that will play an overall factor in you the total calories you will need to maintain your current weight or gain/lose weight. I will work on an overall diet that I would personally recommend, but it will take a little time so i will get back to you later tonight. How many times a day do you currently eat now? If its only 3-4, I would recommend increasing to 5-6 times a day if possible.

Im not sure what your workouts look like right now, but if your set on lifting and running on the same days/time slots I would recommend doing your lifts before your cardio. Ideally if your going to do cardio and lift on the same days you would want them spread apart( run early in the morning and lift later that day). If this isnt an option for you, try and do cardio after your strength training. Also for someone who is on limited time you might want to look into HIIT training(high intensity interval training). I know you are into the long distance running, but HIIT really takes less time and alot of people, me included, feel that it shows greater fat loss while providing good muscle retention. Just look at the physique differences between most long distance runners and sprinters. Sprinters generally will show more build than a distance runner, while keeping a very low bf%. Basically you are doing 30 seconds high intensity, 30 seconds/1minute of low intensity or something similar, and the idea is to really get your heart rate up on the high intensity bursts. If you do it right, you will find its hard to go past 15-20 minutes the first couple times. You can do this on an eliptical, bike, outside sprints, etc but it is hard to do on a treadmill. As for the strength training, I would recommend something pretty high in reps and concentrate on the main core lifts. I would steer away from doing "auxilary" excercises( curls, alot of ab work, etc) and stick with the big lifts like squats, db incline bench, etc which will in turn work big muscle groups as well as smaller ones. I will come up with something specific you can try and get back to you tonight .

Oh myyyyy---your input is soooo very helpful! Very different thinking than I have been exposed to--I am an amateur. I do eat several times a day--but have developed a bad habit of big meal later at night--know I need to change that, but live in Chicago--the greatest city for restaurants! I await your further coaching! Thx

[ENIGMA]

Originally Posted by cclark

Oh myyyyy---your input is soooo very helpful! Very different thinking than I have been exposed to--I am an amateur. I do eat several times a day--but have developed a bad habit of big meal later at night--know I need to change that, but live in Chicago--the greatest city for restaurants! I await your further coaching! Thx

No problem thats what we are here for. Honestly one of the best ways to keep a clean diet is to eat out as little as possible. Most restaurants can ruin even the healthiest meals in the way they are prepared. Niether hear no there, if you are sticking to a fairly strict diet throughout the day and go out 2-3 times a week its not going to hurt you that much(especially if you are eating good quality food at the restaurants). This is just something I came up with fairly quick, but I have no idea what foods you will or will not eat so feel free to substitute similar foods if what I have hear doesnt appeal to you.

Meal 1
40 grams oatmeal
1 banana
1 scoop protien powder
flax seed/multi oil supplement
add splenda or other artificial sweetener to the oatmeal for more flavor

Meal 2
6 oz chicken breast ( you can add this to a salad, just be sparse with toppings/dressings)
1/2 cup brown rice

Meal 3 PREWORKOUT SHAKE
6 oz milk(skim preferred)
1 scoop protien powder
1 tablespoon NATURAL peanut butter mixed in with shake

Meal 4 POSTWORKOUT SHAKE
1 scoop protien powder mixed with water
banana(some people like dextrose for a simple carb after workout, i just always use a banana because im not that technical. Its up to you)

Meal 5 POST, POST WORKOUT
2 tilapia(or other substitute fish) fillets(approx 10 oz) dabbed with 1tbsp extra virgin olive oil before cooking
1/2 cup brown rice
1 cup mixed vegetables

Meal 6 PRE BED
1 scoop protien powder mixed with 6 oz skim milk (I just use regular whey, some like to use a casein as it is released slower but again im just not that technical)

This diet gives you about 1500 calories, with a ratio of around 40% carbs, 40% protien and 20% fat(good fat). Its pretty general, and you may want to adjust depending on how you feel with it. The protien powder I used in the diet is optimum nutrition(i like chocolate) which gives you about 120 calories per serving. You can substitute for a different brand, just adjust the calories as needed. And as I stated before you can substitute any of these foods for a similar one if you want. I usually try and get the most of my carbs in the morning and pre workout, then take in mostly fats/protiens towards the end of the night so keep that in mind if you go to a restaurant for supper. I use fitday.com to calculate all of the values, and i recommend you get an account so you can add up the different foods you enjoy and incorporate them into your diet. Also drink alot of water, try for 2 gallons or as close to it as possible. Just remember, gaining/losing weight comes down to the total amount of calories you are consuming. Eat less than your maintnence and you will lose weight, eat more than maintnence you will gain weight. You will find that breaking down your protien/fat/carbs is what will make the difference between losing/gaining fat or muscle, and it will help you manipulate how your body does this. Hope this helps, and let us know if you have any more questions.

[RisingAgainst]

I feel that Enigma was right on, except you need more calories, despite what some calorie counter says, I would say no less than 1800.

[ENIGMA]

Originally Posted by RisingAgainst

I feel that Enigma was right on, except you need more calories, despite what some calorie counter says, I would say no less than 1800.

Yea like I said, I tried 6 different counters with her stats and I was getting numbers ranging from 1600-1850. Depending on what her diet is like right now, stepping up to 1800 calories might be too much off the bat(especially if she is trying to run long distance alot). I would agree with RA though, and say to try and work your way up to 1800 or so calories if your body feels like it needs the extra.

[RisingAgainst]

Originally Posted by ENIGMA

Yea like I said, I tried 6 different counters with her stats and I was getting numbers ranging from 1600-1850. Depending on what her diet is like right now, stepping up to 1800 calories might be too much off the bat(especially if she is trying to run long distance alot). I would agree with RA though, and say to try and work your way up to 1800 or so calories if your body feels like it needs the extra.

Ya you never want to fluctuate more than 500 calories at any given time.