Female Diet Guide

Best The Ultimate Female Diet Guide

If you’ve ever tried to lose weight and failed, odds are you probably don't have a great relationship with your body. It’s not that you don’t want to make things better -- it's just that no matter what you do, you and your body struggle to get on the same page. You want to lose weight and your body, well, it seems to have other ideas.

So we want to offer our own version of counseling. It’s the approach we’ve used at Precision Nutrition with our Lean Eating program. Thousands of clients have used it to lose tens of thousands of pounds. And now we want to share it with you.

While it might look similar to other diets on the surface, this isn’t your traditional eating plan. It’s a smarter, simpler way to lose weight and flatten your belly. The difference is we take a behavioral approach to helping you drop pounds, which puts you in control of what you eat, when you eat, and the confidence you’ll have to finally make changes. We can’t promise that you won’t ever have a disagreement your body, but follow our steps and there will be a lot more love and happiness in that relationship.

Diet Guidelines

Without getting too caught up in the numbers, it is widely accepted that the average woman should consume approximately 30-32 calories per kilogram of bodyweight; so for a 60kg female this would be approximately 1800 calories per day (60kg x 30 calories = 1800 calories). Approximately 45 -60% of these calories should be derived from carbohydrates for energy, 15-30% should be derived from protein for tissue repair, and 20-30% should be derived from good fats for general health and organ function. If you exercise frequently and therefore burn more calories you will need to consume more calories to fuel your workouts, and possibly higher proportions of carbohydrates and protein depending on the kind of exercise performed. If you have higher than average muscle mass, you will also need to consume more calories as your body will typically have a higher metabolic rate and requirement for calories to maintain the extra muscle tissue. 

Restricting calories for weight loss is necessary if you are eating more calories than you are burning within any 24 hour period; it's simple "calories in v calories out" maths. Emphasis should be placed on restricting calories from simple sugars (processed foods, juice, confectionery and sports drinks for example) and bad fats (saturated and trans fats from butter and animal fats for example). Focusing on the source of where these calories come from as opposed to just the total number will prevent you getting obsessive, and will help you develop your own knowledge about certain foods. 
 
But don't starve your yourself! If you restrict calories too low, the absence of proper energy will force your muscles to break down in order to fuel your daily activities. Less muscle mass will result in your metabolic rate decreasing, meaning a decrease in the amount of calories able to be burned each and every day. It is typical that a woman depriving herself of calories will experience sluggishness & fatigue, and risk many nutritional deficiencies and hormone complications. In this case, your body will cling onto your fat deposits as it recognises you are in "starvation" mode. This is your body’s natural defence mechanism. So if you have attempted a very low calorie diet and experienced minimal to no results, this is why. 

The saying goes "slow & steady wins the race". The best thing you can do for your metabolism and weight loss goals is to continually fuel your body with high quality foods. Simply give your body what it needs; let it become familiar with being given consistent, high quality nutrition and allow your body to run as effectively as possible. Be good to your body, and your body will be good to you.

Diet Strategies 

Furthering on our reluctance to recommend generalised detox and bikini diet plans, the following strategies are the best possible techniques that you can slowly implement into your diet to help you change your body composition and achieve the weight loss results you are working towards.

1. Eat Frequently 

You must not allow your body to be deprived of calories or nutrients in a bid to prevent it from clinging on to fat deposits instead of burning through them. Aim to eat every 3-4 hours to keep your metabolism firing and your blood sugar levels stabilized to avoid highs and lows in your moods, as well as your cravings.

2. Eat Protein 

You should aim to eat protein every time you consume food. Try to choose your meal by first selecting the source of protein you are going to include. Your body uses more energy breaking down protein than it does any other macronutrient, and protein also provides the highest level of satiety (the feeling of fullness). If you consume 100 calories of protein, 20 – 30 calories will be burned by your body breaking down that protein alone. Compare this to carbohydrates where your body may only use 5 – 10 calories to burn 100 calories worth of carbs. Plus with all the stress you are putting your body and your muscles through during your workouts, you need to ensure that you are properly recovering, repairing and rebuilding damaged muscle tissue. This is achieved by consuming adequate protein each and every day.

3. Time Carbohydrate Ingestion 

Your body has 1 primary use for carbohydrates - to provide energy. The secondary use for carbohydrates is to replace glycogen - this is a form of energy stored in muscle tissue and the liver, kind of like how a battery stores energy for future use. If your body doesn't require carbs for energy and your glycogen stores are full your body will convert excess carbohydrates into tri-glycerides (fatty acids) and store them as a body fat, which we want to steer well away from.

With this in mind there are 3 times during the day when you want to consume carbs; first thing in the morning with your first meal of the day to help replace the glycogen your body has depleted during sleep, around 1 - 2 hours before you plan to workout to provide energy for your workouts, and finally post-workout, once again to replace the glycogen your body has depleted during your workout.

Try to think about carbohydrates fuelling your body the way petrol fuels your car - you are only going to fill it up with fuel when you plan on driving.

4. Stay Hydrated 

We’ve all heard it a million times, but you cannot underestimate the importance of ensuring you are providing your body with enough water to stay well hydrated. The benefits of drinking enough water stream into every aspect of life; as well as it being an integral component in our digestive process, it is necessary for cell functioning, waste excretion and nutrient transportation.

5. Don’t Dwell 

Unless you are a competitive fitness or figure athlete there is no need to dwell over every minute detail in your diet. There is no need to count calories to the .0001 gram, restrict food groups or be continually searching for the latest diet "breakthrough". Select fresh, healthy and wholesome sources of food. The higher quality the source of food, the better your body will function. Your body works hard every second to keep you alive and strong. Reward yourself by giving back to your body, and spoiling it with the vitamins and minerals it needs to be the best looking and most efficient body it can be.

Carbohydrates:

 • Wholegrain oats     • Brown rice     • Quinoa     • Wholemeal bread     • Cous cous     • Spelt pasta    • Sweet potato      

  • Pumpkin     • Beans and other legumes     • Bananas, apples, pears and other whole fruits

Proteins: 

• Chicken breast     • Turkey breast     • Lean beef     • Kangaroo     • Tuna     • Salmon     • Trout     • Prawns        

 • Eggs     • Beans and legumes     • Tofu     • Protein powder     • Greek yoghurt     • Cottage cheese 

Fats: 

• Coconut oil     • Unsalted nuts     • Peanut, almond and other natural nut butters     • Avocado    

• Olive oil     • Chia seeds

(Many fat sources can also be derived from protein sources including salmon and red meats. Be careful with consuming too much fat from red meats, as you want to limit your saturated fat intake. Instead, consume polyunsaturated or monounsaturated fats found in foods from the above list. Choose lean cuts of meats where possible)

Eat fresh vegetables in abundance, and try to buy them locally. They are fantastic sources of vitamins and minerals, a great source of fibre, and can really transform a traditional meal from boring to exciting!
 
Conclusion

So there you have your guide to perfecting your workout and diet to develop your ideal physique. If you work hard and eat right, success can be yours. Don’t be afraid of lifting weight as it really is the key to transforming your body.

Remember that no one is perfect and there will be slip-ups throughout your journey, but, if you can continue to put in a good effort, it wo