Dietary Guidelines For Women
January 17, 2005
By: Team Poliquin

All our clients who are trying to decrease body fat and build lean mass are given dietary guidelines to help them achieve their goal.

For people who require extreme structure, we do diet plans for them, but for most people learning the basic rules is all that’s required. Here are the main points that I tell my female clients. Everyone will have needs that are slightly different, but overall, the goal is to decrease insulin and/or make the insulin receptors more sensitive so that the primary fat-building hormones shift to a better metabolic state.

The Basic Dietary Principles:
1. If it doesn’t fly, swim, walk or is green, don’t eat it.

2. Only eat 50 g of fibrous carbs a day. You will need the high fiber foods to balance the high protein content.

3. Eat 25-30 g of protein 5 times a day – i.e. eat 5 times a day and avoid fasting. (N.B. this is for the average woman. Men and athletes have increased protein requirements.)

4. Always drink a post-work-out shake (no carbs) and add 5 g of glutamine. (Glutamine may be needed in higher amounts for some and contraindicated in others.)

5. Be sure to plan a cheat meal every 5 days.

6. Don’t rely on nuts and dairy as your primary protein sources.

7. Use organic meats, dairy, veggies as often as possible.

8. Use the glycemic index as a rough guide to keep the insulin under control but recall that the quantity of food also affects the impact on the blood sugar e.g. Carrots have a high glycemic index but are not usually eaten in large quantities so the impact on the blood sugar is low. Therefore, they are a good food choice for fibrous carbs. This concept is called the glycemic load and more info is available at http://www.mendosa.com.

9. Read labels and avoid all trans fats.

10. Vary the protein sources so that allergies don’t result

11. Caloric need varies depending on your activity level and lean body mass. We don’t recommend counting calories since they are not as critical as what the food is made of – protein/fat/carbs – but some people just have to have a number so I say 1500-2500. Since most of our clients exercise >4 days/week, I usually say 2500. This lets them know that they can handle quite a few calories of the right type.

12. Eat every few hours so that your body doesn’t ever go into starvation mode and produce cortisol. (Do not wake yourself at night to eat, your body needs that fasting time to clean house.)

13. Avoid all food allergens that you know of.

14. NO ARTIFICIAL SWEETNERS. NONE. NOT EVEN A LITTLE. YES, THIS MEANS READING ALL LOW-CARB LABELS. YOU’LL GET USED TO IT.

These guidelines change as the lean body mass increases and ideal body comp is achieved.

You will find that it is actually easier to learn the principles than to use a set diet plan. Soon these will be incorporated into your daily routine and you won’t think about it any more.

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