Hey STRONG friend. Happy Friday!! 

I know you are lifting. I know you are showing up. But if the strength and muscle aren't showing up for you, we need to talk about the real issue.

Most women are not eating enough to support the muscle they keep saying they want. This is not your fault. This is diet culture. But now that you know better, you get to fuel better.

3 things your future self will thank you for:

One: Muscle will not grow if you under-eat.

You stimulate muscle in the gym, but you build it with food, rest, and recovery. If you are lifting heavy and doing all the right things but staying in a calorie deficit, your body cannot rebuild what you break down in training.

You are basically asking your muscles to grow with no materials. That is why you feel flat, tired, and stuck at the same weights. You need enough calories to maintain your body and then some so it has room to grow.

Two: Carbs are not optional if you want strength!

Carbs are how your body stores energy for lifting. When glycogen is full, you push harder, recover faster, and hit new numbers. When carbs are low, your body steals protein for energy, so less is available for muscle building.

That is why low-carb lifters hit a wall fast. Low carbs equals low performance equals low progress. Your muscles are calling out for carbs. That dragging feeling in the gym is not age or just being tired. It is under-fueling.

Three: Protein is non-negotiable!

Protein rebuilds the muscle tissue you stress during training. Most women under-eat protein without realizing it, which means they never repair enough to grow. If you want muscle, you need around .7 to 1 gram per pound of body weight. And no, this will not make you bulky.

It will help you recover, stay fuller, stabilize your blood sugar, reduce cravings, and actually feel strong in your body. Protein is the baseline. Everything else builds on it.

2 things to stop doing:

One: Stop eating like your goal is to shrink.

Diet culture has conditioned women to fear calories, fear carbs, and chase “toned” while eating as little as possible. You cannot build the shape you want while living on snacks, tiny meals, or 1200-calorie plans.

Toned is just muscle. And muscle comes from eating enough. If you want strength, if you want shape, if you want energy, you need to fuel your training and stop letting old diet rules run the show.

Two: Stop assuming you eat more than you actually do.

Most women think they are eating enough until they track for a few days. Busy schedules, light breakfasts, tiny lunches, and snacking instead of real meals leave you under-fueled without realizing it.

Then you feel tired, hungry, sore, weak, or stuck. Once you know what you are actually eating, you can start increasing slowly and give your body what it needs to thrive. You cannot fix what you do not measure.
 

1 question for your week:

Are you eating in a way that supports muscle growth or shrinks your progress?

STRONG friend, you deserve results that match your effort in the gym.

Fueling is not the enemy. Food is not the problem. Under-eating is!! When you eat enough, your training feels better, your recovery improves, your strength jumps, and your gainz show up!

Give your body the chance to grow. You will be shocked at how strong you can get when you stop running on empty.

Have an amazing weekend!

Love you, mean it.

In Strength and to your Success,
Coach Candace