How much does diet affect gains?

Are you not seeing the gains you want? It could be your diet.

Being self-aware
As a female , some of us are more self-aware and may have struggled with diet. We may think that we need to look the way society wants us to look.


Guilty
That is why I am writing this post. I AM one of those women! I'm so self-conscious about how I look and have been a yo-yo dieter for years.


Lightbulb moment
So when I first started on my journey to like my body all I wanted to do was strip away the fat and that was my only goal. Then 20lbs later I realized I wanted to look healthy and tone not super skinny.


You mean I have to eat
In order to have the muscle tone I wanted, I had to do what I was scared to do.....EAT! Now we are not talking about everything and anything. Good fuel food, food that gives you nutrients and healthy fats.


Are you sure I can't just lift more
I wanted to stay a caloric deficit and still get gains. Yeah, doesn't work like that. I was just burning up the muscle I was adding.


Stubborn
After 2 months of getting stronger but not seeing results I decided I needed to throw the scale out and not freak out about some carbs. I hadn't had a waffle in years or brown rice. It was a slow process but eventually I didn't feel guilt.


Learning to balance
Getting gains is not all protein, protein, protein. You need to to have those healthy fats and complex carbs. Veggies are our friend. Hello, Popeye loved spinach and look at the size of his biceps.


The takeaway is Yes, your diet does affect your gains so you should take it seriously. Go for 1- 1 1\2 grams of protein per pound of weight and up your calories to account for physical activity.

*How do you feel about your diet? Does it affect your gains?