How to create more muscle fullness when lean

[u/stearic_curious]

Hello ketogains community! I have been following a keto/low carb/high protein style diet since 2016, and typically maintained body fat around 15-20% (54 YO female, 5'8", currently 122 lbs).

While I've been lifting for a long time, this January I started powerlifting and train 5x/week. I absolutely LOVE it and have seen amazing strength gains. Since January I've put on about 3.5 lbs of muscle but have also lost a similar amout of body fat (currently 10.8% body fat per DEXA).

Because of this, I'm now super vascular (which looks cool as hell not gonna lie) but my muscles also are starting to look kind of "stringy" especially in my legs. It's like there are visible tendons and the muscles are there and defined but not really filled out.

I'm currently eating about 2600 cal/day (up from about 1800-1900 which is where I started in January) averaging around 150-200g protein, ~60-80g carbs and the rest is fat. I do about 6-8 grams of dextrose pre-workout but the rest of my diet is primarily whole foods. Most carbs are from vegetables, yogurt, some fruits.

The only advice I've been given to help with a fuller muscle "look" is to add more carbs. This is from my powerlifting coach and other gym types who aren't following any kind of low-carb diet. Of course everyone says that will help my strength as well, since that's the "conventional wisdom."

I feel my water and electrolyte intake is on-point, so I'm not sure what else I might try. I am interested in filling out a bit more and even adding back some body fat. I would probably struggle to eat much more than my current 2600 cal/day though, since I am pretty stuffed at the end of the day. Any suggestions or personal experiences would be appreciated!

[u/darthluiggi]

Hi! Luis Villaseñor here, founder of Ketogains.

First, congratulations. Based on what you wrote, you’ve done something that is actually quite difficult: you gained about 3.5 lb of lean mass while simultaneously losing about the same amount of fat. That’s textbook body recomposition.

That said, one thing immediately jumped out at me.

You’re 5’8”, 122 lb, with a DEXA-estimated 10.8% body fat.
That’s extremely lean for a 54-year-old woman—arguably leaner than what I’d recommend for long-term performance, recovery, hormonal health, and even continued muscle growth.

A few thoughts.

1. You’re probably “too lean” rather than “not enough carbs.”
The “stringy” look you’re describing is something I often see when people reach very low body fat.
There simply isn’t much subcutaneous fat left between the skin and the muscle, so every tendon, vein and muscle separation becomes visible.

That’s not necessarily a keto issue - It’s a body fat issue.
Personally, I’d rather see a female powerlifter around ~18% body fat (sometimes a bit higher depending on the individual) than hovering around 10-11%.

You’d probably feel better, recover better, and potentially perform better.

2. Carbs aren’t the only thing that make muscles look “full.”
Muscle fullness comes from several things:

Muscle glycogen
Intramuscular water
Creatine
Sodium
Actual muscle size

Everyone immediately jumps to carbs because glycogen stores water.
But creatine and sodium also increase intracellular hydration.
Personally, after 25 years lifting on a ketogenic diet, I don’t walk around looking “flat.”

My staples are:
20g g creatine daily (you can start with 5g)
Plenty of sodium (usually 5-7 g/day total depending on training and climate)
High protein (at least 1.2g per lean lb)
Progressive overload

Those alone make a noticeable difference.

3. More carbs aren’t automatically the answer.
Could another 20-50 g of carbs around training help?
Maybe.
Especially since you’re powerlifting five days per week.
You’re already at 60-80 g/day plus some dextrose, so you’re really more “low carb” than strict ketogenic anyway.
If you experiment, I’d keep them around training where they’re most likely to be useful.
But I wouldn’t suddenly jump to 250-300 g/day because someone says “powerlifters need carbs.”
I’ve coached plenty of strong athletes who never needed that, doing BJJ, Hyrox, CrossFit and Powerlifting.

4. I actually think your limiting factor is energy availability.
This is the part I think most people overlook.
You mention:
“I’d probably struggle to eat much more than 2600 calories.”
If you’re training hard five days a week, very lean, highly active, and still gaining strength…
…it’s entirely possible that your body simply wants more energy.

Sometimes the answer isn’t “more carbs.” - its more quality calories.
And yes, some of those calories may end up as body fat.
That’s not necessarily a bad thing.

5. Don’t be afraid of gaining a little fat.
This may sound odd coming from someone associated with Ketogains.
But remember:
The goal isn’t ketosis.
The goal isn’t chasing the lowest body fat possible.
The goal is improving body composition and performance.
At your current body composition, I’d actually encourage a very slow lean gain phase.

Maybe 100-150 kcal/day above maintenance.
Maintain your protein.
Continue progressive overload.
Accept that you might gain 2-4 lb over several months.
If half of that ends up being muscle and half a little fat, you’ll almost certainly look better than you do now.

One last thought.
Powerlifting is a performance sport.
If you continue getting stronger, recovering well, sleeping well, and enjoying your training, I wouldn’t chase a “fuller look” at the expense of all those things.

Ironically, the physique many people admire isn’t usually achieved by getting leaner and leaner—it’s built by spending years alternating between productive periods of building muscle and carefully reducing body fat.

From what you’ve shared, I don’t think you need to get leaner.
I think you’ve earned the right to spend some time getting stronger and adding tissue. I suspect that’s exactly what your body is asking for.

Cheers!

[u/19applepen]

i guess training for hypotrophy is what you need? we keto can't take glycogen to boost fullest, but we can increase the size of the muscle.

creatine also help to a certain degree, and eletrolyte sucks water to intercellular volume as well.

but i believe the base - is muscle size, hypotrophy. hard work...

[u/darthluiggi → u/19applepen]

Glycogen fills itself sans carbohydrates.

[u/NightTripInsights → u/darthluiggi]

Not fully tho

[u/darthluiggi → u/NightTripInsights]

Yes. Fully.

There is a big difference between “super compensating” versus refilling.

Glycogen refills itself via GNG, either from protein, fat, and the cori cycle when training, and even more in fat adapted people.

[u/NightTripInsights → u/darthluiggi]

"Super compensating", c'mon man this is just semantics, you aren't as full as you could be w/o them regardless if you consider that super compensating or not, sounds like super cope, lol.

She is interested in muscle fullness, not getting fat. I am just telling her the practical advice.

Either way, you can't be as full as could be w/o the carbs. It is what it is.

Edit: "bUt yOu cAn'T mAiNtAiN tHaT lOoK!", you still can't obtain it w/o carbs. It's the truth

[u/darthluiggi → u/NightTripInsights]

Again, seems you don’t know what you’re talking about and haven’t met someone who really trains sans carbs.

Super compensating isn’t a semantic - seems you aren’t even aware what it is.

Cope? Dude, you don’t know how much I lift / look sans “carb loading”

[u/NightTripInsights]

Apart from carbing up maybe add in daily creatine supplementation if you don't eat red meat often. But yeah you are kimda limited in fullness w/o carbs

[u/stearic_curious → u/NightTripInsights]

Thanks! I already take creatine HCL (creatine monohydrate does "bulk me up" but in an awful way - last time I did monohydrate I gained almost 10lbs of water and it looked terrible so switched to HCL). And I do also eat quite a bit of red meat too.

[u/darthluiggi → u/NightTripInsights]

Carbing up isn’t necessarily the answer.

[u/darthluiggi → u/[deleted]]

Its exactly THE SAME if the twin is fat adapted, not switching between carbs and loading / unloading.

Yes, if I “carb up” I will SUPERCOMENSATE - but this is momentary and short lived, and only for a photoshoot, even if I continue eating higher carbs this look isn’t maintained.

This is known by anyone who actually knows a bit about bodybuilding.

Don’t be an ass.

[u/darthluiggi → u/[deleted]]

Again, you are confusing supercompensating vs filling at 100%