So I’ve been going along with a new diet for the past 2-3wks. I figured I’d drop T-Nation a line about it because I feel so god dam amazing. I’m sure those of you on it now or that have tried it in the past are going to say “duh” when I describe it all, but it’s just crazy how much better I feel.
For the past 8mo I have been on a high carb/protien bulking diet. Just straight up EATING. Eating clean from Sunday to Friday PWO, then from friday night to saturday night, eating dirty nasty delicious foods. Stuff like pizza, wings, fast food, sweets and a healthy dose of alcohol. It’s totally helped me gain some mass, muscle and strength. I sorta feel I needed to do it this way for a bit so I can just put weight on. Sure it wasn’t the ‘cleanest’ way to go about things. But when it came down to it, I am a powerlifter and wasn’t going to be the prettiest bell at the ball anyways haha. I did hit some PR numbers in this time too. (on all 3 lifts, and curls!)
But in the past month I really started to feel shitty. Bloated ALL the time, reflux came and went (but mainly came), my trips to the bathroom were not predictable and very inconsistent (with respect to the consistency). So I read an article Berardi wrote about the importance of the acid-base profile of diets. I check over my diet with his list of foods and saw that 93% of my food intake was acidic to my stomach. This could (and probably did) cause all the problems (and more) that I was having.
(The Berardi Article: http://www.johnberardi.com/articles/nutrition/bases.htm)
After reading that I devised a way (a rather dorky way) to make my own diet. It’s ‘sorta’ along the lines of the Paleolithic diet with respect to the meats, fruits and veggies. However, since I am still trying to gain and maintain weight & strength I have to keep a good amount of grains, not as many though!
Using the PRAL (potential renal acid load) numbers for each of the foods I take in, and multiplying it by the number of grams of each food, I can get a total acidic load for each day.
When it was all said and done, I went from having a diet that was 93% acidic to 78% alkaline. The first week was tough b/c I was in the bathroom just as much, but in the last little bit I’ve really leveled out. I have also noticed a great difference in how I “feel”. My brain seems more clear, I have more NATURAL energy (no need for as much coffee, spike or energy drinks! Saving money!) and I’m not nearly as bloated.
I’ve also been able to maintain my weight so far too, which was my main concern.
Just wanted to chime in real quick and say that this is a great idea for most anyone. If I can hit PR’s and maintain weight with this, then you gotta at least give that a read!
