Has anybody had any success using the AD for gaining mass?
It seems like a lot of people have been talking about the Anabolic Diet lately so I went back through the archives and dug up the old Chris Shugart T-Nation article on the Anabolic Diet.
The article said that the diet could be used for mass phrases and the reasoning went something like:
When bodybuilders bulk with a lot of carbs, they gain, but only to end up losing a lot of muscle when they restrict carbs in their diet phase; by bulking on a low carb diet the body adjusts (or something like that).
The AD article called for initial calories to be 18 x Bodyweight, so for 200lb guy, that’s 3600kcal/day. (I’m 190).
I’m interested in anybody who has had actual real life experience with this. Anybody?
Well, i dont really like to give a ruling at 3 weeks, but im liking it.
I feel really good, except the last night before the carb up ive been a bit on edge, a bit loopy, but ok.
I also love the carb ups, I pretty much eat any low fat carbs that i can the first day, and then cleaner carbs the second day.
Its true what theyve said, you can actually watch yourself getting fatter if youre overdoing it, its just all about getting to know what works for ya.
Also, i was already kinda used to going on lower carbs, since i had used the T-Dawg diet as a kinda basis for how i eat, except when ive gone on the seefood diet when i hit plateaus.
ill tell ya more when i know more.
BTW, the carb up starts at 5 in the morning, im FUCKING excited, ive already got it all planned out.
[quote]CaliforniaLaw wrote:
There is an entire thread devoted to the Anabolic Diet. Why not read that thread before starting a brand new post about the AD?[/quote]
Because that could take years. The thread is usefull, especially in the beginning, for someone looking for a general feel of the diet. However, a very specific question about the diet might be better served by its own thread. Anyway, on to the question:
I’ve been eating this way for quite a while now. During this time, I’ve been trying to shed some fat and keep my muscle. However, what I’ve noticed with the AD is that I am much, much, MUCH leaner than before but my weight on the scale only dropped off by 1 or 2 pounds.
This shows how easy it is to maintain or build muscle when you shift your homones to the proper balance on a diet like the AD. See also NHE by Rob Faigin.
Anyway, when I get back to a focus on building more mass I will continue to eat this way, but will simply bump up the food consumption a little bit until the scale weight starts to rise.
I’m confident that any gains I get will be virtually all muscle. This diet is best described as one that makes it very hard to gain fat and very easy to gain muscle. You can’t ask for more than that!
I’ve been using the Anabolic Diet in pursuit of size for about six weeks now, weight is up a lot(no scale for now but I suspect 10-15 lbs) and I’m using the same loop on my belt. I have been using the diet off and on for long periods of time but this is the first time being really focused on size. Adaptation I think is really key for me though.