The AD has been an awesome scheme to follow. I’ve added serious muscle with it, and contrary to every arm-chair “nutritionist” and guru out there, you cannot beat Dr. Di’s credentials and research. The only problem people have with it is that they never show some nuggets and do the thing right. You MUST do it for about 6-8 weeks to really adapt. After this, you’ll never feel the same.
As far as bulking up, it’s easy. Just get in what YOU need as far as caloric intake. You don’t necessarily need to use 20-25 cals per lb of bodyweight. I’m 235-240 and I eat about 3,600 cals per day on weekdays, then about 4000 on the weekend days, and I’m doing fine. You really only “need” those higher cals when you are eating carbs. I don’t believe that anyone but a genetic anomaly needs over 4000 cals to gain, and this can be attained on the AD with good fats such as olive oil, walnuts, cheeses, butter, and salad dressing in addition to the meats. Protein powder with some oil is very calorie dense and very easy to get down.
Dr. Di suggests to really up the carb loads in the mass phase. But I’ll tell you from experience, as I’ve used the AD for 8 years, that you’ll feel much better if you utilize starches for the bulk of your load and don’t make it an ice cream and candy orgy. I always do well with 70% quality carbs such as potatos, yams, pasta, rice, oatmeal, breads, fruits, etc… and then I also leave plenty of opportunity to enjoy some pizza, ice cream, etc… This depends on your individuality with respect to insulin sensitivity.
One caveat that the good doc points out on his site in the FAQ section is that most do best with about 24-36 hours of heavy loading. More moderate loading can be done up to 48, but most will hammer the carbs with a vengeance, so monitor yourself. The concept is written in stone, not the exact numbers. This depends on you. As I’m a serious veteran of the AD, I get really annoyed at the insistance that carbs are “necessary” and are where it’s at.
Good luck finding anyone with Dr. Di’s credentials both academically and practically. And if that is not enough, you should read Natural Hormonal Enhancement by Rob Faigin. It has 1700 references, and Rob has a physique to prove the benefits. This book is awesome for it’s full depth and detail on the cyclical diet. Notice that I did not say CKD. There is no ketosis involved here long term. If you have ketosis issues, then you’ve not adapted to the fatty acids yet. Ketosis is NOT the goal and Dr. Di states this repeatedly, but guys like Lyle MacDonald, Dan Duchaine, etc… focus on this to the detriment of seeing the real magic of the AD.
Dr. Di’s new book the Anabolic Solution is good, but if you have the AD already, then do yourself a favor and look up Rob Faigin’s book. You’ll be armed to the teeth for the rest of your natural days.
Best,
Disc Hoss