I’m very intersted to hear from anyone out there who follows the BodyOpus concept, with results gained in fat loss & muscle gains.
After much reading and using cross-refernces provided by Lyle McDonald who has just released “The Ketogenic Diet”, I have come up with the following figures:
Monday - Friday
Daily calorie: 1668 (12 cal. x 139lbs LBW)
70% Fat
30% Protein
Trace Carbs
Excercise: Monday & Tuesday weights
Wed & Thurs: Robics, Friday: Total Depletion
Friday PM - First 24 hrs
calories: Wopping 5760
Carbs: 70% 1008g x 4 = 4032
(taken in various ratios liquid & solid every 2 hrs)
Protein: 15% (216g)
Fat: 15% (96g)
Second 24 hr load:
calories: 3246
Carbs: 70% 568g x 4 = 2272
(taken in various ratios - liquids & solids every 2 hrs)
Protein: 15% (128g)
Fat: 15% (54g)
Exercise: None
The every 2 hour carbing looks pretty demanding, and would like any feedback from you guys on how the above looks and what other suggestions you may have.
You will find that the weekend carb up is a complete and total pain in the ass!!! I don’t know how fat you are (are you above 15%) but you might have a better time combining body opus with the anabolic diet. I don’t think the carb up is really needed unless you are single digit bf. I have done BO for the last 4 years and have had great results. by the way, how is lyles book? I saw a picture of him and he doesn’t look all that good.
I agree, the carb up on the weekends is impossible, and I didn’t find it necessary. I had great luck with Bodyopus, but I just ate what I wanted on weekends, more like a ‘normal’ human being. Pizza, Ice cream, pata, whatever. I also found the depletion workout to be totally unneccesary and a waste of time. I followed Duchaine’s workout to a T for a while, and found I did just as well doing what I wanted, using his outline as a ‘basic’ suggestion.
Yeah, I have seen a picture of Lyle Mcdonald too before.I agree, he doesnt look very good, much less an authoritarian on bodybuilding diets but I think he’s more of a guinea pig for his concepts than anything else.
James:Many thanks for the response guys.I’m 12% BF and want to get down to 8%.With regards to Lyles book, I agree with both Stu and haven’t bought it on the basis, of his build, hence my approaching you guys.As you’ve done BO for a while, I think I’ve missed something in the calorie equation.Dan advises a carb intake for the first 24 hrs of 16g per LBM kg, though doesn’t appear to go too much into fat, protein & overall calorie requirements. Do my ratios look right regarding the protein & fat etc.I’m traditionally used to taken a calorie number multiplying it by body weight then working out the percentages and dividing the protein,carbs & fats by their propective ratios.
Doing it the other way round, invites a little confusion, and would appreciate any other suggestions you have with working out the BO equation.
ya, i forgot to mention the depletion workout. I too thought that it was a waste of time. I however was pretty fat and out of shape for the first “cycle” of BO. I am 6’ but four years ago i was also 236. I looked big but was also fat. I BO’d till I was 184. That seems like a lot but this diet was basically a second chance and completely changed my body. I had this diet to a T, although it worked great for me others may have a different opinion. I didn’t give a shit how much muscle I lost so my calories were REAL low, but I got rid of the love handles and had abs for the first time. I worried about putting on muscle AFTER i got rid of the lard ( a few guy’s in my gym should do the same)
Remember this, the best martial artist is not always the best teacher. I personally do not think that Dan Duchaine has the ideal physique, but maybe thats why Lyle wrote for his newsletter. I do recommend both of their books by the way.
I think bodyopus is the best way to get ripped. I have used it for the past 3 years and have always made a drastic improvement in my physique after 4-5 weeks on BO. Lyle Mcdonalds book is more updated and his carb recommendations are lower. The reason Dan Duchaine recommended such high numbers for carb up is because you are supposed to be eating every 2 hours, even during the night. I tried this one time and I couldn’t hang, I just lowered my carb numbers and still got great results.
And as far as judging what someone says by what they look like, that is not fair. I have gotten some of the best advice from Wil Brink, he isn’t exactly ready to win Mr. Olympia but he is very smart. Dan Duchaine didn’t exactly cause a stir with his physique but everyone hung on pretty much every word he said.
Very true! I guess i was just disappointed when i saw lyles picture after having read his journal and all that.
ROW: IF you are 12% now and want to get to 8 I think BO will do that for you very easily. Just don’t give in! THe first couple of weeks are pretty hard. I had cravings for things that i never would have eaten if I were not on the diet (good n plenty, circus peanuts). As for the carb up and the depletion, On friday i would get up and eat carbs, usually cereal, toast, coffee with sugar etc, THen I would workout about 3 hours later. Although it wasn’t a depltion workout it was very high volume. Then for the next few hours I would drink protien shakes spiked with 3/4 cup of corn sugar. I would take about 3 of these every 3 or four hours. After that it was whatever i could get my hands on. I also did a full body workout (heavy weights) on sunday and took in NO food after 5pm. Since i worked in a bar, i would have a few drinks that sunday night (straight liquor) which i found to drop my blood sugar pretty fast. Before bed i dropped some vanadyl and was in ketosis by monday night! Also keep in mind, that my first bo cycle was basically a tearing down and building myself back up. As far as protein recomendations i stuck with duchaines 70% fat 30% p-tein. You are starting out from a much better place than i did so muscle preservation is most likely a factor for you. Nowadays i take in lean mass maintenance calories while on BO. THis and the ketosis pretty much saves all the lean mass that i have, I also use a regular workout schedule while on BO now with zero aerobics. I did aerobics 5 days a week (1 hour of run-walking) for the first BO cycle, but again, you are in decent shape already so i don’t think you’ll need to do that and I’m rambling, keep us posted, I’m curious as to how you’ll do GOOD LUCK!
Row, I can’t say I have any personal experience with BodyOpus, but I have had a lot of experience with the Anabolic Diet. It’s absolutely the most kick-ass diet I have ever tried. That’s pretty much all I can say for it. The great thing about it compared to BodyOpus the way I see it is that it allows for a lot more leniency. Dipasquale recommends staying near ketosis but not quite into full blown ketosis. I don’t know the rationale behind this, but I know Chris Shugart has an interview coming up with him. Staying near ketosis requires that you eat some carbs during the week, limited as they may be. This makes the diet a lot easier to follow. You don’t have to worry as much about that one or two grams of carbs in the slice of cheese you use to cover your hamburger, and you can even indulge in some Grow! after your workouts. In his first Anabolic Diet book, the good doctor recommended 30g a day, but I’ve been hearing that in his new book, “the Metabolic Diet,” he gives more specific recommendations on carbs based on your body composition and goals (mass or cutting). And of course, as others have pointed out, the weekend carb up is a lot easier if you don’t worry about eating every two hours during the night. My suggestion is to buy the Metabolic Diet and give it a shot.
As far as progress I’ve made on the AD, I’ve had no problem losing at least 3lbs of fat per week while using this diet with MD6, with no loss of muscle mass. You’d be down to 8% in a few weeks…
Hey guys. I’ve worked out the diet on paper that is…(whew!) and will try the every 2 hour carb up despite the majority of comments regarding it’s demand. Saw a good article by Lyle on the ketogenic diet to exercise relationship on the Metomophesis, most helpful. It’s kinda funny, this looks the most demanding routine I’ve tried, though thinking about it, bodybuilding is demanding in every aspect which only again serves as an ideal pursuit for individual’s who continue to seek improvement without sacrificing their health.I’ll keep ya posted and hopefully have an austrian slant on my next post.I’ll be buck :o)