My Experience On the Anabolic Diet Part III

Nutrition
41

[quote]steve.rt wrote:
Does anyone know of a resource to best figure out how get proper macros. I’m not afraid of doing the math myself, but it would make getting the right foods easier. Seems to me, it would be great to be able to plug some values of certain foods into an Excel spread sheet and get the results of what and how much one should be consuming.

I look at food and read the back label, then say to myself. “Now I gotta figure out what this breaks down to, and how much I should have.”

Perhaps what seems most confusing is adding several different foods to make a decent meal. Plus adding in some variety to keep things interesting.

Sometimes it can seem overwhelming to read this thread and try to figure out how much time it is going to take me to “tweak” my macros just so to get the desired results. How long does it take you guys to figure out what you should eat, how much you should have and when you can have it? People who are able to do this get my respect because I know it’s time consuming and maybe a little frustrating. [/quote]

I eat the same foods every day. Hamburg, chicken thighs, eggs, whey and casein powder, heavy cream, sausage, cottage cheese. When I need variety I change the spice rub or vegetable. When I want to up the fat content I replace the chicken or cottage cheese with beef or eggs.

Don’t get hung up on figuring everything out before you start, or fixating on how many weeks and months it will take to become fat-adapted and zero in on the exact percentages and foods you need. It’ll change week to week based on progress, activity, results of the carb-up, what food is on sale, etc.

42

[quote]steve.rt wrote:
Does anyone know of a resource to best figure out how get proper macros. I’m not afraid of doing the math myself, but it would make getting the right foods easier. Seems to me, it would be great to be able to plug some values of certain foods into an Excel spread sheet and get the results of what and how much one should be consuming.

I look at food and read the back label, then say to myself. “Now I gotta figure out what this breaks down to, and how much I should have.”

Perhaps what seems most confusing is adding several different foods to make a decent meal. Plus adding in some variety to keep things interesting.

Sometimes it can seem overwhelming to read this thread and try to figure out how much time it is going to take me to “tweak” my macros just so to get the desired results. How long does it take you guys to figure out what you should eat, how much you should have and when you can have it? People who are able to do this get my respect because I know it’s time consuming and maybe a little frustrating. [/quote]

http://www.fitday.com/ or MyPlate Calorie Counter | livestrong

I started on fitday, but on the daily plate you can search and find foods other people have entered. Fitday makes you enter them yourself. It’s not that big a deal, but it is nice. The daily plate also has an app for my blackberry so I can quickly search and enter foods when I’m out. TDP also lets you enter the time you ate the foods, which I think is a big deal.

43

[quote]DH wrote:
Well that volume looks quite sufficient.

Ride this thing out. Stay where you are at. You can feel free to tweak food choices but keep intake the same. I too felt this way a bit at first, then started to drop fat like nuts when I started. I let that go till I was happy, then began a systematic increase toward gaining. I like it slow and conservative most of the time.

You may well need 4-6 weeks to really adjust and have your body get the fluid levels settled. Hang in there.

DH
[/quote]

You’re saying you started dropping fat like crazy right when you started? Unfortunately I think you mentioned you were the typical skinny ecto…I’m an extreme endo lol so that seems to be a big difference in that regard. But thanks for your help with this and because of the convenience of it at college I definitely will at least keep it going for a few months and see what happens, hopefully it can be more of a lifetime thing.

[quote]DH wrote:
Red meat contains iron, B-vitamins, and creatine. These seem to help folks feel better and stronger. But the caveat is that it should be quality meat. Not that 70/30 stuff etc…

[/quote]

Why is 70/30 bad if it goes with your macros? I ask because the burgers they have here are close to about 25g of fat and 25g of protein so definitely high fat beef. I’ve been having about 2 of those a day in addition to about 3 scoops of whey, a little bacon/sausage with breakfast, 6-7 eggs, and almost a pound of chicken (along with veggies, EVOO, and almonds)

44

P340, the differentiation on meat was specific to how some people feel. You’re young, and if your health markers all check out well, then go ahead and have that fattier beef. I was really referring to the nutrient/quality differences between steak and say beef tallow. They have a different effect on blood sugar levels and satiety for many. But its not a problem to worry with.

Well, I’m not ecto. I had just gotten myself into that condition through not eating much (we didn’t have much food on a consistent basis at home) and being active.

I meant once I adjusted, then I leaned out quickly. Also try playing with the fat/protein ratio like I mentioned in an earlier post. See how “high” fat vs “high” protein works for you. We are staying in the framework of the diet, but working the two extremes a bit. Try this after a month on the diet.

DH

45

[quote]DH wrote:
P340, the differentiation on meat was specific to how some people feel. You’re young, and if your health markers all check out well, then go ahead and have that fattier beef. I was really referring to the nutrient/quality differences between steak and say beef tallow. They have a different effect on blood sugar levels and satiety for many. But its not a problem to worry with.

Well, I’m not ecto. I had just gotten myself into that condition through not eating much (we didn’t have much food on a consistent basis at home) and being active.

I meant once I adjusted, then I leaned out quickly. Also try playing with the fat/protein ratio like I mentioned in an earlier post. See how “high” fat vs “high” protein works for you. We are staying in the framework of the diet, but working the two extremes a bit. Try this after a month on the diet.

DH

[/quote]

OK thanks again. As I mentioned I did change to higher protein, lower fat about 1.5 weeks ago which did seem to help a little. Nothing drastic though, as I mentioned I took away 30g of fat and added 20g of protein…now because I’ve lost weight (like 4.5lb in less than a week!) I’ve upped it back to 2700 calories but with more protein so I’m at around 310p/150f right now. comes out to about 46p/4c/50f. Seems to have me just about maintaining my lowest weight in 2 years at 183.

46

[quote]MrTangerineSpedo wrote:
steve.rt wrote:
Does anyone know of a resource to best figure out how get proper macros. I’m not afraid of doing the math myself, but it would make getting the right foods easier. Seems to me, it would be great to be able to plug some values of certain foods into an Excel spread sheet and get the results of what and how much one should be consuming.

I look at food and read the back label, then say to myself. “Now I gotta figure out what this breaks down to, and how much I should have.”

Perhaps what seems most confusing is adding several different foods to make a decent meal. Plus adding in some variety to keep things interesting.

Sometimes it can seem overwhelming to read this thread and try to figure out how much time it is going to take me to “tweak” my macros just so to get the desired results. How long does it take you guys to figure out what you should eat, how much you should have and when you can have it? People who are able to do this get my respect because I know it’s time consuming and maybe a little frustrating.

I eat the same foods every day. Hamburg, chicken thighs, eggs, whey and casein powder, heavy cream, sausage, cottage cheese. When I need variety I change the spice rub or vegetable. When I want to up the fat content I replace the chicken or cottage cheese with beef or eggs.

Don’t get hung up on figuring everything out before you start, or fixating on how many weeks and months it will take to become fat-adapted and zero in on the exact percentages and foods you need. It’ll change week to week based on progress, activity, results of the carb-up, what food is on sale, etc.[/quote]

So it seems to me, that if I eat the basic foods that should be consumed on the A.D., I should have the approximate fat/ protein ration that I need? Providing I figure out what my caloric intake should be, I should be able to drop some fat. Is this pretty much correct? Should there be some foods that I should limit that could increase my protein or fat intake too much and throw off the balance?

By the way I’d like to thank DJS, Plasticglock and MrTangerineSpedo for taking the time to answer my questions. And although I’m familiar with fitday.com, I’ll check the other site recommended by the “glock”.

47

[quote]pumped340 wrote:
DH wrote:
P340, the differentiation on meat was specific to how some people feel. You’re young, and if your health markers all check out well, then go ahead and have that fattier beef. I was really referring to the nutrient/quality differences between steak and say beef tallow. They have a different effect on blood sugar levels and satiety for many. But its not a problem to worry with.

Well, I’m not ecto. I had just gotten myself into that condition through not eating much (we didn’t have much food on a consistent basis at home) and being active.

I meant once I adjusted, then I leaned out quickly. Also try playing with the fat/protein ratio like I mentioned in an earlier post. See how “high” fat vs “high” protein works for you. We are staying in the framework of the diet, but working the two extremes a bit. Try this after a month on the diet.

DH

OK thanks again. As I mentioned I did change to higher protein, lower fat about 1.5 weeks ago which did seem to help a little. Nothing drastic though, as I mentioned I took away 30g of fat and added 20g of protein…now because I’ve lost weight (like 4.5lb in less than a week!) I’ve upped it back to 2700 calories but with more protein so I’m at around 310p/150f right now. comes out to about 46p/4c/50f. Seems to have me just about maintaining my lowest weight in 2 years at 183.
[/quote]

Stick it out. I have read so many threads like yours in the original thread where it wasn’t working out in the begining. Trib was one of them.

48

Hi DH,

Just another question. I’ve been curious as to why on the AD, you can use the total calories at the end of the week. For example, on a high carbohydrate you want to keep calories roughly the same every day of the week, because on non-training days you need those calories to recover.

On the other hand, the AD allows you to really eat a lot on the weekends and less on the weekdays (sometimes even zig-zagging calories through the week)

Has it got something to do with calorie partitioning, or the hormonal environment the AD creates?

49

[quote]DJS wrote:
pumped340 wrote:
DH wrote:
P340, the differentiation on meat was specific to how some people feel. You’re young, and if your health markers all check out well, then go ahead and have that fattier beef. I was really referring to the nutrient/quality differences between steak and say beef tallow. They have a different effect on blood sugar levels and satiety for many. But its not a problem to worry with.

Well, I’m not ecto. I had just gotten myself into that condition through not eating much (we didn’t have much food on a consistent basis at home) and being active.

I meant once I adjusted, then I leaned out quickly. Also try playing with the fat/protein ratio like I mentioned in an earlier post. See how “high” fat vs “high” protein works for you. We are staying in the framework of the diet, but working the two extremes a bit. Try this after a month on the diet.

DH

OK thanks again. As I mentioned I did change to higher protein, lower fat about 1.5 weeks ago which did seem to help a little. Nothing drastic though, as I mentioned I took away 30g of fat and added 20g of protein…now because I’ve lost weight (like 4.5lb in less than a week!) I’ve upped it back to 2700 calories but with more protein so I’m at around 310p/150f right now. comes out to about 46p/4c/50f. Seems to have me just about maintaining my lowest weight in 2 years at 183.

Stick it out. I have read so many threads like yours in the original thread where it wasn’t working out in the begining. Trib was one of them. [/quote]

Speaking of which, I’m like 40 pages into that thread (haven’t been able to continue since starting college), do you know around where trib mainly starts posting?

50

Page 127… It’s a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGGGGGGGGGG thread. :wink:

51

Is a cup of brewed coffee ok for the anabolic diet?? I will not add milk or sugar to the coffee.

Thanks

52

Wow I was 182.5 this morning, AFTER my carb up…actually lost weight with a steady 2700 calories which is surprising for me. On the positive side my waistline is slightly down (~1/4in. or so)

53

[quote]Forkit wrote:
Is a cup of brewed coffee ok for the anabolic diet?? I will not add milk or sugar to the coffee.

Thanks[/quote]

Coffee has a minimal carb content so yes, it’s fine. Even adding a splash of milk won’t knock you out of ketosis so don’t get too anal with this type of thing.

54

[quote]Forkit wrote:
Is a cup of brewed coffee ok for the anabolic diet?? I will not add milk or sugar to the coffee.

Thanks[/quote]

Get some heavy cream. It has zero carbs and makes a huge difference if you are not into black coffee.

55

Hi All. New member here. I’ve been on the diet for 13 days now. Tomorrow is my first carb up. About 6-7 days ago, i drank like 10 shots of vodka. Now I’ve read some where that even though vodka has no carbs you are still not suppose to drink. My carb up day is tomorrow, should i still carb up as scheduled or wait another 7 days? Thanks guys

56

For anyone who is interested. I have been searching for what combination of foods calories and macros would work best for a long time now. Switching my bacon, ground beef, and sausage to local tip sirloin was one of the best things i have done thus far on the AD. Steak, eggs and broccoli are in pretty much every meal of mine. I eat anywhere from 4700 to 5000 calories on training days but look just like i did when i was cutting. I also cut out cheese because of the lactose(bloating).

57

[quote]GramboUSMC88 wrote:
For anyone who is interested. I have been searching for what combination of foods calories and macros would work best for a long time now. Switching my bacon, ground beef, and sausage to local tip sirloin was one of the best things i have done thus far on the AD. Steak, eggs and broccoli are in pretty much every meal of mine. I eat anywhere from 4700 to 5000 calories on training days but look just like i did when i was cutting. I also cut out cheese because of the lactose(bloating).[/quote]

Gee you guys move around a lot…

This is very good advice and echoes what DH has been saying.
The AD is very individualistic. Some do well w/ higher fats -fattier foods, while others are going to need to eat lean in order to get and to stay lean.

In my experience, I’ve never seen anyone get extremely lean (sub8%) while eating any sort of cheese -or meats with more than 10gr fat per 100gr serving.

Not to say it hasn’t been done -I’m sure it has…but it is definitely worth noting that the AD is not ‘cookie-cutter’ simple. There is a lot of room for tweaking…AFTER you’ve become adapted.

This is where patience pays off.

Try to keep your cool until your body adapts…then you can make small change and see how you react.

58

[quote]Pauli D wrote:
In my experience, I’ve never seen anyone get extremely lean (sub8%) while eating any sort of cheese -or meats with more than 10gr fat per 100gr serving.

[/quote]

I think there is merit in that - and I also think it was one of the shortfalls of DiPasquale’s AD, especially the first version where virtually any combination of P+F goes as long as you stick to the max 30g carb ceiling.

However, I think equally important, if not more so, is the length and type of carb up. I maintain the traditional 48-hour, anything goes, free for all is at best counter-productive and at worst plain unhealthy. I never got past 15% BF on that system.

59

[quote]JamesBrawn007 wrote:
I think equally important, if not more so, is the length and type of carb up. I maintain the traditional 48-hour, anything goes, free for all is at best counter-productive and at worst plain unhealthy. I never got past 15% BF on that system.[/quote]

Oh absolutely. I agree with you there.
The carb-up is important, you bet. It’s too easy to mess up a week’s worth of really good work with a sloppy carb-load, absolutely accurate.

But…once you get those two major elements figured out, the AD is easy, breezy, lemon peezy!

60

[quote]Pauli D wrote:
JamesBrawn007 wrote:
I think equally important, if not more so, is the length and type of carb up. I maintain the traditional 48-hour, anything goes, free for all is at best counter-productive and at worst plain unhealthy. I never got past 15% BF on that system.

Oh absolutely. I agree with you there.
The carb-up is important, you bet. It’s too easy to mess up a week’s worth of really good work with a sloppy carb-load, absolutely accurate.

But…once you get those two major elements figured out, the AD is easy, breezy, lemon peezy![/quote]

Pauli, great to see you around again from time to time. Do you have the same views when it comes to bulking with the AD? Most here seem to use it as a fat loss diet. Very few seem to be bulkers. Do you think ground beef, hard cheeses, and big loads are more beneficial here?

I want to use the AD this time to gain weight but not turn into a total slob.