My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Nutrition
2462

[quote]allNatural wrote:
SashaG wrote:

that’s a very quality diet, [except for the mayo (nasy)]i see you’re somewhat tempering fat and protein like u were saying. I don’t see how your metabolism is slowed being you’re doing HIIT and hypertrophy training. I’ve been on this diet for 4 weeks (not an expert to give much advice)too and I’ve leaned out quite a bit (may be mostly water-weight) but I just go by instinct and eat when I’m hungary plus a little bit more. i stuff myself full of fruit and spinach on weekends and feel great, workout twice each of both days, and get crazy pumps. This strategy accustoms your body for heightened insulin sensitivity. I’d recommend high frequency, full body training to lean out as it is essentially super-HIIT, hitting every body part 4x/week w/ all the hypertrophy benefit (maybe better). Just be sure not to exhaust your CNS and over-train if you try it. it’ll also boost your metobolism so you might want to actually increase your calories since you’re burning so much with walking etc. and the G-flux effect along w/ better insulin sensitivity will make for optimal body comp.

hope u got some ideas, gl
[/quote]

allNatural,

Cheers for the info and I think I’m going to stick with what I’m doing but try and clean up the loads on the weekend. Quick question . . . how do you meet your CHO requirements on the weekends when your loads are primarily fruit and veg?

Cheers.

Sasha

2463

[quote]Pauli D wrote:

EDIT: >> I also haven’t noticed much of a decrease in performance in the weightroom

I take this statement back. I was shaking like a leaf and could barely get any weight up this morning. I actually did a set of 2 pullups.

…don’t worry. After your carb-up you’ll be happier than a little girl.
Actually -during your carb-up you’ll be pretty stoked.
And I wouldn’t worry about being completly adapted. You may not be. It takes longer for some -and many never ‘feel’ it -as it were. According to DH (long time AD vet) it actually takes a few months to become completely fat-adapted.
But go right ahead with the carb-up -you need it at this point.
If you’ve been strict and really kept your carbs down below 30gr’s…you’ve done well!
Congratulations!! [/quote]

Couldn’t have said it better myself. Remember, the carb ups are essential for the AD to be effective. Stick with it and you’ll be feeling great in no time.

Cheers.

Sasha

2464

[quote]Pauli D wrote:

EDIT: >> I also haven’t noticed much of a decrease in performance in the weightroom

I take this statement back. I was shaking like a leaf and could barely get any weight up this morning. I actually did a set of 2 pullups.

…don’t worry. After your carb-up you’ll be happier than a little girl.
Actually -during your carb-up you’ll be pretty stoked.
And I wouldn’t worry about being completly adapted. You may not be. It takes longer for some -and many never ‘feel’ it -as it were. According to DH (long time AD vet) it actually takes a few months to become completely fat-adapted.
But go right ahead with the carb-up -you need it at this point.
If you’ve been strict and really kept your carbs down below 30gr’s…you’ve done well!
Congratulations!! [/quote]

Oh, thank God. This is music to my ears! I’m already putting together a grocery list for the weekend.

2465

Glad to see that some people are actually enjoying the carb ups. I don’t look forward to them so far. I’m going into my fourth one this weekend… the second time I’ve been scheduled to work weekends for it.

I think my problem is that I tend to overdo it in the early stages, and then feel gross before the first 24 hours is even up. At that point I usually stop and go back to the regular way of eating until the next weekend. Maybe this weekend I’ll try a more structured set up and count macros. Working early morning on canada day and the day after, I probably won’t have much opportunity to enjoy many of the festivities this year anyway.

The carb source i look forward to most is blueberries. What about you guys?

2466

ok guys …iam back from south africa . had a great tour there and the ebst part was that my diret was the ebst followed there …being a in a 5star hotel …i had a chance to have a great breakfast , lunch and dinner had a lot of bacon eggs , roasted steak, pork and lamb fish …wqas great fun also ate ostrich meat for the first time and liked it a lottttttt …did a carbup from sunday night to monday night …i had the show on sunday in evening …and i dint wanted to risk …of having a carb coma so finished my show and then dinner was the carb till the next day dinner …did ate a lot of cakes and icecreams also and belive me felt awefull …i have a sprain in my wrist and it hurts badly …so usually lifiting light weights …it hurts the most in back workourt so …tried and did my row with a overhand grip felt better .

ok now …iam trying to do something differnt this week on sunday …night i will just have a huge carb meal and thats it and again on wednesday i will have a carbmeal …and just see what happens i will just try and see and let u guys know ok …by the way did some shopping today got some organic eggs chicken legs and flaxseeds …which are damn cheap 400gms for just 50cents in india this all stuff is damn cheap organic eggs are 1us$ for a dozen …will grind the flaxseeds and make a powder .hope every 1 are doing great

2467

hey guys sorry for the bad english is that i typed fast as i was going out …felt so bad after reading my own post sorry for the spelling mistakes

2468

[quote]allNatural wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
Just started this diet for summer to really get cut.
I really don’t have much weight to lose,just 15-20 pounds maybe(just finished bulking).

I’ve done a lot of low carb diets and etc. to get really cut for certain events,but I have a few questions regarding this diet:

I’m having about 30 carbs on off days and around 75 carbs on workout days.

Does anyone follow this kinda style when doing the anablic diet?
I’m wondering how many carbs you all have PWO nutrition or even if you all have any carbs at all for PWO.

Thankyou,Cthulhu

that’s called the t-dawg diet (just search for it and read about it.)
[/quote]

Ahh,ok.
And the Anobolic diet you have 30 carbs on the week days and carb up on the weekends.
SO,I guess you all don’t have any carbs for post workout too?

2469

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
Ahh,ok.
And the Anobolic diet you have 30 carbs on the week days and carb up on the weekends.
SO,I guess you all don’t have any carbs for post workout too?[/quote]

That, my good man, has been covered in depth throughout the thread. And while your sentence structure is a bit labored -I do believe you have the general idea: 30 grams of carbs a day (or less), five days a week. And limitless carb intake two days a week.

Peri-workout nutrition varies by user. But generally speaking, no, AD’ers do not ingest carbs to fuel -or recover from training.

Of course there’s much more to the plan. But that’s it in a nutshell.

Be well -or as Sasha would say…“Cheers!”

2470

Thanks for the information.I was wondering,how many carbsdo you have on the weekends when you carb up?

Thanks.

[quote]Pauli D wrote:
Cthulhu wrote:
Ahh,ok.
And the Anobolic diet you have 30 carbs on the week days and carb up on the weekends.
SO,I guess you all don’t have any carbs for post workout too?

That, my good man, has been covered in depth throughout the thread. And while your sentence structure is a bit labored -I do believe you have the general idea: 30 grams of carbs a day (or less), five days a week. And limitless carb intake two days a week.

Peri-workout nutrition varies by user. But generally speaking, no, AD’ers do not ingest carbs to fuel -or recover from training.

Of course there’s much more to the plan. But that’s it in a nutshell.

Be well -or as Sasha would say…“Cheers!”

[/quote]

2471

I STUFFFFFF myself with them. :slight_smile: very expensive. I also eat about a loaf of healthnut bread over the weekend which is like an extra 1000cal/day. I’m going with some “dirty carbs” PWO this weekend such as: cocoa pebbles (all-time fav. cereal)w/ milk, baked beans, or mashed potatoes. perhaps some icecream. can’t wait til tomorrow.

2472

It’s day 4 of my first low carb week. I’ve tried it before and couldn’t make for two weeks because I just couldn’t sleep. This time I’m sleeping all right, but right about now I’m depressed and yesterday at the gym I just didn’t give a shit about working out.

I’m guessing all of this is pretty normal.

And have adjusted my workouts so that I’m not lifting heavy this week, but focusing on stretching and p/rehab excercises.

Sound reasonable?

2473

[quote]futuredave wrote:
It’s day 4 of my first low carb week. I’ve tried it before and couldn’t make for two weeks because I just couldn’t sleep. This time I’m sleeping all right, but right about now I’m depressed and yesterday at the gym I just didn’t give a shit about working out.

I’m guessing all of this is pretty normal.

And have adjusted my workouts so that I’m not lifting heavy this week, but focusing on stretching and p/rehab excercises.

Sound reasonable?[/quote]

Sounds reasonable…do what you gotta do.
I’m wondering if your lethargy and sleeplessness may have roots in your macro make-up. Are you getting sufficient food? -sufficient fats?
Don’t starve yourself on the break-in phase -by no means…
EAT! Eat, my good man, EAT!

…have some bacon and eggs
-a bacon-double-cheesburger (sans the bun)
-have some steak
-have some nuts (carbs minus fiber = carb value),
-have a spinach w/feta cheese omelet (or two or three)
…get creative -but eat!!

Don’t starve yourself (I say again)!
I find that if my energy is lagging I can easily repair my diet with added fat.
Stick with it!
As you gain experience you’ll find what works best for you.
(Now, where have I heard that before?)

2474

[quote]futuredave wrote:
It’s day 4 of my first low carb week. I’ve tried it before and couldn’t make for two weeks because I just couldn’t sleep. This time I’m sleeping all right, but right about now I’m depressed and yesterday at the gym I just didn’t give a shit about working out.

I’m guessing all of this is pretty normal.

And have adjusted my workouts so that I’m not lifting heavy this week, but focusing on stretching and p/rehab excercises.

Sound reasonable?[/quote]

futuredave,

As PauliD mentioned, this is all normal when it comes to the AD. Especially if you’ve been accustomed to a higher CHO diet you’ll be experiencing a little more lethargy while you make the transition.

To combat this, up your fat intake throughout the day. For example . . . if I’m hurting in the energy department I grab about 5-6 fish oil capsules. Better tasting options include nuts, seeds and cheese.

I can’t itorate this enough . . . it is really important to get at least 60% of your caloric intake from fats for the first little while. Otherwise, your body won’t make the transition from CHO burning to fat burning. Your body needs to know that it can use fat for fuel because it knows it’s going to be getting an ample supply through diet.

Keep at it mate . . . you’ll be humming along in no time.

Cheers.

Sasha

2475

Eat small portions.
Avoid CHO only meals.
Try some digestive enzyme tabs.

DH

[quote]allNatural wrote:
does anyone else have massive heartburn on carb-up days?[/quote]

2476

FUN WITH AMINO ACIDS:

This is a little thing I did a few years ago, and greatly enjoyed it. Very good pumps, fast recovery, good growth. Poliquin used similar principles as per conversations with Doc Di Pasquale.

Enjoy my little home brew etc…

Cut your CHO, even PW, if you want to lean up further. Take the following:

  1. 35-50g BCAA during workout
  2. 40-50g glutamine or glutamine peptides just after workout.
  3. 50g of protein with AT MOST 20g of simple CHO at about 45mins post workout. Best option, skip the CHO entirely.

Glutamine will replenish glycogen in place of CHO, BCAA’s will assist and place you in an anabolic state even BEFORE you enter catabolism. Supplies the amino acids your body desires without having to get them from muscle. Also leucine is a strong insulin stimulator. For us on the Anabolic Diet, the only real benefit to CHO is to cause an insulin surge that drives AA into the muscle for growth/recovery. We can get our glycogen replenishment slowly via diet. Barr points this out in his myths article. Leucine and glutamine will boost insluine and fill glycogen independent of CHO. So BCAA and glutamine will be great options.

Then wait a while and take your protein and (not at all necessary)minimal CHO drink.

Only when you are at your desired level of bodyfat should you use more CHO post workout (IF you must, and most don’t need it). If you are leaning, don’t include CHO post workout. If you are massing and want to avoid as much potential for fat accumulation as possible, then do the same. Otherwise, you can take 50g CHO post workout and keep the rest of your day strict.

Best,
DH

2477

[quote]Disc Hoss wrote:
Eat small portions.
Avoid CHO only meals.
Try some digestive enzyme tabs.

DH

allNatural wrote:
does anyone else have massive heartburn on carb-up days?

[/quote]

The legend is back! Good to see you DH . . . we’ve missed your guidance.

Hope you stick around for some much needed direction for those of us who are a gradually becoming accustom to the AD lifestyle.

Cheers.

Sasha

2478

[quote]Disc Hoss wrote:
FUN WITH AMINO ACIDS:

This is a little thing I did a few years ago, and greatly enjoyed it. Very good pumps, fast recovery, good growth. Poliquin used similar principles as per conversations with Doc Di Pasquale.

Enjoy my little home brew etc…

Cut your CHO, even PW, if you want to lean up further. Take the following:

  1. 35-50g BCAA during workout
  2. 40-50g glutamine or glutamine peptides just after workout.
  3. 50g of protein with AT MOST 20g of simple CHO at about 45mins post workout. Best option, skip the CHO entirely.

Glutamine will replenish glycogen in place of CHO, BCAA’s will assist and place you in an anabolic state even BEFORE you enter catabolism. Supplies the amino acids your body desires without having to get them from muscle. Also leucine is a strong insulin stimulator. For us on the Anabolic Diet, the only real benefit to CHO is to cause an insulin surge that drives AA into the muscle for growth/recovery. We can get our glycogen replenishment slowly via diet. Barr points this out in his myths article. Leucine and glutamine will boost insluine and fill glycogen independent of CHO. So BCAA and glutamine will be great options.

Then wait a while and take your protein and (not at all necessary)minimal CHO drink.

Only when you are at your desired level of bodyfat should you use more CHO post workout (IF you must, and most don’t need it). If you are leaning, don’t include CHO post workout. If you are massing and want to avoid as much potential for fat accumulation as possible, then do the same. Otherwise, you can take 50g CHO post workout and keep the rest of your day strict.

Best,
DH
[/quote]

DH,

Thanks for this . . . very insightful.

My question has to do with the weekend and these protocols in that regard.

If we are training on the weekend during the carb ups, should we follow a similar approach to optimise our anabolic state or should we approach it in a traditional, insulin spiking manner? I imagine that the latter will work fine with the above approach perfect for the week days.

In my case specifically, I am in a cutting phase if that helps to frame the response.

Cheers for the help.

Sasha

2479

[quote]futuredave wrote:
It’s day 4 of my first low carb week. I’ve tried it before and couldn’t make for two weeks because I just couldn’t sleep. This time I’m sleeping all right, but right about now I’m depressed and yesterday at the gym I just didn’t give a shit about working out.

I’m guessing all of this is pretty normal.

And have adjusted my workouts so that I’m not lifting heavy this week, but focusing on stretching and p/rehab excercises.

Sound reasonable?[/quote]

I may be new to the AD,but not dieting or low carb dieting when trying to egt ripped.
I’ll tell you a little secret I use.
It might sound simple,but it works like wonders.
I’ve done this in the past when carb cycling,and still do.
When I wake up,I have a big breakfast(usually eggs,cheese,etc.) and that keeps me for 2-3 hours.

Then,before working out, I have two serving of organic coconut oil.

On the AD, your body is using the fat as energy,thats why it’s important to eat fat.
The saturated fat from coconut oil goes straight to the liver and gets used as energy,much like whey protein does when you want to stop catabolism, and much like carbohydrates do for energy.
Take the coconut oil before working out,and at night and this should help you out.

Cthulhu

2480

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
futuredave wrote:
It’s day 4 of my first low carb week. I’ve tried it before and couldn’t make for two weeks because I just couldn’t sleep. This time I’m sleeping all right, but right about now I’m depressed and yesterday at the gym I just didn’t give a shit about working out.

I’m guessing all of this is pretty normal.

And have adjusted my workouts so that I’m not lifting heavy this week, but focusing on stretching and p/rehab excercises.

Sound reasonable?

I may be new to the AD,but not dieting or low carb dieting when trying to egt ripped.
I’ll tell you a little secret I use.
It might sound simple,but it works like wonders.
I’ve done this in the past when carb cycling,and still do.
When I wake up,I have a big breakfast(usually eggs,cheese,etc.) and that keeps me for 2-3 hours.

Then,before working out, I have two serving of organic coconut oil.

On the AD, your body is using the fat as energy,thats why it’s important to eat fat.
The saturated fat from coconut oil goes straight to the liver and gets used as energy,much like whey protein does when you want to stop catabolism, and much like carbohydrates do for energy.
Take the coconut oil before working out,and at night and this should help you out.

Cthulhu[/quote]

In the AD book, the Dr. recommends against MCTs such as coconut oil, saying that because of how they’re metabolized, they actually “work against the diet in terms of muscle production and fat breakdown.” If you own the book/ebook, it’s in the “stay away from these” section, so he probably feels pretty strongly about it.

Of course, experimenting couldn’t hurt. I mean no offense with this post, so please don’t take it that way, just adding a different view to yours.

Some authors also recommend against too much fruit on carb loads, Lyle MacDonald for example (in his ultimate diet 2.0 book). But it seems a pure fruit/veg load is working for some posters, and it’s good they’ve found what seems to work. Experimenting is indeed the key! :slight_smile:

2481

[quote]Pauli D wrote:
EAT! Eat, my good man, EAT!
[/quote]

I’m on it. Thanks.

Question to the diet vets:
Why a priming phase is so important?

It’s hard to believe that 2 months from now my body will know or care whether I primed for two weeks or one at the start of the diet.

What’s the deal with that? And would it defeat the whole purpose just to start a carb up this weekend instead of next. Or on July 4th? lol