My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Nutrition
3882

[quote]realpeanutbutter wrote:
josh.shafer wrote:
realpeanutbutter wrote:
josh.shafer wrote:
Hey everybody! I just wanted to know if the two week induction phase is necessary for me if I’ve been between 60 and 70 carbs per day with a half-day carbup once a week for the past two months. I want to start following the principles of the AD but don’t know if I need to start at the beginning, or if I can just make the transition.
P.S. I’m at about 45% fat, 10% carb, and 45% protein.
Thanks in advance.

Do the 12 day induction because:

-you need to not only adapt yourself to low CHO but also high fat. so do the 12 days with 60% fat each day.

-also, the 12 day allows you to reduce all of your sugar pathways. So if any of your current CHO have been sugar alcohols or sugar CHO then you can use this week to tighten that up.

-It’s it’s the journey that counts, not the destination (awwwwwwww…)

Buy fish oil in liquid form too. great way to adapt to lipid metabolism. plus it tastes like orange juice.

good luck
-chris
Thanks a lot Chris. How is your recovery PWO?

Recovery without CHO is fine. Depending on my trianing needs I still sometimes use Surge post training. But the Surge is my CHO up. It functions as smaller mini cycles and I get no “days” to CHO up. Smaller mini cycles have their place for growth on a catabolic schedule. Especially when Im skinny.

But regular low CHO PWO is easy just get a strong isolate whey and eat up. I’d say recovery is as much based on what you eat all day long everyday as it is based on what you eat right after training. staying good on both is key. If I make sure my pre bed food is good then I’m great for the next day. Sleeping is when you really grow.

Just don’t eat your fish oil right after working out. that shit is too expensive to have used as calories and not magical super potion.

Recovery on low CHO is just something that eventually comes. Ask il cazzo. He doesn’t likely remember what his recovery felt like on CHO. He functions great on no CHO. So be sure to eat up so you can set PR’s. At first you will feel strong only post CHO up. later on you will feel strong all the time and recover quick as ever. better even because of more optimal hormonal balance.

BTW, get into brick cheeses. they make great snack-skis. carrying steak around is seen as weird by other people. One time I pull a steak out of my back pocket on a work break and everyone looks at me and says “did you just pull a steak out of your pocket?”

“yeah, so? just like beef jerky, but fresher.”

“that’s weird.”

-chris[/quote]

Thanks for the information, man. I think it should be an easy transition, because the only carbs I’ve been eating have been PWO and the incidentals here and there. I’m also into the brick cheeses as well. They should come in handy while I’m at work for sure.

I think I’m just gonna wait until either the day after Christmas or Jan 2, because I work at a hotel with a 4 star restaurant and would like to enjoy the whole Xmas dinner for my already weekly cho-up. And thats a funny story about the steak. I honestly do that stuff all the time!

Always prepared for the next meal. Do you all count incidental carbs in eggs? On fitday and calorieking, they charge you one carb for each egg. Or maybe it’s one for every two. Either way, I eat at least 12 eggs a day and I’ve been counting them towards my CHO’s. Is this the right way to go? BTW, this is now my favorite thread on T-Nation. Thanks so much for the help.

3883

[quote]bkmacky9288 wrote:
josh!!dude im just foolin around with ya calm down lol but seriously just do the induction it wont hurt…o and yea you may be eating the meat but ru pretending to be a barbarian lol jk[/quote]

That’s kind of what I thought, but I was a little confused and that was my first post. There’s some touchy people on this site sometime’s but I just love the content. And I’m eating a ton of meat, but I can definately handle more, and I DO probably need to act more like a barbarian!

3884

some insight needed…so during the weekdays ill be holding on to some water(only drink 1/2-1 gallon a day) and on friday night i had a ~200g carb up post-workout. i wake up saturdays and the carbs just soak it all up…then through saturday and into sunday i hold some water(i deff drink a gallon+ on saturday carb up since my mouth feels dry all day)…

so basically i just wanna know if maybe i should watch my sodium or get more or less of it…and also my water intake…cuz itd be nice to not be so watery during the week

3885

I’m on my 5th day of the AD after dropping 20lbs of unnecessary weight. I started off with the Velocity Diet in order to get myself jump started and now I want mass back.

So far it’s been an intestinal roller coaster. One day I feel like someone super glued my ass shut and the other day I don’t want to stray too far from indoor plumbing. I hope this equalizes over time. I’m trying to shove more spinach and broccoli in my pie hole to compensate as well.

My problem right now is getting the calories in. I’m targeting for about 3200 calories per day and I am just not used to eating that much. I’m sure it will get easier, but it’s odd to find myself eating when I am really not that hungry. I just know if I don’t eat now I’ll have to eat twice as much later.

I guess it’s time to renew that Costco membership because this is not the cheapest diet in the world to go through.

3886

[quote]brianmat wrote:
<<>>[/quote]

It will

3887

[quote]brianmat wrote:
I’m on my 5th day of the AD after dropping 20lbs of unnecessary weight. I started off with the Velocity Diet in order to get myself jump started and now I want mass back.

So far it’s been an intestinal roller coaster. One day I feel like someone super glued my ass shut and the other day I don’t want to stray too far from indoor plumbing. I hope this equalizes over time. I’m trying to shove more spinach and broccoli in my pie hole to compensate as well.

My problem right now is getting the calories in. I’m targeting for about 3200 calories per day and I am just not used to eating that much. I’m sure it will get easier, but it’s odd to find myself eating when I am really not that hungry. I just know if I don’t eat now I’ll have to eat twice as much later.

I guess it’s time to renew that Costco membership because this is not the cheapest diet in the world to go through.[/quote]

If you just make sure you eat a minimum of 10 serves of veggies each day you’ll be fine. broccoli and melted cheese amigo. Also you can ramp your cals up gradually. Going from fuk all cals on VD to 3k no wonder you don’t have appetite.

take it from 2000 and add 100 cals per day. Much nicer on your guts. they are probly in distress becasue they went from minmal disegtion to digesting max hardcore solid protein and fat. the two hardest to digest as in requiring the most complex process. just to get fat past the stomach and into the gut is a job and a half for your liver.

So ramp it up. gradually. Add an ounce on each meat serving each day. take an extra handful of nuts etc. After VD your guts are low on enzymes so get some HCl and pepsin to help out.

-chris

3888

GEt omega eggs if possible. the extra fats in the eggs make them 100% CHO free, so says the rep for natureegg. then I plug them inot cutoms on fitday and don’t have to count em. The CHO in eggs is from harvesting the cheap eggs too late I read. But i don’t think it’s 1 full on CHO/ egg. fuk that and use the 30 CHO for veggies.

-chris

[quote]josh.shafer wrote:
realpeanutbutter wrote:
josh.shafer wrote:
realpeanutbutter wrote:
josh.shafer wrote:
Hey everybody! I just wanted to know if the two week induction phase is necessary for me if I’ve been between 60 and 70 carbs per day with a half-day carbup once a week for the past two months. I want to start following the principles of the AD but don’t know if I need to start at the beginning, or if I can just make the transition.
P.S. I’m at about 45% fat, 10% carb, and 45% protein.
Thanks in advance.

Do the 12 day induction because:

-you need to not only adapt yourself to low CHO but also high fat. so do the 12 days with 60% fat each day.

-also, the 12 day allows you to reduce all of your sugar pathways. So if any of your current CHO have been sugar alcohols or sugar CHO then you can use this week to tighten that up.

-It’s it’s the journey that counts, not the destination (awwwwwwww…)

Buy fish oil in liquid form too. great way to adapt to lipid metabolism. plus it tastes like orange juice.

good luck
-chris
Thanks a lot Chris. How is your recovery PWO?

Recovery without CHO is fine. Depending on my trianing needs I still sometimes use Surge post training. But the Surge is my CHO up. It functions as smaller mini cycles and I get no “days” to CHO up. Smaller mini cycles have their place for growth on a catabolic schedule. Especially when Im skinny.

But regular low CHO PWO is easy just get a strong isolate whey and eat up. I’d say recovery is as much based on what you eat all day long everyday as it is based on what you eat right after training. staying good on both is key. If I make sure my pre bed food is good then I’m great for the next day. Sleeping is when you really grow.

Just don’t eat your fish oil right after working out. that shit is too expensive to have used as calories and not magical super potion.

Recovery on low CHO is just something that eventually comes. Ask il cazzo. He doesn’t likely remember what his recovery felt like on CHO. He functions great on no CHO. So be sure to eat up so you can set PR’s. At first you will feel strong only post CHO up. later on you will feel strong all the time and recover quick as ever. better even because of more optimal hormonal balance.

BTW, get into brick cheeses. they make great snack-skis. carrying steak around is seen as weird by other people. One time I pull a steak out of my back pocket on a work break and everyone looks at me and says “did you just pull a steak out of your pocket?”

“yeah, so? just like beef jerky, but fresher.”

“that’s weird.”

-chris

Thanks for the information, man. I think it should be an easy transition, because the only carbs I’ve been eating have been PWO and the incidentals here and there. I’m also into the brick cheeses as well. They should come in handy while I’m at work for sure.

I think I’m just gonna wait until either the day after Christmas or Jan 2, because I work at a hotel with a 4 star restaurant and would like to enjoy the whole Xmas dinner for my already weekly cho-up. And thats a funny story about the steak. I honestly do that stuff all the time!

Always prepared for the next meal. Do you all count incidental carbs in eggs? On fitday and calorieking, they charge you one carb for each egg. Or maybe it’s one for every two. Either way, I eat at least 12 eggs a day and I’ve been counting them towards my CHO’s. Is this the right way to go? BTW, this is now my favorite thread on T-Nation. Thanks so much for the help.
[/quote]

3889

My recollection is that it is actually .6 carbs per egg, if you want to be nitpicky. I wouldn’t sweat it unless you’re really going crazy on the eggs. I don’t think it makes that big of a difference whether you hit 30 net carbs per day or 35, especially after the first twelve days.

I’m surprised anybody has trouble eating enough on this diet. I personally shoot for three solid meals a day (usually eggs, chicken or salami+cheese, chicken or steak+veggies), and have two “snacks” of walnuts washed down by protein powder+heavy cream+olive oil shakes. By doing this, I’ve upped my calorie intake by about 1000 per day (more when I don’t watch it with the walnuts), without really trying to stuff myself. Also, the walnuts and olive oil help to keep fat intake relatively balanced.

The nice thing is that my body weight has stayed the same while my lifts are going up (from “puny weakling” to “weakling” compared to the average t-man, but it’s progress). Hopefully this will continue.

3890

Great info, fellas. This diet almost seems too easy. I know, I know that I haven’t crashed yet and it’s only my first real day on the diet, but my only carbs the last few months have been pwo. And at that, they have only been about 30g’s a serving. So I’m really excited to see the results on the AD. My only concern is the low protein intake on carb-up days. Anybody have an explanation as to why it is so low and exactly how low it is? I know the diet creator is more of an expert than myself, but my first instinct is to be worried about negative protein turnover for at least a day.

3891

Nitpicking eggs is not really worth it. I don’t even think it would trigger a metabolic pathway with all the fat present at the same time.

As far as trouble eating I have it when I stick to solid food only, no shakes. I like that way for fat loss. It requires so much extra energy to process the food that the thermogenic effect is much more pronounced. And since I focus on animal protein when cutting fat I get few nuts in, but nuts are a fantastic way to up calories. I can hook through a bag of pecans like there’s a prize for it.

try hazel nuts, frozen. I love frozen hazel nuts. Obv because they are so oily they don’t actually freeze, just get cold. Keep your nuts in the fridge to avoid spoilage of the lipids.

But if you aren’t used to all the fats it can keep you full, esp the animal fats.

-chris

[quote]jrk264 wrote:
My recollection is that it is actually .6 carbs per egg, if you want to be nitpicky. I wouldn’t sweat it unless you’re really going crazy on the eggs. I don’t think it makes that big of a difference whether you hit 30 net carbs per day or 35, especially after the first twelve days.

I’m surprised anybody has trouble eating enough on this diet. I personally shoot for three solid meals a day (usually eggs, chicken or salami+cheese, chicken or steak+veggies), and have two “snacks” of walnuts washed down by protein powder+heavy cream+olive oil shakes. By doing this, I’ve upped my calorie intake by about 1000 per day (more when I don’t watch it with the walnuts), without really trying to stuff myself. Also, the walnuts and olive oil help to keep fat intake relatively balanced.

The nice thing is that my body weight has stayed the same while my lifts are going up (from “puny weakling” to “weakling” compared to the average t-man, but it’s progress). Hopefully this will continue.
[/quote]

3892

[quote]josh.shafer wrote:
Great info, fellas. This diet almost seems too easy. I know, I know that I haven’t crashed yet and it’s only my first real day on the diet, but my only carbs the last few months have been pwo. And at that, they have only been about 30g’s a serving. So I’m really excited to see the results on the AD. My only concern is the low protein intake on carb-up days. Anybody have an explanation as to why it is so low and exactly how low it is? I know the diet creator is more of an expert than myself, but my first instinct is to be worried about negative protein turnover for at least a day.[/quote]

Whether you go low protein or not on carb-ups is simply a matter of personal preference. As Dr. D said in the book, you’ll have enough protein in your system from the low-carb, high-protein phase to avoid a negative protein turnover. The rationale behind the low protein intake is that protein synthesis has been shown to increase following a period of low protein, thereby supposedly maximizing hypertrophy. From my personal experiences, and keep in mind that everyone’s is different, I like to get about a gram of protein per pound from complete lean sources like chicken or egg whites. Having been on this diet now for close to 3 months, and realizing that it is one that can be completely tailored to your individual needs and wishes, I’ve found that I like to keep fat intake to a minimum on the carb-ups as I experience fat regain as a result of mixing carbs and fat. In a way, it’s kind of like Berardi’s notion of separating meals in to P+C and P+F. Then again, I also tend to eat fewer calories and cleaner carb sources when I shy away from fat on carb-loads. Kind of an amalgamation of interrelated factors and with that I’m getting a little off-topic, buuuut, the point to take home is that you should experiment on your carb-loads to find what’s best for you and not worry about a negative protein turnover. And, of course, we’ll always be here to troubleshoot.

3893

[quote]josh.shafer wrote:
Great info, fellas. This diet almost seems too easy. I know, I know that I haven’t crashed yet and it’s only my first real day on the diet, but my only carbs the last few months have been pwo. And at that, they have only been about 30g’s a serving. So I’m really excited to see the results on the AD. My only concern is the low protein intake on carb-up days. Anybody have an explanation as to why it is so low and exactly how low it is? I know the diet creator is more of an expert than myself, but my first instinct is to be worried about negative protein turnover for at least a day.[/quote]

Just make sure you give it enough time. There WILL be times when you wonder if this was such a great idea until you get fully adapted which can take a couple months. My crash wasn’t too bad, but I did feel pretty shitty for about 12 hours during my 8th day/night. I also had wild energy fluctuations until about my 6- 8th week and it’s been smooth sailing since then.

3894

Just wanted to say- good post from ovalpine the previous page. I’m considering doing the velocity diet after christmas to get really dry, then i’ll start on here again. I’m not alone i’m sure in wanting some abs (for the girls) most of the time, shit i put in the diligent effort i want it to look like it.

Mid-teens bodyfat at -14 stone just isn’t what i want to start bulking big from. Carbs scare me a little when i’m in this state, despite reassurances and stuff. To anyone in the same position (especially inexperienced) check out the ‘FFB handbook’

3895

some insight needed…so during the weekdays ill be holding on to some water(only drink 1/2-1 gallon a day) and on friday night i had a ~200g carb up post-workout. i wake up saturdays and the carbs just soak it all up…then through saturday and into sunday i hold some water(i deff drink a gallon+ on saturday carb up since my mouth feels dry all day)…

so basically i just wanna know if maybe i should watch my sodium or get more or less of it…and also my water intake…cuz itd be nice to not be so watery during the week

3896

Good afternoon, all. This is day 2 on the diet for me, and I keep getting these headaches. Before yesterday, I was ranging anywhere between 50 and 100 carbs per day for a couple month, but I guess to divide those numbers by two takes a lot out of you. Then again, I know I’m dehydrated and already drinking a lot of liquids. I live at 8,000 feet and that just intensifies the dehydration. Hopefully, I can get hydrated and this will be a reasonable transition, as it should since I was already near the parameters when I began. I decided to stay at around 3000 kcals for the first 12 days to help me get acclimated. I’m afraid my bodyweight x 18 would be too big of a jump from where I started (at 2500 kcals per day) Right now I weigh 193. Does anybody think that it’s too big of a jump to go from 2500 to 3000? Regardless, I’m staying positive and giving it time.

3897

[quote]josh.shafer wrote:
Good afternoon, all. This is day 2 on the diet for me, and I keep getting these headaches. Before yesterday, I was ranging anywhere between 50 and 100 carbs per day for a couple month, but I guess to divide those numbers by two takes a lot out of you. Then again, I know I’m dehydrated and already drinking a lot of liquids. I live at 8,000 feet and that just intensifies the dehydration. Hopefully, I can get hydrated and this will be a reasonable transition, as it should since I was already near the parameters when I began. I decided to stay at around 3000 kcals for the first 12 days to help me get acclimated. I’m afraid my bodyweight x 18 would be too big of a jump from where I started (at 2500 kcals per day) Right now I weigh 193. Does anybody think that it’s too big of a jump to go from 2500 to 3000? Regardless, I’m staying positive and giving it time.[/quote]

like Berardi and others suggest id up cals 250 for the first 6 days then to 3000 the the next 6 then do a bulk or cut your preference

3898

Appreciate the opinion. I definately gotta keep an eye on the hydration levels. These headaches are killer.

3899

So here I am sitting on my 4th month, or so…I didn’t record my starting date.

Up until about 3 weeks ago, I’ve seen no changes in my weight. I started to do what SashaG said a few pages ago, then stopped after about 4 weeks to do a constant 3500cal/day.

Again, up until about 4-5 weeks ago, I gess…no weight changes. Suddenly, I’m gaining about 1-2 pounds a week on average.

Weird, huh?

AD

3900

I’m going pretty well so far in… I just have a question for the bros on here… Has anyone lost an insane amount of weight on this diet? I’ve read through the thread, but couldn’t come up with someone who was perhaps 100 lbs or so overweight. I’d just like to hear from someone with that perspective, if they’re out there.

3901

[quote]TarHeelMan wrote:
I’m going pretty well so far in… I just have a question for the bros on here… Has anyone lost an insane amount of weight on this diet? I’ve read through the thread, but couldn’t come up with someone who was perhaps 100 lbs or so overweight. I’d just like to hear from someone with that perspective, if they’re out there.[/quote]

I dont know if there are any obese → ripped stories on here. But, your weight loss will depend on your length and cleanliness of CHO up. Also a constant veggie intake during low CHO days is also a big factor.

-chris