My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Nutrition
4342

Great post, oval. As someone who has kind of see-sawed between bulking and cutting in the past, and thus stagnated in my progress, I can understand where sarah is coming from. More importantly I can appreciate that the advice oval gave is spot on.

Make a commitment to yourself, sarah. Pick a goal and drive towards it NO MATTER WHAT until you get there. My goal is to bench 300, squat 400 and dead 500. I’m at 235, 265, 315 right now. I’ve got a long way to go, and I know I’m going to have to gain a lot of weight to do it. I know a lot of that is going to be fat. I don’t care.

I will change aspects of my program if I’m not moving towards my strength goal. I won’t change it if I’m moving toward my strength goals and some other things I don’t particularly like are happening (FAT GAIN).

One of my favorite musicians, Bill Evans, once said, “Work on one thing at a time.” Every day I try to remind myself of that and structure my life accordingly. Pick a goal, do what you have to do to acheive it. Everything else is incidental.

If it takes me 2 yrs of bulking and being a little bit chubby to reach my strength goals, I’ll be 25 and ready to spend the rest of my life working on something else (like sub 10% bodyfat). Putting that in perspective helps me stay focused.

I hope some of that helps.

4343

I’m sorry…I have been COMPLETELY stressed and I thank you so much for your patience and kindness in answering my questions. As you can tell patience with my body is NOT one of my strong points. I never feel I can control it, so when I gain I am constantly scared and stressed. Right now what is compounding it is that I’m injured and really don’t know how long it’s going to take to heal since I don’t know what’s hurt.

All I know is I hurt my hamstring deadlifting and it’s been almost 2 months of no legs and it is VERY hard to feel like I’ve had a good workout without some intense lower body. Not to mention I’m in a whole new country and my whole routine was thrown completely off.

I am trying to accept that to reach my ultimate goals of health and strength I need now to accept some fat. And I really appreciate the support here.

Part of me feels like maybe I should just stop trying to ultra control everything including diet and just go back to a balanced approach of mixed foods, only healthy of course with carbs just in the morning and around workouts. It sseems that’s the oldest and most basic way to just try to gain size. Yet the AD had caught my fancy with its claims. What I need usually is just a pattern to follow blindly and then I can just not double think things…trying to limit carbs down to <30 g. caused a disruption in the normal pattern and hence a LOT of stress.

However, I’m starting to make a new pattern, so maybe it will work. Basically the only differnce when I’m on the AD and from before is now I’ve been waking up, having 2 tbsp flax seeds with 1 scoop of whey, working out 1 hr. later, having whey and sometimes some walnuts after, and then going to food (meat and green veggies.)

If I’m not on the AD I would have either plain whey or whey and a small bit of fruit, 1/2 or 1 scoop of Surge in my workout (IF it was intense) and then whey and oats after with milk sometimes and always some fruit. Then to food and green veggies. So all that is altered is those two meals. (one flax and walnuts, the other fruit and oats) Then also having the carb-up. I would never eat so many carbs in one day when I was having carbs each day. It was more a regular pattern.

From of your standpoints and with the goals of going into a long term phase of trying to gain do you think I should continue and get used to the new pattern or just go back to the old. Either way I know I need to stop stressing and just decide on a pattern. I just am unsure as to what is the healthiest approach.

4344

I’ve tried a lot of different approaches, sarah, including the AD, Berardi’s nutrient timing, all-out-high-carb bulking, and more balanced approaches. Each one has some benefits and drawbacks as far as gaining muscle and losing fat goes, and the only way to know how your body responds is to follow each for a year or so. Berardi’s Massive Eating worked really well for me in terms of gaining - the AD is starting to really impress me, too.

What tipped the scales for me are all the ‘little’ bonuses I get on the AD. I feel like my energy levels are more balanced, I never feel bloated or gassy, I never get insulin crashes, my skin is better, shopping is easier, I find it easier to eat a varied diet when I’m not trying to break down macros at every meal, on weekends I get to relax and enjoy a pizza or a burger.

The only drawback I’ve found is that it’s very difficult to eat out at restaurants. If you’re someplace pricy you can always get a steak, but if you get stuck at a Thai place or an Applebees it can be a chore. That being said, if you’re creative there are workarounds, and I usually find that I keep my carbs so low on a daily basis that one ‘cheat’ meal won’t put me over the 30g limit.

So, I’d say give it three months. Just commit to three months no matter what. Follow DiPasquale’s recommendations, get your legs back in shape with a lot of rehab, and see how you feel.

4345

I started the Anabolic Diet 12/18/06. As you can tell by the name, I’m female. I was catching up on the comments when I read the stress poor Sarah was experiencing.

Maybe you just need a woman to tell you it will be ok. I LOVE this diet and I’ve been training for years. I’ve tried all the different diet combinations out there. So I know how much this goes against everything you’ve done in the past. It really, really works. Get through the first 12 days, do the carb-up and you will feel fantastic. I felt like absolute crap during the first week. Less crappy the next but after the carp-up, it’s awesome.

Major gains in the gym too. I move much more weight than ever before. I’ve lost fat but the scale hasnt really moved that much. I’m judging by the way I look but my waist measurement has most definitely gone down.

Most importantly, eat. No really, eat. I do and I’m not a big girl. 5 feet 4 inches and 120 lbs. I do use fitday but I have to make sure I get ENOUGH calories.

4346

[quote]ovalpline wrote:
Bizmark wrote:
Maybe these have been posted before… but here they are again…

Power Talk part 1
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460954

Power Talk part 2
http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=460959

This is a 2 part interview with Dipasquale. It’s in the second part that he shares his view on ketosis. Which is pretty much what sasha has been telling us.

Biz again coming through in the clutch. You are the Michael Jordan of finding relevant websites and PDFs.[/quote]

Thanx ovalpine I appreciate that =). But here comes the Jordan outa me again…

Here is a link to something about HIIT that seems to answer all of our questions (there are references in this as well.)

http://www.c-k-d.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4532&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

If you can’t see the topic then plz make a login for that site, then you will be able to see it.

But it seems that for up to 15 seconds of sprinting the ATP system is used, after that FATS are still used if you are in ketosis.

Atleast thats what I got from it, if someone else interpreted it differently please let me know, and I’m still reading through the studies they posted.

-Biz

Edit: I just wanted to say that you could be in ketosis (fatburning) even if its not showing on ketostix. Fatburning in general, whether totally adapted or not, is refered to as ketosis on that website. Just wanted to make that clear if you decide to read those studies and whatnot.

4347

Thanks so much for the encouragement! I’m trying to stick with it for now and give it a real shot. I did my first carb up and I did feel good although I don’t know if I did it right. I ate about 5 servings of fruit, 3 yogurt, some milk, 1/2 scoop Surge, onions, red pepper, cucumbers, 2 fiber bars (20 g. carbs), some chocolate, about 1/4 raw oats, and a slice of whole grain bread.

The next morning I had a few more carbs then stopped. Should the carb ups be more carbs and should they really be whole two days long? And also, should I workout on them? This week I’m not really feeling bad at all so it’s making me feel like I really don’t need a carb up…

Just out of curiousity…how much do you eat daily on the AD?

Thanks again!

[quote]jeepemilie wrote:
I started the Anabolic Diet 12/18/06. As you can tell by the name, I’m female. I was catching up on the comments when I read the stress poor Sarah was experiencing.

Maybe you just need a woman to tell you it will be ok. I LOVE this diet and I’ve been training for years. I’ve tried all the different diet combinations out there. So I know how much this goes against everything you’ve done in the past. It really, really works. Get through the first 12 days, do the carb-up and you will feel fantastic. I felt like absolute crap during the first week. Less crappy the next but after the carp-up, it’s awesome.

Major gains in the gym too. I move much more weight than ever before. I’ve lost fat but the scale hasnt really moved that much. I’m judging by the way I look but my waist measurement has most definitely gone down.

Most importantly, eat. No really, eat. I do and I’m not a big girl. 5 feet 4 inches and 120 lbs. I do use fitday but I have to make sure I get ENOUGH calories.
[/quote]

4348

Great post!

[quote]jeepemilie wrote:
I started the Anabolic Diet 12/18/06. As you can tell by the name, I’m female. I was catching up on the comments when I read the stress poor Sarah was experiencing.

Maybe you just need a woman to tell you it will be ok. I LOVE this diet and I’ve been training for years. I’ve tried all the different diet combinations out there. So I know how much this goes against everything you’ve done in the past. It really, really works. Get through the first 12 days, do the carb-up and you will feel fantastic. I felt like absolute crap during the first week. Less crappy the next but after the carp-up, it’s awesome.

Major gains in the gym too. I move much more weight than ever before. I’ve lost fat but the scale hasnt really moved that much. I’m judging by the way I look but my waist measurement has most definitely gone down.

Most importantly, eat. No really, eat. I do and I’m not a big girl. 5 feet 4 inches and 120 lbs. I do use fitday but I have to make sure I get ENOUGH calories.
[/quote]

4349

[quote]sarah1 wrote:
Thanks so much for the encouragement! I’m trying to stick with it for now and give it a real shot. I did my first carb up and I did feel good although I don’t know if I did it right. I ate about 5 servings of fruit, 3 yogurt, some milk, 1/2 scoop Surge, onions, red pepper, cucumbers, 2 fiber bars (20 g. carbs), some chocolate, about 1/4 raw oats, and a slice of whole grain bread.

The next morning I had a few more carbs then stopped. Should the carb ups be more carbs and should they really be whole two days long? And also, should I workout on them? This week I’m not really feeling bad at all so it’s making me feel like I really don’t need a carb up…

Just out of curiousity…how much do you eat daily on the AD?

Thanks again!

[/quote]

I went through the same mental re-processing, so I understood how you felt.
I am doing everything according to the maintenance plan from the AD e-book. Calories per day should be 18 x body weight. So for me 18 x 120 = 2160. I round it up to 2200. I sometimes have a hard time hitting that number especially when I first started, but other days like yesterday, I hit over 2700. I just try to not fall under the 2200. I also make sure my fat intake is over 60% my carbs are under 30 grams. My fat intake is sometimes close to 70% during the week. Be sure to subtract the fiber grams from the carb grams for foods like spinach, broccoli, etc.

For the carb ups, I also follow the e-book which is eating whatever you want unless you’re in the cutting phase. I do a 36 hour carb up. Eating what-ever and I do mean what ever I want. I don’t have a sweet tooth so that helps. I do not count calories on these days either but I would guess 3000. But I’m still very very much the beginner. Warning, you will get a bit puffy on the carb days. I gain about 4 lbs, all water, when I carb up and it’s gone by mid week. The reason i started doing 36 hour carb ups instead of 48 hours is the puffiness. The book also says to carb until puffy or smooth. I see it in my abs clearly at about 36 hours.

I don’t workout on carb days but that’s just my schedule. I would do what you feel like doing.

Make sure you drink plenty of water. I didn’t at first and you will be able to tell a difference.

Hope this helps.

4350

Wow…it’s just amazing for me to hear how much people are eating yet you say you still didn’t gain? That’s just so surprising. I guess I’ll continue working through this re-processing of my mentality.

I have been feeling guilty for getting close to 30 g. of carbs…if I have no protein poweder I’m usually in the area of 20 g. of carbs (net…minus fiber) but recently I’ve had a few scoops of protein which takes me closer to 30 g. Should I avoid it?

It would be easy to just eat meat instead. I just don’t feel all shriveled and thin like I did the first week so maybe 30 g. of carbs is too much for me? Should I feel dried out by the end of 5 days? Does it mean I’m doing something wrong if I don’t? Now 5 days seems so short before carbs…

Also, do you get a spike in leptin levels from the carbs, or from the increased cals on the carb up? (ie, would you still get the spike just by eating a ton of carbs but just slightly elevate the cals?)

4351

[quote]sarah1 wrote:
Wow…it’s just amazing for me to hear how much people are eating yet you say you still didn’t gain? That’s just so surprising. I guess I’ll continue working through this re-processing of my mentality.

I have been feeling guilty for getting close to 30 g. of carbs…if I have no protein poweder I’m usually in the area of 20 g. of carbs (net…minus fiber) but recently I’ve had a few scoops of protein which takes me closer to 30 g. Should I avoid it. It would be easy to just eat meat instead.

And I will have to swollow the fear I think for these carb ups…I felt so crappy after the induction that I felt like the carbs but honestly I feel just fine right now even though I’m due for carbs on Wed (I didn’t schedule it for weekends…I have a wacky schedule). Should I really use both days after only 5 days of low carbs? 5 seems so short now after the 12!

[/quote]

Just follow the ebook I sent you. After a while (several months probably) you will grow confident and see what the carbs do to you over certain periods of time. Thats when you’ll start making changes… but really no one can answer those questions for you because we don’t know your body.

It’s all an individual thing. For instance it may take longer for your muscles to become full of glycogen rather than someone else, in that case you would have a longer carb load, etc… but the only person that can know that is you, and you find all that out from trial and error.

I’ve been following this type of diet since november and I still don’t really know when I spill over, I know for me that its somewhere between 24 and 36 hours depending on how many and what type of carbs I eat in each meal. It’s all variable and everybody’s different. So just try stuff and see what happens.

4352

[quote]jeepemilie wrote:
I went through the same mental re-processing, so I understood how you felt.
I am doing everything according to the maintenance plan from the AD e-book. Calories per day should be 18 x body weight. So for me 18 x 120 = 2160. I round it up to 2200. I sometimes have a hard time hitting that number especially when I first started, but other days like yesterday, I hit over 2700. I just try to not fall under the 2200. I also make sure my fat intake is over 60% my carbs are under 30 grams. My fat intake is sometimes close to 70% during the week. Be sure to subtract the fiber grams from the carb grams for foods like spinach, broccoli, etc.

For the carb ups, I also follow the e-book which is eating whatever you want unless you’re in the cutting phase. I do a 36 hour carb up. Eating what-ever and I do mean what ever I want. I don’t have a sweet tooth so that helps. I do not count calories on these days either but I would guess 3000. But I’m still very very much the beginner. Warning, you will get a bit puffy on the carb days. I gain about 4 lbs, all water, when I carb up and it’s gone by mid week. The reason i started doing 36 hour carb ups instead of 48 hours is the puffiness. The book also says to carb until puffy or smooth. I see it in my abs clearly at about 36 hours.

I don’t workout on carb days but that’s just my schedule. I would do what you feel like doing.

Make sure you drink plenty of water. I didn’t at first and you will be able to tell a difference.

Hope this helps.
[/quote]

thanks for posting jeepemile. it’s great to see another female on the boards, especially since we’re both the same height and near the same weight.

have you been keeping track of your bodyfat? and you said your strength has increased… have anything else like endurance, speed etc increased?

4353

just curious but how old is everyone? when i read i feel like im reading a bunch of adults…im 18 btw

4354

[quote]bkmacky9288 wrote:
just curious but how old is everyone? when i read i feel like im reading a bunch of adults…im 18 btw[/quote]

hehe, yeah im 19. After being on this thread for a while I kinda catch myself thinking that I’m older, and then I realize I’m not…

4355

[quote]Bizmark wrote:
bkmacky9288 wrote:
just curious but how old is everyone? when i read i feel like im reading a bunch of adults…im 18 btw

hehe, yeah im 19. After being on this thread for a while I kinda catch myself thinking that I’m older, and then I realize I’m not…

[/quote]

Good job guys, now i feel old. dicks :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I’m like 23. Shit am i really 23? dang.

-chris

4356

[quote]sarah1 wrote:
Wow…it’s just amazing for me to hear how much people are eating yet you say you still didn’t gain? That’s just so surprising. I guess I’ll continue working through this re-processing of my mentality.

I have been feeling guilty for getting close to 30 g. of carbs…if I have no protein poweder I’m usually in the area of 20 g. of carbs (net…minus fiber) but recently I’ve had a few scoops of protein which takes me closer to 30 g. Should I avoid it?

It would be easy to just eat meat instead. I just don’t feel all shriveled and thin like I did the first week so maybe 30 g. of carbs is too much for me? Should I feel dried out by the end of 5 days? Does it mean I’m doing something wrong if I don’t? Now 5 days seems so short before carbs…

Also, do you get a spike in leptin levels from the carbs, or from the increased cals on the carb up? (ie, would you still get the spike just by eating a ton of carbs but just slightly elevate the cals?)
[/quote]

I am lucky enough to have a workout partner who did a ton of research before we started this diet. I do rely on him for much of my info.

Based on the e-book recommended foods, I get my protein and fat from meat not protein powder. I haven’t used powder since starting the diet. I focus on beef and eggs mostly. Whole eggs too. None of this egg white stuff. Butter and olive oil too. Yum! Better for the fat percentages.

I don’t recall anything from the e-book about leptin levels. The spike should from carbs. I don’t count cals on carb days.

The only times I felt dried out or shriveled is when my calories weren’t high enough and I wasn’t drinking enough water. By friday I just like the way I look and get ready to carb.

4357

[quote]dissipate wrote:

thanks for posting jeepemile. it’s great to see another female on the boards, especially since we’re both the same height and near the same weight.

have you been keeping track of your bodyfat? and you said your strength has increased… have anything else like endurance, speed etc increased?
[/quote]

Yes, good to see another female. I mostly go by how my abs look. Those scales are about as reliable as political polls. I’m still in the maintenance phase so I’ve been more focused on the strength gains but I most definitely LOOK leaner. More cuts and better vascularity.

I’m not running now so I haven’t tracked speed. My endurance is better now. I haven’t touched an energy boosters since the first two weeks of this diet and that says a lot for me.

4358

[quote]jeepemilie wrote:
dissipate wrote:

thanks for posting jeepemile. it’s great to see another female on the boards, especially since we’re both the same height and near the same weight.

have you been keeping track of your bodyfat? and you said your strength has increased… have anything else like endurance, speed etc increased?

Yes, good to see another female. I mostly go by how my abs look. Those scales are about as reliable as political polls. I’m still in the maintenance phase so I’ve been more focused on the strength gains but I most definitely LOOK leaner. More cuts and better vascularity.

I’m not running now so I haven’t tracked speed. My endurance is better now. I haven’t touched an energy boosters since the first two weeks of this diet and that says a lot for me. [/quote]

Yep…nice to have girls giving encouragement here too. :slight_smile:

I know this isn’t on the topic of nutrition…but what’s your training like jeepemilie by the way? I was just curious…you seem to be pretty strong and lean if you have vascularity and all!

I was also wondering other’s opinions on protein powders…I could easily give up the night time scoop I’ve been having, but I usually have whey before working out in the morning. My new routine has become:

wake up, eat 1 scoop whey with 2 tbsp flax

ride train to gym (20 min plus 15 min. walking)

eat a few walnuts sometimes before I start working out

lift for ~1 hr.

drink a scoop of whey

eat meat/nuts/veggies ~1-2 hours later.

Any suggestions on this routine?

Other than that I’ve been using a lot of nuts for fats. They do have a few carbs…would it be better to stick to meat and eggs? I like the nuts and they are supposed to be healthy…I want to get a good routine down though.

And lastly, I’m going into my second try at a carb up…is surge an okay thing to have on carb days around workouts, or should I stick to other carbs like oats? I also was wondering about dairy like milk…I usually crave sweets and what I want to eat is fruit, milk and oats…

Thanks so much to everyone on this thread! It is very supportive!

4359

[quote]sarah1 wrote:
jeepemilie wrote:
dissipate wrote:

thanks for posting jeepemile. it’s great to see another female on the boards, especially since we’re both the same height and near the same weight.

have you been keeping track of your bodyfat? and you said your strength has increased… have anything else like endurance, speed etc increased?

Yes, good to see another female. I mostly go by how my abs look. Those scales are about as reliable as political polls. I’m still in the maintenance phase so I’ve been more focused on the strength gains but I most definitely LOOK leaner. More cuts and better vascularity.

I’m not running now so I haven’t tracked speed. My endurance is better now. I haven’t touched an energy boosters since the first two weeks of this diet and that says a lot for me.

Yep…nice to have girls giving encouragement here too. :slight_smile:

I know this isn’t on the topic of nutrition…but what’s your training like jeepemilie by the way? I was just curious…you seem to be pretty strong and lean if you have vascularity and all!

I was also wondering other’s opinions on protein powders…I could easily give up the night time scoop I’ve been having, but I usually have whey before working out in the morning. My new routine has become:

wake up, eat 1 scoop whey with 2 tbsp flax

ride train to gym (20 min plus 15 min. walking)

eat a few walnuts sometimes before I start working out

lift for ~1 hr.

drink a scoop of whey

eat meat/nuts/veggies ~1-2 hours later.

Any suggestions on this routine?

Other than that I’ve been using a lot of nuts for fats. They do have a few carbs…would it be better to stick to meat and eggs? I like the nuts and they are supposed to be healthy…I want to get a good routine down though.

And lastly, I’m going into my second try at a carb up…is surge an okay thing to have on carb days around workouts, or should I stick to other carbs like oats? I also was wondering about dairy like milk…I usually crave sweets and what I want to eat is fruit, milk and oats…

Thanks so much to everyone on this thread! It is very supportive!
[/quote]

hi hope ur progress is going great powders are fine and they r really good after ur workout specially whey…but i would recommend u a cassien protien also its slow digesting and a very good night time protien . if u can get some bcaas tht will be also good though its not mandatory .

i scoop cassien protien mixed in 1 table spoon of heavy cream 3 tab;le spoons of flaxmeal and some water make it a pudding type …its yummy plus a perfect night meal …fiber , essential fatty acids and slow digesting protien .

nuts r very good specially almonds and walnuts even if u carbs in them u have fibewr too and u can minus the fiber from total carbs. meat eggs fish is all good and thts is wht u must eat more on this diet. and yes u can use surge on carbups after ur workout . and fruits oats milk is all fine . u can also add potatoes, yams and brown rice if u want .

keep ur carbups 75percent clean with starchy sources and 25 percent eat what u crave the most maybe a chocolate, icecream, pizza . hope it helps though the cassien protien is not mandatory …if u find powders handy it can be a great bet on this diet all the best and congrats u found some more female members as a company on this thread

4360

Sarah1,
Buy Faigin’s Natural Hormonal Enhancment book. Also, get Doc’s Anabolic Solution for Bodybuilders. You’ll have a strong grasp as to why you are doing what you’re doing, which in my experience, is the biggest motivator to continue on. You’ve got to believe in something to stick to it.

The AD will deliver, IF you stick with it. It doensn’t fail, but sometimes people do.

As far as conflicting goals, you should always lean out a bit before adding a mass phase. For males get to 10-12% at most, and for females about 18-20% should be low enough.

Follow the basic structure for 2-3 months and then determine what your goal should be from the above.

Best,
DH

4361

I PM’d this to DH but here is a watered down version for the thread, any and all opinions and help is welcome.

After years of Football I have decided that my main goal right now is to lose all the excess weight that has built up through both necessity and the rationalization that I need to be “big” to play.

I have been on the AD for about a month and a half and absolutely love it. My energy levels are high and I feel much healthier.

This being said, I finally went back to Fitday and calculated out my daily caloric intake and it would have been perfect if I was trying to bulk- right around 4500 kcals a day. The problem is, as I said, that I am trying to lose all that weight, not gain anymore.

I have dropped down my kcals to the recommended BW X 12 and am feeling good. I am currently doing the Neanderthal No More workout by Eric Cressy and Mike Robertson to correct posture and muscle imbalances.

It calls for a 4 day a week program and I have been sticking to that. I currently work 10 hour days and am gone from about 730 AM until 730 PM, not including my workouts. I really would like to lose this weight, but am afraid that by not doing cardio I am missing out on a vital component to burning this fat.

How many days would you suggest that I do cardio and what kind of cardio? I have read a multitude of information concerning uphill walking, HIIT, etc., but am still confused about what I should be doing in conjunction with the Anabolic Diet. I certainly do not want to lose the muscle I have worked so long and hard to gain, but my priorities lie in losing fat above all else.

Also, how important are veggies while on this diet? I will admit, I hate vegetables in pretty much every way shape and form. It’s bad, I know, but I do. Would taking something like Greens+ suffice?