My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Arctos · July 12, 2005, 6:24pm

Ditto CA’s concerns with continuing crashes. Where is DH when we need him? He needs to quit his day job so he can post answers to our questions nice and prompt-like

I did my first carb-up Thurs PM-Sat PM after 13 days of break-in. This being the third day of my return to the low carb regimen, I am also feelin’ less than good. My original crash was on day 3 of the break-in, so perhaps this will be the worst of it this week.

Anyway, DH and other long-time AD vets, does it get better/go away over time? Does this indicate that we need to correct something about the way we are doing the diet, e.g. shorter carb load, more fat kcals during week, etc.?

bino · July 12, 2005, 6:45pm

[quote]Arctos wrote:
Ditto CA’s concerns with continuing crashes. Where is DH when we need him? He needs to quit his day job so he can post answers to our questions nice and prompt-like

I did my first carb-up Thurs PM-Sat PM after 13 days of break-in. This being the third day of my return to the low carb regimen, I am also feelin’ less than good. My original crash was on day 3 of the break-in, so perhaps this will be the worst of it this week.

Anyway, DH and other long-time AD vets, does it get better/go away over time? Does this indicate that we need to correct something about the way we are doing the diet, e.g. shorter carb load, more fat kcals during week, etc.? [/quote]

I’ve been doing this for 8 weeks now, so I’m no vet, but I have a bit of experience to relate on this that may help you get by:

Since the very beginning I’ve been getting these low-grade headaches. I’ve found that they generally get worse later in the day and later in the week. The best remedy I’ve found is to get about a 20 gram shot of CHO around 6pm (bedtime is about 11pm for me). It’s odd, but I almost instantly feel better. If I time it right, I can almost avoid a headache altogether.

vasudeva · July 12, 2005, 7:11pm

I’ve never crashed; this includes the first 12 day period. However, I also get low-grade headaches, almost like a constant humming. When this begins, I’ve found that 100mg of potassium two to three times a day does wonders. But be careful, toxicity can be achieved quickly. Don’t go over 500mg/day, and don’t take the stuff day in and day out. I tend to use it on Thursdays and Fridays.

muskokaman · July 12, 2005, 7:28pm

Hello all - hope you can help

I’m thinking of trying AD as a way of dramatically slashing my bodyfat levels. I’m not entirely sure if this is the right diet for me to go with, so hopefully all you folks out there can point me in the right direction.

My current situation is that while I’m an active and serious lifter, poor eating habits and alcohol abuse has left me with too much weight to carry around. I had a body comp 2 weeks ago prior to starting my existing diet

Weight: 334lbs with a BF% of 29.8. Lean MM is 241lbs. I weighed myself this morning at 322lbs, no update on the BF. I’m 34 years of age and I stand 6’3". Medically, I’m fine except for high cholesterol - largely brought on by high Triglyceride blood readings - my doctor suspects this is largely due to my excessive drinking

My current diet is quite restrictive - about 1400 calories a day, and is evenly split between carbs and protein, with little fat. I’ve been able to stay out of the booze for the past 2 weeks, having had a grand total of 4 beer during this timeframe. I accomplished this witht the help of a hypnotist (I know, sounds hokey, but it has worked wonders - no alcohol cravings to speak of)

I do seem to be getting tighter, but am deathly afraid of losing muscle mass, something I am sure to do on this diet. I’ve paid for 4 weeks (it’s medically supervised, recommended by my family doctor) and have 2 left. The one benefit that I see is that it has made me very disciplined in terms of my portion sizes and recording all food intake. However, when these two weeks are up, I will have the opportunity to start something new. I want to continue to drop bodyfat without sacrificing any more lean muscle. My goal weight is 265 lbs with about 10% BF.

Is AD the right diet for me? How much wieght/BF can I expect to lose a month if I’m strict? Are there any other programs I should investigate that might be better for my situation, ex: T-Dawg, or Ultimate Diet. I want to get below 300lbs ASAP, then perhaps slow the pace of loss down to 5-8lbs a month from there until I hit my goal.

All thought and advice welcome. If you need more personal info, just ask

Owen70 · July 12, 2005, 8:12pm

[quote]muskokaman wrote:
My current situation is that while I’m an active and serious lifter, poor eating habits and alcohol abuse [/quote]this needs to be taken care of for much more important reasons besides just weight loss.

[quote]muskokaman wrote:
has left me with too much weight to carry around. I had a body comp 2 weeks ago prior to starting my existing diet

Weight: 334lbs with a BF% of 29.8. Lean MM is 241lbs. I weighed myself this morning at 322lbs, no update on the BF. I’m 34 years of age and I stand 6’3". Medically, I’m fine except for high cholesterol - largely brought on by high Triglyceride blood readings - my doctor suspects this is largely due to my excessive drinking

My current diet is quite restrictive - about 1400 calories a day, and is evenly split between carbs and protein, with little fat. I’ve been able to stay out of the booze for the past 2 weeks, having had a grand total of 4 beer during this timeframe. I accomplished this witht the help of a hypnotist (I know, sounds hokey, but it has worked wonders - no alcohol cravings to speak of)

I do seem to be getting tighter, but am deathly afraid of losing muscle mass, something I am sure to do on this diet. I’ve paid for 4 weeks (it’s medically supervised, recommended by my family doctor) and have 2 left. The one benefit that I see is that it has made me very disciplined in terms of my portion sizes and recording all food intake. However, when these two weeks are up, I will have the opportunity to start something new. I want to continue to drop bodyfat without sacrificing any more lean muscle. My goal weight is 265 lbs with about 10% BF.
[/quote] im sorry but to me that is absolutely ridiculous. you want to lose ~55 lbs with no muscle loss. well think about something, you didnt gain all that muscle w/o gaining fat so you cant seriously expect the reverse.

[quote]muskokaman wrote:
Is AD the right diet for me? How much wieght/BF can I expect to lose a month if I’m strict? Are there any other programs I should investigate that might be better for my situation, ex: T-Dawg, or Ultimate Diet. I want to get below 300lbs ASAP, then perhaps slow the pace of loss down to 5-8lbs a month from there until I hit my goal.
[/quote] if i were your doc/trainer i would tell you to just stick with what you are doing until it stops working. then switch over to the AD, but make sure you check blood profile often.

DH1 · July 12, 2005, 9:14pm

Somebody call?

The crashes could be mediated by improper loading parameters, but is unlikely, use of stimulants, or most likely your body still trying to re-wire itself to all the nuances of the AD. As long as you are getting around 30g per day and then keeping the load to 36 hours, you should be OK. The 48 range is for serious volume training and/or large men.

I think it takes about 12 weeks to FULLY adapt. I don’t experience any type of headache or have crash issues. On friday I feel a bit less powerful so I don’t train or do a light AR workout.

My guess is one of two issues. First, still learning to get the waves under control. The severity should subside big time.

Or, AFTER about 12 weeks on the diet, use 20-25g of fast CHO after a workout. With this keep your loads clean and don’t bust 36 hours. If the fast CHO is too much and you don’t feel well, then use a slow CHO like oatmeal after your workout.

Really though, most feel just fine after it “levels out”. Just make sure you are doing the numbers correctly.

My estimation is that 60% will do best on the strict AD, about 20% will need to utilize some targeted CHO, about 20% will need to use 50-80g CHO per day and keep the load well monitored to prevent fat gain.

Just ride the full 12 weeks out to see where you need to be. Most everyone I’ve put on it are in group 1, with a few group 2, and one buddy who is a group 3.

Once we’ve got some guys who are at 12 weeks then we will systematically begin trying the tweeking process to to tailor make the AD for individual variability.

Best,
DH

DH1 · July 12, 2005, 9:16pm

Speaking of MIA’s. Where has ol’ Il Cazzo been? The “other white meat” has been missing from our aisle.

You’ve been tagged, IC…

DH

muskokaman · July 12, 2005, 9:32pm

Thanks for the feedback Owen70. This is my first time posting to any forum on T-Nation.com. Obviously, when I say that I’m looking lose BF without loss of lean muscle tissue, I mean within reason. Sure, I will sacrifice some more, but I’m simply trying to minimize it

[quote]Owen70 wrote:
muskokaman wrote:
My current situation is that while I’m an active and serious lifter, poor eating habits and alcohol abuse this needs to be taken care of for much more important reasons besides just weight loss.
muskokaman wrote:
has left me with too much weight to carry around. I had a body comp 2 weeks ago prior to starting my existing diet

Weight: 334lbs with a BF% of 29.8. Lean MM is 241lbs. I weighed myself this morning at 322lbs, no update on the BF. I’m 34 years of age and I stand 6’3". Medically, I’m fine except for high cholesterol - largely brought on by high Triglyceride blood readings - my doctor suspects this is largely due to my excessive drinking

My current diet is quite restrictive - about 1400 calories a day, and is evenly split between carbs and protein, with little fat. I’ve been able to stay out of the booze for the past 2 weeks, having had a grand total of 4 beer during this timeframe. I accomplished this witht the help of a hypnotist (I know, sounds hokey, but it has worked wonders - no alcohol cravings to speak of)

I do seem to be getting tighter, but am deathly afraid of losing muscle mass, something I am sure to do on this diet. I’ve paid for 4 weeks (it’s medically supervised, recommended by my family doctor) and have 2 left. The one benefit that I see is that it has made me very disciplined in terms of my portion sizes and recording all food intake. However, when these two weeks are up, I will have the opportunity to start something new. I want to continue to drop bodyfat without sacrificing any more lean muscle. My goal weight is 265 lbs with about 10% BF.
im sorry but to me that is absolutely ridiculous. you want to lose ~55 lbs with no muscle loss. well think about something, you didnt gain all that muscle w/o gaining fat so you cant seriously expect the reverse.

muskokaman wrote:
Is AD the right diet for me? How much wieght/BF can I expect to lose a month if I’m strict? Are there any other programs I should investigate that might be better for my situation, ex: T-Dawg, or Ultimate Diet. I want to get below 300lbs ASAP, then perhaps slow the pace of loss down to 5-8lbs a month from there until I hit my goal.
if i were your doc/trainer i would tell you to just stick with what you are doing until it stops working. then switch over to the AD, but make sure you check blood profile often.[/quote]

cccp21 · July 12, 2005, 10:03pm

[quote]Disc Hoss wrote:
Somebody call?