My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Nutrition
5702

Before this thing runs away into a hijacked RD thread I should post up a couple of warnings and thoughts.

Be very prepared and really do your research before venturing down this path of the RD or any other VLCD. Buy the eBook and really study Dr. Berardi’s protocols for coming off of the GSD. If you plan on spending 8 weeks on the RD as the plan is designed, you need to be prepared to spend an additional 8 weeks transitioning off of it and back to normal eating. Your metabolism will be very depressed, your thyroid function will likely be very depressed, and you entire system will be in the perfect state for fat storage (that means new cells too, once you got’em they’re yours for life to be filled on demand). If you don’t come off properly all you’ll have to show for your efforts will be more fat and a slower metabolism…proceed with caution. 8 weeks sounds like a quick fix but 16 weeks should be the comittment. As bad as a VLCD sucks, the transition off is worse.

Unless you’re morbidly obese and need to drop the weight to save your life, or are carrying a significant amount of lean mass (I started with a lean mass of 205lb and I don’t think that was enough) I would recommend you try other alternatives to a VLCD first.

If you’re still interested please feel free to PM me or maybe we can start another thread on this topic. Don’t get me wrong, the RD is effective but you really need to be fully prepared for the comittment.

5703 
     Hey gang, got the RD right here at home. Yeah, the premise was that the MAX for men is 1200cals, and the MAX for women is 1000cals.

And your right photoman, you only do one carb up day per each week. In fact I believe you said this already but, you don’t get the carb up day until you hit that weight loss goal, which he recommends to be 2-3lbs. per week. You just keep doing these “mini steps” until you get very close to your target weight, then he suggests going over to the AD or MD at that point for a slower finish to the goal.
Hope that helps some of you. cheers.
ToneBone

5704

Thanks, for the recipe Chef Lisa, great to see you contributing to the thread, gotta love to see recipes with nice pictures!

5705

Hey guys,

I am currently doing a mon/wed/fri full body routine tryin to gain some weight and strength. I weight 140 right now and would be looking to weigh in around 150-160. I ran cross country in high school and still have a side passion for it.

Do you think running around 15 miles a week split between the days I don’t lift would make it impossible to gain as long as im getting enough cals.

I’m not looking to make massive gains here, just steady weight gain, and was wondering since this diet has a protein sparing effect if it would help out in the running department by preventing/reducing muscle breakdown.

Also, you think the m/w/f routine is fine, or would a mon/tues/thurs/fri(upper lower) split be better.

5706

[quote]boatnerj wrote:
Do you think running around 15 miles a week split between the days I don’t lift would make it impossible to gain as long as im getting enough cals. [/quote]

Not impossible, but the net effect would be a more difficult time making gains. Are you making gains without the running?

[quote]I’m not looking to make massive gains here, just steady weight gain, and was wondering since this diet has a protein sparing effect if it would help out in the running department by preventing/reducing muscle breakdown.

Also, you think the m/w/f routine is fine, or would a mon/tues/thurs/fri(upper lower) split be better.[/quote]

I think you should dedicate your energy to one physique goal. If you are shooting to gain muscle, you are going to need to train hard and eat a caloric surplus.

Aside from these two factors, you have no control of the rate that your body will put on mass. Even when I’m trying to gain size, my body will fight me. Other times I’ll notice growth within a couple days.

You’re asking questions, and that’s good. Your best bet though is to just go train harder, train more frequently, eat more, and push to get better at ONE physique goal at a time.

Use outcome-based decision making when assessing your progress.

5707

photo guy and i thought it might be a good idea to discuss the RD in a separate thread because of the amount of interest in the RD and so that we don’t get confused between AD and RD discussions. here it is: http://www.T-Nation.com/readTopic.do?id=1623363&pageNo=0#1623458

5708 
     Hey all,

Just thought I’d let some folks know, that after two weeks in, my bodyfat is down from 16% to 14% with zero cardio.
And I had a big, semi dirty carb up the first go round. This weekends carb up is looking really nice. I kept my cals to 2300, with a good macro split, and healthy carbs all the way through. I feel a lot better than I did last weekend when I was out of town, and was demolishing food on at least one day.
But like they say, a lot of folks just go for it that first weekend…lol. It’s like ya earn it, a right of passage so to speak.
Anywho, I’m serious and committed to really cut down the next 3-4 weeks hard now that I got a good grip on this beast.
Adios,
ToneBone

5709

Has anyone lost significant amts of BF on The Anabolic Diet? If so what were ur calorie ranges? I’m on it and I didn’t get the huge weight gains Pasquale tells of after this weekend of carb loading.

5710

Hello all!

Advice please - I want to start AD to lose fat. If i start at the recommended 18 x bodyweight than I am at 2700cals/day…should I start here for 3-4weeks and see what happens or should I start lower? I’m 5’7, 150lb approx. 19-21%BF. Goal is to get to 12-14% bf…

these are the numbers I’ve come up with for BWx18

2700cals
187g Fat (1677cals)
226g Pro (903cals)
30g CHO (120cals)

This seems a little high…please pass on ANY advice as to where I should start my cals…

Thanks!

Kari.

5711

[quote]krew wrote:
Hello all!

Advice please - I want to start AD to lose fat. If i start at the recommended 18 x bodyweight than I am at 2700cals/day…should I start here for 3-4weeks and see what happens or should I start lower? I’m 5’7, 150lb approx. 19-21%BF. Goal is to get to 12-14% bf…

these are the numbers I’ve come up with for BWx18

2700cals
187g Fat (1677cals)
226g Pro (903cals)
30g CHO (120cals)

This seems a little high…please pass on ANY advice as to where I should start my cals…

Thanks!

Kari.[/quote]

Kari,

Your ratios look good. Nice work.
If 2700 calories SOUNDS like a lot for you…then it probably is. No worries though.

The idea -at least at the beginning and throughout the induction phase is to:
A) Not be hungry
B) Prime your metabolism to burn fat

Now I realize you want to burn bodyfat…and you will on the AD.
However, first things first…

Set up your meals (6 a day min, please) with your aforementioned ratios.
If you need an “end number” to shoot for and 18xbw sounds too high …try 17 -try 16 -try 15…whatever leaves you feeling satiated and energetic…and go from there.

Please remember to eat plenty of cruciferous green veggies.
You’ll need their fiber and acid neutralizing effects to keep your GI healthful.

Track your intake (fitday.com is great for this).

By the end of your 12 day induction you should have a firm idea of where your cals need to be -where you feel the best -and then you can start cutting.

peace

5712

[quote]Pauli D wrote:
krew wrote:
Hello all!

Advice please - I want to start AD to lose fat. If i start at the recommended 18 x bodyweight than I am at 2700cals/day…should I start here for 3-4weeks and see what happens or should I start lower? I’m 5’7, 150lb approx. 19-21%BF. Goal is to get to 12-14% bf…

these are the numbers I’ve come up with for BWx18

2700cals
187g Fat (1677cals)
226g Pro (903cals)
30g CHO (120cals)

This seems a little high…please pass on ANY advice as to where I should start my cals…

Thanks!

Kari.

Kari,

Your ratios look good. Nice work.
If 2700 calories SOUNDS like a lot for you…then it probably is. No worries though.

The idea -at least at the beginning and throughout the induction phase is to:
A) Not be hungry
B) Prime your metabolism to burn fat

Now I realize you want to burn bodyfat…and you will on the AD.
However, first things first…

Set up your meals (6 a day min, please) with your aforementioned ratios.
If you need an “end number” to shoot for and 18xbw sounds too high …try 17 -try 16 -try 15…whatever leaves you feeling satiated and energetic…and go from there.

Please remember to eat plenty of cruciferous green veggies.
You’ll need their fiber and acid neutralizing effects to keep your GI healthful.

Track your intake (fitday.com is great for this).

By the end of your 12 day induction you should have a firm idea of where your cals need to be -where you feel the best -and then you can start cutting.

peace

[/quote]

Pauli D thanks so much for your input! I’m going to post my numbers and will use fitday.

Should my training be a certain way for the first 12 days? And after the first 12 days is ther a program that would be most beneficial with regard to the carb up weekends?

I love lifting heavy but found with the last 3 weeks on the RD (following requirements about 85%) i had very low energy…my reason for switching to the AD is to be able to train heavy again…

thanks again!

5713

alright - i re-calculated my numbers based on BW x 15 for Lifting Days and BWx12 for non-lifting days

BW x 15
2250 Cals
154g Fat
186g Pro
30g Carb

6 meals - 25.5g Fat, 31g Pro, 5g carb

BW x 12
1800 Cals
121g fat
147g pro
30g carb

6 meals - 20g fat, 24.5g pro, 5g carb

Will post my diet that I come up with for tomorrow - still have to fine tune which foods will be used…

I don’t want to use the scale as a form of progress as i always get obsessed with what the number will be so I am using pics and measurements to track - will weigh myself after the 12 day induction to see if i need to re-adjust my cals…

Does this sound good?

5714

[quote]krew wrote:
alright - i re-calculated my numbers based on BW x 15 for Lifting Days and BWx12 for non-lifting days

BW x 15
2250 Cals
154g Fat
186g Pro
30g Carb

6 meals - 25.5g Fat, 31g Pro, 5g carb

BW x 12
1800 Cals
121g fat
147g pro
30g carb

6 meals - 20g fat, 24.5g pro, 5g carb

Will post my diet that I come up with for tomorrow - still have to fine tune which foods will be used…

I don’t want to use the scale as a form of progress as i always get obsessed with what the number will be so I am using pics and measurements to track - will weigh myself after the 12 day induction to see if i need to re-adjust my cals…

Does this sound good?

[/quote]

sounds good as long as you keep it to perhaps the night before carb up because of the obvious water retension

5715

[quote]bkmacky9288 wrote:
krew wrote:
alright - i re-calculated my numbers based on BW x 15 for Lifting Days and BWx12 for non-lifting days

BW x 15
2250 Cals
154g Fat
186g Pro
30g Carb

6 meals - 25.5g Fat, 31g Pro, 5g carb

BW x 12
1800 Cals
121g fat
147g pro
30g carb

6 meals - 20g fat, 24.5g pro, 5g carb

Will post my diet that I come up with for tomorrow - still have to fine tune which foods will be used…

I don’t want to use the scale as a form of progress as i always get obsessed with what the number will be so I am using pics and measurements to track - will weigh myself after the 12 day induction to see if i need to re-adjust my cals…

Does this sound good?

sounds good as long as you keep it to perhaps the night before carb up because of the obvious water retension[/quote]

Good idea! Thanks for that!

5716

[quote]krew wrote:

Should my training be a certain way for the first 12 days? And after the first 12 days is ther a program that would be most beneficial with regard to the carb up weekends?

I love lifting heavy but found with the last 3 weeks on the RD (following requirements about 85%) i had very low energy…my reason for switching to the AD is to be able to train heavy again…

thanks again!
[/quote]

Kari,

Your plan looks solid. Good work.

As far as specific training plans for the AD, I have none.
I know some have advocated “depletion workouts” and going heavier at certain intervals prior to -and/or directly after a carb feeding etc…
Perhaps these elicit positive results. I don’t know.

What I DO know, and continue to advocate, is that the AD is first and foremost a healthful lifestyle.

The whole point of healthful nutrition is to improve body comp while enjoying healthful, athletic activities…right?

In other words: To feel good, healthy, energetic and alive!

(Ooops! I think I smell a rant!)

Anyway…If you enjoy training heavy…I say find a balance in your nutrition that allows you to enjoy your training. Train heavy!
The fat loss will follow.
It will. Trust me.

The benefits of this nutritional template continue to yield great results. The longer you eat this way -the less “thinking” you have to put into it and the more flexibility you will find.

I know some folks have said they get strange looks or feel out of place at social gatherings because of their food choices…

In a short while you will get more than a few looks…but not because of the food choices you make.

You’ll be noticed for looking lean, strong, healthful and energetic -some of us may even look like we could lift a small house (or two).

Mark my words.

You can do it!

:wink:

peace

5717

Well I just started AD today and let me tell you, I love it. I was on GSD earlier to cut down for summer (8 weeks worth) but realized I should of just stayed bigger and kept bulking. So now I get to eat lots more on AD of all the tasty meat that I love. Adding this to Westside Barbell for skinny bastards so hopefully can really start packing on the size.

5718

in my workout today i heard a very scary sound…my shoulder popped…being a pitcher in my younger years…hmm im only 18 w/e…i threw my shoulder out 3 times-damn coach couldnt get enough of the fast ball, old bastard…anyways it was sick i was doing dumbell presses and pop!

5719

Hey guys. Im about to start a 6 week cut, just to lean up a little bit. My question is…Where do I drop my calories from? Reduce the weekend carbs or the weekday fats, or both?

Also, need some advice on cardio, in terms of type and timing. I used to get into HIIT, but not sure if its ideal on this diet??..any help will much be appreciated.

5720

[quote]Gymjunkie wrote:
Hey guys. Im about to start a 6 week cut, just to lean up a little bit. My question is…Where do I drop my calories from? Reduce the weekend carbs or the weekday fats, or both?

Also, need some advice on cardio, in terms of type and timing. I used to get into HIIT, but not sure if its ideal on this diet??..any help will much be appreciated.

[/quote]

I’d cut some of the fat out. If you need cut protein I’d supplement some BCAA’s. I get the best results doing light cardio first thing in the morning before eating. Under 65% of MaxBPM.

Most high level bodybuilders do the same thing. Jay Culter gets up and does cardio at 2:00AM to shock his body. Kinda extreme. I’m sure some HIT will help but too much running kills my leg strength.

5721

The real magic of the AD is that once you’re fully adapted your system will preferentially burn FFA over other fuel sources. A reduction of dietary fat at this stage will send your body in search of stored fat for fuel.

Interval work is a pretty powerful ally in your cutting cycle as well due to the effect of increasing serum trigylceride levels post work out (beautiful fuel for your fat adapted system).

I would typically cycle my dietary fat intake up and down during to cutting cycle to not get too accustom to continual depleting fat intake. If your system knows more fat will be delivered soon, it’ll keep buring up excess stores.

The only time I ever ran into any trouble with doing HIIT was after I brought my total calories down quite a bit and just didn’t have the energy available for lifting and HIIT (no fuel = poor performance). Just listen to what your body is telling you and make your decision off of that.

Keep us posted on your progress.

[quote]Gymjunkie wrote:
Hey guys. Im about to start a 6 week cut, just to lean up a little bit. My question is…Where do I drop my calories from? Reduce the weekend carbs or the weekday fats, or both?

Also, need some advice on cardio, in terms of type and timing. I used to get into HIIT, but not sure if its ideal on this diet??..any help will much be appreciated.

[/quote]