My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

Nutrition
8543

I just wanted to let everyone know that I am 8 weeks into the anabolic diet (3 weeks maintenance, 5 weeks cutting) and the doctor has advised me that my blood work, including T-levels, thyroid and cholesterol are all a-ok.

To be fair, my blood work was good before I started the diet, but I thought I would share my current results for all those worried this diet will cause health problems. However, it should be noted that after the maintenance phase I ate pretty clean during the week with plenty of steak, eggs, salmon and oils.

On another note, I went pretty clean for my 24h carbub, except for dinner, and I feel a lot better today than I did this time last week when I had a dirty carbup. Mainly home-made muesli and fruit.

8544

Are you saying the home-made muesli and fruit was dirty or clean for you?

-dizzle

[quote]namor wrote:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am 8 weeks into the anabolic diet (3 weeks maintenance, 5 weeks cutting) and the doctor has advised me that my blood work, including T-levels, thyroid and cholesterol are all a-ok.

To be fair, my blood work was good before I started the diet, but I thought I would share my current results for all those worried this diet will cause health problems. However, it should be noted that after the maintenance phase I ate pretty clean during the week with plenty of steak, eggs, salmon and oils.

On another note, I went pretty clean for my 24h carbub, except for dinner, and I feel a lot better today than I did this time last week when I had a dirty carbup. Mainly home-made muesli and fruit. [/quote]

8545

Ok. I started this diet today after reading up on it… I wanted to try either carb cycling or keto this summer until I found this. This seems much better.

I’m aiming for 65% fats with <30g carbs. Is that a good goal? The rest protein. Going a bit above maintenance (or trying to). So far it’s been hard. I’m just staying full from all the food… Maybe hitting the gym will help spark up an appetite. Would it actually be useful to use extra oils/butters and such to get in calories, even on 2500 cals/day? Would that over-do the fats? Is there any other way to get more of an appetite?

I’m only 16, so it isn’t as big of a deal as it is for most, but I still want to stay healthy nonetheless…I’m going through a dozen eggs a day, a ton of cheese, and the rest is basically 80/20 ground beef, with some bacon and sausage here and there. Is that a fairly healthy way of going about it as far as which fats I’m eating?

Thanks in advance!

-Tim

8546

[quote]namor wrote:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am 8 weeks into the anabolic diet (3 weeks maintenance, 5 weeks cutting) and the doctor has advised me that my blood work, including T-levels, thyroid and cholesterol are all a-ok.

To be fair, my blood work was good before I started the diet, but I thought I would share my current results for all those worried this diet will cause health problems. However, it should be noted that after the maintenance phase I ate pretty clean during the week with plenty of steak, eggs, salmon and oils.

On another note, I went pretty clean for my 24h carbub, except for dinner, and I feel a lot better today than I did this time last week when I had a dirty carbup. Mainly home-made muesli and fruit. [/quote]

I guess you wre luckier than I was. Not sure if you noticed my earlier post on my blood work. It was horrible. I would like to see if more guys could get blood work while on the AD or a similar keto diet and post it. I think it would be interesting.

8547

[quote]Ryall wrote:
Ok. I started this diet today after reading up on it… I wanted to try either carb cycling or keto this summer until I found this. This seems much better.

I’m aiming for 65% fats with <30g carbs. Is that a good goal? The rest protein. Going a bit above maintenance (or trying to). So far it’s been hard. I’m just staying full from all the food… Maybe hitting the gym will help spark up an appetite. Would it actually be useful to use extra oils/butters and such to get in calories, even on 2500 cals/day? Would that over-do the fats? Is there any other way to get more of an appetite?

I’m only 16, so it isn’t as big of a deal as it is for most, but I still want to stay healthy nonetheless…I’m going through a dozen eggs a day, a ton of cheese, and the rest is basically 80/20 ground beef, with some bacon and sausage here and there. Is that a fairly healthy way of going about it as far as which fats I’m eating?

Thanks in advance!

-Tim[/quote]

I’m still fairly new to this diet myself but it sounds to me like your saturated fats are a bit high. Earlier on this page or on the last one it was re-recommended that fats be 50/30/20 mono/sat/poly. I re-checked my ratios after reading that and made the adjustments - I was way up on saturated fats as well and I actually feel a whole lot better now that I’m following that guideline.

Olive oil, mayonnaise, and nuts are your friends and remember to include plenty of fiber in your daily meal plans (another small mistake I made earlier in the program).

Also if you haven’t already I’m sure everyone in here will suggest reading the book. :slight_smile:

Welcome and good luck!

8548

[quote]as wrote:
namor wrote:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am 8 weeks into the anabolic diet (3 weeks maintenance, 5 weeks cutting) and the doctor has advised me that my blood work, including T-levels, thyroid and cholesterol are all a-ok.

To be fair, my blood work was good before I started the diet, but I thought I would share my current results for all those worried this diet will cause health problems. However, it should be noted that after the maintenance phase I ate pretty clean during the week with plenty of steak, eggs, salmon and oils.

On another note, I went pretty clean for my 24h carbub, except for dinner, and I feel a lot better today than I did this time last week when I had a dirty carbup. Mainly home-made muesli and fruit.

I guess you wre luckier than I was. Not sure if you noticed my earlier post on my blood work. It was horrible. I would like to see if more guys could get blood work while on the AD or a similar keto diet and post it. I think it would be interesting.[/quote]

From what I’ve found, most people’s blood work shows improvement if anything… Although some do have problems with it like yourself. How much worse did it get? Was it good before starting the diet?

I’ve never really had mine done since I’m young…But perhaps if I stay on the diet for a significant amount of time I’ll get it done once or twice.

8549

[quote]Galen wrote:
Ryall wrote:
Ok. I started this diet today after reading up on it… I wanted to try either carb cycling or keto this summer until I found this. This seems much better.

I’m aiming for 65% fats with <30g carbs. Is that a good goal? The rest protein. Going a bit above maintenance (or trying to). So far it’s been hard. I’m just staying full from all the food… Maybe hitting the gym will help spark up an appetite. Would it actually be useful to use extra oils/butters and such to get in calories, even on 2500 cals/day? Would that over-do the fats? Is there any other way to get more of an appetite?

I’m only 16, so it isn’t as big of a deal as it is for most, but I still want to stay healthy nonetheless…I’m going through a dozen eggs a day, a ton of cheese, and the rest is basically 80/20 ground beef, with some bacon and sausage here and there. Is that a fairly healthy way of going about it as far as which fats I’m eating?

Thanks in advance!

-Tim

I’m still fairly new to this diet myself but it sounds to me like your saturated fats are a bit high. Earlier on this page or on the last one it was re-recommended that fats be 50/30/20 mono/sat/poly. I re-checked my ratios after reading that and made the adjustments - I was way up on saturated fats as well and I actually feel a whole lot better now that I’m following that guideline.

Olive oil, mayonnaise, and nuts are your friends and remember to include plenty of fiber in your daily meal plans (another small mistake I made earlier in the program).

Also if you haven’t already I’m sure everyone in here will suggest reading the book. :slight_smile:

Welcome and good luck![/quote]

Thanks man…I appreciate the input.

I thought that too – that maybe the saturated fats were a bit too high. What could I do to get them lower?? What are some foods that are lower in SFs?

I would love to have some nuts in my diet in there somewhere but I don’t see how you guys can have nuts and stay under 30g of carbs…5g of carbs for ~30 peanuts adds up quick ya know? And what are some good sources of fiber? I am going to get a fiber supplement (as well as fish oils, too) as soon as possible.

How can you know if you’re eating mono or poly fats? It doesn’t specify does it?

Sorry for all the questions…Just trying to get everything figured out lol.

Is there anyway someone could get me the e-book?

8550

[quote]Ryall wrote:

Thanks man…I appreciate the input.

I thought that too – that maybe the saturated fats were a bit too high. What could I do to get them lower?? What are some foods that are lower in SFs?

I would love to have some nuts in my diet in there somewhere but I don’t see how you guys can have nuts and stay under 30g of carbs…5g of carbs for ~30 peanuts adds up quick ya know? And what are some good sources of fiber? I am going to get a fiber supplement (as well as fish oils, too) as soon as possible.

How can you know if you’re eating mono or poly fats? It doesn’t specify does it?

Sorry for all the questions…Just trying to get everything figured out lol.

Is there anyway someone could get me the e-book?
[/quote]

PM me your email and I’ll send it to you.

Nuts - Walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia if you can afford them. They’re the best I know of but you still have to keep track of the carbs because they’re about 50/50 between fiber and carb.

Fats - Like I said, mayonnaise and extra virgin olive oil are your best friends. Right up there with red meat for this lifestyle IMO. Check you labels - most will tell you just how much of each fat is in the food. The only thing you want at zero is your trans fats. Anything that says “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients list ought to be off limits. After paying close attention for a couple weeks you’ll know just about all you need to know about what fats are in what foods.

The other thing you can do if you want to keep really close track is use the FitDay program. You plug your food in and it gives you all your macros as you go. Does a lot of other stuff too, but I just use it to track my cals and macros.

Edit:I just thought of something else - be sure to get a good multivitamin as well, just to be on the safe side.

8551

[quote]as wrote:

I think your right about overdoing the saturated fats. I was only taking about 10 Flameout a day and apprx. 30gms of EVOO a day. The rest was bacon and eggs and lots of ground beef. I got the blood drawn the day before my carb up and about 4 hours after a bacon and egg breakfast.

I’m going to balance out the ratio of fats better to finsh my cutting phase then get tested again at the end to see if it helped. If not no more keto diets for me. Let me know how your blood work turns out. Thanks[/quote]

I have always had my bloodwork done in a fasted state and I am pretty sure that eating a bacon and egg breakfast 4 hours before your blood is drawn could throw readings off. My Dr. always has me do it in the morning after an 8-12 hour fast.

8552

damn i’m getting into this late

Alight honestly i’m not gonna read over 300 pages lol.

for someone who’s been keeping up can u just quickly inform me on the overall consesus with this diet? results for the average endo looking to clean bulk? thanks a lot

i dont know if i could do the diet though since the last time i did a keto diet i got bad acne and oily skin. gained a lot of fat too but i think that was because i jacked my calories up a lot with the first 2 weeks because i forget about loss of water weight. but actually in the bulking part he says to basically make ur calories really high so idk, i seemed to gain a lot of fat and in. on my waist that way

8553

also did anyone notice how in Chris Shugart’s article about the anabolic diet he doesnt comment on his body fat? he just says he lost a certain amount of weight which could be water, glycogen, and/or muscle

8554

[quote]Galen wrote:
Ryall wrote:

Thanks man…I appreciate the input.

I thought that too – that maybe the saturated fats were a bit too high. What could I do to get them lower?? What are some foods that are lower in SFs?

I would love to have some nuts in my diet in there somewhere but I don’t see how you guys can have nuts and stay under 30g of carbs…5g of carbs for ~30 peanuts adds up quick ya know? And what are some good sources of fiber? I am going to get a fiber supplement (as well as fish oils, too) as soon as possible.

How can you know if you’re eating mono or poly fats? It doesn’t specify does it?

Sorry for all the questions…Just trying to get everything figured out lol.

Is there anyway someone could get me the e-book?

PM me your email and I’ll send it to you.

Nuts - Walnuts, brazil nuts, macadamia if you can afford them. They’re the best I know of but you still have to keep track of the carbs because they’re about 50/50 between fiber and carb.

Fats - Like I said, mayonnaise and extra virgin olive oil are your best friends. Right up there with red meat for this lifestyle IMO. Check you labels - most will tell you just how much of each fat is in the food. The only thing you want at zero is your trans fats. Anything that says “hydrogenated” or “partially hydrogenated” in the ingredients list ought to be off limits. After paying close attention for a couple weeks you’ll know just about all you need to know about what fats are in what foods.

The other thing you can do if you want to keep really close track is use the FitDay program. You plug your food in and it gives you all your macros as you go. Does a lot of other stuff too, but I just use it to track my cals and macros.

Edit:I just thought of something else - be sure to get a good multivitamin as well, just to be on the safe side.[/quote]

I am taking a multi. I’m not as consistent as I should be though. I’ll try to be better at taking it. Just a matter of reminding myself and getting into the habit.

I am staying away from hydrogenerated fats…I try to do that already, so that’s nothing new. But I’ll have to look at some labels and figure out where I stand with the fats I guess.

I went to the store tonight again. I got some mixed nuts…Only 3g net carbs. Woo. And they’re freaking tasty, too! I also picked up some more beef, cheese, and some whipping cream. I’ve heard of putting it in with some whey. How much do you guys use for a scoop of whey?

I do use fitday, as well. I’d appreciate if someone would check out my totals for today and give me some tips on what to change etc. I was aiming for 60-65% but I went a little higher than I expected. No biggy.

http://www.fitday.com/WebFit/PublicJournals.html?Owner=Ride+or+Die

8555

I have read some posters who say that they get the best results with “getting lean/gaining muscle” calories are kept pretty high. Best way to get lean while on the AD: lower the cals or no? Anyone else notice this or care to comment?

I just finished my first day as well. Trying not to get carried away since I can eat A LOT. So am keeping cals aroun 14x bodyweight.

8556

If you were able to go over on your first day I would call that a good sign. I had a real hell of a time getting near enough calories during the first week, not even factoring the macros into the equation. It felt like I had to have been eating 80%+ and way too much but when I logged it all mid-afternoon I had only taken down about 1800 cals. Most guys here will tell you just keep it at around 60/35-40/>30g and don’t worry about your calories during the transition.

Personally I like to do 2.5-3 tbsp of cream per scoop of whey because it makes it into kind of a pudding. But really it’s tasty as a drink as well - so long as it keeps your macros in line.

Sarge - I’m not sure what other dudes will say on here, but I’ll say what works for your body depends on your body. Some guys can get away with leaning up on an obscene amount of calories. Some guys need moderate calories. It’s all going to depend on individual metabolism. I think the reason we’re advised to keep calories high is because the fat can be so filling that it can be easy to under-eat during the initial phase which would be counterproductive to our goals. If you’re taking in too much, the fat can come off but if you’re not taking in enough then the body is considerably more reluctant to let go of it when it comes time to lean out.

Again though, that’s just my take.

8557

Sorry, I meant the home-made muesli and fruit was the bulk of my clean carb-up day.

On my other carb-up days I tend to gorge on my girlfriend’s gingerbread and then have pizza for dinner.

[quote]A-Dizz wrote:
Are you saying the home-made muesli and fruit was dirty or clean for you?

-dizzle

namor wrote:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am 8 weeks into the anabolic diet (3 weeks maintenance, 5 weeks cutting) and the doctor has advised me that my blood work, including T-levels, thyroid and cholesterol are all a-ok.

To be fair, my blood work was good before I started the diet, but I thought I would share my current results for all those worried this diet will cause health problems. However, it should be noted that after the maintenance phase I ate pretty clean during the week with plenty of steak, eggs, salmon and oils.

On another note, I went pretty clean for my 24h carbub, except for dinner, and I feel a lot better today than I did this time last week when I had a dirty carbup. Mainly home-made muesli and fruit.

[/quote]

8558

This is the first time I’ve ever posted in the T-Nation forums, but I’m starting the second week of the AD, and I thought I’d seek a bit of feed back on my meal plan. I came to the AD from about 5 weeks of a complete 0 carb diet. This is what my current eating plan looks like.

Meal 1: 5 eggs
1 Can of Tuna
1 Cup of Spinach

Totals: 746 Cals
77g Pro
8g Carbs

WORKOUT: 45-60 min of a Crossfit or XFit style workout.

Meal 2 (Post Workout) 2.5 scoops ON Whey

Totals: 300 cals
55g Pro
7.5g Carbs

Meal 3: 8oz Chicken Breast
1 Cup of Spinach

Totals: 420 Cal
78g Pro
10g Carbs

Meal 4: 2.5 scoops of ON Whey

Totals: 300 Cals
55g Pro
7.5g Carbs

Meal 5: 8oz London Broil
1 Cup Spinach

Totals: 453 Cals
70g Pro
7g Carbs

Daily Totals: Calories: 2219
Protein: 335g
Carbs: 40g*

*25g of no impact carbs from insoluable fiber from veggies. I only get about 15g of actual carb intake.

I have idea the amount of fat I’m taking in.

I’m 36yrs. old, 6’2, 215LBS. I do a Crossfit or Crossfit style workout 5 days a week, with the weekends off.

I try not to get too far off the reservation during my weekend carb refeed. If I have a taste for some simple carbs on the weekend, I try to make it early in the day, and I keep it moderate. Otherwise I try to keep my carbs on the weekend in the form of complex carbs. Any feed back is welcomed.

8559

[quote]Galen wrote:
If you were able to go over on your first day I would call that a good sign. I had a real hell of a time getting near enough calories during the first week, not even factoring the macros into the equation. It felt like I had to have been eating 80%+ and way too much but when I logged it all mid-afternoon I had only taken down about 1800 cals. Most guys here will tell you just keep it at around 60/35-40/>30g and don’t worry about your calories during the transition.

Personally I like to do 2.5-3 tbsp of cream per scoop of whey because it makes it into kind of a pudding. But really it’s tasty as a drink as well - so long as it keeps your macros in line.[/quote]

Alright. So I should drop a bit of the fats then, so that I’m about 60%? My protein intake is great, as well as my carb intake. I had only about 15g of carbs, so at the end of the day, I allowed myself to have about 3 servings of mixed nuts, as a treat sort of…So I was right about 25g of carbs. Perfect.

Yeah, I haven’t had any symptoms or anything either. I wasn’t overly (or underly) hungry, had no trouble eating like normal, no headaches, tiredness/drowsiness, mental fogginess – nothing. So I suppose that’s a great sign. Maybe I’ll adapt this easily naturally.

And ok, cool. Yeah, a pudding sounds good to me, too… Thanks. And I’ll be sure to watch the macros.

-Tim

8560

[quote]Galen wrote:
If you were able to go over on your first day I would call that a good sign. I had a real hell of a time getting near enough calories during the first week, not even factoring the macros into the equation. It felt like I had to have been eating 80%+ and way too much but when I logged it all mid-afternoon I had only taken down about 1800 cals. Most guys here will tell you just keep it at around 60/35-40/>30g and don’t worry about your calories during the transition.

Personally I like to do 2.5-3 tbsp of cream per scoop of whey because it makes it into kind of a pudding. But really it’s tasty as a drink as well - so long as it keeps your macros in line.

Sarge - I’m not sure what other dudes will say on here, but I’ll say what works for your body depends on your body. Some guys can get away with leaning up on an obscene amount of calories. Some guys need moderate calories. It’s all going to depend on individual metabolism. I think the reason we’re advised to keep calories high is because the fat can be so filling that it can be easy to under-eat during the initial phase which would be counterproductive to our goals. If you’re taking in too much, the fat can come off but if you’re not taking in enough then the body is considerably more reluctant to let go of it when it comes time to lean out.

Again though, that’s just my take.[/quote]

Yeah, I too have noooo problem getting enough food in. I track everything on fitday and had trouble keeping my intake below or at 16xbodyweight. I’ve never been able to understand how some people have trouble eating enough. Guess its just different bodytypes. Thanks for the reply. I won’t drop calories much then for the induction phase.

8561

I got 1.5 hours of sleep last night and my judgement was a little off this morning. I ended up eating 6 enchiladas at a Mexican restaurant. I’m on day 9, is this going to ruin my chances of getting to that metabolic shift? Also should I treat today as a carb day or pretend like it didn’t happen and continue eating high fat today.

Thanks

8562

[quote]Ryall wrote:
as wrote:
namor wrote:
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am 8 weeks into the anabolic diet (3 weeks maintenance, 5 weeks cutting) and the doctor has advised me that my blood work, including T-levels, thyroid and cholesterol are all a-ok.

To be fair, my blood work was good before I started the diet, but I thought I would share my current results for all those worried this diet will cause health problems. However, it should be noted that after the maintenance phase I ate pretty clean during the week with plenty of steak, eggs, salmon and oils.

On another note, I went pretty clean for my 24h carbub, except for dinner, and I feel a lot better today than I did this time last week when I had a dirty carbup. Mainly home-made muesli and fruit.

I guess you wre luckier than I was. Not sure if you noticed my earlier post on my blood work. It was horrible. I would like to see if more guys could get blood work while on the AD or a similar keto diet and post it. I think it would be interesting.

From what I’ve found, most people’s blood work shows improvement if anything… Although some do have problems with it like yourself. How much worse did it get? Was it good before starting the diet?

I’ve never really had mine done since I’m young…But perhaps if I stay on the diet for a significant amount of time I’ll get it done once or twice.
[/quote]

I’ve had many blood tests in the past prior to this when eating a typical bodybuilder type balnaced diet and everything was always fine, except for my HDLs which were always border line low but acceptable. I think Stronghold is right and maybe the bacon and eggs breakfast raised the triglycerides reading.

As far as the low HDLs, I’ve researched it a bit and it seems when trglycerides are high it can cause HDLs to drop, so that might be what’s happening. I might just have a lot of triglycerides floating around waiting to be used for energy because of the higher fat intake and being in ketosis.