My Experience On the Anabolic Diet

[quote]bigdaveo1988 wrote:
What do you guys recommend for sodium intake, ive heard around 1500mg, but I find that impossible to stay under, even on the maintenance phase (3,500 cal). I calculated it and I am upwards of 2,500mg, I know drinking alot of water can help this, but I have heard problems in the past of too much sodium, how does that affect muscle gain? trying to eventually bulk (about 5,000cal) and I am sure my sodium will go up even higher then, anyone have any suggestions, low sodium foods??? seems like everything has sodium…thanks.[/quote]

Where did you hear around 1500mg? 1500 happens to be the RDA for sodium. So that seems like its more of a suggested min. then a max. I just checked and I had over 4000 mgs yesterday on day 2…3500 cals. I didn’t even eat any bacon or sausage either. I did have 9 eggs, a lb of ground beef, chicken, about 4 oz of cheese along with olive oil and flax seeds.

DUPE!!!

[quote]KingIndy wrote:
Why a lighter workout, to prevent catabolism as the liver processes the alcohol? I won’t be getting a workout in immediately prior to the carb-up anyways because I had to do Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday split this week. My Saturday will be sets of 15, and then I will be back on M-W-F split.[/quote]

a light workout just so that you can recover quickly, and not disrupt your regular schedule.
however, like i said before, your body is using fat to fuel its functions, and it will not immediately re-adapt to using carbs. So fat floating around is not a problem on Friday night loads.just make sure to keep the carb choices clean and hold off on the junk carb until saturday

DJS, I don’t this could be contributed to something I ‘expected,’ but rather ‘overlooked.’ I keep my diet as good as I POSSIBLY can with the only limiting factor REALLY being my nutritional ignorance (but don’t take that as me not knowing a thing about nutrition as it’s always been one of my primary interests, even at a very young age). So, I overlooked the negatives about the dietary changes from the lifestyle. Fruits and vegetables cannot really be taken in in abundance. Micronutrients are really not nearly as accounted for as in my ‘normal’ eating. Additionally, I believe that the more variety in a diet, the better. This way of eating isn’t conducive to varied eating.

The whole thing with my wrist is giving me serious bias to the diet, and I’d really like take the easiest way out to make it stop hurting since it impedes my workout and to a lesser extent my guitar and piano playing. (I’m a music major).

Again, the idea of bulking seemed so good because I felt like the idea of getting bigger with no concern of sudden jumps in fat deposition was a miracle. However, once again not being aware of the whole thing, the amount of food with great portions but little variety is pretty disgusting to me. Let me say that I enjoy bacon to an extent, but things dripping in oil and the general texture of oil just grosses me out.

This may be just be a false observation, but I also think I’m SLIGHTLY fatter. That kind of disappoints me.

All I want from this diet right now is to get lean again in an efficient manner. If that happens in a relatively short amount of time, I won’t be completely disappointed with what seems like a waste of time to me. That’s pretty harsh of me to say, but I value even my mistakes (such as my post-competition binge), but this particular endeavor doesn’t really teach me anything other than “any radical change in dietary intake is not as ideal as careful manipulation of regular diet”.

By the way, to KingIndy I think, my usual 2-week grocery bill is $230-280 depending on how much I ‘ran out of’. I was expecting to go much higher with all this meat (I literally came home with 30ish lbs of beef, sausage, bacon, etc. My bill was $260, having saved $87. I feel like it’s very easy to make the meat purchases fit into a budget. Big cuts of meat like London Broil and shoulder roasts can be like $12, but if you butcher them into 150-300g portions, you can get like 6+ servings out of them. Fatty ground beef is also really cheap in relation to my normal 96% lean. Eggs are also much cheaper than egg whites! HA!

[quote]DJS wrote:
bigdaveo1988 wrote:
What do you guys recommend for sodium intake, ive heard around 1500mg, but I find that impossible to stay under, even on the maintenance phase (3,500 cal). I calculated it and I am upwards of 2,500mg, I know drinking alot of water can help this, but I have heard problems in the past of too much sodium, how does that affect muscle gain? trying to eventually bulk (about 5,000cal) and I am sure my sodium will go up even higher then, anyone have any suggestions, low sodium foods??? seems like everything has sodium…thanks.

Where did you hear around 1500mg? 1500 happens to be the RDA for sodium. So that seems like its more of a suggested min. then a max. I just checked and I had over 4000 mgs yesterday on day 2…3500 cals. I didn’t even eat any bacon or sausage either. I did have 9 eggs, a lb of ground beef, chicken, about 4 oz of cheese along with olive oil and flax seeds. [/quote]

Thanks for that info, had no idea about the RDA, I saw the number earlier on the thread but maybe i read it incorrectly, I agree that 1500mg is impossible to meet, makes me feel much better about consuming more, especially since I am about to bulk so I’m sure i will be getting “up there” towards 4000mg, let us know if anything pops up regarding this.

Also, DJS, I read in countless places how one would feel so great on this new lifestyle that he would be sure to abandon his old ‘inferior’ way of eating. Now this is a pretty bold statement, but as bold as it is, I heard it from more than just the Dr. himself.

I’m aware I’m not in feel-good territory just yet, BUT I gotta say, I felt pretty damn good before.

I will also mention that I had little time to eat before a rehearsal tonight and took 28g of almonds to eat to hold me over until I got back and they tasted beyond good. You know how water tastes good/bad depending on how thirsty you are, just as any nutrient feels that way if you’re a bit depleted? That’s how it tasted. As if I was STARVED of whatever is in almonds that isn’t in eggs, cheese, bacon, or beef.

Like I said about variety in a diet…bases are covered, and I felt pretty damn good before starting this. (It makes me wonder if the audience to which Dr. Di is speaking to is muddled…as if some of the audience doesn’t know anything about healthy living but some just HAPPEN to experience all the usual trials and tribulations of the odd bodybuilding competition.)

My strength and nutrition has been “dormat” and I have been at a plateau for at least 2-3 years. I have tried many manipulations with CHO, high, low, moderate. If someone gives me a diet plan or once I form a diet plan, I stick to it, no cheating. I feel like this diet is a good way to break out of that nutritional plateau (if there is one), I know they are weightlifting plateau’s but it is good to keep the body guessing, both physically in the weight room with different exercises and with nutrition.

I feel like this diet, even though I am not far into it, is a way to change things up a bit, thats why I can only say to stick it out, re-read the book, make sure your not missing anything, re-read all the older forum posts of some of the “experts.” I know they say you can manipulate the diet to meet your needs but I feel like straying to far from it can prove it ineffective. I’ve read testimonials of other people using this same diet, it has worked for them but maybe it just doesn’t work for EVERYBODY.

Anyway I don’t believe this thread is for people who want to “put down” the diet, merely people who are experiencing and continuing on the diet, although advice is very helpful for people who have “failed” the diet as well and it would be good to share why it didn’t work them.

I hope you’re not saying that indirectly to me, Dave. If you are, realize I’m nearly two weeks into the diet, and all my negative thoughts regarding the diet are negative experiences, not negative suppositions.

I hardly claim to know it all, but I feel like nutrition-wise, general trends would be better kept constant (once they’re legitimately GOOD of course) whereas as training itself is better rewarded through variation.

hhmm…for me it wasn’t that it failed me but i failed it. I didnt eat enough and I didn’t train efficiently I got results but I held back becase i wasn’t comfortable. Even after 3 years on the diet. So I returned to my roots (Berardi go figure) and started eating fruits and carbs post workout. Now I can’t say that my overwhelmingly better results are from the diet because as soon as i changed it up to a more balanced intake I also took on a more structured W/O plan…Maximum Strength by Cressey. But I know once I start to cut, which will be amazing since I have less fat now bulking than i ever had cutting, I’ll pick the AD back up briefly since it did bring a drop in weight.

Starting day 4. Down about 4 or 5 lbs in water. I have to say… I don’t see how some say its really hard to get the calories in. I have to be pretty careful not to go over 3500 cals every day. I feel like adding another 1000 cals will be a snap.

I’m not even eating 6 meals a day. I also havent even had any bacon etc. The 85% ground beef is the worst thing i eat. Maybe I am doing something wrong… hmm. Here is what I eat on a typical day. Its not always the same but pretty close.

wake up… coffee with an oz of heavy cream. 103 cals

workout.

post workout:
1 cup hood low carb choc milk
2 tablespns olive oil
1 scoop low carb Metabolic Drive
5 grms creatine

commute to work:
Breakfast:
7 or 8 scrambled eggs

Lunch:
meatballs containing:
1 lb of ground beef
1 egg
2 oz romano cheese

I’ll usually eat half about 4 hours after breakfast and the other half 2 hours later.

afternoon snack
1 oz walnuts if i can fit the cals in. most times i cant

dinner:
8-10 oz chicken breast
1 cup brocoli
2 oz Asiago cheese on chicken
2 tablespoons olive oil
1-2 tablesoons flax meal
1 serving Flameout.

that is 3500-3700 cals easily. I’m not stuffed after any of the meals. Now i understand why it would be tough to get 6000 cals maybe but this has not been tough at all to reach the maintence cals. My dinner is nothing. 2 med brests with some cheese and a cup of brocoli is not a lot of food.

Pretty happy so far with how easy this is.

[quote]nz6stringaxe wrote:
Also, DJS, I read in countless places how one would feel so great on this new lifestyle that he would be sure to abandon his old ‘inferior’ way of eating. Now this is a pretty bold statement, but as bold as it is, I heard it from more than just the Dr. himself.

I’m aware I’m not in feel-good territory just yet, BUT I gotta say, I felt pretty damn good before.

I will also mention that I had little time to eat before a rehearsal tonight and took 28g of almonds to eat to hold me over until I got back and they tasted beyond good. You know how water tastes good/bad depending on how thirsty you are, just as any nutrient feels that way if you’re a bit depleted? That’s how it tasted. As if I was STARVED of whatever is in almonds that isn’t in eggs, cheese, bacon, or beef.

Like I said about variety in a diet…bases are covered, and I felt pretty damn good before starting this. (It makes me wonder if the audience to which Dr. Di is speaking to is muddled…as if some of the audience doesn’t know anything about healthy living but some just HAPPEN to experience all the usual trials and tribulations of the odd bodybuilding competition.)[/quote]

You can eat almonds and nuts. Now walnuts are definitely better, but I am eating almonds right now to finish the bag I have for a mid-morning snack, 1/4 a cup = 6g carbs - 3g fiber = 3 net carbs.

I just bought some heavy whipping cream last night to add to my protein shakes. I have been doing just protein and water with some flax oil added in. Anyone have recommendations for the preparation of the protein shake and how much whipping cream I should add in? Low Carb milk is not in my repertoire right now, so count that out.

Indy…currently my chocolate protein ON whey shake (3g of carbs so watch for that) I put in 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sometime flax seed. Thought this was going to taste like shit, but the whipping cream in it makes it taste amazing, I can’t tell you how much to put in because it depends on your goals (ie: bulk, maintenance, cut) but I can tell you that the combo of those makes for a great tasting, thick shake.

[quote]bigdaveo1988 wrote:
Indy…currently my chocolate protein ON whey shake (3g of carbs so watch for that) I put in 2 tablespoons of heavy whipping cream, 1 tablespoon of olive oil and sometime flax seed. Thought this was going to taste like shit, but the whipping cream in it makes it taste amazing, I can’t tell you how much to put in because it depends on your goals (ie: bulk, maintenance, cut) but I can tell you that the combo of those makes for a great tasting, thick shake.[/quote]

And your base is water correct? I use ON for now as well, the 3 carbs suck, I’m going to pick up a different brand when this one gets cashed.

[quote]nz6stringaxe wrote:
Also, DJS, I read in countless places how one would feel so great on this new lifestyle that he would be sure to abandon his old ‘inferior’ way of eating. Now this is a pretty bold statement, but as bold as it is, I heard it from more than just the Dr. himself.

I’m aware I’m not in feel-good territory just yet, BUT I gotta say, I felt pretty damn good before.

I will also mention that I had little time to eat before a rehearsal tonight and took 28g of almonds to eat to hold me over until I got back and they tasted beyond good.

You know how water tastes good/bad depending on how thirsty you are, just as any nutrient feels that way if you’re a bit depleted? That’s how it tasted. As if I was STARVED of whatever is in almonds that isn’t in eggs, cheese, bacon, or beef.

Like I said about variety in a diet…bases are covered, and I felt pretty damn good before starting this. (It makes me wonder if the audience to which Dr. Di is speaking to is muddled…

as if some of the audience doesn’t know anything about healthy living but some just HAPPEN to experience all the usual trials and tribulations of the odd bodybuilding competition.)[/quote]

I didn’t see this when I posted this morning. You are correct that the diet is more limiting. So that is a disadvantage. One advantage I would think is the ease of getting protein. That is a lot harder at least for me on a more traditional diet. Hopefully you will see some good results that will make the disadvantages worth it.

Best of luck and if it turns out this isn’t for you then thats fine. I don’t think anyone will do this forever. Maybe Dr. D is selling to a wide audience. Maybe natural bodybuilders do it because it allows them to add muscle with less fat and cut while loosing less muscle and not because they prefer to eat this way.

The original AD was written with Powerlifters in mind. This was because Dr. Di himself was a record holding powerlifter.

If you read the original AD, it in no way encompasses what we call healthy eating. Heck, he even gave up veggies during the week in exchange for melba toast and slices of bread!!

So yes, it was written originally with a very functional bent.i.e. this is what it is and the most simple example. He assumed in the first book that his audience was plenty aware of what was/was not a healthy diet and the smart lifter would have incorporated healthier choices into his parameters.

Has anyone tried Surge Workout fuel on the AD? I’ve been using it here and there, and I have to admit it is very nice. I’ve been using both Power Drink that DiPasquale makes and SWF.

Any opinions?

[quote]Evil1 wrote:
KingIndy - that logic (though correct in some ways) is not optimal.

if the doughnuts are simply there to keep you honest the rest of the week then I say go ahead. Everyone has at least one thing they eat every weekend (mine was cereal/bread). but dont justify it as a optimal[/quote]

Just seeing this to respond. I never said it was optimal, I think you need to reread my post. I said it was still beneficial, but not optimal due to the insulin spike.

Hey ADers… only on day 5… but i am thinking about my carbup next weekend. My favorite food has to be popcorn. Where does that fall in the 75% good / 25% junk carb ratio? I beleive popcorn is “medium” on the glycemic index and has a ton of fiber. I can kill massive amounts of popcorn. Just curious if its something i can use to get massive amounts of carbs or if I should limit it. Thanks!

Hey guys, i kno its abit stupid bt are carrots allowed?

because the atkins dnt allow it for sum reason?

lol soz for sucha stupid q, jst curious

Carrots and peas are both to be avoided due to their starchy nature. Both also have quite a high level of fructose for most vegetables.

Corn falls into this ‘avoid’ category, but most realize this without further questioning.

In terms of best fruit-carbs, grapefruit, blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries are all recommended. I think watermelon was one also.
For vegetables, broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, cabbage, romaine lettuce, spinach, peppers, and mushrooms are all solid choices.