I keep a mental note, but I'm so used to it that I've almost got it to decimal points when someone holds up any food product. Running joke among my friends. Just keep carbs to 30 or less. And YES, this is important because you are really bringing home the bacon (and fryin' it up)with respect to fats and protein. I am at 245lbs. I get 300g of protein and no more. The AD is very protein sparring and you can easily get by with even 1g/lb. Different animal than being a carb burner as these poor folks are always on the brink of the body breaking down muscle for gluconeogenesis.

With the AD, glycogen stays in the muscle longer and you use fatty acids to get your energy. This is not a ketogenic diet as everyone assumes. Once you full adapt you will be using FA's for your body fuel. Should be no ketones in your urine within 6 weeks or less.

Surge is a no-go for me. I wish they'd make a low carb version but there probably isn't the market for that yet. I consume, currently, hydrolyzed whey (360-520 daltons) just before my workout, and again about 20-30 minutes after. It tastes like dung, so you can mix some splenda and some sugar free jello mix in with it to help. I also like a few grams of BCAA's too. Then about 30 mins later I have some protein with heavy whipping cream (not whipped cream). Has worked well for me.

This all works better and better as you stay on the diet longer. To really fully adapt it takes around 6-8 weeks. Not to say that you don't see improvements sooner, but you will feel yourself hitting full throttle in the above time frame.

Best,
DH

And yes.. I like a little olive oil and/or some fish caps with the first post drink. Only about 10g or so. Then I hit about 40g of fat on my second post drink with regular protein mix (I like milk isolate w/WPC). Too much fat in the immediate post meal is a bit much on the gut, so I add just a minimum of healthy fats at this time.

DH

Just to let you know, my Italian-ness compells me to reccomend that you buy a quality, dark extra virgin olive oil in a tin.

For me, my first pwo meal is a whey shake and a few fish oil caps...I used to do some flax meal after but, well, it gave me some troubles. Then my second meal is higher in fat.

As for carb grams...as DH said, you will get very good at knowing how many carbs everything has. Personally I don't count fiber, so some vegetables, like spinach, are good for me...dark lettuce too. Keeping under 30 is actually easier than you think and will be easy once you get used to it.

I will say this, at first, I used to turn the weekends into binges, eating everything in site. But after all these years, I find that I get sick if I eat too much junk. It's like the longer I eat healthy, the more adverse reaction I get from junk.

hey DiscHoss,

I was wondering what your progress on the Anabolic/Metabolic Diet has been like, such as where did you start, and where are you now.

Preferably throw down some measurements of size increases, body fat %s, strength increases etc...

I've been trying to follow what you say about the A/MD in other threads and I'm probably going to start it up Monday (as I was just at a book store reading and taking notes from a book that Dr. DiPasquale co-authored because I'm really serious!).

Rock On.

Absolutely. This is the primo stuff, and should be what you consume. And if you really want the best stuff get the cold pressed extra virgin. Always in a tin can to protect from light. Perfetto, eh IL Cazzo?

DH

Good advice again from the esteemed IC. Just a bit of fat for post workout #1. More on #2. Fiber is free and need not be counted. No impact on blood sugar levels of any significance and you should aim for about 25g or more of fiber per day to keep you regular/healthy. I get this from nuts, veggies, and the occassional low carb bread slice. Also psyllium hulls are great for this too. Many of the fiber powders use maltodextrin to flavor so be careful. Those carbs will count. After your 12 day chop-bustin' break in period, you should strive to eat as many quality veggies as you can. Just be careful with peas and carrots. Avoid corn. Just do a carb content search online and you'll be good to go.

CARDINAL RULE: If it goes into your pie hole, you MUST count it's macronutient content. Be it food, liquid, condiment, sauce, gum, anything. Hey you ... that air you're breathing got carbs in it? That is the appropriate level of paranoia until this is second nature to you.

IC is right again on the ease of keeping under 30 when you really jack up your qualifying veggies. Also Hood makes an incredible low carb milk. This thing has only 2g CHO per 8oz glass and 12g of protein. Darn near a protein supplement drink, and it's so good my 8 yr. old son prefers it to regular choc milk. Now THAT is a testimonial.

Something no one has brought up yet that really should be discussed is the plethora of low carb foods that have hit the market. Avoid the vast majority. Some of the sugar alcohols don't impact blood sugar much, and some we really don't know about. BUT anytime you give your body an energy substrate of any kind, it will compete with your fatty acids for metabolic use. On the positive, you usually won't boost insulin with these, but on the negative you'll not be burning as much fat. Save it for the fat Atkin's ladies who want to suck down all their goodies and still lose weight. No guts, no glory. With the low carb milk, some low carb fajita wraps, and the proper low carb bread, you can really enjoy this diet. Especially during grilling season. Just subtract fiber from total CHO content and watch for sugar alcohols. Easy way is to look for the suffix -tol. As in sorbitol, malitol, xylitol, etc...
consider these to be metabolic brake pedals. Suck it up, cookie, you can do it.

And IC's final good advice, do NOT be an idiot on the carb loads. That being said many of you will anyway, and you'll learn quickly that it isn't the way to go. By all means have some cake, ice cream, pizza, etc.. but make sure that the majority of your needs are met with starches. The 75/25 rule works very well. And if you are trying to gain mass and eating 3,000 cals or more per carb day, then you get 1,800 cals or so of CHO. That's some serious eatin'. And NO don't worry about counting the cals and macros. Just eat plenty of breads, pastas, taters, yams, starchy veggies, oatmeal. Then you can shove some pizza and a shake down your throat.

Keep an eye on your body and it'll tell you when you've had enough. Don't listen to your appetite or you'll carb load till your 80. I highly recommend 36 hours. Come Monday (or Sunday) you'll be really pumped and strong. Think of me when you "wipe your hump on the rug" squat for an extra rep or two with ease. Might I even suggest crying out "My life for you!" (For all you King Dark Tower fans)

Questions...
Comments...
Monetary donations...

Anyone?, Anyone?

Best,
DH

Get back on this soon. Might even do an AD thread myself that focuses on how I do it and the things I've come across. Wouldn't mind IC and Morti Co-authoring since they have experience. Perhaps I'd call it The House that Hoss Built. Yeah, I'm a nursery rhyme buff in my spare time...

best,
DH

I am loving this diet!!! I am only a week and a half in, and it is the best thing I have ever done. I am not doing this diet to get ripped up, so I am eating like a freaking king. 18 eggs a day, at least six huge hamburgers a day covered in cheddar and Swiss cheese, lots of bacon, all the good stuff. I am taking a couple of tbls of fiber supplement a day to keep the pipes pumping. I am also eating vegges with three of my six meals and 5-10 fish oil pills with each meal too.
I can't wait for the Biotest to release their fatty acid supp, it's gonna be sweet!

Carb up is gonna be sweet too. I got 4 tubs of Surge I gotta use somehow:) I can say that this is not just gonna be a trend diet for me, but I whole new lifestyle. I am more pumped than I have been in a long while. Disc Hoss, Il Cazzo, and Robert Monti thanks for the tips. Lets keep this thing going.


Joe

Also all my workouts have been great. I thought going into this that I would always feel down and have no energy, which is how low carbs diets usually do me. I was wrong! I stay energized and I feel Grrreat!!! I wake up full too, which is really unusual for me. I can't wait to see how carb up effects me.

I'm lookin forward to it

DH

That would be awesome!

I know what you mean. I'm loving it and am pretty excited to see what happens.

The secret to making the transition a smooth one is to eat lots of calories. Dr. D. suggests at least 16x bodyweight (up to 18x) for a transition phase. You will adapt well and feel much better. Then once adapted (3-4 weeks we'll say) you can begin to fluctuate intake for particular goals such as mass or fat loss. Just keep the veggies, fiber, and fish oil on tap to keep things healthy. Many people mistakenly make the cross over doubley hard by not keeping energy up with the proper caloric intake.

Best,
DH

Anabolic Diet

Below is my diet, since starting the AD. Up to this point last night and today are the hardest as far as cravings. I?m really missing my oatmeal and blueberries, which I?ll be having in when I?m finally on my carb days. I?ve completed four days of high fat/high protein/low carb days and have not experienced being sluggish at all. Only 8 more days until I eat carbs! I might be eating upwards of 50% fat right now. I drank a Pepsi One last night at Wal-Mart ~ I hadn?t had soda for probably six months before that. I don?t plan to make that a habit. I also treated myself to Einstein?s coffee w/half-and-half this morning. I had stopped drinking coffee during the weekdays about a month ago, knowing that it can stress the CNS. The cutting out of coffee has really balanced my energy levels.

This morning as my girlfriend was laying on my chest she said she can already tell I?m ?tighter? with this diet. I wasn?t too sure that she was for the diet but now she is coming around. She is worried I?m not getting enough vegetables. I?ll be loading up on those during carb up both for her and my sake. If this thing is going to work she needs to be on my side, or at least that will make life easier for me. Matt likes when his woman is happy!

When I started this diet I had been going back and forth from 225 to 230lbs. @ 6ft 3in ~ I know that sucks! I want to eventually get to the 250 ? 275 lb range. I train strongman and got 2nd in my first contest last November. I train with a big Samoan guy and we flip tires, carry farmers, carry super stones and squat our asses off every Sunday. Tuesday and Thursday are free weights only.

In February I severed a ligament in my wrist ~ I was only able to front squat (couldn?t use my hands), Saftey squat bar movements and ab stuff. It helped me maintain my weight and gain weight/strength in my legs. I hit them twice a week. I quiet a bit of upper body mass to get back. I still have a good amount of swelling in my wrist after training but it is coming around. I plan to compete in Las Vegas NM on August 13 and at the Pueblo State Fair (Colorado) in late August or early September.

I?m tired of being skinny and I want to move up with the big dogs instead of competing lightweight (231 and below). I may get my ass kicked at first but should soon start kicking ass.

I took measurements after the first day of this diet and will post them since people will ultimately ask what are your measurments. This is the first time I have ever measured myself and I felt like a woman doing it. I thought it would help me know weather this diet is working for me. I?ll post more measurements whenever I feel like a body builder and take measurements again. I?m thinking of hot pink posing trucks with sequins. What do you guys think? Yeah right! That will be the day.

DIET


June 13, 2005

Breakfast:

4 slices bacon, 3 eggs, 3 Omega 3 complex

Postworkout:

1 scoop Low-Carb Grow!
3 grams Creatine

Lunch:

4 Omega 3 Complex

2 chicken breast, 1 cup spinach, 2 tblspoon olive oil, red wine vinegar

Snack:

1 scoop Low-Carb Grow!, 1 tblspn olive oil

Snack:

2 eggs

Dinner:

4 Italian Sausage, Spinnach, Olive oil, broccoli, celery

Before bed:

1 scoop Low-Carb Grow!, tblspn flax


June 13, 2005

Breakfast:

3 eggs, 4 slices bacon, 4 omega complex pills

Snack:

1 chicken breast, 1 oz cream cheese

Snack:

4 slices provolone

Lunch:

Four thick slices of roast beef, 4 slices of Monterey Jack cheese, 3 oz cream cheese

Snack:

2 Italian sausage

Dinner:

2 big hamburgers w/cheese

2 bowls of spinach salad


June 14, 2005

Breakfast:

1 egg, 1 Italian sausage

Snack:

3 thick slices of turkey, 4 slices sharp cheddar cheese, 2 oz of cream cheese

Lunch:

Broccoli, four slices provolone, 4 slices roast beef


Snack:

2 celery stalks, 1 oz cream cheese

Dinner:

12oz. Ribeye, broccoli


June 15, 2005

Breakfast:

2 scoops Low-Carb Grow!

Snack:

4 pieces provolone

Lunch:

4 slices cheedar cheese, 3 slices roast beef, 2oz cream cheese

Dinner:

1 Italian Sausage, 3 hamburgers

Before bed:

1.5 scoop Low-Carb Grow!, 1 tblspn Olive oil


June 16, 2005

Breakfast:

4 hard boiled eggs, 4 pieces bacon, Coffee with half and half

MEASUREMENTS unflexed

Arms 16inches
Waist 38inches
Thighs 26 inches
Hips 41 ? inches
Calves 16 ?
Forarms 13 ?
Chest 45 ?
Neck 16


TRAINING STUFF

Flipped 700(?) lb tire 7 times in a row

Clean and pressed 240 lb log

Best deadlift 485 needs work!

Carried 250 lb farmers 50 ft.

As you can see I need more strength but my athletic ability helped in my first contest.

This is a very interesting thread and also a very interesting diet. Ok so there is 2 forms of the diet tweaked for either body building or powerlifting? So my question is, I want to add raw power without gaining a ton of mass but some mass gain is fine by me. I could stand to gain 20-30 lbs over the next few years without it hindering my goals. My main concern is that I won't be powerlifting or body building at all. I lift total body once or twice a week depending on time and energy and it is mainly explosive moves such as O-lifts and ballistic throws and such. I also Golf 5-6 days a week.

DH or anyone else, would this diet, and i'm thinking the powerlifting variety would be better suited, help me along with my progress? Like I said, I am looking to gain explosive power #1 and possibly help my CNS recover as quickly as possible from many many rounds of golf. There are days when I just feel like poop out on the course and it seems like many of you are feeling amazing energy levels once adapted into this diet. I know it would probably be a bit of a guess, but maybe someone could steer me in the right direction.

Currently my diet is .... eat anything I want anytime i'm hungry. Now obviosly, I make good food choices 80 percent of the time, chicken, steak, I try to stay away from trans fats and hi GI carbs, but there really isn't much else rhym or reason to my diet.

If you need any other info about my current state of existance please feel free to ask.

V

Is all of the info that you guys have been laying out (ex - calories = 16-18 x bodyweight) in the book(s)? Or is this stuff that you guys have found to work through experimentation?

Sounds very interesting...should I just search under DiPasquale?

Many thanks to all the contributors of this thread, and sorry my for ignorance beforehand.

Tucker

Hey Mdragon,

I think you need to eat more. I weigh 195 or so and I eat more than this. Dischoss can probably tell you also that this diet really kicks your engines into high gear and Bud, you need the fuel! Try eating more at breakfast, 4 slices of bacon? A guy your size needs a pound and then a 4 egg omelete to go with it. You have the frame to get up with the 275ers now you just have to fill it in.

Barry

Ah, home again. Best thread going..

Mauro suggests 18x bodyweight for a starting point when you break in on the diet. Can be tweaked but is a good goal. You don't want to be getting hungry or losing more energy than what occurs naturally with the metabolic shift. Just weigh yourself on say friday morns and compare week to week. This will hit you at your lightest weight and give you a constant and consistent marker for comparison. Like any other diet, systematically alter caloric intake depending on goal... mass, fat loss, maintenance.

Vegita,

This diet is the best diet for overall 'energy' I have ever found. Something about the surge of good hormones this diet produces must have something to do with it. Since you have a good apetite the AD will be just the ticket. Make a food log for a few days and just count how many carbs you are currently getting. You will be surprised most likely to see your carb intake in the hundreds of grams. The basic AD calls for no more than 30 per day so judge from this benchmark.

One word of caution on the energy question. On the carb up weekends you can/will have some carb 'crashes'. Usually they come from too many muffins or brownies or whatever. It seems like processed foods cause more of a reaction than whole foods. So if you can get some Potatoes, rice etc. as the main carb up foods you can avoid a couch coma.

Barry

Welcome Vegita. The difference between the two is not great. Training will have more to do with explosive power and absolute strength. Eat the AD. The original is still the best, as the others are 99.9% the same with some supplement advertisements. Anyone who wants access to the AD can PM me for the location. It is no longer in book format, but it still comes with the video. Now the book is on CD-ROM.

Once you adapt to the diet, Vegita, you'll definitely have better recovery from your workouts as well as your daily activities. Golf, not being what most would consider anaerobic ;-), would be well fueled by fatty acids. In about 3-4 weeks you'll be humming along and will never get a blood sugar crash again. 95% or your daily activites are fueled by fat once you convert over. Only your training is fueled by glucose. It takes a significant threshold of effort to meet the anaerobic criteria to any meaningful level. My energy is always good and always sucks when some odd event forces me to have carbs too long. This is a real rarity, and every time I realize that I freaking hate carb based diets. And from the lethargy and GI distress I'd surmise they hate me too!

On mass, that's all in the calories, my friend. Even if you are doing an excellent program, you won't pick up weight unless you supply a surplus. What you will notice is an improvement of body comp on maintenance cals.

Coffee, used more than sporadically, will only prolong the inevitable. For CNS recovery, make sure to get fish oils and some tyrosine (2-4g). This is the main powerhouse in Power Drive. Check out Dr. Kinakin's interview with Shugart in the archives. Tyrosine is very effective at preventing overtraining by keeping neurotransmitters "topped off".

Best,
DH

More ??'s always welcome.

Well said and true, Barry.
Carb quality makes all the difference between feeling like a superman or feeling like a piece of crap.

DH

Anybody know why they should preferentially consume starches instead of sugars for the load? Beyond the obvious feeling of *suckage* that sugars cause. Too many at least.. I still throw down on the goodies too.

Anyone interested?

Maybe I'll start a tips/tricks aspect to this thread to give everybody the full understanding of the whys/hows so that we can mass produce disciples and then buy into the cattle market. Pay ourselves to get big!

DH

I am on day 4 of the AD and I was under the impression that you carb up in days 6 and 7. Are you supposed to wait until you have benn under 30g of carbs for 14 days until you have your first carb up? I didn't think so but another post made me wonder. Thanks for the info.

Everyone;

Do a google search on "the Anabolic Diet". There is a source for the CD-ROM and the video. Book is not in hard copy any longer. And if you want to print it, it's only about 100 pages.

Best,
DH

quote]tucker2024 wrote:
Disc Hoss wrote:
Ah, home again. Best thread going..

Mauro suggests 18x bodyweight for a starting point when you break in on the diet. Can be tweaked but is a good goal. You don't want to be getting hungry or losing more energy than what occurs naturally with the metabolic shift. Just weigh yourself on say friday morns and compare week to week. This will hit you at you lightest weight and give you a constant and consistent marker for comparison. Like any other diet, systematically alter caloric intake depending on goal... mass, fat loss, maintenance.



Disc Hoss -
I was just using that as an example. I guess I am really looking for the title of the book, and whether it completely lays the diet out, or not.

I had a little bit of trouble coming up with anything when I did a general search. Did you buy the book through a store, or online?

Thanks again,
Tucker
[/quote]

Yes. To guarantee a good start go the first weekend as normal on the AD. This will give you 12 days straight to wring every last bit of glycogen out of your hide and then you go 5-5 1/2 days low carb, then 36 hours of food orgy. For mass of course. If you want to cut, then just have a slow dance and some heavy petting. ;-)

Example. I start the AD on Monday, June 20th and go until Friday July 1st OR Saturday July 2nd for my carb load.

Best scenarios.
#1 Standard. Start carbing from Saturday morning until Sunday evening. Give yourself a break before bed Sunday night or you may not sleep well.

#2 My current. Start carbing on Friday morning or at lunch and go till Saturday evening.

Both ways give you *2* days effectively, but it's really @36 hours. That is a good duration. That is the best way to understand your 2 day load. All day Saturday (from about 8am) and all day Sunday (till about 6pm).

DH

I have an oddity to report and I was wondering if anyone experiences this...I'm not doing the AD, per se. I eat more along the lines of T-Dawg 2.0. I love my fruits and vegis.

Anyway, I've noticed that it's summer and everyone seems to be on a cutting diet, of course me included. However, I'm cutting with 4k+ cals a day. In the winter, I balloon up on that many cals a day. Hunger is something I never feel when I'm cutting. I think the main diff is I don't eat much in the way of sugar/simple carbs. Mostly fruit and vegis. I seem to hibernate in the winter and don't stop moving in the summer. Anyways, here's to not being hungry while cutting.!!!! Cheers

I assume that it has to do with the constant highs and lows of the processed sugars and the more level blood sugar that the starches will provide?

Please do a tips/tricks...I'll go in on an overtaking of the cattle market...I say we add buffalo I love that meat!

Sunlight stimulates metabolism and T levels, too.

DH

Thanks Hoss, See boys arms like the Hoss has don't come from tofu and rice cakes.

mdragon, you must live in the west to have eaten much buffalo. Here in Idaho there is a big buffalo ranch, or was, I heard the Doctor who ran it was selling out. Buffalo is really good meat though. Lean and mean. Wild game is good on this diet too. If you can get your hands on some smoked salmon, mmmm, mmmm! Elk is good too as is Deer (if you can get past the sagebrush taste).

Barry

Oh Yeah! Wild game is awesome for the AD. Makes you want to put a loin cloth on and eat without utensils. My grill works some serious overtime most of the year.

DH

Only when I really want to mass up do I dig out the tofu and rice cakes. Can't believe that got out. Gotta save something for my peeps to wonder about. ;-0

DH

Just purchased the Anabolic Solution for PL e-book yesterday, and I've started the strict phase today.

DH, is there really a difference in the AD compared to the AS? I've used the AD as outlined on T-Nation (Shugart's article) in the past with success, but it's been awile.

Looking forward to still being strong while dieting!

Also, if you know, is the 1-2 lbs/week guideline written in stone? I have easily 40 lbs to lose, but I'm not in a HUGE rush, either.

BTW, it's funny that this thread came up. I'd been comtemplating buying this book for a couple of months now. This thread got me of the fence.

Anvil
(my brother thinks meat is evil. he also has long hair and smokes ALOT of pot. Coincidence? Maybe...)

I'm in Colorado!

PM me for the addy to get the AD. No sense getting the AS as it is the same info with some supp advertising.

And IC is correct, you can lose more. My buddy, BookemD, has hit it hard a few times and dropped fast. Of course if he'd STAY away from the carbs he wouldn't have to binge diet. As long as your energy is up and your strength is maintained, you're cool.

DH

Help a Bruthuh out. Calling all techno-nerds.

Got a photo, but no matter how many times I crop it, it still shows size of 283K. Can't exceed 128 for an avatar. I'm considering a switch for some variety. I'm a complete moron with this stuff so it'll take a miracle.

Go to paint, click file, click open, go to my pictures or wherever it is saved, click all files from the drop down at the bottom, save it as a .jpg file at the drop down just above the all files drop down. If I don't make sense PM me and I'll call you.

Thanks all. You guys are so good to me... ;-)

DH

Oh boy, this is one sweet diet. I thought I would be sluggish, tired, week, and dying for some carbs. I am experiencing the opposite of all of these. Here is a sample of my diet so far today.

Meal 1: 1/2 scoop pro powder, six scrambled eggs, 3/4 cup of Cheddar cheese. eight pieces of bacon. 10 fish oil pills,1 liter of water
Meal 2: Same as above minus protein powder.
Meal 3: Pre workout? two scoops of Power Drive mixed with some strong green tea
Meal 4: PWO All you can eat BBQ beef, about 1-11/2 lbs. One huge salad with oil and vinegar. My training partner told me he has never seen anyone eat that much beef in one sitting:)
Meal 5:Two Bubba burgers, four pieces of cheese(Swiss, and cheddar), 10 fish oil pills, and two tablespoons of sugar free fiber supp.

My next meal will be the same as meal five and I will have some full fat cottage cheese and more fish oil before bed. Today I was kind of lacking in the veggie department, but I will make up for it tomorrow. I have never consumed so much fish oil in my life. Hopefully I won't grow gills:) One more week until carb up, and I could care lees. I love cheese!

Joe

It IS a sweet ride. Just be aware that you might hit a wall, but tough it out. This makes all the difference. When I first did it, I was feeling like I had the flu by Friday. Few days later and I'm jumping out of the bed in the morn. GF was amazed as I always hated mornings.

DH

Take some pro powder right before your workouts (whey~ about 30g) and then another about 30 mins after. Then hit the solids.

DH

I'm glad it worked. Thank you for all your help! Dude your hyouge! Maybe if you have someone else take the picture...it would come out better.

That or I've got "the Palsy" or something. BFG has a scientific theory behind it all that really is impressive. :0

DH

mdragon, that is a valid point and one that does play into your choice of CHO on the AD. The big one is that starches are broken down into glucose primarily with small amounts of fructose. Glucose preferentially fills the muscle while fructose heads to the liver. Sucrose (table sugar in your sweets) is a dissacharide and has a larger fructose content that will allow the liver to be full faster and then when you begin carb depletion, the liver will continue to spike and drop your blood sugar levels for hours until it is depleted again.

Better to focus on filling muscle glycogen stores to the max. Also sucrose and fructose stimulate fat creating enzymes. So keep your loads smart. Have your goodies, but do it after you've consumed quality carbs. You'll feel better, look better, and your appetite won't get you into trouble by driving you to down a gallon of Ben & Jerry's.

DH