DH

Will get all scientific on your ass. But the bottom line is count all carbs. Those "net carb"
bars have sugar alcohol in them and your body will use sugar alcohol as an energy
source. We only want our body using fat as an energy source. As DH said leave the net
carb bullshit for the fat Atkins house wives.

Brudog wrote:
Doc D says that you can use some of the low carb bars on the market. Though I know
that his would be the best to use, Does anyone now which others could be use without
fear of messing things up. As an ADer how would we interpret the macro profile on the
back of the bar when you take glycerine and other junk into consideration.

I am not talking about basing the diet on the bar, but rather being able to use them as
one of those better than nothing tools when I cannot get to a shake or meal. If the bar
says 4 net carbs does that mean that I can count it as that many.

thanks Brudog.

I'm on Day 6 of the induction phase.

Haven't posted or read the post the last 3 days because I can't take everyone talking
about what they're going to eat on carb-up day.

Energy is fine, though i haven't lifted in the last 5 days so it really shouldn't be a
problem.

The carb cravings come and go BUT I have to say, I feel very strong discipline wise
because I know come the 13th day, I can eat more or less whatever i want for 36 hrs.

I don't feel trapped like a regular diet where everything is verboten, I know there's a
light at the end of the tunnel!

It adds a lot of resolve for sure.

Some of my cravings:

decadent chocolate raspberry cake and chocolate cheesecake from my local pastry shop;
oatmeal with raisins (which I rarely eat anymore!); ice cream; watermelon, blueberrries,
peaches; the ability to eat a lot of vegetables.

Hven't craved pasta or chocolate chip cookies yet - strange, since CC cookies are my
achilles heel.

One thing I've learned:

high quality Italian deli meats and cheeses have really helped with cravings of all types.

its like they fix my cravings immediately.

havoc501 wrote:
in bodyopus,duchaine said that it wasn't a diet meant for someone over 15%
bodyfat.being that these diets are similar,do you feel his statement to be true?would
berardi's don't diet plan be better for someone who is really overweight or is this diet
easy to stick with despite what dan said.
Well, I'm not familiar with Berardis Don't Diet plan but coming from a guy that is over
15% BF and has has been eating this way for almost 1.5 months, I can say this diet is
for everyone. Very easy to stick to and you feel great while doing it.

Absolutely not. This diet will stip off fat and maintain muscle or gain a small amount on
reduced cals. It will add muscle without much if any fat if you up cals. It is hormonal
optimization. Caloric intake then decides the weight reduction or accumulation. The
same overall "anabolic" environment that builds muscle also streamlines fat loss. On this
diet, it is possible to be anabolic (perhaps anti-catabolic technically) with respect to
muscle and catablolic with respect to body fat at the same time to get ripped. Whenever
you use fats for fuel, you have contolled insulin, enhanced T and GH, avoidance of
protein oxidation, and much more. The caloric intake then determines the "how much"
you are adding, maintiaining, or losing. The hormonal profile the AD creates controls the
"what" you are gaining or losing. Simplest way to look at it.

Calories = How much you gain/lose

Macronut. Ratio = What you gain/lose

DH

Disc Hoss wrote:

Right. Unless you're sporting single digit BF then "smooth out" is not helpful. For some,
they can check their fingers. If you are retaining water then you may have had enough.
But some retain quickly and easily. They may want to play around with sodium levels
during the load and drink some distilled water to see if this helps. Really, don't let it
bother you either way. By sticking with at least 12 hours and no more than 36 you
should be cool. Food choice plays a BIG part here. Keeping plenty of starches vs. junk
will help most out significantly. Keep the numbers game and you'll be fine. Also, some
don't realize that 36 hours, properly timed, is effectively "two" days. Sat morning (say
8am) until Sun evening (say 8pm) is 36 hours of loading, but you had CHO all day Sat
and Sunday, or "two" days.

DH

Funny you mention the starting the load when you wake on Saturday. I was just going
to write to see if anyone else does this. In the book it says to start on Fri. night but hell,
if you start Sat. morning, you get 2 full days in to load. This is more convenient,
especially if you are putting back the amount of carbs DH does. It gives you more time
to do things other than.... eat. : )

Crashed yesterday.Felt like a mild flu in the morning,went into the kitchen to eat
brekfast and found myself just sitting there for close to two hours.Went into the
livingroom,dumped into a chair and sat there for the rest of the day.

Woke up today on top of th world!Energy's rock steady,an I'm gaining weight AND
getting leaner.Up from 82 to 83 kg.

Any Waterbury program. He'd suggest NB3. ABBH 1, Waterbury Method, and TBT have
been my favorites. Ok, so I'm a Dubya advocate, sue me. ;-).

DH
reggc wrote:
What is the best type of weight training program to follow on this diet to keep your
muscle. My first trying this or any other kind of diet.

HL,
Put fat to 50% on 1400 day.
Put fat to 60% on 2100 day.
Keep CHO at 30g or less at all times.
Protein is the balance for each day

Keep a goal of 2000kcal per day to start.

2000kcal x 7 = 14000 weekly intake

Mon: 1400 cals.

Tue: 2100 cals.
Wed: 1400 cals.
Thur: 2100 cals.
Fri: 1400 cals.
Sat: 3500 cals.
Sun: 2100 cals.

Make Saturday ONLY your CHO loading day. Go clean with only 1-2 desserts.
Get plenty of good CHO and keep your fat moderate and protein low:

3500 x .25= 875/9 = @100g fat

3500 x .10= 350/4 = @85g pro
3500 x .65= 2275/4 = @570g CHO
------

1400 day: (close estimates)

75g fat
160g pro
25g CHO

2100 day:
150g fat
160g pro
25g CHO

----

No, the diet does work for everyone. It's simple math. Once you have the hormones in
order to keep insulin in check, GH, glucagon, leptin, T, fT, the catecholamines, and much
more is your "friend" in your attempt to lose fat. Now it's a numbers game. As much as
the detractors want to "poo-poo" the AD, it's a living entity that can be individualized for
each specific case. I really wish people understood Mauro's work before they became
armchair experts. There are ways to modify the AD if need be, and HL is not there yet.
Subtle nuances in an orderly, coherent manner will tell us what HL needs.

I'll lay $ to rubbles that if HL were to substitute any other diet, all else being equal, he'd
not get the results that have thus far eluded him either. Here, we'll dial him in. Thanks
for the support.
DH

PtrDR wrote:
Hoglover, I know this may sound like "blasphemy" to certain posters on this thread but;
this diet doesn't work for EVERYONE.

Don

Hoglover,

I disagree with the advice of upping your cals. 2000 calories is low for your body weight.
From what I understand, that is a good thing since you are trying to lose bodyweight. I
think you are on the right track by seeking to shorten and clean up your weekend carb
ups. I found that even with 36 hours my body would switch to carb burning by Sunday
evening and then back to fat burning around Wednesday. The end result was that I felt
like crap for most of the week. DH recommends 400 g carbs at a minimum for a carb up
weekend. I would take in that 400 g in a 12 hour period with either no or maybe one
cheat meal. The rest of your carbs should probably be from oatmeal, fruit, etc.

Another recommendation I will make is to divide your weekday cals up over 6 whole food
meals if possible. I dropped shakes (I think that even PF shakes have a greater insulin
response than whole foods) altogether and just ate 6 meals that were approximately half
the size of the 3 whole food meals I was eating before. This had the effect of keeping my
body fed throughout the day. I believe that this will help prevent undesirable drops in
metabolism.

Todd

Being a fat bruning machine is heaven.

Yesterday I had a 7 pm workout,a 12 pm workout,a 2 am workout and a late night

cardio session.That's 4 + hours of hard work,and i didn't experience a lack of energy for
a second of it.

I sweat,though.

Sonny S wrote:
What is everyone eating for breakfast these days that does not use eggs?

I'm all about the egg. Honestly, eggs with some kind of meat gives me more energy for
the day than anything else.

Plus, I treat breakfast as my dinner, it's by far my biggest meal, then lunch, shakes and
a very small dinner.

My perfect breakfast is spinach, garlic, and onion, sauteed in EV Olive oil. Then 4-5 eggs
and 1-2oz feta cheese. Coffee or Spike. I actually get euphoric after eating that.

Now, on the few times where I have to run out of the house w/o my eggs...where I'll
have to just drink a shake, I feel like crapola.
However, since you want an eggless breakfast, just use leftovers from the nigt before.
Or, since you are a fellow I-tai, get some good lunchmeat and put in on a salad.

Concerning Post Workout nutrition:

It is perfectly fine to "save" CHO to be used for post workout consumption if you so
desire. It's just a little less exciting during the day having to be so strict in order to
splurge at this time. Slamming back about 20g CHO (sucrose or glucose is fine at this
amount) is acceptable if you so choose.

Once adapted though, it's not necessary. Your body will synthesis glycogen from
triglycerides just fine, and this is not important to us as weightlifters anyway (see Dave
Barr's article on PW myths). Our only real concern is getting an insulin boost to increase
transport of aminos into the muscle. Some fast whey (such as an isolate, hydrolysate, or
even concentrate) works just fine, and a moderate amount of fat will not slow this down
(unlike it would for others who are not fat adapted). I like some "fast" whey with some
heavy cream, usually about 3-4 tbsp, with some sugar free jello mix.

If you want some CHO at this time, just keep your daily limit under control (30g), add
some simple table sugar to the above and eat up.

Fine either way. Remember, for us the "rules" are different.

DH

On the load keep fat moderate (about 25-35%). This is a normal american intake or
rather a bit less. Don't be slamming the fat down on the load. Best loading for most:

@ 25-35% fat
@ 10-20% protein
@ 50-60% CHO

Higher protein is NOT necessary and it is possible that a day or two of lowered intake
could potentiate AA intake during the week for a higher nitrogen balance. Possible.

Fat should be moderate so as not to slow insulin down too much. On the AD, fat and
CHO work together to amplify the insulin surge with moderate fat intake. Don't overdo it
and kill a good thing.

DH

Wolverin wrote:
'Just remember,for us the rules are different.'

Does that apply to fat tolerance in the early hours as well?

If memory serves,having a high-fat brekfast decreases glucose tolerance for a big part of
the day.Should we take this into consideration during a carb load?

Same for night-time.I've been having my last carbs before 6pm and finished the day off
with a hefty PF meal.In effect that would make the load around 20 hours.

On that last PF meal after the load, keep in mind that insulin will be in flux for hours
after a CHO meal. During this time, a large load of fat is not the best choice. If you stop
loading at 6pm, then at about 10pm or so have some protein (meat and cottage cheese
or powder with cream etc..) with about 15-20g fat. This will be sufficient. Eating big
before bed is generally not a good idea. You should eat for the activity so to speak.
Unless you are really cutting or bulking, then eat according to what you'll be doing the
next few hours. A good sensible rule to keep cals in check. If you are bulking then hit it
big at breakfast, pre-lunch, lunch, and pre-dinner. Make dinner moderate and pre-bed
an intelligent anti-catabolic/slow meal with moderate fat. Your first 4 meals will be
"bulking", meal 5 will be "normal" and meal 6 will be normal pro w/some fat.

DH

Wolverin wrote:
'Just remember,for us the rules are different.'

Does that apply to fat tolerance in the early hours as well?

If memory serves,having a high-fat brekfast decreases glucose tolerance for a big part of
the day.Should we take this into consideration during a carb load?

Same for night-time.I've been having my last carbs before 6pm and finished the day off
with a hefty PF meal.In effect that would make the load around 20 hours.

Hey DH,

Why carb at all? It only makes me lethargic, I get massive gas, and other stuff I won't
mention.

I'm making steady weight gain, combining one of Chad Waterbury's options with this
diet plan...

Re: sat. fats.

I've noticed over the last month or so that since I've been eating mostly red meat and
eggs (as my protein/fat foods, not including the vegs.) that I seem to feel better...more
energy, more strength, more alert, need less sleep. Not saying to stay away from turkey
and chicken, but Dr. D is right, you can't be on this diet and go completely lean meats.

Good ol'Neil G started a thread about sat. fats a while ago and got chased off the board,
but they are not as bad as most make them. Berardi reccomends 33% of your fats come
from saturated...I think thats a good goal to shoot for.

Gentleman?. And ladies if applicable?

I have been a reader of T-Nation for sometime now. I recall making a few posts way
back in the day?. Pre revamping the forum, however, I have not been intrigued to chime
in on any topics since then. However this one happened to catch my eye.

I have been doing what I would call my own rendition of the AD for about 3 years now. I
say my own rendition due to the fact that I have kind of tweaked it to my own liking
over the years. I recall reading a post that Dave Tate made on EliteFTS.com answering a
question someone had about making decent gains by controlling diet rather than using
AS?.. He pointed them to the metabolic diet?. At the time I was doing massive eating,
and although I grew to love it, once I started the AD, the food choices and energy I had
kept me from going back to massive eating?.. AD is not for everyone, but it?s defiantly
for me!! To give you an idea of what I do, and have done for about 2.5 of the three
years I have been on this the joy ride they call the AD:

I always keep carbs at or below 30 grams, max, on off days. However I have a post
workout drink with about 50 grams of carbs??. I have found that I recover better with
this, plus it seems to give me that extra insulin spike I need at just the right time. I now
just have a carb day when I feel like it. Sometimes it is every 5-6 days, sometimes I will
do up to 14 days?. In lieu of carbing up for 36 hours like some do? I tend to gear myself
toward a massive eating style of grubbing?? A few clean, fat and protein meals, and the
rest HIGH carb/protein meals that should theoretically send me into a insulin induced
comma?.. ! I train every other day. I would say that I train like a power lifter, but eat
like a bodybuilder. As far as training goes, much of the Westside protocols w/o the
chains?. Although my intentions are the throw them in the next few years, however I
have been having great gains w/o them?. And I believe the main reason for that is the
AD.

One thing that I have noticed is that my caloric intake has increase dramatically over the
years, w/o gaining much, if any weight at all. I was 195 when I started, I am about
210-215 now?. No idea what my BF is, and never really cared?.

Make sure your guys eat tons of veggies or this thing will literally tear you a new asshole
when you least expect it?? Work hard and stick with it, and it will defiantly treat you
right. Some people do not believe the strength and mass gains I have made over the
last few years?. And to be honest about it, I really don?t either? I have been waiting for
this bubble to burst anytime now, and every time I feel as if it may, I tweak my calories,
or throw in a massive carb day, or whatever?. Your body will tell you what to do in time.

Peace?

I'll give it a shot.

Once your body has done the emtabolic shift from carbs to free fatty acids and the
production of insulin and GH is revved up,something exciting happens.

Although antagonistic in nature,you can on carb-up days enjoy the benefits of both
insulin and GH at once with a high carb/moderate fat intake.According to the good
Doctor,the body increases GH as the ingestion of large quantities of carbs is stressful for
the body.

I'm curious about fructose as well.I drink 3+ litres of juice on carb-ups now to get my
carbs in.Less bloating and tastes damn good.

"So why does the AD recommend high carb/high fat?"

When does the book ever reccomend high carb and high fat? If you mean on the
weekend, its high carbs, low fat.
What you are talking about is in the same meal.

Just for my information I was wondering something. Does everyone on this thread that
is doing this diet keep track of their macros on the carb up weekends or is it just a free-
for-all? I haven't been watching my macros hardly at all and I'm wondering if that's
paritally responsible for my lack of results.

I was in a similar position when I started. I had used the diet for about a month. During
the two week intro phase, I lost about 8 pounds (mostly if not all water). Then I dropped
maybe a pound or two over the next month. After making some changes, I've been
losing about 2 pounds a week for the last month.

Here are my thoughts:

1. Unlike those who do the diet to gain mass while limiting fat gains, those of us trying
to lose bf need to be more aware of what we're eating. I've noticed you've said you have
a 'free-for-all' on the weekends. If you're trying to lose fat, this isn't gonna cut it.
Regardless of how strict you are during the week, if you gorge on the weekends (which I
was guilty of), your weekly calorie intake is going to put you above where you need to
be.

Plus, I think a 36-hour unrestricted carb-up is probably too long for those of us carrying
too much bf. Either cut out the junk (less fun) or keep the carb-up to one day a week.
I've even seen it suggested to take only one carb-up every 10-14 days while trying to
drop fat (or even staying on the intro phase until you reach your goals). The point is, if
you've been on it this long without seeing results, you're probably eating too many
weekly calories. You can't eat like you're cutting during the week, eat like you're bulking
on the weekend, and expect to get the results you want.

On the positive side, even during the time I was eating like crazy on the weekends, I
didn't GAIN fat. I actually dropped a bit of scale weight and noticed some improvement
in muscle size...just a testiment to the effectiveness of the diet, even when used
improperly for your goals. You'll get results, just much more slowly than if you focused
on either bulking or cutting.

2. I've also added 2-3 days of some type of energy systems work/GPP/whatever you
want to call it. I'm not a fan of long duration cardio, but I've found I need more than
weight training and diet to see the results I want. Granted, this isn't true for everyone,
but for those of us who spend half their day sitting at a desk and get little exercise
outside of training, I think it's a necessity.

I want to get some thoughts on the mid week carb spike. I've been on the diet since late
August and attempted my first mid week spike last week. It was actually on Tues. night,
so not technically mid-week, but close.

Anyway, I consumed mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, green beens and a slice of
pie. I noticed a great pump within hours after this and as well as the next day. Today I
did another one, this time however, it consisted of only a large sandwich on white break
from Quiznos. I was just wondering if anyone had any advice/recommendations on the
mid week spike. I read over the book this morning and the only thing I can find is the
recommendation of a large pancake breakfast and anywhere from 400-1000 calories in
the meal. Today, with the sandwich, I figure I got around 110+ as I also through in a
few chips. Not sure about the calories of the sandwich but I'm guessing I'm tetering real
close to the 850-1000 range. That being said, in weeks to come should I try to make
sure that a larger % of the calories of this meal come from carbs. As in just eating a
stack of pancakes or a loaf of bread or something. Any info is appreciated. Thanks.

always have a problem with side dishes.i like my meat with side dishes.plain veggies
gets boring.
i found this on the back of a mayonaise jar.
take cauliflower and boil it till tender,drain.
in a blender or food processor mix cauliflower with mayo and garlic.
use the chop mode.
it came out creamy and looked like mashed taters.
wasn't bad.
cream cheese might work even betterthan mayo.
had it with my salmon,cooked in olive oil and lemon juice.

If I do a mid week carb-up, I have always reduced the weekend to a single carb day
only. If I carb up for 3 days a week, my body wants to run on carbs and not fat, but it
simply doesn't have enough carbs in the system to run properly. This gives me Richard
Simmons like workouts.

Exactly Massif. You'll shift yourself back to CHO burning while at the same time be
denying the necessary CHO to fuel yourself. It's a metabolic purgatory. Bad news. If
doing a mid week, then do only a single day load. And you need to keep the loads
cleaner because sucrose and fructose will increase the liver stores and then your liver
will continue to release it's supply and give the body the impression to continue burning
CHO. You'll then burn less fat. Glucose preferentially fills muscle, fructose fills the liver
most easily, and sucrose is a dissacharide that feeds both. Starches are the best loading
sources and some glucose or malto for your POST workout consumption ONLY on the
loading day.

DH

1-1,5 g protein per pound of bodyweightis recommended on the AD.You're getting

around 2,which is high.The AD is very protein sparing,so you won't need more than
that.On a high-carb diet you would need more because the body wouldn't run as
smoothly on FFA's.

I don't have much experience with the diet compared to the veterans here,but what I did
notice was that my energy increased when I downed the protein from 250 to 190 g and
upped the fats.Cheaper and easier to get it in as well!

bricked. wrote:
What's a typical day for you, W and CA?
Today I ated.

1) Eggs + Flaxmeal + EVOO

2) CoCheese (Fatty) + Cheddar + EVOO
3) Eggs + Hazelnuts + Spinach
4) Hamburger + Cheese + Spinach
5) Chicken + Hazelnuts + Broccoli
7) Casein Shake + Fishoil

2500~ cals 63/4/34

Tomorrow is carbup.

Oh, and, my energy skyrocketed once I dropped the protein to 1.5 per lb - glucogenesis
really hammered me.

Good to hear!

A typical day I'll chow down something like:

150 g total of oils.This includes seal,flax,olive and fish oil.

200 g red meat

200 g salmon
2 eggs
100 g mixed nuts
15 g butter
150 g chicken thigh
30 g whey
150 g tuna
40 g cheese

Some days I'll have 10 eggs,some days none.Some days I'll have three meals consisting
of red meat,some days none.

In addition to this I have alot of broccoli,cauliflower,spinach and the occational carrot.I

sprinkle ground flax seeds in shakes and on salads to increase fiber.

Carb-up tomorrow.Weight was 85,7 kg this morning,same as the week before.I began at
83 kgs so I have gained around 2.5 kgs so far.Gonna keep it at 3600 kcal and focus on
quality carb-ups for the next two weeks and re-evaluate.

Generally on a typical day, I'll eat:

-between 1/2 and 1 dozen Omega 3 eggs
-a side of bacon
-20 fish oil tablets
-a bag each of spinach, broccoli, lettuce, and cauliflower, with radishes and mushrooms
liberally added.
-between 1/2 and 1lb of assorted cheese
-2.5 to 3lbs red meat
-maybe 1/2 to 1C of olive oil
-1/2 to 1C of nuts

That's about it on normal days, (I'm trying to gain weight, can you tell?

CA,
If you're still with us, then go with the following:

Since you are ready to mass (as I take from you post on CT's article) then you've got to
get serious.

CONTRARY TO WHAT IS BEING ESPOUSED, DOC D MADE THE AD A "MASS" DIET. How
to gain max muscle without getting fat.

If you are thin, under 10%, or just wanting to gain then boost cals to 20x bodyweight.
Start here.

Keep CHO under 50g per day. Start here.

Do a single meal in the evening of about 200-300g CHO on Wednesday. Last meal of the
day. Few hours before bed.

Do a full Sat and Sun load (will be about 36-38 hours) and consume 5000 cals each day.
Use liquid meals when necessary and keep the fat moderate (say 150g) and protein at
about the same. Workout, even if it's only light active recovery sessions and then
consume about 25 pro and 80-100g CHO afterward on the loading period.

Now gaining muscle is VERY SIMPLE:

Start at the above. Now systematically add what is necessary in two week increments.
Add about 200 cals to your daily intake for 2 weeks and then take inventory. Do it again
if necessary. And again, and again.

This diet will put MUSCLE mass on you like crazy IF you do it properly. Part of that
process is actually finding the amount you need to eat to gain. You can't gain muscle
without a surplus and the AD affords you opportunity for a larger than normal surplus.

In short, if you aren't gaining muscle guys, then you simply haven't been systematic and
diligent on finding your necessary intake. You must look in the mirror and take the
blame.

Dieting is like training. You find an approach that allows the proper anabolic environment
and then maximize volume. The AD puts you in the right hormonal environment (that is
not an assumption, but a PROVEN point in much of the literature DiPasquale draws
from)and then YOU must find the magic number that gains muscle.

Every human being on earth can gain IF they find the necessary intake.

Remember:

Macronutrient intake = what you gain

Caloric intake = how MUCH you gain.

That is simple fact. Just as CW boils training down to what we really know and then
throws out all the assumptive crap, the above will do the same.

Guys, if anybody isn't gaining after starting with the above, then you're problem is not a
diet or a training regimen, it's just you.

I hope that doesn't sound harsh, but sometimes we all need a reality check and a slap in
the chops. Consider yourself busted.

Best,
DH

Charles Atlas wrote:

Well, here is what I get with 4000kcals if I keep protein at 1.5g/lb and CHO at 30g daily:

255g max from PRO-1020kcals

30g max from CHO-120kcals
318g from FAT 2860kcals

Breaks down by % to:

71% Fat
26% PRO
3% CHO

Now I don't mean to be nitpicky here, but in the copy of the AD I have Dr. D suggests
55-60% Fat, 30-35% Pro, and 5-8% CHO. My values are skewed a bit from this. I'm
thinking that it could be because of the 30g CHO limit and my extremely high caloric
intake. If I take carbs to 6.5% of my daily kcal, then I get this:

255g max from PRO-1020kcals

65g max from CHO-260kcals
302g from FAT-2720kcals

Breaks down by % to:

26% PRO
6.5% CHO
68% FAT

So I guess the final question is, which one? Should I use either one at all? Any help is
appreciated guys!
-CA

This is SO untrue that it is irresponsible or at best naive to write. DiPasuale goes over
such things in depth and is an expert. I went from 180 to 250 with the AD. From 15.5"
arms to 20.5" arms. It is a Mass diet and was formulated for NATURAL athletes, not
those assisted or those who fall in the minority on CHO tolerance.

As Poliquin has stated, only about 20-25% of his athletes, and these are serious
competitors on a level most of us would only dream of, can tolerate higher CHO. He and
Mauro are friends and Doc D transformed Poliquin's nutritional approach for both himself
and his athletes

Look at Poliquin's transformation when he leaned out on the AD. Milos Sarcev was so
impressed that he too began to experiment. DiPasquale used this on himself and others,
whom he is able to do blood tests etc. on and has shown it's effectiveness. The guys in
the 50's,60's like Rheo Blair, Larry Scott, Vince Gironda (ripped to shreds), Draper, etc..
all used it with great results. Modern guys like Rob Faigin, Jay Robb, Poliquin, Bob Sapp
have all been quite pleased with this type of diet.

The AD is not only anabolic but ANTI-catabolic and is the absolute optimal diet to add fat
free mass with.

I'm really surprised at the lack of hard science etc.. in this latest piece. I'll go so far as to
say that anyone asserting such is not only lacking knowledge about the Anabolic Diet,
but is quite possibly being irresponsible in passing themselves as an expert on the AD,
when even a cursory understanding of the diet would have negated many incorrect
statements.

Everyone should do themselves a favor and get the Anabolic Solution and study it. Not
just read it, but really grasp what is going on. Then you'll see truth instead of half
informed assumptions.

Best,
DH
The Doc and DH have some conversation. Here below for all to listen in on are the
goods: ENJOY!

---

As far as using dextrose right after training, I don't recommend using it

although it might be useful a half hour or so later. I usually
try and have people use their natural gluconeogenic pathways to supply the
glucose and stimulus they need post workout. However, some people can't
synthesize the glucose they need for that effect. That's why it's one of the
first changes I make in athletes once people are fat adapted is to allow
10-30 grams of high glycemic carbs after training. However, when you're
cutting I'd keep the carbs to a minimum, say less than 20 grams post workout if you find
them necessary.

---

I'd try it both ways, with no carbs, and say with 10 grams or so of carbs,
and see what works best for your metabolism. No carbs works best for me, but others do
better on 10 to 30 grams of carbs after training.

---

Strict ketogenic diets are not good for gaining mass. Cycling diets on the other hand, if
you get your calorie intake and workouts synchronized, are the best mass gaining diet
around. A lot revolves on massive intakes of calories on the weekend. Leo, one of my
early lab rats, took in as much as 12,000 calories on both Sat and Sunday, while taking
in only 3-4,000 calories on the weekdays. He blew up to 310 lbs. and eventually got
down to 257 lbs at 6% body fat. His best contest weight prior to going on the Anabolic
Diet for a year was 217 lbs at 6% bodyfat.

---

Having said that, since we're dealing with a cyclical diet (notice I didn't say CKD) that
has it's ups and downs of muscle glycogen, insulin levels, intramuscular triglycerides and
many other factors, for many people it might suit them best to be lifting at times when
their hepatic and muscle glycogen levels are maximized and that would be at the
beginning of the week, rather when these levels, especially the muscle glycogen levels,
are relatively depleted. As such I would recommend that these people do their hardest
training at the beginning of the week and leave the easier stuff and cardio for the end of
the week. This, however, is not written in stone and each person must find out what
works best for them, both for the training end and the diet itself. My new book, the
Metabolic Diet, goes into this in much more detail than the Anabolic Diet.

---

As far as working out on the weekends, I don't really see a problem with that. I usually
tell people to take the weekends off and use it as a rest/social time and carb up but
that's not written in stone. I've known people who found the weekend workouts their
most productive and others who didn't have the motivation to work out when they were
carbing up. Again it's an individual thing. Working out on weekends, if you carb up
adequately, shouldn't interfere with the super compensated muscle glycogen levels that
you're trying to achieve during the carb up phase. For some people, especially those that
are sensitive to carbs and tend to bloat up after 12 hours of less of increasing their
carbs, working out allows them to carb up for a longer period of time before they hit the
bloat.

So again it's a trial and error thing. Try working out on the weekends using different
intensities and volumes, and see how you respond. You'll notice that I don't emphasize
rules that are fixed in stone. That's because the whole process is so variable that each
person should individualize it by trial and error. The progress you make, how you look
and how you feel should guide you in this learning process. The end result is a dieting
and training program that is tailored to your unique metabolism and potential.

---

Limiting the carb intake depending on what needs to be done is a hallmark of the
Anabolic Diet. Glutamine is a good carb substitute in that the body can form what carbs
it needs from it through gluconeogenesis while at the same time it stimulates insulin
both by itself and secondary to its conversion to glucose. I've always recommended
using glutamine and other compounds that increase insulin production or increase insulin
sensitivity, rather than carbs, to both replenish intramuscular glycogen (although this
action is a tad limited without the use of carbs no matter how much glutamine you use)

---

Unfortunately I think he and others misunderstood me. I never said that you gain
muscle only on the weekends. I said that it's on the weekends that you can maximize
the anabolic effects of insulin. That doesn't mean that it's only on those days that you
can increase muscle mass. In fact the following two or three days are excellent days for
putting on muscle since muscle glycogen is still relatively high and along with the
increased fat oxidation that comes from adaptation to my diets, makes for great
workouts and an excellent muscle hypertrophic adaptive response.

It's only as you get to the latter part of the week, as muscle glycogen levels decrease
and you depend more and more of fat as a primary fuel and as such training may be
compromised for some people, that the main effect of the diet is to maximize the
oxidation of body fat and maintain lean body mass rather than increase it. Even on
Thursday and Friday, while you may not increase protein synthesis, you will decrease
protein catabolism. Then when carb loading begins on the weekend, insulin levels
increase dramatically, along with glycogen stores and protein synthesis. This is the
supercompensation that occurs secondary to carb deprivation and a relative
hypoinsulinemia that occur on Thursday and Friday.

I'm working on the theory behind all of this so I'm not just pulling it out of the air.
Hopefully once I get it all together people like *** will see where I'm coming from. Keep
in mind that I like the criticism and comments that others give me. It helps me to get
my house in order.

---

All the "experts" have their views and usually poll the research that backs them up.
However, it's all a lot more complicated than they're making out and we really don't
have the answers as yet. Some of the research out there is contradictory and some are
not done well enough to be able to conclude anything from their results and conclusions.
I'm in the process of slugging through all of this now and it will be several weeks before
I'll have it all in place. The bottom line is that a high protein, high fat, low carb diet
alternated with a few days of moderate protein, moderate fat and moderate to high carb
intake is still the best way to go if your goal is to maximize muscle mass and minimize
body fat. I'll have the information and studies to back all this up in the near future.

---
Unfortunately everyone I've come across who writes about high fat diets is not
knowledgeable enough to really make any sense. First of all whether or not a higher fat
diet affects insulin sensitivity depends on many factors, one of which is the genetic
predisposition. Secondly why is insulin insensitivity in a healthy person who exercises all
that bad? It all depends on first of all the insulin receptor complex, the effect of non
receptor proteins, and subsequent cellular signaling pathways that are affected by the
higher fat diet, secondly on the whether or not insulin resistance, that's based on the
effect of insulin on glucose and not on amino acids and free fatty acids, applies to the
muscle cells and/or the fat cells, again depending on a complex series of interactions
that we're still fuzzy about. And there are many other factors to consider.

All in all, saying that a high fat diet will decrease insulin sensitivity and as such increase
lipogenesis doesn't make any scientific sense at all unless you can tie in all the many
variables. As far as references, the unfortunate fact is that we know very relatively little
about the intricacies mentioned above and no matter how hard you search for the
answers in the published literature, you won't find very many. I'm working in concert
with research teams in Australia, Texas and Denmark trying to figure out some of these
dynamics and hopefully setting up some research protocols that will give us some of the
answers.

BTW recent studies have shown that in fat adapted people, carb loading leads to
glycogen supercompensation. So that in itself answers *******'s point. And as far as
Ph.D candidates, I gave a lecture to six of them a few days ago at York University and
lost them completely more than once.

----------------
DH note:
This last sentence was one of my favorites of all! Lost them more than once. This man is
called the expert's expert for a reason.

How bout some mass on the AD?

---
The Anabolic Diet
By Hugo Rivera

There are many ways to implement a Low Carbohydrate diet but the way that I have
always used is the Anabolic Diet from Dr. Mauro DiPasquale that calls for 5 days of Low
Carb dieting and a weekend of High Carbs. I believe that if you are a bodybuilder, this is
the best way to go as you get that anabolic insulin spike during the weekends that
enables you to plug in all those carbs right into the muscle cells.

I tried this diet on my fifth year of bodybuilding. It is important to know that I had not
made any good gains for that past year. It was the middle of November and I was due to
get married on December 17. I wanted to be in the best shape of my life on my wedding
date.

Since I had made no gains during that year, I knew that I had to break the rules and
"think out of the box" so to speak. I already had read articles about Dr. Mauro's High Fat
Diet (as it was called back then) and had always been intrigued by the idea. So... I
decided to give it a try even though it almost gave my family a heart attack. In addition
to the dietary change, I decided to do something radical with my training as well.

Being influenced by old MuscleMag articles of the Blonde Bomber. I decided to bomb
myself out Golden Era style with a slight modification. Since I still was in College I could
not afford 3 hour workouts all at a time. What I did instead is that I divided the sessions
in 3 (no typo here folks) sessions of 45 minutes each (Hit each bodypart 3 times a week
with 15 sets each).

1 in my home gym in the morning, 1 at noon in school and the evening one at home.
Next week I will cover the specifics of the workout just in case there are some Bombers
out there that want to try something similar. I will also recommend ways to modify it for
Once a day and twice a day training sessions.

Anyway, the reason I decided to go with such protocol was the following:

If the diet produced the extra testosterone that Dr. Dipasquale claimed, then I would be
able to recover and grow. This was a great training protocol to put the diet to the test.

Such a workout (they were fast paced and included plenty of supersets - click here for
the workout) would keep my heart healthy.

My body was in some dire need of a shock.

My Results

Below are the results that I got in 30 days (this is no joke and remember that Dr.
DiPasquale is not paying for my testimonial)

Before

Weight: 165lbs
Chest: 45 inches (been there for 1.5 years)
Arms: 15 inches
Legs: 24 inches
Calves: 14.5 inches
Waist: 34 inches
After

Weight: 175 lbs (182 over the weekends when carbs were high)
Chest: 48.5 inches
Arms: 16 inches
Legs: 26 inches
Calves: 15.5 inches
Waist: 32 inches
If it would be someone else writing about this I would say that this could not be true but
I have witnesses (ask anyone in my family) or ask the people that had to fix the
measurements of my Tuxedo at the last minute.

Unfortunately, I have been unable to replicate such results again the other two times
that I have gotten in the diet (even though I do put on muscle quicker every time I go in
it). It is probably due to the fact that the shock when I change to such diet is not as
great anymore as it was when I did it the first time (the body remembers). My body is
also pretty used to doing 10 or even 15 sets of the same exercise (that is also one of the
reasons I know that my program was successful - this was the first time that I had done
that).

In my opinion, this diet did indeed provide me with higher testosterone levels and faster
recuperation capabilities. The results speak for themselves. I also got increased strength
gains, increased energy and focus, and increased fat loss as I was putting on enormous
amounts of muscle in a very short period of time. I also noticed that I was able to eat
more without getting fat.

Protein would be spared. No need for gluconeogensis when an ample supply of calories
from both fat and CHO are present. Once adapted, you no longer operate as other do.
For a CHO burner, a lack of calories puts you at great risk for wasting AA's. On the AD,
you'll use a combo of fat and CHO for energy, but moderate (25% or so)fat will enable
the CHO to be packed into the muscle AND will enhance the insulin surge. Remember a
while back I said that fat (for us at least) assists rather than suppresses insulin in the
presence of high CHO. Your best loading protocol should include some fat. It's more
useful than protein on the load, truth be told. You can experiement with extreme loading
like so:
10% P
20% F
70% CHO

Fat is a good thing, in the proper context, for the loading phase.

Best,
DH
bricked. wrote:
I have a question for the carbups.
We know that when you carbup, for the first 24~ hrs, you are storing glycogen and
burning fat. What would happen if your macros were like 70C/30P/0F? Would you burn
body fat for fuel? (Good) Or would protein be used? (Bad!)

CA,
I was notorious for doing the same thing when I first began. I understand completely.

It's really simple. You can gain on ANY surplus of calories. If there is no surplus (even if
it is a hassle to get it in) then you cannot, under any circumstances gain appreciable
muscle mass. Some, but not much, if all other conditions are right. The AD keeps your
hormonal status in an anabolic and/or anti-catabolic state continuously. This will dictate
the TYPE/QUALITY of the weight gain. Indiscriminate surplus eating will add too much fat
due to a constant yo-yo effect on insulin levels.

So the choice is basically: get a surplus of calories to a sufficient level for the individual
via a higher CHO diet, the AD, or some hybrid thereof. As you move along the
continuum from the AD to the other extreme of high (>60%) CHO then you also move
the potential likelihood of adding fat mass up proportionally. It's like a sliding scale.

Now, for the ectomorph, the very young and lean, or the daredevil who doesn't care
about a little fat gain, then you should maximize every route on the AD.

Give yourself the 50g of CHO per day (at least on training days) and make 25-30g of
that as dextro/maltodextro combo or either individually. Then use the balance (20-25)for
misc. CHO that you'll pick up in your day.

Experiment with the 250g or so of CHO (quality ONLY) on Wedneday evening

Jack up your cals on the weekend. You could try to go as high as 8,000 on Saturday and
then 4,000 on sunday so that you'd have a daily average of 6,000 for the weekend. Also,
it's tough to "super-eat" for more than a day or two in my experience.

See what this alone does before you add anything to the weekdays. If you were
averaging 4,000 per day then bumping the weekend as per above would give you an
additional 4,000 cals for the week without having to increase your daily intake at all. See
where this leads you for now.

Making too many changes just increases confusion and doesn't allow you to isolate
specific variables.

I'd strongly suggest a Waterbury program for mass. I love TBT cycled with the
Waterbury Method. Also Staley's EDT is an extremely anabolic program. Using your
10rm for sets of 5 during your PR zones is perfection for muscle mass. Gained over one
inch on my arms in 8 weeks back when I first did this. But DON'T do an arm cycle now.
Add body mass first.

Now get to it, Chuck! I've got to go soak my throbbing hand and eat some oatmeal
complete with honey, raisins, and sliced banana. Comfort food. ;-)

Best,
DH

Olive oil and heavy whipping cream w/ protein shakes or by themselves. Very handy to
have around.

DH

HouseOfAtlas wrote:
If one doesn't each much red meat, what is the next best fat source? I've been eating
mostly cheese, walnuts, almonds and beef sticks for my fat (in that order). I do have
fish oil and flax seed for my fats everyday, also.

Golden. That's about what I do. I gain on lower cals pretty easy. About 3,600 on
weekdays and 5000 on weekend days.

DH

bricked. wrote:
DH,

I'm also looking to gain on the AD. Planning to take in approx 3000 cals weekdays, do
you think i should do a 36hr carbup at 4000cals per day? That's approx
1200g carbs at 60%.

I get a sinking feeling that I'm gonna blow up...

Any help would be appreciated.

P47-57