The Anabolic Diet for Dummies

The Diet

Now that you have had your little history lesson, let’s get into the details of the Anabolic Diet. Unlike most diets that are completely static from day to day, a week of the AD is actually composed of two parts: a weekday low-carb diet punctuated by a 24-48 hour carb-up on Friday and Saturday. The advantages of this routine are many, but one particular benefit of this diet that may be appealing to many people is that during the carb-up, you can eat all those foods you have been missing during the week. Ice cream, cake, hell even bread, they are all fair game during the carb-up, just try not to go overboard.

• Sunday-Thursday/Friday: Low carb diet. Approximately 60% of your calories should come from fat during this period and 35-40% from protein. Keep carb intake below 30g per day.
• Friday/Saturday: Higher carb, lower fat diet. This period should last 12-24 hours; if you are above 10-11% body fat, keep this carb up to 12 hours. Your carb period should be composed of approximately 45-60% of calories coming from carbs, 30-40% from fat and 15-25% from protein.

Counting Carbs

It may seem simple to count carbs, but there are a few things you should know. First of all, fiber doesn’t count towards your daily limit. If a label for some vegetables says 5g carbohydrates per serving with 3g of fiber, you would subtract the 3g of fiber from the 5 total carbohydrates to get 2g of net carbs that would count towards your daily total. The next thing you should know is that you should probably avoid consuming large amounts of sugar alcohols. There is no real consensus about whether or not these sugar substitutes should count as net carbs and therefore you probably should count sugar alcohols just in case.

Getting Started

When you first commit to the Anabolic Diet you are going to want to extend the first low-carb period from 5 days to 12 days. For example, you should start on a Monday and then keep eating a low-carb diet until the NEXT Friday. This is to ensure that your body has a chance to undergo a necessary metabolic shift to efficiently metabolize fats instead of carbohydrates.

Low-Carb Foods

• Beef and steak
• Pork, Bacon and sausage
• Eggs (get creative; over-easy, scrambled, omelets, hard-boiled)
• Chicken (especially the dark meat which is higher in fat)
• Fish (go for higher fat fish like salmon)
• Crab and Lobster
• Scallops, shrimp
• Green vegetables (lettuce, asparagus, etc.)
• Butter
• Cheese
• Avocados
• Peanuts and Nuts
• Berries (in moderation, these can have a lot of carbs if you eat too many)

Foods to Avoid on Low-Carb Days

• Fruit (except avocados)
• Cereal
• Bread and Other Grains
• Meats that have been drenched in BBQ sauce

Foods for the Carb-Up

• Pretty much anything goes, but try to stick to your daily calorie amount
• Pasta
• Fruit
• Junk Food (in moderation)

Supplements

• 100% Whey protein powder (make sure it is low in carbs)
• Micronized Creatine
• L-Glutamine: There is some evidence that glutamine supplementation can help restore glycogen levels within muscle. Basically, glutamine provides some of the benefits of the carb-up while maintaining fat metabolism.
• BCAA’s: branched chain amino acids are recommended for any one who lifts weights frequently
• Fiber Supplement: This is completely optional but many people that try this and other low-carb diets have digestive troubles for the first week or two. This can be avoided by taking a fiber supplement (watch out for hidden carbs though). You could also just eat a large salad every day and get the same effect.

Continue for sample meal plans!

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