Complete guide to anabolic diet: Is it worth the craze?

The anabolic diet was conceptualized by Dr. Mauro DiPasquale, a physician and competitive powerlifter.

This diet can be considered among the low-carb diets, as it involves periodic cycling between low-carb and high-carb days. Dr. DiPasquale reckons such carb cycling can help gain lean muscle while keeping the fat stores low.

Instead of calling the diet 'carb cycling', he named it the anabolic diet, as he believes that this diet mimics the effects of anabolic steroids used by bodybuilders.

In this article, we bring you a complete guide to the diet made by Dr. DiPasquale and analyze whether his diet actually helps gain muscle or not.

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What is an anabolic diet?

The anabolic diet reduces body fat but maintains muscle mass (Image via Unsplash/Diana Polekhina)

A typical diet consists of protein, fats and carbohydrates. All these macronutrients have their individual roles and functions in the body.

For athletes, weightlifters and bodybuilders, Dr. DiPasquale wanted to bring up a diet that could help with muscle gain while keeping body fat percentage low. Furthermore, this diet is not calorie-restrictive and is mostly concerned with the carb intake each day.

It's also believed by the advocates of the anabolic diet that alternating the intake of carbohydrates taken each day promotes fat burning and preserves muscle gain as well. There are mixed reviews with respect to this diet, and some of the benefits have valid scientific basis, too.

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The anabolic diet plan

This diet consists of three main phases depending on maintenance, gain or weight loss goals. These phases are described below:

Maintenance and induction phase

The maintenance/induction phase is usually followed for four initial weeks with caloric intake levels of 18 times the bodyweight in pounds. The body gets accustomed to the low-carb intake during this phase of the diet.

Bulk phase

The bulk phase starts just after the induction phase, and it follows till the desired bulk weight is reached. There isn’t a set length of time for this phase, and followers find this phase quite easy and interesting.

To determine the ideal bulk weight, Dr. DiPasquale suggests adding 15 percent to the ideal bodyweight in pounds. This phase is followed by the cutting phase where the body fat is gradually reduced.

Cutting phase

The cutting phase is essentially a low-carb phase, with a reduction of 500 to 1,000 calories from the maintenance phase. This phase is continued till the individual achieves a healthy body fat percentage, preferably between 10-15 percent.

What we understood from the plan above is that the anabolic diet is based on nutrient intake according to the goals and targets: low-carb for a few days and high-carb for the next few days.

Alternating low and high-carbohydrate intake prevents the body from gaining extra fat and also helps keep the metabolism high, helping in muscle gain, too.

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Is the anabolic diet effective?

The anabolic diet aims to reduce body fat. (Image via Unsplash/KAL VISUALS)

There are mixed reviews from people regarding this type of diet. Some claim amazing weight loss and muscle gain results. Many bodybuilders and powerlifters follow this diet and have claimed improvement in performance and aesthetics.

One reason why this diet could be effective is due to the low-carb phase. Reducing carb intake stabilizes blood glucose level and reduces insulin spikes, which further aids in fat burning in the body.

Low-carb diets follow this principle and have gained popularity, too. The high-carb meals during the bulk phase also help with muscle gain by increasing the anabolic or gain processes.

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Indranil Biswas is a nutritionist and personal trainer with a diploma in dietetics and personal training with a specialization in sports nutrition and strength training.

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