Unfortunately, when people bulk up using a high carbohydrate diet, they put on much more
fat, so they’ve got even more of a cycle to go through. They end up going way above 10 percent
bodyfat, and spend a long period trying to get back down again. This can be exhausting.
On the high fat diet, you can stay happy while being able to cut up 10–12 times a year for
contests if you have to. You can even stay around 7–8 percent bodyfat with very little trouble.
One bodybuilder I work with recently bulked up to 280 pounds while staying right around the
10 percent mark. Gradually, over the following weeks, he got down to the 245 pound level and
was cut to shreds. You’re not going to find this kind of success story and ease with the carb-
based regimen.
EXTREME SWINGS IN BODYWEIGHT
Extreme swings in bodyweight are much more common on the high carb diet. You gain more
fat, get bulkier and more puffed up. Then you’ve got to cut up, and Hell hath no fury like a
bodybuilder cutting up and coming into a contest. With all that fat to take off, you’ve got enough
problems without the irritability and mood swings that can come with the carb-based diet.
Endorphins and enkephalins are hormones in the body that are related to narcotics. They often
come into play in pain reduction, and you might be aware of the endorphin rush and feeling of
well being that can come to the athlete during extended endurance training and performance.
Testosterone, growth hormone, and insulin all work to vary levels of endorphins and enkephalins
in the body. In the carb-based diet, hormonal swings are so great, especially with insulin, that
you’ll find yourself on an endorphin and enkephalin roller coaster. Irritability and mood swings
can be great. You’ll find these swings far less dramatic and manageable on the Anabolic Diet.
MINIMAL LEAN WEIGHT GAINS
On the high carb diet, you’ll often find yourself not gaining any lean weight from one attempt
at cutting to another. You’ll find bodybuilders who’ve been on the same diet for 5 years and
they haven’t gained 5 pounds. With the high fat diet, you’ll make regular gains probably
somewhere between 5–15 pounds of muscle a year. Meanwhile you’ll be as defined, if not more
so, than you were in previous years. One bodybuilder I worked with recently went from 217 to
242 pounds in the span of two years, with a marked increase in definition.
That’s one of the big plusses of the high fat diet for the bodybuilder. You can increase muscle
mass year after year. On the high carb diet, you tend to end up about as cut and weighing the
same as the year before.
With the extreme swings in weight and the difficulty in maintaining lean body mass, far less
progress in muscularity and definition is possible. Cycle to cycle, year to year, you look the same.
With all of the above working against the carb-based diet and in favor of the Anabolic Diet,
which do you think you should choose?
As a bodybuilder, we think the choice should be clear. If you want growth and success, the
Anabolic Diet is for you. If you want to spend the rest of your life running in place, go ahead
with that high carb diet.
HISTORY OF BODYBUILDING DIETS 25