In our last installment, we discussed some of the nitty-gritty of the Atkins diet, and how the trend toward low-carb pre-packaged food can undermine the success of those using this nutrition scheme. Interestingly, the slippery slope upon which the makers of “low-carb, net carb” pizza, breads, etc., have placed the unknowing dieter actually ramps into an area of performance nutrition that has been around for at least 10 years, and probably longer. In particular, the use of carbohydrate spikes while on a high-fat diet is one of the principles of the so-called “Anabolic Diet” as laid out by Dr. Mauro DiPasquale in the mid 1990s.
In essence, the Anabolic Diet is based strongly on the Atkins Diet, but with a few major changes to accommodate the hardcore strength athlete in promoting an anabolic (muscle-growing) environment. Now, it may sound strange that a diet originally intended for weight loss can be used for muscle building, but even the basic Atkins diet offers many benefits to the bodybuilder. Specifically, it is great for shedding bodyfat and bringing out muscle definition. In addition, the even-keeled insulin levels achieved with the Atkins diet can be very beneficial to athletes looking to maintain constant energy levels throughout the day. As anyone who has worked out intensely with weights can verify, growing muscles and/or shrinking fat cells tend to lead to swinging appetites, mood levels, and energy levels. Flattening out these curves can help tremendously, once you get past the initial descent into ketosis, of course.
Beyond the athletic benefits of the basic Atkins diet, the Anabolic Diet attempts to maintain an anabolic state by focusing more on high protein levels at the expense of some fat calories. The idea is that once the fat-burning furnace has been turned on, the body can use its own fat stores for its energy needs while converting as much of the available dietary protein to muscle as possible, assuming proper training intensity is applied. Then, once bodyfat stores are at the desired levels, dietary fat can be adjusted to provide the necessary energy.
One fascinating aspect of the Anabolic Diet is the mid-week carb surge. It is well known that insulin is a powerful storage hormone, for both fat stores and skeletal muscle cells. By keeping insulin levels low and constant, the Atkins/Anabolic diet helps to maintain energy levels and to shrink fat cells, but it means that your muscles don’t receive the benefit of this powerful hormone. DiPasquale’s solution to this dilemma is to include one several-hour window in the middle of the week during which huge amounts of carbohydrates are consumed. This goody gorging sends a flood of insulin into the blood stream, and the body’s muscles, due to their heavily trained and depleted state, are able to suck up scads of glycogen, creatine, and protein. Some spillage to the fat cells is probably inevitable, but if you are training hard, it will probably be minimal. It remains to be seen whether such a tactic has any benefits for the non-athlete, but the suspicion here is that it would simply lead to the storage of a goodly amount of bodyfat.
It has been said that food is one of the most powerful drugs on earth, and this certainly seems to be true with respect to temporarily altering certain facets of human blood chemistry, including insulin levels. The Atkins and Anabolic systems represent one basic approach to dieting, and in the future we’ll look at many more, such as low-fat diets, the Zone, and other particular “fad” diets, all of which attempt to control our blood chemistry via different pathways. Until then, lift well, eat well, and be well!
