Anabolic Diet, Anabolic Solution by Dr. Mauro DiPasquale

Q & A’s by Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale

Hi Dr. DiPasquale, I know that you are considered an expert in dieting and losing body fat, however, I am wondering if you could suggest a good weight GAINING diet?

The best weight gaining diet I’ve ever seen is the seefood diet. If you see food, you eat it. Unfortunately it’s not that simple since unregulated eating usually leads to significant increases in body fat as well as muscle. This is one of the reasons I developed my Metabolic Diet. The Mass Phase of the Anabolic Solution for Powerlifters pretty well spells it out for you as far as what to do to put on muscle mass. Hard gainers should take over 30,000 calories a week if under 200 lbs, and over 35,000 if over 200 lbs. When and how you take in those calories is purely up to you as long as you follow the basic low carb/high carb split. For some people Breakfast is the key to making weight and mass gains. When I wanted to put on the beef, I’d In my opinion the key to weight gain is to load up heavy on the calories in the first part of the day. Once you do that the rest of the day usually takes care of itself if you just make a modicum of effort. Have a look at the sample diets and follow one of them, for example the 4500 calorie strict diet, for a few weeks to see how it works for you. If you need more calories, then you can just increase the portions to get a higher daily calorie intake. As well, as mentioned in the Anabolic Solution, you can usually eat more when carbing up than on the low carb phase. That’s why when many people are in the Mass Phase really eat a lot on the weekends and less on the weekdays. One of my friends used to eat around 4,000 calories on weekdays and as much as 12,000 calories on Saturday and almost as much on Sunday. It worked really well for him and a lot of others who do it that way. As far as steak, you can never get enough on the Metabolic Diet, at least in the Mass Phase. In my case, when I was gaining mass, I’d live on meat, mainly steaks, roasts and ribs, eggs, bacon and cheese, and of course protein shakes. On the weekends I’d eat everything I craved and then some. One of my weekend staples was a few gallons of milk and two or three pounds of peanuts, mostly after supper while watching TV and/or working at my desk. As far as what supplements to use, I’d follow what I’ve outlined for the Mass Phase in the Anabolic Solution. The supplements I recommend for each of the phases compliments the diet and contributes to the training effect as well as helping to pack on more muscle than you would without them.

Hi Dr. DiPasquale, could you please tell me what the difference is between the Anabolic Diet and the Anabolic Solution?

The Anabolic Solution for Recreational and Competitive Bodybuilders is an expanded, revised and updated Anabolic Diet. It takes the original Anabolic Diet and updates it with the new information and guidelines that are in the Metabolic Diet. But there’s more since it ties the dieting in with phases of training (mass, strength, cutting, etc.) and with my line of nutritional supplements (which were specifically formulated for the Anabolic/Metabolic Diet) – in other words the whole Monty. That’s the reason I named it the Anabolic Solution rather than just an update of the Anabolic Diet.

The Anabolic Solution for Bodybuilders does what the Anabolic Diet was meant to do but couldn’t because it lacked some of the information and integration.

The Anabolic Solution for Bodybuilders does what the Anabolic Diet was meant to do but couldn’t because it lacked some of the information and integration. The Anabolic Solution is all about manipulating lean body mass and body fat. And it does this by affecting metabolic changes and altering the body’s anabolic and the catabolic hormones and growth factors. But the Anabolic Solution is more than just the best natural way to reach your training goals. By duplicating much of what people get from the use of ergogenic and body composition changing drugs the Anabolic Solution is a safe, effective, and natural alternative to the use of these drugs.

The bottom line is that the Anabolic Solution for Bodybuilders is much more advanced and completely replaces the Anabolic Diet.

In the Anabolic Solution book, you say that you should eat no more than 30 grams of carbs for the first 12 days and then following week days. however I see in some of your sample diets example the 4000 and 4500 strict versions you have a carb value of 50 carbs a day is this a mistake?

As far as the 30 gram carb limit, it’s not written in stone. As you increase your caloric intake, especially at the high end, you can increase the carb intake without causing any problems as far as adapting to the diet. Again, the diet plans at the end of my book are only examples and each person has to find the best carb levels that suits their metabolism. For some, the 30 carb limit, even when taking in 4500 calories, may work best. For others, depending on their abilities to oxidize fat as their main fuel, 100 grams of carbs or even more, may work best. The troubleshooting guide that I included in the Metabolic Diet is geared to helping you find that level of carbs that works best for your metabolism, at least as far as maximizing muscle mass and minimizing body fat. Keep in mind that I usually recommend that you increase your calories in the high carb phase more than the low carb phase of the Metabolic Diet. This information was more evident in my Anabolic Diet (a 100 page how to book for bodybuilders), which I’m presently revising. For example, one bodybuilder who has been on the diet for over 5 years does it this way. In his bulk up phase he usually takes in about 3500 calories during the weekdays and then may take as much as 12,000 calories a day on the weekends (no kidding). He gains the weight he wants and then starts cutting back drastically on the weekend calories (if he got up to 12,000 calories a day on the weekends then he begins his definition phase with a cut of 2,000 calories per week for the first three week, 1000 calories per week for the next two weeks and then about 200 calories per week) and about 100 calories a day per week on the weekday calories. Keep in mind that his cutting phase lasts about 16 weeks. Depending on how his fat/weight is doing he may make minor modifications on this plan. To give you an idea of how this worked for him he weighed 217 lbs at 6% bodyfat the last major contest he was in prior to starting my diet (he had been competing for almost ten years). After two years of following my diet he weighed 254 lbs at 5% bodyfat and won his division of the Mr. Universe. Mind you his diet wasn’t very good prior to going on my diet so I can’t take all the credit. It’s quite possible that he would have made some progress just by improving his diet along conventional means. On the other hand you don’t see those changes in a seasoned pro unless something drastic happens. Also keep in mind that there were no other changes except for the diet and a few nutritional supplements (I made his some custom supplements much the same as my current nutritional line MD+).

What would you suggest to do if someone had 80 or more pounds to lose? Would they stay on the Radical Diet for the whole 80 pounds?

The Radical Diet is only meant for a short term rapid weight loss session. Although several people have continued on the diet and done well, I usually recommend that they switch over to the Metabolic Diet, either as in the Metabolic Diet book, or if they’re inclined toward increasing muscle mass and getting really buffed, the Anabolic Solution for Bodybuilders (or Powerlifters). These two books offer a long term solution to weight and fat loss rather than a quick fix. On the other hand the quick fix does wonders for the psyche and motivates people to go long term on a healthier and more long term regimen.

:: Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale :: is one of the most influential voices on diet, performance and athletic training in the world. His innovative work in finding safe nutritional alternatives to anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs has won him praise from athletes, trainers and fitness experts around the globe. Dr. Di Pasquale was a world-class athlete for over 15 years, winning the World Championships in powerlifting in 1976 and world games in 1981.