Dylanamus on the Anabolic Diet

[dylanamus]

I basically had 2 weeks off lifting and dieting, although I peaked at 58.5kg @ 12.8% last week, which I will reach again in a few days I believe.

I went over to the carbside for a week there and got it all out of my system, although I have a newfound affection for fruit, which I will enjoy in good measure on weekends now.

I feel that I understand the AD and the caloric profiles of most foods enough to do this diet without counting calories, so I will be continuing the AD on a more "lifestyle" rather than clinical basis for a while. I will continue to check on my body composition and post periodic updates here.

I had a perfect opportunity to take photos last week, but totally forgot. I will attempt to do so at the end of the month.

[iCookie]

I heard the KETO diet is better

Seriously though, the AD diet makes you eat way too much protein. This will cause your testosterone production to go down way too much.

If you do the KETO diet, you'll lose fat and build muscle.

Trust me, I've tried both. Keto worked. AD didn't.

[MaritimeMass]

I heard the KETO diet is better

Seriously though, the AD diet makes you eat way too much protein. This will cause your testosterone production to go down way too much.

If you do the KETO diet, you'll lose fat and build muscle.

Trust me, I've tried both. Keto worked. AD didn't.

How does protein make you lose your test count, your test should actually increase by eating all the red meats on the anabolic diet. Saturated fat has been shown to increase test, hence part of the reason the GOMAd diet is so effective for mass and strength gains.

[iCookie]

Dietary Protein Intake & Testosterone
The direct impact of protein by itself on T levels has not been well studied in humans. Some research on high protein diets deals with the effects on very obese people and weight loss. While this may not seem applicable to you, read on and we will put it together for you. In obese men, feeding 600 calories a day with 400 calories from protein (50 grams of beef protein and 50 grams of casein) induces lower levels of T than fasting does (12). Normally, when the kidneys filter T out of the blood, some T gets reabsorbed back out of the kidneys into the blood. The researchers stated that the additional protein in the diet generated more ketones. They concluded that the ketones were filtered out of the blood by the kidneys and were reabsorbed back into circulation preferentially over T. While most people reading this may not be obese, higher protein diets are definitely in vogue, more so for bodybuilders and powerlifters than other groups of athletes. The potential exists that if a ketogenic diet like the Atkins Diet or a cyclical ketogenic diet like the Anabolic Diet or Bodyopus is followed, than urinary excretion of T will be greater during the ketogenic phase of the diet.

It is known that protein in the diet can influence the metabolism of a variety of chemicals. Through a series of experiments, it was demonstrated that various foods could influence the metabolism of drugs in the body (13). Vegetables like cabbage and brussel sprouts were found to alter the function of specific liver enzymes. This, in turn, could change the half-life of a drug in the blood. Given the variety of diets that people follow and the variety of prescription medications and over-the-counter drugs people take, the logical progression was to look at how altering the macronutrient composition of the diet affected drug metabolism. It turns out that a higher ratio protein diet, a diet with more calories from protein than carbohydrates or fat, metabolizes some drugs faster, thus decreasing the clearance time of the drug. Since diet can affect drug metabolism, perhaps it could affect liver enzymes involved in the metabolism of endogenous steroids. Sure enough, it was found that a high ratio protein diet decreased the reduction of T (14). Reducing the reduction of T could mean a potential decrease in DHT and/or androsterone in the blood, which is good by most accounts. However, DHT levels were not measured and, more importantly, urinary T excretion increased, although it was not statistically significant. These subjects were not in ketosis, so perhaps ketones do not increase T excretion rates. Regardless of the exact mechanism, there is sufficient evidence in the literature that when protein intake exceeds carbohydrate intake, T clearance increases by excretion in the urine.

A cross over design study used seven normal men from 23-43 years of age and compared a high protein diet to a high carbohydrate diet (15). This study has been referenced many times and cited as proof that high protein diets lower total T levels in the blood. The high carbohydrate diet from this study will be covered in Part II. The high protein diet consisted of 44% protein, 35% carbohydrate, and 21% fat and supplied between 2400 and 2500 kilocalories per day (kcals/d). Let’s assume it was an even 2450 kcals/d. The men also had bodyweights that ranged from 64-72 kg. If we assume the mean was 68 kg, then this would give us an average body weight of about 150 pounds. This means these guys were eating [(2450 kcals/d times .44) (divide by 4)] 270 grams (g) of protein, [(2450 x.350 /4] 215 g of carbohydrates (CHO) and [(2450 x .21) /9] 58 g of fat per day.

However, total T is not that big of a deal. The more important measure is the bioactive fraction of T. (Earlier in the overview of the HPT Axis, it was mentioned that SHBG-bound T is not considered bioactive, while the other fractions of T are). While subjects followed the high protein diet, their total T levels were 28% lower than on the higher CHO diet (15). This is important because T decreased in all seven subjects, although the magnitudes of the decrease ranged from 10 to 93%. For the same seven subjects, their SHBG levels decreased about 39% with a range from 19 to 64%. Looking at this data gives the impression that the actual bioactivity of T was higher while the subjects were on a high protein diet. SHBG-bound T and fT were not measured, so it is not known for sure. On the surface it appears that a mean decrease of 39% in the SHBG values and only a 28% in the T would leave more T available for binding to tissues. However, if we calculate out the actual changes in the hormones using the data from the study, we see something different. The mean and standard error (M?SE) for T was 371 ? 23 ng/dL. The currently used units in clinical chemistry are nmol/L. Multiplying the mean T by the conversion factor of 0.0347 gives us about 12.9 ? .8 nmol/L. The M?SE SHBG was 23.4 ? 1.6 nmol/L. If we assume that the amount of T bound to SHBG averages 44%, then .44 x 12.9 ? .8 nmol/L gives us 5.7 ? .4 nmol/L of T bound to SHBG. That leaves 7.2 ? .4 nmol/L of T to interact with tissues in the body. However, we don’t know from the data if the amount of SHBG bound T decreased below or increased above the normal 44%, in which case there would be more or less T available to interact with tissues.

From work by the same group of researchers using the exact same diet (but different subjects) we see that the ratio of 5a - reduction to 5b - reduction (5a /5b ) of T is reduced by about 50%, with the decrease being attributed to lower rates of 5a - reduction (14). The T values that have been used thus far (15) already reflect any changes in altered T metabolism, so the conversion to a 5a - reduced hormone (ie androsterone) is accounted for at this point. Note that even though there is a decrease in 5a - reduced hormone production, it does not show up as increased T levels. The decrease in androsterone probably shows up in small, but statistically insignificant increases in other metabolites of T (they were statistically insignificant perhaps due to the small sample size). Another interesting aspect is that there is an increase in the oxidation of estradiol on the higher protein diet by about 14-15% (14). Unfortunately estradiol levels were not measured in this paper. This could have given us clues as to the mechanism by which higher protein diets lower T (ie increased negative feedback on T levels via estradiol). At this point, this is only one study and it is still difficult to come to any final conclusions. However, if this is what really happens, then a high-protein diet may actually lower the anabolic actions of T in the body. Unfortunately, this has not been verified through laboratory research and is just a theory at this point. Perhaps the decrease in T is a result of increased excretion in the urine either as T or a sulfated metabolite, or increased conversion to estradiol and oxidation by the liver.

12) Hoffer LJ. Beitins IZ. Kyung NH. Bistrian BR. Effects of severe dietary restriction on male reproductive hormones. Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism. 62(2):288-92, 1986 Feb.

13) Anderson KE. Conney AH. Kappas A. Nutrition as an environmental influence on chemical metabolism in man. Progress in Clinical & Biological Research. 214:39-54, 1986.

14) Kappas A. Anderson KE. Conney AH. Pantuck EJ. Fishman J. Bradlow HL. Nutrition-endocrine interactions: induction of reciprocal changes in the delta 4-5 alpha-reduction of testosterone and the cytochrome P-450-dependent oxidation of estradiol by dietary macronutrients in man. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 80(24):7646-9, 1983 Dec.

15) Anderson KE. Rosner W. Khan MS. New MI. Pang SY. Wissel PS. Kappas A. Diet-hormone interactions: protein/carbohydrate ratio alters reciprocally the plasma levels of testosterone and cortisol and their respective binding globulins in man. Life Sciences. 40(18):1761-8, 1987 May 4.

There are other studies on this as well. This studie is a bit unclear at certain points. But I asked my doctor about this too. He said it's true that if you eat more protein than carbs, your test levels will drop dramatically.

Bottom line: It's safer the Keto diet as of this moment. The keto diet gives you insane amounts of fats, okay amounts of protein and zero carbs. This means your test will increase dramatically, cause the only thing you consume is basically fat. And as you said, fat increases T-levels.

That's probably why people have such success with the Keto diet. To be honest, I've never heard one person that had good results with the anabolic diet.

[dylanamus]

Never heard of the Keto diet... I will have a look at it.

That said, I eat at or under maintenance so the amount of protein in my diet is not really excessive, like you might expect when consuming 4000kcal+. I get between 1500 and 2500kcal, of which 100-200g of protein is consumed, depending on whether I worked out or not. I would be shocked if this was an issue, however, I have noticed that I would definitely benefit from increasing my fiber intake and/or doing magnesium oxide bowl cleansing... just a sidenote.

[Demian]

The keto diet gives you insane amounts of fats, okay amounts of protein and zero carbs.

How are you gonna accomplish eating "insane amounts of fats" with just an "okay amount" of protein? Drink Oil 24/7?

If you are eating a fatty diet with meat and cheese you are bound to get a lot of protein...

[iCookie]

Heres the macros you need for Keto: 65/30/5 (f/p/c)

Say you consume 220g fats a day. Then you need 200g fats and as little carbs as possible. Quite possible in my books.

By saying "okay" amounts of protein, I of course mean about 1-1.5g/lbs.

Also, on this diet it's easy as hell to find out if you're doing it right or wrong. Just go to your local pharmacy. Ask for a Ketonuria indicator. Go to bathroom. Pee on the test. It will indicate for you if your body is in ketosis or not. If it's in ketosis, keep doing what you're doing.

[MidLifter]

Hey Dylanamus. I was just reading your AD thread. Great stuff!

[MaritimeMass]

I am on the 5th week of the anabolic diet, I am really enjoying the effects of the diet. I can see visible changes in the mirror and my lifts are increasing. I have also noticed the interesting effects of the way the carb ups make me feel vs. the high fat/protein intake during the week. I feel sleepy during the weekends and become extremely energetic during the weeks.

[dylanamus]

Thanks MidLifter!

MaritimeMass, I feel the same as what you have described... although there are some slight differences given that I am eating clearly under maintenance.

Also, for the record, I don't operate under any macro nutrient ratio... I just aim for under 30g carbs and try to get 150g protein give or take depending on workout activity, while limiting my caloric intake to under 2000kcal.

I gained 2kg, some of which was water and some fat, after only two weeks of eating carbs at around 2000kcal per day. I am only back to 60kg now! But the "been there done that" feeling alleviates any concern I might have. In fact the experience has been educational. I know that when eating carbs, I seemingly require fewer calories to begin storing fat. At least that's the conclusion I have lead to.

I am borrowing an exercise bike today until Christmas and plan to hop on it every day for as long as I can be bothered. I have a 400km bike ride coming up in two weeks and need the practice. Plus this will get me back to 12% bf, which I achieved at 58kg 2 weeks ago! I am still looking as bulky/muscular as before and the lean mass calculation based on my impedence scales suggests I have lost only 1kg of muscle since I was 68kg. That's 10% muscle for 90% fat loss. The AD is great for fat loss in my experience.

I believe it will be a very very slow process getting below 12% without the addition of cardio, so I am going to juggle my weight lifting program around into more frequent shorter sessions and add time on the bike. I'll report back when there have been any notable changes.

[JB123]

dylanamus any new blood test results comparing your before anabolic and during/after anabolic diet blood test results?

[dylanamus]

I do have new blood tests actually. I had a mandatory workplace health assessement, which just so happened to cover all the same tests. I don't have it handy as I'm in the middle of moving houses, but I remember noting that my Cholesterol improved; insofaras the good cholesterol increased marginally and the bad decreased slightly.

My blood glucose was 4.8. Mmm Interestingly my blood pressure has lowered a little on average. I was told I was the healthiest person that had been assessed at this office, which may have been the case before the AD, but regardless, it obviously doesn't have any negative effects over a few months.

After a couple of months of eating healthy, but not carb free, I have recently returned to the AD to support my partner in her weight loss endeavours. She lost 5kg (from an already relatively athletic frame) in only one month and we are almost ready to move back to general (calorie conscious) healthy eating again.

I wouldn't hesitate recommending this diet to anyone who wants to lose fat, but I think it's perfect for cutting without dropping weight lifting while preserving most of your hard earnt muscle. I definitely feel a lot more comfortable with the idea of bulking and gaining a little fat now that I know how easy and effective the AD is at shedding the fat off again.