Although I tout the Anabolic Diet as the best diet to build muscle with minimal fat gain, it’s still possible to pack on some unwanted pounds while you’re bulking up. However, doing so isn’t entirely necessary, and will only end up being a by-product of laziness on the diet.
Eating on high fat, high protein days
Through the majority of the week, when you eat high fat & high protein meals, if your activity levels don’t match your calorie consumption, you will gain fat! Just because you’re avoiding carbs
doesn’t mean you’re going to magically avoid any fat gain from excessive calorie consumption. This is a common misconception on the Anabolic Diet.
Simply keep an eye on how many calories you consume during the week. The Anabolic Diet is amazing at getting your muscle-building hormones cranking, so if you drop your calories a bit, it will likely not hurt you at all.
Eating on high-carb, medium-fat “carb-up” days
Most people become de-railed when they enter their carb-up days. This is where I stumbled the most.
The original Anabolic Diet calls for two carb-up days per week, usually Saturday and Sunday. I followed this plan of action for some time. The Anabolic Diet worked, but with one flaw: I gained way more fat than I wanted.
My personal recommendation is to listen to your body. Most people who go on the Anabolic Diet will be those whose bodies respond poorly to carbs — I know that is the case for my body. My body absolutely loves when I eat lots of meat, lots of fats, and lots of proteins. But my body also loves a carb-up day — and only that.
That’s right, my recommendation for those who find themselves packing on a little too much pudge: just one carb-up day per week.
On this subject, the great Vince Gironda used to suggest one carb-up meal every four days. That kind of frequency would probably provide amazing results, too.
The bottom line on fat gain while on the Anabolic Diet
Monitor how many calories you’re bringing in and how your body is reacting. Take measurements week-to-week. If you start to notice that you’re gaining more fat than necessary, there are a couple steps you can take.
First, lower your calories during the week. If your activity does not match how much you eat every day, then you don’t need a ton of calories. If you are engaging in one weight training session every other day and nothing else, then you don’t need 4000 calories!
Second, try limiting yourself to just one carb-up day per week rather than the originally-recommended two. If your body is sensitive to carbs, then two days per week will only result in extra fat and not much extra muscle.
Third, try ramping up your activity. Go for a thirty minute walk in the mornings, walk for fifteen minutes after your weight work-outs, or do some calisthenics before bed. Just get moving and get more active!
Fat gain on the Anabolic Diet is very, very real. There is a mystique surrounding the Anabolic Diet that somehow you will never gain fat on it, but that is junk. If you are lazy and do not plan your days well, you are guaranteed to build a decidedly unimpressive body.
