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Q. What's the difference between your Anabolic Diet and your Metabolic Diet?

Q. How can I decrease catabolic activity in my body?

Q. Can I lose bodyfat in the right areas?

Q. Will the Metabolic Diet mean that I sacrifice body tone?

Q. Are there fewer plateaus with the Metabolic Diet?

Q. Can I increase endurance with The Metabolic Diet?

Q. What is the Metabolic Advantage?

Q. How easy is the "Metabolic Shift"?

Q. You mention that we should see a doctor and get some blood tests done.Why and what's involved?

Q. How much protein should I be taking for major muscle growth?

Q. If I want to gain mass and muscle for ice hockey how protein and calories should I intake per day as well as carbs?

Q. Thanks for all of the information that you've written. It's all has helped me a lot in my training for the triathlons I compete in. I've been on the Metabolic Diet for about 6 months now and my endurance has almost doubled. I had no idea it was so good for endurance events.I had a question about glutamine, what is the best way to take the powder with water, fruit juices? I have heard that it's ingested quicker when it's taken with soda (cola)

Q. Ketosis occurs when liver glycogen is depleted and continues with a daily carbohydrate intake of zero to 100 grams. Thanks to the "Metabolic Diet," we know that at around 30 grams, ketones stop appearing in the urine. At one daily carb intake, do they stop appearing in the breath? How many carbs a day should one consume to avoid "Atkins breath."

Q. Hi Doc. I've got a few questions. First what's the best way to workout on the Metabolic Diet? How about for gaining mass - ie days of carbing, days just after, or a regular split. Also, can you tell me if Udo's Oil would be alright for the diet. It contains a tiny amount of MCT's, which the Metabolic Diet says not to use. What amount would be too much?

Q. I have a client who has a problem finishing post-workout shakes and has little appetite for a few hours post workout. Also, a client of mine is experience headaches while training, the only thing different that he is doing is using effervescent creatine. What type of creatine would you recommend. What about liquid creatine?

Q. Dr DiPasquale, I noticed that the dosages of the amino acids in the Power Drink product you make and sell on your web site, is considerably less than what you recommended in your text on Protein and amino acids. For example dosages of 4-5 grams of the aminos were suggested in the book.Which dosage should I go with? Secondly, Dr. Eric Serrano suggests using glutamine at about .35g/kg BW for a real boost in strength and recovery. Would this much glutamine be able to kick me out of the fat burning that occurs while I'm on the Metabolic Diet?

Q. How did you come to writing the Metabolic Diet? How did you come to the conclusion of using a five day low carb and two day high carb regimen for maximizing muscle mass and strength? I used to follow a two week dieting phase followed by a one week eating phase.

Q. We have a 28-year catcher from South America who needs to lose about 20 pounds in the off-season. Can you recommend a diet (I've got your book, so you can direct me to a page or section) and supplements that we can have him purchase before he leaves the country this fall? We would like to keep him away from ephedrine because he will be playing winter baseball.

Q. I just bought your book, the Metabolic Diet. One quick question, please. If I follow it Mon-Fri and carb-up Sat & Sun, which would be the best days to train in order to get the best benefits? We train 3-4 days per week. Sometimes Sat/Sun/Wed, sometimes Sat/Sun/Tue/Thur. We are considering a rolling 5 day schedule of push/pull/rest/leg/rest then repeat: would that work with the diet?

Q. Hi Dr. Di Pasquale, I just got your new book "The Metabolic Diet" and wondered about Urea Nitrogen in the blood. As I understand it excess aminos are converted to ammonia then that is converted to Urea in the blood. On my last blood test I had a high Urea Nitrogen level 25 MG/DL. I was eating about 150-175 grams of protein per day, I weigh 200lb and am 6'2" at about 10% body fat. At Dr Michael Colgan's Sports and nutrition camp this summer Dr. Colgan told me that the high amount of Urea was too much protein that was unused. This could eventually crystallize in the joints. I've cut back on protein but of course to keep my calories up I had to raise carbs. How can you have such a high protein diet like yours without having the high urea problem?

Q. I was hoping you could answer a question I have about dietary fiber. I've read that fiber is technically a carbohydrate, but that it is indigestible. Does this mean that I can subtract the fiber content from the total carb content on the label of a particular food or fiber supplement? I am currently taking Regulate in addition to psyllium husk powder and flaxseed powder and also guar gum powder. There is no other carb content listed on the label other than the dietary fiber content. Does this fiber need to be included as part of my 30 gram weekday carb allowance? I've also been subtracting the dietary fiber listed on the label of the Lo Carb bars ( which taste great by the way) and instead of counting the chocolate bar as 12 grams of carbs, I count it as 8 grams of digestible carbs ( after taking out 4 grams of fiber). Is this alright to do or should I count carbs with the fiber included?

Q. I'm finding your Metabolic Diet fascinating in that it's so different from what everyone else is recommending. I'm glad someone is bucking the status quo about high carb diets. However, what's the basic premise behind low carb diets in general? And how low is low? Also what's the difference between low fat and low carb diets and how do you judge low carbs? I've got so many questions and I'd appreciate it if you could take some time and explain things to me.

Q. I started the Metabolic Diet last week and I'm having problems with constipation. What can I do to regulate my bowels?

Q. Your Metabolic Diet is the best thing that's ever happened to my training. I've been on your diet the past six months and have seen more progress than I made in the last three years. It's amazing. By working on the troubleshooting guide and experimenting I find that I do best only carbing up every three weeks. And even then I only do it for one day since after 24 hours I start bloating up and don't feel nearly as good. Actually doing it this way gets rid of my carb cravings and helps me stick right to the diet. Since I've been on the diet I've gone from 195 lbs at 15% bodyfat to 205 lbs at 8% bodyfat. Even though I've only gained ten pounds the real figures are interesting. At 195 lbs I had almost 30 lbs of fat on me. That means that my lean body mass was only just over 165 lbs. Now I'm only carrying just over 16 pounds of fat (and you do need some body fat to be healthy) but close to a whopping 190 lbs of lean body mass. That means that although I only gained 10 pounds, I actually gained close to 25 lbs of muscle and lost almost 15 lbs of fat. You wouldn't believe the difference. Not only do I look good but my lifts have all gone up by over 10%, with my bench going from 370 lbs to 455 lbs, making me much more competitive in powerlifting.
I do have a few questions however:Question 1 - Since vanadyl is supposed to increase glucose transport into cells, is it safe to take vanadyl on a daily basis without taking in carbs. I want to take vanadyl to help shuttle creatine and aminos into my muscles.
Question 2 - If not, does creatine still get absorbed when insulin levels are extremely low as on the Metabolic Diet.
Question 3 - Is it safe to carb up only one day every three weeks? Please help me to make this diet even more effective. I've asked other people these questions, including some experts, and they just haven't been able to give me a reasonable answer. I know that you're the expert's expert when it comes to low carb and phase shift dieting and I highly value your opinion. I really look forward to hearing from you.

Q. I would like to thank you first for all the cutting edge information that you've provided, that goes against the grain (literally) of what everyone else recommends. I have the UTMOST respect for you and try to read ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING that you have written. I have a few questions and would greatly appreciate your input. I'm a 21yr old aspiring bodybuilder. Currently 6'3, 215 around 11%bodyfat. I bought both your Anabolic Diet Book as well as the Metabolic Book. The Metabolic Diet is a quantum leap above the older Anabolic Diet. It explains so much more and is much more detailed, leading through the various steps with ease. Firstly, would I be better off using the ratios of the Anabolic Diet for putting on mass/and losing fat (35%p,60%f, 30g carbs) or should I reduce the fat and increase protein like the ratios in the Metabolic Diet. My obvious goals are to get down to approx. 4-5%bodyfat as well as using the diet to put on some serious size. Secondly, I've heard reports of low carbs causing erectile dysfunction, even in young men. This has been a personal problem too, I don't know if I should attribute it to the long bouts of dieting at low cals along with the use of Ephedrine from the ECA stack, which I learned causes problems in many men. I'm off the ECA and noticing improvement, but would I be better off with your moderate carb phase of the Metabolic Diet or do you believe there is there no correlation between low carbs and this problem? (my total test levels are 466, I believe that is low) 3. Is the Anabolic Diet as written a livable diet, could I live on it for life? I LOVE the food, get tired of chicken, turkey, etc. VERY quickly and would love for this to work for me in the long run. By the way, I recommend your Metabolic Diet to everyone who questions me on nutrition, and I get a LOT of people coming to me for advice.

Q. Before I can also start your diet there are two short simple questions I need to ask and would be very grateful if you could answer them for me. Unlike my brother and friend I can not handle dairy foods and have a maintenance calorie of 4200 cal a day. The basic problem is after I have my protein quota sorted out I still need 200 plus grams of fat a day extra (ie I am using your diet to gain muscle first then will use it to cut up).I do however have a strange ability to drink extra virgin olive oil with out vomiting like my friends and could quite easily make up the remaining calories by doing this. Is this alright and does it mean I will have the healthiest heart on the block, or can some of the minor components contained within the oil build up to toxic levels. Please note I am talking 70% plus of my fat coming from extra virgin olive oil.
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?

Q. I just read your book, the Metabolic Diet and found it quite interesting. As a researcher, I admire your unique views on substrate utilization. Have you conducted any research to test out your ideas on substrate cycling and it's effects on performance and body compostion? I am always a bit suspicious of the athlete case histories and anecdotal reports. I agree with your theory about the potential benefit of glycogen sparing through fat adaptation. Perhaps you can expand on your ideas in this regard.

Q. Should I use vanadyl sulphate for bodybuilding on the Metabolic Diet? And if so, what days and dosages?
Also, could Metformin (glucophage) be used for better results. A popular writer says that it selectively increases insulin sensitivity in muscle only, so there is no worry of increasing sensitivity in the fat cells also (does vanadyl do this to fat cells?) Obviously something to avoid.

Q. I was hoping you could answer some questions for me about gynecomastia. First of all, I have a fairly minor case of gyno and have decided to have surgery to correct it. In my case, it first appeared about 15 years ago at the onset of puberty. Since that time I haven't noticed any change in the size of the protrusion under the nipple. The condition seems to have remained the same as it was when I first noticed it. I was wondering if there is much chance of gyno coming back in my case once it is removed. I know that for people who continue to use steroids after this surgery, gyno can reoccur. However, I have never used any steroid and am not going to. Since I follow the Anabolic Diet, which I understand manipulates hormone levels, will I be at risk for the gyno coming back after it is removed?

Q. I have heard about your Metabolic Diet and want to give it a try. I presently weigh about 62 kg fully clothed, have 15% body fat and am just over 5ft tall. Blood pressure and heart rate are good. I am fit and healthy. I have some questions. I obviously have to count cals, carbs and protein. What is my daily protein requirement. some books base on lean bwt, some on bwt? On previous attempts at low carb dieting I ran out of gas at training. I feel I need more carbs than the rock bottom low levels that Atkin's recommends. Could you recommend me a starting point above the lowest level to try? Should I do some aerobic training with my powerlifting to help burn fat? Should I have three meals a day or eat smaller portions more frequently? What are the minimum supplements I will need and their dosages eg potassium? I had trouble facing meat and eggs for breakfast on the last attempts of the Atkins diet, however I could face a sports bar or such, if you could recommend one? I take it that I should get plenty of fresh low carb, low glycemic veges, eg salads with my meals. I will be keeping a diary, and today is day one.

Q. Dear Sir, I don't entirely what your background consists of, but, are you familiar with PCOS and treatments, if any. My wife and I regularly strength train, based on powerlifting, as well as perform cardiovascular exercise. Gaining muscle mass for her is very easy, however, losing bodyfat is extremely difficult. All the sugar and thyroid tests she has been through appear to be normal. Her cholesterol levels are very high even with years of proper dieting and her androgen levels are equal to that of most males. What about this condition is making it so difficult to decrease bodyfat % and level of cholesterol? Is steroid treatment a positive approach or does it pose dangerous risks of its own?

Q. I've been reading a lot of your books and articles including your new Metabolic Diet. I've been on your diet for almost a year, but stopped it a few months ago. That was a stupid thing to do. Two weeks ago, I started again, and I started really feeling well again. First of all do you think I should follow the 5 day strict and 2 day high carbs or should I limit the carbs since I feel better when I do so?
I also have been a steroid user for 6 years and the last year almost continuously, but I decided to quit 2 weeks ago because I was sick of it. Now here is my question, I know I will lose some weight, but that's not my concern at this time. I'm more concerned about own testosterone production, I already have some depression sometimes and that's something I'm not familiar with and don't want to continue. At this time I'm using Clomid and a pro-hormone stack. I know you've helped also the pros of the WBF to get clean. I am strict on the metabolic diet and feel a lot better, especially the weekdays. Can you get me some tips on how I can overcome my problems? I'm not sure about it myself and my family doctor doesn't know a clue about all this. I will be very thankful if you could make some time to help me.