That’s the exact question I asked myself earlier today. When I began looking into fitness videos, I kept hearing this term being thrown around. I had never heard of this, so, I went and learned.
Basically, an anabolic diet just helps you lose fat and retain muscle. With an anabolic diet, you just forget about counting macros. You just want to hit or be slightly under your calorie goal and get a fair amount of protein.
Now, the video I watched explaining this said that women (and I am female) need at least 100g of protein per day. However, I remember Dr. T Collin Campbell saying that only about 7% of calories need to come from protein, and that would put me at eating at least 26g of protein per day. Personally, to maintain an anabolic state, I think aiming for at least 14% of of calories should be coming from protein. Because that number is so low (percent/4=g of protein per day), I barely even worry about it. Like Dr. Campbell says, “If you’re eating enough calories [to stay healthy], then you’re getting enough protein.” I just make sure I’m eating some higher protein foods, like beans – not just plain white rice.
So, pretty much, to achieve an anabolic diet just eat the right amount of calories and make sure to eat some high-protein foods.
Frugal Treehugger 