Examples of an Isocaloric Diet

Isocaloric diets were founded by bodybuilder Dan Duchaine. He discovered that eating calories from protein, fats and carbohydrates in equal amounts can result in a reduction in body fat without losing muscle mass. Many bodybuilders tend to eat a large amount of calories, in the range of 3,000 per day. An average isocaloric diet would recommend consuming 300 grams of protein for 1,000 calories, 300 grams of carbohydrates for another 1,000 and 111 fat grams for the additional 1,000 calories.

Body Opus Diet

• Dan Duchaine's Body Opus diet was designed to help bodybuilders lose fat while increasing muscle mass. The plan is drastic enough to trigger the body's natural hormone, glucagon, to be released. When glucagon is released, triglycerides are released from the body's store of fat to be used for energy. The glucagon-triglyceride reaction is known scientifically as ketosis. The Body Opus diet achieves this by recommending that dieters eat no carbohydrates for five days and instead supplement their diets with a strict 30 percent protein and 70 percent essential fatty acid content. Around day three to four of the carbohydrate starvation, dieters may incorporate 100 to 200 carbohydrate calories into their eating pattern. On days six and seven, dieters must then eat a lot of carbohydrates to compensate for lost glycogen and on day eight, repeat the cycle.

The Zone Diet

• The Zone Diet was developed by Dr. Barry Sears and is similar to Duchaine's ketosis-provoking diet as it mainly calls for the consumption of equal amounts of calories from fat, protein and carbohydrates. The food types are eaten on a ratio of one, two and three. This means that the diet would normally recommend eating 10 fat grams, 20 protein grams and 30 carbohydrate grams at every meal. It is easier to follow than Body Opus because the same ratio of food is eaten every day. It also seeks to control body insulin levels and promotes the consumption of carbohydrates that are low in sugar like crunchy vegetables.

Anabolic Diet

• The anabolic diet is similar to the Body Opus diet in that it recommends low carbohydrate consumption to burn stored fat. The diet is also executed in phases like the Body Opus diet. During the first week of the anabolic diet, dieters should consume no more than 30 grams of carbohydrates per day and eat foods high in fat and protein. After the first week, dieters should spend two days eating foods high in carbohydrates to restore glucagon. During this time 15 percent of calories should come from proteins and 15 percent to 20 percent of calories from fat.