If you’ve ever eaten to gain size and strength, then you know that bloating and digestive turbulence are often an unfortunate part of the equation. This is what IFBB Pro League competitor and champion powerlifter Stan Efferding had in mind when he set out to create the Vertical Diet—a way of eating to stimulate muscle growth and strength while eliminating gut issues.
After a protein-heavy meal, it’s common to feel bloated, gassy, and cramped—and if you’re a bodybuilder or powerlifter, this is bound to happen more often than not. It’s kind of like the digestive equivalent of delayed-onset muscle soreness the day after a tough workout, or calf pain when you climb stairs after leg day. The Vertical Diet, which includes mostly whole foods and focuses more on food’s nutrient density than macronutrients, aims to fix that.
“The Vertical Diet is about eating nutrient-dense foods that are easily digestible to help you lose or gain weight, maximize workouts, and achieve better nutrient absorption overall,” says Efferding, who notes that digestive health is an often-overlooked aspect of dieting.
No diet plan is perfect for everyone, but there are plenty of anecdotal success stories from Vertical Diet followers like amateur bodybuilder Garry Lodoen, who put on 30 pounds of stage weight over five years on the diet.
“At my most recent show, I had energy to spare,” Lodoen says. “Without doing any cardio, I was bigger and leaner than ever.” And he’s not alone: Strongman Brian Shaw, powerlifter Ed Coan, IFBB Pro League competitors Flex Wheeler and Nadia Wyatt, and CrossFit champs Ben Smith and Becca Voigt all swear by the diet strategy.
If you’re thinking of giving the Vertical Diet a go, here’s what you need to know about it.
<img decoding="async" width="150" height="84" src="/uploadfile/2024/1209/20241209162622820.jpg">
Hers Nutrition
<h3 class="article__title">
5 Reasons You Should Care About Your Gut Health
</h3>
<p class="article__subtitle">When your gut is healthy, the rest of your body is better for it.</p>
Read article
<p class='slide-count'>1 of 4</p><img width="1109" height="614" src="/uploadfile/2024/1209/20241209162627634.jpg"><p class="photo-credit">Chinara Guliyeva / Shutterstock</p>What to Eat
Picture an upside-down “T.” The horizontal axis consists of a few foods—fruits, veggies, starches, and dairy—that form the daily foundation of the diet. Taken together, Efferding believes these foods support gut health, thyroid and liver function, metabolic health, and an improved hormonal profile. They include spinach, Greek yogurt, carrots, regular or sweet potatoes, oranges, cranberries, eggs, salmon, bone broth, and peppers of every color.
The “vertical axis” of the diet consists of red meat and white rice in quantities that are determined by your fitness and performance goals.
nito / Shutterstock
What to avoid
Unlike keto and other low-carb approaches, you’re not required to severely limit any single macronutrient (proteins, carbs, and fats) while on the Vertical Diet—but there are some specific foods you’re not allowed to eat.
Missing from the strictest form of the diet are bodybuilding staples like chicken and whitefish, which Efferding argues aren’t as nutrient-rich as red meat. Other foods you won’t find on this plan include legumes, wheat products, and cruciferous vegetables (like kale, broccoli, and cauliflower), which Efferding says can irritate the gut.
metamorworks / Shutterstock
Is it healthy?
Although research on red meat is shifting, many health organizations—including the American Institute for Cancer Research and the American Heart Association—still recommend limiting consumption to about three servings per week, an amount the Vertical Diet suggests you consume almost every day. And eating too much red meat has been linked to increased risk of heart disease and cancer.
And though grains, legumes, and cruciferous vegetables aren’t essential for health, they all contain healthy nutrients (fiber, protein, iron, and B vitamins among them) and are linked to reduced risk of obesity, inflammation, and cancer.
But overall, the diet isn’t particularly revolutionary in its concept—“eat whole foods and avoid junk” is great advice, but nothing new.
Syda Productions / Shutterstock
Is it necessary?
Exercise physiologist Dr. Mike T. Nelson, author of The Flex Diet, isn’t totally against the Vertical Diet.
“People seeking to maximize strength and power could do a whole lot worse,” he says. He added that people who follow a structured diet plan such as this one sometimes have an easier time reaching their fitness goals. “Some people respond well to the feeling of being part of a tribe,” he says. “Especially when it comes to diet.”
As a jumping-off point, then, the Vertical Diet is as good of a choice as any for people with strength and hypertrophy goals. After you’ve mastered the basic approach, though, you’re probably best off straying from the basic template to figure out what works best for you, according to Jade Teta, a naturopathic doctor and author of Metabolic Renewal.
“We are each unique in our physiology, psychology and personal preferences,” she says. “This means we should not be trying to find a diet to follow, but rather trying to create one for ourselves.”
If you think the Vertical Diet might be for you, Efferding’s website (stanefferding.com) offers more information. But if you want full details on the diet, you have to buy his $100 e-book.