The Old School Vince Gironda Meat and Eggs Diet for Fat Loss, Improved Mood and Hormonal Health

Let’s tackle one of the most famous old-school diet in the bodybuilding industry: Vince Gironda’s Meat and Eggs Diet.

Vince Gironda, nicknamed the “Iron Guru”, was an extreme and strange character of the bodybuilding scene, especially during the Golden Era in the ’60s, even though he was active since the ’50s during the Silver Era and until the ’80s. His gym, the Vince’s Club, was considered like some kind of sacred dungeon where athletes could undergo special and secret training methods, coming out with a nearly new body in a bunch of weeks.

Although his training methods were brutal and innovative, Vince dedicated a lot of time to studying nutrition, diets and food, pushing the experiments, creating and testing protocols, discovering combinations of food, supplements and regimens to follow for both quick muscle growth and maximal fat loss, and overall definition. One of them was designed to make him -and any athlete- melt fat away like snow under the sun, all the while ensuring good health and mood: The Old School Vince Gironda’s Meat and Eggs Diet for Fat Loss, Improved Mood and Hormonal Health.

He called it the Maximum Definition Diet.

Now, before commenting on what you’re about to read, please bear in mind this picture:

Yup, that’s Vince himself and you are probably admiring the shape that he’s built and maintain for decades. Note the veins on the chest and shoulders. All natural.

The Basics of the Famous Vince Gironda’s Meat and Eggs Diet

Vince didn’t want to bother with any precise calculation of kcal required for X amount of weight loss, nor did he want to get the insulin sensitivity of the trainees in his way. Also, a very high density and quality diet would always yield better results than one with empty nutrients, meaning that you just can’t eat enough of them to get or stay fat. So, his famous diet was really basic:

1. Meat, eggs, both cooked in butter. That’s it.
2. No veggies, no fruits, no starchy carbs. Only water, unsweetened coffee and tea.
3. You can eat either at breakfast and lunch, or at lunch and dinner. A good example of Intermittent Fasting.
4. The first meal consists of 4-8 eggs with 300-600gr of meat, all cooked in butter. The second meal is the same.
5. Every 4-7 days, you get to “cheat” and have a lot of carbs (provided that you drop the fat quantity on this day) to replenish the muscles, liver and boost the metabolism. Fruits are allowed, some veggies like carrots, spinach and cruciferous vegetables, potatoes and white rice would be the best and healthiest sources.

As I mentioned before, the Iron Guru was adamant of supplements, and not just a few. Here is the full list he recommended for this diet protocol, to be taken at every meal:

• 10 Liver Tablets or 2 tablets every hour
• 10 Kelp Tablets
• Beef Amino-Acids (1 oz.)
• 2 Enzyme Tablets
• 1 Iron Tablet (per day)
• 4 Calcium Tablets & 4 Before Bedtime
• 1 Vitamin A Tablet
• 1 RNA Tablet
• 1 Vitamine B3 Tablet
• 1 Vitamin C Tablet every 4 hours (500mg.)
• 1 Vitamin E Tablet
• 1 Tablespoon Wheat Germ Oil
• 3 Tri-Germ Oil Tablet

Think this is crazy? Maybe.

Did it work? Absolutely.

What Type of Meat, Eggs and Butter Do I Need?

• Muscle pieces (steaks, breast, legs…), livers (including chicken livers) and kidneys that either come from beef, lamb, pork or horse. All of these are loaded with nutrients such as zinc, iron, selenium, copper, vitamins A, B3, B6, B12, etc.
• The eggs should be organic or from free-range/free-run chickens, that are rich in omega 3, calcium, magnesium, iodine, etc.
• As for the butter, no need to get a fancy one, a grass-fed butter is fine; it is high in saturated fat (just like the other foods above), adds some flavor to the meal and is also full of vitamin A K and E.

How Should I Cook The Meat and Eggs?

Up to you. The eggs can be poached, scrambled, beaten to an omelet, hard-boiled… The meat can be pork chops, classic steaks fried in the pan, grilled… Among other spices, you can add a pinch of Himalaya salt and pepper for a more tasty meal. Anyhow, you should learn and try different cooking methods with the same ingredients.

Is It Hard To Go On This Vince Gironda’s Diet?

Mindset is key, you know that. For some people, eating more or less the same things can be hard to deal with. It’s socially also pretty limiting. People who aren’t used to a somewhat keto diet can also have some mood swings, and if the body is too fragile, they may get thyroid insufficiency symptoms. So, let’s keep it simple: if you are having trouble thinking and if your hands/feet get cold, you might prefer short 2-3 days cycles before doing longer ones.

Will I Be Hungry With This Old School Bodybuilding Diet?

Nope, the high fat and moderate protein content is very filling and will blunt hunger very easily. Also, coffee and tea will help if you have any struggles. Of course, beginning this diet can be harsh at first since you must adjust, but except if you are having a very physically demanding job or training, you will most likely strive perfectly on this type of diet.

Will This Diet Make Me Tired?

Nope, that’s one of the huge pros of ketogenic diets. Since your insulin levels are low all the time, you shouldn’t have any spike, rush or huge drops of energy during the day. This could be compared to eating an all-you-can-eat buffet lunch, or a very high carb meal: the energy will be here, constant, steady, without any drop. Also, fasting will help your body adapt its blood sugar levels. However, long period of time with these diet can wreck havoc on your health, hence the pretty frequent high carb refeed days. This also isn’t something you are supposed to run indefinitely, as it is geared toward fat loss.

Does This Keto Diet Really Help Burn Fat?

Being in a caloric restriction with very dense food is easier, and greasy foods are amongst the denser ones. Plus, with no carbs at hand, your body will keep pumping from the glycogen storages (liver and muscles) but, at some point, will be forced to switch into a ketogenic mode (producing ketones for energy); because you are in a fat-burning mode with his diet, the body will be deprived of the fat and will fuel itself directly from your own fat storages. The main goal here is the caloric deficit and consuming rich nutrient food with enough protein, in order to maintain bone density and muscle mass (’cause you could still mess it up if you aren’t careful with a few things, even though you could hardly do it with this diet).

Is Cooking Everything With Butter Unhealthy?

No, it isn’t. When you eat a high amount of cholesterol, your liver doesn’t have to produce it. The cholesterol ingested via diet and the cholesterol in your arteries are not correlated to each other. Skeptical? Check these articles here , here and there. Saturated fatty acids are mandatory to maintain a good endocrine balance, and your body can synthesize MCT by itself, while you will still get some polyunsaturated fats by the meat and eggs which are supposed to be grass-fed/certified/organic/free-run/free-range. The butter should also be from a high-quality source.

What With Vince Gironda’s Supplements? Do I Need All of Them?

The short answer is no. The longer answer is that Vince Gironda wasn’t a retard and never did something for the heck of it. You should read once more the paragraph about what are the nutrients provided by the meat and eggs diet. Now, remember that your body needs to stay balanced and that this diet isn’t supposed to be done all year round (just as any caloric restrictive diet, especially the pretty “extreme” ones).
That being said, let’s explain:

• Liver tablets are rich in Iron, Retinol (a form of vitamin A), B12, Coenzyme Q10, Choline and Hyaluronic acid. All these nutrients have a great effect on cells, metabolism, help to prevent an unusual aging process, skin/hair/nails/brain/organ health and cancer prevention.
• Kelp tablets come from kelp, a brown alga very rich in sea iodine that helps with thyroid health and functions.
• Beef Amino Acid: basically BCAA. Must have been used to enhance mood, prevent fatigue and prevent the usage of muscle mass for fuel in really high caloric deficit states but more recent studies showed that it is actually not helping with the last point.
• Enzyme Tablets: to help and maintain digestive system health and function (and better absorb what you eat).
• Iron: for energy metabolism, mood and circulatory health, although much like BCAA, new studies showed that iron can inhibit the respiratory process in cells and facilitate oxidation and heart diseases when coming from a supplement source (check that here for more details).
• Calcium: for balancing the body’s PH and maintain bone density, but yet again, studies from the last few years showed that calcium supplementation can be harmful.
• Vitamine A: no precision on what form of it was, but it helps with eyes health and immunity system. Also part of the thyroid metabolism actions.
• RNA: or Ribonucleid Acid is the protein messenger that helps with everything the mitochondria needs to function properly. It helps with whole overall body function (sex drive, sleep, depression, preventing degenerative diseases, muscle recovery, skin problems,…). More info available here if you want.
• Vitamine B3: along with all the other B group vitamins, it helps with metabolism and overall functions of the body (immunity, digestion,…)
• Vitamine C: boost the immunity system, the precursor of collagen and a powerful antioxidant agent. The body can synthesize itself some, but it’s useful, especially with a diet without vegetables to prevent scurvy.
• Vitamine E: a powerful antioxidant that prevents heart diseases, also used for very painful menstruations.
• Wheat Germ Oil: a source of vitamins A (bêta carotene), E, K and Omega 6. So a combo of antioxidants, protective agents for hair and skin with calcium metabolism and circulatory system supportive properties.
• Tri Germ Oil Tablet: pretty much the same as above.

As you can see, the primary goal that is put forward is fat loss speed/efficiency but with a pinch of muscle building and a full cup of overall health.

What Type of Training Should I Add Up To This Diet to Get Ripped?

I would be lying if I said it’s an optimal strength training diet for performance. You need to keep the workout not too brutal and too long, keeping a top set with some back-off sets mentality. Also, staying on the lower side of the overall volume. High frequency, low intensity, high volume like with calisthenic and bodyweight workouts are pretty nice to do with that type of diet. Or high intensity, low volume, high-frequency ones, like very shorts full body and half body with only one exercise per muscle group or movement patterns. This is why he invented and built the famous 6×6, 8×8 and “A muscle as four sides” programs.

Test, adapt, strive.

This diet is designed for those who want a fast, drastic body transformation and who got the work ethic and intensity required in training to benefit from the carbs reloading via refeeds or cheat meals.

If you are ready to strengthen your health and foster your fitness and body transformation, start with reading my Ultimate Diet Guide. As a Professional Nutritionist and Personal Trainer, I can definitely design a customized diet plan and/or training program to help you achieve your goals and get shredded in record time.

Your lightkeeper,

-Hersovyac.