What Is the Vertical Diet?

What to eat, what to avoid and should you try the Vertical Diet? We’ll tell you.

If you want to look like a bodybuilder, The Vertical Diet & Peak Performance 4.0, created by pro bodybuilder Stan Efferding, might appeal to you. But is this trendy diet a way to eat healthier or bulk up the right way? Here we explain more about what the Vertical Diet is, what foods you can and can’t eat on it and whether we recommend giving it a try.

The Vertical Diet is a way of eating designed to help athletes who are engaged in high-intensity activities consume a large number of calories to gain weight, increase muscle mass and strength and maximize workouts. It has recently been promoted as a weight loss regimen with followers including Camille LeBlanc, Crossfit Champion and former “fittest woman on the planet”; Hafthor Bjornsson, who played “The Mountain” on Game of Thrones; and Lane Johnson, offensive lineman for the Philadelphia Eagles.

The central premise of the diet is to eat nutrient-dense foods that the body likes—foods that are easily digestible and don’t aggravate the digestive system. The thought is that sometimes foods just pass through the body and leave as waste. According to the Vertical Diet, eating foods your body prefers will help you better absorb the nutrients.

The Vertical Diet also suggests that when you limit the food variety in your diet, your body will become more efficient at digesting and absorbing nutrients. Efferding’s company also sells meals and proteins, like chicken and beef, that you can have delivered to your house.

The two most commonly eaten foods on this diet are red meat and white rice, for the following reasons:

Specifically, the Vertical Diet encourages consuming the following foods:

The Vertical Diet emphasizes consuming many calories to increase energy and gain muscle mass. The diet also focuses on easy-to-digest carbs, like white rice, to provide a quick boost of energy, which athletes and bodybuilders need.