VINCE GIRONDA’S DIETS

Golden Era Bookworm

Please note that the author of this book is not responsible in any manner whatsoever for
any injury that may result from practising the techniques and or following the instructions
given within. Since the physical activities described herein may be too strenuous in nature
for some readers to engage in safely, it is essential that a physician be consulted prior to
training.

Written and distributed by the Golden Era Bookworm

Copyright © 2019 Golden Era Bookworm

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means electronic or mechanical without written permission from the Golden Era
Bookworm.
CONTENTS:
1. Introduction
2. Advanced Maintenance Diet
3. Hormone Precursor Diet – 36 Eggs a Day
4. Positive Nitrogen Balance Diet
5. All Protein Muscle Building Diet
6. Weight-Gaining Diet
7. Lacto-Ovo Vegetarian Diet
8. Maximum Definition (Steak and Eggs)
9. 5-Day Fasting Diet
10. Complete Vegan Diet
11. Hawaiian reducing Diet
12. US Navy Airforce Diet
13. Eric Estrada Diet
Introduction
Vince Gironda was famous for stating that “Bodybuilding was 85%
nutrition!” Back in a time during the Silver Era of Bodybuilding, when
his ripped physique was considered “too defined”, his thinking and
methods were well ahead of his time. During the 60s and 70s, often
referred to as the Golden Era of Bodybuilding, bodybuilders would
learn to appreciate his methods and nutritional principles, as they
achieved great success by adopting his wisdom.

Vince Gironda’s diets are often misunderstood. Many believe that his
Steak and Eggs diet, or his 36 eggs a day diet should be adhered to
indefinitely, or serve as maintenance diets. This couldn’t be further
from the truth! His diets, although designed for hardcore
bodybuilders that depend on sound nutrition and not on steroids,
focused heavily on achieving a positive nitrogen balance in the body
to allow for an anabolic state to occur, optimal for muscle building.
However, what most people do not understand is that Vince
Gironda’s diets served a specific purpose. As he put it, they were
supposed to be used to achieve a particular goal, just like an exercise
serves the bodybuilder to shape his muscle to spark growth, the diet
itself is also a tool for weight gain or weight loss, or more specifically,
gains in muscular tissue and loss of fatty tissue. Apart from his
maintenance diet, his other diets were never supposed to be used
for longer than a short period of time.

Vince believed that different diets served different needs, hence he

developed many diets from his research and experimentation. Yes,
Vince experimented on himself first, and any diet that Vince ever
wrote and preached about, he had already tried successfully on
himself and on his pupils. However, having said that, it is important
to understand that Vince was not dogmatic about his diets. He
encouraged experimentation. As he often advised, “Learn to
develop innate animal wisdom” in regards to your own personal
nutrition. What he meant was to listen to your body, and recognise
when a diet is no longer working and has stopped becoming
effective. For example, if you are sick of eating too much protein,
then it’s time for a change in diets. A vegan detox or change to a
maintenance diet may be appropriate for a while.

When it comes to the choice of food, in Vince’s words, “Think

nutrition FIRST!” His recommendations parallel those of the Silver
Era masters: Remove junk food; Remove processed food; Chose
fresh fruit and vegetables; chose whole wheat grains over refined
and processed white bread, pasta and carbohydrates; chose high
quality sources animal protein; and if you can source it, drink raw
milk. One final recommendation Vince had was, if you can stomach
it, eat raw steak and eggs!!
ADVANCED MAINTENANCE DIET
This was the only diet that Vince recommended any bodybuilder stay
on for prolongued periods of time. Gradual and steady weight gains
could be made, and the diet had adequate and balanced proteins,
carbohydrate and fats. The other diets listed in this book serve to
boost muscle gain, cause fat loss or detoxify. Note, Vince’s Special
Protein Drink is the same as the drink used in the “Hormone
Precursor diet”, and should be taken according to the macros that
your body would need.
HORMONE PRECURSOR DIET
This is otherwise known as the “36 eggs a day diet” and achieves a
positive nitrogen balance. The purpose of this diet is to gain muscle
rapidly. Again, this diet is supposed to only be used for up to 8
weeks. Vince recommended this diet over the meat, eggs and water
diet (Maximum Definition diet), as in his own experience, you would
never feel hungry or have the feeling of weariness.
POSITIVE NITROGEN BALANCE DIET
This is an original scan from the pamphlets that were available at
Vince’s gym for his pupils describing the “Positive Nitrogen Balance
Diet”. This diet, which also uses 36 eggs a day is supposed to both
burn fat and build muscle. Vince had his pupils eat a solid meal only
for dinner time, and throughout the day, they were to consume up
to 3 dozen eggs a day in a modified version of Vince’s Special Protein
Drink as described.
ALL PROTEIN MUSCLE BUILDING DIET
This diet is high protein, based on meat and two modified versions of
Vince’s Special Protein Drink. It’s not a weight gaining diet, but a diet
that will increase muscle and improve overall shape.
WEIGHT-GAINING DIET
This diet is ideal for the beginner or for the bodybuilder that wishes
to bulk up. Lots of smaller meals are eaten, every 3 hours. In this diet
it is recommended to eat plenty of cooked meats, thick stews and
soups, raw vegetables, cheese or meat sandwiches, Vince’s Special
Protein Drink and/or certified raw milk.
LACTO-OVO-VEGETARIAN DIET
This diet, being a weight loss diet, is composed of non-concentrated
carbohydrates, enabling you to eat all you want from the list of foods
provided. In this respect, Vince enjoyed this diet for fat loss as it
provides a sense of satisfaction that he did not experience from a
high protein diet. Further, it provides a detoxification effect. The diet
is composed of mostly vegetables with a modified version of Vince’s
Special Protein Drink. Two versions of this diet are provided, one
basic and one more advanced in respect to supplementation. Again, I
provide a scan of a pamphlet of this particular diet that was available
at Vince’s Gym.

0
MAXIMUM DEFINITION DIET
Also known as the “Steak and Eggs Diet”, this diet was used
successfully by many bodybuilders in the Golden Era of bodybuilding
for cutting up. Similar to the earlier “Meat and Water Diet”
developed by Rheo Blair (one of Vince’s teachers), this diet uses
meat, eggs and lots of supplements, whilst cutting out virtually all
carbohydrates. However, a high carbohydrate meal is to be eaten
twice a week. Below is also another pamphlet from Vince’s Gym
explaining the Steak and Eggs Diet.
5 DAY FASTING DIET
Vince recommended fasting after long periods of eating “heavily”. He
believed that after a while of such practices, it was time to give the
body a full “clean-out”, and have a fasting diet to cleanse the
intestine, as described below.

Day 1 – Drink water, fruit and vegetable juices only. Take a

tablespoon of psyllium seed in a glass of water (or juice), drink this,
followed by a glass of water. Perform this cleanse 3 times during the
day, and before going to bed.

Day 2 – Same as Day 1.

Day 3 – Same as Day 1 except you can begin drinking clear soups like
broth or boullion.

Day 4 – Same as Day 3, except drink heavier soups. You can eat like
liquid like foods like jelly, yoghurt, custard puddings etc.

Day 5 – Same as Day 4 except you can now begin to eat very light
foods such as soft boiled eggs.

After 5 days, you can begin to slowly reintroduce normal “heavier”

foods to your diet. If you were on a high-protein diet and wish to
detoxify further, you may want to try the next “Complete Vegan
Diet” for one week.
COMPLETE VEGAN DIET
Vince believed that after prolonged periods of high-protein meat
diets, the body need to cleanse itself. At these points, he
recommended completely vegan diets for up to one week. The diet
was simple. Eat as much steamed and raw vegetables, salads, fruits
and nuts as you like. Beans, legumes and grains were also
permissible. Below is a paragraph from a pamphlet explaining his
reasoning for occasionally opting for completely vegan diets.

VINCE’S HAWAIIAN REDUCING DIET

This diet is simplicity in itself and was recommended for fat-loss. In
fact, Vince claimed that on this diet one could lose up to one-pound
a day! It consists of red meat, chicken or fish, and papaya and or
pineapple, eaten 3 times a day. The secret of this diet is that the
papaya and pineapple contain high-enzymatic activity, aiding
digestion of protein.
US AIR FORCE DIET
This diet was designed for weight-loss by restricting carbohydrate
intake, hence the alternate name of this diet, “Low Carbohydrate
Diet”. Again provided is an original pamphlet describing this diet.
ERIC ASTRADA’S DIET
This final diet is included to stress one very important point. Vince
believed that different individuals required different diets. This
should bring home the point that most of these diets are simply
recommendations. No individual is the same. We all differ in our age,
upbringing and backgrounds. We differ in our body weight, height,
shape and metabolism. We have different lifestyles, work-life
balance, etc. For this reason, Vince would cater diets to the
individual needs of his pupils. Here is an example of such a diet for
actor Eric Estrada. It is clear that although it contains elements of
Vince’s nutritional principles, it is also clear that it is also catered to
that particular individual.
THE END!