Stan Efferding didn’t just wake up one day and decide to eat massive amounts of steak. The "Rhino," as he’s known in the powerlifting world, built the vertical diet meal plan because he was tired of seeing high-level athletes suffer from constant bloating, poor sleep, and stalled progress. It’s a performance-based nutritional framework. It isn't a "weight loss hack" in the way keto or paleo are often marketed.
Basically, it's about efficiency.
If you’ve spent any time in a hardcore bodybuilding gym, you’ve probably seen guys carrying around Tupperware containers filled with nothing but white rice and ground beef. It looks boring. It looks repetitive. But there’s a biological reason for the madness. Efferding’s philosophy focuses on a narrow range of highly digestible, nutrient-dense foods to minimize "gastric distress." Because if you're trying to eat 4,000 calories a day to move a 600-pound barbell, your gut better be working like a well-oiled machine.
How the Vertical Diet Meal Plan Actually Works
Think of the diet like an upside-down "T."
The vertical part—the trunk—is made of red meat and white rice. These are your primary fuel sources. Red meat provides heme iron, B12, zinc, and creatine. White rice is the preferred carb because it’s incredibly easy on the stomach. Unlike brown rice, which contains phytic acid and can cause significant bloating in people eating high volumes, white rice digests quickly.
Then you have the horizontal base. This is where you get your micronutrients. We're talking about things like eggs, dairy (if you can handle it), wild-caught salmon, carrots, oranges, and spinach. You don't eat these in massive quantities. You eat just enough to cover your vitamin and mineral bases. It’s a surgical approach to eating. You aren't just "eating clean." You are fueling for a specific output.
Honestly, the biggest misconception is that you only eat steak and rice. That’s not true. If you ignore the horizontal base, you’ll end up with micronutrient deficiencies that will eventually tank your hormones. You need the iodine from the salt (Efferding is big on sodium), the potassium from the potatoes, and the Vitamin C from the peppers.
The Gut Health Factor
Why white rice?
People freak out about the glycemic index. But for an athlete training two hours a day, a high glycemic response is actually a tool. You want that insulin spike to drive nutrients into the muscle cells. More importantly, the vertical diet meal plan prioritizes Low-FODMAP foods.
Many people—even those who think they have "iron stomachs"—struggle with cruciferous vegetables. Broccoli and cauliflower are great, sure. But eat two pounds of them a day and you'll be too bloated to squat. By swapping those out for things like roasted peppers, spinach, and peeled cucumbers, you keep the waistline tight and the digestion moving. It's about "vertical" scaling. When you need more calories, you just add more rice and meat. You don't add more fiber.
Salt is Not the Enemy
If you have high blood pressure, talk to a doctor. But for the average person training hard, salt is a performance enhancer. Efferding argues that sodium is crucial for nerve signaling and muscle contraction. Most athletes are chronically under-salted. On this plan, you aren't just salting your food; you're often encouraged to use chicken broth or add salt to your water to keep your pumps skin-splittingly tight and your endurance up.
Designing Your First Vertical Diet Meal Plan
You can't just jump into eating 2 pounds of bison a day. Your gallbladder would hate you.
Start with the protein. Steak is the gold standard here because of the nutrient profile, but you can use bison or 90/10 ground beef. If you're on a budget, lean ground beef works fine. You want some fat, but not so much that it slows down digestion too much.
For the carbs, use white jasmine rice. It's generally considered the cleanest burning fuel in this community.
A typical day might look like this:
Breakfast: Three or four whole eggs, a small portion of grits or white rice, and maybe some spinach sautéed in butter. Throw in a glass of orange juice for the potassium and Vitamin C.
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Lunch (The Monster Mash): This is the signature dish. Take your cooked white rice and mix it with ground beef. Add some bone broth to make it "wet" so it goes down easier. Throw in some finely chopped peppers or a bit of parmesan cheese if you tolerate dairy. It’s easy to prep, easy to pack, and stays good in the fridge.
Snack: A piece of fruit (like an orange) and maybe some Greek yogurt or a small piece of cheese.
Dinner: Another round of steak and rice, perhaps with a small potato on the side.
The goal is consistency. You eat the same things. Every day. It sounds miserable to a foodie, but for someone chasing a PR, the lack of decision fatigue is a godsend. You know exactly how that meal is going to make you feel. You know you won't be gassy or sluggish an hour later.
What People Get Wrong About Red Meat
We’ve been told for decades that red meat will kill us. Efferding pushes back on this hard, citing the bioavailability of nutrients in beef compared to plant-based proteins or even chicken. While chicken is fine for a cut, it doesn't offer the same "bang for your buck" regarding zinc and iron.
However, quality matters.
If you're doing a vertical diet meal plan, you shouldn't be eating greasy fast-food burgers. You’re looking for high-quality cuts. The saturated fat in beef is used for hormone production, specifically testosterone. When you drop your fats too low, your strength usually follows. This diet keeps those levels optimized.
Is This Right for You?
If you're a sedentary person working a 9-to-5 with no interest in the gym, this is probably overkill. You don't need that much white rice. You’ll just get soft.
But if you’re a "hard gainer" or a strength athlete, this could be the missing piece. It solves the "I can't eat enough" problem. By choosing foods that digest fast, you're hungry again in two or three hours. That’s the secret. You’re increasing your "work capacity" for eating.
It's also surprisingly good for people with IBS or general digestive issues. By stripping away the "healthy" foods that actually irritate the gut—like beans, lentils, and heavy grains—you give your system a break.
Common Pitfalls
- Skipping the "Horizontal" base: Don't just eat meat and rice. You'll get scurvy or something equally stupid. Eat your carrots. Drink your 4oz of cranberry juice for kidney health.
- Too much fat: If you use 80/20 beef, the grease will slow down digestion. Stick to leaner cuts and add fats intentionally through butter or eggs.
- Ignoring the scale: This diet is designed for growth. If you aren't training hard, those extra rice calories will go straight to your gut.
The vertical diet meal plan is a tool, not a religion. It was popularized by guys like Hafthor Bjornsson (The Mountain) for a reason. It works for big people doing big things.
Practical Steps to Get Started
Go to the store and buy a 20lb bag of Jasmine rice and a rice cooker. Seriously. The rice cooker is mandatory.
Next, find a local butcher or a bulk store where you can get lean ground beef in 10lb rolls. Prep your "Monster Mash" in big batches. Start with 1 cup of cooked rice and 6oz of meat per meal. If you aren't gaining weight or you're feeling flat in the gym, bump it up to 1.5 cups of rice.
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Monitor your digestion. If you feel "heavy," you might need more salt or a little more water. If you feel bloated, check the toppings you're adding. Stick to the plan for three weeks before you decide to change anything. Consistency is the only way to see if the metabolic "fire" Efferding talks about is actually burning.
Focus on the "Big Four" nutrients: Vitamin D (get some sun), Iodine (use iodized salt), Magnesium, and Potassium. If you have those covered and you're hitting your steak and rice, you're 90% of the way there. Stop overcomplicating your nutrition and start fueling your training.