To be honest, we aren’t all that fond of regimented eating plans. Mainly because they’re, well, regimented. This tends to lead to the unfortunate mindset that if you deviate from the plan a little, then you’ve abandoned it altogether—a thought pattern we hope you never develop.
But we also realize that a clear plan can be a valuable learning tool. By following detailed guidelines, you’ll quickly begin to better comprehend the underlying principles that inspired them. More importantly, you’ll be able to accurately judge how your body responds to a very specific manner of eating. That way, you can make an objective assessment of how well an eating plan works for you. Got that? Not how well it works for your buddy, your wife, or 20 people who took part in a scientific study. But how well it works for you. And isn’t that the whole point?
All of which is why we’ve created the five TNT plans that follow. We’ve set some ground rules for each, to help you decide which one to adopt, and to ensure that you have the greatest success possible. The idea is that you’ll choose your plan based not only on your body composition goals—faster fat loss? more muscle?—but also on how much fat you have to lose.
However, we want everyone to start out by following the guidelines of TNT Plan A for the first 4 weeks. The reason: To experience all the benefits from the other plans we offer, your body must first learn to use fat as its primary source of energy. Think of this as lighting the TNT Diet fuse. Typically, your body will adapt almost completely within a week or two, and the rest of the changes will occur within another 2 weeks. So for the first 4 weeks, you’ll follow TNT Plan A, regardless of your goals. After that, you can stay on Plan A, or switch to any of the other four plans you want based on your goals. But no matter what, you’ll start to see the fat-blasting benefits of the TNT Diet right from the start.
Fair warning: The first week or two on Plan A may be a little difficult. Your body has to adapt to burning fat as its main energy source. For most people, this is a major change because they’re accustomed—some would even say addicted—to using carbohydrates to fuel their body.
You may be irritable, cranky, and even tired for a few days. But as you grow accustomed to this new diet, you’ll return to your lovable self quickly. Within a couple of weeks, guys following Plan A almost always report having higher and more consistent energy levels than they did before they started the program. In fact, many TNT veterans claim that they need less sleep when eating this way. If the change from your normal diet is a particularly drastic one, you may also experience a bit of gastrointestinal distress, such as diarrhea. However, within a few days, we can assure you that your plumbing will be working normally again. And as long as you stick to the guidelines of Plan A, any cravings for carbs will soon disappear as well. You’ll actually be more in tune with your body’s true hunger signals, as opposed to being a slave to the cravings that are triggered by the typical high-carb “sugar rush,” followed by the inevitable “sugar crash.” On Plan A, you’ll be immune to these highs and lows while you’re humming along in your new fat-burning mode.
One way to monitor your progress is to invest in a CardioChek Portable Blood Test System. This device allows you to measure total cholesterol, HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, glucose, and even ketones with just a finger prick and in the comfort and convenience of your home.
It’s no substitute for a trip to your doctor, but it does allow you to check markers of heart disease risk on a regular basis. CardioChek is available at Wal-Mart ($99 when we went to press), but you can also visit the CardioChek Web site (www.cardiochek.com) for more information and additional retailers.
It’s important to remember that Plan A is absolutely a low-carbohydrate, high-fat diet. We emphasize this point because a common mistake people make during Plan A is that they try to limit both carbs and fat. This often makes the diet unpleasant and hard to follow. It also makes it difficult for you to consume enough calories to properly fuel your body. The bottom line: Don’t be afraid of fat! Ideally, you’ll be eating anywhere from 60 to 70 percent of your calories from fat. Of course, you won’t need to calculate this out, but it’s a pretty good bet that if you aren’t enjoying the diet, you aren’t eating enough fat. Again, our research shows that eating a low-carb, high-fat diet actually reduces your risk for heart disease, despite what you’ve been told—so have a little faith.
Finally, we highly recommend that you get a checkup with full blood work before you start this plan. Why? Because it’s the best way to know how well the diet is benefiting your health. We’ve provided you with examples of what happens to people normally, but the only way to really know is to see for yourself. And after all, why would you leave your health to chance? Tell your doctor that you’re following a new diet and you want to gauge its effect on your cardiovascular health. Then have him or her, at the very least, measure the following: triglycerides, HDL cholesterol, LDL cholesterol, fasting glucose, fasting insulin, and blood pressure. Before you leave, schedule a follow-up appointment for 4 weeks later, in which you’ll have your blood work done again. This will provide a snapshot of the impact your plan is having on your health. (For an idea of what to expect, see Chapter 12.)
Choose this plan if any of these statements apply to you:
What to do: Implement each Time Zone as directed and follow the guidelines for each, provided in Part II.
Choose this plan if all of these statements apply to you:
What to do: Implement each Time Zone as directed and follow the guidelines for each, provided in Part II.
Choose this plan if all of these statements apply to you:
What to do: Implement each Time Zone as directed and follow the guidelines for each, provided in Part II.
Choose this plan if all of these statements apply to you:
What to do: Implement each Time Zone as directed and follow the guidelines for each, provided in Part II.
Choose this plan if all of these statements apply to you:
What to do: Implement each Time Zone as directed and follow the guidelines for each, provided in Part II.
Soon after you light the TNT fuse, you can expect to see and feel rapid changes in your physique. The key, of course, is sticking with the plan for a full 12 weeks. We believe the secret to this is making a point to embrace the foods that you can eat in each Time Zone, particularly the Fat-Burning Zone. Over and over, we’ve seen that the guys who experience the best results on this plan are the ones who focus on what they can eat, instead of on what they can’t eat. They adopt the mindset that food is to be enjoyed, and take advantage of the fact that the TNT Diet doesn’t force you to limit your food intake or count calories. This approach ensures that you never feel like you’re dieting. Which means you’ll simply be eating a lot of the foods that you love. And who couldn’t stick with a diet like that?
For help with all your TNT questions, visit www.MensHealth.com/TNT. You’ll find a complete FAQ section, an interactive discussion forum, and an online community created specifically for TNT dieters.