TNT Diet: Weight Loss Success Stories  

Name: Lucas Hutchinson
Age: 25
Height: 6'4"
Weight before: 250
Weight after: 243

If you were to judge Lucas Hutchinson's results by the numbers on the scale, you wouldn't be too impressed. After all, in 12 weeks on the TNT Diet and Exercise Plan, he lost only 7 pounds of body weight.

 But remember, it's body composition that matters. And by that standard, Lucas made one of the most dramatic transformations we've seen in any of our studies. That's because he lost 19 pounds of fat, while packing on 12 pounds of muscle.

 In fact, his results were so amazing that we double and triple-checked the readings to be sure they were correct. Not that we should have been that surprised: The change in his body was obvious. And not just to us: "In the first month, I noticed that my pants were fitting a little looser. As the study progressed, I had to keep tightening my belt, and it felt great every time I did it."

 Lucas added more muscle—a pound a week—than anyone in our studies to date. And although we can't tell you exactly why—hey, everyone responds a little differently—we do know that he made a point to enjoy the meal plan. "The best part of the diet by far is the fat. I was able to use as much as I wanted, and it always made my meals taste better," says Lucas. There's an important lesson here: By not fearing fat, and eating all the calories that he desired, he allowed the TNT Diet and Exercise Plan to work its magic—diverting nutrients away from the fat depots that surround his belly, and toward the muscles of his chest, back, and legs.

 What about his health? Judge for yourself. Lucas' total cholesterol fell 17 percent and his triglycerides dropped an astounding 58 percent. On top of it all, there was another benefit: "I slept better and had more energy when I woke up," he says.

 

Name: Jaimen Sanders
Age: 19
Height: 5'8"
Weight before: 243
Weight after: 222

Jaimen Sanders figured he had nothing to lose by signing up for theTNT Diet and Exercise study we were conducting at our University of Connecticut lab. But turns out, he was wrong: In just 12 weeks, Jaimen dropped 30 pounds of pure fat. And just as impressive, he added 9 pounds of new muscle at the same time.

"All my clothes suddenly started to fit better," says Jaimen, a student at UConn. "But the first change I noticed was having a lot more energy throughout the day. And  I think both the diet and exercise allowed me to sleep less because I got better sleep at night." Interestingly, Jaimen found that sticking with the workout actually helped him stick to the diet. "The adrenaline rush and sensation of completed a workout kept me motivated. In fact, the exercise was probably the most fun part of the program besides the weekly weigh-ins."

All of which provides two lessons: First, that exercise can be just as important psychologically as it is physically. And second, that if you enjoy your workouts, you'll enjoy the results they help yield even more. After all, who wouldn't like weighing in, if, like Jaimen, you're losing one percent of your body fat a week? He also managed to drop his blood pressure from 150/95 to 128/86 and increased his HDL (good) cholesterol by 12 percent.

Because Jaimen had perhaps the best overall results we've ever witnessed on the TNT Diet and Exercise Plan (or any other plan, for that matter), we asked him the secrets of his success. Here they are:
-"Drink lots and lots of water. I always tried to have glass before every meal."
-"Don't just rely on the scale to tell you how well you're doing. Pay more attention to how your body looks and feels, and how your clothes fit."
-"Don't quit after cheating. It'll happen once in a while, and that's OK; just hop right back on the plan. One of the best parts of the TNT diet is that by not having sweets very often, they taste even better when you do have them. When I realized this, they became far less tempting on a daily basis."

Name: Paul Zaras
Age: 37
Height: 5'10"
Weight before: 219
Weight after: 201

Paul Zaras, an e-commerce analyst, became motivated to make a lifestyle change after seeing himself in a three-way mirror: "I looked like a big tub of goo." But like most people, he needed something simple, or as he so specifically put it: "A quick and dirty method that a nearing middle-age guy could use to change the course of his physique."

 So we sent him TNT, and Paul immediately began losing weight, dropping 7 pounds in the first two weeks. Then it got interesting: Thanksgiving arrived—along with a slew of holiday celebrations. "The timing of the year was the most challenging, but as long as I kept to my workouts, I was able to enjoy the holidays."

Even though Paul occasionally deviated from the plan—"You gotta live, right?"—he kept losing weight by sticking with his workouts, and adhering to the diet guidelines most of the time. "I followed the 80 percent rule until after New Year's,"  he says. "Then I went back to the plan full bore."

 Besides downsizing his wardrobe due to an 18-pound (and still falling) weight loss, Paul has also discovered an interesting side effect: "I feel like I can handle stress better, and my work productivity has increased."

 

Name: Keith Ayotte
Age: 23
Height: 5'9"
Weight before: 260
Weight after: 225

When we asked Keith Ayotte why he decided to try TNT, his answer couldn't have been clearer: "I was sick of being overweight."

 For most of his life, though, carrying around excess baggage had actually been unfamiliar territory to Keith: "Growing up, I was a football player and a speed skater, which helped automatically keep me lean." Unfortunately, all that changed when he arrived at college. "I quite being active, and ate whatever I wanted," he says. "As a result, I gained 70 pounds."

 Soon after, Keith discovered the TNT Diet and Exercise study we were conducting at the University of Connecticut, and quickly signed up for it. His experience echoes what we hear from almost everyone: "The first four days I was tired, but after two weeks, I was energetic all day long," he says. "And to think, before I started, I would often fall asleep in the middle of the day."

 In our 12-week study, Keith added 50 pounds to his bench press while losing a whopping 35 pounds. Even more impressive was his improvement in risk for heart disease. He lowered his blood pressure from 130/98 to 110/72. His total cholesterol dropped 30 percent, and his triglycerides plummeted a staggering 61 percent. But the improvements in his personal life may have been even more impressive: "My girlfriend not only said that I looked sexier, but that I was also in a better mood and far less grumpy." Now think about this: If your significant other could say the same thing about you, how much better might your relationship be?

Name: Keith Suthammanont
Age: 21
Height: 5'9"
Weight before: 185
Weight after: 165

As Keith Suthammanont knows, the truth can hurt—but sometimes it's exactly what you need to hear. "When I was 18, I showed up to a family function wearing a form fitting shirt, and one my aunts said, ‘I guess you're going to be the chubby brother'," says Keith. "This lit a fire under me because, for her to say something, I must have really let myself go."

As a result, Keith decided to give TNT a shot. In a matter of weeks, he lost 20 pounds of fat, and sculpted his skinny-fat physique into a defined, muscular body. The speed of his results didn't go unnoticed. "Following my weight loss, people starting asking me how I did it," he says. "And from time to time,  I'd even get accused of taking steroids! While that was frustrating, it was also flattering, because I realized that people were really noticing the changes I'd made."

 Three years after his physical transformation, TNT is still having a major impact on Keith's life: The experience he had improving his own health and fitness inspired him to help others do the same. As a result, Keith now makes his living as a personal trainer. And we say every client he has is lucky: After all, who better to learn from than a guy who's been where you are, and has gotten to where you want to be.

 

Name: Jean-Paul (J.P.) Francoeur
Age: 38
Height: 5'8"
Weight before: 202
Weight after: 175

J.P. Francouer, 36, had finally had enough: His body fat percentage had just hit 22 percent, a measure which classified him as overweight. And although that's far from unusual these days, it made him dread going to work.

Why? Because J.P. is a personal trainer—has been for 17 years—and the owner of one of the top health clubs in Little Rock, Arkansas. "One of the most important things a trainer can do is look the part," says J.P. "I didn't."

And at the time, he was also the chairman of the Arkansas Governor's Council on Fitness. In fact, he even had a hand in Governor Mike Huckabee's widely publicized 100-pound weight loss.

So how come he couldn't help himself? His story may sound familiar: Over the previous couple of years, a hectic lifestyle had led to poor eating habits and skipped workouts. "I'm on the go 12 hours a day trying to run the business, then I have 3 hours of mayhem at home trying to keep up with three kids," says J.P. "Who has time to count calories and fill out food journals?"

That's when he decided to try the TNT Diet and Exercise Plan, which provided the no-hassle program he needed. "In the first 8 weeks, I lost 20 pounds, and my performance in the gym not only didn't suffer as it does on most diets, it improved." Even better, J.P.'s body fat percentage dropped from 22 percent to 14 percent, and then down to 11 percent a few weeks later. "The best part is that I never felt hungry, and I was eating more healthy vegetables than ever before," explains J.P. "The downside? I had to go out and buy all new clothes."

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