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Trade Your Belly for Biceps

Here's what to eat — and when to eat it — to burn fat, build muscle, and transform your body.

By Jeff Volek, Ph.D., R.D. & Adam Campbell, Men's Health

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Imagine, for a moment, that you can control what your body does with the food you eat. You instantly stop storing nutrients as belly flab, and instead transform them into sleeve-busting muscle. And because you're using incoming calories to build more muscular pecs, shoulders, and arms, you automatically burn your stored fat for energy. Consider it the panacea for the modern male body: Your biceps grow as your love handles shrink.

With the TNT Diet, this can be your reality. TNT — Targeted Nutrition Tactics — is a cutting-edge eating plan based on research at the University of Connecticut. It's designed with a simple purpose: to help you simultaneously lose fat and gain muscle. And whether you're a heavyweight with 30 pounds of pure fat to drop or a lean guy who wants to pack on some serious size, you can customize the TNT Diet to your goals.

Hungry to get started? Read on to discover how TNT can dramatically remodel any body, including yours.

The Science of TNT

To understand how TNT works, you need a primer on glycogen — the carbohydrates stored in your muscles. Unlike your fat stores, which can expand to what seems like an infinite level (read: you can grow fatter and fatter), your glycogen tank has a limited capacity to store carbs. Think of your car: If it's a midsize, it probably has a 14 gallon fuel tank. Try to fill the tank with 20 gallons, and the extra 6 will spill out onto the pavement. It's the same way with carbs and your glycogen tank.

So this is where the problem lies: Once your glycogen tank is full, the excess carbs you eat overflow into your bloodstream and are shuttled off to your liver, where they're converted to fat.

What's more, eating carbohydrates raises your blood levels of the hormone insulin. That's important because when your glycogen tank is full, insulin puts both your muscle cells and your fat cells in growth mode. That's great for your biceps but it's a horrible scenario for your belly.

Now for the good news: Low glycogen levels, which you can achieve with the right eating strategies and exercise, change your body's response to insulin. While insulin still signals your body to build muscle, it no longer keeps your fat cells in growth mode. Why? Because your body makes refilling your glycogen tank a priority, in case of an energy emergency. So it sucks any carbs you eat into your muscles to be stored as glycogen for later use. As a result, your body must turn to fat as its primary fuel source.

This creates the ideal internal environment for remodeling your body. Think of it as flipping a cellular switch that allows you to burn fat as you build muscle. The next step, then, is to implement the nutrition (and exercise) tactics that give you complete control over that switch.

What to Eat When

It's a trend among nutritionists to talk about "good" and "bad" carbs. And while we certainly agree that some carb sources are better than others, we've found that the total amount of carbs, and when you eat them, are more important factors. That's why we've based the nutrition tactics in TNT around what we call Time Zones. Think about it: Eat carbohydrates at the wrong time — when your glycogen tank is full — and your body stops burning fat and starts storing it. But eat carbs at the right time — when your glycogen levels are low — and those carbs help you build muscle without increasing the size of your gut.

Using this concept of "well-timed" and "poorly timed" carbs, the TNT Time Zones allow you to customize your diet for any goal. That's because we've used these Time Zones to create specific eating strategies that provide you with a range of body-sculpting options. One end of this spectrum is designed for maximum fat loss; the other, for maximum muscle. And in between, you can vary the degree of each with simple tweaks to your diet.

These options allow you to find the plan that works best not only for your goals but also for your lifestyle. For example, if you have 25 pounds to lose, you'll see the fastest results with Plan A, a low-carb diet. If you want more flexibility, you might choose Plan C, which is still great for losing fat but lets you load up on carbs one day a week. And, of course, if you want to gain muscle as fast as possible, Plan E would be your choice.

One caveat: For best results, we recommend that no matter what goal you choose, start with Plan A for 4 weeks. This trains your body to learn to use fat as its primary source of energy, and that makes each of the other plans more effective. (If you already follow a low-carb diet, go ahead and jump to the plan of your choice.) Once you've followed Plan A for 4 weeks, use the chart to find the plan that best fits your body-composition goals.

The Final Tactic

You can't build a beach body without exercise. That's why a key ingredient of the TNT Diet is weight training. It's not just the top strategy for building muscle, it's also the most effective form of exercise for torching fat. In fact, research shows that lifting weights not only burns as many calories as, say, a moderate-intensity run, but it's also ideal for stoking your metabolism and reducing your glycogen levels. So to achieve all the benefits of the TNT Diet, combine the nutrition tactics in this story with a 3- or 4-day-a-week total-body weight-training program, such as the one described in this month's workout poster.

To see hundreds of guys who've lost thousands of pounds onThe TNT diet, check out our Transform program.

The TNT Time Zones

1. Fat-Burning

The nutrition tactic: A low-carb diet

The benefits: Speeds fat loss, Regulates your appetite, Reduces heart-disease risk

When you'll use this tactic: Most of the week. A low-carb diet is the foundation of TNT.

Why it works: Limiting your carb intake helps keep your glycogen and insulin levels low — and your body in fat-burning mode. What's more, studies show that low-carb diets reduce both hunger and heart-disease risk.

What to eat: Eat any combination of foods from the three categories listed below until you feel satisfied, not stuffed. During this time zone, steer clear of foods containing more than 10 grams (g) of carbs per serving, particularly those made with flour or sugar (bread, pasta, rice, baked goods).

High-quality proteins: Beef, poultry, fish, pork, eggs, cheese, and protein powder

Low-starch vegetables: Any vegetable except potatoes, corn, and carrots.

Natural fats: Avocados, butter, coconuts, cream, nuts and seeds, olives, olive and canola oils, and sour cream. Don't worry: Contrary to popular opinion, research shows that saturated fat doesn't raise your risk of heart disease, especially when eaten as part of a low-carb diet.

Fat-Burning Time Zone Sample Menu

Breakfast: Denver omelet with sausage

Morning snack: Handful of almonds

Lunch: Grilled chicken thighs, steamed broccoli

Afternoon snack: Celery with ranch dressing

Dinner: Rib-eye steak, mozzarella-and-tomato salad, glass of red wine

2. Reloading

The nutrition tactic: A high-carb diet

The benefits: Boosts muscle growth, Instantly inflates your biceps, Allows you to eat pizza

When you'll use this tactic: Up to 2 days a week, depending on your goals. For convenience, we recommend weekend days.

Why it works: The carbs you eat will induce a surge of insulin. And this will drive a flood of muscle-building nutrients into your muscle cells. The downside is that you won't burn fat quite as fast as during the Fat-Burning Time Zone.

What to eat: Focus on having protein and carbs at every meal. Again, eat until you're satisfied but not stuffed. And while you should emphasize the foods listed below, also know that this is the best time to satisfy your cravings for candy, chips, and even takeout pizza. We don't recommend these foods for your health, but we do realize that most guys won't follow the guidelines of this diet — or any other diet — 100 percent of the time. So feel free to allow one of your Reloading Time Zone meals to be a cheat. It won't sabotage your progress.

High-quality proteins: Beef, poultry, fish, pork, eggs, cheese, protein powder, milk, and yogurt

Fruits and vegetables: Enjoy any type of produce.

Nutrient-dense carbs: Beans and 100 percent whole grains — bread, oats, pasta, and cereal

Reloading Time Zone Sample Menu

Breakfast: Cold cereal with fresh blueberries

Morning snack: Apple with sliced cheese

Lunch: Hamburger, sweet-potato fries

Afternoon snack: Fruit yogurt

Dinner: Spaghetti and meatballs, large salad

3. Muscle-Building

The nutrition tactic: Workout nutrition

The benefits: Dramatically accelerates muscle growth, Speeds recovery

When you'll use this tactic: In the window of time 60 minutes before you lift weights to 30 minutes afterward.

Why it works: Resistance training primes your muscles to grow — all you have to do is feed them. So during this time, you'll always include protein, which provides the raw material for muscle growth without inhibiting your ability to burn fat. And if you're okay with temporarily slowing down your fat loss, you can also down a hefty dose of carbohydrates, which will boost muscle growth to an even greater extent.

What to eat: Depending on your goals, you'll eat either a snack that contains only protein or one that provides both protein and carbohydrates.

Protein-only guidelines (TNT Plans A and C): Drink a protein shake (mixed with water) that provides a blend of at least 40 g whey and/or casein protein, and little to no carbs and fat. (We like Nitrean, available at www.atlargenutrition.com.) Or simply have the same amount of protein from a whole food, such as 3 ounces of tuna.

Protein + carbohydrate guidelines (TNT Plans B, D, and E): Drink a protein shake (mixed with water or milk) that provides a blend of at least 40 g whey and/or casein protein, 40 to 80 g carbohydrates, and little to no fat. (A good choice: Biotest Surge Recovery, biotest.com.) Alternatively, opt for a 16-ounce carton of low-fat chocolate milk or a classic turkey sandwich (but hold the mayo, because fat slows protein digestion).

Your Body, Your Plan

Use the chart below to determine your TNT eating strategies. For instance, if you choose Plan C, you'll follow the Fat-Burning Time Zone guidelines Sunday through Friday, except for the period around your workout (Muscle-Building Time Zone). On Saturday you'll adhere to the Reloading Time Zone. In addition to any drinks listed in each Time Zone, have as much water, unsweetened tea and coffee, and no-calorie drinks (like diet soda) as you desire. You can also have up to two alcoholic drinks a day — such as wine or light beer.

Max Fat Loss & Max Muscle	Plan A	Plan B	Plan C	Plan D	Plan E
The Fat-Burning Time Zone (Low-carbohydrate)	7 days	7 days	6 days	6 days	5 days
The Reloading Time Zone (High-carbohydrate)	0 days	0 days	1 day	1 day	2 days
The Muscle-Building Time Zone (Workout Nutrition)	protein only	protein + carbs	protein only	protein + carbs	protein + carbs

Trade Your Belly for Biceps

Here's what to eat — and when to eat it — to burn fat, build muscle, and transform your body.

Find More

Send mail to webmaster@health-venue.net with questions or comments about this web site. Last modified: 11/21/07

Send mail to webmaster@health-venue.net with questions or comments about this web site.
Last modified: 11/21/07