Every now and then you hit a plateau and you just have to bust through it.  In fact, I just wrote about this very thing here.  I feel like I’ve hit that plateau and thought I’d try something a bit different to get past it.

Starting today, I’m doing the Men’s Health TNT Diet written by Ph.D. Jeff Volek and Adam Campbell MS CSCS. TNT stands for Targeted Nutrion Tactics and it includes the TNT diet and a complete workout routine designed by Alwyn Cosgrove. 

As I sit here eating my salad with tuna, onions, and cheese (anybody wanna kiss me?), I thought I’d share my thoughts on the book and the plan so far…even if this is only my first day on the plan!

The TNT Diet Premise

The TNT Diet is a low carb diet.  There really are no calories to count…just a list of acceptable foods depending on the program you choose.  There are four programs you can choose from based on your goals.  I really want to cut down so I’m following Plan A (for losing 20 lbs or more and reducing waist size by 4 inches or more).  The other plans have similar goals.

There are three eating time zones in the plan: 1.) The Fat Burning Time Zone   2.) The Reloading Time Zone  3.) The Muscle Building Time Zone.  The plan you choose dictates what time zones you use.  Since I’m following Plan A, I only use the Fat Burning Time Zone and the Muscle Building Time Zone.

Everyone that loses weight will inevitably hit a weight loss plateau as some time or another.  It is very difficult to maintain your motivation through a plateau so it is very important to minimize their impact and the duration. 

If you aren’t familiar with the weight loss plateau concept, the best way to describe it is a point where weight loss slows dramatically, stops, or you even gain a pound or two back.  You aren’t doing anything different…you’re eating the same foods and working out like you have to get to this point.

Why does this happen?  There can be a number of reasons so here are a few tips to bust through them and kick start your progress once again:

1.)  Re-calculate your BMR

In June, I wrote an article on how to determine your BMR.   As you drop weight your BMR changes.  If you determine your daily caloric needs based on your BMR and your activity level and have lost weight based on eliminating 500 to 1000 calories from that number, you will, at some point, have to re-analyze your BMR to determine a new calorie level. 

If you read my blog, Who is Dave and Why the Blog?, you may remember me saying that I would not compromise the integrity of my blog by promoting products that I have never used or products I wouldn’t endorse.  In keeping with that, I would like to announce that Dave’s Press has become an At Large Nutrition affiliate!

I’m truly excited about this partnership since I can attest to the quality of their products and the accessibility of their expert staff.  When I first started getting into fitness and nutrition, I was a frequent visitor to the Men’s Health weight training forum.  In fact, I was a regular there (GADave) for a long time and still visit occasionally.  More on Men’s Health in later blogs.

Anyway, there was someone from At Large Nutrition, Chris Mason, that posted on that forum.  Chris was a great help to the members there giving advice and talking about the At Large products.  It was because of him that I first tried Nitrean and LOVED it.  I know you have no reason to take my word for it so give it a try the next time you need protein.  I guarantee you won’t be dissappointed. 

For more on At Large Nutrition, you can read about them here.

For those that are new to the weight training world, there has been a raging debate for quite some time and it doesn’t look like it will be going away any time soon.  For those that aren’t new to the fitness world, you may already know what I’m referring to. 

The Great Workout Debate:  Total Body vs. Body Part Split

So, let’s examine what the routines are, the arguments for, and the arguments against, shall we? 

Yes, I know, I have an “about me” page but a lot of people don’t go there and, to be honest, it doesn’t tell all of the story.  Plus, I wanted to give you all an idea of where I want to take Dave’s Press in the very near future.

The “Who”

Surprise!  My name really is Dave…or David…I respond to both.  And, yes, that is my cheesy picture to the left.  It was actually taken two and a half years ago after I had actually lost most of my weight.  I was born, raised, and currently reside  in Georgia (Metro Atlanta).  I did a four year stint in the Navy where I had the chance to live in a couple of different locations: Philadelphia and Charleston.