The TNT eating plan: Friend or Foe?

[Giles]

I read in this month's Men's Health magazine (UK) about a new eating plan called 'The TNT Eating Plan'.

The basic premise is that their are three phases based aroung a. your goals, b. days of the week and c. times of the day.

The three phases are:


Fat burning - low carb, high fat / high protein
Reloading - moderate carbs, low fat and moderate protein
Muscle building - high proetin and some carbs BUT specifically centred around training (both before and after exercise)


This seems interesting. For example why eat carbs all day when we are basically sedentary people these days - so carbs during most of the day will lay dormant or simply turn to eat. Why not eat carbs before training (as an energy boost) and after exercise (to replenish). TNT suggests just that.

Also, fat burning - an Atkins type stratergy take DOES work coupled with hard training (resistance and aerobic work). A huge boost and a right kick up the arse to the fat burning systems in the body.

This makes total sense to me and so I'm going (I am) giving it a whirl. I will report back with my success.

Big G

[Lee]

Hmmm ... the TNT eating plan is a funny one.

Part of me thinks it's simply 4 weeks of the Atkins diet followed by 6 days of the Atkins diet and 1 day of carb loading but another part of me sees the real benefits.

The benefits of the TNT eating plan are:

1. It isn't a diet as such ... it's an eating plan. It's not the TNT diet, it's the TNT eating plan. It 'forces' the practitioner to assess the way they eat, what they eat and when.

2. The Atkins-style diet part (first 4 weeks) DOES regulate insulin, which promotes the body using body fat as fuel and not feeling sluggish - even when carbohydrate levels are low.

3. After the first 4 weeks TNT users are encouraged to eat carbs again BUT, crucially, the majority of them before and after exercise. Before exercise promotes energy to workout harder than before and after exercise to promote glycogen replenishment in the muscles (30 mins after exercise being an ideal time to flush the body with sugars to promote protein synthesis and body replenishment.

4. Later on in the TNT eating plan users can interact lace low carb days (5 days a week) with 2 high carb days. This stratergy is both great to reload on carbs after heavy exercise AND allows the eater to not feel like they are missing out on pizza, chips etc.