The Testosterone Advantage Plan (Rodale): Lose Weight, Gain Muscle ("Men's Health")

A 9-week food-and-fitness plan for men only. "The Testosterone Advantage Plan" is a diet for men that turns conventional weight-loss thinking on its head. The book explains how today's ultra low-fat diets are detrimental both nutritionally and metabolically to men. The authors believe that men should actually aim for 30 percent - 40 percent fat in their diet. The book's higher-fat diet, even without the muscle-building, testosterone-boosting workout plan, should leave men looking lean but never feeling hungry. For best results, combining the diet with the workout plan will help men attain the shape they've always admired. "The Testosterone Advantage Plan" offers men a long list of additional likely benefits in terms of energy and enthusiasm, power and potency, confidence and charisma.

Wide shoulders, narrow waist, thick chest, muscular arms and legs: today's male ideal physique is the same as that of ancient Greece. Aerobics and the Food Pyramid just won't yield that shape, argues Lou Schuler, certified strength-and-conditioning specialist and fitness director of Men's Health magazine. For weight loss and the Greek physique, he proposes the "T" (testosterone) plan: weightlifting and a diet of 33 percent each carbs (mostly low-glycemic-index), fat (the "good" kind), and protein; no alcohol; and minimal sweets and processed food. The book includes a meal planner, grocery list, and recipes. A 100-page, clearly illustrated weightlifting program progresses from circuit training to bodybuilding to power lifting, with both home and gym exercises.

This research-based program was tested on 16 willing, hefty guys. After nine weeks, they lost an average of 18 pounds, dropped waist inches, gained strength and energy, and improved their sex lives. The book includes before-and-after photos and quotes from the happy campers.

Schuler's man-to-man style is clear, direct, and witty ("one gorilla wearing a stringy tank in July is all it takes to leave a bench soaked in ectoplasm"). The Testosterone Advantage Plan is recommended for men willing to commit to a rigorous lifting program to achieve their ideal physique. --Joan Price