Anthony Touart

After serving his country in the United States Army, this military man turned to the JYM Army to achieve his fat loss goals.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated September 28, 2023

Written by Anthony Touart

My fitness journey began just over a year ago. May 1, 2014, was an absolute low in my life. I was discharged from the Army a few months shy of hitting my eight-year mark. I had to explain to my wife and four children that my career was over for being overweight. My wife has always been in my corner, but having to tell her I was being discharged because I couldn't lose weight was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do.

Back in 2013, I found Jim Stoppani prior to the launch of Pre JYM. I was using other products but didn’t like the results. I came across his Shortcut To Shred program and thought I'd give it a try. I failed terribly. I skipped workouts, ate poorly, etc.

Just before I left the Army, I joined jimstoppani.com. The information and the science in Jim's articles were amazing. On the day of my discharge, I set a goal for myself: I wanted to be 200 pounds on May 1, 2015. Once settled in our new home, I began to focus on hitting my goals – or so I thought.

I was training, but I was sabotaging my results again with poor eating habits and an inconsistent training schedule. Fast forward to March of 2015. I got a phone call from one of my cousins; my uncle had passed away from heart failure. Another family member was gone due to health issues. My grandfather, aunt and my mom all had health issues. On that day, I made the decision that I wasn't going to end up like that.

I stopped making excuses and started grinding. If my wife took the car to work, I would bike to the gym. I started Shortcut To Shred again, but for real this time. I have never been stricter with my eating habits. I started following Jim’s Dieting 101 program as closely as I could. Once I started seeing the results, I was hooked. I finished Shortcut To Shred on May 4, 2015, three days after my goal date. I weighed in at 205 pounds and had put on a significant amount of muscle. After finishing Shortcut To Shred, I continued with Super Shredded 8 and I love it so far. I continue to take the full JYM product line, minus Alpha and Shred.

My family keeps me going. My wife has always been in my corner. She sees how dedicated I am. The biggest challenge I faced in the transformation process was staying on track with clean eating. I would tell myself, “Stay on track and see what the results will look like.” Fortunately, Jim and the JYM Army have been there for me through the whole process.

My transformation is still a work in progress. I plan on shredding as much body fat as I can while finishing SS8, and then I plan on doing Jim’s Back and Fourth Training program with cardioacceleration. If I could offer any advice to people who are looking to change their life for the better, it would be this: Never give up. No matter how hard it gets, if you stumble along the way, take it as a learning experience and keep moving forward. Always remember the words of Jim Stoppani: “It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger.”

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