Thai Le

This air traffic controller and serious gym rat is closing in on his goals with great programs and proper supplementation.

Written By Jim Stoppani, PhD

Updated September 28, 2023

Written by Thai Le

I’m an air traffic controller in Portland, Oregon, so I sit most of the day. That's not the reason I'm into fitness, but it's definitely one of them. I got into fitness my freshman year in high school because I was always scrawny; I was 5'7" and 118 pounds, but I could bench twice my weight. I had 6-8 percent body fat, but wasn't able to gain any weight. It was basically the same throughout my service in the military, except I managed to hit 135 pounds.

For years I couldn't figure it out. I had no clue about calorie intake/calorie burn and I tried everything I heard from people at the gym and on the Internet. It seemed like I was never going to gain any muscle and it was VERY frustrating.

Years later I was told that I had to eat a lot — so I did. But I didn't really get that much stronger, and I gained much more fat. Then I couldn't figure out how to drop the excess fat! I busted my butt to no avail. I took fat burners that were supposed to be the best stuff on the market, but they really just felt like they were burning my stomach more than fat. Supplements from "top" companies felt like placebos; I didn't see a difference or any improvement. A lot of the advice and information out there sounded bizarre and didn't make sense to me.

Then I started reading Jim Stoppani's fitness articles and he explained all the "bro/pro science" that didn't make sense to me before. I was hooked!

When Jim released the original JYM brand, I watched his videos explaining it in detail and read up on the products. It turns out that all the protein powders I had been taking were scams. I was so mad! From then on, it was JYM only. Plus, Pro JYM tasted SO much better than every protein on the market!

I feel Pre JYM definitely helps me power through my workouts. With the new flavors that are out, I've gotten addicted to mixing, thanks to Justin Kamb! Since I started mixing Post JYM and Pro JYM, I've noticed that midway through my long workouts if I started to get fatigued, I would drink half my Post/Pro then get back to working out. Within minutes, I feel like I just got to the gym. Now I do it every day. It makes a huge difference drinking after my workout and before cardio.

I did Shortcut to Size, Shortcut to Shred and the meal plan from Super Shredded 8. For the past 16 weeks, I've been on a six days per week workout schedule, and found some help with IIFYM (If It Fits Your Macros) meal planning to keep me on track and my motivation high. I've been constantly sending questions to Jim and following the posts on the JYM Army Facebook page.

Jim suggests that lowering your fat percentage can maximize muscle growth, so my goal was to lose fat while hopefully gaining some muscle. But I didn't see any weight gain or visual physical changes after six or eight weeks, which was depressing. I was also going through some very stressful times and knew stress was damaging to progress. So I started taking Shred JYM, as well as Alpha JYM, to try and counter my cortisol levels. That same week and every week afterward, I started seeing noticeable changes visually and on the scale. Now I'm finally on track to reach my goals!

My first photo was taken on July 16, 2016. I weighed about 167 pounds. My second photo was taken on November 11, 2016: I'm at 151 pounds and haven't even gotten to the 0.5 carb/bodyweight stage yet from Dieting 101! It feels great when people tell me that they're going to use my progress pics as motivation!

After all this progress, the next program will be Down and Up Mass with Carb Cycling and Intermittent Fasting after that. Jim said it should be an effective combination, so I'm excited to get to my goal of a lean 170–180 pounds!

I appreciate everything that Jim has done and what he stands for. I never really had a childhood hero or anyone I really cared to meet in person until he came along. Jim is changing the industry and definitely made a huge positive impact on my life and sparked my curiosity about the science behind everything.

I've always wanted to have an insane fitness physique body but it was always out of reach. Now I feel like my goals are finally within reach! I also appreciate everyone in the JYM Army constantly posting their progress and motivation as well as the entire JYM staff. Mike McErlane and the crew are always putting out great information. I've two missed opportunities to meet them in Portland, but someday I WILL meet Jim, Mike and crew to thank them in person. That's my second goal!

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