Build Muscle Without BULKING for "Lean Gains" | Ep 384

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You MUST "bulk" to build muscle... right?

Eat more, gain weight, accept getting fluffy, then cut it all off later with a fat loss phase... right?

Not necessarily.

What if bulking is inefficient for YOUR goals? What if you could build muscle while staying lean year-round?

Learn why you might NOT need a calorie surplus to build muscle and a unique approach called aggressive maintenance where you can skip bulking entirely while getting the strong, lean, aesthetic body you're going for.

Main Takeaways:

• Traditional bulking optimizes for throughput (total muscle gain), while aggressive maintenance optimizes for efficiency (muscle gain per unit of input)

• You CAN build muscle at maintenance calories when 3 things are dialed in

• Certain individuals partition nutrients more efficiently toward muscle vs. fat and are better candidates for skipping the bulk

• There are "hidden" but powerful factors that enable muscle growth without bulking

Episode Resources:

• Review the podcast by October 15 for a chance to win 3 months free in Physique University Mastery Track ($261 value). Leave a review at Apple Podcasts... EVERYONE who leaves a review will get a gift from me :)

Timestamps:

0:00 - Why bulking might be inefficient for you
3:45 - Efficiency vs. throughput
8:20 - How muscle growth works without a surplus
13:15 - What is aggressive maintenance?
19:00 - Glycogen, neurological adaptations, and energy flux
24:10 - Who benefits most from skipping the bulk
28:15 - Operating at design limits without exceeding them

Build Muscle Without the Bulk

If you’ve ever felt stuck in the bulk–cut cycle, wondering if getting fluffy every winter is really the only way to build muscle, you’re not alone. Traditional wisdom says that muscle gain requires a big calorie surplus, steady weight gain, and months of extra body fat before dieting it off. But there’s a more efficient, sustainable path that works—especially for trained lifters and busy professionals who want to look strong year-round. It’s called aggressive maintenance, and it lets you build lean muscle without the constant see-saw of bulking and cutting.

This approach flips the script on what we’ve been told about muscle growth and shows that you can make measurable gains at (or barely above) maintenance calories—if you optimize your nutrition, training, and recovery with surgical precision.

The Problem With Traditional Bulking

Bulking works. If your only goal is to gain muscle as fast as possible, eating in a surplus of 200 to 500 calories above maintenance is the most direct route. But there’s a catch. Surpluses past a few hundred calories mostly drive fat gain, not additional muscle. Muscle protein synthesis (MPS)—the process of building new muscle—plateaus quickly. After that point, extra calories are just stored energy.

Think of it like an assembly line. Once production runs at full capacity, throwing in more raw materials doesn’t speed things up—it just creates waste. A traditional bulk maximizes throughput (total muscle built), but not efficiency (muscle gained per calorie). For many people, that inefficiency leads to frustration, body-fat swings, and months of cutting later just to reveal the same muscle that could have been gained more strategically.

What “Aggressive Maintenance” Really Means

Aggressive maintenance focuses on efficiency over speed. Instead of overeating, you hover right around maintenance calories—often within 50 to 100 calories above it—while optimizing protein, training, and recovery so your body directs those calories toward lean mass instead of fat.

It’s not about losing fat or gaining fat. It’s about maintaining body weight while gradually increasing muscle tissue and potentially improving body composition over time. This approach works because you’re removing the main bottlenecks to growth: inadequate protein, poor training stimulus, and poor recovery.

How Muscle Grows Without a Surplus

Muscle growth happens when muscle protein synthesis exceeds muscle protein breakdown. You can tilt this balance in your favor at maintenance if three conditions are met:

1. Protein is sufficient.
   Aim for 0.7 to 1.0 grams of protein per pound of body weight daily. Total daily intake matters far more than timing. This gives your body the raw material it needs to repair and build tissue.

2. Training drives progressive overload.
   Lift hard. Train close to failure. Use compound movements as your foundation and track progression over time. Mechanical tension—not calories—is the key signal for growth.

3. Recovery supports adaptation.
   Sleep 7–9 hours per night, manage stress, and keep inflammation in check. Recovery is the multiplier that allows your body to respond to training even without extra calories.

If these three are dialed in, you can grow muscle slowly at maintenance—especially if you’re consistent and patient.

Why It Works: Nutrient Partitioning and Energy Flux

Leaner, active individuals partition nutrients more effectively toward muscle tissue. That means the same meal that might store as fat in a sedentary person helps a trained lifter repair muscle. Daily movement (especially walking) and high-quality resistance training both improve insulin sensitivity and nutrient partitioning, allowing your body to build muscle even without a traditional surplus.

There’s also energy flux—the idea that eating and moving more increases your total energy turnover. When you move more, you can eat more and still maintain body weight, keeping metabolism high while fueling muscle recovery. It’s the sweet spot between dieting and bulking.

Building Your Aggressive Maintenance Plan

Start with your estimated maintenance calories (for most, 13–15 times body weight in pounds) and eat roughly that amount, adding a small 50–100-calorie buffer.

• Protein: 0.7–1.0 g per lb body weight

• Fats: 0.3–0.4 g per lb body weight

• Carbs: Fill in the rest with complex sources and target the bulk of them around workouts for performance and glycogen replenishment

For training, use a moderate-to-high volume hypertrophy plan (10–15 sets per muscle group weekly) with progressive overload and recovery days built in. Compound lifts form the base; isolation work fine-tunes weak points.

If you’re short on time, check out efficient programs like the IGNITE 4-Day Upper-Lower Template in Physique University. It uses supersets, drop sets, and strategic volume to fit hypertrophy training into 30-minute sessions without sacrificing results.

The Hidden Levers That Accelerate Lean Gains

• Sleep architecture: Deep and REM sleep trigger growth hormone and recovery. Poor sleep can erase the benefits of training, even in a surplus.

• Carb timing: Carbs before and after lifting help refill glycogen, signaling an anabolic environment at maintenance.

• Activity outside the gym: High step counts and NEAT (non-exercise activity thermogenesis) enhance nutrient delivery to muscle.

• Micronutrients: Adequate magnesium, zinc, vitamin D, and electrolytes support hormonal balance and muscle adaptation.

• Consistency: The real “secret.” Without it, none of this matters.

Who Should Skip the Bulk

Aggressive maintenance works best for:

• Overweight individuals who already have energy reserves

• Detrained lifters returning to training (muscle memory effect)

• New lifters experiencing neurological and beginner gains

• Midlife athletes and busy professionals who want to stay lean year-round

• Anyone prioritizing aesthetics and sustainability over short bursts of size

Those chasing maximal strength or advanced hypertrophy may still need full bulks eventually, but they’ll benefit from spending time in this phase first.

Common Pitfalls to Avoid

• Expecting bulking-level muscle gain rates

• Undereating carbs and tanking training performance

• Neglecting recovery and sleep

• Over-tracking or constantly changing macros instead of letting trends play out

Aggressive maintenance is a slow burn. You might gain only a couple of pounds over six months—but if your waist shrinks, lifts go up, and you look leaner, that’s the point.

The Takeaway

You don’t have to choose between bulking up and staying lean. You can build muscle efficiently by operating near maintenance and optimizing the system around it. Think of it as an engineering problem: precision inputs, measured feedback, and sustainable throughput.

If you’re ready to implement this, join Physique University at witsandweights.com/physique and use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan with your membership. You’ll also get access to the new IGNITE training template and our full course library.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you want to build muscle, you need to bulk. At least that's what you hear all the time. You have to eat more, you have to gain weight, you have to accept getting a little fluffy in that calorie surplus and then cut it off later with a fat loss phase. What if that approach is inefficient, at least for you? What if you could build muscle while staying lean year-round? In this episode, you're gonna learn why muscle protein synthesis does not require a calorie surplus the way you think it does. You'll discover the principles of what I call aggressive maintenance, and you'll find out who can skip bulking entirely and still make gains versus who might still want to bulk, including the hidden factors like sleep and energy flux that many people ignore. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering, and efficiency. I'm your host, certified nutrition coach Philip Pape. And today we're talking about something that often challenges conventional wisdom in the lifting world: building muscle, but without bulking. If you've ever felt trapped by this need to bulk and cut, and you wonder, is there a smarter way to add lean mass without the fat gain roller coaster? This episode is definitely for you. But I also want to give a caveat that to get the quickest gain in muscle, you're gonna have to have a surplus of some kind. I'm just gonna get that out of the way. But we're not necessarily talking about the quickest path here. We're talking about efficiency. And efficiency often means looking at the next six months, the next year, the next two years, and where you want to be with your physique at any given time to get the final result, which may take a little longer, but the way you get there is more sustainable for you. So we're gonna break down the science and the systems behind what I call aggressive maintenance. I've covered this topic here and there in the context of body recomposition. But today I'm specifically focusing on the muscle building side, not so much the fat loss side. This is really about engineering the whole system, your nutrition, your training, your recovery, your nutrient partitioning, doing it efficiently so that you are biasing muscle rather than fat all while eating around maintenance calories and not having, quote unquote, to bulk. And I'm gonna tell you who can benefit from this the most. Now, before we get into that, I definitely want to share a couple listener reviews that came in recently on Apple. Just two. The first one I really love, it is from Laura Lai 1964. She says Philip provides relevant and evidence-backed information on nutrition and resistance training. If you were ever on the fence about whether you should introduce resistance training to see change, listen to this podcast. Science-backed evidence proves it's a huge key to longevity, and Philip breaks it all down. He has top-notch guests on as well, which has led me to other great podcasts. One more thing. He's so fun to listen to, always has a smile in his voice. Thank you, Philip Bape. And you just made me smile, which is hopefully why you hear that on a regular basis. I try to be optimistic about this stuff. I think, like a stoic, we have many things in our control. And if we focus on all only those things, an optimism bias can lead us to amazing results, no matter what life throws at us. And that is the definition of resilience. The second review is interesting. The headline is I didn't know what I didn't know until now from host new normal big life. So this looks like a podcaster. I'm a sponsored adventure sports athlete and have been a competitive athlete most of my teen and a young adult life. However, this podcast taught me there are many factors impacting my health and performance that I didn't know about. Learning about what standard lab work really tells us about our health is a game changer. Thank you so much. So that was probably in response to some recent episodes related to blood work, performance blood work. This is a service we now provide. I'm not going to get into it here, but the long and short of it is if you're looking to understand the interactions and the root causes of things that may be going on with your body, despite having tried all the other things like training, nutrition, lifestyle, it could be another way to peer inside what's happening with your biomarkers, with your hormones, et cetera. Go to witsandweights.com slash blood work for that. But when it comes to these reviews, anyone who leaves a review, we are actually running a say contest, not a contest, a giveaway right now that anyone who leaves a review is entered for a giveaway for three months in physique university in our mastery track. That's a $261 value. And everyone who submits a review is gonna get a surprise bonus. Deadline is October 15. Go into Apple and add your five-star radio review there, if you haven't yet. And I will be monitoring those and then I'll send out the results to the Facebook group and to our email list. All right, let's get into the engineering behind building muscle without bulking, because yes, it is possible. I want to start with the efficiency problem that comes with traditional bulking. As much as I love calorie surpluses and bulking for people who want to get the fastest results, and you will, and the bulk cut cycle, which has been the standard approach in bodybuilding and hypertrophy and strength training for decades, and it still is, again, a tried and true approach, where you spend months in a calorie surplus. In my opinion, six to nine months is ideal, sometimes longer, to maximize your muscle growth. Along for the ride comes some fat, but you are maximizing the muscle growth, meaning you're hitting that ceiling of how much muscle you can, you know, slabs of muscle you can add to your body every month. And to do that, you're making the trade-off that some fat comes along for the ride. And then you do a cut or a fat loss phase to cut it down and rinse and repeat. Now, let me be clear: this bulking is the fastest way to gain muscle. Whether you're a man or a woman, whatever your starting point, doesn't matter. It's the fastest way to gain muscle. If I were to put any caveat on that at all, it would be as if you are significantly overweight. If you're significantly overweight, you definitely want to lose some of that body fat for health reasons, but also because you can actually build a decent amount of muscle while losing weight in that context. So putting that aside, we're talking about people who are kind of in the average range of weight. Even if you have a little extra weight to lose, you're kind of in that average range. If pure speed to muscle growth is your only goal, a calorie surplus is the best way to go. And my usual recommendation for a beginner is around 0.3 or 0.4% of your body weight a week. Potentially more if you're doing it in a very precise, controlled way, or you're a really good responder and you want to take advantage of that. Potentially less if you're not sure or you're worried about gaining too much fat or being not super consistent. But then you need a fat loss phase after that, no matter what, right? You gain the muscle plus the fat, then you diet it off. And the whole cycle takes maybe a year, maybe two years to really get leaner and leaner. And that's fine in the scheme of your whole life. How long really is that when you've been struggling for years and years and years? So if you're into that, which is the way I do it personally, it's very efficient. I mean, it's very, I'll say it's efficient from a long-term perspective. It may not be efficient in the short term, depending on your goal. So I'm happy to help anyone through that who's struggling, who needs help. You can come into physique university. That is what one of the things we teach. We also teach body recomp, which I'm talking about today. It's all all roads to Rome lead to Rome. Okay. So from an engineering perspective, this is really a throughput approach. You are maximizing the input to maximize the output, more fuel, more materials, more resources, and it works. But it's not efficient by all measures. Let me explain the difference. Efficiency is about the output per unit of input. Throughput is the total output, regardless of the input. So a bulking cutting cycle optimizes for throughput, right? You're trying to maximize that muscle and you're also getting more fat along for the ride. What we're talking about today optimizes for efficiency, at least on a shorter term scale. That's the I have to keep saying that because over a several year period, I actually think bulking and cutting, if done right, if done consistently, if you don't stop your training, is the most efficient. But for a lot of people, it's not the most practical, nor is it a state they want to live in for months at a time, let's say. What I mean by that is a lot of people don't want to be fluffy for many months out of the year. That's okay, I get it. And it's okay to not want that and to make a trade-off to get to avoid that. Okay, so muscle protein synthesis, MPS, is the process by which your body builds new muscle tissue. Research shows that MPS rates plateau relatively quickly compared to calorie intake. Gone are the old days of the dreamer bulk where you're eating five or six thousand calories or something like that, because you think there's really no limit to muscle gain as long as you just eat more. Yeah, I'm gonna get fat, but I'm gonna get more and more and more muscle. No, it actually has a plateau, right? So the curve goes up quickly and then it quickly hits a limit, like a fixed limit. So beyond that calorie surplus that gets you to that limit, which is around two to three hundred calories above maintenance for a lot of people. Additional calories then mostly increase your fat mass, not your lean tissue, right? That's why it's uh hard for some people to kind of find that level until you do it once and see what happens, and then you can refine the next time. So think of it like this: your body has a limited capacity to synthesize new muscle at any given time, period. Right? It's not like a construction project where throwing more materials and workers speeds things up. Your body's muscle building machinery can only work so fast. That is the rate limiting step, to use another technical term, the rate limiting step. Okay. So if you're an adult over 30, and that's an important distinction between, because if you're under 30 and you're raging with hormones and you've got a lot more responsiveness and ability to build muscle, you may want to throw my discussion today out the window altogether and just go hog wild on that surplus. Because who cares? You've got all the time in the future ahead of you, and you're super responsive to the muscle. You've got the hormones and everything else. If you're over 30, especially if you're over 40 or in your 50s, pushing body fat higher just to build muscle becomes a little bit less efficient because your nutrient partitioning gets a little bit worse as you age, meaning a higher percentage of the extra calories might go to fat rather than muscle. You just are a little bit less efficient putting on that muscle. Sorry, that's just what happens when we get older. At least you're doing it, right? Versus your peers who are letting their muscle wither away into decrepitude into old age, which is not what we want. But as you get old, your insulin sensitivity decreases, your recovery, you know, gets a little bit harder. Even if you eat more, even if you sleep more, it's still declining slowly over time. Your joint tissues, connective tissues get a little less pliable, et cetera. So what we're really after here is directing the limited resources toward muscle rather than fat storage as laser-targeted as we can. And that is kind of that when you think of like an engineer applied to physique development, where I'm coming from. So, yes, bulking is faster, but I'm gonna talk about aggressive maintenance here. Aggressive maintenance can be more appealing and more efficient, especially if you want to stay relatively lean year round. And I'm sorry to all my lifter buddies who are all about strength PRs, okay? If you're all about strength PRs, I'm not talking to you because you really should be eating. You know that. And you're not here to listen to, but you all at the same time, we all have that vanity bone inside of us. That's like, what if I just tried with Philip's saying for a year or two and see what the difference is? Experiment. You're gonna avoid that psychological roller coaster of gaining and losing weight, and then you're gonna build muscle in a sustainable way that you could potentially just rinse and repeat forever. Now, you can rinse and repeat bulking too, but again, you are stretching up and down a lot more in a lot more extreme way than what we're talking about today. All right. So that again, this is where the system efficiency comes in. So now I want to talk about the next piece, how muscle growth works without this big surplus or without this modest surplus, I should say. To understand this, we have to look at the mechanisms of muscle growth, which happens when the synthesis of protein exceeds the breakdown of protein, which is muscle protein breakdown, MPB. And you actually do not need a calorie surplus for this to occur if three conditions are met. The first condition is that your protein intake is sufficient. Duh. Okay. If you're a new listener, I don't mean to patronize you, you're gonna learn something here. If you've been listening for a while or any other fitness podcast for the last however many years, you know this that protein is super, super important. The research consistently points to 0.7 to one gram per pound of body weight, or 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight of intake per day. And at these levels, you're basically maximizing those raw materials available for protein synthesis. It's as simple as that, guys. Get enough total protein a day and you're gonna meet this first criteria. Don't get hung over or hung, don't get hung over either. Don't get hung up on the meal timing and the type of protein and all of that. Total protein's probably gonna get you there. Now, if you have a very restrictive diet, it's gonna be, it's gonna create some problems. Restrictive meaning you're vegan or vegetarian, for example. You know, no knock on you guys. I'm just saying it's harder to get the full, complete amino acid profile without being a little more deliberate. Okay, so total protein. The second criteria where you don't necessarily need a surplus to build muscle, is that your training provides the adequate mechanical tension and progressive overload. Those that's really all we're looking for is training close to failure and always progressing, making things slightly more challenging in the gym so that you get stronger because strength builds muscle, and vice versa. And the signals you're giving your body when you do that is the most important signal to adapt. And your body's gonna take the protein you're eating and build more muscle tissue. And then third is your recovery. I'm sorry to hammer this home time and again, but guys, we have to sleep. We have to manage our stress. I've been using my breathe that more. I actually put it as a complication on my Apple Watch, just so it's staring me in the face every day, doing more breath work and things like that. One minute at a time doesn't take a lot. These are the most powerful hidden levers that allow the process to actually occur. Now I know what you're thinking here. You're like, okay, but where does how is it possible to do this while at maintenance? Doesn't it all net out? We're gonna get to that. Let's talk about energy partitioning because this is where things get interesting. Lean individuals tend to partition their nutrients a little more efficiently toward muscle than fat. And train lifters tend to do the same. People with good insulin sensitivity are better at directing nutrients where they need to go. And as an aside, one of the best things for insulin sensitivity is being active throughout the day and walking. Okay. Just had to put that in there. Resistance training itself improves partitioning, even at maintenance calories. So, what does that mean? What does that mean? That means versus someone who is sedentary, simply by having an active, trained lifestyle with plenty of protein and adequate leanness, right? You're not excessively over fat, you will get more out of your nutrients toward muscle versus fat versus a sedentary person. And that's a huge advantage. Even not sitting a lot for your job and getting up and moving will move that needle toward that direction. There's something called body fat set point theory. Okay, and and and there's mixed evidence on this, and the way it's communicated is often specious, or what am I trying to say? I don't want to say this the wrong way, but basically, people are closer to a lean but not extremely lean body composition, let's say 10 to 15% for men, 18 to 25% for women, they often have better recomp. Okay. Now you would think that somebody with extra fat has better recomp. I would say someone in extra fat, I would lean toward trying to lose the fat actually and be in a deficit because that's gonna be the best net benefit. But for most people in kind of an average leanness, they're gonna have better recomp, their hormonal profile is gonna improve, they're gonna have better nutrient utilization, and they're gonna be running kind of super efficiently and they're gonna maximize muscle gain based on what you're already consuming. Again, we're not talking about a surplus. Surplus is always gonna make it more in terms of muscle gain, period. There's also the concept of myonuclear domain theory. When you train, you gain muscle nuclei. And these nuclei persist even during maintenance or slight deficits. So that means muscle memory is a real thing. It really is. And I see this in someone who is detrained, comes back years later, starts to train again, and wow, they just regain and build that muscle so fast. They just gain it back fast without needing to bulk because the cellular machinery is in place. So these are interesting concepts, aren't they? All right. So that brings us to the what here, the aggressive maintenance protocol I've been alluding to and dropping hints at. What the heck is this? And I haven't seen anyone else explain it this way or use this term, so I should probably trademark it. But I have seen plenty of experienced lifters talk about this in other ways. It's eating around maintenance calories, allowing for those daily fluctuations in calories, the daily fluctuations in your metabolism. You're pushing training hard, you're optimizing your protein intake, and you are eating in a way where you're never in a deficit. So to never be in a deficit, it means you have to knowingly be in the tiniest, tiniest, tiniest surplus. Does that make sense? Okay, because you you're keeping yourself fully recovered and optimized, and you're keeping your tank just a little past full, but you're not adding so much where now it goes to fat storage. Okay. You're also not adding enough to maximize muscle, as I keep mentioning, but you are still biasing it toward muscle gain and maybe some fat loss. But today's not about recomp per se, even though this is a good technique for recomp, in my opinion. Studies show that trained individuals can increase lean mass while decreasing fat mass when protein is high and training is well structured. Again, that's recomp. And then there's recent research on energy flux. That's the total energy turnover, basically eating more and moving more to expend more, right? To increase your metabolism, not cardio per se, not like chronic cardio, but just walking, movement, eating, being active, that doing that promotes leanness and muscle gain, even at maintenance. And there's plenty of anecdotal evidence from experience lifters out there, and you see it on Instagram as well, where you don't really have to bulk and you can still slowly gain muscle. I had Holly Baxter on the show. She was talking about the same thing. You're tuning your nutrient delivery, your recovery, and your mechanical stress just the right way to direct your limited resources toward muscle. But you have to be consistent, right? You have to be consistent. So when it comes to like protein, I want you to get your total protein that start there and then start to distribute it across your day, not because it's some magic formula to maximize protein synthesis, although it should bump it up a little bit, a small amount, but mainly because that's going to enforce the consistency and ensure balanced meals, good satiety, habit forming, et cetera. Okay. And I like whole sources of animal-based protein followed by supplementation like whey supplements. Plant-based protein is in there as well. It should kind of naturally fall in there if you're eating a diverse omnivorous diet. If you're vegan or vegetarian, you're gonna have to rely a little more on pea and rice protein and plant-based sources of protein, watching for the fats and carbs and trying to keep it balanced. All right, for resistance training, again, the consistency matters. And that means having the appropriate level of volume for you, which is moderate to high volume because you've got a lot of resources coming in. So 10 to 15, up to 20 sets per muscle group per week, maybe not 20, that might be too much, unless you're in a surplus. So this is where there's some small differences between this and a full-on surplus, but I believe that you're getting still most of the ability to progress because you're not dieting. The fact that you're not dieting gives you a big advantage here. Focusing on compound lifts as the foundation with hypertrophy movements as your developmental and accessory work, using that periodization, you know, using your program long enough to progress, but then avoiding stalls and fatigue by rotating things in the right way, right? I'm not gonna get into the details of programming today. Energy availability, because you're not in a surplus, is also crucial. What I mean by that is carbs. Carbs around your main, around your training is gonna maintain your glycogen and your performance, even though you don't have the higher overall calories. So your carbs should still be pretty darn decent, right? If you're eating, let's say, let's say your maintenance is 2,500 calories, that means you're eating about 2550 or 2600 a day. Because remember, this is called aggressive maintenance. You're being aggressive by pushing it a little bit past all the time. So you're probably gonna have, let's say, I don't know, it depends on your body weight, but let's say you weigh 160. You need, you know, 140 grams of protein, maybe 60 grams, 70 grams of fat, and then 250 grams of carbs or something, maybe 300. It depends, you know, men, women, depends on where your expenditure is, right? But we shouldn't be low carb or keto here, generally. You're gonna get much better results for muscle building when the carbs are there, hitting some minimum threshold. They don't have to be extremely high, just hitting that minimum threshold. And, you know, if you don't have that energy, then your body's gonna draw on other energy systems like your fat and that we call that fasted training. You probably will find a drop-off in performance. But if you're still getting your total carbs for the day, even if you're training fasted, it's still gonna compensate quite a bit for that. All right. So there's a lot of flexibility here. And then your micronutrients are really the hidden levers, your vitamin D, your magnesium, your zinc, you know, all of these things affect your performance, your muscle adaptation. Sleep, of course. Okay, sleep is huge, hydration is huge, all of those things. The goal is to engineer the entire system to gain lean mass. Now, you should be dialing in these things anyway if you were to prepare for fat loss. But what you're doing here is just making this a sustainable way that you do things. This is who I am, this is what I do. I am pushing the maintenance calories just a little bit. And when you do that, what might happen is over a six-month period, you might gain a couple pounds. That means you did it right. And a couple pounds is nothing because hopefully all of those two pounds extra are muscle and some of the pounds that are hidden are muscle as well, meaning you gained more than two pounds of muscle and lost some fat and it did out. So you've gained weight, but you've actually gained more than the gain in muscle. That's really what we're going for here. And that's awesome. And you can tell that by measuring your body, you know, your waist size, how you look, how you feel, how your clothes fit, et cetera. And of course, that you're progressing in the gym. So, you know, speaking of efficiency and gym and programming, I know some of you are thinking, well, what the heck do I do in the gym? If you're kind of new to this and you're busy, like a lot of you are, you're trying to save time in the gym. I definitely want to tell you about our new Ignite training template we just came out in Physique University. It is a four-day upper-lower split. It uses supersets and other time-saving techniques like drop sets, but still incorporates compound lifts and solid principles of progression. Each session takes about 30 minutes max. That's why I love it. To get it, you have to be in physique university. So anybody listening who's there, go get it. It's already out. This is from Coach Carol Hanshu, who's our assistant coach in the group. And if you don't have it, if you're not in physique university, join right now. It's only $27 to join. You can cancel right after you grab it if you want. I don't care, but I hope you'll stick around because you see the value in the courses, the curriculum, the coaching, the live calls, the QA's, all of it. You can then use code FREEPLAN to get the free custom nutrition plan that I will put together for you. So you're gonna get a free custom nutrition plan, and then you're gonna have access to all of our training templates. The free nutrition plan is worth multiples of the price alone. You get all of that. Go to wits and weights.com slash physique to join. Remember to check the box for the plan and then use code FREEPLAN to get it for free. Click the link in the show notes or go to wits and weights.com slash physique for our ignite four-day upper lower time-saving training template. All right, now I want to talk about some of the less discussed aspects of building muscle at maintenance that really make a difference. Glycogen. Glycogen's role goes beyond just energy. You're filling up your glycogen stores, signals your anabolic pathways, anabolic meaning build. You can refill glycogen at maintenance without bulking by using carbs. And I mentioned this already, but you've got to have sufficient carbs and ideally time them around your workouts, which creates an anabolic environment without needing a surplus. The next thing is neurological adaptations. These are significant, especially if you're a newer lifter. Your early strength and size gains are gonna come from neural or neurological efficiency, the motor learning, the motor recruitment, the connection between your brain and your muscles, just to simplify it. And these really don't require surplus, believe it or not. You can get this just by starting to lift weights. Then recomp, when we it's it's worth talking about recomposition a little bit here, because it is more likely when you're in what we call an energy flux state, a high energy flux state. If you know you want to think like you're an athlete, because you are, guys, you you're listening to wits and weights because you want to be an athlete of aging. I actually stole that term from John Sullivan Sully, who wrote Barbell Prescription. Definitely buy that book if you don't have it in your library. Athletes with higher non-exercise activity, right? Higher NEAT, higher daily step count, higher movement, and less sedentary sitting behavior tend to recomp more effectively while at maintenance. Being more active outside the gym helps direct nutrients to muscle, gives you insulin sensitivity. It's kind of counterintuitive because you think, okay, I'm more active, so I require more food. But the system becomes more efficient and the food that you are already getting now goes more toward muscle. If that makes sense. Now, you may need more food as well if your metabolism goes up, and nobody complains about that. Okay. Your sleep architecture, I'm using this term more, sleep architecture, right? The whole system of your sleep quality and quantity. Understanding the slow wave sleep, your deep, your REM sleep, which are correlated with growth hormone release, with muscle protein synthesis. If you have chronically short sleep, less than six hours, you're gonna have a hard time holding muscle, even in when you're in a slightly hypocaloric condition, meaning even when you're in a slight surplus. Sleep quality actually substitutes for a calorie surplus. It is like getting a calorie surplus, guys, for muscle building. Get your sleep. And then there's the protein leverage hypothesis where high protein diets reduce spontaneous energy intake while maintaining an anabolic environment, right? And this explains why some lifters gain muscle without bulking. They're actually leveraging protein to drive both satiety and hypertrophy. And then there are micro surpluses within macro maintenance. Micro meaning day to day, macro meaning overall for the week or for the month or for the year. Your daily calorie intake is gonna hover around maintenance, but really you need to be pushing it a little bit above. In my opinion, about 50 to 100 calories above maintenance on a constant basis. And you may have to switch this up between your training days and your rest days. Maybe. Not everybody has to do that. In fact, most people don't have to do that or overthink it. It's gonna flux with your week because it's not just your training that affects this, it's also your stress and your sleep and your work and your family and your schedule and your vacations and so blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. All right. Over the week, it's gonna net out to a few hundred calories over maintenance for the whole week. But it's gonna kind of feel like a little bit of a bulk, which is great. It's gonna feel fueled up. Okay. It's a really great approach, in my opinion. And again, all you're gonna get for it on a negative, and this is not even a negative, is maybe a couple pounds of weight gain over many, many, many months, but you're gonna net muscle gain, which is the goal. So the kind of the last segment here is who benefits the most from skipping the bulk, what we're talking about today. I would say if you are overweight or have a much higher body fat, you definitely don't need to bulk. In fact, this is the one scenario where I'd say you probably still want a slight deficit because you have so much stored energy and you need to drop that body fat. That's so I'll put that there. If you were detrained and you're coming back to lifting, you have all that muscle memory, so to speak, and you're gonna respond really fast, it's a great way to get started and see what you get for your results without needing to go in a surplus. If you're a new lifter and you get these neurological and early hypertrophy gains, right? Newbie gains, again, they require less of a surplus. You're trying to respond to training without needing a ton of extra food. Just make sure you're not dieting. Just make sure you're not dieting. If you are, and then this is the a big category for a lot of you. If you're a lifter who wants to just look good, you want a lean look, you care about aesthetics throughout the year, you want to avoid the cycle of getting fluffy and cutting, you want to stay lean year-round, this is a great way to go. Just let's face it, it's okay. It's okay to have a vanity goal. This is the way to go. And if you're, you know, you're midlife, you're busy, you're professional, you know, raising a family, this aligns perfectly with many of your goals. You want efficiency, you want sustainability, sustainability, long term health. You won't you don't want to deal with drastic swings, which admittedly come with the need for more structure and control to do them the right way. Or I'm gonna raise my hand, having a coach in your corner, or A community like Physique University in your corner, or if you want a free community, get started, join our Facebook group, right? You just don't have that time or desire for these cycles, it's a good way to go. Now, there are some pitfalls, right? The gains are gonna be slower compared to bulking. We talked about that. Also, you do have to still be precise. You have to precisely track how much protein you're eating, your recovery, your training. Too aggressive of a deficit is gonna push you into a surplus. So you've got to just kind of watch out what's happening. In most people's experience, I find it works out no matter what because you're pushing your expenditure up and it's you kind of almost struggle to keep up with it, but not as much as in a surplus. And then there's the psychological trap. If you expect bulking level gains at maintenance, you are gonna be disappointed. You're gonna be disappointed, you're gonna have to bulk in that case. Don't have unrealistic expectations. Okay, but this can be a great approach. So the reason aggressive maintenance works isn't just about the calories or the protein or the training, it's operating at the design limits of your body without exceeding them, at least from a muscle versus fat perspective, right? Again, if we just want raw muscle gain, you're gonna gain more fat as well, and you go after it with a surplus. But this to what we talked about today is its own form of precision that you might find appealing. It is also quite sustainable. It's something you could just keep doing. Now, maybe if you drift over time and gain a few pounds over, say two or three years, you eventually do a fat loss phase, maybe. Or you might find, heck, I'm just leaner and leaner at higher body fat, at higher body weight, and I'm super happy now. I look strong, I'm jacked, I'm lean, I never had to diet. It's possible. So traditional bulking is the fastest way to gain muscle, requires a fat loss phase afterward, and that's a throughput approach. Aggressive maintenance is more of an efficiency approach. So if you want to stay lean year-round while building muscle moderately over time, this is the way. So before we wrap up, remember we do have a review giveaway. If you love the show today, if you learned something, leave a review on Apple Podcasts and tell me what you thought of today's episode. Do it by October 15, and one winner will be selected for three months in the mastery track of Physique University, and everybody who submits a review will get a surprise bonus. Just search for Wits and Weights in your app if you're not already in Apple right now. Scroll down, tap write a review, make it happen. I appreciate it. I'm grateful. Until next time, keep using your wits, lifting those weights, and remember, building muscle does not require getting fat. It requires precision, consistency, and a systems based approach.

How Performance Bloodwork Reveals What's Really Blocking Your Fat Loss (Constraint Theory) | Ep 378

Get your Performance Bloodwork Analysis - Use code VITALITY20 for 20% off and discover what's really constraining your progress at witsandweights.com/bloodwork

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Stop guessing what's holding back your metabolism, fat loss, or muscle gains.

Learn how to use performance bloodwork analysis to identify your body's biggest constraint and fix it using the engineering principle of Constraint Theory.

Main Takeaways:

• Your body is an engineering system limited by its weakest link

• Performance bloodwork uses optimal ranges (not just "normal" disease-prevention ranges) to identify constraints

• Pattern recognition reveals hidden issues that standard bloodwork misses (like being both inflamed and dehydrated)

• Max impact interventions can improve 5-7 biomarkers at once instead of chasing individual symptoms

• The most efficient improvement comes from using a feedback loop to identify your constraints

Episode Resources:

• Performance Bloodwork Analysis - Code VITALITY20 for 20% off at witsandweights.com/bloodwork

Timestamps:

0:00 - The hidden constraint blocking your progress
2:08 - Introduction to Performance Bloodwork Analysis
2:55 - Your body as an engineering system (Constraint Theory)
7:25 - Performance vs. "normal" lab ranges
11:06 - Pattern recognition and hidden constraints missed by standard bloodwork
13:25 - How Performance Bloodwork Analysis works
16:53 - Max impact interventions and the engineering feedback loop
20:31 - Real-world application examples (fat loss, muscle growth, recovery)
29:06 - Why most people chase symptoms in circles
31:42 - Your body is a system to be optimized, not a mystery

Break Fat-Loss Plateaus by Fixing Your One Biggest Constraint

If you have been tracking, lifting, and staying “on plan” yet progress still feels like you are pushing a rope, you are probably not missing effort. You are missing the constraint that limits your entire system. Your body behaves like any engineered system with a throughput limit. Improve the bottleneck and everything else starts working better. Performance bloodwork is how we find that bottleneck quickly so you can stop guessing and start making measurable progress.

Your body is a system with a bottleneck

The Theory of Constraints says output is capped by the weakest link. In physique terms, that could be suboptimal thyroid function, chronically elevated inflammation, a micronutrient deficiency that blunts hormone production, or impaired glucose control that makes cuts feel like quicksand. You can dial training and macros perfectly, but if the constraint lives upstream in your physiology, results will stall until you resolve it.

Why performance bloodwork beats “normal” labs

Most doctor-ordered labs are designed to screen for disease. If you are not actively sick, you get a thumbs up. Normal is not the target. Optimal is. Performance analysis looks at patterns, ratios, and relationships across markers and compares them to performance ranges that align with energy, recovery, body composition, and training response.

Patterns over single markers

Albumin can look “normal” while dehydration and inflammation cancel each other out. Ferritin can be fine while transferrin saturation and CBC flags suggest poor iron availability. A TSH inside range can coexist with sluggish free T3 conversion. Patterns tell the real story.

Performance ranges that drive results

Vitamin D at 35 ng/mL is “normal,” yet many lifters feel and perform better with levels closer to 50 to 80. Testosterone inside population range can still be suboptimal for muscle retention if binding proteins and downstream ratios are off. Performance ranges translate to real-world outcomes like easier fat loss on more food and stronger training sessions.

From data to action with impact scoring

Once constraints show up in the pattern analysis, the next step is impact scoring. Not every change moves the needle equally. The goal is to choose one intervention that improves many markers at once. Strength training often ranks high, but if you are already lifting, your maximum-impact move might be sleep normalization, targeted micronutrients, or managing a hidden inflammatory load. Start with the highest-impact item, then retest and reassess.

Examples of constraints you can uncover and fix

• Thyroid pattern trending low: Prioritize recovery, ensure adequate protein and iodine/selenium intake, adjust training volume to a recoverable dose, and recheck conversion markers rather than chasing more cardio.

• Inflammatory pattern elevated: Address sleep quality and total stress load, shore up omega-3 intake, tighten up nutrient density, and consider elimination-and-reintroduction if food triggers are suspected.

• Low vitamin D with soft androgen profile: Sensible sunlight where possible and an appropriate D3+K2 supplement, then recheck. Improving D often moves multiple systems at once.

• Glucose control wobbly: Front-load protein, place carbs around training, walk daily, and lift consistently to improve insulin sensitivity.

• Hydration versus inflammation “masking”: Use electrolytes, set a daily fluid target, and reassess markers that were likely offset.

Build the engineering loop

Test. Identify the immediate constraint. Apply a targeted intervention. Retest. Repeat. This is the same control-loop thinking we use in engineering: change one variable, confirm the effect, move to the next constraint. Over time the system gets cleaner, more resilient, and more predictable. Fat loss gets steadier on higher calories. Muscle gain responds better to the same training stimulus. You feel the difference before you even see it on the chart.

Who benefits most right now

• You are stuck on the scale or in the gym despite consistent logging and lifting

• Your recovery feels “okay,” yet energy and focus dip in the afternoon

• Biofeedback suggests stress is winning even though sleep looks decent

• You have done “all the basics” and want objective data to guide the next move

How my Performance Bloodwork Analysis works

I use a performance platform that runs thousands of calculations on your panel and compares patterns to performance ranges, not just disease screens. You get a personalized plan that prioritizes maximum-impact interventions across lifestyle, training, and nutrition, plus access to your dashboard so you can dig into the data yourself. We accept HSA and FSA, and you can upload recent labs to save time and money if you already have them.

What you get

• A constraint map that explains what is limiting progress right now

• A ranked action list so you start with the single highest-impact fix

• Clear nutrition, recovery, and training adjustments you can implement this week

• A retest cadence so you can verify that the constraint was removed

If you are ready to stop guessing and start optimizing, check out Performance Bloodwork Analysis at witsandweights.com/bloodwork and use code VITALITY20 for listeners. Identify the constraint, apply the fix, and watch the entire system improve.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you've hit a plateau in fat loss or gaining muscle, the problem isn't always training harder or eating less. It could be a hidden constraint in your physiology that no amount of willpower can overcome. Today, I'm showing you how to use performance blood work to identify and fix the one thing that's actually holding you back. You'll learn why your body is a system that has a weakest link, how to find that constraint using blood markers, and the exact process I use to prioritize interventions that move multiple systems at once. Most people chase symptoms while ignoring the root cause, but by the end of this episode, you'll know exactly where to focus your efforts for maximum impact. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, certified nutrition coach, philip Pape, and today we're talking about something that could change how you approach your plateaus when you hit a wall with your fat loss, with your muscle gain, even with your health and fitness. Before we continue, though, I do wanna share some recent client testimonials from Inside Physique University. The first one is from Nadine. She says the program has helped me reframe how I look at weight loss. Instead of fighting the process and suffering through it. I am embracing it with less judgment each day, thank you. And then Michelle says I feel strong, seeing a lot of muscle, got PRs every lifting day. The biggest win is that I finally feel more in control. My AC1 is back in the normal low range. And then the last one I wanted to share is more about education. Catherine said I learned how much I love learning, is back in the normal low range. And then the last one I wanted to share is more about education. Catherine said I learned how much I love learning. It has become some time since I had the opportunity to take the time to learn something outside my profession as well as reinforce what I learned through my profession. As always, I thank the and I'm grateful for everyone who has submitted a question, a testimonial, a review, anything like that. That motivates me to continue creating this content for you.

Philip Pape: 2:08

All right, so we're gonna get into blood work analysis soon, but of course, before we do, I do wanna mention that I am offering a performance blood work analysis now, which is a service that uses advanced pattern recognition and performance ranges again, performance ranges, not sick care ranges, not disease ranges, but optimal ranges to identify your biggest constraints and create targeted intervention plans. If you want to learn more about how this could help you break through those plateaus, click the link in my show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash bloodwork. That's witsandweightscom slash bloodwork for performance bloodwork analysis. All right, let's talk about what your body does and why. I believe that we can look at it in terms of constraints, and let me start with a question that might change things for you.

Philip Pape: 2:55

What if your physiology works like a system? Okay, if that is the premise, and if you think like an engineer, we have something called the theory of constraints, where any system, whether it's a manufacturing line, a computer network and, of course, your body, which is a great analogy or metaphor for a system it's only going to perform to the level of its most limiting factor. That's like a bottleneck. That is your weakest link. Remember that. Show back man, it might be the 90s by now. You are the weakest link, goodbye. So that's going to determine your physical ceiling right now, and those weakest links can evolve over time, and it's not always the same thing. Think about it this way you could have perfect training, you could have your nutrition all dialed in, you could have optimal sleep, but if your thyroid function is physically compromised it's, you know, physiologically compromised then your metabolic rate is going to be much lower than it could be and your fat loss is going to stall. And you're going to wonder what the heck am I doing wrong, when it's not anything you're doing wrong. It's your thyroid. Now you could be eating enough protein, lifting consistently. But if you have chronic inflammation right, which is indicated by your inflammatory markers in your blood, if that is tanking and feeding back to your recovery, you're feeling sluggish, fatigued, tired. Your muscle growth is going to hit a massive wall because that affects muscle protein synthesis. Your body doesn't want to build muscle when it's being highly stressed and inflamed.

Philip Pape: 4:19

A lot of you out there are trying to optimize everything at once and this is one of the biggest problems I see when people listen to the podcast and they want to take action. I love action takers. The problem is you try to change everything. Not only does that create potential potential all in one. What am I trying to say? All or nothing thinking, or it's very hard to do that. It might also prevent you from identifying where you truly need to focus, if that makes sense. You're putting the cart before the horse. You're fixing 10 things when you might need to fix one and that'll give you 90% of the results. And then that's more efficient and less stressful on you and your body and your mind. So you might be adding more cardio and cutting calories, going to a calorie deficit right away, adding new supplements, creatine, switching programs around right, and people are like well, I know what to do. I listen to Winston Wade, so I'm going to do it all right now.

Philip Pape: 5:07

But if the real constraint is something like low vitamin D that's affecting your hormones, let's say, a lot of these surface level changes are going to hit walls rather quickly and you're not going to know why. And that is why I'm a big fan now of blood not now, but blood work has always been something on the periphery of what I've talked about and done with clients and I finally decided to take the plunge and say let's get this into the system itself of the tracking and measuring in the before and after, because blood work isn't, it's not just a useful tool, it's actually essential because it can tell you things that are your constraints, that have nothing to do with the lifestyle and behavior. Right, and this goes for hormones as well. You've heard me talk to hormone experts a lot of times on the show, like Karen Martell and others, and we say how, even if your lifestyle is fully in check, something could be off, genetically or physically, due to age, due to, you know, hormonal decline. Whatever that you have to address or else you're not going to get the full results. You're going to feel frustrated.

Philip Pape: 6:09

Now, most blood work that you get through a doctor or through even through a clinic is going to be the, you know, let's check to see if you're dying right now blood work and if it's in the, if you're not, if it's in the quote, unquote normal range, you're good. Right? We know there's controversies here with hormones, right? Testosterone oh, if your testosterone is between, you know, 250 and a thousand, you're good. When we know, in reality, you know, optimal testosterone is up in the, you know, at least four or five hundreds for most men, if not higher, depending on the individual.

Philip Pape: 6:37

And so we talk about sick ranges or disease ranges, or normal population ranges versus performance, or optimal ranges, or normal population ranges versus performance, or optimal ranges, and those are based on looking at your physiology, not as a bunch of separate data points and markers in your blood, but how everything works together at the system level. We're going to get into that a little more so you know what I mean. Because, again, going to your doctor and getting a lab for your physical is not going to tell you that, it's just going to tell you each marker and where it stands. Working with a functional doctor may get you a little closer to that, but even then, a lot of times they are missing out on a lot of the things that require machine learning and AI and lots of studies and lots of research to kind of pull together, and an individual in the functional space may not have all of that. And so this is where I'm going with the labs and the blood work.

Philip Pape: 7:25

Standard lab ranges were designed for one thing catching disease. If you're not actively dying, you're normal right. But normal doesn't mean optimal. So performance ranges identify where you need to be for peak function, for thriving, for doing your best, for not hitting those walls right. I mentioned vitamin D. It might be normal at 35 nanograms per milliliter, but for optimal hormone production and muscle protein synthesis you might want it higher, between, say, 50 to 80. Your thyroid right, that's a big one.

Philip Pape: 7:56

Today Everybody's concerned about their thyroid, and for good reason. Your thyroid markers might all fall within range individually, but when you look at it as a pattern or as ratios right and again, some functional doctors do this quite well when it comes to hormones you have to look at multiple biomarkers, how they connect together, and then you can spot suboptimal function before it becomes a clinical problem. And that's the key before it becomes a problem. So even if we are concerned about sickness and disease, why wait till you have all these symptoms and things are just feeling terrible in your 50s or 60s or 70s, when you could get way ahead of the issue? And that's where most people get stuck. Their blood work looks fine, the doctor says you're good, they're relying purely on the healthcare industry, but then they might have symptoms. They healthcare industry, but then they might have symptoms. They might feel terrible, or they simply might not be making progress. Like your metabolism is not as high as you think it should be, or it drops fast when you go into fat loss phase, or there's some other dysfunction. You know having to do with various symptoms.

Philip Pape: 8:57

So the performance approach is it uses what's called impact scoring. So instead of flagging high or low markers like you would in a normal blood test, it's going to identify the interventions that are going to move the needle, the most kind of like your low-hanging fruit on multiple systems simultaneously. Let me put it a different way it's going to identify that if you fix this one thing here, it's going to fix these five different areas of your physiology over here. Now that's powerful. You don't get that in a normal blood pattern and even in many functional workups right. Most functional workups go like one degree or two degrees in, but they don't necessarily connect you know five or six different, seemingly unrelated blood markers to a pattern where they might have a common root cause.

Philip Pape: 9:48

And hasn't that always bothered you Like those of you listening, not in your head? Think about it. Hasn't it bothered you that we have all these separate blood markers and we get the result and we have them in our loaded in our app, or we go to quest or lab corp or whatever. You look at the result and you have to, like, start Googling what these all mean and still it doesn't make sense. You're like, okay, my erythrocyte pattern is high and my you know albumin is low. How does it all connect Right? And so this is this is the next thing I want to talk about is these hidden constraints that standard blood work misses. That we're going to address. We're going to address that. So, individual markers again, they tell you part of the story. Patterns are what tell you the actual story, the whole story. So I'll give you an example.

Philip Pape: 10:28

I mentioned albumin. Albumin is a protein made by your liver, but it's also what we call an acute phase reactant. So when you have inflammation, albumin gets pulled down. When you're dehydrated, albumin gets pushed up. Well, what? If you are both inflamed and dehydrated, the markers are going to cancel each other out. Albumin will come back normal, even though you have two significant constraints affecting your recovery, your performance, your body composition. This is why pattern analysis changes the game here.

Philip Pape: 11:06

Every blood panel, when it comes to performance analysis, what we are doing now in partnership with Vitality Blueprint, undergoes thousands of calculations that are looking at the relationships between the biomarkers, not just the individual values. Somebody asked me hey, when I sent them information on the blood work analysis, because they were wondering what was some things weren't feeling well for their energy, for their sleep and also for their metabolism. That used to be working fine. And they say you know, I already get blood work and work at a functional doctor and I get like 80, 90, 100 different blood markers. But those blood markers are being looked at in isolation and I said, well, are you able to spot the clues that are invisible to those based on the relationships between the biomarkers? They're like no, I didn't know that even existed.

Philip Pape: 11:55

So the platform that I use runs over 20,000 calculations on top of 4,000 scientific references for every single blood draw. So when you get a blood draw and I've done it myself for me, I did the standard version of this, which is 85 plus markers, which was like five vials it was three big vials and two small vials and the phlebotomist was really good, very experienced, simple pinch in and out. It was good. But I've done this myself and, based on the 20,000 calculations and the 4,000 references, you're looking at biomarker ratios, you're looking at calculations, multi, multi-factor patterns, and you're trying to find the hidden constraints. So really, this all is about constraints and that's the level of analysis that I provide through our new performance blood work analysis, which I'm so excited to bring to you guys because I'm again, I'm doing it myself. It's, it's incredible.

Philip Pape: 12:38

You get a comprehensive performance plan that I put together for you based on what the data is telling me, and this is not just me figuring it out. This is built on a system that has already done all the heavy lifting, the calculations and the patterns that I mentioned, and then what I'm able to do is take a smaller choice set of interventions for you and, with my you know nutrition coaching hat on, identify the most effective ones that are going to give you the widest distribution of fixes and improvements in your constraints, and so that's a targeted plan that has lifestyle nutrition supplements. All that and you know, wink wink. I like to supplement that with some extra recommendations that you wouldn't even get from anyone else using this platform. So if you want to do that, witsandweightscom slash bloodwork, at least check out what it's about.

Philip Pape: 13:25

We just launched this. We have a couple of different plans. There's a higher elite plan that has way more blood markers, but that's more for elite athletes. I would say that most people are going to be fine with the standard plan with 85 markers. We do take HSA and FSA payments, but it is out of pocket versus it's not covered by insurance. So cause again, this is not a healthcare service. This is performance blood work analysis. There are medical professionals who actually look at your data and if there's anything out of range from a, from a, a what am I trying to say? A health or medical perspective? Uh, they will intervene cause. That is outside my scope of practice, but you can go to witsandweightscom slash bloodwork for that performance bloodwork analysis.

Philip Pape: 14:05

All right, so I want to talk about these interventions and how this all works, because once you identify the constraints, you have to address them efficiently, and this is where the impact scoring is important. I mentioned impact scoring before. Not every intervention is created equal, right, some changes are going to improve one thing, others, like strength training. All right, spoiler alert strength training is probably at the almost, if not, top of the list for improving blood markers in general. But, of course, if you're already doing that many of you are you're already lifting weights. Well, that may not move the needle at all for you because you're already doing it. But by definition, you know some other mark, some other intervention over here that you hadn't even considered, like, say, a nutrient deficiency, might improve five, six, seven markers, and you didn't even realize that would happen because of the cascade and the relationships. Right, the cascading impact Built on Vitality Blueprint, which is from Dr Andy Galpin, and it's in association with him and a few others it uses.

Philip Pape: 15:08

It grades every recommendation as accurate medium, high or maximum impact, based on how many markers it addresses in your specific case, based on your blood work. So I'm able to use that to even further optimize your performance plan. And, by the way, this is not coaching or anything. I mean. It is coaching in a sense that I'm giving you a plan to act on, but it's not like an ongoing coaching contract or anything like that. It's a one-time thing. Obviously, we could do a before and after or we can talk about an ongoing thing if you need it, but it's a one-time thing. So if you are, for example, busy, if you're a busy person, like many of you are, you don't have a lot of time and I give you your plan and it says okay, here are the six interventions that make the biggest impact. If you listen to this podcast, you know I don't want you to go out and do all six tomorrow. I want you to focus on the maximum one first, which is your biggest immediate constraint.

Philip Pape: 16:00

Now, if you're motivated to optimize everything which I hope you are you can slowly work through the full list and you know that you're prioritizing correctly and that at any point you can get a follow-up blood panel to see how much you've moved the needle in each of those and, by the way, you will move the needle. And how do I know that confidently? Because, again, the interventions are based on decades of established science, which there's a lot of science when it comes to blood markers. It's a much more objective, empirical type of research than a lot of the other things that we hang our hats on in the fitness industry, and you're going to hear a conversation coming up with Dr Eric Helms where we talk about how you evaluate all of these things. So I'm very, very confident in the use of blood markers. I'm less confident in the use of, for example, genetics, right, because that's a little more ambiguous today given the state of the science. But blood markers are pretty solid.

Philip Pape: 16:53

So you can prioritize your list and then you create what I call the engineering feedback loop, right? The test. Identify the constraint. Apply a targeted intervention, retest, identify the next constraint. Now you don't you know if the constraint takes you three weeks to implement. You're not going to just wait for months, get blood work before going to the next constraint, necessarily, although for some people who are super into this and have a lot of things they want to work on. You could get blood panels, say, every three months or so. That's probably enough time to go by. Many, many people, myself included, are going to do it like semi annually or maybe even once a year.

Philip Pape: 17:30

And remember, this is totally different than your what do you call it? Physical labs. However, however, I do want to mention this If you go to winstonweightscom slash bloodwork, you'll see a plan that will save you some money if you already have labs that you could upload. If they're recent labs, you could actually upload them and actually save money. But if you don't have them, the plan includes the script and the instructions for the blood draw and how to schedule the blood draw through one of a couple very common labs that are near everybody. I'm not going to name names here, but you'll find out if you go ahead and sign up. You know when I got my blood work, I went 15 minutes away on a Monday morning and got it done at a lab corp nearby. So we want this loop of continuous improvement.

Philip Pape: 18:13

You test, you identify the constraint, apply the intervention, retest, identify the next constraint. It's the one variable at a time philosophy. Now, of course, if you go ahead and you apply multiple interventions at once. Well, good on you. It is probably going to speed up the process in some ways, but it's going to maybe muddy a little bit, like what you did versus what the outcome was.

Philip Pape: 18:33

But for many of you are like I don't care, I just need to improve my lifestyle and I'm going to go ahead and do these things and if my blood work looks great next time, great, I've done it. If not, you can drill down from there. So as you fix one constraint, the cool thing is another constraint is going to emerge. So if you fix a constraint that was connected to six biomarkers and then you get follow-up blood work and three of those six biomarkers are now cool or they're good, they're optimal, and the other three are not, what's going to happen is the new analysis is going to now pick a different constraint that's affecting those three. So you can definitely have multifactorial issues in your body. In fact, most people who are not living an optimal lifestyle are having multiple causes, affect multiple results, and that's where it gets so confusing. So if we can figure out the likely causes, address those and then reduce what's left, that's going to help you make a lot of progress because you're systematically removing the bottlenecks that limit your performance.

Philip Pape: 19:32

Very, very important and powerful way to do this using something so objective at blood work, which seems like magic, but it's really just looking at everything that is in your body right now, signaling and screaming as to what is happening. All right, now let me walk you through how this works with some examples in practice. Let's say you have a fat loss plateau, you're trying to lose weight, you're trying to lose fat and let's say you're strength training. Okay, if you're not even strength training, I can tell you right now don't waste your money on the blood work and start lifting weights for about I don't know six weeks and then get the blood work. Like, I don't want your money if you're not lifting weights, cause, right there, that that kind of is a high signal among the noise. If you will right, I think I'm going to do a whole episode about how, like, not lifting weights is the worst thing for your health. It just really is. It's way up there. Let's just put it that way. So how does this work? If you have a fat loss plateau?

Philip Pape: 20:31

A lot of people think it's really that you're just not eating enough, or you're not eating few enough calories. You're not in a big enough deficit, right? That's what a lot of fit fluencers will say oh it's you probably just don't know you're eating more than you think. You got to track your food you got, okay. Yeah, the basic principle is if you're not even tracking, if you don't know how much you're eating, why are you even in fat loss If you can't induce the proper deficit? Okay, right now, with this discussion, you want to go back to the basics of track your food, use macro factor, identify where your metabolism is, go into the proper deficit at the proper intake you know, see what happens and then you'll. You'll have already eliminated one constraint, but most people think it's about calories or moving Like they're not moving enough. Even if you've heard me talk over and over again how you can lose weight and you can lose fat successfully lifting weights and walking, with no other cardio, many of you are going to want to incorporate some strategic cardio.

Philip Pape: 21:24

But if your blood work shows your thyroid markers trending quite low and your inflammation is elevated, the constraint is it's not about the energy balance per se, it's about the metabolism side, which is part of energy balance, for sure, but you're not being as efficient. We literally just talked about this on the last episode about recovery, and we do know that thyroid declines in a fat loss phase no matter what. So it's not a bad thing in and of itself. But if your thyroid has tanked a lot which again, I have some clients who came to me with much lower thyroid Even when they go on medication and they bring it up, they want to improve the lifestyle and then they can reduce or potentially go off that medication.

Philip Pape: 22:06

So if your inflammation is high, if your thyroid is low and there's a way to address that besides the strength training, which again is a very important way to do it strength training, which again is a very important way to do it the intervention might be you're doing too much and you need to tone it down and find a way to reduce that stress right and get more sleep. I don't know, it's going to depend on, again, you, your individual intake and your blood work, but I'm going to be able to identify the very things that might help you reverse that. Now, of course, not dieting is always going to increase in general increase your thyroid, naturally, but then you're not going to get the fat loss you want. So we want to be able to do it in a healthy way, so that the fat loss resumes, without you having to go cut calories way low or to feel like you have to move a whole bunch more, which you shouldn't.

Philip Pape: 22:52

Growth like muscle gain, and I don't just mean a calorie surplus, I mean just in general, gaining muscle. You may be doing that as a body recomp, where you're trying to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, something we help a lot of people with. If you go to Physique University and check out what we're about, go to physiquewitsandweightscom, you'll see that you know that is what we are targeting. We're trying to help you learn to build muscle the right way while losing fat, and for many of you, that means not doing a calorie deficit and getting all the negative consequences that come with that. For some of you, though, you want to go the extra mile and go into a surplus and build muscle.

Philip Pape: 23:25

Either way, your strength training is a necessity. It's dialed in. You've got to be eating sufficient protein right, and again, if you come to me for blood work analysis, I'm going to want to know what you're already doing right now, to see if there isn't just an easy low-hanging fruit to the point where I might convince you not even to do blood work just yet, like I mentioned earlier, and just deal with a couple of these things first. But it doesn't hurt to do them both at the same time. It's fine, because you still may have some issue you want to address. Now let's say you get your blood work and your testosterone is suboptimal and your vitamin D is really really low. Well, the constraint here is probably not the training stimulus. It may not even be your nutrition, other than the vitamin D piece, which is kind of a debate of how much can you address that through nutrition and through sunlight exposure versus supplementation?

Philip Pape: 24:16

I personally supplement vitamin D. I live in the North. I don't get nearly as much sun as I would like, especially in the winter. I'm a white guy, favorite pale skin. All of those factors hit against me and my vitamin D was low, and so I supplement with vitamin D. I take what is it? I take 10, 5,000 IU a day. I think yeah. So it's a moderate amount, it's not super high, it's not super low and when I get my blood checked, vitamin D is right in the range it needs to be, you know the optimal range, not just the non-sick range.

Philip Pape: 24:44

So if your hormonal environment for muscle growth is stunted due to a lot of factors like your hormones, with testosterone, but also the vitamin D, which is technically a hormone. I don't know if a lot of people realize that then addressing these is going to translate into the muscle gain you want, because it's just going to jack up the pun intended, jack up the efficiency of what you're trying to do. There's so many little things besides your movement and your training and your sleep and your recovery in your blood that can tell us that you don't have the right environment for muscle growth, regardless of whether you're in a surplus, just in general. And then you could be frustrated because you, you know you do deficits. Then you get out of a deficit, you maintain and you're in the gym, but things are not progressing like you expect.

Philip Pape: 25:26

What about energy and recovery? Okay, our last episode talked about recovery and let's say you're doing all the things. I know people are like I sleep eight hours, I'm well-rested, or I feel generally well-rested through my sleep, but then I feel sluggish in the gym or throughout the day my energy crashes or I feel like just my overall recovery isn't where it needs to be and you do your blood work and the inflammatory markers are high. Okay, there's specific markers of inflammation in your blood that tell us that your cells are high. Okay, there's, there's specific markers of inflammation in your blood that tell us that your cells are stressed. We're not talking about the boogie word inflammation in the fitness industry. That's meaningless. We're talking about measurable, objective inflammation markers. And let's say they're really high.

Philip Pape: 26:08

Right, I have an autoimmune condition, so if I weren't treating it, my inflammatory markers start to shoot way up. Well, I know that that's what I have, so I treat it and therefore my inflammatory markers are just a little bit on the high end, but manageable, right, and you might have these higher than you realize, not even due to a condition, but just because, for example, your micronutrients are deficient. I mean, a lot of it does come down to that People aren't eating quality enough food and they're probably not supplementing, and all of a sudden, you have some of these issues, and so it may not be your sleep, it's the quality of your recovery, because it's held back by the inflammation in your body and the gaps in your nutrition, and then, once you fix those, the sleep now becomes a huge complement to what you're trying to do and it makes sense to, you know, makes you more rested and recovered. So this is also, by the way, why adherence matters so much. Let me explain what I mean. Adherence meaning sticking with and being consistent with your lifestyle plan, you know, your training, your nutrition, all of those things. Not perfectly, but just being consistent.

Philip Pape: 27:12

Well, the system here, your body and your multiple blood markers, as they relate to each other, will provide multiple pathways to address each constraint. I mentioned this earlier. It's not as easy as okay. These five things are a problem in your blood work. Therefore, here's your one root cause. No, it's. These five things are a problem. You have three potential root causes that could overlap with those five things. Which one is the most likely? Let's address that Now. Once you address it, maybe you still have one of those five things. That's an issue. That's what I mean is there's multiple pathways to address each and then there's multiple causes of each pathway. If you know what I mean, like it goes both ways. So if you and I guess the power of all of that as well is that you have multiple choices you can make based on what you can achieve, what's doable, what's in your budget, you know those sorts of things where I'm not going to be the guy that says don't make excuses, do this.

Philip Pape: 28:12

It's more like, hey, there could be three things that are going to be helpful. Let's start with the one that's the most accessible to you. That helps with your adherence as well. You know, if you prefer lifestyle changes, there are lifestyle solutions. If supplements are convenient, I'm not going to knock you for that. I mean, magnesium is something I tell everybody to take, right? I just pretty much do only because everybody's deficient in it. So why not? And maybe you're not, maybe you're not. But supplements can be convenient. They're not a shortcut, but they can definitely help with things like nutrient deficiencies. And then, of course, nutrition. There's so many dietary interventions that you can do for nutrition. Some of them are more extreme than others, and I say that not from the lens of don't do restrictive diets for fat loss, but from the lens of you may need to eliminate some things, to identify a root cause before you add those foods back. You know what I mean. So there's lots of ways to get to it.

Philip Pape: 29:06

And then the most powerful part of all of this is what happens over time. A lot of people are just chasing symptoms. They're going in circles. You know they have low energy so they fix it with more caffeine or a stimulant and that just is a band-aid. They have poor recovery, so they just think, okay, instead of working five days a week, I'm going to work out three days a week. And they find it didn't really help, or the fat loss is slowing down. So people do all sorts of things for that. The simple things people try are just more cardio or cutting calories, but they also might try fat burners or, let's be honest, the GLP-1 weight loss drugs, which I've talked to. Some amazing people lately, including Jamie Seltzer was on the show recently. He was our last interview about how powerful and beneficial of a tool that is for some people.

Philip Pape: 29:52

But my point is people will chase a fix for something without fixing the root cause and, like Jamie did, address the root cause right, his root cause. Well, one root cause was food noise, which the GLP-1 helped, but then the other root causes where he wasn't moving, he wasn't lifting weights, he wasn't doing something sustainable. Now he has all those in place, so he's good to go. So when you can identify and address your constraints, your biggest immediate constraint, okay, you are going to create the upward spiral, right, there's that term again for positive psychology an upward spiral, because you're going to fix one thing and it's going to boom, boom, boom like whack-a-mole, but it's going to knock some things out and those moles never come up. And then there's two moles left. Now you boom, boom, get Like.

Philip Pape: 30:40

Lifting weights is the first big one. That's going to help a lot of these other things. Better hormone function is going to improve your recovery. Better recovery is going to improve how you adapt to your training and build muscle. And then better training and adaptation gives you what Adaptation sorry, I'm slurring my words gives you what Improved physique and body composition and health, which is all you want. Because what does that do? It gives you more confidence and it helps. You want to do this for the rest of your life because it's fun and helps you look good and feel good, and that is what we all want, isn't it All right?

Philip Pape: 31:11

You're going to stop fighting your physiology and just optimize it a piece at a time, but with some clarity and confidence, which I know a lot of us are lacking and we don't know what to do. I get it. That's why you're listening to this show. Instead of being reactive, you're going to be proactive. Instead of guessing and, I'll say, blindly experimenting, you're going to measure and then intentionally experiment. Instead of the classic phrase spinning your wheels, you're going to actually have progress. Systematic progress is the way I like to think it, one thing at a time.

Philip Pape: 31:42

The constraint theory approach we're talking about today treats your body as a system that can be finely tuned, where all the components support all the other components, and that's when these breakthrough results that you might be seeing other people get and you're not. Therefore, you are going to become inevitable. Instead of accidental, blind luck or never, and I think we want that to be the case. We want to be intentional guys. We want to make it happen through our choices. It doesn't have to be super difficult, though, and it can be done with confidence. Right, your body is not.

Philip Pape: 32:16

I don't want to think of your body as a mystery to be solved through trial and error. Now, I might have used that analogy here and there, but it's not a mystery. It's actually something that can be fairly well understood. You don't have to understand everything. I'll give you an example. You don't have to understand all the things happening inside your body that cause you to burn calories. You just need to know that when I eat this much and my body weight changes like this, I must be burning this. It's a black box approach.

Philip Pape: 32:45

I don't know if I've talked about that term, the idea that you can simplify or use a proxy for what's happening in your body. Well, I'm going to break that rule a little bit and say that blood work is actually a very precise, objective way to measure what is going on in your body. The problem is, even then, it doesn't really tell you how it got there unless you look at multiple blood markers, look at the patterns and the relationships, use all of this data and machine learning that Vitality has already put into it Only company I'm aware of that has done it like that so far and then you can abstract it up to the level of, okay, five issues, potential issues, because of these 10 markers in my blood telling me something. Now I can focus my efforts right, I can optimize, I can measure and have a targeted intervention.

Philip Pape: 33:34

And the difference between people who break through the plateaus and those who stay stuck, it's not their willpower, commitment or discipline or genetics. It's identifying and addressing the right constraints at the right time. The right constraints at the right time. So stop guessing. Stop working with coaches who want you to try this and then try that, and then try this, and you go months and months and then you're frustrated and you don't even get anywhere near the result you're looking for. Right, stop trying to do it on your own, blindly.

Philip Pape: 34:04

You know, even if you are doing a lot of what we talk about here, which is okay I'm lifting, I'm training, I'm tracking my food, I'm tracking my biofeedback that's not necessarily everything. You want to measure all the things that will tell you what you need. Not necessarily to the level of biohacking where it's like two and three degrees of measurement that don't really matter, but at the very basic level, which blood work is an important part of. That is what I've finally come around to realize. That's why I'm doing this myself with clients, with anybody who wants to do it, and then you can get the results you've been working for, knowing there aren't any other constraints going on, because you've objectively measured it right.

Philip Pape: 34:42

So if you want to find out what is constraining your progress right now at the physiological level, I'm offering performance blood work analysis with this comprehensive performance plan, personalized interventions that I put together for you. I'm also going to give you full access to the platform yourself, because you guys are like me. You want to nerd out and go in and look at all the data and graphs, you want to see how everything connects, and that's going to give you the power to even put together your own plan. That's different than the one that I put together for you, but you get both, and so that's that's my gift to you, to say I want you to have all the power of the tool possible. So, wits and weights listeners, get 20% off the public price with the code vitality20. This is the only place you're going to hear that, okay, in the show notes and here Vitality20,.

Philip Pape: 35:30

Go to whitsandweightscom slash bloodwork and use code vitality20, you know, because it's not the cheapest thing, right, like getting blood work, getting the labs, getting the performance and analysis, all that. It isn't, you know, the cheapest thing in the world. I get it Right, but it's the amount that it's going to save you down the road, because you're going to know what to do is pretty much priceless, and I'm trying to make it more accessible. So, for those of you who listen to the podcast, I'm giving you this code vitality 20,. Go to Winston weightscom slash blood work or click the link, It'll be in the show notes and let's identify your constraints so you can break through the plateaus, and I could just see you soaring in the future and getting that result that you want, whether it's fat loss, building muscle, improving your health and blood markers. All of it, all right. Until next time, keep using your wits, lifting those weights, and remember your body is a system waiting to be optimized. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.

Lose Fat vs. Burn Fat (Randle Cycle, Low-Carb, and Fasted Training) | Ep 327

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Confused about "fat burning" versus actual fat loss? Learn why you can be "burning fat" during workouts while not losing body fat.

Today I break down the difference between fat oxidation (using fat for fuel) and fat loss (reducing stored body fat) that most people misunderstand.

You'll discover how the Randle Cycle affects metabolism, why fasted cardio isn't the magic bullet you've been told, and what really determines whether your body sheds fat... regardless of what fuel you're burning in the moment.

We clear up some misunderstandings about low-carb diets (keto and carnivore), being fat adapted, and what's actually most important for fat loss.

Main Takeaways:

• Fat oxidation (burning fat for fuel) and fat loss (reducing stored body fat) are completely different physiological processes

• The Randle Cycle explains why carbs temporarily suppress fat burning, but this doesn't make low-carb diets superior

• Low-carb diets increase fat oxidation but don't produce better fat loss results when calories and protein are equated (in fact, sometimes the opposite is true)

• For successful fat loss, focus on what directly influences body composition

• Adopting an engineering mindset means optimizing for outcomes (fat loss) rather than processes (fat oxidation)

Timestamps:

0:01 - Why burning fat doesn't always mean losing fat
 3:14 - Fat oxidation vs. fat loss
5:09 - The Randle Cycle and fuel selection (glucose vs. fatty acids)
9:36 - Low-carb diets and fat loss
13:42 - Any benefits of fasted cardio (beyond fat burning)?
15:04 - What actually determines fat loss
16:25 - Optimize for outcomes, not processes
17:55 - What you measure vs. what matters = more freedom

Why Fat-Burning Workouts Don't Always Burn Fat Off Your Body

If you're doing fasted cardio or a low-carb diet because you think it's keeping you in "fat-burning mode," this episode is going to clear up a massive myth and save you a lot of time, frustration, and spinning your wheels.

There’s a huge difference between burning fat for fuel and losing fat from your body. Most people confuse the two, and that’s why they aren’t getting the results they expect. They’re told to do things like low-carb diets, keto, fasted workouts, or fat-burning workouts and assume these things directly lead to fat loss. But that’s not how physiology works.

Fat oxidation vs. fat loss: they’re not the same

When you burn fat during a workout (technically called fat oxidation), your body is simply using fat as a fuel source in that moment. That doesn’t mean it’s pulling fat from your love handles or belly to do it. Fat loss happens over time when you consistently eat fewer calories than you burn (a calorie deficit), forcing your body to mobilize and reduce stored fat.

In fact, it’s entirely possible to burn a lot of fat during the day and still gain fat if you’re overeating fat at the same time. Low-carb diets increase fat oxidation, yes, but they also increase fat intake so it nets out. It’s not about what fuel you’re burning right now, but whether your body is consistently dipping into its fat reserves overall.

What the Randle Cycle actually tells us

The Randle Cycle (aka the glucose-fatty acid cycle) explains how your body chooses which fuel to burn. If glucose (from carbs) is available, your body burns that first. If it’s not, it turns to fat. But just because your body is burning fat doesn’t mean you’re losing fat. You’re simply using the fuel you gave it. If you ate a bunch of fat, your body will burn fat. If you’re fasting or low-carb, your body will burn fat because that’s what’s left. It says nothing about the fat stored on your body.

This is the trap a lot of folks fall into. They go low-carb, see high fat oxidation, and think they’re melting fat off their bodies. But if calories are equal (as shown in tightly controlled studies), low-fat diets actually result in slightly more body fat loss than low-carb ones. Why? Because calories and energy balance matter more than momentary fuel usage.

Fasted cardio isn’t a fat-loss hack

Fasted cardio is often touted as a way to torch more fat. Yes, you burn more fat during the workout if you haven’t eaten. But again, that doesn’t mean you’re losing more body fat. Over a 24-hour period, total fat loss is the same as with fed cardio when calories are equated. Multiple studies back this up.

Fasted training might feel good for some, be more convenient, or improve fuel flexibility, but don’t confuse burning fat in a session with actual fat loss. The long-term effect is what matters.

What really drives fat loss

If you want to lose fat and keep it off, stop chasing "fat-burning mode." Instead, optimize for the actual outcome: a better body composition. That means:

• Creating a calorie deficit you can stick to

• Prioritizing high protein to preserve muscle

• Strength training with progressive overload

• Recovering well (sleep, stress management, hormonal health)

• Making it sustainable for your lifestyle

These are the same principles I covered in the previous episode on the 3+3 Model of Optimal Fat Loss. You’re engineering a result, not chasing a metabolic label.

Train for strength, not just fat burning

Your workouts shouldn’t be about how many calories you burn. That’s short-sighted. Instead, use training to preserve muscle mass, drive performance, and shape your body. Cardio is fine, and walking is a great daily movement habit, but don’t fall into the trap of treating the gym like a fat-burning session. It’s a stimulus for change, not a punishment for what you ate.

Optimize for outcomes, not fuel types

From an engineering perspective, this all comes down to inputs and outputs. Your body needs energy. If you give it less than it needs, it has to pull from somewhere, usually stored fat. Whether it burns fat or carbs in the moment doesn’t matter. Focus on the systems that produce the result: sustainable eating, proper training, and consistent recovery.

Once you understand this, you can stop obsessing over being "fat-adapted" or timing your meals around workouts. You’ll get to your goals faster, with less frustration, and with strategies you actually enjoy.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you've ever been confused about why you can burn fat during a workout but not actually lose body fat, or why low-carb diets promise to keep you fat-adapted in fat-burning mode, yet sometimes fail to deliver results, this episode is for you. Today, we're uncovering the difference between fat oxidation and actual net fat loss that almost everyone misunderstands. You'll learn how the Randall Cycle affects your metabolism, why fasted cardio might not be the magic bullet you think it is, and what really determines whether you lose fat, regardless of what fuel your body is burning in the moment. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, philip Pape, certified nutrition coach, and today we're looking at one of the most misunderstood concepts in fitness, and that is the difference between fat burning, or the technical term oxidation, and fat loss, which is literally losing fat from your body generally by losing weight and holding on to muscle. This confusion is often led to questions that come up on a daily basis, especially when I write or do an episode about carbs or low-carb diets, where people say, well, I'm fat-adapted or I burn more fat because I'm low-carb, and it's a complete misunderstanding of what's actually going on, and so people chase down ineffective diets, potentially restrictive diets that are miserable. They waste their workouts by not training the right way and then they get frustrated. They can't figure out why they're not seeing results despite doing the things you're supposed to do. To quote unquote burn fat. The reality is that fat burning and fat loss are two completely different physiological processes. It's unfortunate that they sound very similar, but if we can understand the distinction, it will help you improve your body composition because you'll be informed on whether you're putting your energy in the right place. So by the end of the episode, my goal is to help understand why things like low-carb diets, fasted cardio, other popular quote-unquote fat-burning strategies might not be working as promised. They might have some misdirection in there, and what you should focus on instead if you really want the results.

Philip Pape: 2:27

Before we dive in, I do have a quick favor to ask If you enjoy today's episode. Take a moment to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts. Each month, I'm randomly selecting one reviewer and they're going to receive a free protein supplement of their choice. This is my way of saying thank you for supporting the show, and the reviews help other people discover this show, why people like it and how it might help them to escape the sea of confusion, of misinformation that's out there. So again, go to Apple Podcasts, submit a five-star review, do it on your iPhone or Apple device, and if you don't have that device or don't use an Apple podcast, feel free to throw in a rating on Spotify, or just shoot me a message and say, hey, show's great, thanks for doing it, and that'll make my day All right.

Philip Pape: 3:14

So let's get into the topic and start by defining what we're talking about. The confusion between fat oxidation and fat loss is, honestly, at the heart. It is at the root of so many popular strategies today that are misguided, oftentimes because of this very thing. So what is the difference? Fat oxidation when we say fat burning, right, that is a metabolic process where your body breaks down fat molecules to produce energy, and that's what typically mean when they talk about burning fat during exercise or following a diet or in any situation, fasted training, etc. It's essentially the use of fat as fuel, which is great. We want to do that. We want to use our fat, especially if you're trying to lose it, which leads me to fat loss. See, fat loss actually is the reduction of stored body fat over time, and this is what most of us are actually trying to achieve. When we say we want to lose fat, it's not that we want to just burn fat in a vacuum. We want to lose the net fat stored on our body and we want to add more muscle. We want to lose fat right. We want to look better, leaner, more fit, we want to be stronger, more healthy, more athletic all of the things. So I think what most people miss is that these two processes burning fat for fuel in the moment versus reducing stored body fat over time don't always go hand in hand. In fact, oftentimes they don't go hand in hand. They're different, independent things going on. You can oxidize plenty of fat during your workouts. Going on, you can oxidize plenty of fat during your workouts, but not lose body fat from your body. Conversely, you can be primarily burning carbohydrates during exercise, yet still lose significant amounts of body fat over time, and so this disconnect leads to confusion, especially around low carb diets, keto carnivore, fasted training all sorts of strategies you know, fat burning workouts that promise to maximize fat burning. So that's why I'm creating this episode.

Philip Pape: 5:09

Now let's take a look at the physiology first. I think that's a great place to start and there's something called the Randall cycle. Now I heard about this a long time ago. I kind of forgot about it, specifically by name, until a YouTube commenter mentioned it and they said hey, if this is all true, if low carb diets might not be beneficial for a lot of people, um, why, what about the cycle? Why, why? Why isn't that the reason low carb diets would be so beneficial?

Philip Pape: 5:35

So the Randall cycle it's also known as the glucose fatty acid cycle. It was first described by Philip Randall in the sixties 1963. And it describes the relationship between carbohydrate and fat metabolism in our bodies. So essentially it explains that when your body has both glucose and fatty acids available right, glucose from carbs, fatty acids from fats available as fuel they compete with each other. So when glucose levels are high, your body's going to preferentially burn glucose and suppress fat oxidation right, so it's burning glucose because it's there instead of fat. When glucose levels are low, your body's going to shift to burning more fat.

Philip Pape: 6:15

Now, before I move on, notice what this means. This means when someone says glucose is the body's preferred energy source. That is a true statement, meaning it will burn that if it's available first, then it will burn fat. But of course, if you deprive yourself of carbohydrates, it has no choice but to burn fat. So let's continue. So this is kind of a reciprocal in a way, but it is a little bit asymmetric. Your body's designed to use whatever fuel's most readily available, but it's going to go for glucose first if it's available. That's why it's slightly asymmetric. But it's going to preserve whatever's in shorter supply effectively for when it might be needed later. And that's why the low carb advocates and the fasted cardio enthusiasts where they come in, because they on one hand correctly note that high insulin levels from carbohydrate consumption suppresses fat oxidation, but then they conclude that to lose body fat you should minimize carbohydrate intake to stay in that fat burning mode as much as possible.

Philip Pape: 7:11

But here's the flaw Very important what matters for fat loss isn't the fuel you're burning at the moment, but your overall energy balance over time. That's the key distinction here. So guess what's happening on a low-carb diet? You're eating more fats. In other words, you are taking in the same amount of energy. You're just burning a different type of energy because you have more of it. That's all you're doing, right? Whereas a person with moderate to high carbs is eating less fat. So they're burning more carbs. It all nets out to the same thing in terms of energy balance, and the Randall cycle simply addresses the fuel selection. You know you have a fuel selection dial. Am I going to burn glucose or am I going to burn fat? It's not the chronic change in your fat mass on your body.

Philip Pape: 7:57

So if I gave you a concrete example, let's say you're eating a low carb, high fat diet, right, keto, carnivore, we know them. Your insulin levels are gonna be relatively low and you'll be primarily oxidizing fat for fuel throughout the day. And if you're on keto, you might be to the point of past ketosis where you are what people call fat-adapted, where you just that's always what you're doing. So that's great. You're burning fat, right, you're burning fat right. But if your total calorie intake exceeds your expenditure, you're still going to gain body fat, even though you're primarily using fat as fuel, because the dietary fat you consume but don't immediately burn is going to get stored. So you're just eating more fat and that all that extra fat is now going to get stored, whereas with the other guy who's eating a balanced diet, the extra carbs are going to get or the fat's gonna get stored while you burn the carbs, it doesn't matter. The energy nets out, right. So again, conversely, if you eat a higher carb diet but you maintain a calorie deficit, right? So this is a lot of the people I work with who want a more flexible diet, more balanced, where they can enjoy their carbs, but then we put them into a calorie deficit, guess what? You're still going to burn glucose, primarily during and after meals because of the carbs, which suppresses your fat oxidation, but over a 24-hour period, your body's still going to need to tap into those fat stores once it runs out of glucose to meet its energy needs, resulting in net fat loss, just because you don't have enough energy period Total energy coming in. And that happens even though you're not maximizing fat burning. Right? Fat oxidation at every moment. And this distinction becomes important when we look at how this applies to specific strategies.

Philip Pape: 9:36

Let's start with low carb diets. I know I've already hammered it a little bit, but I want to go one level deep. And then there's absolutely no question that reducing carb intake shifts your metabolism toward greater fat oxidation. We know that. I'm not going to dispute that. That's a fact. Studies consistently show higher rates of fat oxidation both at rest and during exercise in people following low-carb diets, and that is what the Randall Cycle would predict, but it does not translate to better fat loss outcomes, because when calories and protein are controlled, the answer is an emphatic no, there is no difference.

Philip Pape: 10:14

A meta-analysis by Hall and Guo in 2017 found that low-fat diets actually produce slightly more fat loss than low-carb diets when calories were equated. Now, part of the reason for that could be because, guess what? Your body requires more energy to digest carbs than it does fat, just like it requires more energy to digest protein than carbs or fat. So that could be one of the reasons why. There's probably other reasons behind there we're not going to get into today, like anti-catabolism, supporting your training, et cetera. Similarly, and also your stress and metabolism. Okay, enough of that. But similarly, there was a study. It was a highly controlled metabolic ward study. Everybody locked in one place and fed a controlled diet. This is by Hall in 2015,. Found that a low-fat diet led to slightly more body fat loss than a low-carb diet, despite the low-carb diet showing increased fat oxidation.

Philip Pape: 11:06

Now, my point isn't to say that low-fat's better than low-carb diet showing increased fat oxidation. Now, my point isn't to say that low-fat's better than low-carb. It's to say that there's no advantage to low-carb when it comes to fat oxidation and fat loss. Right, yes, you have more fat oxidation, but you're not going to lose any more fat. Now it doesn't mean low-carb diets can't be effective for fat loss either. That's what I want to say. They can be, but not because they maximize fat oxidation.

Philip Pape: 11:29

They work for most people because, number one, you're going to increase your protein intake, which is something everybody needs to do to preserve muscle mass. Number two, it can improve appetite control in some people. Some people actually get hungrier on higher carbs. So having the higher fats and protein helps with satiety Totally true phenomenon that happens. Number three, you reduce water retention, and this is just the appearance of much more rapid progress early on. So when somebody says I went on keto and I lost 10 pounds, yeah, most of that's water weight. And then, number four, it makes your diet, I'll say, simpler in terms of food choices, which will have the illusion of making it easier to adhere, and actually does so for some people, but for most people it actually makes it harder long-term because you're avoiding things that you might otherwise want to enjoy. But again, there are exceptions. There are some people who are like, yeah, I'm happy as a clam on my very limited set of food choices, that's fine, okay.

Philip Pape: 12:20

The point here is the effectiveness of a low-carb diet for fat loss doesn't have to do anything at all with increased fat oxidation and has everything to do with energy balance. Always comes back to that, and the same principle applies then to fasted cardio. I want to talk about fasted cardio. This is an interesting one, because it is true that exercising in a fasted state, especially first thing in the morning before breakfast, results in higher fat oxidation during the workout. And if you have not recently consumed carbs to raise insulin, your body relies even more heavily on fat. So if you never eat carbs, of course you're fat adapted. It's just going to be burning a ton of fat. But this again acute increase, right? This energy selection process toward fat burning doesn't translate to greater fat loss over time, for all the reasons we've already discussed, but I'll just throw another study at you by Schoenfeld, a guy I very much respect in the space. This was from 2014,. Found no difference in fat loss between women performing fasted cardio versus fed cardio when total calorie intake was controlled. So what matters is total energy deficit if you're going for fat loss and not whether that deficit comes from fat or carbohydrate oxidation.

Philip Pape: 13:42

Right Now, that's not to say fasted cardio, has no benefits at all. Again, I love nuance and individualizing here. The first thing that comes to mind is it's more time efficient. For some people. You get up in the morning and you go right. The other thing is it might improve your ability to switch between fuel sources, and then this is an interesting one. Whether that's beneficial in any other way is, I think, still up for debate, but it does do. It does potentially do that it might help you feel better if you don't like exercising, you know, with food in the morning or you don't have time to eat food, you know there's lots of like logistical and preference reasons for this. And then it might have benefits for certain populations with certain metabolic disorders. I never disclaim that that's a possibility.

Philip Pape: 14:26

But if you're just trying to lose fat, you know you have to focus on creating a sustainable energy deficit, and our last episode was all about that. It was all about fat loss. So go listen to that if you missed it. And this happens through your new training. New training this is the combination of nutrition and training called new training, through your nutrition and training approach. Your lifestyle is going to be way more impactful than worrying about whether you're maximizing fat oxidation, and by way more I mean like all of it. In other words, extra fat oxidation from low carb or faster training, whatever is going to make not a lick of difference in your overall fat loss relative to what the other lifestyle changes will.

Philip Pape: 15:04

So if acute fat burning, fat oxidation, is not the key to fat loss, what is Well? Again, it comes down to basic thermodynamics and energy balance. To lose body fat, you have to create an energy deficit where you consume fewer calories than you expend. That is it, and that forces your body to mobilize whatever energy is stored and available right, preferentially from fat tissue, to meet its needs. And again, if you don't have enough calories coming in and you're still consuming carbs, it's going to go to carbs and then it's going to go to fat, but the net effect is the same, right. So the key factors here are then the total calorie intake versus your expenditure, your protein intake, resistance, training and the ability to adhere to your diet. Of course, recovery is massive as well All the things I spoke about in the last episode, the three plus three model of fat loss.

Philip Pape: 15:52

So go for, listen to that, for a deep dive. And none of these things depend on maximizing fat oxidation at any given moment. That is just energy systems. That is just your body saying hey, I'm efficient, you need energy, I need to give you energy. Let's see what's on the menu today. Is it glucose or is it fat? It doesn't matter, it's all energy to your body, right. And at the end of the day, the deficit and the energy balance is what matters. Which brings me to an important engineering principle that applies perfectly here Optimize for the outcome, not the process.

Philip Pape: 16:25

Now, you might be confused when I say this, because I talk all the time about how important the process is. But if we think of engineering where we focus on the end result, the product, the system, the service, the software, we then reverse, engineer and work backward to determine the most efficient way to achieve it. We don't get caught up in optimizing I'll say, individual steps if they don't materially affect the final outcome. We care about an efficient process that gets us to the outcome right, and then we focus on the process, but we optimize for the outcome and for fat loss. This means focusing on the factors that directly influence body composition over time, not on momentary metabolic processes that have little impact on the end result, like I'm not going to tell you to drink more coffee because it might have a slight thermo thermic boost in your metabolism. That's not an efficient way to optimize the process. Think of it like this If you're trying to save money, what matters is the difference between your income and your spending right, not whether you pay for a purchase with cash or credit. That's effectively what this is Glucose or fat, cash or credit doesn't matter. It's all coming from your energy budget. So, with fat loss, what matters is the difference between your intake and expenditure, not whether you're burning fat versus carbs at a given moment. And now I want to address one more aspect of this topic that causes a lot of confusion, and that is the difference between what we measure and what matters. And this goes back to what I just said about optimizing for the outcome.

Philip Pape: 17:55

When people follow low-carb diets or they do fasted cardio or any of these fat-burning tricks, they often point to indicators of increased fat oxidation as proof that they're working. They might mention ketones Look, look at all the ketones in my urine or blood work. They might mention a lower respiratory quotient RQ during exercise oh, I'm burning more fat because my RQ is lower. They might say that they are fat adapted. Oh, I feel great. I have steady energy, I don't have crashes, all my inflammation has gone away. You guys seen these posts by people. I went on carnivore and everything got solved. Well, these measurements do indeed confirm something they increase. They confirm increased fat oxidation. They might even confirm that you have um, eliminated something that didn't work for you and then you just never added, added back the things that do. That's fine, that's cool.

Philip Pape: 18:42

You start where you're at, but they don't predict better fat loss outcomes. They're measuring individual, independent aspects of the process rather than the result. And once you see that they don't actually produce fat loss and you reverse engineer it, you say maybe it's not necessary to focus on fat oxidation. In the end, what I actually focus on is measuring and tracking progress toward the end goal by optimizing the process. For that you know my change in body composition over time, your, your, your trend, weight, your measurements, your photos, your, maybe even body fat.

Philip Pape: 19:14

I'm not a big fan of measuring body fat, but there are ways to do body fat trends that are helpful. Um, has your strength gone up or down? Have you? How are your energy levels, your hunger, your well-being? And yeah, these are outcomes. And by outcome I don't just mean at the end of the day, did you lose 20 pounds six months from now, I mean all the things that come from your day-to-day actions in optimizing the process. Are you adherent to your calorie and protein targets? That is an outcome of the process of being consistent in hitting your targets. So, anyway, I can go on, but I think it's important to understand that difference Fat burning, fat loss two different things.

Philip Pape: 19:51

And this gives you more freedom once you understand that, with your nutrition, with your training or with your new training, just kidding. And that's what matters, right, what matters is your energy deficit. It makes it simple. It actually makes it really simple, and I'm kind of hitting again on some of the messages from the last episode which, again, I highly recommend listening if you didn't. But when you know that what matters is the energy deficit, it actually frees you in a lot of ways. It frees you with your meal timing. You could eat when your schedule and preferences match. You can include carbs I mean, that's the big one that comes to mind If you enjoy them, if they fuel your training, if you tolerate them absolutely. It informs your training.

Philip Pape: 20:34

You're not going to be choosing movement or training for fat burning. You're going to do something that supports your real goal, which is strength, muscle, athleticism, whatever, and then you can find a diet that works for you, not based on some metabolic theory that doesn't actually produce the results, it doesn't optimize for the result and that's much more enjoyable, in my opinion and they're going to produce better results because you're going to sustain them. That's what we're going for, right? The most optimal diet for fat loss is that one that you can stick with. I can say that to the cows come home.

Philip Pape: 20:59

Some people won't accept it. They want to cut their foods. They want to claim that fat adapted makes them superior in some way for fat burning, and it doesn't right. Energy balance is where it's at. All the other things are important for other reasons for health, for strength, et cetera. But today we wanted to talk about the difference between fat loss and fat burning, right? So, to recap, fat oxidation burning fat for fuel and fat loss, which is reducing stored body fat, are distinct physiological processes that don't necessarily go hand in hand. The RAND cycle look it up if you'd like explains why carb intake suppresses fat oxidation, but it doesn't prevent fat loss, because it's the energy balance that matters. Low-carb diets, fasted cardio they do increase fat oxidation, but they don't produce any more fat loss and some studies show they actually produce less.

Philip Pape: 21:48

For successful fat loss, you're going to focus on the factors that influence body composition over time. That's what's important for fat loss. Go listen to my last episode, the three plus three model of fat loss, for details. And then adapting an engineering mindset like we do here, means optimizing for the outcomes over days, weeks and months rather than optimizing for the process itself. The bottom line is that I don't want you to get caught up in chasing fat burning, because what's going to happen is you're going to do restrictive, weird, cult-like approaches. I'm sorry to put it that way, but you are. You're going to fall into a tribe. That's all about fat burning and you're actually not going to lose fat. And I want you to lose fat right. I want you to lose fat doing something that works for you, that feels great, that's good for your body, your preferences, your lifestyle, that's it All right.

Philip Pape: 22:32

If you found today's episode helpful, please take a moment to leave a five-star review on Apple Podcasts and be entered for a random selection of one winner each month to receive a free protein supplement of their choice. And it means a lot to me when people let me know what they think of the show, and it means a lot to others when they understand what they're getting into, for better or worse. Just go to Apple Podcasts on your Apple device, search for Wits and Weights, click ratings and reviews and leave your feedback. Takes about one minute, but it makes a huge difference, so I really appreciate it. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember, when it comes to fat loss, it is not about burning fat in the moment. It's about creating the conditions for your body to lose fat over time. This is Philip Pape and you've been listening to Wits and Weights. I will talk to you next time. Bye.

Why It's Perfectly OK to Chase Aesthetics (Lose Fat to Get Lean, Healthy, AND Happy) | Ep 312

Join Wits & Weights Physique University and get 2 weeks free plus access to your first challenge. Transform your physique in a way that optimizes both health and aesthetics with a personalized nutrition plan and workout programs that align with your goals. Go to witsandweights.com/physique

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Feeling guilty about wanting to look good? To have visible abs, a perky butt, or bulging biceps?

It's time to shed that unnecessary burden. 

The fitness industry has created a false dichotomy between training for health versus training for appearance, making many feel ashamed about aesthetic goals. 

Yet research reveals these pursuits are actually aligned, with the body composition that looks good typically being the same one that optimizes health markers.

You'll discover why your desire for a better physique isn't shallow but actually connected to both biological drivers and psychological well-being... and how pursuing reasonable aesthetic goals provides benefits that extend far beyond fitness.

Main Takeaways:

• Health and aesthetics aren't opposing forces; they're complementary goals that largely overlap

• The body fat levels considered visually appealing align with optimal health markers

• Pursuing aesthetic goals develops life skills that transfer to other areas

• Building muscle is both aesthetically beneficial and critically important for long-term health

Timestamps:

0:01 - Breaking free from guilt about aesthetics (how you look)
2:22 - The false divide between health and appearance 
8:27 - When clients whisper their aesthetic goals
10:17 - The science that connects looks and health
14:06 - Psychological benefits of physique goals
17:11 - The evolutionary reasons we care about looks
22:15 - Balancing aesthetics and health in practice
28:53 - How physique development skills transfer to success in life
34:30 - Embracing both health and aesthetics

Why Chasing Aesthetics Might Be the Healthiest Thing You Can Do

If you’ve ever second-guessed your desire to look lean, muscular, or just damn good in the mirror—this is your permission slip to stop apologizing. Because the idea that caring about aesthetics makes you vain, shallow, or somehow less focused on “true” health? It’s nonsense. And in this episode of Wits & Weights, I’m breaking down why your aesthetic goals might be the best thing you could do for your long-term health, confidence, and quality of life.

The False Choice Between Health and Aesthetics

There’s a narrative out there that says you have to choose between training for performance or training to look good. That if you chase visible abs or muscular arms, you’re neglecting your health or falling for toxic fitness culture.

That narrative is wrong.

In coaching, I hear it all the time: people whispering their aesthetic goals like a guilty confession—"I know I should just focus on my health… but I want to see my abs too." Here’s the thing: wanting to look better is not in conflict with improving your health. In fact, the path to an aesthetic physique overlaps almost perfectly with the path to better health.

Leaner, Stronger, Healthier: The Overlap Is Real

Let’s look at some objective data:

• Optimal body fat ranges for aesthetics—about 10–15% for men and 18–23% for women—are the same ranges associated with:

  • Lower cardiovascular risk

  • Improved insulin sensitivity

  • Better hormonal health

  • Reduced inflammation

A 2019 study in the European Heart Journal found that body fat percentage—not BMI—is one of the strongest predictors of heart disease risk. So if you’re pursuing fat loss to look more defined, you’re also putting yourself in a much better position metabolically.

On the muscle side, higher lean mass is tied to:

• Reduced all-cause mortality

• Better glucose control

• Higher resting metabolic rate

• Stronger immune function

In other words, the pursuit of a more muscular and lean physique supports your health markers across the board.

And yes, even visible abs matter. Not because they’re a badge of honor, but because lower visceral fat—the dangerous kind that wraps around your organs—tends to be associated with leanness in the abdominal area. So if your stomach is flatter, you’re not just "looking fit"—you probably are metabolically healthier.

Strength Training and Nutrition: The Foundation for Both Goals

Here’s where the methods really align:

• Resistance training is non-negotiable. It improves aesthetics, supports bone density, boosts metabolism, enhances function, and increases longevity.

• Proper nutrition—especially adequate protein and whole food intake—supports muscle retention, improves energy, regulates hormones, and makes fat loss sustainable.

There is no contradiction here. The same plan that helps you uncover your physique is the plan that improves your blood work, mental health, and stress resilience.

But What About the Mental Side?

Let’s talk psychology.

Studies show that body satisfaction is associated with lower anxiety, higher confidence, and improved well-being. When you pursue aesthetic goals in a healthy, structured way—not through crash diets or disordered habits—you tend to feel better because you’re building something. You’re working toward something. And that increases self-efficacy—the belief that you can take control of your body, your habits, and your life.

In coaching, I’ve seen this time and time again. Someone starts with the goal of getting leaner, and along the way:

• They gain confidence to ask for a promotion

• They engage more fully in relationships

• They show up with purpose, discipline, and pride

This isn't superficial. This is identity-level change. And it starts with honoring the desire to look and feel your best.

Yes, There's a Line—but Most People Aren't Even Close to It

Of course, we’re not ignoring the extremes. Competitive bodybuilding, crash dieting, or obsessing over aesthetics at the expense of your well-being—that’s not what we’re talking about.

But that’s also not where most people are.

Most people need permission to start caring about how they look, and to know that it’s not vanity. It’s self-respect.

Because the truth is, for 95% of people, chasing aesthetics improves both physical and mental health—as long as you do it with intention, evidence, and sustainability in mind.

Make It Sustainable, Trackable, and Aligned

How do you pursue this the right way?

1. Define your goals clearly: "I want a lean, muscular physique that reflects and supports optimal health." Say it out loud. It’s not selfish. It’s empowering.

2. Use the right metrics:

   • Track body composition, not just weight

   • Measure strength, mobility, and performance

   • Use biofeedback: energy, mood, libido, sleep

3. Avoid extremes: No crash diets. No endless cardio. No restrictive eating.

4. Cycle your goals: Use short fat loss phases and maintenance periods. Build muscle when you have the energy and food to support it. Don’t try to do everything all at once.

5. Leverage aesthetics as motivation: It's totally okay if you’re motivated by the mirror. Let that fuel your consistency while the deeper health benefits quietly accumulate in the background.

Final Thoughts

Looking good and feeling good are not opposites. They are deeply intertwined.

Strength training, lean mass, and moderate body fat levels are some of the strongest predictors of health, performance, and resilience—especially as we age. Aesthetic goals are not a distraction. They’re a feature, not a bug, of an optimal training and nutrition plan.

So chase the aesthetics. Build the muscle. Lose the fat. Show up in your life with confidence.

And if you want help doing it the right way—with data, structure, and support—you can always check out Wits & Weights Physique University. That’s where we guide you through a sustainable transformation built around evidence and engineering.

Because you deserve to look great and feel great—for the long haul.

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Then hit “Follow” and you’re good to go!

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you've ever felt guilty about wanting to look good like, somehow wanting visible abs or defined arms makes you shallow or vain, this episode will free you from that unnecessary burden. The truth is that wanting to look athletic, lean and muscular is not just about vanity. It's deeply connected to optimal health markers, longevity and even psychological well-being. Yet many of us have been made to feel ashamed about aesthetic goals, as if pursuing a better physique means we're somehow superficial or missing the real point of fitness. Today, we're challenging this false dichotomy between health and aesthetics, revealing the overwhelming evidence that they're actually aligned. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency.

Philip Pape: 1:12

I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we are tackling something that I see all the time in coaching and online discussions, social media, and that is the false divide between training for health and training for aesthetics. And you've probably heard things before like focus on your health, not how you look, or train for performance, not appearance, and these are all well-meaning statements that are, in some cases, trying to focus you on a goal which is completely understandable, but in many cases, it creates a false choice that leaves a lot of people I'm sure, yourself included, feeling guilty because you want both and you always feel kind of torn between them. And then you might come to me saying, hey, which one do I do next? But let's talk about what the actual research says, because I effectively want to give you some permission to embrace both. And what if I told you that the research actually shows a substantial overlap between what makes us healthy and what makes us look good? And that's what we're looking at today. We're going to examine why it is completely fine, even beneficial, to pursue aesthetic goals alongside health goals, and why they are often the same exact journey.

Philip Pape: 2:22

Whether you're trying to build muscle, lose fat, improve your overall body composition, I want you to walk away understanding why these pursuits both serve your health and your happiness. And, before we get into it, if you are ready to transform your physique in a way that optimizes both health and aesthetics, I want to encourage you to join our Wits and Weights Physique University. Now, the name of that program, physique, can be a little misleading, because people again think looks, look like you lift, that's great. But we also take a science-backed, systematic, systematic, systematic approach to building your ideal body, one that looks great and functions optimally, because, again. They go together so you can join, get two weeks free, kick the tires, get your first challenge, free access to your custom nutrition plan. For me, um, all the things for free, right from day one, full access. Just go to wits and weightscom, slash physique or click the link in the show notes. Yeah, there's lots of other things in there, like custom workout programs dropped every month. There's a monthly challenge. There's, of course, a very supportive community where you can be vulnerable and share what's going on and get help in a private setting and keep you accountable. So witsandweightscom slash physique, click the link in the show notes and again, just transparently. As far as pricing, once the free trial is over, it's87 a month. I mean, you're not going to find something that is pretty close to one-on-one coaching where I'm extremely involved as a coach for that price.

Philip Pape: 3:50

So remember, looking good, being healthy or not, competing goals, they're complementary and that's what we're talking about today and it's also what we teach in Physique University. All right, so let's get into why. It is perfectly fine to chase aesthetics and break it down into three sections. I like to be organized. So the first section we are going to explore this false dichotomy right that is abstract and created by the industry, I would say or created by coaches in many cases between health and aesthetics. Second, we are going to examine the science showing the overlap between aesthetic goals and health markers, and then, finally, we're going to discuss how to approach aesthetic goals in a balanced and sustainable way, because what we are not pushing here is some sort of extreme get shredded and, uh, wreck your hormones type of approach. Even if you do have a goal to, say, compete in a bodybuilding show or something like that, which is an extreme um, there are ways where you're living day to day where you can chase both goals, All right.

Philip Pape: 4:51

So, starting with the false dichotomy, there is a narrative that you must choose between training for health or training for looks, and when I did my coaching certification, we learned something called the iron triangle. Is it the iron triangle? Yes, I think that's what it is, and I actually still. I still teach that, I still talk to my clients about it. It's the idea that if you want to improve, say, your aesthetics, there's a point in time where you're going to have to focus more on fat loss than on trying to push your gains, but there's also time you're going to focus more on gains to build that muscle base before we go to fat loss. So in that perspective, yes, there are some trade-offs that always have to be made if you're going to go all after a specific goal in the short term. But in the long or in the medium term not even the long term, the medium term, like a year or two out you can combine these different periods, what we call periodization and ultimately get the best of it all, doing it in an efficient way.

Philip Pape: 5:49

So that's kind of what I'm talking about today and that's in contrast to what you hear in the industry, like the functional fitness crowd that says you know, aesthetics are shallow pursuits. You always have to have a deeper reason for this, like there's something wrong with you or you have body dysmorphia or disordered whatever, and again, the actual disordered whatever is outside the scope of today's podcast. We are talking about a healthy pursuit of aesthetics, even sometimes for its own goal, and that is okay. On the other hand, you also have physique competitors who push the extremes of aesthetics that might temporarily compromise your health and we talk about on the show, like the cost of going to that extreme. But I think this is a false choice. I think it's like saying that you have to choose between enjoying food and fueling your body and eating nutritiously. Why not both? Why not both? I heard on a podcast recently them talking about the no sugar challenge they were going through and how much of a struggle it was, and I thought well, that's because you're trying to cut something out completely, when, in fact, you can enjoy foods with sugar but also have lots of nutritious foods alongside them and have a great dietary pattern.

Philip Pape: 7:02

So, anyway, the dichotomy probably came up in a few different places. I think the first place is the legitimate reaction against the unhealthy extremes of bodybuilding and physique competitions, and when you see Instagram physiques where competitors might sacrifice health for stage ready appearance. Now there are some people doing this in a very controlled, deliberate, precise way, where there is still a short-term sacrifice to these things, for sure, but they know how to minimize that and they do it in a and I'll call it a healthy way, even though the pursuit itself may still be extreme. Then there's the marketing angle right, the camps, the health longevity camps, the aesthetic stamps. I mean these are to the extreme as well. You have longevity camps talking about not eating very much protein Somehow that helps with longevity, or biohacking to death, my 200 supplement stack or all sorts of gadgets and equipment and programs that sell all these different products and, at the end of the day, they're trying to sell you something. Heck, I'm trying to sell you something. I'm trying to sell you a healthy result that you can live with for the rest of your life, just to be honest. So that's what I'm trying to sell you, that's what I've gotten for myself through lots of hard knocks and hope to accelerate the process for you through this podcast, and do it in a very reasonable, evidence-based, nuanced, personalized way.

Philip Pape: 8:27

And then, finally, we have the well-intentioned but misguided attempt to make fitness more inclusive by downplaying aesthetics right, and again, the attention is good and I get. We all need our boogeyman and it's great for a clickbait or a podcast episode where you're trying to appeal to people who may have self-doubt about their physique at the moment and feel like they can't get there, and so you focus and sit on these other things, or someone who's older and they're like, well, I don't really care how I look, I care more about my bone density or living a long life, and, and that's fine, and again, your personal reason for doing it is your own and I like that. We want fitness to be accessible to everyone. But I think it does inadvertently shame people who do care about their appearance. Again, not you as an individual who's saying that's what you want, but the industry as a whole by somehow calling out people who want to improve their look as a bad thing, calling out people who want to improve their look as a bad thing. And I've worked with numerous clients who you know they initially like they whisper their aesthetic goals right. They almost apologize about it. They say things like well, I know I should really focus on health and being a role model for my kids and living a long life, but I really want to see my abs too. And they say it like with some guilt and shame, as if this desire is something to be embarrassed about. But that desire is not shallow, it is human, it is normal and it's often aligned with health. There's often a biological drive for why we want to look good. Let's just admit that. Okay, and I know looking good is very subjective, but there's aspects of it that are actually universal and objective that we can get into. So this brings us to the second segment today, which is the quite remarkable overlap between aesthetic goals and health markers. That even I was surprised about when I researched for this episode.

Philip Pape: 10:17

And again, let's just go and look what the science tells us. Let's first talk about body composition, which is one of the main emphases Is that plural for emphasis? Emphasis of this show is not focusing on weight loss, but focusing on body composition. The composition of body fat to lean mass and body fat percentages that are, I'll say, typically considered aesthetically pleasing, based on studies and people's reporting and surveys, is around 10 to 15% for men and around 18 to 23% for women. And guess what? Those body fat ranges align almost perfectly with optimal health markers, where maintaining body fat in these ranges correlates with better insulin sensitivity, improved hormonal profiles, reduced inflammation, lower risk of chronic diseases like heart disease, diabetes, certain cancers. I mean we know that the vast majority of these things are correlated with obesity, which is correlated with lifestyle, and it's all connected. So there was a study in 2019 in the European Heart Journal that found that body fat percentage was a stronger predictor of heart disease risk than BMI alone. And there have just been so many studies that show that and it's probably obvious at this point to many of us, especially when we talk about how BMI is not sufficient usually to detect some of these risks. You know, body roundness and body fat tend to be better indicators and the sweet spot for the lowest risk of heart disease is right in the range. That is also what most people consider visually appealing, right.

Philip Pape: 11:55

Again, this is trying to make this a little more objective and numbers-based. And then, if we look at the muscle mass side so that's body fat we look at the muscle mass side. You know the, the defined muscular physique that many pursue, that I'm still pursuing, raising my hand, like I. I didn't start pursuing it properly until my forties and I'm only 44 and I have a long way to go. Like my goal is to keep getting younger every year and notice younger means look good and feel good and perform well and be healthier. Uh, but anyway it's it. Anyway it's not just for show, even though many pursue it for that, especially younger dudes, let's say, or certain you know, if you're going for competitive aspirations, higher muscle mass We've talked about it many times on this show, but I can emphasize again it's associated with improved metabolic health, better glucose control, stronger immune function, even reduced mortality.

Philip Pape: 12:46

Right, not in and of itself right, we still need to have a reasonable level of body fat, right. We can't go to the other extreme and say it's only about muscle. But you've got to have muscle is kind of my point. There's a 2018 meta-analysis in the Journal of Kachexia, sarcopenia and Muscle that found that higher muscle mass was associated with lower all-cause mortality. And that's just again. I'm picking individual studies. Try to focusing on meta-analysis where they look at multiple studies, but you probably don't need me to convince you that muscle mass is important, even like superficial abs, right.

Philip Pape: 13:21

Having a six-pack or eight-pack or whatever that many of us chase can have health significance. When we flip it a little bit and talk about visceral fat around your organs your abdominal fat, which is metabolically more active and associated with increased inflammation and disease risk and all sorts of health issues so you could argue that a visible six pack doesn't just look good. It indicates lower visceral fat and therefore better health. It doesn't mean you have to get to the point of that level of being shredded. I do want to give that caveat. It just means that if you are lean in your belly area, there's probably some things you're doing right from a health perspective, assuming you haven't gone to like an extreme of getting too shredded right Now.

Philip Pape: 14:06

What about the process of getting there? Well, the method used to improve aesthetics resistance training, proper nutrition, are exactly what anyone, including health authorities, most fitness professionals myself recommend for optimal health. Like, resistance training is a non-negotiable in my opinion. Right, yes, being active, yes, moving, yes, managing sleep and stress, but resistance training is non-negotiable. And I would say sufficient protein and nutrients are the other non-negotiable that has a little bit more flexibility in what we mean.

Philip Pape: 14:42

It's not like binary, in the same way that resistance training is binary. Like you have to do that, um, it's more the levels that you need. Uh, but there is no other path there. There is no other path, right, you can't. You can't improve your health and longevity with running. In fact, you probably are going to set it back. You can't improve it with just yoga or just mindfulness and meditation, and I say just because those things are all great, not the running, but you know, walking is far superior, of course, for fat loss and longevity and health.

Philip Pape: 15:13

But all those other things for your mental state, fine, you can do, them, great, but they are not going to give you what you need without strength training and the quote, unquote, functional strength that we've touched on just here and there I'm not a big fan of the word. We had Lorenzo, um, lauren, lauren, colenzo Semple on from mass talking all about that topic. Right, it's a real misnomer in the industry, um, but the Any program that purports to develop functional strength is probably doing so through some form of resistance training. Even the things that I don't like so much, like CrossFit, the strength and the barbell, part of that is still thinking in terms of, hey, we need to load you up and push those muscles and challenge you. The only difference is how they're marketed and then also whether they achieve that efficiently. But you've got to resistance train, you've got to have proper nutrition, and those give you good aesthetics and good health.

Philip Pape: 16:06

So now let's touch on something that is often overlooked or maybe not talked about enough, and that is the psychological benefits of aestheticals, not the detriments. Right, we know we can talk about the dark side, but I care about how we look matters to us psychologically, because I wouldn't want you to pursue a goal like that if it was harmful to your mental health. Studies consistently show that body image impacts our mental health. It impacts your self-confidence and your well-being, which is why it's so important. Which way do we push the needle on this? There was a 2020 review in Body Image that found that satisfaction was associated with no, I'm sorry that body satisfaction was associated with better mental health outcomes across the board. Right, when we achieve our aesthetic goals, we often experience more confidence, reduced anxiety, greater satisfaction with ourselves, and so, to me, these are not shallow outcomes. These are legitimate psychological benefits.

Philip Pape: 17:11

Right, we focus a lot on things like body positivity and people's self-doubt and negative self-talk about their bodies, but we don't focus enough on the fact that those same people probably want to improve their. But we don't focus enough on the fact that those same people probably want to improve their body as well and need to be encouraged in a positive way to go. Do that, not shame them for it, but also not settle for where they are now. There's always a way to improve, and I've seen clients transform massively, not just physically, but mentally, when they achieve the physique that they've worked for, and it's okay. That's why I'm making this show, guys. It's okay to go after that because, at the end of the day, they all serve the same purpose.

Philip Pape: 17:52

Right, there are things like changes in your posture that have profound impacts not just on health, but also confidence. Right, I hear from clients how they're able to engage more confidently in a social situation. Maybe it's because people judge you for how you look. Maybe it's simply because they know they're accomplishing something that very few other people are and they can stand tall and proud. Right, maybe they haven't lost all the body fat or gotten to exactly where they want, but the change and the process and method are really what's bringing them the confidence right. Lifting heavy not even heavy, just lifting at all and making progress. And they often say look, I feel more capable in this area of my life, this area of my life, my relationships, my friends with my job okay, those are positive.

Philip Pape: 18:40

Now, let's not deny, let's not be delusional about the unhealthy extremes that could occur. Body dysmorphia and eating disorders are out there. They are serious concerns, right? Holly Baxter talked about her own past with eating disorders and she's a physique competitor, but she does it in the right way. Now you know, pursuing reasonable aesthetic goals as part of a balanced approach to fitness does not cause these issues. Let's be clear it can actually improve your body image when approached in a healthy, constructive way, which is exactly why I don't like restrictive dieting, crash diets, demonizing foods, moving ahead with poor relationships to food, because they're all tied into your body, your safety, your security, your self-image, all of that. But if we can make the process itself positive, we can make the outcome that comes from it, of improved body image, also positive. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense. It does to me. Maybe I'm off my rocker. I think it makes sense.

Philip Pape: 19:41

Then there's the evolutionary angle. That's worth considering. You know I mentioned biology. I think it's important to touch on because our appreciation for these you know, beauty standards or aesthetic qualities it isn't arbitrary, like it's deeply rooted in biological signals of health and reproductive fitness. There's a reason that we are attracted to certain people from a young age, I mean around the time of puberty. Look back to it and just think about the hormonal chaos you had in your teenage years and how you're attracted to certain forms of things that you find beautiful. Right, and don't be ashamed of that.

Philip Pape: 20:16

From an evolutionary standpoint, visual cues of health, clear skin, symmetrical features, favorable body composition have been valuable indicators of genetic fitness. This is evolution. Our ancestors couldn't run blood panels, they didn't do DEXA scans, obviously, they didn't even have like barbells to lift, but they relied on visual cues to assess health when selecting a mate. And again, it's a little bit subjective, right, there have been times when being on the heavier side was actually considered valuable and a sign of health, robustness and wealth too. So it's not to say that this is a perfect correlation by any means. Let's acknowledge that. But there are biological reasons nonetheless. So when you find yourself drawn to a certain physique, whether it's muscle definition or a particular body shape or overall leanness, you're probably responding unconsciously to deeply ingrained biological signals that historically correlated with health and genetic fitness. Right, the ability to spread your seeds, to pass along your DNA to offspring who will have the best chance of surviving in the world.

Philip Pape: 21:29

Now, that doesn't mean that all beauty standards are biologically determined. Again, nuance guys. Nuance, right. Don't hold me to a what do you call it? Soundbite. That's why I like long form here.

Philip Pape: 21:41

Right, cultural factors play a huge role. Let's acknowledge that, right. If we understand the evolutionary basis that's like the baseline we can then help explain why certain physique goals persist across cultures and time periods and they tend to cycle back and forth but stay within kind of a range. And then it also suggests that our desire to look a certain way is not shallow. It is also not culturally imposed, right, it is partially hardwired and that's nothing to be ashamed of Like. Just acknowledging reality of your biology is nothing to be ashamed of.

Philip Pape: 22:15

So now let's talk about how to approach aesthetic goals in a balanced, sustainable way that actually enhances health rather than compromise and I include mental health in there, for sure, body image. So first, recognize, health and aesthetics exist on a spectrum, right, they're not in opposition, they're not mutually exclusive, and that goes back to the whole triangle idea where you have trade-offs and you can't, you can't pursue all in parallel to the nth degree, you know, to the 10th degree, whatever, I'm trying to say, to the maximum degree. And they're on a spectrum, but they're not exclusive, they're not an opposition. The methods stack on each other. The methods that improve your health markers, like your nutrition, your resistance training, having adequate sleep, managing your stress, also enhance aesthetics up to a point. It's only at those extremes, like bodybuilding, competition prep or extreme endurance training, right, marathon runners, long distance runners where the true exclusive trade-offs might appear, if I'm to put it that way. I mean, you know that just visually you look at a marathon, an elite marathon runner. They probably don't have a physique that most people aspire to. Let's be honest, right. And then you look at somebody who's an extreme bodybuilding competitor, especially enhanced, because if you're enhanced on steroids now you're messing with your health in other ways. But even if they're not, they've made some sacrifices to their health and longevity. Yes, at least in the moment. A lot of it is recoverable, but at least in the moment to get there. So we're not really talking about that. For the vast majority of us in the middle you know 95% pursuing both simultaneously aesthetics and health is not only possible, but it's actually optimal. It's optimal. So I wanna give you that permission to go after them together.

Philip Pape: 24:05

The second thing is you want to set goals that serve both purposes and make sure they're logical, they're rational, right. So instead of saying I want six-pack abs or I want to lower my cholesterol, try. I want to achieve a lean, muscular physique that reflects and supports optimal health. This is the framing, and again, we're talking about the big goal. We're not necessarily talking about the short-term goals. This is a framing, positive framing. It acknowledges both aspects but doesn't privilege one over the other. So I'll say that again, if you want to repeat it with me as kind of a mantra. I want to achieve a lean, muscular physique that reflects and supports optimal health. Just one way to do it. You might put it in your own words.

Philip Pape: 24:45

And then, third, I want you to use metrics and data that capture both health and aesthetics. You knew I would get to this eventually. We're all about engineering data, measuring, tracking, experimenting and doing what works for you. So body composition, which is the ratio of fat to lean mass, is going to be far more informative than weight alone, even though you need to track weight as well. Now, I don't get hung up in trying to exactly calculate body fat. It's more of the change in your body composition over time. Are you building muscle and losing fat? Is your waist shrinking while your biceps are growing, for example? Right, and a lot of this comes through look and feel and performance, as well as proxies for body composition.

Philip Pape: 25:25

Speaking of performance metrics, what are those? Strength? There could be some cardiovascular metrics, but I prefer things like stress metrics, hrv, as opposed to, say, vo2 max. I think that is much less useful, especially if you're looking for body composition improvement. If you're looking for body composition improvement, Um, but resting heart rate is a good metric for health for sure, right, blood markers like lipids, uh, and what did I say? Yeah, um, and your blood pressure, even your movement quality, and it's kind of how do you? How do you track that? Well, some of you may have issues with your joints and you can track the level of pain or level of mobility in those joints and how that improves over time. Right, many people they start lifting, their back pain goes away, their knees feel better, their elbows, their shoulders feel better to a point, right, unless you go too extreme in the other direction. So you can track all of these things and then you know that's just tracking.

Philip Pape: 26:16

And then how do you put all this together to make sense? Well, that's where the sustainability comes in, and I kind of I feel like I overused that word and we're not talking about energy sustainability. We're talking about can it be sustained for life, not just for a year or three years or five years, but for life. It's going to cycle through. You're going to have different sub goals and periodization where you go to more extremes in different directions, but overall it's still a sustainable approach.

Philip Pape: 26:40

Crash diets are not sustainable, right? Even if you want to go after a very rapid, aggressive fat loss phase, which is something that I can teach you to do for an advanced person who's done all the other things first. We're still going to do it in a way that doesn't harm your health, that maintains your muscle, that maintains your protein, that gives you refeeds for your energy and that keeps it really, really short, right? I'm talking about crash diets like restrictive diets, where you're not really in control. You're just cutting, cutting, cutting. You lose a bunch of weight really fast. It might temporarily improve your appearance Probably not, because you're probably going to lose muscle along with some fat, and it's going to harm your health anyway. It's going to wreck everything.

Philip Pape: 27:20

To be honest, extreme exercise same idea, lots of cardio, right? Put that in the equation. I just spoke to someone yesterday on a rapid nutrition assessment and I could tell exactly what her problem was. She tries to lift weights seven days a week and it's like a YouTube workout and she's with like 10-pound dumbbells, right. So right there, I know she's doing a cardio endurance type approach. It's probably stressing her out and it's not building muscle. So it has both of the opposite of what we want when it comes to aesthetics and health.

Philip Pape: 27:51

Again, because they are aligned and show up for fairly easily I'm going to put it that way easily, even though there's always effort involved, but fairly low friction, where you are progressing gradually in a way that serves both health and aesthetics, without getting so extreme and losing patience that you haven't gotten it all tomorrow. So I'm getting a little long-winded today, but I think this is an important topic and I did want to share something that might surprise you a bit about the relationship between aesthetic goals and everyday life. And it's a pretty cool thing that I've learned talking to very skilled bodybuilders, physique competitors I think of, for example oh my gosh, revive Stronger. You guys know who that is. What's his name? Host of Revive Stronger. He was on the show man I am blanking out right now, I'm not going to look it up anyway. He, um, steve Steve Hall. There we go. He was.

Philip Pape: 28:53

He and Dr Eric Helms and others like him, um have demonstrated how the skills and the mindset you develop while pursuing aesthetic goals can transfer really well to other areas of life. I think there's a little bit of a push, a little bit of an extreme that we go after with some of this, and I hate to use the word extreme, it's just discomfort, expanding your comfort zone and pushing yourself to grow the essence of the struggle, of the human condition. For those of us who really love and relish life every day, it's because we are going after it. We are improving something, maybe everything all day in some meaningful way. We have purpose right. And so that skill, that mindset, it applies pretty darn well to aesthetic goals, to strength, to performance, all of it, even if you do shift around in the very micro goals that you pursue.

Philip Pape: 29:44

Think about what it takes to transform your physique Consistent effort over time, delayed gratification, patience, strategic planning, but also measuring your progress and adapting to the challenges, to the plan, like the black line versus blue line thinking that I talked about on a recent episode, managing setbacks, all of that. These are not just fitness skills, they are life skills, and I've worked with a lot of clients who didn't really have that baseline of those skills in their life in general. And by going through that process together for health, voila guess what? Now they've got confidence and a system and an approach that they can apply to learning an instrument, becoming a better gardener, becoming a leader in work, improving their relationship the list goes on and on. It's incredible, and I've observed clients who transform their physiques and the language.

Philip Pape: 30:39

The narrative that comes out of their mouth evolves to this almost sometimes shock at the improvements that they have that were unexpected in their careers, relationships or personal projects. It's kind of like something I've experienced on a smaller level when I joined Toastmasters years ago and I worked on my speaking skills and I thought, well, I'm going to become a better presenter by doing this. No, it was far more than that. I became more confident in every meeting at work. I could speak to you know, executives and customers in a way that I felt like their peer and that we could really engage in an intellectual level, all because I could communicate.

Philip Pape: 31:15

So don't discount the discipline, the systems, thinking, the growth mindset that you can develop through physique transformation. We're not going after short-term before and after photos here. We are going for long-term transformation in who you are, your identity, your systems. I can remember a client who lost a decent amount of weight and by weight I mean fat and built a bunch of muscle at the same time, and he said you know, something like I used to think that I couldn't stick with anything hard. Right, that was his identity. Now I know I can commit to something long-term and then see it through and he just he had to go through this process, and I think the physique development process is a good way to do it because it can give you a lot of quick wins along the way and your physique will change, like it. It just will, if you do this right.

Philip Pape: 32:08

And if it's not, if you're listening to this or watching this right now and you're like, yeah, but that hasn't happened for me, you just don't have the right approach and that's okay. Like that's not a judgment on you, that's an objective fact that I want you to get on board with me about and say, okay. Well then, I know that Philip is telling me there is an approach that'll work. What the heck is that? Talk about that on this podcast, but you're always welcome to reach out to me one-on-one. I'm not going to bite. Hit me up in the Facebook group, send me a message on Instagram at Wits and Weights. Send me a question at witsandweightscom slash question and I'll talk to you like a person, like a human, about what it takes. I'll send you a free episode or resource. I'm not here to sell you anything. If you need my help, you'll ask for it.

Philip Pape: 32:49

Another client that I can think of that came to mind. She had a thing at work where she wanted to have a promotion or she wanted to get into a leadership role, mainly because she was super stressed at what she was doing. I get this a lot with clients who they're stressed in their jobs and part of the thing we work through is are you even in the right role right now, or is there a way we can mitigate this with everything else you're doing? By the way, lifting weights tends to reduce your stress anyway. But she said, you know, I was confident enough because of the physical transformation and, mind you, she didn't lose a lot of weight on the scale, but she built muscle, improved her physique, had a better posture, just felt like she could go after it. And then she went and asked and she got the promotion right, like stuff like that really makes me happy and proud for them, because this transfer effect it's not anecdotal. I mean research shows this consistently.

Philip Pape: 33:40

I did some training in positive psychology and it is clear that self-efficacy, your belief in your ability to succeed, generalizes across domains. Okay, success in one challenging area builds confidence that transfers to others. So why not do it with your body? Because then you get all sorts of benefits, including a long lifespan and healthspan. That then translates to other things. It's pretty awesome, right? So when you pursue aesthetic goals in a healthy, systematic way that's what we're talking about You're not just building a better body, right. You are building better life capabilities and profound benefits that go far beyond the superficial. All right. So let's wrap it up here, and I want to emphasize the key message it's perfectly fine to chase aesthetics. In fact, it's normal, it's healthy. It is often in fact, almost always aligned with optimal health outcomes.

Philip Pape: 34:30

The body composition that looks good in the mirror is typically the same one that produces favorable health markers. Yes, you'll go through periods where you carry a little extra body fat. Some of the numbers start to drift and you're doing it on purpose, to build muscle. But then you come back the other way you lose some fat and, all of a sudden, everything is even better than it was before. Plus, you tend to eat more food and carry a little more body weight without having to worry about it. The training right, the strength training that builds the physique is the same training that enhances your capability, your function, your hormones, your longevity building muscle. If you're not doing that, I'm sorry. You are just not going to have this result. There's no way to do it. Otherwise, the nutrition that reveals your muscle definition, right Fat loss and maintaining a healthy body weight is the same approach that supports internal health. When you're getting enough nutrients, enough protein, enough hydration, enough, you know, just energy, calories, that's healthy. So let go of any guilt that you might feel about wanting to look good right now. Let it go. Let go. You can look good, it's okay. You can want to look good, it's okay.

Philip Pape: 35:40

Embrace the aesthetic goals and just think of it as a comprehensive part or a part of your comprehensive approach to fitness. It honors. It honors how your body looks and how it functions together. So remember three principles. I'm going to leave you with this. Three principles One health and aesthetics are not opposing forces. They complement each other and they largely overlap. Number two the methods. The process that produces optimal health also creates an appealing physique as a byproduct. And number three pursuing reasonable aesthetic goals. Right, I said reasonable aesthetic goals can also provide psychological, mental health benefits and life skills that extend way beyond fitness to everything in your life. And when you approach it this way, thoughtfully, patiently, the pursuit of an aesthetic physique does not detract from health but enhances it in so many ways, and that is something worth striving for as a human being on this earth. So get after it.

Philip Pape: 36:40

And one way to get after it is to transform your physique using evidence in a systematic way, tracking it the right way, and we help you do that in Wits and Weights Physique University. We give you a personalized nutrition plan when you join. So here's how it works. You join, you get a nice prescriptive set of steps from me, an onboarding course where you submit an intake literally on day one. You could do it within minutes. I look at that within a couple of days. Give you back a plan that shows you how to map out all of this stuff.

Philip Pape: 37:11

Okay, and it it can be overwhelming at first. So what we do is we guide you through step-by-step. Here's how you track this. Here's how you track that. Here's the one thing you want to start this week. And then here's how to stay accountable. You want to check in every week with us and, yeah, there's a lot of bells and whistles and courses and challenges and all that. You don't have to do any of that. Just come join us, get the plan.

Philip Pape: 37:32

I mean, that alone is worth a year in the program, in my opinion, and I've had people cancel in the first two weeks because maybe they said they couldn't afford it or they weren't sure if the program was for them. And I'll say here I'm going to give you a plan anyway as a parting gift. And I've had a few of those people then say, oh wait, this is actually super valuable. I want to stay in and find out how to apply it to my life. So join now. It's a free trial for two weeks. You get to kick the tires. You could get your nutrition plan as part of that and, even if you cancel, you got it for free.

Philip Pape: 38:02

Go to witsandweightscom slash physique or click the link in the show notes Again witsandweightscom slash physique. And there's a demo there. By the way right, I don't keep anything hidden there's a video of me walking you through with a screen. Share what the heck the program looks like. So there's no risk whatsoever. Give it a shot. Remember that looking good and being healthy are not competing goals, right, they are complimentary, and I definitely want to show you how to achieve both. But for now and until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember that pursuing an aesthetic physique is not shallow or vain. When approached properly, it is a natural expression of your desire to optimize your body's appearance and function. This is Philip Pape and I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast.

Does the Perfect Fat Loss Plan Exist? (Black vs. Blue Line) | Ep 306

Get your free 2-week trial of Physique University where I teach a complete system for transforming your body using evidence-based strategies and engineering principles. Go to witsandweights.com/physique

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You've tried following your calories and macros perfectly, the "perfect" fat loss plan, a meal plan, or a diet where you have to eat specific foods or eat at certain times (like keto, carnivore, or intermittent fasting)...

But then life happens and you fall short. Why do these approaches consistently fail? And what should you do instead?

Today I introduce the powerful engineering concept of Black Line vs Blue Line thinking that completely transforms how we approach nutrition plans. 

You'll discover why perfection isn't just unnecessary... it's actually working against you.

This episode provides a framework that aligns with both human psychology and the realities of daily life. You'll learn to build intelligent flexibility into your nutrition plan, navigate challenging scenarios like social events and travel, and transform your relationship with food!

Main Takeaways:

• The Black Line represents the "perfect plan" while the Blue Line represents what actually happens in real-world execution

• Success comes from skillfully navigating deviations, not eliminating them

• Rigid plans create all-or-nothing thinking that leads to the "diet spiral"

• Building adaptation skills is more valuable than strict adherence

• Strategic flexibility accelerates results rather than slowing them down

Timestamps:

0:01 - The problem with plans  
3:57 - The Black Line vs. Blue Line concept
7:19 - Why rigid nutrition plans typically fail 
14:11 - Design with flexibility from the start
15:46 - "If/then" frameworks for common scenarios
17:49 - Your hierarchy of nutrition priorities
19:41 - The 80/20 principle
21:05 - Pre-planned contingencies
22:31 - Mindful deviation
23:42 - Momentum vs. perfection

Why the Perfect Fat Loss Plan Is Failing You (And What to Do Instead)

You’ve been told to follow the plan. Hit your macros. Stick to your meal prep. Don’t deviate. But what if that rigid, disciplined, Type-A mindset is exactly what's slowing you down?

In this episode, I introduced a powerful engineering concept called black line vs. blue line thinking, and how it reveals the real reason most fat loss plans fall apart—especially for high performers who “do everything right.”

Let’s break down what this means and how it can radically change your approach to nutrition, fat loss, and fitness.

The Black Line: Your Ideal Plan

The black line represents perfection. It’s the detailed, structured, idealized plan:

• Calories and macros are calculated

• Meal timing is dialed in

• Grocery list is prepped

• Meal prep is flawless

• You hit your training days and stay on track

It’s the plan you create with full control and zero friction. It assumes your life behaves like a controlled experiment.

But guess what?

That’s not real life. And it’s definitely not sustainable.

The Blue Line: Real Life in Action

The blue line is what actually happens:

• You have a surprise meeting at work

• Your kid gets sick and needs you at home

• You forget to prep lunch

• You go out to eat and can’t track perfectly

• You hit your calories but your protein is low

• You overeat one day and under-eat the next

The blue line is your actual path through daily life—full of variability, messiness, and unpredictable events. It’s where real fat loss happens.

The irony?

We think fat loss depends on following the black line perfectly. In reality, success depends on how well you navigate the blue line.

Why Black Line Thinking Sabotages Progress

Most clients who come to me have internalized this black line mindset. It sounds like:

• “If I go over on calories, I blew it.”

• “If I miss a workout, I’m behind.”

• “If I can’t track on vacation, there’s no point.”

• “Once I fall off, I need to start fresh next Monday.”

This creates:

1. All-or-nothing thinking

2. Psychological stress

3. A fragile system that breaks with any deviation

You don’t need more rigidity. You need resilience.

How to Shift to Blue Line Thinking

Instead of obsessing over the perfect plan, build skillful adaptation strategies into your nutrition from day one. Here's how:

1. Start With Flexible Targets

Use ranges, not hard numbers.
Example: Instead of “I must hit 2000 calories,” try “anywhere from 1800–2200 is fine across the week.”

Set minimum protein goals and then let carbs and fats vary based on life and preference. Focus on consistency over precision.

2. Plan for Real-Life Scenarios

Create go-to strategies for events you know will happen:

• Eating out? Pre-log your meal.

• Social event? Hit protein early in the day.

• No time to track? Use hand portions or “good-better-best” food choices.

Most people don’t fail because they’re lazy—they fail because they didn’t have a plan for what to do when the plan breaks.

3. Practice Mindful Deviations

Not all deviations are failures. Some are intentional choices—like eating dessert at your anniversary dinner. Others are unplanned but still manageable.

Either way, reflect, don’t react:

• What happened?

• Why did it happen?

• What would I do next time?

This is how you learn.

4. Use the 80/20 Principle

Aim for 80% consistency, not 100%. This gives you breathing room to navigate life and prevents the guilt spiral that happens with tiny slip-ups.

80% could mean:

• 22 out of 28 meals on plan each week

• 5 of 7 days hitting protein

• 4 strength sessions out of 5 planned

It’s not a cop-out. It’s a reality-based framework.

5. Track Data, Not Just Targets

The real power of the blue line is in the feedback loop. Track what you planned (black line) and what actually happened (blue line). Look at the gap, and use that to make adjustments.

That gap isn’t failure—it’s opportunity. It’s the space where coaching happens and where sustainable change lives.

The Unexpected Benefit of the Blue Line

Here’s the counterintuitive part.

When you embrace flexible, resilient thinking and stop trying to “nail it” every day, your results actually improve:

• You stop starting over

• You avoid binge/restrict cycles

• You build lifelong skills

• You feel less stressed about food

• You get more consistent

The blue line doesn’t slow you down. It accelerates your progress—because it aligns with real human behavior.

The Real Goal Isn’t Precision—It’s Progress

You don’t need the perfect fat loss plan.

You need a plan that bends without breaking. That adapts with you. That survives a chaotic work week, a kid’s birthday party, and a summer vacation without completely unraveling.

So ask yourself:

Are you obsessed with walking the black line?

Or are you ready to embrace the blue line—the messy, real, adaptable path to your best body and most confident self?

If this resonates, it’s exactly the kind of flexible strategy we use inside Physique University, my system for sustainable fat loss and muscle building. You’ll learn how to build a plan that bends, not breaks—and finally make progress that lasts.

👩‍💻 Book a FREE 15-Minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment:
https://witsandweights.com/free-call

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

Maybe you've tried all the diets, you've tried all the plans, you've joined multiple programs for fat loss and you've stuck to the rules. You've stuck to the targets. Even if you have calories and macros and you follow them perfectly, somehow the results don't always match the promise. Is it a lack of discipline? Is it your genetics? Is it your hormones? Or could the entire approach be flawed from the start? Today, I'm revealing an engineering concept called black line versus blue line thinking that will probably change how you think about your plan in the context of the real world. This episode is going to give you a more counterintuitive approach that I think will lead to better, faster results than the perfect plan ever could. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we are examining a concept that I learned recently from the engineering and manufacturing world that will revolutionize your approach to nutrition and help you break free from the rigid all-or-nothing mindset that sabotages so many people. You might have heard people talk about all-or-nothing before, but this is going to be a different look at that, because, whether you've tracked macros for years or you're just starting your nutrition journey, understanding the difference between the black line of perfect planning and the blue line of real world execution are going to change your approach to dieting and eating food in general for the rest of your life. It is a paradigm shift. It's been a game changer for my clients and now I have a framework to better explain it by. It's going to give you both better physical results, but also better psychological relationship with food. So today you're going to learn why pursuing nutritional perfection actually works against you, how strategically deviating from your plan can accelerate your progress, and then a framework to build intelligent flexibility into your nutrition plan. I'm going to be specific today, as always, I'm going to give you tactics to navigate real challenges, like social events, like travel, those inevitable days when cravings feel overwhelming, and if you are tired of feeling like you're constantly falling short of your goals and trying to start again over and over. I think this episode is a different perspective that aligns with both human psychology and the realities of daily life. Now, before we get into it, if you are enjoying this engineering approach to fitness and nutrition, I think you're going to get tons of value from the Physique University, where I teach a complete system for transforming your body using evidence-based science strategies, engineering principles just like we are discussing today, in a very accessible way. Students in Physique University learn to implement this kind of flexible approach to nutrition, to training, really to everything in life, while still achieving remarkable results. And if you wanna join us there to take advantage of that, get your free two-week trial, get your free first challenge, get a custom nutrition plan and everything else that comes in there. Go to witsandweightscom slash physique or click the link in the show notes Again witsandweightscom slash physique or click the link in the show notes.

Philip Pape: 3:34

So let's talk about this engineering concept called the black line versus the blue line. It's something I actually just came across recently, but it explains this so well. It comes from systems thinking and from human factors engineering. I saw it in a number of places. One place was an article by an engineer in LinkedIn. His name is Jason Daring, I think is how you say it.

Philip Pape: 3:57

But the actual concept goes back to safety science and organizational psychology, where researchers like Sidney Decker, eric Hallnagel, pioneered the study of how work is actually performed versus how it's prescribed. So listen up, because this actually applies to your job as well, not just nutrition. So the fundamental concept is that the black line represents work as imagined, planned or designed. So that is your idealized path, that is the perfect procedure, the flawless execution. So in the engineering world it shows up as detailed procedures, steps, checklists, process documents right, so stick with me, because we're going to apply this to nutrition. The blue line, however, represents the work as actually performed in the real world. It's what happens when humans execute the plan in variable, complex environments where the conditions are constantly changing, and the blue line, naturally, of course, is going to deviate from the black line as people adapt to all the things going on, all the things that are changing, all the unexpected variables. So this concept is central to what safety scientists call safety two thinking Okay, safety two, like not one, but two.

Philip Pape: 5:17

And that focuses on understanding why things go right most of the time, rather than just analyzing the failures. Pretty cool, right? Why do things actually do go right most of the time, rather than just analyzing the failures? Pretty cool, right? Why do things actually do go right most of the time? And the insight that they found is that success doesn't come from perfectly following the black line, the plan. Success comes from skillfully navigating the blue line, making smart adaptations, having flexibility, maintaining resilience when the deviations occur. In fact, research in this area shows that things go right most of the time, not because people originally follow the plan and the procedure, but because they successfully adapt to the changing circumstances, which are inevitable. And when things go wrong, it's rarely because people deviated from the plan. Right, we don't blame the person. When things go wrong, it's usually because of an outside force they encountered a novel situation beyond their experience or their adaptability.

Philip Pape: 6:12

So now let's translate this directly to nutrition. Right, we talked about the black line versus blue line generally. Now we're gonna talk about why, normally rigid plans usually fail with nutrition. So the black line in nutrition is your perfect meal plan, right? Your perfect nutrition plan, it's the calories and macros, tracking to those exactly the precisely measuring and weighing your food. You know, having your meals with the right timing, the absence of, maybe, things you're trying to avoid. It might even be the absence of complete food groups. If you're trying to avoid. It might even be the absence of complete food groups if you're trying to follow a rigid diet. It's basically the plan that you design on Sunday night, that you say I'm going to start on Monday with the best of intentions, and this could apply to even when we do this right a proper fat loss plan where you do have some calorie macro targets and you know exactly what you're trying to do and you have a lot of flexibility in your food choices. This could still be the black line. You're assuming you're going to be able to hit those targets and your protein, fats, carbs, your meal timing every day right, you're going to assume that that's the perfect plan. That's the black line.

Philip Pape: 7:19

The blue line is what actually happens in life. Okay, you execute that plan and, starting on day two, things start to go wrong. Your meeting runs late and you're starving right, it's what happens when your friend invites you to an impromptu dinner. It's what happens when you're traveling and your options are limited. It's what happens when stress, when emotions, when just the human cravings we all have start to influence your choices. Okay, and most people approach nutrition with the first mentality, the black line mentality.

Philip Pape: 7:47

I can even accuse myself, when I have a brand new client, of having that to an extent, because I give you a plan, I give you an idealistic scenario of all the things that if we do them, we're going to get from A to B. Right, that is a black line, where you believe that success means following the plan perfectly and any deviation represents failure. And this perspective from engineering shows us why this fails. And it's simple. Think about it this way In a complex environment and guess what? Daily life is right, complex, unpredictable.

Philip Pape: 8:19

There are simply too many variables to account for. You just cannot account for everything that's going to happen. Just like if you made a map and gave yourself directions from here to the store, you don't know if there's going to be a squirrel crossing the road construction along the way. Just you don't know what's going to happen. Somebody's going to sideswipe you, right? Just as no procedure can anticipate every possible scenario, your plan, your nutrition plan cannot possibly, nor should it account for every situation you're going to encounter.

Philip Pape: 8:49

Um and and I think the driving example is apropos, right, because if you try to do that, if you try to tell somebody when they have to break, accelerate, change lanes et cetera, you're not, you're not going to account for what's what's happening, you're not gonna know when to put in those instructions. You can try, and then, when you actually drive, you see how closely you follow your procedure. In reality, you don't right it it. So your procedure only captured the most basic aspects of that driving trip right, turn here, stop there, et cetera. But then every trip you are actually successful and you get to the store. You adapted and adjusted to tons of things that were not in your plan right, and so you didn't succeed because you followed your plan perfectly, but instead you skillfully navigated the variables and unexpected events.

Philip Pape: 9:34

So when we think of nutrition plans and why they fail, there's a few obvious reasons. The first one they ignore the complexity of real life. So, again, going back to the plan that I provide to clients, we go in already discussing from day one that this is an adaptable plan and that we're not. We're probably not going to, it's probably not going to be working like you think by day two or three, because something's going to happen in your life and that's when we're going to have to have a conversation, coach and client um, to help you get through that. So plans ignore the complexity of life. They assume a level of control and predictability that does not exist, and so when you design a meal plan, for example, this is a good example of something too rigid. A meal plan doesn't account for all the variables that affect your eating behaviors, from your emotional state at the moment, to your work schedule, to your social obligations.

Philip Pape: 10:23

Second is that rigid plans do create an all or nothing mindset. The more rigid, the more of that mindset you're going to have, because when hitting that target exactly is the only acceptable outcome. Any deviation is going to make you feel like a complete failure and that's what leads to what I call the diet spiral. This is where a small deviation triggers that feeling of failure, like you let yourself down. It leads to you giving up entirely the effort mentality and that leads to even more extreme behaviors in both directions.

Philip Pape: 10:55

The third thing is that rigid plans don't build the adaptation skills right. So when I give my clients a plan, it's understood that this is just one little piece of an overall strategy. But when your strategy is just stick to the plan perfectly, you're not going to develop the decision-making abilities, the skill needed to navigate the challenges that come up. And this is a skill. If you want quick weight loss, you can crash, diet on really low calories, you can cut out carbs, lose a bunch of weight. You won't even know how you got there and if you try to do it again, it's not going to work. And then what do you do afterward? Right, you didn't develop any skills, and then you're extremely vulnerable to any situation that disrupts your routine in the future.

Philip Pape: 11:37

The last thing about rigid plans is they create psychological stress, and it's unnecessary. It's just not necessary. It's this constant pressure to be perfect. It's the guilt when you inevitably deviate. It's the anxiety about social situations. Tell me if this doesn't sound familiar, right? All of this decreases your quality of life. It just makes life suck and then, ironically, guess what happens.

Philip Pape: 12:03

It makes the adherence to the plan harder and harder and harder, and so it's something I see with clients all the time who've come to me in the past having tried all these different approaches. Usually it's specific diets keto, carnivore, whatever and they're rigid, right, it's like you have to cut out these food groups or you have to stick to this specific meal plan, and they always start with enthusiasm, they stick to it for a while, they get some quote unquote progress, and sometimes I'll even ask, hey, what's worked for you in the past? And I say, well, keto worked for me for three months, but then it stopped, right, like you're not still doing it for a reason. You feel like a failure. You then abandon the plan. You think all plans are like that, and even when you start a new cycle again, you have more and more skepticism for each one. And then they come to me and they're like super skeptical, not even thinking they should hire a coach, because every other coach or plan they've tried hasn't worked. And it's not a personal failure, um, it's a predictable outcome. This is, those are.

Philip Pape: 12:57

Those are flawed approaches, because you're trying to follow the black line perfectly. It's, it's. It's not just difficult, this is not, guys. This is not a matter of getting over the hump and doing it. It is fundamentally misaligned with how humans operate in complex environments, and that's why I thought the black line versus blue line was really a really great concept, right.

Philip Pape: 13:18

And so if, if, rigid adherence to this straight black line, this perfect plan, is not the answer, how do we embrace this more curved, meandering blue line and still make progress? Because, at the end of the day, you want to end up close to the black line anyway, don't you, right? And so the key here listen up. The key is to shift from a perfection-oriented approach to a resilience-oriented approach. Go from perfection-oriented, where you're trying to stick to your plan, stay on track, stay on the rail, to a resilience-oriented approach, a very flexible, adaptable approach and instead of trying to eliminate the deviations right, which is just as good as trying to eliminate all the things that stress you out in life, you can't, you're not gonna eliminate them we need to get better at navigating them. So here's how to do it. Here we go.

Philip Pape: 14:11

All right, first, I want you to design a plan with flexibility built in from the start, and that means guidelines instead of rules, ranges instead of targets, identifying your non-negotiables, but being flexible everywhere else. That is the kind of plan that I put together for you when you join Physique University or you work with me as a client, in that we give you yeah, we give you some protein and protein, or we give you some macro and calorie targets, but actually I don't even give you targets technically, we have you use an app that will determine the right targets for you flexibly based on your metabolism as it changes. So already we're getting more flexible. I also don't want you to hit the numbers. I want you to get a minimum protein, but then stay within a wide range for your fats and carbs and a range for your calories, right. I also want to allow you to eat all the things that you love to eat whenever you want to eat them, as long as you're sticking within the overall guidelines for your overall diet, that is flexibility. That is flexibility. That means you can eat whatever foods you want and as long as you're eating largely whole, nutritious foods with plenty of protein and fiber. Right, hitting those minimums, getting into those ranges, but not hitting the exact targets, you're going to be good. So instead of saying I have to eat 2000 calories every day because that's my target, you're going to say well, first of all, let's look at it across a week. If I'm aiming for, say, 14,000 calories for the week, I just want to get close to that for the week. So I can go, you know, 1700 one day, 2300 the next, no big deal. I've got some up and down flexibility and then at the end of the week if I found that I was too far off one direction or the other. That's just data that I know I can adjust from and it acknowledges the reality of the blue line right from the beginning.

Philip Pape: 15:46

The second thing you're going to do is have decision-making frameworks for common scenarios for you, things that all you know are going to happen. Right, the goal is not to eliminate those, it's to intelligently foresee them and navigate around them or through them. For example, you could develop your strategy for eating at restaurants. Super common, everyone goes to restaurants, like 99% of people do, right? So what are you going to do? Are you going to download the menu ahead of time and pick what you want and pre-log it? Are you going to look at the calories and macros if it's like a chain restaurant or get something similar to that? Are you going to look at the calories and macros if it's like a chain restaurant or get something similar to that? Are you going to have just a simple plan of I'm going to start from my vegetables, then lean protein, then carbs, I'm going to have two drinks, no more. Or I'm going to have non-alcoholic beer right, you just have a strategy because you know you're going to the restaurant. So I don't want you to go there with no strategy and then the next day say I went to a restaurant, couldn't help myself. Or the reason I went over my calories and macros is because I went to a restaurant.

Philip Pape: 16:47

Well, you didn't have a strategy, right? Same thing goes for any social event, a party. We just had my wife's birthday and I knew for a fact I'd be eating cake and I'd be eating leftover cake for the next few days. So, guess what? That cake goes into my plan ahead of time and now I know what's left for the rest of the day, right, you know when you're going to have periods of high stress, the things for your kids you know play or sporting event or when you're going on vacation. You know that 90% of these things you know. And for the things you don't, you probably are 90% confident that they're going to happen at some point. Like you know, your friend's going to ask you out on some given day. So have a strategy, right? And when I work with clients, we like practice these scenarios, we try to role play. Or I will ask them what would you do when this happens? And let's talk about your vacation in a month rather than, you know, tomorrow, the vacation starting tomorrow. Let's give it some time and build confidence and competence about those scenarios. So with that, let me share some practical strategies, of course, for implementing the blue line approach, because that's what we're all about.

Philip Pape: 17:49

So strategy number one is having a clear hierarchy of your priorities. So what this means is list out on a piece of paper or in a note app the order of things as they are in terms of importance to you. So what is the most important thing? Is it your strength training? Yes, that is part of your nutrition, believe it or not? Threw you for a loop there, I know, or did I. Is it your protein intake? Is it your overall energy balance? You know your calories and the deficit or surplus you're trying to be in. Is it the whole food consumption? Like, maybe you are eating a lot of processed foods or going out a lot and your goal is to shift more toward the whole foods for the nutrients and for the satiety right. Any one of those might deserve more of your attention than just trying to hit exact numbers. In fact, they always will.

Philip Pape: 18:40

So create a hierarchy of your priorities. I don't talk about this a lot because sometimes we think of these as pillars, that we have to do all of them, but in reality we should do one at a time to start, unless you're working with a coach or a support system where you can really fall back on that as you slip along the way, which is going to happen at first. I would just do one at a time and then you can make better real-time decisions when the deviations occur, because you'll know which aspect of the plan you're going to protect most fiercely, like if training's at the top. You know that that's going to affect all the other decisions around it in terms of your schedule and what you're doing for your training. So that gives you the flexibility elsewhere in all the rest of your schedule or all the rest of your plan, because you're protecting the one thing that is most important right now, and for food-wise, for nutrition-wise, this could be definitely protein intake. Right, that might be the thing that you're going to fiercely protect, no matter what. That's number one Strategy.

Philip Pape: 19:41

Number two is I alluded to this with Whole Foods, but it's the 80-20 principle. We come back to this a lot, but it's because it's super simple and powerful and it's the rule of thumb that if you aim for 80% adherence to whatever it is your core principles, then you have 20% flexibility your core principles, then you have 20% flexibility. Yes, this applies to the whole foods versus anything else, but it also applies to 80% consistency to your protein, 80% consistency to the calories, and it'd be when, when we say consistency, we don't mean, um, like 80% of the week, you try to hit your calories and then the other 20% you go hog wild with, like cheat meals. That's not what we're talking about. We're just saying you know you're going to try to adhere but in reality it's not going to be perfect. So give yourself an 80% goal is my point, and however you want to define that 80%. So, for example, if you eat four meals a day across seven days that's 28 meals in the week then that means 22 or three of those meals are going to align with your plan. If you have 80% and five to six of them may not right Again, it's not cheat meals, it's just building in adaptability. And you notice it's not a lot, it's five to six, but it's not zero either. You're not giving yourself a completely rigid approach. So that's strategy number two is apply 80, 20, wherever it makes sense.

Philip Pape: 21:05

Strategy number three this is if, then contingencies, pre-planned contingencies for common scenarios. Like you know that Christmas is going to come on December 25th, so why haven't you budgeted and saved up for the gifts instead of spending it on your credit card? Right, that would be what a financial person would chide you for. I'm the nutrition guy, but I know a little bit about finance. What I'm going to suggest is think about the situations that are most often derail your nutrition efforts, but are going to happen one way or the other. They either happen on a consistent basis or they happen randomly, but they happen and then come up with strategies for handling them.

Philip Pape: 21:43

So, if work dinners right, if you you know work maybe you're an executive, maybe you're a lawyer or something and you have to go treat customers or suppliers, take you out for dinner all the time or whatever and that's a challenge then you might have a standard approach developed ahead of time. You review the menu in advance, you decide on your meal before arriving, you pre-log it. You have a protein shake beforehand or some other lean protein earlier in the day. If you're concerned about portions etc. Having some sort of plan, you can come up with that plan. Right. That's flexibility too. You can come up with that whatever makes sense. If I'm your coach, I'm going to help you come up with that, but ultimately it's on what works for you, and that means you can navigate any deviation with confidence. Maybe not 100% of them, some things are going to surprise you, no matter what, but the vast majority of them you can foresee All right.

Philip Pape: 22:31

Strategy number four is what I call mindful deviation. So when you deviate from your plan. You will. You always will. You will many times. Except that I want you to deviate mindfully rather than reactively.

Philip Pape: 22:48

Somebody else called this a planned reaction. I think, or a what do they call this? A proactive reaction. It's a mindful deviation. It's a conscious choice. It's made with awareness as opposed to impulsively reacting to your circumstances. This could be anything from pattern interrupts to Having your priorities in your head that we talked about earlier and then acting on those, to taking a pause and thinking about the emotions going through your head. There's a lot of reasons, so I'll give you a specific example. Choosing to enjoy your grandmother's special brownies at a family gathering is very different from mindlessly eating cookies because they're in the break room at work, right? The former is a blue line adaptation. The latter is you're just getting knocked off course, you're just letting it happen. So even with deviations, they can be mindful, important distinction, all right.

Philip Pape: 23:42

And then strategy five is I want you to focus on the momentum rather than the adherence or the perfection, because if you think of the blue line approach, where we have a black line, that's a straight perfect line, and then we have this meandering blue line, that's reality. Remember that success is not defined by adhering to the black line. It's defined by your ability to maintain momentum right, even though it zigzags, even though you have inevitable deviations from the black line. You're going to end up near the black line, but you're going to deviate constantly. It's your ability to keep the line being drawn forward right. And so that means, for example, celebrate when you get through a challenging situation reasonably well, instead of beating yourself up for not handling it perfectly. Celebrate yourself for getting through it reasonably well. Celebrate yourself for getting through it reasonably well. It means quickly returning to your baseline after a deviation, right, getting up near that black line, but not necessarily on it, but close to it, rather than allowing one off-plan meal that you feel guilty about turn into an off-plan week. So think about it visually that blue line it starts to deviate away from the black line. That's your off-plan meal. Well, all you have to do is deviate back to the black line the next day, instead of continuing to go farther and farther away from the black line and going off the page.

Philip Pape: 25:04

And then kind of putting this all together is using data to refine your approach to all of these things over time. Right, you knew it would come back to data with me, didn't you? I mean, one of the most powerful aspects of this concept, this blue line concept, is it creates a feedback loop, because you are tracking both your plan, which is the black line, and you're tracking what happens, which is the blue line. Pretty cool, right? You're actually tracking what you intend to do and you're tracking what you actually do, and that gives you an idea of the gap and the insights so that you can keep improving. And the gap isn't something to beat yourself up over. It's an acknowledgement of reality and how you're able to navigate and how you can better navigate in the future.

Philip Pape: 25:44

So if you, for example, notice that you consistently struggle with late night snacking on work days very common that is valuable data. So instead of saying I'm going to try harder to resist, which is willpower, you might adjust your meal timing right To put a snack toward the end of the day to take care of your hunger. Or you might change the composition of your meals to have more fiber and vegetables to make you fuller, more protein in your dinner right. Whatever it takes to better manage evening hunger, other than dealing with emotional triggers and things like that as well, it may just be a simple solution like that that helps you get back near the black line. So I wanna talk about something counterintuitive here, related to this. That is directly from experience with clients.

Philip Pape: 26:34

Okay, as a nutrition coach, one of the most difficult things for me and the challenge that I fully embrace is getting clients to adopt this blue line approach to nutrition. Now, I haven't called it blue line before. I might start doing that, but there's this assumption that embracing flexibility means I'm going to slow down my progress, right? Well, if I deviate constantly, aren't I going to get fat loss slower? Right? Aren't my results going to be mediocre because I'm allowing for constantly getting off track? In reality, the opposite happens, because when you shift from a rigid, the black line mentality to the flexible blue line approach, your results usually accelerate, and the reason why is you're no longer caught in the cycle of perfect adherence followed by complete abandonment. You maintain consistent progress. That's all it comes down to. You don't do it perfectly, and that's the point. You do it consistently, though, and you keep doing it. The small, deliberate deviations that you allow prevent the massive unplanned deviations that derail your progress completely.

Philip Pape: 27:40

I think even more importantly is that the blue line approach helps you build skills, what are called progressive adaptation skills. Right, just like with training. Think about it. Just like with training, where progressive overload increases your strength and muscle over time, progressive adaptation with nutrition makes you more resilient, makes you more capable, makes you more skilled. You're going to be able to teach this stuff, my friends. If you work with me as a client, you are going to be able to come out the other end teaching other people how to do this, because you'll just know how to do it, and that's what I want for you. I want you to know how to do this, because you'll just know how to do it, and that's what I want for you. I want you to know how to do it. You can get some of that from this podcast, but you get a lot of that doing it yourself.

Philip Pape: 28:21

And so what happens is some wonderful side effects. Yes, you transform your body Great, we all want to do that but you also transform this relationship with food, because a lot of that relationship is tied up in the anxiety and those situations that cause the deviations. You no longer fear social situations because you're prepared, or going on a trip because you have the skills to navigate them. Food becomes a source of nourishment and fuel and enjoyment, yes, rather than anxiety and guilt. And then, probably most powerful of all just to wrap this up and then I'll shut up is when you do this, you stop identifying progress with perfection and then you understand that any path to any goal not just nutrition, anything in life it's not a straight black line, but it's a winding blue one. And not only is that okay, it's exactly how it should be, isn't that powerful? I'm exciting myself as I talk about this, because when I came across the image of the blue versus black lines, that oh, light bulb clicked, got to share this with my audience.

Philip Pape: 29:20

So if we bring this all together, the black line versus blue line concept shows us that in a complex environment AKA life success is not from perfectly following an idealized plan, but from navigating with skill that you develop over time, the inevitable deviations, the inevitable adaptations that are required, because it's the real world. So when we talk about adapting to your goals, your lifestyles, your preferences and all that which sometimes sounds like marketing speak, that's kind of what we're talking about. And when you apply it to nutrition, your approach changes, your mindset changes. You no longer try to be perfect, but instead you try to develop the skills, the strategies, the mindsets that allow you to maintain progress right. Maintain progress despite the complexities of real life, and you're not lowering your standards by doing this. You are not giving up on your goals. It's approaching those goals in a way that aligns with reality, rather than fighting against it, and building a sustainable approach. Boom, that's what it is. That is what sustainability is.

Philip Pape: 30:29

So I'm going to encourage you right now to examine your own approach to your nutrition. Are you caught in the trap of black line thinking, where any deviation feels like failure, or have you or will you embrace the blue line reality, where skillful navigation and adaptation lead to progress and lasting success? All right, if you enjoyed this concept, if you found it helpful. I'm all about frameworks. I'm all about systems and applying engineering-type principles to your nutrition and training, because they work. They reflect some of the most complex environments and situations in real life, and imagine if you can deal with your complex human body in the same way, with simple frameworks and systems that just finally help you break through and make it work.

Philip Pape: 31:17

If you want to do that, please join us in Physique University. Link in the show notes. You get a two-week free trial. Tons of goodies in there. We do masterclasses with guest experts. Now we do challenges every month. You've got courses. You've got a free custom nutrition plan when you join, put together by me. And remember that plan is the black line. The blue line is what we teach you Evidence-based. They work in the real world, not just on paper. You can get all the details. You can learn more Zero risk. Go to witsandweightscom. Slash physique or click the link in the show notes. All right until next time. This is Philip Pape reminding you to use your wits, lift those weights and remember that life is a meandering, flexible, adaptable blue line and if you follow it, you will get all of the results you ever dreamed of. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.

Metabolism Slowing Down with Age? What is REALLY Happening (and How to Reverse It) | Ep 302

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Discover whether your metabolism actually slows down with age and what's really causing those body composition changes you're experiencing.

Learn 8 evidence-based strategies to maintain or even boost your metabolism regardless of age.

Main Takeaways:

• The surprising truth about metabolism and aging that contradicts what most fitness "experts" have been telling you

• The hidden factors that make it seem like your metabolism is slowing down (when something else entirely might be happening)

• Why strength training might be the single most powerful tool for maintaining metabolic health as you age

• The two foundational nutrition and movement strategies that can dramatically impact your metabolic rate with minimal effort

Episode Resources:

• Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS

• 10 Reasons Muscle Burns Even More Calories Than You Think

Timestamps:

0:01 - The myth of metabolism and age
6:30 - What research reveals about metabolic rate
7:33 - The true culprits behind what feels like metabolic decline
11:41 - Strategy #1: Strength Training
14:35 - Strategy #2: Protein
15:57 - Strategy #3: NEAT
17:51 - Strategy #4: Sleep
20:05 - Strategy #5: Stress Management
22:31 - Strategy #6: "Cardio"
23:44 - Strategy #7: Nutrition Periodization
27:12 - Strategy #8: Meal Timing & Frequency
30:53 - The fascinating "secret function" of muscle tissue few people know about 

Why You’re Gaining Fat After 40 Even Though Your Metabolism Hasn’t Slowed

If you’ve ever said, “I can’t eat like I used to,” or blamed your weight gain on a slower metabolism after turning 30 or 40, this one's for you. We’re told that metabolism crashes as we age. But the research tells a different story.

Your metabolism isn’t automatically slowing down. The real problem? You’re losing muscle, moving less, and stacking up lifestyle habits that sabotage your energy balance. The good news is you can reverse all of that—and it doesn’t require a time machine or hormone replacement therapy.

Let’s break it down.

What Actually Is Metabolism?

Metabolism is your total daily energy expenditure (TDEE)—how many calories you burn every day. It’s made up of:

BMR (Basal Metabolic Rate)

This accounts for about 60–70% of your calorie burn and includes all the basic functions your body performs at rest—heartbeat, breathing, organ function.

TEF (Thermic Effect of Food)

Roughly 10% of your daily burn comes from digesting and processing food, and protein has the highest thermic effect.

EAT (Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)

Calories burned during structured exercise—only about 5% for most people.

NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis)

All other movement throughout the day, like walking, cleaning, fidgeting. This is highly variable and can swing by 1,000+ calories depending on your lifestyle.

Metabolism Doesn’t Drop Until Your 60s

According to a massive study by Herman Pontzer using doubly-labeled water (the gold standard for measuring energy expenditure), your metabolic rate remains stable from your 20s through your 60s—when adjusted for fat-free mass. That’s the key.

So if your BMR isn’t crashing with age, why does it feel like you’re gaining fat just by looking at a donut?

The Real Reasons You Feel Sluggish and Soft as You Age

Muscle Loss (Sarcopenia)

Muscle is metabolically active tissue. The less you have, the lower your BMR. You start losing muscle in your 30s, and it accelerates after 50 unless you actively fight back.

Hormonal Shifts

Testosterone, growth hormone, and IGF-1 all decline with age. Estrogen drops in women. These changes affect your ability to build or preserve muscle and shift where your body stores fat (hello, belly).

Mitochondrial Decline

Your cells become less efficient at producing energy. Inflammation and oxidative stress compound the problem.

Increased Fat Mass

Fat tissue burns fewer calories than muscle and contributes to inflammation, especially the visceral kind that wraps around your organs.

Lower NEAT

As you age, you probably move less. NEAT is the silent killer of your calorie burn—when it drops, your energy expenditure plummets.

Poor Sleep and Chronic Stress

Sleep disturbances and cortisol overload wreak havoc on glucose metabolism, hunger signals, and fat storage—especially around the belly.

The 8 Strategies to Reverse “Age-Related” Metabolic Decline

1. Strength Training

Non-negotiable. Lift weights to rebuild muscle, boost mitochondrial function, support hormonal health, and kickstart the metabolic engine that is your muscle mass.

Start with 2–3 sessions a week, using compound lifts like squats, presses, and deadlifts. Learn proper form, progress over time, and yes—lift heavy.

2. High-Protein Nutrition

Protein preserves muscle and increases calorie burn through digestion. Aim for 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of bodyweight per day. Bonus: You’ll feel fuller and eat less naturally.

3. Move More (Boost NEAT)

Walking, chores, standing, fidgeting—all of it matters. Don’t just hit the gym and sit the rest of the day. Aim for 7,000–10,000 steps, but even adding 2,000 per day can have a huge impact.

4. Improve Sleep Hygiene

Sleep is the foundation. Set consistent sleep/wake times, even on weekends. Blackout curtains, white noise, and a cool room help. Sleep isn’t a luxury—it’s required to support metabolism and recovery.

5. Manage Chronic Stress

You can’t eliminate stress, but you can change how you respond to it. Walks, journaling, downtime, even 15 minutes of doing nothing can bring cortisol back down and make your body feel safe to burn fat.

6. Do the Right Kind of Cardio

Walking is king. Sprints and play-based activity can help. But skip the chronic, moderate-intensity stuff unless you love it. Prioritize lifting and walking instead.

7. Spend Time Out of a Calorie Deficit

If you’re always dieting, you’re always breaking down. Spend time eating at maintenance or a slight surplus to build lean tissue and recover your hormones. Dieting is a temporary tool, not a lifestyle.

8. Eat Consistently

Meal timing and frequency should align with your current goal—fat loss, maintenance, or muscle gain. You don’t need to fast or graze all day. Just eat consistent meals with protein, fuel your workouts, and stick to your plan.

Your Muscle Is an Endocrine Organ

This one might blow your mind: muscle is more than meat. When you contract it, it releases myokines—signaling molecules that regulate metabolism, inflammation, and even brain health. It’s like your muscle is talking to the rest of your body, saying: “We’ve got work to do—stay sharp.”

This is why training alone—not even counting the gains—can improve insulin sensitivity, reduce chronic disease risk, and literally reverse cellular aging.

Final thoughts

Age isn’t the villain here. Inactivity is. Most of the metabolic changes we blame on aging are actually the result of muscle loss, lifestyle, and neglect.

The truth? You have more control than you think. And when you act, your metabolism responds.

Start lifting. Eat more protein. Move your body more during the day. You don’t have to do it all at once. Pick one thing today and go.

Your age is just a number. What you do with it? That’s what counts.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

Your metabolism is slowing down. They say you can't eat like you did in your 20s. It's all downhill after 30. But what if I told you that most of what you heard about aging and metabolism is completely wrong. Aging does not inevitably doom you to weight gain and energy loss. The latest research shows that your basal metabolic rate stays remarkably stable from your 20s until your 60s. So why are so many people struggling with weight gain and energy loss as they age? Today, we are uncovering the real culprits behind what feels like a slowing metabolism, and they're not what you think. You'll discover the shocking truth about what's actually happening to your body as you age and the eight evidence-based strategies that can not only prevent metabolic decline but potentially reverse it.

Philip Pape: 0:56

Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we're tackling one of the most persistent myths in the fitness world the idea that your metabolism inevitably slows down as you age. We've all heard it or said these things ourselves Just wait until you hit 30, 40, 50. Your metabolism just isn't what it used to be, and these are the kind of statements that seem to make intuitive sense when you notice changes in your body composition and your energy levels as you get older. But the thing is that research tells us a different set of facts and both are not mutually exclusive. In other words, you're both right, and when we look at the data, we discover that the relationship between aging and metabolism is more complex and it's more within our control than conventional wisdom or the industry might suggest. And today I want to break down what is happening. What is happening with your metabolism as you age, why you might be experiencing changes in your body composition getting fluffier, getting more belly fat, things like that and, most importantly, strategies, of course, strategies that you can implement, starting today, to maintain or even boost your metabolic rate, regardless of your age. And it is never too late, before we get into it, if you are right now feeling like you're struggling with your metabolism or your body composition or your energy, I've created something that can help Wits and Weights.

Philip Pape: 2:24

Physique University is my coaching community. It's where I've taken the best from my private clients, my one-on-one process, and put it into a group program that's more, let's say, affordable and accessible to a lot more folks. And we tackle these kinds of issues by giving you a roadmap, an onboarding plan to follow. It personalizes the nutrition and training based on the evidence. And right now I'm offering two weeks free so you can kick the tires. You get access to your first challenge free when you join and within those two weeks you could take full advantage of the program. No strings attached, nothing blocked off, including the customized nutrition plan, training programs designed for your goals, direct access to me, our community for support, for accountability. So much more. Just go to whitsonwastecom, slash physique, or click the link in the show notes to get started.

Philip Pape: 3:11

And I just want to get back into the topic now and let's talk about what's happening with metabolism as you age. First, we have to understand what we mean by metabolism. Your total daily energy expenditure, tdee, which we also call our metabolism, is the amount of calories you burn every day. It consists of several components and if you have to break it down, we typically use four components so you can understand what happens as we age. So the first component is your BMR, your basal metabolic rate. This is the energy your body needs just to maintain your basic physiological functions while you're just going about your business your heartbeat, your breathing, your cell turnover, your brain function, your organs and so on. For most people, this represents about two-thirds of your total daily calorie burn, so that's very important to understand. Next is the thermic effect of food, or TEF. That's the energy your body expends to digest, absorb and process the nutrients you consume. Tef typically accounts for about 10% of your total calorie burn. And then, finally, we have two pieces that are often lumped together but they're quite distinct that are related to your physical activity. One is eat and the other is neat. Eat is exercise activity thermogenesis that is, the calories you burn during planned exercise, which represents just 5% of your daily burn, and non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or neat, and that is all the spontaneous movements you make throughout the day fidgeting, doing chores, standing instead of sitting, and including walking in there, which, yes, can be deliberate, but it's distinct from eat. So if you combine those, you got the other rest chunk of your metabolism. Like I said, 5% for neat, maybe as much as 15 to 30, 40, 50% for neat, depending on how active you are.

Philip Pape: 5:00

The surprising thing that floors a lot of people and it surprised me when I learned this a few years ago is the research published by Herman Ponser. Now, his initial research was in 2021 in the journal Science, very well-respected journal. He later wrote a book called Burn and he showed based on doubly-labeled water, which is a very accurate way to determine someone's metabolism that when adjusted for fat-free mass put a pin in that because we're gonna come back to it it's actually a really important caveat. When adjusted for fat-free mass TDEE, your expenditure, your metabolism remains relatively stable from age 20 to age 60. It's only after age 60 that we start to see a noticeable decline in the metabolic rate, and this is important. I want to repeat that because it's so contrary to popular belief and you might not even believe it based on how your own body has responded with age. Your metabolism doesn't automatically slow down just because you're getting older, at least not until you're well into your 60s. But if that's true, why do so many people experience weight gain and difficulty losing fat as they get older, even though they're eating the same amount? And so the answer really lies in the physiological and lifestyle changes that often accompany aging. And remember what we said adjusted for fat-free mass, so this is going to be relevant here Fat-free mass includes muscle tissue, okay, so it is not simply aging that is causing your metabolism to slow.

Philip Pape: 6:30

Let's look at the actual mechanisms that lead to, I'll say, what feels like metabolic decline and in actuality, does reduce your metabolism, and it's tied to fat-free mass. The first and perhaps most significant factor is just that it is muscle loss. You are losing your fat-free mass. That is known as sarcopenia when you lose muscle. With age, this is a natural process. With aging Starting in your 30s, we begin to lose our muscle mass gradually, and then it accelerates after 50. And since muscle tissue burns a lot more calories, not only at rest versus fast tissue, but for many other reasons that having more muscle burns calories, which I discussed in a past episode, episode 291, 10 reasons muscle burns even more calories than you think. Losing muscle directly then impacts your BMR, your basal metabolic rate, and research shows the average person loses three to 8% of their muscle mass per decade after age 30. And then this rate accelerates after age 60.

Philip Pape: 7:33

And what's causing the muscle loss? A big part of it is hormonal changes. Right as we age, we have decreases in our anabolic hormones like testosterone, growth hormone, igf-1, which is insulin-like growth factor one, and these are all critical in building and maintaining muscle. So you don't have the same hormonal milieu, as they call it, as when you were in your 20s when you're just raging with hormones. Also, changes in thyroid hormone activity can reduce your metabolic rate, and declining sex hormones affect fat distribution and our body's ability to preserve muscle. Another reason is mitochondrial dysfunction.

Philip Pape: 8:09

Mitochondria, as you might have heard, are the powerhouses of your cells. They produce energy, and as we age they become less efficient. That results in a reduced cellular metabolic rate, and then that is compounded by increased oxidative stress, increased inflammation, and then that further impairs mitochondrial function. Then there's the increase in fat mass. So, unlike muscle, fat tissue is far less metabolically active, which means it contributes minimally to calorie burning. And then, as you age, there's usually a shift toward visceral fat accumulation. That's the dangerous fat that accumulates around your organs, and this type of fat releases inflammatory cytokines that can negatively impact metabolism throughout your body.

Philip Pape: 8:55

But perhaps the most significant factor that most people don't consider outside of muscle mass is the reduction in physical activity and neat, as we age we often become more sedentary, we sit more, we move less. Spontaneous activities like taking the stairs, walking to the store, fidgeting, tend to decrease, sometimes dramatically, and this reduction in daily movement can account for hundreds of fewer calories burned each day. And then there's sleep quality. Sleep quality declines with age. Many older adults have disrupted sleep patterns shorter sleep duration, poorer sleep quality. You know, life just gets in the way, right? We get busy, we have kids, we have family. Work gets more stressful. Poor sleep is not great. It impairs your glucose metabolism and elevates your stress hormones. It increases your cravings, increases belly fat storage. It reduces fat oxidation and all of those things functionally slow your metabolism.

Philip Pape: 9:53

And then finally, kind of related to this, but separate is chronic stress. Right, I could put this at the top of the list for some of you. Yes, it becomes more common because we have complexities as we get older. I sometimes daydream about those times when I was a child and I could just frolic outside in the summer in the grass on my bare feet without a care in the world. I look at my pets and I think the same thing. I'm like if only I could be a dog for a day. Now, in my 40s, I know what stress is like. We have elevated cortisol from this chronic stress. That encourages fat storage again, especially in the abdominal region. It also promotes muscle loss, insulin resistance. So it's a laundry list of things and it's not that your metabolism is just slowing down mysteriously. It's that all of these factors, many of which are lifestyle-related, are creating the conditions for metabolic decline, driven largely by the reduction of fat-free mass, the reduction in muscle, combined with all the stressors that I just talked about.

Philip Pape: 10:51

The good news is that, since many of these are within our control, we can take action to prevent or reverse this decline right now. No matter what age you are Obviously the younger the better, but you are where you are, so don't make any excuses. As you're listening to this show. If you are not active, if you are not strengthening, if you are not doing the things we're going to talk about in the next section, this is your wake-up call. This is your clarion call. This is the moment where you cross the Rubicon and you say I am finally going to prioritize myself so that I can live a long, healthy life. I have not just a lifespan, but a health span. I can fulfill. What? The deeper why is my purpose in life when it comes to my physical and mental being on this planet? What is that for you? And so I want to get to the part you've been waiting for here. What can you do about this?

Philip Pape: 11:41

And I've identified, for this episode, eight evidence-based strategies that can maintain or increase your metabolic rate, and you're going to have heard this many times on the podcast in one stage or one form or another. And these are principles. These are foundational, but I want to break them down for you. Strategy number one can you guess it? I'm going to give you a pause. Of course, strength training.

Philip Pape: 12:03

Without strength training, almost all of this goes out the window and you join the mass of the population who ends up in metabolic decline, frailty and diseases of aging. Inevitably it will happen. It will happen if you are not strength training. Sorry to say it, but I'm not sorry, because strength training is amazing. It can be fulfilling, enjoyable and you're gonna feel like a badass if you do it. Okay, resistance training will combat sarcopenia, because why You're building and you're preserving muscle mass I mean, it's as simple as that.

Philip Pape: 12:35

You're doing what the human body was evolved I don't want to say designed, evolved to do is push against loads in the real world, and this has so many benefits. It enhances the mitochondrial density and function we talked about in the real world, and this has so many benefits. It enhances the mitochondrial density and function we talked about at the cellular level. It boosts your metabolic efficiency. It increases your anabolic hormones, all the things right, not to mention making you functional and strong and capable and building muscle mass, just in general. And of course, side effect is you have a more athletic, lean physique. So it mitigates the age-related hormone declines like nothing else.

Philip Pape: 13:11

I mean, it is incredible how many people I've worked with and I will put myself in that category who are in their 40s or 50s or 60s have had mostly a sedentary lifestyle, start strength training and it is like they are a completely new, young, fit person. It is incredible, and the research is clear on this. Strength training is non-negotiable if you want to maintain your metabolism as you age. So how do you do this? Well, I would start where you're at, if you're not training at all. Two to three strength training sessions per week.

Philip Pape: 13:46

Focus on compound movements like the squat, the deadlift, the bench press, the overhead press. Eventually you've got pull-ups or chin-ups in there, maybe you have some rows in there and then eventually you can branch out into machines or bodybuilding work or whatever. But you're going to start simple with basic compound movements that engage multiple muscle groups for the most muscle mass efficiently. Full range of motion that gets you stronger. Don't be afraid to lift heavy. Progressive overload is key to stimulating growth and maintenance. Okay, I've talked about this on other episodes, I'm going to leave it at that. It is so important that you get into this. You start training, you learn how to do it properly. I mentioned earlier we have something called Physique University. We will teach you how to do that. We not only teach you how to do it and give you programs, we're gonna show you how to program for yourself so you have the skill to do it for the rest of your life. That's number one.

Philip Pape: 14:35

Strategy number two is to prioritize high-protein nutrition. Protein-rich diets support the muscle synthesis and they prevent what's called catabolism, which is the breakdown of muscle tissue. They prevent this. You don't need a massive amount of protein, but you probably need a lot more than you have today. Protein also has the highest thermic effect of food among the macros protein, fats, carbs. Protein will burn more calories being digested than carbs or fats, and so you get a lot of benefits with protein for muscle, for maintaining your diet, for feeling full, for being satisfied, for having delicious food and for adults over 40, research suggests you need even more protein, and we're talking again, not a massive amount.

Philip Pape: 15:19

I would start at 0.7 grams per pound and work your way up to as much as one gram per pound and you're fine. You'll never really have to go beyond that, except for special cases or advanced strategies. All right, spread it across your meals and you're golden. Of course, you should be tracking your food so you know how much protein you're getting. That's, that's a, that's a side method that supports getting enough protein. Um, if you want to do that accurately, precisely and easily, I would use macro factor. Link is always in my show notes at the bottom. Use my code witsandweights all one word to get two weeks free. But that will be a game changer for you. All right.

Philip Pape: 15:57

Strategy number three is to boost your NEAT, your non-exercise activity thermogenesis. This is also a game changer for people. I've had clients who are desk jockeys, lawyers, accountants, engineers. They might get 3,000 steps in a day because they're not thinking about it and they've gotten in a rut of just working all day. Going from three to even six or seven massively improves your health, your calorie burn, your longevity and lots of other things like blood sugar control, hormones, et cetera, insulin resistance the list goes on and again. Start where you're at Small, frequent movements throughout the day can, by themselves, significantly increase your calorie burn right.

Philip Pape: 16:33

Using a standing desk, taking short walks, pacing between meetings or during all meetings, if you can doing your chores, gardening right, not, you know doing things with your hands outside instead of hiring everybody to do stuff. Going up the stairs, parking farther from the store and that's just not even going for deliberate walks, which are the next level to this All these contribute meaningfully to your calorie expenditure. So what does that sound like? It sounds like not sitting on your butt all day. Sitting itself is its own mortality risk. So not sitting combined with regular movement throughout the day is going to mortality risk. So not sitting combined with regular movement throughout the day is gonna be huge. And we know that NEAT can vary by up to 2,000 calories per day between individuals of the same size based on their lifestyle right. And we're not talking 30,000 steps a day, we're talking about being fairly sedentary to being somewhat active. So this could potentially be the most impactful factor in the short term, especially for your daily energy expenditure, which will make then eating easier, getting more calories easier or being in a deficit easier when you're going for fat loss. In fact, we just did a mini challenge in the Physique University to help everybody increase their set count. So if you join, you can go grab that. We're done with the challenge. But the challenge document and guidance is there. It's a lot of fun, we gamify it and we do challenges every month. So another reason to join, all right.

Philip Pape: 17:51

Strategy number four is to improve your sleep hygiene. Hygiene just a nice fancy word for all the aspects of your sleep ritual, your routine. To improve the quality of the sleep, yes, we want to have sufficient duration, sufficient hours of sleep. Like you don't want to be so deprived that you're just exhausted and, whatever you do, it's not going to matter. We're talking five to six hours of sleep is really that threshold where you start to get deprived. But if you, if you're over, say, six and a half, and you're aiming for that, seven to nine hours, you know nine, nine is almost nobody I've worked with, other than retired people, are going to get nine hours of sleep. Let's just admit it. Okay, that's fine. Raise your hand, you know who you are. Um, the vast majority of us are going to get maybe seven or eight, and that's fine, as long as you focus on quality, because the quality is what really impacts the hormonal function and your thyroid, your metabolic health, your cravings, your, your belly fat.

Philip Pape: 18:42

And along with that comes consistency. If you, the number one hack I have for you, if you want to call it that, is going to sleep and waking up at the same time. Even if you only get six hours of sleep, I would rather you first get a consistent six hours of sleep, at the same sleep and wake times, even on the weekend, than try to get an extra hours of sleep if that's not, let's say, accessible or sustainable for you. So consistency is actually the biggest game changer for people. Then there's the environment. You know the dark, quiet, cool environment.

Philip Pape: 19:16

Sleep mask I'm a big fan of a sleep mask. I like the pressure that it puts on your eyes. It creates a sense of safety to your body, especially if you're a side sleeper and you're trying to sleep on your back. It's yet another way to create that pressure on top of you to keep you on your back. And we know that just poor sleep is a game changer in the negative sense, like it's a link to reduced insulin sensitivity, increased hunger hormones, decreased satiety hormones. I mean, you get, you could. You're starving and craving high sugar, high fat foods, when you don't get enough sleep. You know this, like if you're listening to this, you know this, and even if you're tracking your food, you're going to be hungry, hungrier, a lot hungrier. Even if you have the so-called discipline or willpower not to eat the extra calories, you're doing yourself a disservice by not getting enough sleep. So if you're gaining a bunch of weight, if you have metabolic dysfunction, if your metabolism is declining, sleep is a big part of that.

Philip Pape: 20:05

Strategy number five is managing chronic stress. Now, this one is a tough one for a lot of folks. Yet it could be the most important aspect, because a lot of us can't change the job we have or the family we have, and those things cause stress for us. And you've heard all the tricks you know mindfulness, meditation, deep breathing, yoga, doing things you enjoy, play, doing a hobby right, you've got to find what that thing is for you. For some people, it's just adding in some time for short breaks throughout the day and just not go, go, going forever throughout the day. It's finding time for yourself. Just like I encourage you to carve out time for training, I encourage you to carve out time for nothing, and by nothing I mean you've got no obligations or priorities in that time you've scheduled with yourself. It could be 15 minutes and you're just going to do something for yourself to lower your cortisol or make it more consistent, to improve your mental health, and this could be going for a walk, which kills two birds with one stone and increases your NEAT. It could be simply sitting down and enjoying a nice book, having a coffee, whatever that's for you to decide, but this is going to be massive when it comes to your metabolism. And if you've done all the other things, later this week I'm doing an episode with Adam Badger Shout out to him Great guy, fellow coach, and he's really an expert in chronic stress. And what I like about him is he doesn't approach it from reducing your stress or coping with your stress, but rather how do you change your perception of stress? Ah, so I want you to listen to that episode on friday or, if you're listening to this later. It's two episodes after this one Because we all face the same kinds of stressors, but we don't all react to them the same way.

Philip Pape: 21:55

Right? We don't all react with road rage when someone cuts us off in traffic. Some of us are able to just let it slide, understand that maybe that person's having a bad day and, honestly, do we care and just move on, and your reaction to that causes a physiological stress reaction or not? And there's a long list of things like that. So understanding how you respond to the stressors can be a game changer, even if you don't eliminate the stress or do a stress coping hack. All right, stress coping hack All right.

Philip Pape: 22:31

Strategy number six is, I'll say, cardiovascular exercise or training or activity. Now, I got to be careful here because many of you are doing too much cardio, but I think there's a place for activities like play sports, sprinting, that, especially when they're anaerobic, like sprinting that can enhance insulin sensitivity. They actually can contribute to your metabolism, your energy flux and your training and recovery. I know that most health organizations recommend 150 minutes of moderate intensity activity per week. That's what, two and a half hours but a lot of people misconstrue that to be like running. I do not subscribe to that. I think your strength training provides a lot of the purpose of that in terms of cardiovascular health and even conditioning. Yes, I think walking is the next thing that gets you to let's say, 90, 95% in this, in this uh bucket, and then the other five 10% could be the play, the sports, the sprinting. I would avoid medium to high intensity chronic type exercise like running, unless it's something you really enjoy. But that's a whole separate topic, because some people think they have to do it, some people are addicted to it. That's all a separate topic, but I would prioritize lifting, then walking and then a little bit of player sprinting. All right.

Philip Pape: 23:44

Strategy number seven is to actually spend time with your diet not in a deficit and potentially a lot of time in a slight surplus, to support the first thing we talked about, which is strength training. I really should have coupled them together, but I don't wanna do that because they're separate skills that have to be developed. One skill is strength training, which you could do regardless of your diet, and then the other is your diet itself, which will support your strength training and the building of the muscles. So I wanted to include this in here because, yes, in the short term, eating more food will increase your metabolism. That's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about fueling yourself and giving yourself the energy to support your hormones, to support your muscle building, to an extent where you develop metabolic health over the years and you're able to support muscle building much more efficiently. What do I mean? I mean not dieting all the time, or even that frequently. So when I work with clients, what we do is we learn how to control our physique development and control our diet in a structured way where we don't feel it's restrictive, but instead it's fuel, it's energy and we spend.

Philip Pape: 24:49

Most people end up, after they've gone through the first year or two of this fat loss with understanding how to build muscle as well will start getting into yearly cycles where they might be dieting as little as, say, six, six weeks and, as the most, the maximum you would be dieting on a regular basis is maybe three months at the most. Okay, in a 12-month period. So what does that leave you? Well, that leaves you with at least nine months of not dieting. Now, that doesn't mean you have to be in a calorie surplus in those nine months building muscle, but it does mean you're not dieting. I, however, would encourage people to spend a decent amount of time in a calorie surplus early on, as they're doing this for the first time.

Philip Pape: 25:30

As a noob, you know, a novice, late novice, intermediate for the first couple of years, maybe even three years, have two or three muscle building phases in there. Doing that will give your body the best chance to pack on all that lean tissue and set yourself up for the rest of your life. To just maintain that muscle right, you've got to go through the building process once at least once or twice, I should say. You could do it a few more times if you're really into this. You really want to add even more muscle. But even just doing it once or twice is going to be a game changer for you, because now you'll have that extra lean mass, you'll have a higher metabolism just walking around, you'll be able to carry a little more body weight, eat a little bit more food and again, that is a game changer. That is how you increase your metabolism, especially for women in peripost-menopause and men who have a decline in testosterone. It is going to counteract all the things you are concerned about that cause issues Because, for example, the drop in estrogen causes extra belly fat storage and a drop in muscle mass and an increase in body fat. Well, if you're strength training and you're eating, you're going to counteract that. You're going to build muscle, you're going to lose body fat and therefore you are going to thrive in peri and postmenopause, where everyone else is struggling and that's what you want, all right.

Philip Pape: 26:37

The last strategy, number eight, is also nutrition related. It's really your timing and your meal frequency. So the way I like to think of this is meal timing and frequency is more about consistency for your current phase. So what do I mean by that? You're going to be in a phase when do you have a goal? Your goal might be fat loss, it might be to maintain, it might be to build muscle, maybe you have an athletic pursuit, it doesn't matter. You're in a phase, right, and within that phase, you're going to have a certain amount of calories and macros and you'll come up with a decent meal structure for that, right.

Philip Pape: 27:12

I want to eat four times a day, mostly protein, and here are my feeding windows, or my feeding times the. The goal, then, is to be consistent with that. Consistent not just with quantity, but also with timing, right, we're not talking about fasting here. I'm not talking about anything fancy. Just like the sleep wake times, and sleep times should be consistent. Your eating should be as consistent as possible. Now, calories can fluctuate. They can fluctuate naturally and they can fluctuate intentionally, and I think the body is okay with that, as long as you do that consistently as well, like if you have three high days and four low days every week. If you just keep doing that like clockwork, your body will get used to it and we've seen that that can improve your body's I'll say safety that it feels and it will jack up your metabolism. In many cases it probably has to do with insulin sensitivity Again, mitochondrial function your cells.

Philip Pape: 28:03

It probably has to do with insulin sensitivity Again, mitochondrial function your cells, guys, your cells. You want to baby them and treat them like pets that you're trying to take care of, and by cell I mean just everything in your body. This includes your gut health, everything else, yes, and I don't want you to think that you have a lot of control directly over the cell, but the things you do, your cells are watching and listening and learning. They're reacting to it. Your whole metabolism is derived from how they function, and how they function is derived from what you're putting in your body, how much energy you're giving it and what you're doing.

Philip Pape: 28:34

It's lifestyle. All the diseases we're concerned about that are the biggest killers cardiovascular disease, diabetes, et cetera. All all you know all come from obesity and that all comes from lifestyle. Right, we have control over this. We may need help. Sometimes we need pharmacology totally understandable, that's fine, but it's in our control. That's the point at some level. So when you've got this I'll call it metabolic flexibility and improved efficiency and insulin sensitivity you're going to burn more fat, you're going to have better fat oxidation, you're going to have more easily preserved lean tissue and avoid catabolism.

Philip Pape: 29:08

Right, I hope I'm not throwing around too many technical terms here, but really this is what it comes down to. If you understand physiology, biology, anatomy, you understand that you are almost in total control of this, even though to get that level of control may require guardrails, structure learning and yes, for some people, pharmacology. It depends. I'm not ruling out lots of tools for the job. We just got to get the job done right. The effectiveness is going to vary from person to person because of genetics, but it's largely within your control. You just have to find out what works for your body and works for your lifestyle, and you don't have to implement all these eight strategies at once. Please don't do that.

Philip Pape: 29:45

Start with the foundational ones, the first three I talked about Strength training, protein intake, moving more. Just start there, and even there you could just do one at a time if you'd like, pick the one that's most accessible to you. Start doing it. If you want to increase your protein, what do you do first? Well, you got to track how much you eat and how much protein you eat. So you go, use macro factor to do that and log it, and then you'll know within a few weeks how much protein you actually have and how much you need. Boom, you have the gap. You work up to the gap, you get there. New habit Strength training. Well, you need to know how many days a week you're going to do it, what equipment you have access to, and then what program are you going to follow? Again, in Physique University, we make that super easy for you. Come join us, try it out for a couple weeks. Steal all my stuff in that first two weeks. Get your custom nutrition plan, cut and run. You could do that if you want. I hope you don't. I hope you stick around and see the value of it and want to actually learn and grow and develop your system.

Philip Pape: 30:35

It's kind of like going to college that's why we call it university, but in a good way. Well, not good. I liked college. Some people, you know, find it difficult. Um, I found it difficult and I enjoy it, but anyway. Uh, it's like going to nutrition and training school, um physique university. What's in weightscom slash physique. All right, the cool thing.

Philip Pape: 30:53

I wanted to give you one more fascinating little fact here. Okay, about metabolism and aging related to muscle, because we think of muscle as for strength and aesthetics, but your muscle is an endocrine organ. When you contract it during exercise, your muscle releases compounds called myokines that regulate your metabolism and your inflammation. And the myokines communicate with your fat tissue, with your liver, your brain, all your organs, and create a cascade of positive metabolic effects. And that is why training itself not just building muscle, but the training itself improves insulin sensitivity, your hormones, your fat oxidation, reduces inflammation, supports brain health.

Philip Pape: 31:34

There is a still understood, like less understood, aspect of building muscle that seems to burn more fat than not building muscle, independent of all these other factors that we think we know about already. And it's incredible. And this means when you engage in strength training, you're not just building muscle to be strong, to look better, you're activating a signaling system that's just sitting there ready to be used. That's going to improve your health at the cellular level. See, we're back to the mitochond improve your health at the cellular level. See, we're back to the mitochondria again, at the cellular level, and that's why I often tell my clients muscle is your metabolic currency, right, the more you have, the richer your metabolic health will be. And, unlike the inevitable decline in certain hormones with age that you would have if you didn't train, you're going to increase this signaling through strength training well into your 80s and 90s. Isn't that amazing? So when you pick up those weights, you're not just fighting against age-related muscle loss, you are reprogramming your metabolism at the molecular level period. That is the power that you have over your aging process, regardless of what conventional wisdom might suggest.

Philip Pape: 32:42

All right, so as we wrap up, remember aging does bring certain changes, right, that is biology. We can't avoid it. You're eventually going to die. We have to reconcile with that. But this narrative that your metabolism is doomed to slow down dramatically, it's just not supported by the science. I actually get a little bit annoyed and irked when I see memes about this stuff, just like I do when people make fun of how much they love cookies. You know, like it's this inevitable thing. I actually get annoyed by that. Now, I probably shouldn't, but it's kind of a defense mechanism people have because they're not doing the work, they're not focusing on their nutrition and they're not training. Maybe they don't know what to do. If so, if you know someone like that, give them a link to the podcast.

Philip Pape: 33:21

But what the research shows is that many of the metabolic changes we associate with aging are heavily influenced by the lifestyle factors within our control. So if you implement the strategies we discussed today, especially strain training, protein intake and increased movement, you can maintain or improve your metabolic health regardless of your age. Your age no longer becomes a factor. You're going to get younger as you get older. That's my philosophy. Right now, I'm 44 and I'm way younger physically than I was at 25. And you could be that too. I don't care what age you are right now.

Philip Pape: 33:52

Your metabolism does not have to decline just because you're getting older. Remember that small, consistent actions are going to compound over time. This is really about habits. This is a process that's going to take time. You're not going to overhaul your entire lifestyle overnight. So start by focusing on just one strategy today that seems most accessible to you and build from there. If you rush the process, if you're impatient, you're not going to make it and you're going to be relegated to the vast majority of people who do see the decline in their metabolism. But if you do these things, your metabolism will thank you. Your cells will thank you for decades. Right and again, maybe the most important takeaway is you have far more control over your metabolic not only your rate, but your fate than you may have believed, because your metabolism is not at the mercy of when you were born. It is responding to the signals you give it through your daily choices and habits.

Philip Pape: 34:43

All right, if you found value in today's episode, if you want personalized guidance on optimizing your metabolism, your training, your nutrition, your body composition, your health, just join us already. What are you waiting for? You're gonna regret not joining us at Wits and Weights Physique University I have a link in the show notes. Or go to winstonwatescom slash physique. You're going to get two weeks free to just try it out. Open kimono. I will even give you a demo if you'd like.

Philip Pape: 35:07

I want you to know what it's all about and what you're going to get, because I'm kind of sad when people come in and they are there for maybe a week and they don't really do anything and then they leave. I'm like, oh, you just missed out on something that is going to change your life. Yeah, there's a lot of bells and whistles in there, right? You get a customized nutrition plan from me based on your specific goals. You get workout programs. You get workout philosophy.

Philip Pape: 35:32

There are courses on physique development. There's the community, there's the coaching calls. We're going to have some live workshops. We're also going to have some guests on our lives and, of course, a supportive community. Just go to witsandweightscom, slash physique or click the link in the show notes. What are you waiting for? Let's create that sustainable approach that works with your physiology, so that you can combat metabolism with age. All right, until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember, when it comes to your metabolism, age is just a number, but what you do with your body every day is what truly counts. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast.

Your Macro Tracking App is Too "Dumb" for Real Fat Loss (or Muscle Gain) | Ep 299

Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS.

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Meticulously tracking your food but still not seeing results? You're not alone—and it's probably not your fault. 

Most calorie tracking and food logging apps are fundamentally flawed, using static formulas that never adjust to your body's changing metabolism. 

When you sign up for MyFitnessPal, Lose It, or Chronometer, they calculate your calorie needs once and never revisit them, despite the fact that your metabolism constantly adapts to what you eat, how much you weigh, your activity levels, sleep quality, and stress.

This episode exposes why traditional tracking apps fail to deliver sustainable results and introduces the missing element: the feedback loop between what you eat and how your body responds. They are "dumb" apps, not "smart" apps.

Your metabolism isn't a fixed furnace burning the same amount of fuel day after day—it's a dynamic system that becomes more efficient during calorie restriction and changes as you lose or gain weight.

So use the right tool for the job if you want to lose fat and gain muscle!

Main Takeaways:

• Traditional apps like MyFitnessPal, LoseIt, and Cronometer rely on static formulas that don't adapt to your body's changing metabolism

• Your metabolism constantly shifts due to weight changes, activity levels, stress, sleep, and metabolic adaptation

• Food tracking itself is valuable for awareness, but without a feedback loop that dynamically adjusts your targets, you'll eventually hit plateaus

• Dynamic TDEE calculation analyzes the relationship between your actual calorie intake and weight changes to provide personalized recommendations

• A "smart" tracking system becomes more accurate over time as it learns about your unique metabolism

Episode Resources:

• Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS.

• Watch my MacroFactor setup tutorial

Timestamps:

0:00 - Why most calorie tracking apps are failing you
3:05 - The problem with static TDEE calculations
6:18 - How your metabolism actually adapts over time
11:07 - Specific limitations of popular tracking apps
14:46 - Why you need dynamic "smart" TDEE calculation
21:14 - Implementing an effective tracking strategy
25:19 - How proper tracking changes your behavior
27:29 - Recap and recommendations

Why Your Food Tracking App Keeps Failing You

Have you ever tracked your food meticulously, staying under your calorie goals, only to see zero changes on the scale—or worse, see it move in the opposite direction? It's incredibly frustrating, demoralizing, and makes you wonder if your body is broken.

But guess what? It's probably not you; it's your calorie tracking app that's sabotaging your fat loss or muscle-building goals.

A Critical Flaw

The reason popular food tracking apps like MyFitnessPal, Lose It, and Cronometer aren't working for you boils down to one significant flaw: static calorie calculations. These apps rely on fixed formulas, usually based on the Mifflin-St Jeor equation, to determine your Total Daily Energy Expenditure (TDEE)—the calories your body burns daily.

The issue? Your metabolism isn't static—it's dynamic and adaptive. Here's what these apps typically overlook:

1. Metabolic Adaptation

Your metabolism changes as your calorie intake changes. Reduce your calories, and your body learns to burn fewer calories doing the same activities.

2. Body Weight Changes

As you lose weight, your body needs fewer calories to sustain itself, further decreasing your TDEE.

3. Daily Activity Fluctuations

Your daily activity can vary widely—one day you're hitting 10,000 steps, the next only 3,000. Your app doesn't automatically adapt.

4. Stress and Sleep

High stress and poor sleep quality significantly impact your metabolic rate, altering calorie expenditure.

5. Hormonal Cycles

For women, menstrual cycles can shift metabolism by up to 10%, a factor completely ignored by most static formulas.

Why Traditional Apps Just Aren't Smart Enough

When you sign up for an app, you input your age, weight, height, sex, and activity level. The app spits out a calorie goal and expects your complex biological system to fit neatly into this simplistic model. As a result, you're left hitting numbers that don't match your actual metabolic needs.

Even worse, apps like MyFitnessPal encourage eating back exercise calories, which are notoriously inaccurate and often lead to overeating.

What You Actually Need…

So, if static calculations are flawed, what's the alternative? The solution lies in dynamic tracking—a method that continuously adapts based on your real-time body data.

Think about it like a thermostat:

• A dumb thermostat keeps the temperature at a set point regardless of external factors.

• A smart thermostat adjusts based on current conditions, time of day, and user preferences.

Your tracking app needs the same "smart" technology—adjusting your calorie and macro targets based on your body's actual response.

The App We Recommend

At the moment, MacroFactor, created by the experts at Stronger by Science, is the only tracking app currently employing dynamic calculations. Here's how it differs:

• Real-Time Metabolism Tracking: MacroFactor continuously analyzes your calorie intake and weight changes, adjusting your calorie targets weekly.

• Adaptive Algorithms: It learns your body's response patterns over time, becoming more accurate the longer you use it.

• Eliminates Guesswork: Whether your metabolism speeds up or slows down, the app adapts, ensuring you're always at the right deficit or surplus.

Making Dynamic Tracking Work for You

To leverage dynamic tracking effectively:

• Consistent Logging: Track everything you eat daily, regardless of adherence.

• Daily Weigh-Ins: Track your weight daily to capture accurate trends and fluctuations.

• Avoid Manual Overrides: Trust the data-driven recommendations rather than adjusting based on perception.

• Give It Time: Expect meaningful adjustments after 3-4 weeks as the algorithm learns your body's specifics.

Empowering Your Fitness Journey

Tracking isn't obsessive—it's empowering. It provides awareness of your nutrition habits, shows you how your body responds, and equips you with the knowledge to make effective adjustments.

If you've been frustrated by lack of results, your current tracking app is likely the culprit. Switching to a dynamic, personalized approach with MacroFactor can eliminate the frustration and finally align your efforts with real, measurable results.

Remember, successful body composition change doesn't come from trying to fit into generic formulas—it comes from understanding and responding to your unique, dynamic metabolism.

👩‍💻 Book a FREE 15-Minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment:
https://witsandweights.com/free-call

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👋 Let's connect! Ask a question, get my FREE newsletter, or find me on Instagram

📱 Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS.

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🫙 Get 20% off Legion supplements with code WITSpod

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you've been tracking your food religiously but your weight isn't budging, it's probably not your fault. Most calorie tracking apps use the same static formula, regardless of what's happening with your metabolism. They set a number once, or you have to set the number and never adjust it based on how your unique body responds. So today I'm exposing the critical flaw in nearly every popular food tracking app and showing you what actually works if you want sustainable fat loss or muscle gain, because, while tracking itself is valuable as a first step for awareness, most apps fail to close the loop, and once you understand this, you won't want to waste time with those apps ever again. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today is one of my favorite topics. We are looking at an often overlooked aspect of successful body composition change how most food tracking apps are sabotaging your progress by using static formulas that ignore your body's real-time metabolism. This is a really important topic because if you are stuck, if you are frustrated and you're tracking your food, there could be a very good reason why. Here's the scenario you are logging everything you eat, you're weighing your food. You're using my fitness power lose it or chronometer you never go over your calorie goal but the scale's not budging. Or you're trying to gain muscle, but you can't seem to either get past a hard gaining plateau or you end up eating too much and you gain excess fat, and this is frustrating. It's demotivating, it makes you feel like your body's broken. But today you're going to learn why this isn't your fault. I will explain why most and I mean most, as in every single one except one food logging apps are based on static, unhelpful formulas how your metabolism actually adapts to what you eat and why a dynamic approach that uses your real data in the right way is the only reliable method to maintain consistent progress.

Philip Pape: 2:15

Food tracking itself is incredibly valuable for awareness. It is step one for most people, but without a system that creates the feedback loop between your intake and your results, you are flying blind with the wrong targets. So if you're trying to lose those last five or 10 stubborn pounds, try to lose a lot more than that in terms of fat loss. You're trying to build muscle but not gain too much fat, or you're just trying to optimize your nutrition and figure out what the heck do I eat for my calories and macros understanding why your app's calorie recommendations may be way off are going to change how you think about this, and you're going to have the secret decoder ring by the time this episode is done, and I encourage you to listen through the entire episode, because I'm actually going to talk about specific apps that you're probably familiar with and I'm going to share the solution that will actually figure this out for you.

Philip Pape: 3:05

All right, so I want to start with a fundamental issue that affects virtually every mainstream food tracking app on the market right now. Until times change in the future, this is the case right now, and the problem is simple. Most apps use a static, one-time calculation of your total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE. In fact, some apps don't even calculate that for you. For those unfamiliar, tdee represents the total calories you burn in a day. It is your metabolism, and it includes all the components of your metabolism your basal metabolic rate, which is the energy needed to keep you alive, calories burned by digesting food, your daily activity, both formal and informal, and everything you do.

Philip Pape: 3:47

And when you first sign up for an app like MyFitnessPal, lose it Chronometer and yes, I am naming names so that you know why these apps cannot cut it for what you're trying to achieve. When you sign up, they ask you some questions your age, your height, your weight, your sex, your activity level, your weight loss goal things like that which most apps are going to ask. Some don't even ask that and then they plug the values into a formula it's typically the Mifflin-St Jor equation or something similar and then it spits out a calorie target and then this becomes your daily goal. The app then expects you to consistently lose weight if you stick to the goal. But the fatal flaw is that these estimates, these calculations, are the exact kind you can get when you plug your information into an online calculator. I even have one on my website, and they're based on the average of the population and wildly inaccurate self-assessments of activity level. And yeah, they're the best we can do as far as an average, but they could be way off from your real metabolism up to 400 calories in either direction, and that's assuming you even give it the most accurate information for you. For example, the activity level is highly subjective. What does that mean? And even worse, the targets just remain fixed unless you manually update the information, so the apps don't automatically adjust based on what's actually happening with your body and what your eating patterns are.

Philip Pape: 5:08

So think about this have you ever been diligently tracking your calories and trying to stay under certain targets? Let's say you're trying to lose weight, lose fat, and it just doesn't happen. You just stay there, stay there, stay. Maybe you start gaining weight and it just seems like a mystery and you think, okay, it's me, it's my metabolism, and the app keeps telling you you should be losing weight and you're hitting the targets and maybe maybe you missed the target by five calories or two grams of protein. And then it gives you a big red number and it shames you for it. Right. And then your reality tells a different story from what the app says it should be and this creates a disconnect that is really harmful. It is really harmful for lots of things for body image, for your psychological state.

Philip Pape: 5:49

Through this process, you get to the point where you think tracking is a terrible tool, or it's obsessive or it's not helpful. To be clear, tracking your food is still a valuable practice. Even if you just track stuff on a piece of paper old school, and saw how much and what you eat, it's going to create awareness of the amounts, how much protein problem areas. Are you getting enough fiber? All of that stuff and that gives you data to work with for sure. It is extremely important.

Philip Pape: 6:18

The issue is not with the tracking itself. It's how most apps fail to create the feedback loop between what you track and what actually happens with your body. And again, I made this episode and I'm hoping to be able to share this with anybody in the future who wonders about the apps or anybody who says, well, I use chronometer, so I'm good, it should work. Right? No, it's not gonna work. And to understand why? To understand why these static calculations fail, we have to appreciate how adaptive and responsive our metabolism truly is. Your metabolism is not this fixed furnace burning the same amount of fuel day after day. Right, it's a dynamic system and it's adjusting to many, many, many things.

Philip Pape: 7:02

It adjusts your calorie intake first and foremost. That is probably the biggest factor. People don't realize this. The amount you're eating and whether you are losing or gaining weight are the top two. So number one the amount you're eating. When you reduce calories, your body becomes more efficient. It's going to burn fewer calories to perform the same function. This is an adaptation that occurs because you are starving of resources. And the opposite happens when you eat a lot more, your body actually ramps up. That's the big one. The second factor is weight loss. As you lose weight you have less mass to maintain, so your calorie needs naturally decrease. So you've kind of got this double whammy Adaptation combined with being lighter on the scale, because, just simple math, 180-pound person's gonna burn more calories at rest than 160 pound person with otherwise identical stats, not even counting muscle mass here we're just talking short term.

Philip Pape: 7:48

Number three is your activity level. You know your activity varies every day, just unconsciously, in terms of your steps. Some days you might walk 12,000 steps, other days barely 3000. Some days you might do cardio, some days you lift. They go all over the place. Sometimes you're doing too much cardio and that causes a negative adaptation or you burn fewer calories. It's highly subjective to that. The number fourth factor and these are really two factors, but I like to combine them as stress and sleep Sleep deprivation, poor sleep, restless sleep and or high stress, chronic stress can absolutely alter your hormone balance and your metabolism and they change how efficiently your body uses energy.

Philip Pape: 8:27

And so when you don't get enough sleep, you burn fewer calories. When your cortisol is all over the place. Because of your stress, you burn fewer calories. And then the last factor here is for women their hormonal changes throughout the month because of the menstrual cycle can also affect your metabolic rate by as much as five to 10%. It's not nothing. And even if you don't account for that, you still have all these other factors that cause your metabolism to fluctuate. So these create a constantly shifting energy expenditure that a static formula can't capture. Even if it's accurate for you on one day, it can be off by 600 calories two months from now. That's how bad it is.

Philip Pape: 9:04

And the problem is the traditional apps do exactly that. They provide a fixed target based on this fixed assumption and they expect that your complex biological system is going to conform to their mathematical model in some magical way. Or they make it even worse by having you input your activity or connect to your wearable, and they count back the calories from activity, which makes it even worse. I'll just give you a real world example that I see all the time with clients. I see it with myself in a fat loss phase. When someone starts a fat loss phase, they might have a TDEE of 2,500 calories that's your maintenance calories but after you lose, say, 10 pounds over a couple months, the TDEE could have dropped to 2,200 calories. Could have dropped by 300 or 400 or 500 calories. I've seen big drops because of the reduced body mass and the metabolic adaptation. And so if your deficit was 500 calories because you wanted to lose a pound a week, well, now you're actually in a lower deficit. You're only in a 200 calorie deficit because you didn't change your calories, but your body's burning fewer calories and so your weight loss is going to slow. By what? 60%? And these apps never tell you this is happening. You just don't know.

Philip Pape: 10:13

It keeps recommending the same target or maybe says, hey, what do you want your targets to be, despite clear evidence that your body's adapted right, which the evidence is that you stop losing weight. But then it's frustrating because you're saying, well, the app says I should be so, now something's wrong. And so you get frustrated, even if you're perfectly adhering, and the same issue occurs in the opposite direction. I'm not going to pay too much attention to that here today. I want to focus more on fat loss. But same thing If your app tells you you've got to eat 3,000 calories for a lean bulking phase, but your TDEE is less, you're going to gain a lot faster or, on the flip side, if it's more, you're going to hard gain and so it's even more precise in muscle gain in terms of the data that you need about yourself, because it's a little bit more sensitive up there. So, without this feedback loop that connects your intake to your results, you are just navigating with a broken compass. That is it.

Philip Pape: 11:07

So let's look at the actual most popular tracking apps that are on the market today and how their flawed methodology impacts your results, because I have to be honest, I don't like them. I think they are harmful. Not only do I think they're not helpful, I think they are harmful If your goal is to use the data to then accurately change your behaviors to get the goal you want. If your goal is strictly to log your food for awareness and that's it fine, they're adequate. But for any more than that which, if you're listening to the show, your goal is to improve your body composition these apps will not do them, period. And I want to be crystal clear I don't care about the cost, I don't care about the features, none of that. They just don't do it.

Philip Pape: 11:46

Let's start with the big one MyFitnessPal. Myfitnesspal it has a huge food database. Of course, a lot of it's inaccurate because they're user entered, but let's put that aside. The calorie calculations are problematic because the app asks you for your information when you set up and it never revisits it. It just doesn't consider how your metabolism changes, like we talked about, and then it separates exercise calories from your baseline metabolism, which is even worse, in my opinion. When you log a workout, it adds those calories to your daily budget, which encourages you to eat them back. This is dangerous. This is unhelpful and harmful, physically and psychologically, right? Number one, because exercise calorie estimates are just completely wrong. They're inaccurate. They're often off by 30 to 50%. Number two it doesn't account for how your body compensates for exercise, which is gonna happen and also the hunger that ramps up. And then it treats exercise as completely separate from your energy expenditure, rather than just one of many components of it. Remember, your metabolism is complex. It's comprised of lots of things. Activity is just one tiny thing and, by the way, exercise comprises maybe 5% of your metabolism. So that's MyFitnessPal.

Philip Pape: 12:55

Then we get to Lose it, which is similar to MyFitnessPal. It uses a static TDEE calculation based on your user-reported activity level. It tells you go ahead and select a weight loss rate and then it gives you a fixed target to supposedly achieve the rate, but it doesn't adjust it. If you're eating exactly what it recommends but you're losing weight slower than expected, the app doesn't say oh, this might not be a big enough deficit for, or it might not be low enough calories for you. It just doesn't recognize that. That's a discrepancy. It's dumb Effectively, in my title the word dumb here means lacks intelligence, lacks smarts to do anything helpful. And then you're left wondering why you're not hitting your targets, despite even perfect compliance. And then we have chronometer. Everybody loves chronometer because it has this awesome micronutrient tracking. Fine, it still relies on static formulas like Mifflin, st Jor. You manually set your activity level. The app does not adjust your calorie targets based on real time weight changes or intake real-time weight changes or intake and so even when you update your weight, it just recalculates using the same formula rather than analyzing the relationship between intake and changes in weight.

Philip Pape: 14:01

We have a couple other apps out there that people like to mention. One is FatSecret, the other is HealthifyMe, and same limitations one-time calculations, they don't adapt, they require manual updates, they don't incorporate feedback loops from real world data, and so the pattern across these is clear. I mean, that's the extent of the details I want to get into, because this is not a feature comparison episode. This is calling out the one thing missing from every single app on the market, except one we're going to get to in a second. They rely on a theoretical calorie need rather than your body, so they're good for awareness of what you're eating, but they don't close the loop, so it's good for a few weeks and after that, useless, in my opinion, again, other than just awareness of what you're eating, and that is the key difference between failure and success.

Philip Pape: 14:46

So we've established that you don't just need a static calculation. What do you need instead? Well, you need a dynamic calculation, an approach that refines your energy expender estimate based on what's happening with your body. So think of that as the difference between dumb and smart technology. A dumb thermostat stays at the temperature you set it right, and that's how thermostats were for decades. A smart thermostat will learn your preference, they'll adapt to changing conditions. They might even have a schedule, and they'll adjust to the current temperature, time of day and so on to maintain optimal comfort. Traditional tracking apps are like dumb thermostats they set a target and they never adapt. What we need is a smart tracking app that closes the feedback loop between the intake and the results, between the intake and the results.

Philip Pape: 15:34

So what would that look like? Well, first, it would analyze the relationship between what you eat that's, your calorie intake and how your weight changes. Think about it your body is like a closed loop energy system. You take an energy in the form of food, you expend it in the form of lots of things movement, digestion, training and, as a result of what you do and just how you are, your body burns a certain amount of calories, and that causes your weight to either go up or down, based on how much energy you need to store, based on the net difference of energy. That's it. That's the first thing. The second thing it should do is create an algorithm based on your response. So not only should it take the data and estimate your expenditure, it should also look at it over time and take your history to even better estimate your expenditure. The third thing it should do is then give you targets based on that data. Sounds simple, right? Here's your calories and macros. The calories are what you need to be in the deficit. You want to lose the fat that you want at the rate you want. That's what's missing from the other apps. And then it should also become more accurate the longer you use it, as it collects data Like, for example, as you're gaining muscle, as you're gaining weight to build muscle, it can tell the ratio of muscle to fat based on how fast you're gaining, and then it can adjust for that.

Philip Pape: 16:48

So what app does this? If you follow this show for any length of time, you know what app it is. It's called Macrofactor, all in word, created by the guys at Stronger by Science. I'm a firm believer in this app because the only tool it's kind of like a barbell it is the best tool and the only tool for the job out there to do this as effectively as possible. The only alternative would be to do it on your own in a spreadsheet, which, if you want to, if you nerd out on it, if you can come up with a decent algorithm, go for it. I would rather take years and years of the smartest guys in evidence-based training, nutrition and science, who have analyzed both the physiological side as well as the statistical and algorithmic side, and put it into an app.

Philip Pape: 17:27

So, macro factor, all one word. And here's how it works. It doesn't just ask you to pick an activity level and enter your data. You do that initially. It gives you initial estimate, like every other app, but then the magic starts, because it looks at what happens when you eat a certain amount of food over time to your weight. How does your weight respond to your food? And so it is kind of like having an old style macro coach right, the old old nutrition coaches that calculated macros for you and I've talked about this before in negative terms, in that we don't need them anymore. You've got apps and you've got AI and everything else that can do that for you. That's easy. What you need a coach for is the human part, the psychological part, the supporting accountability. We're not going to get into that. I talked about that recently in a bonus episode.

Philip Pape: 18:12

But macro factor is like an old school macro coach who's just looking at how your weight changes and saying, okay, you're, you're starting to plateau. That means your deficit is smaller than we thought and therefore you're not burning as many calories, so we're going to give you lower calories. That's it. It adjusts up and down as your expenditure changes. So a concrete example of how this works in practice let's say, you begin tracking at what you believe is a 500 calorie a day deficit to lose a pound a week and after two weeks the app set notices that you've only lost a half a pound. Now again, this is over time based on averages. It's not going to do this very quickly, day to day and over respond. It's going to look at your trends over two, three, four weeks but it's saying okay, you're really only losing half a pound over the past few weeks, should be losing a pound, and a traditional app like MyFitnessPal would have no clue, just keep giving you the same deficit until you change it. But Macrofactor will recognize that your TDEE is actually lower than it thought and now it will adjust your intake to reach your fat loss desired rate of loss. And then it's going to update the calories and macros when you quote, unquote, check in with the app. So you check in weekly, usually on a Monday.

Philip Pape: 19:22

That's the default and the formula now no longer matters. The estimate, the initial estimate, no longer matters. What matters is you, your body, and the beauty of this approach is it works regardless of whether your metabolism is faster or slower, whether you've eaten more or less, whether you're hitting the targets or not, it's going to work. And if you are someone who naturally burns way more calories, it's going to detect this, and vice versa If your metabolism is slower, it's going to adjust downward accordingly. And so if you've been stuck trying to lose weight for years and years, or maybe you're peri-post-menopause, maybe you're an older dude who's just been stuck trying all the diets, this could be what you're missing Just an understanding of your metabolism, an approach that adapts as you are trying to change your body, because those things are cyclical.

Philip Pape: 20:05

As you change, your metabolism changes, but then you need to change again in terms of your eating habits, and so the app detects these changes and then adjust your targets. It seems simple, but I'm surprised that no other app does this, and it works in fat loss, maintenance or muscle gain. In fact, macrofactor has some pretty sophisticated algorithms for muscle gain. If you're trying to gain weight, it's going to give you a target, but then, if you go faster or slower than it expects, it doesn't just adjust the target blindly. It actually estimates a ratio of muscle and fat to determine how fast you need to go to gain at the rate you want to gain. It's pretty cool. So that's really all I have to say about dynamic calculation. I mean, it's again. It sounds simple Take what you eat and how your weight changes and calculate the number.

Philip Pape: 20:48

If you try to do this yourself, it's actually pretty sophisticated, because what if you're going from a bulk to a cut? What if you're sick or injured and your metabolism changes drastically? What if you have a period, your period and your cycle changes? There's a lot of reasons our expenditure can change. The app is not going to overcorrect. If you try to do this on your own, you're going to find out that there's all these little scenarios that are kind of difficult to deal with and you're going to have to update your algorithm, and so it gets more and more sophisticated.

Philip Pape: 21:14

So if you want an effective tracking strategy and this is not just tracking, this is tracking and the right targets, first you've got to select the right tool for the job. If you want to get super strong, you're probably going to select a barbell or at least some effective machines. So in this case, you want an app that uses a dynamic calculation period. Right now on the market, macrofactor is the only app that does this, and its algorithm is amazing, and they talk about it openly and transparently and they're constantly improving it. So it's going to improve every week. It's going to adjust your metabolism and give you the right targets.

Philip Pape: 21:46

Number two you've got to be consistent with your logging. So this isn't all just the app doing the job right. You don't just start using the app and, oh, I lose weight. No, of course you have to have accurate data. You want to log what you eat every day, whether you go over your target or not. So I have clients who, early on, they'll say, oh, I didn't track for a week because I got sick. And my response is well, assuming the tracking itself isn't stressful and it only takes like two minutes a day to track when you get used to it especially macro factor Cause it's so fast Keep tracking Even when you're sick again, if it doesn't make it worse. But again, for most people it's an easy, quick thing. And what's nice about tracking no matter what happens whether you're over or under your targets, not eating doesn't matter is it will have precision and accuracy to show you what happens to your body in those times. I actually want you to track in the times that are off plan. So quote, unquote, so we can see what happens to your expenditure in those times. You could adjust accordingly and you get honest data to create that feedback loop so that you have confidence on how much to eat, what to eat and when.

Philip Pape: 22:49

You also have to weigh yourself consistently. So I've talked before about how weighing every day is associated with success and maintaining your results. It is not associated with obsessiveness, because when you weigh every day, you can see the natural fluctuations caused by things that have nothing to do with fat. Weigh every day, you can see the natural fluctuations caused by things that have nothing to do with fat, and then you have to take a trend of that over time. So, like macro factor uses a 20 day exponential moving average, you don't have to understand what that means, but if you think of the 20 days, that's about three weeks. That means fat gain, fat loss, is really only estimated with any precision after about three weeks of data. The next thing is you have to understand that there are lots of things other than fat that will cause your weight to change. So, again tying into the comment I just made about daily weight tracking, we have water retention, sodium intake, carbohydrate levels, hormonal cycles, inflammation from training. Again, what matters is the trend over weeks.

Philip Pape: 23:44

The next thing is you don't want to manually override the calculations. So this is another problem I see is that some people will say, well, it says the expenditure is lower than I like, or I don't think my expenditure is that low and you're like tempted to manually change it. Well, once you've been using the app for I'll say, three or four weeks maybe as little as two, but usually three or four weeks of daily food tracking where you log everything you can't do partial days or it'll think you ate less and daily weighing it's going to have a pretty darn accurate assessment of your expenditure and if it's lower than you like, that's a reality you have to face. But that's a great thing because it's empowering data and it could explain why you've been stuck trying to lose weight or fat all these years, and then you could decide what to do about it. You also have to give these things time. I've mentioned this a couple of times.

Philip Pape: 24:30

Dynamic calculation is going to become more accurate the longer you use it. So the first few weeks you almost can't trust anything because you don't have enough precision, but by, say, four to six weeks, the algorithm is highly personalized and then, of course, course, you would use this as a learning tool. That is really my last comment on this is it's not just hitting targets which, by the way, macro factor doesn't judge you on whether you're over or under, it doesn't color code things, it's completely adherence neutral. It's very nice, it's very good for the psychological aspect, but beyond just hitting targets, you can pay attention to how different foods affect your hunger, your energy, your performance and, yes, your expenditure, and tie it all together right. The goal isn't just to comply to numbers. The goal is really to understand your body's unique response to what you do, what you eat, and then adjust accordingly.

Philip Pape: 25:19

And that's why, as a coach, I really love that my clients use it, because we get far more precise and insightful data than a traditional macro meal plan coach would ever have. And then I can go to that next level of being a detective and helping you understand why the data is doing what it's doing. And that eliminates guesswork. It eliminates the frustration from using MyFitnessPal, tracking your food and not knowing why you're not getting the result. Instead of wondering and being constantly frustrated, you're going to have a system that reflects your body's reality and creates a continuous feedback loop, and that's how we make progress in life, in fitness, in nutrition, everything the cool thing about tracking in general so just to throw a bone to any of these apps where you've decided to track your food and you weren't before is it will start to change your behavior, sometimes in ways you don't notice.

Philip Pape: 26:08

Research shows that people who track their food just track tend to move more throughout the day. They tend to make slightly better food choices, even when they're not consciously trying to. It's why I love having my clients track from day one, so that they start to change their own behavior. Listen, I have clients reach out to me in the first few weeks and they're like I just noticed this, so I changed this. I just noticed I didn't have no protein, so I did this. I'm not even telling them to do this stuff Right, and that's great, because a lot of this is on you, and I don't mean that in a bad way.

Philip Pape: 26:35

I mean you've got the power. It's you've. You take the action. But it really helps to have someone looking over your shoulder to understand why the data is doing what it's doing, so you can take the right actions. And then you take this to the next level not just track your food, but track your expenditure so that you can measure your actual response to food while you're tracking. It's really a profound shift in thinking. It's from trying to conform to what you think is how many calories you're burning, based on a formula, to actually observing and working with what your metabolism is doing. And if you went back 10 years before Macrofactor existed, the way someone would tell you to do this is to manually track your food and manually track your weight and kind of guess and eyeball how your weight is changing to your food. But it's very rough, it's very imprecise, and so that's why I recommend Macrofactor, which then gives you not a dumb tracking app but a smart system that closes the loop.

Philip Pape: 27:29

So anyway, we've covered a lot of ground today and just to bring it all together, the traditional apps my fitness pal lose it chronometer. They have static metabolism formulas that remain fixed regardless of how your body responds. So don't tell me when I suggest using macro factor. Oh no, I don't need to do that, I already use chronometer, it's free, Like, okay, well, you're, you're tracking food and that's it. You're not going to get the result you want without knowing what's actually happening in your body Period. They ignore metabolic adaptation, they fail to account for how your weight changes. They fail to account for energy changes and exercise changes and all of that. They're dumb in a world where you need smart. So even if you've been following your app's recommendations but you're not seeing the results, it's not because you are doing something wrong. It's because you have the wrong targets. So if you want to experience a difference and this is what the only little sales pitch I'm going to make here is to go ahead and try macro factor for free for two weeks. Link is in the show notes. Use my code wits and weights all one word.

Philip Pape: 28:25

I personally have used the app since the day it came out. All my clients, everyone in Physique University, use the app. It is highly empowering. It's going to change your life. It is a paid app and yet what you get for it is worth multiples upon multiples of the cost. I think it's still $71.99 for a year. Now, that's in US dollars. But try it for free using the code witsandweights all one word. Link is in the show notes.

Philip Pape: 28:48

I also have a step-by-step YouTube video that shows you how to set it up properly to find your true maintenance calories the first time. So I'm going to include links to both in the show notes. Grab the app, try it out. You've got two weeks to try it out. If you don't like it, no risk, don't use it and watch my video on setting it up and you're going to be good, you're going to be awesome. Then you're going to be reaching out saying, okay, cool, now I see what you were talking about.

Philip Pape: 29:11

Now I understand my true targets. Now I need to put this into the next level, combining it with my training, with my meal timing, making sure it works for me, with my biofeedback and my energy, and really get the fat loss that I'm going for. But step one is to start tracking your food and weight using Macrofactor. Use my code, wits and Weights, Get the link in the show notes and watch the video. All right, until next time, keep using your wits, lifting those weights and remember successful body composition change, fat loss, muscle gain, whatever it is, comes from understanding how your unique metabolism is changing, not trying to conform to a generic, static, unchanging formula. This is Philip Pape and you've been listening to Wits and Weights. I'll talk to you next time.

Strength vs. Hypertrophy (The 65% Threshold for Lifters Chasing PRs vs. Muscle Size) | Ep 297

Download a FREE set of 8 strength and physique-focused workout programs from Physique University for 3 vs. 4 days, novice vs. intermediate, a built in log, form videos, and exercise substitutions for all types of equipment (barbell, dumbbells, machines, bodyweight) at witsandweights.com/free

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Why does always chasing maximum STRENGTH seem to limit muscle development, while always focusing on building MUSCLE doesn't deliver the strength gains you want? 

This paradox frustrates countless lifters, but the answer lies in understanding the pathways and mechanisms behind strength and hypertrophy.

Learn the science-backed differences between training for maximal strength vs. optimal muscle growth, and how to program for both without compromising either goal.

Main Takeaways:

• The 65% threshold reveals why strength and hypertrophy training require different approaches

• For beginners, neural adaptations drive strength gains with minimal muscle growth

• Advanced lifters need strategic programming to optimize both strength and size

• Mechanical tension drives both adaptations but through different pathways

Timestamps:

0:01 - The strength-size paradox
3:04 - Strength vs. hypertrophy
9:12 - Why intensity differs between approaches
13:01 - Volume for muscle vs. strength
15:55 - Rest periods and exercise selection
17:48 - How to train for strength or hypertrophy
26:53 - Powerbuilding
31:39 - Common myths and misconceptions
37:29 - Training age and how it changes your approach

Strength vs. Hypertrophy and the 65% Rule for Lifters Who Want It All

If you've been lifting for a while, you've probably noticed a paradox. Training for maximum strength doesn’t always lead to the biggest muscles, while training for muscle growth doesn’t always maximize strength. Many lifters struggle with this balance, wondering if they should be lifting heavy to get stronger or using lighter weights with more reps to build muscle. The truth is, you don’t have to pick just one. Strength and size are connected, but they require different strategies to optimize. If you want to get stronger and look stronger, you need to understand how they work together and how to program both into your training.

Strength vs. Hypertrophy

Strength training is about increasing your ability to generate maximal force. Think powerlifters focusing on their one-rep max in the squat, bench, and deadlift. Hypertrophy training, on the other hand, is about increasing muscle size using mechanical tension, usually through moderate weights and rep ranges.

The key difference is in the way the body adapts. Early on, most strength gains come from neurological improvements, not muscle growth. Your nervous system gets better at recruiting muscle fibers and coordinating movement. This explains why beginners can gain strength quickly without seeing major changes in muscle size. As you get more advanced, though, further strength gains require more muscle mass. This is why elite powerlifters are often very muscular, even if their main goal isn’t aesthetics.

The 65% Rule

Research shows that to build strength, you need to train with at least 65% of your one-rep max. This is the intensity threshold needed to develop the nervous system adaptations necessary for strength. Hypertrophy, however, can occur with loads as low as 30% of your max, provided you train close to failure.

For strength, lifting heavy is essential. This means working in the 80 to 100% range of your max to maximize motor unit recruitment. If your focus is muscle growth, though, you have more flexibility. Hypertrophy can be achieved with lower loads as long as you push sets close to failure to ensure enough mechanical tension.

How Strength and Hypertrophy Training Differ

Strength training focuses on heavier loads, lower reps, and longer rest periods. The goal is to train the nervous system and develop efficient motor patterns. This means focusing on compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, presses, and rows with rep ranges in the one to six range, resting at least three to five minutes between heavy sets. Strength programs emphasize quality over quantity, meaning fewer total sets but a focus on executing each rep with maximum force.

Hypertrophy training emphasizes volume. The total amount of work done is a major driver of muscle growth, and this typically means more sets and a broader range of rep schemes, from six to 20 reps per set. Rest periods are often shorter, in the one to three-minute range, to maintain tension and metabolic stress. Exercises include a mix of compound and isolation movements, ensuring muscles are trained from multiple angles for balanced development.

How to Train for Both Strength and Size

Many lifters want to be both strong and muscular. The good news is that you can train for both, but it requires balancing intensity and volume. Powerbuilding is a popular approach that blends strength and hypertrophy. This method prioritizes heavy compound lifts at the beginning of a workout, followed by moderate to higher rep accessory work to build muscle.

A typical powerbuilding session might start with a heavy squat, bench, or deadlift in the three to five rep range. After that, additional compound movements and isolation exercises fill out the session with higher rep work. Over time, this allows you to get stronger while also building muscle.

The Biggest Myths About Strength and Hypertrophy

One common myth is that you need to lift extremely heavy weights to build muscle. In reality, research shows that moderate weights can be just as effective for muscle growth if taken close to failure. The key is mechanical tension, not just the weight on the bar.

Another misconception is that strength gains can happen indefinitely without muscle growth. While beginners can gain strength without significant increases in size, more advanced lifters must build more muscle to keep getting stronger.

The idea that soreness and getting a pump indicate an effective hypertrophy workout is also misleading. Soreness and pump can be satisfying, but they don’t directly correlate with muscle growth. Instead, focusing on progressive overload and ensuring each set challenges the muscle is what matters.

There’s also a belief that bodybuilders aren’t strong and powerlifters don’t care about muscle. In reality, elite bodybuilders are extremely strong, and competitive powerlifters have a lot of muscle mass. The differences come down to training emphasis and competition goals, not fundamental differences in adaptation.

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes lifters make is program hopping. Constantly switching between programs prevents real progress. Strength and size development take months, not weeks, so patience and consistency are key.

How to Structure Your Training Based on Experience Level

For beginners, the focus should be on getting stronger in the fundamental lifts. Training in the four to six rep range with compound movements builds both strength and muscle efficiently. Programs like Starting Strength or other strength-based novice programs are great for this phase.

For intermediates who have been training seriously for at least a year, a powerbuilding approach works well. This involves mixing strength and hypertrophy work within each session or across different training blocks. The key is balancing heavy low-rep work with higher rep muscle-building exercises.

For advanced lifters, specialization becomes more important. If you want to maximize strength, you may need to include dedicated hypertrophy blocks to build more muscle. If muscle growth is the goal, strategic strength phases can help you lift heavier weights, leading to more progressive overload in hypertrophy work.

Applying This to Your Training

If you want to put these principles into action, I’ve put together a complete set of workout programs from Wits & Weights Physique University. These programs include options for both strength and hypertrophy, with built-in tracking tools, exercise substitutions, and structured progressions.

Download your free copy here.

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https://witsandweights.com/free-call

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

Whether you just got into lifting or you've been training consistently for years, you might be aware of a paradox that going after maximum numbers seems to limit the development of your physique and muscle, while focusing on just hypertrophy or muscle size development doesn't seem to deliver the ultimate strength numbers that you want. Well, research shows that, beyond the novice stage, strength and size gains follow fundamentally different pathways. Today, we're talking about the science-backed differences between training for maximal strength versus optimal muscle growth and how to program for both without compromising either. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today I'm going to address one of the most misunderstood relationships in fitness the connection between strength and hypertrophy, the fancy word for muscle growth and I want to give a shout out to my lifting buddy, tony. You know who you are as well as my client, len, who have pushed me recently to cover this topic in depth and it's a good one, because I see this confusion constantly with clients in our online communities, where people ask should I lift heavy to get stronger, or should I use lighter weights or more reps to build muscle? Or they'll say I'm getting stronger but I'm not seeing much size increase or development of my physique. Or, conversely, you know I look bigger but my lifts aren't really going up that much. Look bigger but my lifts aren't really going up that much. And the separation between these two training goals you know it's not as black and white as many believe, like the old school. Well, strength is one to five reps and hypertrophy is eight to 12, and so on. There is significant overlap, but there are also significant differences in how you should approach each one, and understanding this relationship is critical to design an effective program, or at least choose a program so that you know it gives you the specific results you want. Now, if you want to put these principles into action immediately, I've definitely got something special for you today, because I'm giving away a complete set of my physique and strength-focused workout programs from Wits and Weights Physique University totally free, giving you the whole thing for the current month for all skill levels, all types of equipment. There are swaps, there's video links in there, there are instructions novice, intermediate, glutes and legs. There are a lot of different programs and they're the exact programs that our WWPU members can choose from, including a built-in log, exercise substitutions for home and travel, you name it. So just go to witsandweightscom, slash free or click the link in the show notes. If you go to our website, just look for Physique Focus Programs I think it's called but just click the link in the show notes to get a free copy of that today.

Philip Pape: 3:04

All right, so let's clear up the confusion between strength and hypertrophy training once and for all, making this the definitive episode on the topic. First, let's define what the heck we're talking about. Strength training primarily focuses on increasing your ability to generate maximal force. How much weight you can lift for low reps, ideally for one rep, the most you can lift for one rep, but in that range. So think about powerlifting powerlifting competitions, where athletes perform one rep at the heaviest possible weight for their deadlift, their squat and their bench press. And this is something I didn't understand for many, many years, and once I did and focused on it when I was a beginner, the gain started to take off and it opened up a whole world of learning and understanding about this. But then at some point you start to hit a wall and you're like why am I not getting stronger, or why am I not getting the physique I want? So hypertrophy training, on the other hand, in somewhat contrast to strength, emphasizes increasing muscle size using the ultimate principle, which is mechanical tension, and it's often by doing it through moderate I'll call it moderate weights. I don't like to say lightweights, it's just moderate weights. It's sub-maximal or far from your max for mid to higher tier rep ranges like 6 to 15, up to 20, even up to 30. That's what I'm saying is there's quite a wide range where this can be effective.

Philip Pape: 4:32

Now, the interesting part here is that if you look at the science, we see that these adaptations share a fundamental driver and that is mechanical tension, which I just mentioned in the context of hypertrophy. But the way your body responds to this tension is going to differ, based on load volume and other variables, and here's where the 65% threshold becomes important. I think this is really important. So listen up. Research consistently shows that to build maximal strength, you generally okay, generally, this is a combination of the research need to train with at least 65% of your one rep max. Okay, that is 65% of your max. This is an intensity threshold that ensures that you have sufficient neural right, your nervous system, neural recruitment and adaptation. But if you're just trying to build muscle and I say that in quotes we're going to get to the differences and the overlaps. You can potentially go as low as 30% of your one rep max. Provided that you are training close to failure, you're still leveraging the principle of mechanical tension either way.

Philip Pape: 5:42

So I want to explain why this happens through the lens of the research. So in the early stages of strength gains this is when you're a complete beginner or a novice or even a late novice most improvement comes from neurological adaptations, not muscle growth. Your central nervous system, your CNS, becomes more efficient at recruiting muscle fibers and synchronizing your motor units, and studies show that in novice lifters, increases in muscle size might explain as little as 2% of the variance in strength gains. That's pretty telling, right? That tells you that it's not. It doesn't have much to do with muscle at all, because nearly all strength improvement comes from better neural efficiency and technique, and this is why you can gain massive strength very quickly early on, because you don't need to grow new muscle tissue to get there. You're simply training your body to coordinate better effectively.

Philip Pape: 6:38

So you guys probably know Dr Eric Helms, one of the guys I follow. He's a natural bodybuilder, he's a researcher, always on the podcast circuit Stronger by science, mass, all that good stuff and he explains this phenomenon very clearly. He says when you first start training your body and coordinate the muscles and that's where beginners again can double their strength but have minimal visible muscle gain, and that can be it can be both exhilarating because your numbers are going up, and frustrating because your physique isn't quite changing yet. And then, as you become more advanced, the relationship shifts very dramatically. For experienced lifters, muscle mass then becomes critical for further strength gains. You've heard of you know, working on your weak spots, for example, and it potentially explains 65% or more of the variability in strength increases.

Philip Pape: 7:39

Okay, listen to what I just said. When you're more advanced, muscle mass becomes more relevant for strength. So, in other words, once you've optimized your nervous system and your lifting technique, getting stronger largely means building bigger muscles. And so the chicken and egg is always confusing here, because it's like which one supports the other. The answer is yes, and this explains why elite power lifters are also quite jacked. They're quite muscular, right, they have to be, even if aesthetics isn't their primary goal, and you might see the big guys who carried a lot of extra weight. They then cut down because their goals change. Maybe they even go into bodybuilding and I won't say it's easy for them because it's going to depend on their shape and their symmetry as well. But you see that fat fall off and they've got tons of muscle slabs and slabs of meat on their frame and so at advanced levels, more muscle becomes necessary to continue breaking strength plateaus Really really important, because I think people get stuck in the mindset of doing the same.

Philip Pape: 8:42

You know, three by five program forever, and they are leaving lots of potential gains on the same. You know, three by five program forever, and they are leaving lots of potential gains on the table, even for their strength. So now that we understand the relationship between strength and size, kind of at a high level I don't want to get too deep into the weeds here. There's so much evidence and research out there that you could explore I want to talk about how training variables differ between strength focused and hypertrophy focused programs, and again we're going to get to where these overlap and how you can incorporate a little of both.

Philip Pape: 9:12

But I want to start with intensity right, Probably the most important variable that I learned early on, especially when you're getting started. Intensity is not sweating or feel, intensity is just the load on the bar, it's how heavy you lift relative to your maximum in this context. All right. So for strength development, research is clear on this Lifting heavier weights is superior and that means working at 80 to 100% of your 1RM for your core compound lifts. The heavy weight forces maximal motor unit recruitment from the first rep. That's what's important here, and it trains your nervous system to handle near maximum lows.

Philip Pape: 9:54

And you can go down other rabbit holes and argue about intensity versus volume. I think both are extremely important. I think using intensity and then jacking that up with volume is a great approach. Or going a little bit less intense and making up for in volume, or a little bit more intense and a little bit less volume. It all works and in some cases you cycle through both within one training block Very common. I just increased all of my max lifts. Doing that, I had a base phase where I had lots of volume sub-maximal but then I switched to a peaking phase where I was in the 80 to 90% range with much less volume, to train my nervous system to get ready to hit those max singles, which eventually I did, and it actually felt pretty easy when you take the right approach. So that's strength.

Philip Pape: 10:44

Now for hypertrophy, the intensity range is much broader, which is kind of neat, because if you're really if you don't care, I'll say care about your max PRs and you just want to look better, you want to build muscle, you want to be generally fit and strong, but not strong in terms of the maximum strength. A hypertrophy approach can be helpful and flexible. It can give you a lot of flexibility because the evidence confirms that muscle growth occurs effectively from as low as 30% up to 85% of your 1RM, as long as the sets are approaching muscular failure. And the key factor here again is mechanical tension, not necessarily how heavy the weight feels. And that's a distinction, because some people, I have to be honest, are not training hard enough. And the most recent program I ran and I have one of my programs in the Physique University that is inspired by Alex Bromley. He has a volume-based approach, but the key is he uses AMRAP sets while building that strength base so that you can tell whether you are heavy enough on your load and you're pushing hard enough, without having to rely on subjective feel. And I think objectivity is a really helpful tool throughout this process.

Philip Pape: 11:57

A 2017 meta-analysis by Brad Schoenfeld found that when sets are taken to momentary failure, muscle hypertrophy gains are similar across a wide range of loads. However and this is really important maximal strength was not equal across rep ranges. So let me just repeat that when you take sets to failure just for a moment, you're going to gain hypertrophy no matter the load, at least when it's above this 30% threshold, but your strength isn't the same across different rep ranges. The same review found that heavy load training produced significantly greater one-arm strength gains than light load training. It's not really a surprise to those of us that have done this and trained with this, but it's important to understand that that is the case. That is where some of the differences exist. The second major difference is volume For hypertrophy total volume, which is your sets times reps. You could also say times load, because that gives you your tonnage and remember we are talking about vastly different load levels, so it's important to have that in there.

Philip Pape: 13:01

Volume is a primary driver of growth. Meta-analysis indicate that multiple sets per exercise yield more hypertrophy than single set training, and higher weekly sets per muscle group usually around 10 to 20, tend to produce more growth than lower volumes. Now I've said before that as low as five to 10 can still get you a lot of the gains that you want, but it's not optimal, it's not going to get you the most. And for those of you really serious about this that are putting in the work, just understand you generally need about 10 to 20 sets per week and again, that's a pretty well-established range that gets talked about in the industry by now and it's it holds up, based on the research. So that's that's volume for hypertrophy. Now strength training even though you do need adequate volume, it places greater emphasis on intensity over volume. Right, you can't do as many sets with near maximal weights without your performance tanking and having recovery issues and tons of fatigue. And that's where quality becomes more important than quantity. And that is why, again, to go back to the program I just ran, when I was building the base I was far sub-maximal. I was around 65, 70, 75% of my max, doing more volume, and then, as I got closer to my test, I ramped down the volume and increased the intensity.

Philip Pape: 14:17

Another thing that changes quite a bit is the rest periods. Strength training typically uses longer rest intervals between your heavy sets three to five, six, seven, eight, 10 minutes, sometimes even longer for super heavy, let's say deadlifts and this allows for your ATP-CP this is the adenosine triphosphate, creatine phosphate energy system to replenish itself. Right, it gets depleted very quickly. It also allows your central nervous system to recover and now you can go after maximal performance on each set, which is ultimately the goal, whereas traditional muscle mass or hypertrophy training often uses shorter rests 60 seconds, minute and a half, two minutes, three minutes I usually like two to three minutes for most, unless you are intentionally going after building your work capacity or doing a superset or circuit style training where you are just trying to get to those near failure reps quickly and the theory here is you're trying to increase your metabolic stress. However, however important here, current evidence suggests that longer rest intervals, even with hypertrophy, can actually enhance the muscle growth because they allow you to have more training volume, and this goes back to the volume versus intensity, versus effective reps arguments. A study by Schoenfeld compared one minute versus three minute rests in a hypertrophy program and found that the group that used the longer three minute rests achieved significantly larger muscle thickness gains.

Philip Pape: 15:55

The last thing here is exercise selection is a pretty important variable. Strength programs are gonna focus heavily on compound lifts, compound movements that allow for maximal loading. These are the lifts where you use multiple joints for maximum use of muscle mass and loading. And that would be your squat, your bench press, your overhead press, your deadlifts, your even rows and things like that, whereas accessory work is also chosen primarily to improve these main lifts rather than necessarily build muscle. So those might be developmental or targeted variations of the squat, the bench, the dead, the overhead, et cetera.

Philip Pape: 16:35

Hypertrophy programs can still be centered or foundational around compound lifts, so don't think that it just excludes them. And when we say compound lifts, we also have to expand our vocabulary to include all the variations of compound lifts. Like a Romanian deadlift is still a compound lift, a pull-up is still a compound lift. However, hypertrophy programs will also include more isolation exercises to target specific muscles from multiple angles. A bodybuilder might do flat bench, incline bench, decline, bench flies for chest development. They might do them all in one day with a body part split. A powerlifter, on the other hand, might just do their flat bench and maybe one or two variations both on or on a different day, like their other upper body day, to address weak spots, and might have some other work in there. And that's the big caveat that there is a big overlap here, because when you look at Louis Simmons and the West Side guys and again I know they were equipped, they were enhanced and all that but if you look at something like the conjugate method or really any power building program, you do see a combination of both, with the theory that one enhances the other.

Philip Pape: 17:48

So I want to translate this science into practical guidelines for your training based on your primary goal, and this is going to be a really important episode to come back to when you're wondering if the program you're looking at or the program you're designing is meeting the goals you intend. So if your main objective is maximal strength, maybe you are a competitive power lifter, maybe you just want to be as strong as possible and, by the way, you can cycle through going after strength, going after muscle, doing a little both. If your objective is strength, here's how I would structure your training. I would center your workouts on compound lifts, using primarily the, let's say, one to six rep range at 80 to 90% of your 1RM when you get close to hitting your PR. That doesn't mean you're always working in the 80 to 90%, and that's one of the many caveats I have to give you here because you're probably going to want to add some volume at lower percentages of your max as you build to those lower rep ranges. And we see this in some of the classic programs like 531, 852, where you're cycling through slightly higher rep ranges, slightly sub max, and then you're getting more intense at lower reps and then you're cycling through those. You're also going to take long rest periods, and by long I mean longer than you're probably used to, but sufficient to increase quality as much as possible.

Philip Pape: 19:13

Quality is more important than quantity here. So at least bare minimum three to five minutes between your heavy sets. You're going to focus on quality over quantity and that just means that your form it should always be important, but when it comes to really heavy lifts you've really got to be dialed in on your form. This usually means get a coach who knows what the heck they're talking about, which is also hard to find sometimes. But get a coach you know a starting strength coach is a great idea. Even if you're not doing starting strength, they can help you out. You can definitely reach out to me. I can refer you to people locally or online. There are good people. There are good groups where you could do form checks. I think quality is really important because you're only doing, let's say, three to five sets and you're not doing that many reps, but you're really having. You've got to make sure those reps are done well.

Philip Pape: 20:06

The next thing I think about with strength training training for strength is training with explosive intent Really important. Listen to me here. This is not wishy-washy. Even though the weight is moving slowly, you're going to try to move it as fast as possible on the concentric, like in a squat. That's the up part of the squat. When you're driving up with your hips, you're going to explode into that movement. You're going to at least think that way to maximize your motor unit recruitment. This is important. This is something I didn't understand for a while. You know a lot gets talked about tempo and time under tension which, by the way, is not a thing that is effective at all time under tension. But explosive concentric movement is important. The eccentric it can vary. It depends on what you're going for. It depends on if you're going to have a pause in there and everything. But the explosive intent is important.

Philip Pape: 20:56

Avoid training to failure. That is another important thing. Your programming should be designed where you are somewhat sub-max but still heavy and doing the right amount of reps so that you're at least probably two or three, if not four, reps shy of failure. Now, four reps shy of failure. That is quote-unquote. Six RPE and I rarely use I never use RPE as a training variable. I only use it as a lagging indicator, as a metric to evaluate how you did on something, but not as a metric to tell. I only use it as a lagging uh indicator, as a metric to evaluate how you did on something, but not as a metric to tell you how you should do something. That's where I differ from from some folks.

Philip Pape: 21:30

But you want to stop short of. You don't want to be in a total grind where it's an utter failure on your main lifts. The only time that should really ever happen is if you are testing a one rep max, then it it's, there's a chance it could happen, right? That's just because you're really trying to push to your max ever. And then here's the other thing people miss. Okay, beyond the novice phase, you want to have strategic accessory work in there, because you're going to have weaknesses and you have propensity for injury when you're constantly doing the same lifts and you haven't used variations of those lifts to try to shore up your weak spots. You're going to keep getting kind of stronger in the primary muscle groups involved in that movement while everything else kind of lags, and we don't want that, and that's why there's always a case to be made for some variety once you get past the novice stage. So that's my thoughts on strength training, and again, those are principles.

Philip Pape: 22:23

I noticed I didn't give you an actual program, because there's a million ways to do that, but I will suggest a few things later on. If your primary goal is hypertrophy, you want to look bigger, you want to look more muscular right, many of us want that. Even if we are trying to push big lifts, we still want that as well. Here's what I suggest. You're going to use a blend, a mix of compound and isolation exercises. So this is where you've got to have some targeted work in there to hit muscles from different angles.

Philip Pape: 22:52

You're going to work in a wide variety of rep ranges. You're going to work probably predominantly in the middle, like 6 to 12, which is equivalent to about 60 to 80% of your one RM. Notice, that's still pretty heavy. But you're going to include some lower rep work three to five potentially, which sounds like strength, doesn't it? And higher rep work 12 to 20. I mean, if you're doing a leg press, 15, 20 reps believe it or not, it can be super, super effective. That or hack squat or something like that and it's still going to feel pretty darn heavy and hard with all those reps.

Philip Pape: 23:25

Doing lots of reps is its own mental challenge compared to doing lower reps but heavy, and then you're going to take these sets pretty close to failure most of the time. If you're working in the low rep range, like three to five, you still may be more in that strength mindset of leaving a little bit in the tank. It should be two, three, four reps. But with most of the other stuff, your accessories and especially your isolation movements you're probably going to be around one to three reps of failure. You're rarely going to go all the way to failure, but it's totally doable to do that with something like bicep curls, where you just keep going, you keep going, you keep going and you literally cannot get another technical rep and then you failed and that's okay. But there are some things where you don't want to do that.

Philip Pape: 24:06

And then we mentioned volume. Volume is really important here because you want to accumulate enough volume to grow your muscles. So that is 10 to 20 sets per muscle group per week. If you are time starved, if you just have to be as efficient as possible, going as low as five could give you some results, but they're not gonna be optimal. So 10 to 20 is solid. The rest periods are gonna be, in general, two to three minutes, but some may be as low as a minute or even 30 seconds. Some small isolation work. Or, of course, if you're doing things like drop sets, mile reps, rest, pause sets things that I'm not even gonna get to detail on here but supersets things that I'm not even going to get to detail on here, but a lot of the fun bodybuilding stuff, supersets and so on. They're very time efficient ways to train and still get a similar result but fit more work into less time. But generally I'm thinking two to three minutes. So if I'm going to do pull-ups, I'm going to rest two to three minutes. If I'm doing moderately heavy barbell curls, I'm going to go two to three minutes. Now, if I'm doing 20 reps of dumbbell, hammer curls with rest pause sets, well, those by definition are going to be probably only about 30 seconds. You're also going to when you do bodybuilding or hypertrophy type work.

Philip Pape: 25:17

There is sometimes a benefit to having a really controlled eccentric. That's the lowering phase. Now, this is not because of time under tension. This is more so that you get that pause in the bottom and that stretch in the lengthened position, and it also makes it a little bit harder to come back. You're taking out the stretch reflex. I found that's really good for tendons and connective tissue as well. So one of the things I've learned a lot from injuries and surgeries is the value of pausing.

Philip Pape: 25:45

And when I do, for example, an easy bar curl, I don't just go all the way down and just smack it back up, back and forth like bouncing out of the bottom. I go all the way down almost fully unlocked. I don't go all the way 100% unlocked, but pretty close to it, where it's a very stretched bicep, I pause for a half second and then go again. It's not like I'm waiting down there for a minute, but try it out. It will make it a little harder, you will have to drop the load slightly, but you'll get in a very effective workout.

Philip Pape: 26:11

And then, of course, you want to train each muscle group at least twice per week, and this is more of the frequency variable that we didn't really touch on yet. We talked about intensity, we talked about volume, but frequency is also important, and you're going to want to hit every muscle group at least twice a week, not necessarily directly, right? If you hit triceps one day and you're doing close grip bench the other day, you hit your triceps twice. So directly and indirectly, but one at least once directly and then and then at least twice or more directly or indirectly. Total, now, that's strength and that's hypertrophy. But where most people get confused is well, I want both, like I want to have my cake and eat it too, and you kind of can.

Philip Pape: 26:53

Okay, this is where power building comes in. The quote unquote power building, and I have no problem with the term. Some people roll their eyes. Oh, power building, what is that? I don't think we have to judge the term, just define what it means. And so I think it's an excellent approach for intermediate lifters.

Philip Pape: 27:07

I got introduced to it through my coach, andy Baker. He's been on the show like three times, I think he has the record for being on the show, and since then I've discovered lots of other coaches who have a similar style approach to programming. It's a lot of fun. It covers both strength and hypertrophy, both styles. It helps you learn a lot about your form, about lifts, about how to program for yourself, about how to manage fatigue and recovery. I'm like a walking sales pitch for it because I think, like most, let's say, the guys I identify with in their forties who don't have a crap ton of time, they have some time and they dedicate time to training for sure, maybe four days a week for an hour, hour and a half, but they want to get both and they're like well, if I just focus on going after max PRS, my muscle development's going to lag. If I just go after bodybuilding, I'm going to not get those PRS that I really want.

Philip Pape: 27:55

Okay, you can, you can combine both, and so to do that, you're usually going to start your training session with a heavy compound lift or two in that strength regime, three to six rep range. Maybe you're cycling through whatever. You're then going to follow it with some accessory or targeted developmental work that gets you a little bit of hypertrophy, a little bit of strength support. Right, it works on your weak spots. But also maybe you're in the eight to 12 range for some muscle growth as well, and it really depends on the movement, some parts of your work training block you might be doing goblet squats as your variation, others you might be doing safety bar, heel elevated squats, and one might be more fatiguing than the other. So you're going to have to judge how many sets you're going to end up doing, how much rest you need and what rep ranges you work in.

Philip Pape: 28:44

And then you're going to include both strength specific exercises to support the you know, the competition lifts basically, but also bodybuilding style isolation work. So it's sort of a whole gamut, kind of like a spectrum, and it usually looks like compound accessory isolation, each of those being one or two lifts. So a total of anywhere from three to six, seven or eight lifts, depending on how much time you have and how many sets you're doing, how much volume you can take, how much recoverability you have. And then you're going to periodize your training over time. You might spend part of that time let's say four to eight weeks, not really doing many of the main lifts but just doing a lot of accessory versions of them and emphasizing hypertrophy. But then you might spend 48 weeks really just focusing a lot on the big lifts and again, nothing precludes you from going all in on strength for a while and all in on hypertrophy for a while, and all of this stuff recognizes the fundamental truth that strength and size complement each other, and you will be better for it if you do cycle through. I am not talking about program hopping. I'm talking about spending a methodical, dedicated length of time in one mode learn about it, grow from it, get everything you can from it and then say, okay, I have achieved some level of growth that is meaningful to me. Now I'm going to go and work on a different part of my growth, because that kind of variety itself can be very powerful. More muscles does give you greater strength potential. Getting stronger does allow you to use heavier weights for your hypertrophy work, and so it creates a virtuous positive feedback loop. I'm experiencing that right now. I just hit my maxes last week my squat bench and dead and now I'm back to doing a little bit more power building and I'm finding that I'm way stronger in a bunch of my accessory and isolation lifts. Well, great, what does that allow me to do? That allows me to build more muscle from those. You can't just stay stuck in one.

Philip Pape: 30:44

One of the guys I follow. He was on the show he owns Macrofactor he's part of Stronger by Science is Greg Knuckles. You guys know Greg Knuckles, If not, look him up. Great guy, respected, very respected strength researcher. He nerds out on this stuff and he summarizes this strength hypertrophy relationship perfectly. He said early on in training, muscle mass explains only a few percent of strength gains and in experienced lifters it can explain 65% or more. And I mentioned that earlier and I wanted to reiterate it here in a single quote. All right, when you start you've got to get strong and as you get more experience you can do a little of both, and this shows why an integrated approach is going to yield the best result. When you become more advanced and more advanced doesn't take long to get to. If you do this right, your novice phase might be six months long, maybe nine months, maybe a year max, but then you're an intermediate lifter, then you go after it.

Philip Pape: 31:39

So, as we clarify this relationship between strength and hypertrophy, I want to address some of the mistakes and misconceptions that could be holding you back right now listening to this, because you've heard it over and over in the fitness industry and it's just plain wrong. Okay, the first one is this notion that you must train super heavy to build muscle. Now I respect the starting strength guys, mark Ripoteau, I came through that world. It changed my life. Everyone should buy Starting Strength. In fact, I think Starting Strength is a phenomenal beginner program for anybody to follow and if If you just follow it, you're going to be golden.

Philip Pape: 32:13

However, there is a lot of discussion about how only training that way is sufficient to build muscle, and I know they don't always mean that. What they're saying is for novices don't worry about building muscle, just get strong and the muscle is going to follow. That is true, I do agree with that. But if your goal is to build muscle, you don't necessarily need the heavy close to maximum load training. Goal is to build muscle, you don't necessarily need the heavy close to maximum load training. Research definitively shows that moderate weights as low as 30% of your 1RM can build just as much muscle as heavy weights, provided the sets are taken near failure. The key is always again, mechanical tension and effort, not absolute load, and this is great news if you just want to enjoy the process of building muscle. You have joint issues. Maybe you have limited equipment that you can't get to those loads. You're just not interested in maximal strength. Now I still think that's going to limit you long-term in terms of overall size and muscle development, but you're still going to build a ton of muscle.

Philip Pape: 33:13

The second thing is the idea that you can get as strong as possible without focusing on building muscle, and I don't think the research supports that. I think, early on, getting as strong as possible is the way to go. It's very efficient. It's what you need because beginners can get stronger through neural adaptations without much increase in size, but advanced lifters almost universally need more muscle to keep getting stronger. If you've been training for years and your strength has plateaued, then focusing on hypertrophy for a while might be exactly what you need. And I hear it anecdotally every day.

Philip Pape: 33:46

Somebody says look, I took a break from going. After PRs, I worked on a more well-rounded training program for muscular development. I came back and a lot of my lifts increased. Now it doesn't mean it's gonna directly translate to a specific lift right away, but it's gonna allow you to get to new levels of maximal strength and I think that's an important caveat or an important nuance in that. For example, the program that I just ran I didn't just start right away in triples, doubles and singles in the hopes that I just ran. I didn't just start right away in triples, doubles and singles in the hopes that I was going to get new PRs. No, I actually took a step back and I did more volume to get exposed to the movement patterns while being in more of a hypertrophy range, and then I started to shift more toward the strength range as it supported my strength and then I could hit new numbers. Does that make sense? I hope that makes sense.

Philip Pape: 34:36

The third big myth is that getting a pump, feeling the burn, getting sore, means an effective hypertrophy workout. I am all for getting a pump. It's fun. It is fun and you will get sore when you're exposed to a movement for the first time or two. That's totally normal. And while metabolic stress contributes a little bit to growth, again mechanical tension is the primary driver. The more research has come out, the more we've discovered that's the case. A workout that leaves you pumped and sore is not necessarily better for muscle growth than one focused on progressively loading, using good form and getting that mechanical tension. And you know you're hitting mechanical tension. When you're somewhat close to failure and you're actually able to lift more the next time, I mean that's a really good indicator that you're getting it, not that you're sore, you're getting a pump, et cetera.

Philip Pape: 35:29

And then another misconception is thinking that bodybuilders are not strong or that powerlifters don't care about muscle, Because at the elite level I've talked to these guys directly or on the podcast, or I've listened to them there's a lot more specialization at the elite level and most successful bodybuilders are super strong. They could not get to the size they are without being strong. Most accomplished power lifters they've built tons of muscle mass. Just stop trying to separate them as if they are in separate vacuums. They are not the difference in those athletes. Their training emphasis and their competition goals cause them to train a bit differently, but their fundamental physiological adaptations are the same.

Philip Pape: 36:18

The last thing I want to say that is super important and useful program hopping is not going to help you. Program hopping between strength and hypertrophy approaches like really quickly, within just like a few weeks at a time, without giving it either time to work, is going to set you back for years. You're just gonna be stuck. You've gotta give it time and you have to have patience. Both strength and size development require consistently training, showing up to the gym, progressive loading over time, over months and over years period. I'm sorry to say it, but I'm not sorry, because once you get into it and you realize how fun the process itself can be, you are not fixated on that final number. There is no final number. I look back every year and I say, well, I wanted to accomplish X and I realized I accomplished Y, and Y might be more or less than X and it might be different than X, but I've grown and that's really important. And then you learn from that. But if you jump between programs every few weeks, you're not going to have the accumulation of adaptations, of volume, of even frequency, needed for significant progress. So stop doing it.

Philip Pape: 37:29

So now that we've covered the science and the practice, I want to give you one more thing that might change how you view your training career, and that's what it is. If you're listening to Wits and Weights, strength training should be at the top of your list numero uno. It is the driver of body composition more than anything else. Whether you're trying to lose fat, build muscle, whatever, look great, feel great, get lean, the relationship between strength and hypertrophy is going to change dramatically based on how long you've been training. So I want you to think about this your training career when you're a beginner a lot of you are. You're listening to me. You're thinking I got to get off the couch, I got to start training. Or maybe I used to work out years ago, I've got to get back to it. Or maybe I've been going to the gym for 10 years but I'm not really getting the results.

Philip Pape: 38:17

You're a beginner. You are a beginner. If you don't feel like right now you are constantly getting stronger and growing and building muscle, you're doing something wrong and you're a beginner and that's okay. I envy you because you could now, doing it the right way, get jacked and strong so quickly. And so beginners want to focus primarily on getting stronger. In that moderate rep range, I'll say four to six to really narrow it down for you. Right, fives are classically thrown out there because of starting strength and what is it called? Strong lifts? Five by five, all of those, but even like five to 10, you know, through compound lifts you're just going to get so strong and you're going to build some size.

Philip Pape: 38:56

Once you get past that first few weeks of neuromuscular efficiency and actually start adding new muscle, it is the most efficient path period. The neurological adaptations come quickly. They call them newbie gains. The moderate volume provides enough stimulus for initial growth. And then you have a lot of frequency in that you are like squatting every session. You're deadlifting every session and you can do that. Don't think that you need to squat once every two weeks. You're not advanced enough to do that. You need to do it frequently.

Philip Pape: 39:26

So a program like Starting Strength, as mentioned before, is ideal for this. And you know, if I remember to do so, I'm going to throw a link in. No, you know what, I'm not going to throw a link in my show notes. I already have a link to the workout programs from Physique University in the show notes and in that file. All you have to do is ask for it. You'll download it In that file. If you go to the novice tab, it actually mentions starting strength and it points you to resources, a walkthrough that I've done on it, all the things you need to know. It's all in there, okay, and I give you other options for novice programs as well. These things will produce strength and visible muscle gains. If you're a novice and those first six, nine, 12 months are magical, if you do it consistently, if you eat enough, if you sleep enough, it's amazing. I am jealous for you. You've got to get on that right now.

Philip Pape: 40:13

Now for intermediates who have been training for, say, one to three years, seriously doing it the right way, using a barbell, using heavy implements, whatever it takes to get stronger from wherever you were, wherever you started, power building, I think, is great. I think the power building approach might be I don't want to say yields the quote unquote best results. That's a subjective statement. But it gives you enough heavy work to keep developing that neurological efficiency and keep those movement patterns in there, but also sufficient volume, variety, frequency of smaller isolation work to continue building muscle. So it's a nice blend if you have the time and the inclination for it. It's also a lot of fun. I think it's a great way to just keep yourself motivated.

Philip Pape: 40:56

And now, if you're more advanced than that, if you're pushing four, five, six years of serious progressive training getting strong, building muscle, you're going to need greater specialization period. Your nervous system adaptations are pretty much tapped out. They've maxed out. Further strength gains are going to correlate very heavily on increasing your muscle size, as we've mentioned a couple of times already. I mean this is why elite power lifters include distinct hypertrophy blocks in their training cycle. This is why Westside has power building, slash hypertrophy work constantly in there. They've got speed work, they've got bands and chains accommodating resistance. All of this specialization.

Philip Pape: 41:36

You know you may have a part of your body that does not respond as quickly as others. Maybe it's your biceps, maybe it's your back, maybe it's your calves guys, you know the calves are tough for a lot of us Maybe it's your glutes, whatever it is that you want to get bigger, you might have to specialize, you might need more frequency or a more targeted approach. And so you know, when you just look at competitive power lifters including those and you understand why and conversely, bodybuilders right, who are advanced bodybuilders, they're going to spend time in some strength periods in the off season, when they're eating, when they're not dieting right, because dieting is a big part of bodybuilding leading up to competition. But in the improvement season, the off season, they're going to be pushing their strength in the key lifts, not to mention the accessories and the isolation work. They want to be able to handle heavier weights, they want to have better connective tissue and joint health and ability to handle their fatigue and their recovery. And they might not test their 1RMs all the time, but they will track their strength to ensure that they're actually improving and getting stronger.

Philip Pape: 42:40

So the surprising truth, I'll say, is that for most of us, who I would call enthusiasts or recreational lifters, the goals of strength and hypertrophy are not competing, they're complementary. And if you know how to balance and periodize both types of training kind of like, we balance and periodize fat loss and muscle building phases, calorie deficits and calorie surpluses, and it's based on your experience level, based on the year time of year, based on your personal preferences and enjoyment, based on how much stress you have right now, based on how much recoverability you have, based on your diet itself. Your diet and your training actually go hand in hand as to which one you focus on when. If you're trying to max out your PRs, you probably should be doing that while you're eating a bunch of food and sleeping right, not in a dieting phase. You're just not going to. So if you can do that, you can achieve impressive gains in both, and you're not going to sacrifice either. You're not. It's going to work out, it really will. And isn't that liberating to know that you do not have to choose between being strong and looking strong right, if you have smart programming, you can have both.

Philip Pape: 43:44

So the next time that you are designing your training program or evaluating whether you should follow this strength-focused program here, this power-building program here, this hypertrophy program here, remember a few things from this episode and re-review this episode. I think it's important. Number one both strength and hypertrophy training rely on mechanical tension, but they optimize different aspects of it. Number two is that strength requires heavier loads, usually up above 65% of your 1RM, ideally around 80% or higher to maximize the neural adaptations, the movement patterns. Number three is that hypertrophy can occur across a much broader range of loads, as low as 30% of your 1RM, as long as you're training hard, as long as your effort is sufficient to get close to failure, to get that mechanical tension.

Philip Pape: 44:33

Number four if you're a beginner, get strong, get strong in the compound movements, ideally with a barbell. Number five if you're an intermediate, blend heavy strength work with hypertrophy work and kind of work them both in in a power building style. That's usually an efficient way to do it. And then, number six, if you're advanced, you've got to specialize and recognize that size and strength will always continue to be interconnected. So I want you to understand the science at this point is pretty clear. We're not really fuzzy on this. If you understand the relationship between strength and hypertrophy, you can train more intelligently and efficiently, saving time, avoiding the confusion that plagues so many lifters out there that do not have a clue. And if you think you don't have a clue, listen to this episode at least two times and reach out for help.

Philip Pape: 45:20

Go, download my programs. Join Wits and Weights Physique University. We'll help you figure it all out. And by applying these evidence-based principles. That's what they are. They're principles. It's not specific methods or programs. It's principles. If you can apply them, you're going to optimize your results. You will, I guarantee it. It's physics, it's biology. It's going to work, whether your goal is to lift more weight, build more muscle or both, all right. So if you're ready to put these principles into action because that is what you need next, guys, ladies and gentlemen, you need action.

Philip Pape: 45:51

I've created a complete set of strength and physique focused workout programs from Whitson Weights Physique University. We drop a new set every month and I'm giving you the latest month if you use the link in my show notes and I've got programs in there for novice, intermediate, advanced, different levels of equipment, different days per week. The programs incorporate both strength and hypertrophy elements and they give you balanced development depending on where you are in your training age. There's a built-in log, there's exercise substitutions, there's links to videos. It's got everything. Guys, what are you waiting for? It's totally free. Go to witsowheightscom, slash free or, better yet, just click the link in the show notes to download your free copy today. Until next time, keep using your wits, lifting those weights, and remember, with the right training approach, you don't have to choose between being strong and looking strong. You can have both. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast.

My Hardest Bulk Ever (The Hidden "Energy Drain" When Your Metabolism Fights Back) | Ep 284

Get your free Muscle-Building Nutrition Blueprint at witsandweights.com/muscle to optimize your nutrition for maximum muscle growth while minimizing fat gain.

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Learn how your metabolism can fight back during an aggressive muscle-building phase by dramatically increasing energy expenditure, even when you're doing everything right. 

Discover the hidden factors driving this metabolic adaptation and how to overcome them.

Main Takeaways:

• Your maintenance calories can increase significantly during a bulk due to metabolic adaptation (400+ calories)

• High-quality muscle gains are still possible even when facing metabolic resistance

• The 3 key factors that drive increased energy expenditure during a building phase

• How to successfully break through a hardgaining plateau

Episode Resources:

• Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS

• Download my Muscle-Building Nutrition Blueprint

Timestamps:

0:00 - The unexpected metabolic challenge
3:10 - Real data from my current bulk
8:33 - The hidden energy drain revealed
14:50 - 3 factors driving metabolic adaptation
16:48 - Strategic approach to overcoming plateaus
21:27 - Being realistic about timelines and goals
23:19 - Key lessons and broader applications

When Your Bulk Hits a Wall (How to Overcome Metabolic Adaptation)

Bulking should be simple, right?

Eat more, train hard, and watch the muscle pile on.

But what happens when your body seems to fight back, burning through your surplus like a furnace and refusing to let the scale budge? That’s exactly what I ran into during my latest bulk, and if you’ve ever stalled while trying to gain size, this one’s for you.

Why Metabolic Adaptation Isn't Just a Fat Loss Problem

We talk about metabolic adaptation all the time when it comes to fat loss. Your body gets efficient, burns fewer calories, and makes it harder to drop weight. But the same thing happens in reverse when you’re gaining—just with a different set of challenges.

Instead of holding onto energy, your body ramps up its calorie burn to keep weight gain in check. Here’s how it happens:

• Increased NEAT (Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis) – More movement, fidgeting, pacing, and subtle activity burns extra calories without you realizing it.

• Higher Training Demand – As you get stronger and lift heavier weights, your energy output climbs, especially if you’re running a high-volume program like I am.

• Metabolic Inefficiency – The more food you eat, the harder your body has to work to digest and process it, leading to an increase in calorie burn.

My Bulk Was Textbook… Until It Wasn’t

I started my bulk in late October, aiming for 1 pound of weight gain per week. Everything was on track—strength was up, muscle was growing, and my body fat stayed in check.

Then, around mid-January, the scale stopped moving. Despite eating in a consistent surplus, I hit a wall. And it wasn’t just daily fluctuations—my trend weight refused to climb, meaning my body had found a way to burn through the extra energy I was throwing at it.

My estimated maintenance calories jumped from 2,550 in early December to over 3,000 by February—a massive increase in energy expenditure. And despite pushing food intake higher, my metabolism adapted to keep me in check.

How to Overcome a Bulk Plateau

If you’re running into this same issue, here’s what you need to do:

1. Dominate Your Calories

• Eat early and often—front-load your meals to stay ahead of your burn rate.

• Focus on calorie-dense foods like whole milk, fattier cuts of meat, olive oil, and nut butters.

• Use liquid calories—shakes, smoothies, or even whole milk can make hitting your target easier.

• Add extra snacks with minimal fullness impact, like dried fruit, granola, and dark chocolate.

2. Track Your Trends and Adjust

• Don’t just look at daily weigh-ins—track your trend weight over weeks.

• Increase calories proactively, not reactively. When weight gain slows, add 100-300 calories immediately before you fall behind.

• If eating more becomes unbearable, dial back activity (lower step count, adjust training volume).

3. Reframe the Challenge

• A fast metabolism isn’t a bad thing—it’s a sign you’ve built muscle and increased metabolic capacity.

• Focus on performance. If strength is climbing and body composition looks solid, don’t stress over a short-term stall.

• Keep your bulk timeline flexible—if you don’t hit your exact weight goal by a set date, it’s not the end of the world.

My Final Thoughts

Bulking isn’t just about shoveling in more food. Your metabolism adapts to fight back, sometimes in ways that make progress frustrating. But if you recognize the signs early and adjust accordingly, you can push through and keep growing.

This isn’t a failure—it’s proof that your body is adapting, and that’s a good thing. Keep eating, keep training, and keep pushing forward.

👩‍💻 Book a FREE 15-Minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment:
https://witsandweights.com/free-call

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:02

Everyone talks about metabolic adaptation during fat loss, but no one warns you about what happens during an aggressive bulk. Here's what's happening right now Despite eating in a clear surplus and hitting PRs in the gym, my metabolism has cranked up to burn through everything I throw at it, my maintenance calories have shot up multiple hundreds of calories in just a few months, and today we're uncovering the hidden ways your body fights back during a muscle building phase and why, even when you're doing everything right getting stronger, building muscle, eating more than ever the scale can suddenly stop moving If you're trying to gain some muscle or push past a plateau in a bulk. You're going to learn exactly how to identify and overcome these metabolic roadblocks. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that helps you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, philip Hape, and today we're examining a fascinating phenomenon that is happening right now in my current bulk and I just had to press record and talk to you about it I am at least 14, let's see as I record this 15 or 16 weeks into what started as a textbook gaining phase, the strength gains have been very consistent, doing great in the gym, about to hit new PRs, the muscle gains are there, based on all of my measurements, but my body has thrown me a metabolic curve ball that I guess I didn't quite see coming. I've had situations in the past where I hit plateaus and hard gaining phases, but this one was quite persistent and I didn't wanna just record another podcast about eating more food. I think I wanted to explain the complex ways that your metabolism adapts during a bulk, because we talk about metabolic adaptation during fat loss all the time, but there's this reversed way that that happens during a bulk for different reasons and in different ways. That I think is important to understand, and these adaptations can sometimes derail your progress because they put you into what looks like a plateau and it could last for a long time if you don't know what to look for and what to do.

Philip Pape: 2:14

Now, before we dive in, I have created something for those of you wanting to maximize your muscle building results. It's one of my most popular downloads. It's called the Mus building nutrition blueprint. It lays out the exact steps to optimize nutrition, training and recovery for maximizing your gains while minimizing fat, and I keep it updated with the latest evidence. For example, what are the optimal rates of gain? If you want to understand a little bit of the science behind effective bulking, if you want to avoid some of the common pitfalls and if you want to see an entire appendix of how a real bulk was actually done successfully, with all the numbers, download your free copy at witsandweightscom slash muscle or click the link in the show notes for your free muscle building nutrition blueprint Again witsandweightscom slash muscle, or you could always click the link in the show notes.

Philip Pape: 3:10

So I want to start with some real experience, some real data, and share that with you. Because the numbers I'm a big numbers guy. I'm always tracking as much as I need to to measure progress, and they always tell you a story about what's happening, and in this case it's a story about how our bodies adapt during what I'll call an aggressive bulk. I started this gaining phase back on my birthday, october 26th, and I weighed about 175 pounds on the scale. I'm 5'9", I'm 44 years old Actually, I turned 44 on that day, obviously and the first 11 weeks or so went pretty much according to plan or maybe not 11, maybe 9 or 10 weeks. I went from 175 to about 189 by mid-January, and so I gained about exactly a pound per week. Exactly what I was going for right at the upper end of the new sweet spot and I say new because I used to be more conservative. Now I push things a little more aggressively for me and my clients, knowing that the science says it and reality says it, we could actually go at a decent clip to support real growth of muscle but avoid adding excessive fat. But only if you're precise about it and you're tracking your numbers. That's the key. And if you just kind of wing it and lag behind what's actually happening, it's not going to work as effectively. And so I would say the quality of my gains has been pretty solid this time around even more so than last time Based on body fat calculations using the Navy formula.

Philip Pape: 4:32

It's very simple For men that's just your neck and your waist, for women it's neck, waist and hips. Plug it into a calculator online. I actually have one in my website too, witsandweightscom, and the trend is what matters, not the actual numbers but the trend. And if you go by that, I've added about nine pounds of lean body mass, which is about 58% of my total weight gain as lean tissue, which, for being an intermediate maybe advanced trainee, I guess I'll go with intermediate it's a pretty good ratio right. Most would consider that pretty optimal. If you're more on the beginner side, you would expect to gain a little more, Keeping in mind that that 58 or that 60% lean mass it's not all muscle. There's a small percentage of that that is going to be fluid. That will come off later on when I do a fat loss phase, but a lot of it is muscle. So I'm happy with that and my measurements confirm this efficient gain.

Philip Pape: 5:22

My chest has gone up by about an inch and a half Um, and I'm not very good at developing my chest, I'll be honest. I'm more of a back guy, arm guy. Um, chest and legs are where I struggle and you don't have to work a little bit harder. My biceps have grown by half an inch. Thighs have added about one and a half inches.

Philip Pape: 5:37

You know some of you may say, oh, that's not a big deal. Others may say, oh, that's great. Keeping in mind I've been running primarily a strength-based program to build my peak, not a hypertrophy program. So I'm not really trying to add visible mass, especially pumping it up with fluid. I'm really looking to push. My lifts and my singles are going to be tested in a few weeks and I'm very confident that I'm going to hit new PRs based on my progress so far.

Philip Pape: 6:03

My waist has only gone up an inch and a half at most, so that tells you. I'm also having minimal fat gain around my midsection and I can see it in the mirror. This is the first bulk I've ever done this aggressively where I don't see a lot of fluff, which is pretty cool. It's kind of a validating thing where the more you do this and the more muscle you have, the less you have to be concerned about the fat that you add during a bulk. Okay, so that's the setup, but then something interesting happened because, despite continuing to eat in a surplus in the proper aggressive surplus I'm tracking with Macrofactor. By the way, guys, if you don't use Macrofactor, it's the only app that exists that can actually calculate your dynamic metabolism based on what you eat and what you weigh exists that can actually calculate your dynamic metabolism based on what you eat and what you weigh, and then it adjusts the gain or the surplus based on your true rate of gain, which is important in a surplus, because muscle and fat have different densities and everyone gains different ratio of muscle to fat, and so an app that can do that is incredible.

Philip Pape: 6:59

Of course, I'm an affiliate, so full disclosure. You can support me using my code wits and weights, all one word macro factor, downloaded from the app store. Anyway, I use it myself and despite consistently getting stronger in the gym and eating in, this surplus was a decent surplus my weight started to plateau, and by weight I don't mean my scale weight, I mean my trend weight. My scale weight always fluctuates, but you can tell when it's starting to fluctuate and it's like up down, up down within the same range for a while. That's telling you there's a plateau. And we're talking about this happening for almost a month now, and I know what to do during a plateau.

Philip Pape: 7:34

I eat more food. I get ahead of it. I always advise my clients when I see this we just need to get ahead of it. A hundred calories, 200, sometimes 300 calories, because your expenditure is starting to skyrocket, your metabolism is going up, and that's what I started to do. I just started to eat a heck of a lot more food, and part of the challenge there is I eat a lot of whole foods. So unless I add a ton more junk food or processed food, it's a challenge, right, but I'm not complaining about that I know to do that I can make it happen.

Philip Pape: 8:02

Now, the 189,. We're still not near my target of 195 to 200, which I had almost planned to reach by now before I transitioned to the maintenance phase, and so that's why I wanted to make this episode for any of you struggling with gaining right now. So here's where the story gets fascinating. Now I want to talk about this hidden energy drain that I teased you about in the podcast title. So I've been using Macrofactor tracking my nutrition and my expenditure throughout this bulk. The app calculates your expenditure based on your actual intake and your weight trend.

Philip Pape: 8:33

As I mentioned, you know one of the most powerful ways that we have to understand metabolism in real time, short of getting measured with a mask and or doubly labeled water or something crazy like that in a lab. So my expenditure started at 2,640, so 2,640 calories in October, and you might say, oh, that doesn't sound that high. But look, this was after a long cut, so it had come down, and then, after a little bit of a roller coaster, it actually dropped up, went up and went down to about 2,550 in early December which, by the way, that can happen. So don't get worried if your expenditure drops at the beginning of a bulk, um, that's normal. Your body's becoming more efficient, some other stuff is happening. But then the wild, uh, rocket launch occurred.

Philip Pape: 9:17

Okay, my expenditure started climbing steadily, week after week, until it hit nearly 3000 calories, and that's about a 400 calorie increase in maintenance, um, in a very short period, very, very quickly. And oh, and, that's, that's a net, by the way. So that's, it's more like 450, and it's actually above 3000 now. So we're pushing a 500 calorie change. So think about that for a second. My body's now burning extra four or 500 calories every single day compared to when I started the bulk. Even when I intentionally overeat by two to 400 calories above my target surplus, my body finds a way to burn through it all. The metabolism is incredibly adaptive and right now mine is working overtime. Right it's it's almost to my detriment.

Philip Pape: 10:00

And then what makes this more interesting is my diet quality is solid. Is it better than ever? I think it's pretty steady state, like generally. I, you know, I want to be a good example for my clients. I eat 80, 90% whole foods, a lot of fruits and vegetables, a lot of whole food based grains and, of course, lots of meat and dairy and fiber. I try to get you know at least 30 grams of fiber a day and this is fantastic for health, for digestion, for metabolic health, for hormones all that and even for your hunger signals to an extent. But it actually then creates another interesting challenge for gaining weight, in that they're nutrient-dense foods, so they're also higher volume foods and they're more filling. They have a higher thermic effect, so you're burning even more calories and sometimes it makes it hard to reach the high calorie targets. Now, like I said, that's not the fundamental issue that I'm having. I'm willing to make that trade-off right For long-term health and performance, because I'm trying to push.

Philip Pape: 10:56

But what I wanted to talk about is what's causing this, what I'll call energy drain. It's weird I know it's a weird phrase, but kind of, the way I see it is, the opposite thing happens in fat loss, where your body's clamping down. It's getting super efficient, it's trying to conserve energy and you don't want it to do that. You want it to burn calories. But in the bulk it's almost like an energy drain, like a leak, like your body is just burning so many calories. It almost seems impossible. So I want to explain that. The first thing that comes to mind is your training expenditure, and what I mean by that is we don't often give enough credit to the fact that the way we train burns calories, because even I often talk about the fact that that is not why we exercise right, we don't exercise to burn calories, but it does burn calories.

Philip Pape: 11:43

Now I've been running. Shout out to Alex Bromley Okay, look him up on YouTube. Really smart guy, uh, and I think he was just on Dave Tate's um table talk as well. I'm running his bull mastiff program which, by the way, I think you could still get it for free in boost camp. If you download boost camp, it's a really good workout logger app. I use it. Use my link in the show notes. I get a little bit of a bonus for affiliate bonus. It's very small, but just if you're looking to support me. But you can get Bull Mastiff and run it yourself.

Philip Pape: 12:12

Now this is a I'll call it a high load, but also high volume strength building and then peaking program, meaning for about nine weeks you do three waves of ever-increasing volume, that reset for each wave and you're doing a lot of volume, more volume than I've ever done, maybe double. Then you switch to a peaking phase where you reduce the volume but you start increasing the load. You get up into fours and then triples and then doubles. Now I'm finally in singles phase, which is going to lead to testing my one rep max for my squat, deadlift and so on. And while you're doing this kind of training, especially the high volume training that I was doing even though each rep might be more efficient as you get stronger, your body's using less energy for the same movement, because my movement patterns are being executed so frequently. I feel like there is a sense of efficiency there and then I'm able to push even harder. And now the increased volume and intensity. You multiply those together, you get higher energy demand. So while the efficiency might save a little bit, the volume more than makes up for it, especially the program I've been running. Again, I've never run this high of a volume program before. I suspect that's part of it. Now it's been at least six weeks since I was at level of volume. It's been way less volume and it's still going up. So you know it could be a cascade effect or just like kind of a runaway effect going on. So as you get stronger, as you're handling heavier weights during a bulk, even if you're doing fewer reps, your total tonnage, your work capacity tends to increase. You're able to push harder, push to that more effect, your effective reps get to a higher load, et cetera. All of that burns a ton more calories and then it has that afterburner effect and so on. So I think that's part of it. I think that's part of it. Just keep that in mind.

Philip Pape: 13:53

The second factor is NEAT, right, non-exercise activity thermogenesis. You heard me talk about this. This is everything you do outside the gym. Primarily you're walking. This is everything you do outside the gym primarily you're walking, but also you're fidgeting, unconscious movement, and it increases even if your step count doesn't change. Your knee might increase, sometimes dramatically, when you're in a surplus because you've got all this extra energy now almost nervous energy, you might call it. Your body unconsciously moves more throughout the day. You fidget more, you tap your feet, maybe you shake around a little bit more. Um, I stand working up most of the time and I catch myself. You know, shifting around you might take more steps, you might pace more when you're pacing, you know, you just might pace more and all these small movements add up to hundreds of extra calories burned without you realizing it. So that's my second theory here of supported by the evidence, is that your neat is unconsciously going up, even if your step count doesn't necessarily go up because of all these other unconscious movements.

Philip Pape: 14:50

The third factor is broader metabolic adaptation concept We've talked about a lot, especially during fat loss. You know, just like your body fights to preserve energy during a cut, it can fight to prevent excessive weight gain during a bulk by ramping up various metabolic processes in your body, like increased body temperature. You get a lot hotter, trust me, during winter now it's like the gap is even wider between what my wife thinks is cold and what I think is cold. You get higher energy expenditure during digestion. You're just eating a heck of a lot more food and digesting it a lot more frequently. Subtle changes in your hormone levels right, your body's like, yeah, you've got, you're flooding me with energy, there's no need to conserve anything here, wrap it all up, which is a great place to be energy wise. But then you become just less and less efficient with calories. You're just wasting calories left and right and your body's just burning the heck out of them. So those are the three factors I believe are important behind why you might have this runaway effect with your expenditure.

Philip Pape: 15:52

So understanding these adaptations has led me to think about how are we strategic with this? If you're dealing with this, what do I do for this? And three specific things came to mind. Yeah, I'm just going to, I'm just going to jump into them and you're basically balancing the fact that you have this short-term goal of, like, eating a ton of food and keeping up and continuing to build. I will say the one caveat before I get into any of these is I noticed that even though I have quote unquote maintained the fact that I've been eating more and more food has, ironically, still given me the feeling and performance of being in a surplus energy state. So it's not like I've fallen behind, because that's another issue people face is they actually start losing weight in this situation? But I've at least kept up with it and it's been more than enough, with a little bit of extra fat I have as well, to not make me feel like it's a problem, which I guess is a cool thing, right?

Philip Pape: 16:48

So the first thing I like to do as a strategy is what I call caloric dominance. Like, you've got to dominate those calories, and that means not just eating more, right, that's the simple thing. Okay, I need more food, great. But eating smarter, like front loading your calories in the day and around your training sessions, like just you've got to get ahead of it and be smart and realize that if you don't, it's going to catch up to you by later in the day. It's a little bit of a job. It's a little bit of a job to do. You got to understand that there's a trade off, there's a sacrifice, and that you have to be paying attention. And on top of this stuff, you've got to be strategic and plan ahead. Plan ahead, just like in fat loss, you want to plan ahead Same thing here to get all the calories in and eat around your training. Eat a ton around your training when your body is primed to use them, not like right before you train, where it's going to give you digestive issues, but around the training, strategically.

Philip Pape: 17:45

Add liquid calories. Whole milk is awesome If you can tolerate dairy. Whole milk is awesome If you can tolerate dairy, excuse me. Whole milk is fantastic. It's for the price and the macros and the calories and everything. It's a wonderful food. Of course, you know protein shakes, adding higher calorie ingredients, processing things, nuking, not nuking things. What am I trying to say, blending things together into smoothies and stuff, can definitely help. That's more of just a general strategy to get it in.

Philip Pape: 18:09

But high meal frequency, calorie dominance, starting early, getting around your workouts, calorie-dense foods that don't kill your appetite but still maintain that base of nutrient-dense whole foods. So, adding in extra olive oil to your meals, choosing fattier cuts of meat oh, extra olive oil to your meals. Choosing fattier cuts of meat oh ribeye this is the time to go to town on ribeyes. Man, that marbled fat there is like nature's butter. Well, butter is from nature, but you know what I mean? It's like the steaks built in butter, having lots of nuts and nut butters as snacks. You know it's great and the key here is to to keep it consistent. Like having regular meal timing.

Philip Pape: 18:51

While you're scaling everything up because you don't want to make, you don't want to get in a situation when you're just trying to catch up and you're stuffing yourself. That is not fun. Or you're like I'm gonna go Like uh gorge on rice crispy streets and pop tarts because I just need the calories. That is not a sustainable situation you want to be in. So again, think of things like dried fruit, granola, like homemade or even packaged granola. They tend to be calorie dense as well, without giving you excessive fullness. So that's calorie dominance.

Philip Pape: 19:20

The second thing here second strategy, is about mindset. It's about maintaining perspective and resilience. So, instead of just getting frustrated by the plateau, which you know, after a week I'm like, okay, it's not moving, what do I do, right? I use this opportunity to learn about my body's response, and it might be different every time you do a bulk Like. For me, this is a unique situation for the first time because it's it's persistent, but it also maybe tells me some good things that my body is really growing and really taking advantage of this caloric environment.

Philip Pape: 19:53

So your data, whatever data you have, like the data for macro factor, for example it's not just numbers sitting there, it's the feedback you need to close the loop right. The control system. It helps me understand how my metabolism adapts to different situations. This is why I like people to keep tracking, even when they're sick or even when they have a surgery or whatever, assuming the tracking itself isn't stressful in those situations. It helps you understand how your body reacts to those, and then that knowledge is super invaluable for future gaining phases or whatever situation and, of course, for me, helping others through similar challenges. It's amazing.

Philip Pape: 20:29

So when you're facing a plateau, it's easy to get caught up in the numbers and just lose sight of the bigger picture. And remember that your scale weight, your trend weight, is just one metric. I mentioned this already. My performance is really strong. My energy is really high. The quality of my training not only hasn't it suffered, it's continuing to increase, and through this I've been dealing with some of my legacy shoulder issues, having nothing to do with my bulk or anything else, and those gave me little setbacks along the way. But the fact that I'm so well fed has actually been helpful. So sometimes the best response to a plateau any plateau is step back, appreciate the progress you've already made, appreciate all the wonderful victories you're getting right now despite the plateau, and, of course, stay patient with the process, because it's data telling you that something might have to change. You learn from it and you grow and you continue. That's what I have to say about that. All right.

Philip Pape: 21:27

The third strategy is I guess it's also mindset, but it's really being realistic about the timelines and the goals, because that can frustrate the heck out of you, like like it could have done to me when I said I needed to be, by one at one, 95 by this date, cause I'm going to be doing a cut like four weeks after that. No-transcript will end naturally at that point. And you know what? That's perfectly fine. Not only that, what are the advantages of that? All right, maybe one advantage is I won't be as heavy as expected, so the cut is gonna be easier to get to my target weight. Great, that's a great way to reframe it.

Philip Pape: 22:25

When I look at the bigger picture, I'm in a great place. I've gained quality mass, my performance is solid, I'm maintaining better nutritional habits than ever before, even in a gain, and the fact that my maintenance calories have increased so dramatically is actually a sign of improved metabolic capacity. Sometimes our bodies have different plans than what is up here in our brains, and learning to work with that because that's reality, that's reality rather than against it that is going to go a long way toward being a positive, optimistic person. That will make you successful over the long term. All right, so I hope you take away from all of this something super fascinating and also inspiring about building muscle, in that your body is very intelligent. Also inspiring about building muscle in that your body is very intelligent when you understand that these adaptations occur not as obstacles, but as signals that you are pushing the boundaries of growth.

Philip Pape: 23:19

That is where you can say all right now, what do I do to work with that? The fact that my maintenance calories have increased so dramatically is not a problem at all. It is a sign my body has built the machinery to handle more volume, more food and ultimately, yeah, more muscle. That's my takeaway. Maybe I'm rationalizing, lying to myself, but I don't think I am. This is like an increased metabolic capacity. It means I'm more resilient. It means I'm more capable of handling intense training. It means I'm better equipped for long-term growth. And guess what? I know I can now do this kind of program in the future and get some pretty good gains, which means look out numbers. Here we come, all right.

Philip Pape: 23:58

So we often hear about metabolic adaptation during fat loss, but the same mechanisms are working in reverse during a bulk, and that was what I wanted to talk about today. So if you can understand this, it's not just going to help you gain weight, that's fine. Eat more calories, that's fine. It really helps you build a more resilient, more capable physique All right, a physique that you didn't have before. That is a new person. You've become a more athletic, strong, capable person. Stop chasing skinny, start chasing strong.

Philip Pape: 24:27

What I've learned through this phase has changed how I approach muscle building now for the next time, as well as for myself and my clients. And sometimes the hardest gains. You know that these hard parts are the things that teach us the valuable lessons about how our bodies adapt and grow. All right, if you want to build muscle more effectively and understand the science behind successful bulking, grab your free copy of my Muscle Building Nutrition Blueprint. This guide gives you the exact steps and framework to optimize your nutrition to maximize muscle growth and minimize fat gain. Head to witsandweightscom slash muscle or click the link in the show notes to download your copy 100% free. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember when your metabolism fights back, it is not trying to stop you. It is challenging you to get stronger. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast.

Lifting Weights vs. Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) for Fat Loss Over 40 | Ep 278

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Can strength training alone help optimize your hormones after 40, or do you need homone replacement therapy (HRT)?

Learn what the research actually says about how lifting weights impacts your endocrine system and body composition.

Whether you're dealing with menopause, andropause, or age-related changes, discover how to make informed decisions about combining lifestyle interventions with medical approaches for optimal results.

Main Takeaways:

• Strength training influences hormones through multiple pathways beyond just building muscle

• Your body becomes more efficient at using hormones through proper training

• The type and intensity of training matters significantly for hormone optimization

• Context is crucial when deciding between training alone or combining with HRT

• Consistency and progression are key for long-term hormonal health

Timestamps: 

00:01 - Can strength training really impact your hormones after 40?
03:47 - Breaking down what happens to hormones with age
08:29 - Three key pathways strength training affects hormones
13:21 - Systems optimization approach for hormone health
17:32 - Three scenarios for combining strength training and HRT
21:04 - Research on maintaining youthful hormone profiles 
22:45 - Closing remarks and community invitation 

Should You Lift Weights or Use HRT for Fat Loss Over 40?

As you move into your 40s and beyond, changes in hormones, metabolism, and body composition make fat loss and muscle maintenance harder than they used to be. The common advice? Get on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) or lift weights—or both. But which approach is best for optimizing body composition, and can strength training alone be enough to regulate hormones?

Let’s break down the science behind lifting weights, hormonal changes, and fat loss to help you decide what works best for you.

How Aging Affects Your Hormones and Body Composition

As we age, hormones like estrogen, progesterone, testosterone, and growth hormone naturally decline, leading to:
✅ More fat storage, especially around the midsection
✅ Muscle loss (sarcopenia), making it harder to stay strong and lean
✅ Decreased insulin sensitivity, making it easier to gain fat
✅ Higher cortisol levels, increasing stress-related fat accumulation

For women, menopause causes a steep decline in estrogen, which leads to a slower metabolism and increased visceral fat storage. For men, testosterone gradually declines by about 1% per year after 30, which can reduce muscle mass and fat-burning capacity.

With these changes, the way you approach fitness and nutrition needs to evolve.

Can Strength Training Improve Hormones and Help with Fat Loss?

The short answer? Yes. Strength training is one of the most effective tools for managing hormones naturally. Research shows that lifting weights influences hormones in three key ways:

1. It Increases Hormone Receptor Sensitivity

Even if your hormone levels decline with age, your body can become more efficient at using them. Strength training enhances receptor sensitivity to hormones like testosterone, estrogen, and insulin, meaning you get more benefits from what’s already in your system.

2. It Triggers an Acute Surge in Anabolic Hormones

Heavy compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, and presses stimulate:
🔺 Growth hormone – Can increase up to 400% during training, supporting muscle growth and fat metabolism.
🔺 Testosterone – Rises significantly even in postmenopausal women, improving lean mass retention.
🔺 Insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) – Helps with tissue repair and regeneration.

3. It Improves Insulin Sensitivity

Muscle tissue acts as a storage site for glucose, reducing insulin resistance and making fat loss easier. Strength training increases GLUT4 transporters, helping your body store and use carbohydrates efficiently—without spiking insulin.

Should You Do Strength Training Instead of HRT? Or Both?

The answer depends on your symptoms, hormone levels, and goals. Let’s look at three scenarios:

Scenario 1: Mild Symptoms & Body Composition Changes

If your primary concerns are muscle loss, slower fat loss, and mild energy dips, start with strength training first. Give it three to six months while tracking changes in:
✔ Muscle tone and strength
✔ Fat distribution
✔ Energy and recovery levels

If these improve, you may not need HRT at all or might choose a lower dose if you decide to go that route.

Scenario 2: Severe Menopausal Symptoms or Significant Hormone Deficiencies

If you're experiencing hot flashes, extreme fatigue, major muscle loss, or severe metabolic decline, combining HRT with strength training is likely the best approach.

HRT can restore optimal hormone levels, while lifting ensures those hormones are effectively utilized for muscle retention, fat loss, and metabolic health.

Scenario 3: Already on HRT and Want to Maximize Results

If you’re already using testosterone replacement therapy (TRT), estrogen therapy, or bioidentical HRT, strength training will enhance the benefits and may even allow for a lower dose over time.

Many individuals on HRT find that adding a structured strength program improves their results dramatically by boosting muscle mass, fat loss, and overall energy levels.

Best Strength Training Approach for Hormone Optimization

To get the biggest hormonal response from lifting, follow these science-backed training principles:

✅ Train 3-5 times per week – Focus on progressive overload and consistent resistance training.
✅ Prioritize compound movements – Squats, deadlifts, presses, pull-ups, and rows engage the most muscle fibers.
✅ Use heavy weights with proper intensity – Work in the 4-8 rep range for big lifts and 8-12 reps for accessory exercises.
✅ Rest 2-5 minutes between sets – Allows for maximum strength output and hormone response.
✅ Track your biofeedback – Monitor strength progression, recovery, sleep, and mood to see how lifting impacts your hormones over time.

The Bottom Line: Strength Training Should Be Your Foundation

Whether you choose HRT or not, lifting weights should be part of your strategy. It preserves muscle, improves metabolism, and supports hormone health, helping you stay strong and lean well into your 40s, 50s, and beyond.

If you're on the fence about HRT, start with strength training first, track your progress, and then reassess if additional intervention is needed. Either way, the barbell should be your best friend for longevity, strength, and body composition.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

Should you lift weights? Should you get hormone replacement therapy? Should you do both for fat loss over 40, men and women? If you're wondering if lifting weights alone can make a big difference in your hormone levels, we're going to talk about that today. I'm answering a question from our Facebook group about optimizing hormones and body composition after 40, and you'll discover what the research actually says about strength training's impact on your endocrine system.

Philip Pape: 0:26

Whether you're dealing with menopause, andropause or any other age-related changes, the goal is to you build a strong, healthy physique using evidence, engineering and efficiency. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we are answering an excellent question from Angela L in our Facebook group, and she asked can strength training impact hormones, specifically in menopausal women? Does strength training provide benefits in production and or regulation of hormones that can help with fat loss? Is strength training a good first step before trying HRT? Now, the reason I love this question is it gets to the heart of something that I deal with constantly in nutrition coaching people wondering whether lifestyle interventions like strength training lifting weights are enough, or do they still need medical approaches like hormone replacement therapy or HRT? Now the research here reveals some, I'll say, fascinating, overlooked connections between resistance training and hormone regulation that we don't talk about a lot and I wanted to dig deeper into that subject today. So, angela, your timing couldn't be better, because I've got lots of clients that navigate this exact challenge and it's been really amazing to see their ability to improve their hormone levels without HRT or in complement with HRT, and we're going to cover that today Before we get into it.

Philip Pape: 2:04

If you find value in some of these discussions based on evidence and you want to connect with others, like Angela who asked the question, who are on their strength training journey, join our free Facebook group. Just search for Wits and Weights in Facebook or click the link in the show notes. It's really an amazing community we're at about a thousand now are really trying to grow. People sharing their experiences, asking great questions. We do a biweekly live. I share lots of free resources. Sometimes I just do ad hoc videos and lives to help you out with specific topics and help each other succeed. So click the link in the show notes to join the Facebook group and I will see that. Come in and I'll approve you and you can join the group.

Philip Pape: 2:43

All right, so let me show you how we're going to break this down today I want you to think of your body as a complex system with multiple interconnected feedback loops. Right, we've talked about this concept before. It's the kind of thing we deal with in engineering. We've got hormone production, receptor sensitivity, tissue response, and all of these work together. If you can understand the connections, we then can optimize the system instead of just focusing on one single component. So I'm going to start by laying out exactly what happens to our hormones as we age, because then that sets up everything else we'll discuss. It's probably why Angela asked the question and then I'm going to show you specific ways that strength training itself influences these hormone systems. And that's, I think, where it gets interesting. Even I always learn something new when I do this research behind the scenes. And then, finally, I'll give you a practical framework, as always, for deciding whether strength training alone might be enough for you or if combining it with HRT makes more sense.

Philip Pape: 3:47

So first let's talk about what happens to our hormones after 40. And for some of you, it might start happening in your 30s. You know, the period of perimenopause for women can start in your 30s. Everybody's a little bit different and of course, men can have a decline in their hormones as well, predominantly testosterone. I'm going to get a little bit technical here, which I think you guys like, but I do like to nerd out. I hope you do too, but I think it's important to understand this.

Philip Pape: 4:13

So, for women entering perimenopause and menopause, what we see is the major change in two key hormones estrogen and progesterone. Now most people know about the drop in estrogen, but what usually gets missed is it's not just the having less estrogen, it's about how that decline affects your metabolic system, your metabolism. The research shows that when estrogen drops, especially a form called estradiol, three major things happen. First, your body starts storing more visceral fat, that is, the dangerous fat around your organs. Your muscle tissue becomes harder to maintain, and so that leads to accelerated sarcopenia or muscle loss. And then your insulin sensitivity also decreases, making it easier to gain fat and then harder to lose fat. And so I see this play out a lot with clients, and we talk about this in the Physique University. We just had one of our live calls and I showed the timeline.

Philip Pape: 5:14

That happens when you get into peripost-menopause, and again, this is going to apply to men and women to an extent, but predominantly women right here, and clients are frustrated. Women are frustrated, right Because you are eating the same way you've always had. But then you start gaining weight, and not just anywhere, you're getting it around your belly right. So we hear the phrases menopause, belly, belly fat. And then your doctor says, even if you have a halfway decent doctors, they might mention HRT. I know a lot of doctors won't even mention it. That's a whole separate discussion.

Philip Pape: 5:44

So HRT hormone, bioidentical, hormone replacement therapy and you either start down that path or you're like well, before I do that, let me try some other approaches, some lifestyle approaches and clients that come to me. Either Either they start on HRT because they've addressed an issue, a deficiency, or they haven't done it yet and they want to see if some other things will normalize their hormones first, to see where the real issues lie, if there are any. So that's kind of where I'm getting to with this episode today, and what I usually see with women in that situation is women are storing more fat. They're responding differently to their usual diet and exercise routine that they've done for years. What worked in the past no longer works now. And it's not that you're broken, it's not that, like all of physics has changed, it's not that you're doing anything wrong, it's that the context has evolved and we have to evolve with it.

Philip Pape: 6:38

And for many of us, for many of you listening and watching, when you were younger, you could kind of get away with more types of training and types of eating and your body would be cool with it. And so then in your brain you're like, okay, this works, but in reality you were just delaying the inevitable. Now, for men, the changes are, I'll say, more gradual, but they're still very impactful. I mean, you know, men are really affected by these, uh, this situation as well, because around age 30, testosterone starts to drop roughly at 1% per year on average, and you know that might not sound like much, but if you compound it over 10, 20 years, you're looking at pretty significant changes. And then, by the age of 50, many men have testosterone levels that are like a quarter, you know 25% lower than their peak. And so what's interesting is for both men and women, they see growth hormone drop and IGF-1 drop with age, and so those are like your repair and regeneration hormones, if you will.

Philip Pape: 7:36

You know, when they decline, everything from your ability to maintain muscle, to metabolize fat, becomes more challenging. It's like stacking on top of each other. Then there's another hormone that tends to be a boogeyman but it does increase with age, and that is cortisol. Cortisol, the stress hormone, and that can affect your body composition. If it's chronically high and higher, cortisol then leads to increased belly fat storage and it could actually break down muscle tissue. And then the, of course, physical and psychological stress of aging just more obligations, and you're older and there's lots of things going on in your life. They drive cortisol up just when we would hope that it's more regulated. So I get it right, I'm 44. I'm just experiencing a little bit of this now. Fortunately, I started lifting about five years ago and I've noticed how beneficial that has been to a lot of different things, including testosterone. Uh, but we're going to get into that now.

Philip Pape: 8:29

How does strength training influence the hormone systems? Because Angela's question was um and by the way, if I sound a little hyper, it's because I've just had my coffee but strength training, um, the? The question is can you just lift weights and will that, you know, fix your hormones, so to speak? And this is where I think, like the technical engineering background kind of helps the systems thinking so, when you lift weights, you are, yes, building muscle, but you're also creating a cascade of hormonal responses. It's like you're tuning multiple control systems in your body simultaneously together. Right, they're not independent variables, they're all working together, and the research here is pretty robust and also pretty amazing. So I reviewed some of the studies. There is a 2022 meta-analysis, which is a study of studies, and they looked at 50 studies and they found that strength training influences hormone regulation through three main pathways, and I'm going to break them down. The first one is that it improves hormone receptor sensitivity.

Philip Pape: 9:31

So, even if your hormone levels are lower, your body becomes more efficient at using what you have. So it's kind of like upgrading your hormone software. Right, even as the hardware changes. The hardware's evolving, but now you're upgrading the software to kind of keep up. It's older hardware but newer software, and I've seen this with male clients. A lot of my male clients are in their 40s, 50s, 60s, so you start to see this around the 50s, especially dealing with lower testosterone, and some men are like jumping at the chance to go on TRT and others don't want to go there yet because they want to see like, is there something else I can do? And so we focus on a structured strength program keeping the stress levels down. Right, you're not necessarily going to the gym seven days a week and what you sometimes find when you lift is that total T doesn't necessarily go up. It could, but free T, the amount available for your body to use, can improve. We see this a lot with those situations where you're more efficient with your testosterone, which is it's emboldening. It's empowering to think that, because then you know it's not, you're not just trying to crank up your T level, you're trying to better use it right, and then your energy improves, you start having better symptoms, maybe building muscle more easily and have improvements in your body composition, even though your hormone level, your total, hasn't changed that much. So the sensitivity is important to understand.

Philip Pape: 10:55

The second. Well, okay, I think I might cover this later, but you think of how insulin sensitivity increases when you lift weights. So apply that to any hormone in a good way. The second pathway is the acute hormone response, right. So, like the in the moment, short-term hormone response. When you perform heavy compound movements, right, like the squat, like the deadlift, your body produces a surge of anabolic hormones. Growth hormone can increase by up to 400% during an intense training session. Testosterone rises significantly Even in menopausal women, who have a much lower baseline testosterone but, as I learned from Karen Martell, that is still the highest hormone in your body. Like you have the most of that of any hormone, even though it's much lower than men.

Philip Pape: 11:44

The acute response from lifting helps maintain your muscle mass and your metabolic health. So it's super important. But wait, there's more right, because I mentioned cortisol. Strength training helps regulate cortisol, the stress hormone, because and the irony is that when you lift weights it causes an acute cortisol spike during the workout, but over time it actually improves your body's stress response system, kind of like how it raises your blood pressure during the workout but it actually gives you lower overall blood pressure and metabolic health. Studies show that regular strength training can lower baseline cortisol levels and improve how your body handles stress hormones, and I think I touched on this a little bit in another episode about how just being a lifter helps your body handle lots of things better stress, alcohol, whatever Very important concept to remember.

Philip Pape: 12:33

And then the third pathway is about insulin sensitivity. So I promised I would get to that. Your skeletal muscle is the largest glucose sink in your body. It's this nice huge pool to store glucose. The more muscle you have, the better your body then handles blood sugar. So strength training increases something called GLUT4, glut4 transporters, and that helps shuttle glucose into your muscle cells without needing as much insulin. And so that is massive for fat loss as well, because better insulin sensitivity means better nutrient partitioning and then better metabolic health. It all works together. It's really, really cool. I hope you find this stuff as fascinating as I do. So that's kind of how strength training impacts hormones through three pathways that are very important.

Philip Pape: 13:21

Now what do we do with this information? So we're going to use what I call systems optimization approach, right? Systems? We talk about systems the same way we would tune an engineering system, right? That's where I come from. So you need, I'll say, four key components to tune your system. You need the input right, these are going to be your training parameters for your lifting. You need the control that's going to be progressive overload and managing recovery. You're going to need feedback. So these are your like, writing down what you're doing in the gym, your performance metrics, as well as your biofeedback and then output. So how does your body composition change and how do your hormone markers change? And, by the way, in the feedback, that can also include the blood work and the hormone panels as well. You may not need to go to that level, honestly, it could be just symptom driven by biofeedback, but just keep that in mind.

Philip Pape: 14:14

So for the training parameters, research shows that the sweet spot for hormones is going to be what we talk about all the time, something like three to five sessions per week, prioritizing compound movements, big heavy lifts that use multiple joints. But it doesn't always have to be in the heavy rep range, which I would say is like four to six and four to eight. It could also you know, you could definitely have some accessory work in there in the eight to 12 rep range. More importantly is the mechanical tension and depends on what your goals are, but some, some combination of those. You then have to have progressive overload consistently applied. What does that mean? That means you are always pushing yourself to your current limit so that you can adapt and create a new limit that's stronger over time. So if you were able to lift you know, 135 pounds for your squat this session, you might lift 140 next time. Or if you're able to get eight reps at a certain weight, you would get 10 reps at a certain weight, some combination of that, which we're not going to get into super great detail today, but I have other episodes about it. I also have some guides on that.

Philip Pape: 15:14

Okay, and then you know, interestingly, when we look at what types of movements create a large hormonal response, it's going to be the ones that use more muscle mass, more of your system, more of your body, the bigger, the ones that recruit more muscle fibers. So squat, deadlifts, um presses, rows, pull-ups, lat pull-downs, really any compound lift you can think of. And then, of course, you can branch out into other movements to compliment that. So it's yet another reason to lift, lift heavy and use compound lifts and use all the things we talk about, as opposed to the YouTube workouts that change every time, that have like 20 reps. That are circuits. You know the circuit training yeah, it's got to be heavy where you're taking long rest periods, you're in fairly lower rep ranges and you're progressing over time.

Philip Pape: 16:02

My female clients who stick to those types of programs are the ones that have massive success and they find that this cascade of hormones leads to lots of other benefits, including fat loss. It makes it so much easier. The rest periods I mentioned that they matter more than most people realize. Um, the rest periods I mentioned that they matter more than most people realize. Um, if you're trying to maximize strength and muscle, you need longer rest periods, but it also doesn't hurt to have shorter rest periods for endurance, for work capacity, for even for hormone output. There is some correlation. So I like to mix both right. I like to have big lifts where you're resting three to five minutes and then a couple accessories after that where you might rest anywhere from rest anywhere from 30 seconds to two or three minutes. So that's just training in general.

Philip Pape: 16:47

The question here now getting back to Angela's original question is should you do strength training instead of HRT or should you use both? It depends. This is where context becomes really important, because this is I'm not a hormone. I'll call it expert. I'm not a hormone coach. This is not a hormone podcast, but I listen to a ton of information about, and research a ton of information about hormones, and I'm always working with clients on trying to, I'll say, not interpret their hormone panels, because that's technically outside my scope of practice, but take the interpretation and then apply it to okay, what are we doing for our training and our nutrition that can be improved? That might then translate back to an improvement in hormones. And the research shows.

Philip Pape: 17:32

I'll say three scenarios that you might fall under. The first one is if your symptoms are moderate and primarily related to body composition so increased fat storage, increased muscle loss I think starting with strength training is the best thing you can do. It's very accessible, right. You can literally start this week. You don't have to hunt around for a good medical practitioner and I mean it's a whole can of worms when you talk hormone replacement therapy. Good medical practitioner, and I mean it's a whole can of worms when you talk hormone replacement therapy. And I would give it three to six months with a before and after, with everything you care about. So if that means hormones, get a hormone panel, maybe work with a hormone therapist, but then see what happens with just the strength training as its own variable. It's good to know that for yourself because that'll give you the confidence that a lot of this is in your control. Okay, and that doesn't preclude you then using HRT anyway. After that. We're only talking a few months.

Philip Pape: 18:25

And I say this because I've had a lot of clients who have these perimenopausal symptoms, right, and some of them have, like you know, the hot flashes and all the symptoms, I mean the laundry list of 10 to 15 symptoms that start to occur, and they come to me for lifestyle changes, and so sometimes what they're doing is a lot of cardio, a lot of um, high rep work. Maybe it's not consistent, maybe they're not progressing, they have a lot of stress, maybe they're not sleeping as enough enough, maybe they're not walking as much. So there's usually a lot of low hanging fruit, and oftentimes you're so overwhelmed with life or you've you've tried so many things or you've paid so many coaches you just feel lost or like you've hit a wall. And, frankly, I get men in this situation too, where they keep jumping around diets. It's like I'm gonna do carnivore, that's gonna fix it. Nope, I'm gonna switch up my lifting to this thing where I don't have to irritate my shoulder at all, and then I'm gonna make progress. Nope, something has to change. You know, something has to change. And so when we take the stress out, we focus on sleep, we focus on recovery, and then we have a reasonable level of intensity and volume for your training right, which for a lot of women means getting stronger, not the circuit stuff. Body composition starts to improve and then the symptoms start to improve, and then, when you get blood work, you notice your hormones are improving as well Not always, but often and then it becomes manageable and then you can say, okay, if I still need HRT, I could at least target it. So all of that was the first scenario.

Philip Pape: 19:47

The second scenario is if you've got severe menopausal symptoms so debilitating hot flashes, significant bone density loss you may need to jump right into doing both Strength training with HRT, right, and frankly, a good medical practitioner who's an expert on hormones should be able to tell you that hey, you're far off the range that you should be on this thing and so we need intervention and even lifting, and lifestyle isn't going to fix that. But a lot of people are kind of on the hairy edge and it's because the lifestyle isn't great and we fix the lifestyle and then everything comes back normal. And then guess what you don't have to do HRT, at least for a while, or you don't have to do as much, or you don't have to do as many different hormones. And then deal with potential you know potential symptoms from that, which, again, I'm not um, I'm not dissing HRT at all. I think it's awesome. A third I think it's awesome.

Philip Pape: 20:41

Third scenario if you're already on HRT, if you're already on it, which a lot of my clients come to me having gone through a hormone therapist or you know I mentioned Kara Martell before and others like her working with her and then they'll come to me. The proper strength training, then, can enhance the benefits of the HRT, and sometimes you end up finding that you need to reduce it. People who strength train regularly respond better to hormone therapy as well, so sometimes it makes sense to do both together. All right, hopefully I haven't gotten off on too many tangents.

Philip Pape: 21:04

But to sum all this up, in general, the research shows that people who maintain consistent strength training through their 40s and 50s often maintain hormone profiles that are closer to their younger years. And that makes sense because physique-wise, body composition-wise, strength-wise, I've seen people turn back the clock 10, 20 years because they improved their lifestyle. Right? There was a recent study that found that resistance-strained individuals over 50 had growth hormone and testosterone levels which averaged 30 to 40% higher than their sedentary peers. Right? So we can't stop the hormonal changes, but we can significantly influence how our bodies adapt to them and are efficient with them by incorporating lifting. There's no reason not to do it, I hope, is the message you've taken from this. So, as we wrap up, remember your body is very adaptive. No matter what age you are, it's always going to adapt to what you give it, and so, if you choose to pursue HRT or not, you should always have strength training in the foundation of your lifestyle.

Philip Pape: 22:04

It's the one intervention that improves every marker of health and fitness. We care about Every single one. There's no downside whatsoever. The key is doing it right, being consistent, using progression right. You don't have to be a power lifter. You don't have to be a bodybuilder. You're not going to get bulky. You don't have to gain weight. You can gain a tiny bit of weight, but it'll be mostly muscle. That's a whole separate topic. You just have to challenge your muscles and push the limits right. The weights have to feel heavy. You've got to be training hard. You've got to be moving and growing. Start where you are, progress systemically and then let those compounding effects of training accumulate and improve your home run profile over time.

Philip Pape: 22:45

All right, if today's episode resonated with you, if you want to connect with others like Angela optimizing their health through strength training, join our Facebook group. Search for Wits and Weights on Facebook or click the link in the show notes. Share your wins. With training, you can ask questions, become part of the community. Have fun. That's what we do. We have fun. We're positive. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember your body's systems get stronger and more resilient with every training session, no matter your age. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.

The WORST Weight Loss Diet to Lose 20 Pounds or More | Ep 272

Book a FREE 15-minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment, designed to fine-tune your strategy, identify your #1 roadblock, and give you a personalized 3-step action plan in a fast-paced 15 minutes.

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Are crash diets secretly sabotaging your fat loss efforts? Can eating less ever be too much? What if the key to lasting results is a completely different approach?

Philip (@witsandweights) dives deep into the science of fat loss to reveal why the most common methods of rapid weight loss often fail and how they can even harm your long-term goals.

Discover the red flags of unsustainable diets, why most of them fail, and how to design a personalized, sustainable fat loss strategy that works for your unique needs and lifestyle. Philip breaks it all down into actionable insights to help you lose fat, build muscle, and feel amazing without falling into the crash diet trap.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

3:37 Red flags to spot an unsustainable diet
7:50 Why crash diets seem to make perfect sense
9:31 Science of how your body adapts to aggresive calorie cutting
12:38 Five specific ways that crash dieting makes sustainable fat loss harder
19:18 Three key principles for sustainable fat loss
22:48 Building a good system that works for you
24:22 Why a moderate approach beats crash dieting every time
26:23 Outro

Episode resources:

• 10 Intermittent Fasting Myths That Need to Die

• 6 Ways to Lose Fat in 2025 (Using Science-Based Methods)
  

The Worst Diet for Losing 20 Pounds (and What to Do Instead)

When faced with the goal of losing 20 pounds or more, many people turn to crash diets, believing that rapid calorie cuts or eliminating entire food groups will lead to faster results. The logic seems simple: eat less, lose more. But this oversimplification ignores the complexity of human physiology and often leads to poor outcomes.

Crash diets—those that drastically cut calories or promise extreme results—trigger your body’s survival mechanisms. This includes metabolic adaptation, muscle loss, and rebound weight gain. Instead of delivering sustainable results, these diets create a cycle of frustration, burnout, and eventual weight regain.

Why Crash Diets Seem Logical (But Aren’t)

The premise of crash dieting is rooted in the calorie deficit equation: if reducing calories by 500 per day results in 1 pound of fat loss per week, then cutting 1,000 or more must be even better, right? Not so fast. This linear approach fails to account for the body’s sophisticated adaptations.

When calories are cut too aggressively:

• Metabolism slows down. Your basal metabolic rate (BMR) drops beyond what would be expected from weight loss alone, sometimes by 200–300 calories within weeks.

• Movement decreases. Non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) declines, meaning you unconsciously move less, further reducing calorie burn.

• Exercise becomes less effective. The calories burned during workouts decrease as your body becomes more efficient.

• Hunger hormones spike. Leptin levels drop, while ghrelin increases, making you hungrier and hyper-focused on food.

Five Ways Crash Diets Sabotage Fat Loss

1. Accelerated Muscle Loss
   Crash diets often result in losing 40–50% of weight from muscle mass, particularly when protein intake and resistance training are neglected. This loss not only slows your metabolism but also diminishes your overall strength and body composition.

2. Increased Hunger and Cravings
   The hormonal shifts from aggressive dieting amplify hunger and cravings, making it nearly impossible to stick to the diet. Research shows that extreme calorie cuts can lead to binge-eating behaviors, further derailing progress.

3. Compromised Training Performance
   Low energy levels from extreme deficits mean weaker workouts, less intensity, and fewer calories burned during exercise. This compromises your ability to preserve muscle and maintain progress.

4. Psychological Burnout
   Crash diets rely on willpower, which is a finite resource. The constant mental battle to stay on track leads to emotional exhaustion, making these diets unsustainable in the long run.

5. Rebound Weight Gain
   Studies reveal that 80–95% of crash dieters regain the lost weight within 1–5 years. Worse, the regained weight often consists of a higher percentage of fat, leaving you in a worse metabolic state than before.

What Works Instead: A Sustainable Fat Loss Approach

Crash diets fail because they fight against your body’s natural processes. Instead, adopt these evidence-based principles for lasting fat loss:

1. Create a Moderate Calorie Deficit
   Aim for a 0.5–0.75% body weight loss per week, which minimizes metabolic adaptation and hunger. A moderate deficit provides enough energy to fuel your workouts and daily activities while ensuring fat loss.

2. Preserve Muscle with Protein and Strength Training
   Prioritize resistance training and a high-protein diet. These habits preserve lean muscle, maintain metabolic rate, and improve body composition as you lose fat.

3. Plan Diet Breaks and Recovery Periods
   Incorporate planned breaks at maintenance calories to reduce psychological fatigue and maintain consistency. These breaks help you manage social events, holidays, and life changes without feeling restricted.

Why Systems Beat Diets

Think of your fat loss approach as a system, not a diet. A successful system is:

• Efficient: Minimizes wasted effort while maximizing results.

• Reliable: Produces consistent outcomes you can depend on.

• Sustainable: Fits into your lifestyle and allows for flexibility.

• Adaptable: Adjusts to changing circumstances, such as stress, travel, or holidays.

The worst weight loss diet is the one that sets you up for failure by undermining your body’s natural processes and your psychological well-being. Instead of chasing rapid results, focus on building a sustainable system that prioritizes fat loss, muscle preservation, and metabolic health.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

When you decide to lose 20 pounds or more, what is the first thing that you typically do? If you're like most people, you probably jump straight to cutting calories, trying intermittent fasting, cutting food groups like carbs, or following some quick-fix diet something unique, something new that promises rapid results in maybe as little as a few weeks, and it seems to make perfect sense. Eat way less food, lose way more weight right. But what if the most common approach to losing those 20 plus pounds, the one that feels the most logical and that everyone seems to try first and say is working for them is actually setting you up for failure? Today, I'm going to show you why the most popular weight loss method might be sabotaging your results and, more importantly, what the science says you should do instead.

Philip Pape: 0:51

The allure of rapid weight loss is everywhere. You see before and after photos all over the place claiming that someone dropped 30 pounds in 30 days. You see influencers and hear podcasters recommend extended fasting or detoxes or eliminating food groups to slim down, and the message seems clear If you want dramatic results, you've got to go for dramatic measures. But what if those common approaches to dieting in fact, most of the named diets out there are all really just crash diets that make things worse in the end. And what if there was a more intelligent way to lose substantial amounts of fat while preserving muscle and maintaining long-term metabolic health? Today, we are breaking down the science of why most diets fail, what actually happens in your body when you cut calories too aggressively, and how to approach fat loss in a way that creates lasting results, even when you do have 20, 30, or 40 or more pounds to lose. Now, before we get into it, if you are tired of the cycle of aggressive dieting followed by rebound weight gain, I do offer a free 15-minute rapid nutrition assessment, which is a call without a sales pitch, where we get on Zoom for 15 minutes and identify what's been holding you back. We create a simple, science-based plan usually two or three steps that works with your body, based on what I've learned about you in our conversation. And that's it. You go along your way with a little more clarity and some action. All you got to do is book your free call using the link in the show notes and hopefully I'll be talking to you soon.

Philip Pape: 2:25

All right, First let us define exactly what we mean by aggressive calorie restriction or crash dieting, because when I titled this episode the Worst Diet. The irony there is that I would never recommend a best diet. In other words, the best diet is going to be the one that is most personalized to your needs and your level of flexibility and rigidity, and that's the point. And so when I talk about a worst diet, I'm also not talking about a single diet. I'm talking about an overall philosophy or approach that the vast majority of people use, probably 95% or more, because that's the amount of people that fail to maintain the results. Therefore, it's not working. It's not working. So if you tell me, no, keto worked for me, I'm going to ask you well, are you still doing it and is it still working for you? And if you say yes and yes, and I feel great and it's everything that promised and more then awesome, guess what? That is the diet that works for you, but the vast majority of people it's not the case. So what do we mean by these approaches? All right, I'm going to give you some criteria.

Philip Pape: 3:29

These are the red flags. If any diet has these, then it's a red flag and probably not going to work. The first one is just that they're asking you to cut calories to some extremely low, usually arbitrary level. If I were to give a number on that, I would say for women that's well below 1,200 calories. For men it's well below 1,500. Understanding that, it is highly personal. If I have a client who weighs only 100 pounds or 110, she's a very petite female, she might be dieting at 1,000 and it feels just fine, with no hunger and no metabolic issues. But she's a lot smaller. Her body doesn't need nearly as much energy coming in, so it's not as restrictive for her. Similarly, with a male, smaller in stature, maybe lower in weight, he might find that 1,400 or 1,500 calories is fine for dieting. Others, myself included, anything below 1,800 feels very restrictive. So a diet that tells you you've got to eat this many calories like Optivia I think it's 800 calories Ridiculous. That is a huge red flag there.

Philip Pape: 4:28

The second one is that it promises an outcome like a certain amount of weight loss in a certain amount of time. That is unsustainable. So usually that's well more than two pounds per week. And again it depends on your body mass, right? A 300 pound person losing two pounds a week, that's actually totally reasonable. A hundred pound person losing two pounds a week? That would be highly concerning. So I like that as just a general average, but usually they're promising something that just sounds good enough to be great for marketing, right? I lost this many pounds in this many weeks and it just sounds almost too good to be true, but not quite, but it's probably too aggressive.

Philip Pape: 5:09

The next red flag is that they're telling you to cut foods out, and so this is the red flag that, honestly, the vast majority of diets pin themselves on Food groups like carbohydrates or fat. Most diets don't tell you to cut protein thank goodness, although maybe we're going to see that next but even specific foods. They'll tell you to not eat these specific foods because they are insert fear-mongering adjective here inflammatory. It drives me crazy, right? So if anything tells you you can't eat something, that's a red flag. And then the next one is if it tells you you have to fast or switch up your meal timing to a certain feeding or fasting window, that is a red flag as well, because, again, there is no right or wrong feeding window. It's going to depend on what works for you across a variety of factors.

Philip Pape: 6:00

Fasting myths that have to die and that was the point of that episode was to talk about how none of the claims for fasting actually hold up in terms of them being superior to non-fasting. They may work for you, but they are not superior. And so that's the red flag is if it says you have to include certain fasting windows. And then the final red flag is that they claim to reset or boost or fix your metabolism, with the caveat that I probably have used adjectives similar to that, either inadvertently or in a colloquial way, because it's great for marketing, and I admit that I'm trying to do that less and less now. I don't think I use the word reset. I definitely don't use the word fix. I'm pretty clear that you cannot damage or harm your metabolism. The word boost, yeah, I've used that, but I usually use it in the context of the philosophy of boosting your metabolism through having more muscle mass or moving more, things like that. But a diet that says eat this way and it's going to boost your metabolism, that is the red flag, all right.

Philip Pape: 7:03

So I want to break down today's episode, which I have no idea how long it's going to be, but it's an important topic. I actually broke it down into four segments to make it more accessible. I'm first going to talk about why crash diets. They seem logical and pretty and neat, but they lead to poor outcomes for some very clear reasons, and once you understand them, you know to look for them when it comes to assessing diets. Number two is the science of how your body adapts to aggressive calorie cutting, because that is the root of a lot of the problems people have. Number three is I'm going to give you five specific ways that crash dieting makes fat loss specifically harder, and then, finally, the alternative based on evidence that works for you to give you the sustainable results that I think you're looking for and why you're listening to this podcast.

Philip Pape: 7:49

So let's start with why crash diets seem to make perfect sense, and the logic goes something like this we know that we need a calorie deficit to lose fat. All right, now, if you don't accept that to begin with, go back to Nutrition 101, energy balance, physics, thermodynamics, whatever you want to call it. It is an absolute fact that we need to eat less than we burn to lose weight on the scale and ultimately then to lose fat to lose meaningful fat. Can you lose fat and build muscle at the same time? Yes, and then we're getting into nuances, but in general, you need a calorie deficit. So if a 500 calorie deficit leads to losing one pound per week, then a thousand calorie deficit should mean losing two pounds, right, and then a 1500 calorie deficit, even faster. So just cut as many calories as you can, eat as little as you can, you're good, right?

Philip Pape: 8:39

The problem with this linear way of thinking is it ignores the fundamental complexity of human physiology. Your body is a very sophisticated system, and it adapts to protect you from what it perceives as a threat to survival, to homeostasis, to vibrancy and vitality. Right. When you cut calories too aggressively, you are triggering a bunch of sensors in your body. You're triggering a cascade of protective adaptations that are going to make fat loss way more difficult. And if you think about it from an evolutionary perspective, our bodies evolved during times when food was often scarce and the ability to adapt to reduce calorie intake by becoming more efficient with energy use was then crucial for survival. And so this isn't a flaw in our biology. It's a really amazing feature that helped keep our species alive.

Philip Pape: 9:31

And so this brings us to the science of how your body responds to aggressive calorie cutting, because when you suddenly drop your calories very low just, we're talking not a normal calorie deficit, but a very aggressive calorie deficit, which you will have from many diets. When you cut out a bunch of foods, you cut out a bunch of processed foods, cut out a bunch of carbs or even go on one of these weight loss drugs, for example, you're going to have potentially a huge drop in calories, right, because you don't have an appetite for the drugs in particular, but also because you cut out calorie dense foods. And so what happens? So let's say, you drop well more than 500 calories a day. First, your BMR, your basal metabolic rate that is, the energy you burn at rest begins to decrease beyond what would be expected from weight loss alone, because when you lose body mass, your BMR goes down.

Philip Pape: 10:20

But we have found that research from, in fact, dr Eric Trexler and others have been involved in this research shows that the adaptation that occurs can reduce your daily energy expenditure by 200 to 300 calories within weeks of starting an aggressive deficit, and I've seen, over time, clients' metabolisms drop by up to 600, 700, 800 calories over a long time. But they can happen quickly, especially when it's aggressive. And then, second, your NEAT, your non-exercise activity thermogenesis all the movements you do outside structured exercise naturally decreases. You fidget less, you take fewer steps, you generally move less throughout the day, right, and a lot of it's unconscious some of it's conscious, but a lot of it's unconscious and studies show that this can account for another two to 400 calorie reduction in your daily energy burn, right. Third, then you have your exercise activity thermogenesis how many calories you burn during your training, your workouts, your structured cardio all of that becomes less efficient. The same workout literally burns fewer calories as your body adapts to preserve energy. You actually become more efficient during fat loss. One study found participants burned 20 to 30% fewer calories doing the same exercise after 12 weeks of aggressive dieting. So it stacks on top of itself.

Philip Pape: 11:42

And then on top of all of this is that hormone levels shift to keep you alive, to preserve your energy, to preserve your existing precious fat storage, which is very important from an evolutionary standpoint. So this means decreased thyroid hormone production, reduced testosterone and growth hormone, increased cortisol, changes in hunger and satiety hormones like leptin and ghrelin, right. And these are not permanent. That is very important to understand. These adaptations are temporary. They're your body's natural, reversible response to what it perceives as a threat, and the problem is that crash dieting it's like a threat, it triggers them. It triggers these adaptations much more dramatically than a more moderate calorie deficit, even though any deficit's going to trigger them to some extent. Crash dieting triggers them much more, to the point where you're kind of past the precipice, and it makes it very difficult. So then this brings us to five specific ways that crash dieting makes sustainable fat loss harder.

Philip Pape: 12:45

We're sort of connecting these concepts of what happens to specifically when we're thinking of fat loss. All right, number one accelerated muscle loss. This is the whole purpose. When we're trying to lose fat but not lose muscle and improve our body composition, this is the whole purpose. When we're trying to lose fat but not lose muscle and improve our body composition, this is the whole purpose of keeping a fat loss phase moderate. Actually, when you cut calories too aggressively without adequate protein and resistance training, that's the worst case.

Philip Pape: 13:12

Research shows up to 40 to 50% of the weight lost can come from lean mass. So a lot of you out there, if you're listening and you're not strength training, you're not eating enough protein. Don't go into fat loss yet, because you're going to lose muscle and then you're not going to lose fat, or you're going to lose some fat but you're also going to lose muscle. That's the problem, you know. I think somebody tried to argue with me about this on I don't know where it was on YouTube and say, like, show me the research that says you don't lose fat when you lose. And I said no, no, no. The issue isn't that you don't lose fat, it's that, along with fat, you lose a bunch of muscle. I'd rather you lose only fat.

Philip Pape: 13:47

Another study found that aggressive dieters lost twice as much muscle as those taking a moderate approach, even with the same total weight loss. And again, this is all accelerated when you're not training, when you're not eating protein, when you are lifting weights and you are eating protein, you can actually mitigate this quite a bit, and that's why you can go somewhat aggressively, depending on how long it is, and not lose muscle. But again, that's a little bit more of an advanced strategy once you've got all this stuff dialed in. And I talked about that on other episodes, such as the January 6th New Year's episode about six ways to lose fat in 2025. So check that one out Now.

Philip Pape: 14:25

Why does all this matter? Right, muscle tissue we know it burns more calories than fat when it's at rest. Right, and so we want to have more muscle for a variety of reasons. But that's just from a metabolic and from a calorie burning perspective. It's going to make fat loss harder when you don't have the extra muscle and you start to lose it and your metabolism decline accelerates, and that's the worst thing we want to happen, all right.

Philip Pape: 14:48

The second thing is that you'll get increased hunger and cravings, well beyond what you would if you were at a moderate deficit. So it's almost like an exponential curve. The more aggressive you cut, the more you ramp up those hunger and cravings because the hormonal adaptations that happen. They are making you hyper-focused on food. For a reason and you've probably heard maybe have heard of the famous Minnesota starvation experiment, which gave us a lot of research that we still rely on today Participants in that study became obsessed, literally obsessed, with food. That's all they can think about. They had intense cravings. Many developed binge eating behaviors that persisted after the study. So that alone, from a sustainability perspective, if you think about dropping your calories to the point where you can tolerate it versus past that point, that makes a big difference on whether you're successful.

Philip Pape: 15:40

Number three here is compromise training performance. So because we are trying to prioritize fat loss and not muscle loss and therefore we want to train, we also want the fat loss itself to not chicken and egg us out of training properly, right? So if you don't have enough fuel, so if you don't have enough fuel, if you don't have enough recovery, your workouts are going to suffer. And I guess the irony is that we are deliberately cutting down on fuel and recovery by going into a fat loss phase. So we have to find the right balance, otherwise you just can't push as hard, you can't lift as heavy, you can't maintain the proper intensity, get that stimulus for muscle preservation and then you'll burn fewer calories and it all stacks on top of itself. So think about training and performance. That's huge.

Philip Pape: 16:25

Number four is psychological burnout, mental burnout, right? Extreme restriction, then, requires willpower, and that is not something we have to rely on. Is willpower, discipline and always being on and consistent and perfect? No, we don't want to have to rely on it. We want to enjoy our life and the fact that life is fluid comes and goes. Stress comes in and out, people come in and out. Our situation changes weekly, if not daily, right? And we know that willpower is this finite resource.

Philip Pape: 16:53

Psychology tells us that most people hit a breaking point pretty early on if they go too aggressively and then you realize that this fast, quick fix type of deal is not all it's cracked up to be. It doesn't even give you the result, even if it's just pure weight loss. Oftentimes you won't even get it because you can't stick with it. You hit a breaking point. Only the people who really white knuckle it out, that really just stick with it with their discipline yeah, they'll finally get it. You hit a breaking point. Only the people who really white knuckle it out, that really just stick with it with their discipline yeah, they'll finally get it. And then they're still going to have all the other problems like muscle loss and hunger and everything else. So then it just becomes impossible and that's not sustainable.

Philip Pape: 17:25

The last one number five is the rebound weight gain. Studies are consistently showing between 80 and 95% of crash dieters regain the weight within one to five years. Right and remember, crash dieting is something that adheres to any of the red flags that I mentioned earlier. So don't think that you are not crash dieting because you're doing keto or you're doing intermittent fasting. There is a crash dieting aspect to that that's going to make it unsustainable. And then, more concerning is when people fail to sustain the results, they actually usually end up heavier than their starting weight because they've lost muscle mass. So not only they're heavier, they've got even higher percentage of body fat at that heavier weight. And now they've prolonged their metabolic adaptation which, although I mentioned it's temporary, there are aspects of it that permanently change. If your body composition has changed, granted, you can come back and restore it with bringing back your muscle mass, with losing some body fat, but know that that is what happens. So what's the alternative to all of this? What do you actually want to do?

Speaker 2: 18:32

Hi, my name is Jenny and I just wanted to say a big thank you to Philip Pape of Wits and Weights for offering his free 50-minute nutritional assessment. During that time he gave me really good tools on how I can further my health and fitness goals. He asked really great questions and stayed true to his offer of no sales pitch. I have since applied these things and gotten really close to my health goals and my weight goals, and now I'm able to flip over and work on my strength and my muscle conditioning using a lot of the things he offers in his podcasts, and I just am very grateful for his positive inspiration and encouragement, for all of our help. Thank you, philip.

Philip Pape: 19:18

All right, I'm going to break it down into just three key principles that I think are the most important. Sometimes I can go down a rabbit hole and give you like a million things to do. These are three principles that I work with all my clients to incorporate as part of their skill set, and if you just think about these, write them down, put them on a post-it, put them on your fridge, they're going to go a long way. The first principle of sustainable fat loss is doing it moderately, like doing all things moderately. Create a moderate deficit, right. Create a moderate deficit that allows for adequate nutrition, energy performance, while still getting you the result. So moderate for you is going to be moderate for someone else. I usually talk about a sweet spot of around a half percent 0.75% of your body weight a week. Some people might be lower, some people might be higher, some people it's a lot lower. You may be the type of person that has a fairly low metabolism, not a lot of wiggle room, and you've got to go at like a 200 calorie deficit a day and it's going to take you many months to get to the number you want. Well, so what? You're going to get there as opposed to either not get there or get there in the wrong way and lose a bunch of muscle, make it unsustainable, regain the weight all the things we just talked about. So the moderate rate of loss is actually a very important principle to think about because it can override all the other trade-offs you're thinking of. Right, if you're thinking, okay, I'm going to speed it up at this point because nothing's going on in my life, but it causes a lot more hunger, you might not stick to it. Right, if you are trying to hit a certain date and then you go at a faster rate of loss, you might end up losing muscle. So there's a lot of reasons not to do it aggressively. There are a small subset of reasons where you can do it aggressively, but again, that's beyond the scope here when we're talking about general principles for sustainability.

Philip Pape: 21:09

So the moderate deficit is number one. The second one is that muscle preservation, and I put that as a catch-all principle because then it causes you to think of your protein intake and your resistance training together, but also things like carbs. So it kind of ekes into different aspects of this. We want enough protein, but we also want enough carbs. We also want to train consistently, but not so much that we over-train or don't have recovery during fat loss, that we're starving or whatever, and it kind of forces you to think about all those things. It helps you maintain your metabolic rate. It ensures that weight loss comes primarily from fat tissue and you're going to have better body composition outcomes.

Philip Pape: 21:47

And then the third principle here is planning in diet breaks and recovery periods. So, combined with the moderate loss, the preserving muscle, then the breaks allow you to think about your life. This is where many people go wrong. They think they want to just keep pushing harder when progress slows or they're going to keep going, going, going, going and never stop. But we know that taking planned breaks up at maintenance calories is going to help you, and so we're going to talk about that. And yeah, while it gives you a short physiological break, it's mainly a psychological break and then it teaches you. Oh, I can do this for a long time because I know that I can accommodate parties and holidays and travel and trips and it's not a big deal. I'm just taking a quick little pauses along the way, and that is also part of principle number one of being making it sustainable and moderate in terms of the rate of loss, all right. So hopefully that all made sense to you guys, and I like to think in terms of an engineer, you know that. And so what we're doing is we're building a system.

Philip Pape: 22:48

When I say what's the worst diet, it's the diet that doesn't give you a system for making it work for you. But what does a good system look like? Well, a good system is going to be efficient, which means you use minimal resources, and that can include mental resources. It's reliable, meaning you know if you do it it's going to get you a result consistently. Three, it has to be sustainable. So that means you've got to be able to do it and turn the crank, no matter what's going on in your life. You can keep doing it over and over again. You could ostensibly do it forever. I mean a true fat loss phase. We want it to be a fixed duration, but you're going to be able to do the process no matter what life throws at you, even if you adjust the scale or the magnitude of it. And you'll be able to take breaks. You'll be able to periodize and those sorts of things. And then the fourth thing about your system is it should be adaptable. So I kind of just alluded to that. But it needs to be able to respond to changing conditions, no matter what. Like, you've always got plan B, c, d, you always have. If, then and it's kind of built in right A crash diet fails every one of these criteria.

Philip Pape: 23:56

It's inefficient because, well, the main reason it's inefficient is it wastes muscle tissue, so it doesn't even get you what you want right, and so, by definition, it just fails. It's unreliable because the results are going to vary wildly. I can't guarantee that you're going to have a certain body composition coming out of it. It's just so chaotic. It's also unsustainable because it just fights against what your body's trying to do. Because it just fights against what your body's trying to do, or put another way, it causes your body to over-respond when it comes to homeostasis, hormones, muscle loss, body fat storage, etc. And then it is inflexible because there is nowhere to go when progress stalls, except just eat less, and that's the worst thing.

Philip Pape: 24:37

Whereas a moderate approach checks all the boxes, preserves muscle, produces results that are reliable, you're confident, you can do it. It works with your body's adaptations. It also leaves room for adjustments to work with your life whenever you need to, and that's all the time, let's be honest. So, while the crash dieting might seem faster initially, it takes longer to reach your goals when you factor in the recovery time, the rebound, weight gain, the loss of muscle and I hope I couldn't make it any clearer than that. Okay, I don't think I said that right. I don't think I can make it any clearer than that.

Philip Pape: 25:11

So the worst weight loss diet isn't really a diet, it's the approach and it's the mindset that that approach creates. It's something that teaches you to view your body as an enemy, which is not what you want. You want to work with it, right. It promotes an unsustainable and all or nothing mentality, a poor relationship with food, and there's no way you can have lasting change under those conditions. But if you're armed with science, like we covered today, and what actually works, a flexible approach, you can be among the less than 5% that choose a different path that respects your body's superiority, in that your body knows what it's supposed to do. It delivers the results you want. It builds sustainable habits and preserves the muscle and the metabolic health that make long-term fat loss possible. And, of course, if you are ready to create your own sustainable fat loss plan, if you want a little bit of expert guidance.

Philip Pape: 26:06

Go ahead and book that free 15-minute rapid nutrition assessment with me. It is not a sales call, it is a hey, how you doing. Let's get to know each other, tell me what's happening, and here's a few things you can try that are going to give you some clarity. We'll identify what's been holding you back. We're going to create a simple, science-based action plan, and I usually end up sending you some guides or resources along with that if not a workout program, for example and it's going to help you lose fat? It will. It's going to help you maintain muscle. It's going to help you maintain and improve your metabolic health. Just by applying those principles, click the link in the show notes to schedule your free 15-minute rapid nutrition assessment. And with that, until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember the best approach isn't the quote-unquote fastest one, it's the one that lets you maintain your results for life. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.

The 12-Month Fat Loss and Muscle Gain Blueprint for Your Best Physique in 2025 | Ep 260

Download my free Precision Fat Loss Guide with the 6 core fat loss strategies customized for your experience, goals, and lifestyle (or go to witsandweights.com/free)

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Stuck in a bulking and cutting loop without lasting results? Ready to map out 2025 for sustainable gains and fat loss? Want a proven plan to build your dream physique?

Philip (@witsandweights) delivers a powerful end-of-year gift: a complete periodization blueprint designed to help you build muscle, lose fat, and achieve sustainable fitness success. He shares the five transformative phases of the yearlong plan, from building foundational habits in body recomp to strategically timed fat loss, anabolic muscle building, and more.

Learn how to align your nutrition, training, and lifestyle with each phase to create a roadmap for lifelong progress. Whether your goal is to get lean, pack on serious muscle, or overhaul your physique, this provides the step-by-step plan to crush your goals in 2025.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

03:31 Phase 1: Body recomp and the power of building systems
06:11 The role of tracking
09:28 Phase 2: Precision fat loss strategies for sustainable progress
16:58 Phase 3: Beach-ready maintenance for recovery and celebration
20:58 Phase 4: Six months of anabolic muscle building for transformative gains
28:32 Phase 5: Mini cut for the finishing touch on your dream physique
35:49 The principles for success
40:15 Outro

Episode resources:

• Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS. The only food logging app that adjusts to your metabolism!

• Watch this video on setting up MacroFactor for your initial recomp (maintenance) phase

• Download Boostcamp to access 70+ evidence-based workouts
  

Your Year-Long Plan for Fat Loss and Muscle Gain in 2025

What if you could map out your entire year to strategically transform your physique? Instead of randomly bouncing between bulking and cutting, this 12-month blueprint takes the guesswork out of building muscle and losing fat. In this article, I’ll break down the exact phases from my latest podcast episode to help you make 2025 your best year yet.

This isn’t about quick fixes or trendy diets. It’s about sustainability, precision, and long-term results. Whether you’re looking to get leaner, stronger, or completely overhaul your body composition, this plan is your guide to success.

Why a Year-Long Plan Beats Short-Term Fitness Goals

Most people start the year with vague resolutions, like "lose weight" or "gain muscle," but they lack the structure to make those goals a reality. A year-long periodized approach:

• Builds habits and systems for long-term sustainability.

• Aligns with your body’s natural rhythms and energy needs throughout the year.

• Prevents burnout by alternating between focused phases of fat loss, maintenance, and muscle building.

With this plan, you’ll not only see physical results but also develop the skills and confidence to continue improving year after year.

Phase 1: Body Recomp (January–February)

This initial 8-week phase sets the foundation for success by focusing on body recomposition and habit-building.

Goals:

• Establish consistent habits: strength training, protein intake, fiber, and hydration.

• Maintain calories to prime your body for fat loss or muscle building.

• Track progress to build awareness without stress.

Why not start with fat loss? Without these systems in place, any progress you make will likely be temporary. Use this time to align your habits and learn how your body responds to maintenance.

Phase 2: Precision Fat Loss (March–May)

After building a solid foundation, it’s time for a targeted fat loss phase. Over these 12 weeks, aim for a weight loss rate of 0.5–0.75% of your body weight per week to maximize fat loss while retaining muscle.

Key Strategies:

1. Personalized Targets: Use tools like MacroFactor to determine your calorie deficit and macros.

2. Flexible Dieting: Build a plan that fits your lifestyle, including planned breaks or refeeds to stay consistent.

3. Strength Training: Maintain high-intensity training to preserve muscle mass.

Fat loss doesn’t have to feel miserable. The goal is to align your plan with your preferences and keep hunger manageable for sustainable progress.

Phase 3: Beach-Ready Maintenance (June)

This short 2-week phase acts as a transition between fat loss and muscle building.

Objectives:

• Replenish glycogen stores and restore energy.

• Stabilize your metabolism at maintenance calories.

• Celebrate your progress and showcase the results of your hard work.

This phase also gives you a mental reset before diving into a longer muscle-building phase.

Phase 4: Anabolic Muscle Building (July–December)

The magic happens here. Spend at least six months focused on building muscle to increase your metabolic rate, improve body composition, and create a physique you can maintain for life.

Principles:

1. Slow and Steady Gains: Aim for a weight gain rate of 0.3–0.5% of your body weight per week to maximize muscle while minimizing fat.

2. Target Weak Points: Use progressive overload and prioritize muscle groups that need extra attention.

3. Prioritize Recovery: Optimize sleep, manage stress, and adjust training intensity to avoid burnout.

This phase is where your physique transforms. Trust the process and commit to the long-term rewards.

Phase 5: Mini-Cut Shred (January–February 2026)

Wrap up the year with a short, 6-week mini cut to shed any extra fat gained during muscle building and reveal your leaner, more muscular physique.

Approach:

• Aggressive but Controlled: Target a fat loss rate of ~1% of your body weight per week.

• Strategic Cardio: Add light cardio sessions to support your calorie deficit without compromising recovery.

• Sustainability: Keep protein intake high and focus on retaining muscle while dropping fat.

This final phase sharpens your results and sets you up for another year of success.

Why This Blueprint Works

This 12-month plan combines evidence-based principles with real-world flexibility. It’s not just about achieving a better physique—it’s about learning how your body responds to different phases of training and nutrition. With this knowledge, you’ll be empowered to make adjustments and sustain your results for years to come.

📲 Send me a text message!

👩‍💻 Book a FREE 15-Minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment

🎓 Join Wits & Weights Physique University

👥 Join our Facebook community for live Q&As & support

✉️ Join the FREE email list with insider strategies and bonus content!

📱 Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS. The only food logging app that adjusts to your metabolism!

🏋️‍♀️ Download Boostcamp for free and access 70+ evidence-based workout programs

🩷 Love the podcast? Leave a 5-star review or share on social and tag @witsandweights

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you're tired of jumping from one fitness phase to another without a real plan, bulking for a few months, cutting for a few weeks, never quite getting the results you want, this episode is for you. What if I told you there's a strategic way to plan your entire year to finally achieve that physique you've been chasing? Today, I'm sharing my complete periodization blueprint for 2025 or any 12-month period that will help you build muscle and lose fat more effectively than random approaches. Whether you're looking to get leaner or add serious muscle, or completely transform your physique, this episode will give you the exact roadmap to make 2025 your best year yet. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today is my end of year gift to you as we head into a new year, 2025, a strategic periodized plan for building your best physique over a 12-month period. Now, how about, instead of jumping straight into a diet or even an intentionally designed but aggressive fat loss phase in January, like everyone else, what if you took a more calculated approach, one that will make future fat loss even easier, that works with your body's natural rhythms and the seasons, builds lasting habits and systems and creates sustainable results. That's exactly what you're getting today, and if that's not what you're looking for, this is not the episode for you. And to get a head start on the fat loss phase which, if you follow my plan, will start in about eight weeks from the start of this plan, I've created something pretty unique. It is my new Precision Fat Loss Guide that acts as a decoder ring where you pick and choose your goals, lifestyle and personal tendencies to pick the best of among six core fat loss strategies. To get your free copy of the Precision Fat Loss Guide and get a head start on that, click the link in my show notes or go to winstonweightscom and click free stuff. All right, let's start building the mental muscles so we can have better physical muscle and, overall, better lean physique over the next 12 months.

Philip Pape: 2:18

What we're going to cover today is five phases to map out for the next 12 months. The first phase is going to be body recomp, and this is January to February. Now again, if you're starting this in the middle of the year or some other time, it's fine. This is just hypothetical. January through February body recomp. Phase two is going to be precision fat loss. So that'll be March through May. And then phase three is your beach ready maintenance and that is in June, followed by an anabolic muscle building phase from July all the way to December. And then and I know I'm cheating a little bit we're going to do a mini cut shred January to February, the following year. Now it's a little bit more than 12 months, but the reason I'm doing that is most of you are going to want to build muscle all the way through the holidays. You can obviously cut that phase a little bit shorter if you need to or want to to fit in the shred earlier, but most people aren't going to care. You want to go all the way through, say, christmas, the New Year's, and that's what it's going to look like. A lot of this is flexible. We're going to dive into each phase and understand how they work together to create a solid physique and really give you a strategy that you can then rinse and repeat for the rest of your life.

Philip Pape: 3:29

If you want Phase one body recomp this is an eight-week phase Now. It can be six, it can be 12. With my clients it ranges from six to 10 usually. So an eight-week phase to create the foundation of your habits, while also improving your body composition. Now I know what you're thinking. Why aren't we just starting with fat loss right away? I got to lose the weight. I got to lose the fat A super common request.

Philip Pape: 3:56

Here's the thing Without the system, without the habits in place, any progress you make later will be temporary. It's going to go back to the way it was before. You're going to repeat the cycle that you've repeated in the past over and over again. We don't want to do that. So the philosophy here is simple Start where you are, not where you think you should be, and then focus on fundamentals. Focus on those habits, not little hacks and extreme approaches, just the fundamentals. For some of you, that's going to be quite a bit of behavior change over that eight weeks, and for others it's going to be much smaller. Regardless, we're going to take a tiny habits approach to get there and you're going to start where you're at. Consistency is going to carry you through forever. It's going to beat perfection all or nothing any day of the week, and it'll give you the power that you need to do this yourself. So we're talking about nailing the basics protein at every meal, hitting your fiber intake, staying hydrated, things that sound boring and not exciting at all. Training, training consistently, three, four days a week, whatever makes sense. These, however, are the bedrock of body recomposition and then, ultimately, body composition in general.

Philip Pape: 5:07

Second, we are going to take advantage of your potential for recomp while setting these things up. So, unless you're going to jump right into a muscle building phase which is your right and an option you can just skip this and the fat loss phase and go right into muscle building. I know a lot of you are looking to shed some excess fat first, get a little bit leaner and then build muscle. So that's what we're talking about. So we want to take advantage of your potential to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, initially without trying to diet, without trying to build muscle, but while setting up these systems, because at maintenance calories, eating the same amount of calories that you burn, so the scale weight doesn't change beginners and intermediates can actually burn fat and build muscle at the same time. Now, if you're super advanced, it's going to take a lot longer to do that, but in this case you are primed for it, even advanced lifters. They can tighten up and improve some definition through very meticulous consistency, but we're going for body recomp and we're going for building systems.

Philip Pape: 6:06

The third benefit, I guess, of this phase is we are going to track. We're going to track all the things we want to track, but we're going to make it as low stress as possible. And you might say, well, that's kind of contraindicated, because tracking itself is stressful. Well, no, it doesn't have to be. And if anything, the way I like to track allows you to free up decision-making and free up emotional responses the rest of your week and the rest of the month and give you the confidence to know what to do when you go into fat loss. And all of that actually reduces your chronic stress. It gives you confidence, which is going to reduce your stress and that's going to increase your metabolism. So we love that, and I personally love Macrofactor as an app to track food and weight, because it also then gives you your metabolic rate, your expenditure, your metabolism. It's the only app that does that in real time, dynamically, based on your real data, and all you've got to do is put in your weight and food daily. Yes, daily, because daily is shown to have the best results for people and gives you the most confidence and precision. And we're not going to obsess over what happens every day in terms of our scale weight, but we're going to track it. Think of this as a calibration phase, where you're just aligning everything so that the next few phases there's almost no way you can go off track because you've got everything set up really well for success. So that's phase one.

Philip Pape: 7:29

So phase one you're going to spend eight weeks at maintenance, going for body recomp, without trying to diet, without trying to gain, and what you're going to do during that time is going to highly vary based on your context, but I'll give you my big low-hanging fruit list. Number one you're going to highly vary based on your context, but I'll give you my big low-hanging fruit list. Number one you're going to be strength training using an effective program of progressive overload. Now, that's outside the scope of this podcast to get into all the details on that. I have other episodes that talk about that but you've definitely got to be training so that we can build muscle and then hold on to that muscle during fat loss.

Philip Pape: 8:02

Number two we already talked about tracking your food. Along with that tracking, you're then going to understand your macros. We need sufficient protein, we need sufficient carbs, we need sufficient calories and you're going to eat to that level of maintenance and if it seems like a lot of food, that's okay. We want to slowly get there so that we're fully energized and well-fed and recovered before we go into fat loss. Number three is going to be being active and moving right, getting your steps in. For you, that might be going from 4,000 a day to 6,000. Another person might be six to eight or eight to 10. I would try to add 2,000 steps a day at first, make it sustainable and then get even more than that to aim between eight and 10,000. And then, finally, we have things like sleep and stress. Now, this is a huge topic. We thousand. And then finally, we have things like sleep and stress.

Philip Pape: 8:47

Now, this is a huge topic. We're not going to cover it all today, but the idea is, if this is a red flag for you, whether it's because of unavoidable stress in your life or because of things that are fully within your control, we need to do little things like taking a break between our meetings and taking a breath and calming down and finding time to ourselves, finding time for play, those sorts of things that will help manage our stress. So all of that is getting normalized and calibrated during this first phase and that is why we don't want to be doing fat loss initially. So if you want to know more about that, send me a message. I'll send you one of the previous episodes where we've talked about setting up for maintenance. I have a few of them and it depends on what exactly you're looking for and I'll give that to you.

Philip Pape: 9:28

All right, so phase two after that, first eight weeks. Now we're into March. This is the fat loss phase. This is the moment you've been waiting for and I'm gonna default this to a 12-week phase. But, as I mentioned earlier, if you download my guide, you'll see that there are six different approaches. You could take different durations, different rates, different philosophies based on your situation, but we're going to just talk in generalities here. Okay, so let's assume 12 weeks. I find that 12 weeks is enough to get a decent amount of fat loss, but not so long that it becomes a little bit of a grind and you get tired of it mentally and physically. So we're going to drop fat strategically and the only way to do that is to drop scale weight while holding onto that valuable muscle mass.

Philip Pape: 10:12

And here's the key philosophy most people miss. Fat loss doesn't need to feel like punishment. It doesn't need to feel miserable. I won't say that it is a walk in the park and that it's like going to Disney World other than Disney World in the summer or in the holidays, but it doesn't feel, it's not going to feel like that, but it also shouldn't be miserable. So we want to build a plan that aligns with your lifestyle. That just says okay, let me acknowledge what's happening. Do I love to go out to eat? Do I have travel coming up? Do I like to eat these specific foods? Do I love carbs? Do I like to shift my calories around, based on the day, whatever it is, and build a plan that goes with it. And we're going to focus on three core areas.

Philip Pape: 10:56

So I'm going to touch in more detail here on things that I just alluded to in the first phase so that you have those details. So first is the rate of loss. Using macro factor, for example, you could just plug in the rate of loss you want per week and it'll give you the targets. If you're doing it by hand, you're going to just have to do some math, and what we're targeting here for most people is around 0.5 to 0.75% of your body weight per week over 12 weeks. So you can do the math for yourself and you can realize, okay, that might be 10, 15, 20 pounds, depending on your body weight.

Philip Pape: 11:34

Some people can go a little more aggressive, some people less. And again, if you download my precision fat loss guide, it has all of these prescribed out and written out and all of that. And I see people trying to rush it. So if I say a half to 1%, they're like I'm going to go 1%. So I usually say a half to 0.75% to kind of constrain that and really leaning more toward the half percent. And when you take half percent of your body weight times 12 weeks, it gives you a certain fat loss. I would just say, whatever that number is, be happy with it. Don't try to target a specific number, because after you build muscle later on we're going to do another small fat loss phase anyway and the building of muscle is going to help you be leaner, regardless of the scale weight anyway. So we want to get like some fat loss here, some decent fat loss, but it's not all of it. So quote, unquote, right, and in fact, the slower you go, the more easy it's going to be to preserve that muscle and to keep your hunger totally manageable, making it seem like, oh, it's not so bad, I'm getting through this very consistently, no big deal, as opposed to oh my God, I have to binge those donuts right now. So that's one core area of fat loss.

Philip Pape: 12:42

The second core area is implementing any sort of breaks or refeeds or permission to yourself to go ahead and eat more calories and eat up to maintenance when you need to. Now it's better that those are planned in than just happen randomly, because when they happen randomly, that is the opposite of consistency. But when you plan them in, when you say, look, every day, every week, I have two days of the week where I know I'm just going to want to eat more, you might not even know what those days are. So you're going to plan your calories to suggest five kind of normal or low-ish days and two higher days, and that's what your plan is going to be predicated on, whether that's like one maintenance calorie day every week, one a month, a whole week every month, whatever. Those are all in my Precision Fat Loss Guide.

Philip Pape: 13:28

Again, if you go into there, we're not talking about cheat days, we're talking about psychological resets. Some people call them hedonic deviations, where you give yourself a planned day of deviating up to so you can eat more food. You might call it a strategic metabolic boost. Whatever you want to call it, you're not going to increase your metabolism artificially higher doing this, but you are going to slow down and stop any metabolic adaptation for a moment before it continues back. But it's more for the mental break and sustainability.

Philip Pape: 14:02

And then the third core tenet here of the fat loss phase and this is probably the most crucial, to be honest is we are training to retain muscle. Your resistance training intensity stays high and intensity means a combination of things, but it primarily means you are training hard, close to failure, using progressive overload, still using your compound lifts and your accessories and all the same stuff. You don't completely change your training program. Most people can actually continue with exactly what they were doing in the fat loss and what they'll find is the first few weeks, maybe even the first few months, they can still make progress, especially if this is the first time you're doing it. You might actually build muscle and strength even while in fat loss, because remember, you've only spent a couple months in the recomp phase. You're still in that newbie gains phase. If you're an intermediate lifter, however, you may not gain strength or muscle, but you should easily be able to hold on to the muscle, and so your lifts will either slightly go up or maybe they'll pause. But remember that you're also losing weight. So your relative strength is holding or potentially going up, if that makes sense, and then you're holding on to the muscle. You're eating plenty of protein, all that good stuff, all right. So your progress in the gym become your indicators for muscle retention, as well as your body measurements to an extent. But remember, you're losing fat at the same time, so take that with a grain of salt, all right.

Philip Pape: 15:25

So we had phase one eight weeks of body recomp, building your habits. Phase two 12 weeks. You got two months, then three months, 12 weeks of fat loss, with a lot of flexibility on how to do that. And again, the actual calories and macros are going to depend on your metabolism and your rate of loss. So go, download Macrofactor. I'll include the link in the show notes. I'll include a video showing you how to set it up for maintenance initially, and then you'll be golden on that. You'll get the right targets for your metabolism. If you use MyFitnessPower chronometer, you're not going to get those targets, you are going to have to guess at them and you're going to be off. You're going to be off and you're going to get frustrated. Okay, so that's phase two. Phase three is beach ready maintenance.

Philip Pape: 16:09

Now, this is just a very short blip. This is a couple weeks. You know, maybe I would say two weeks, but it could be one to three, but let's say two weeks. This is like a little victory lap. Okay, you've achieved your fat loss. You're celebrating. Now You're bringing the calories back up. We're going to replenish that glycogen. We're going to replenish your energy stores. We're going to showcase what you've accomplished so far. And by showcase I don't necessarily mean you have to go on the beach and show off your abs. I mean you're just expressing physically with your physique, even if it's to yourself in the mirror, it doesn't matter that you've worked hard to this point to lose some fat and reveal some of that muscle. And the philosophy is to enjoy the benefits of your hard work and celebrate that win, while priming your body for the most magical phase of your entire life coming up, which is going to be muscle building. But before we get there, let's talk about this short beach ready maintenance phase.

Philip Pape: 17:03

The idea is, I don't like going from fat loss straight to a gain, because that transition is so drastic that both psychologically and physiologically it can cause a lot of second guessing and like misinterpretation of the data. I'd rather you kind of bottom out, then go to maintenance and then go to muscle building and in that couple of week period what you're ending and then go to muscle building and in that couple week period, what you're ending up doing is refilling the glycogen in your muscles and it's going to make your physique look pop a little bit because you're kind of dehydrated and, I'll say, gaunt, almost from having dieted. Now we're going to refill that and you might find, hey, I'm actually pretty darn happy where I'm at and you could stay there for a while. You could stay there for weeks, months, years if you wanted to. I don't recommend it. I recommend going to the next phase and building a ton of muscle, which we're going to talk about, but you could so during this two week maintenance phase. It's a very important phase even though it's short. First, what we're going to do is we're effectively refilling everything without spilling over.

Philip Pape: 18:03

The biggest fear people have is oh, I'm going to gain all this weight back and I'm going to binge on all the foods I've been avoiding. Well, first of all, you haven't been avoiding foods, right, you've simply been scaling things down and being strategic about eating your protein and high satiety foods, like fiber containing foods, like fruits and vegetables. Right, you've been doing that while still having some carbs in your diet. Well, what happens now is the carbs are going to get ramped way up, the protein is going to stay roughly the same, the fats are going to scale up a little bit and the carbs are going to scale up a lot. Okay, and again, we're not getting into the actual numbers of all the macros. I've got guides for that and you can reach out for that. We could talk about your specific plan or just download Macrofactor and it'll give it to you, but the carbs are going to ramp way up and I do not like reverse dieting.

Philip Pape: 18:50

So if you hear people talk about reverse dieting reverse dieting is a way to guess your way up to your maintenance I don't want to guess and I don't have to guess because we've been tracking your metabolism Again. If you're using Macrofactor or if you're doing it by hand on a spreadsheet, you know how many calories you're burning over the last week. So if you're in a 500 calorie deficit, you just have to increase. Add 500 calories back in and now you're at your true dynamic maintenance right now. Now those maintenance calories are going to be lower than they were when you started the fat loss phase.

Philip Pape: 19:24

But why wait to get there? Let's just recover. You're not going to gain weight because it's your maintenance right. And so we're going to increase our targets right to our maintenance, knowing that it's going to climb back to a more recovered, stable level and then probably continue climbing when we go into muscle building. So why wait? Let's recover. And so your protein's still going to be around your normal target of 0.7 to one gram per pound. You're going to see improved muscle definition as your glycogen stores fill, as your cortisol levels drop, your hormones get back to normal.

Philip Pape: 19:53

Right and again, if, depending on your experience in the past and how many times you've cut in bulk in the past, this is like your photo shoot phase, even if you're not taking pictures, right. So, but if you haven't ever built muscle, you're probably not there yet, and I get it. You're like well, I'm not quite happy with my physique, it's okay, we're just getting started. And then the third thing during this phase is learning that there is a sustainable level where you can fine tune your social eating skills, your mindfulness, your level of indulgence, because you have more calories to work with. You're no longer dieting, and so now you understand what it's like to diet. Now you're going to get back to something that feels really solid in terms of energy and food, and you'll want to come to grips with that and see what it feels like, because that's where you would live for the rest of your life if you didn't go out, gone to the next phase and build muscle. Right, and for many people that'll be amazing. Right, you've gotten leaner, you've learned how to eat for fullness, for protein, fiber, and now you can kind of sustain that and it feels great.

Philip Pape: 20:57

But now let's go to phase four, and this is my favorite phase of all, and for some of you, I'm going to skip you right to this. First, instead of fat loss because you only have five or 10 pounds to lose, I don't care about that, and by I I mean you shouldn't care about it either, because gaining five, 10, 15 pounds of muscle is going to serve you much more than just losing five or 10 pounds of fat. If you have to lose 20, 30 or more, that's a different story, okay, and I have an episode I did a long time ago called what should you do first? Uh, but anyway, you could follow this plan, whoever you are listening, and it's going to work for you. So phase four is the anabolic muscle building phase. Now we are into July, because we had two months for recomp, we had three months for fat loss and then we had a couple of weeks for maintenance, and so now we're pushing at just about the middle of the year. So now I usually recommend building muscle for six months minimum. So that's why this is going to take a full six months. Now you can cut back on that a little bit to squeeze in a fat loss phase to like fit the exact 12 months, okay, but it doesn't really matter, because a few weeks here or there is not gonna make a difference. I would just get as much as you can out of the muscle building phase, and so think 24, 26 weeks, right around there. Six months, and this is where the magic happens.

Philip Pape: 22:16

The philosophy is simple but profound, and I talked about this in detail on my last Monday episode, so if you didn't catch that. Go check that out. I talk all about gaining to build muscle and how that makes you leaner and how that prevents you from getting fatter. It's so profound. Building muscle takes time, it takes patience, it takes trading the instant gratification you might've gotten in a fat loss phase for the long-term reward of having that extra lean tissue on your body at a higher scale weight, at a leaner, lower body fat percentage. I mean it's so incredible. Having gone through it myself and gone through several muscle building phases and not having done that till I was in my late 30s and early 40s I'm 44 now. It has only taken me three years or so to build a decent amount of muscle to the point where I'm just walking around quite a bit heavier than I used to and way leaner than I was, and I still have a long way to go, which is very empowering and exciting for me because it gives me a drive to want to keep doing this and chances are you're in that boat as well, if not even in a better position, where it's early on right.

Philip Pape: 23:24

So this is profound and it's amazing and we're going to focus on three elements here during this muscle building phase. The first is slow and steady gains, going at the right rate so that we build a ton of muscle and just a little bit of fat. And I say it that way because you're not going to avoid fat gain altogether, but you can definitely avoid gaining too much fat. How much do I mean? I mean, if you're a beginner, you could probably gain, say, two-thirds to three-quarters of the weight as muscle. How does it sound to gain 10 pounds? And the response is kind of a little bit of freaking out. I get it. I get it, cause that's, as a percentage of your body weight, seems like a lot. But what have I said? Eight of those pounds is muscle. Kind of changes the equation, doesn't it? Because now, yeah, you gain 10 pounds, but seven or eight pounds is muscle, so very little of that is fat. Your body fat percentage just went down, even potentially, before you even cut some of that fat back off. I mean, it's amazing.

Philip Pape: 24:26

So slow and stay is what we want and again, we are going to aim for a rate around for most of you 0.3 to almost 0.5% of your body weight a week Men, women, any age, okay, Because we all have the same propensity to gain muscle. Even if you're 70, you can gain muscle at a decent clip if you've never done this before, believe it or not. So, 0.3 to 0.5% of your body weight a week. Again, if you use macro factor, you just plug in the number and it gives you the targets. Now is faster, better, yes, up to a point Beyond that 0.4 or 0.5%. Now you're flirting with. All you're adding is fat territory, but don't let that scare you from pushing it a little bit, especially if it's your first time, because the fat comes off easy. The muscle is the one that's harder to put on, so why not give yourself the best shot? So that's the first thing. Is that slow and steady rate.

Philip Pape: 25:20

Secondly, we are going to prioritize the weak points during muscle building. What I mean by that is you really want a solid, effective program of progression, so you're taking the most advantage of that anabolic environment. Anabolic meaning growth. You've got lots of calories coming in, protein, carbs, hopefully. You're sleeping well and you're keeping stress manageable, and now you're training hard, three, four or five days a week.

Philip Pape: 25:47

What are you training for? How are you training? How are you progressing? Are you building strength? Are you building muscle? Are you peaking?

Philip Pape: 25:53

There's lots of ways to slice this, and so I like an app called boost camp. It's a workout app. It's a free app if you use it. Use my code wits and weights all one word, please, just to support me. But if you go in that app, you can get free programs that are evidence-based by expert trainers and, honestly, any one of those. If you pick, like you know, four days a week I'm focused on strength and muscle building it's going to spit out a bunch of great programs. So you've got to have the tracking of progression of your strength and muscle. So strength is shown through the numbers going up and muscles shown through your physique being developed. Now you're going to be getting some fat too, so your waist might go up, but we also want to see our biceps going up and our thighs going up right and our chest going up and any other body part that you really care about that you're training. So it's prioritizing and I said prioritize weak points, and what I mean by that is the points that have the most opportunity for growth. You really want to go all in for that and the things that you really want to grow. All right.

Philip Pape: 26:56

The third thing here is recovery becomes paramount, even though this is the irony even though you have a ton of calories coming in and that helps with recovery. You're also training hard. You are training hard. So getting that sleep, managing the stress, getting deloads if that's part of your plan or at least doing resets and such in your training program, keeping yourself fresh, watching for injury, like really making the most of it, so you can continue it and get the six months of pure straight training for muscle. Now things will come up in your life. We're not talking about that. If that happens, there's ways to deal with it. You could take little breaks here and there, not a big deal, but really you want to just keep growing, growing, growing and have a blocked approach to get there. Okay.

Philip Pape: 27:40

And then, once you've done that so now you've gone from like January to December you know you've gained 10, 15, 20 pounds on the scale, a significant portion of which is muscle. You're bigger. You probably have a little bit of extra fat, maybe too much fat, maybe you're like ah, you know I'm getting a little uncomfortable here, that's cool Now. And you've gone through the holidays. You've gone through Thanksgiving, christmas, all that. You've had fun, you've had plenty of calories. Your metabolism has probably ramped way up over that time. Now it's time to do a little mini cut to just shred some of that fat off, okay, and just kind of gently come in at a sustainable spot that is heavier, where you were before. We did the muscle, but you've got more muscle and less fat. So you are leaner, your metabolism is higher, you're able to eat more food and now that's your new set point. It's a beautiful place to be in.

Philip Pape: 28:30

What does this look like? I'm going to suggest a six-week mini cut. It's a really nice, super sustainable in and out. Get it over with finishing touch on a year of hard work. So six weeks isn't that long, it really isn't. And if you went through a 12-week fat loss phase, this is going to be comparable, but it's going to be a little different. It's going to be a little more aggressive, and the reason it's more aggressive is that it's short and we're going to reveal your physique. We're going to get out. You have the metabolic capacity and the muscle mass now to do kind of a quick fat loss phase and just get out, and that's what we're going to do.

Philip Pape: 29:05

So first we're going to talk about the rate of loss. We want something more aggressive here, so I'm going to actually push for that 1% of body weight a week and I would use that as an anchor point. If that's still too aggressive for you, because the calories that it brings you to go lower, and if you're like a bigger dude who you know has tons of muscle and a super high metabolism, you might be able to go 1.2, 1.3%, at least for three or four of the six weeks and have no ill precautions no, no ill repercussions and not lose any muscle mass. Okay, so it's really variable. Going to depend, um, and I do mention that in the fat loss guide as well and we're gonna keep protein high. We're gonna do all the same things. Okay, protein in this case might be even higher. So, like, if you've been at a decent amount of protein, maybe this is the one point in your whole plan for the 12 months where you just jack it up just a little bit. All right, depends on the amount of calories you have to play with, the amount of calories you have to play with, all right. So that's the rate of loss up to that 1% of weight a week.

Philip Pape: 30:08

Second is this is where I the only time I actually suggest you might want to add some cardio in, deliberately right, other than other reasons for health, heart health and whatnot, because you enjoy it actually just to ramp up that metabolism a tiny bit, knowing you're doing it in a short duration so you're not going to adapt to it too much. And so I would add like one or two at least zone two sessions. It doesn't have to be hit, it could just be, you know, kind of a get your heart rate going too fast to have a conversation. Level of exertion on a bike or pushing a prowler around or walking really fast or going on an up incline or wearing a rucksack, any, any of those things apply Other than running, I mean, unless you love to run different situation and that's going to support your deficit. You're not going to overload your recovery in that short period.

Philip Pape: 30:54

Doing it like that, I would mix up the forms of cardio that will make you even less efficient, which means burning more calories, and just give that a shot. Just add that in as a little extra jolt for your calorie burn. And then the final thing is you know we're not chasing perfection, we're not chasing an end point. We're not chasing this is going to be the be all end all physique. All we're doing is taking some of the fat gain that you added in the building phase and reduce it, without going to an extreme but still flirting with what it's like to push and to go a bit aggressively. If this is not for you, what you can do instead during this phase is just do another normal fat loss phase at a slower rate and then make the duration be as long as you need it to be. What's going to happen here is you're going to have gone through every aspect of periodization for nutrition, for gaining, for losing and you'll know what your body feels like and what it takes to do each of those, and from that you can assess hey, this was harder here, but this was easier here.

Philip Pape: 31:58

I really like this. I don't like this. Use those subjective feelings, to be honest, to tell yourself is this the right way to do it for me? Next time I do a fat loss phase, I'm going to go slower, or I'm going to put more breaks in, or I'm going to go more aggressively. Some people love to go super aggressive for like four weeks and they're done right. Or muscle building Heck, I really love that. All the food I get to train hard, I'm going to muscle gain for the next two years. It gives you all this flexibility and awareness and knowledge. It's so amazing and that's why I love having a plan right, because the physical transformation is just a side bonus of all of this. Believe it or not, it is a side bonus.

Jenny: 32:39

Hi, my name is Jenny and I just wanted to say a big thank you to Philip Pape of Wits and Weights for offering his free 50-minute nutritional assessment. During that time he gave me really good tools on how I can further my health and fitness goals. He asked really great questions and stayed true to his offer of no sales pitch. I have since applied these things and gotten really close to my health goals and my weight goals, and now I'm able to flip over and work on my strength and my muscle conditioning using a lot of the things he offers in his podcasts, and I just am very grateful for his positive inspiration and encouragement for all of our health. Thank you, philip.

Philip Pape: 33:25

The first time it happened for me, where I could see some muscle definition, feel a bit lean, feel a little bit more confident in a t-shirt, it was fantastic. But the short-term feeling of that sort of normalizes right, it wears off, then you get used to it. Then you're like okay, that is me now, that's my new identity, now what's next? I think the long lasting benefit here is how each of these phases teaches you something. Each of them builds upon each other. They're interconnected in a way that teaches you how your body ebbs and flows, how you can adjust the way you live to what you want with the year and the season and not ever make it feel like too much of a slog or a sacrifice, even though there are trade-offs. And if you kind of think about each phase right, the initial body comp phase, it's not just about hitting protein or setting up this habit, it's really skills. It's an overall system. If you can do that, you can then make a little change to then go into fat loss. If you can't do that, in other words, if the body recomp phase that we started with where you're at maintenance, is not sustainable, that's a great feedback to tell you that fat loss wouldn't be sustainable. So you're not going to go to fat loss until you've got that figured out. So if it takes you 10, 12, or more weeks to do it, so be it. If you need help, if you need help, if you need a coach, that's the kind of thing that I provide is support and accelerating that process to get you to that, you know. So you don't have to be frustrated. So that's the first phase. And then you think of after the fat loss phase, when you go into maintenance I think we talked about it again it's not just like, okay, I'm going to hold steady. It's now preparing for that mental shift, preparing your body, preparing your mind for the next phase, for the productive muscle building phase, the most productive of your life. To be honest, if you've never done it before, it will change your life. It will change your life.

Philip Pape: 35:16

So every one of these phases has a purpose beyond the obvious. I want you to lean into that and really get deep with it, right, really sit with it and think about it and plan it out, write it down on paper and ask yourself what you're trying to gain here, what you're trying to accomplish, because it's not about the result. The process itself is everything. The result will come easily when the process is nailed down right. And it's this compound effect and it makes the whole journey just so more powerful, so much more than some of the parts, and that's why I wanted to share this with you today.

Philip Pape: 35:48

So, as we wrap up, let's just focus on the overarching principles that make this kind of blueprint work for you. First, sustainability is a non-negotiable. Each phase is designed to be challenging because it has to change you physically and mentally, push you, but never overwhelming. The phrase I've used before is expanding your comfort zone, but never far exceeding it. The second principle is to celebrate that process. Again, do celebrate the results as they come as well, but those are going to be fleeting and few and far in between the process, whether it's, you know, you've nailed a habit that before was a struggle. You know, I go to sleep every night by 9.30, every night. Now I am so proud of that, right, oh, I get 8,000 steps every day. Sometimes it's 10 or 12, but every day I get my 8,000. And maybe it's not every day, maybe it's, you know, three days out of the week. I get my 10,000, whatever that goal is for you. And, yes, even physical changes, seeing the definition slowly morph over time, correlated with objective measures like your body circumference measurements.

Philip Pape: 36:56

Hitting PRs is always fun because you're going to be training and growing a lot, especially during your muscle building phase. Every single session is a win. Even if you don't PR every lift, you know you might have some setbacks. You're going to have a lot of them in every single session because you were constantly growing and getting stronger and building muscle, and so all of the success is cumulative and the wins come fast and furious if you look for them, if you accept them in.

Philip Pape: 37:20

And then the last principle here is I want you to balance the science. You know the here's what you need to do, here's what works according to the evidence which I say all the time and anything you hear on this podcast or any other podcast. I want you to balance that with your intuition and your biofeedback, so important. With your intuition even if that's your feelings, I don't care. Like you know, know yourself with your intuition and with your biofeedback. So biofeedback is a little more objective tracked measures of your stress, your hunger, your digestion, your sleep, your libido and a few others that you might want to track. I want you to balance the two and then let that data because that is your whole data set, that is your evidence Let that inform your decisions right, and always be listening to your body so that you are mentally engaged, and then the consistency comes from that engagement, because then you'll be able to, you know, pivot and jink Is that the word jink From Battlestar Galactica? I forget the word Ships do in space. All right.

Philip Pape: 38:22

So now, as you enjoy the holidays or the end of your celebrations, I want you to come up with your plan for the next 12 months based on this episode. That is your action. If you don't do that, you've missed a massive opportunity. And if you do that, you're going to have questions. And when you have questions, I want you to send me a message on Instagram at witsandweights or you don't use that platform, or prefer Facebook, join our Facebook group it's totally free and ask it there and ask other people who are on the same journey.

Philip Pape: 38:53

Now, in a few weeks from now, exactly six episodes from now, episode 266 on January 6th. I'll be breaking down the six. Get a theme here. Six. I'll be breaking down the six. Get a theme here. Six I'll be breaking down the six core fat loss strategies from the Precision Fat Loss Guide that I mentioned several times earlier. So go download it and there you can pick the exact strategy for your fat loss phase, which again starts around month three of the 12-month plan.

Philip Pape: 39:20

I'm gonna be breaking that down in episode 266 on January 6th, but I want you to click the link in the show notes and download the guide now, get a head start on creating your plan.

Philip Pape: 39:30

I mean, in my opinion, what I put together there is unlike anything out there because it gives you different comparison tables based on your experience, your body comp goals, your lifestyle and your tendencies. On your experience, your body comp goals, your lifestyle and your tendencies. Like, each one has a table that says, of the six strategies, which ones are check marks, which ones are X's for you for that, and at the end of it you'll know oh, this one strategy is what's left, that's best for me, or maybe these two strategies? I can pick one, all right. And then, of course, you have to implement it, and that's part of what we talked about today with phase Two.

Philip Pape: 40:06

So to get your free copy of the precision fat loss guide, click the link at the top of the show notes, or go to wits and weightscom and click free stuff and you'll find it in there All right. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember your dream physique isn't built in a day, but it is built with a plan. This is phil Pape and I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast.

The Most UNDERRATED Fat Loss Secret Making You FATTER (and Sabotaging Muscle Gain Too) | Ep 257

Download my free Muscle-Building Nutrition Blueprint to structure your nutrition for optimal muscle gain while minimizing fat gain (or go to witsandweights.com/free)

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Are you stuck in a cycle of constant cutting without real progress? Could gaining weight be the key to finally achieving a leaner physique? What if embracing the scale going up is the breakthrough you need?

Philip (@witsandweights) explores the paradox of weight gain for fat loss in today’s episode. Discover how your fear of gaining weight might be holding you back and why a strategic muscle-building phase is the missing piece in your fitness journey. Learn actionable steps to break free from the constant cutting cycle and transform your body composition for lasting results.

Philip shares real client stories, like Jenna, John, and Mark, whose journeys illustrate how building muscle while temporarily gaining weight can lead to a leaner, stronger, and more defined physique. Whether you're frustrated by slow progress, unsure how to manage a surplus, or looking for clarity on this counterintuitive approach, this delivers the mindset shift you need.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

1:40 The constant cutting trap and metabolic adaptation
4:44 Why building muscle is key to fat loss success
8:18 Body composition math: How gaining weight leads to leanness
11:10 Energy requirements for muscle growth
13:52 Step-by-step guide to starting a muscle-gaining phase
17:25 Training and tracking strategies during a surplus
18:31 Avoiding pitfalls like gaining too fast or cutting phases short
22:07 Patience and mindset: Trusting the process for long-term results
26:30 Outro

Episode resources:

• Download my free Muscle-Building Nutrition Blueprint
  

The Underrated Fat Loss Secret Keeping You Stuck (And How to Fix It)

Are you caught in an endless loop of cutting calories, chasing the elusive "lean" physique, yet feeling stuck? This cycle of relentless dieting might actually be keeping you at a higher body fat percentage and sabotaging your muscle gain.

In this episode, we uncover the counterintuitive secret to achieving your dream body: strategic weight gain. Yes, gaining weight—done correctly—might be the most underrated fat-loss tool in your arsenal.

Why the Fear of Weight Gain Holds You Back

1. Metabolic Adaptation

Dieting for too long teaches your body to adapt, slowing calorie burn and making fat loss harder. Without a reset, your metabolism conserves energy, leaving you feeling stuck even with fewer calories.

2. Muscle is the Real Secret to Fat Loss

• Muscle is metabolically expensive, meaning it burns more calories at rest.

• Without enough calories, building muscle is nearly impossible, especially as you move beyond the beginner stage.

• Adding muscle increases your metabolic rate, improves your physique, and makes future fat loss easier.

3. Fear of Weight Gain Creates a Psychological Trap

Many people resist eating more because they associate it with “getting fat.” Ironically, this fear keeps them in a state of low muscle and higher fat, sabotaging long-term progress.

The Science of Building Muscle and Losing Fat

Take this simple example:

• A 150-pound person at 20% body fat has 30 pounds of fat and 120 pounds of lean mass.

• After a 10-pound weight gain (7 pounds muscle, 3 pounds fat) and a strategic cut, they end up at 157 pounds with a lower body fat percentage (19.1%).

• Despite weighing more, they look leaner, feel stronger, and have improved metabolic health.

The key takeaway? Strategic bulking and cutting cycles lead to a better long-term physique than endless dieting.

How to Start Your Gaining Phase

Step 1: Decide If You’re Ready

You’re a great candidate if:

• You’ve been stuck in a cutting cycle without progress.

• You’re “skinny fat” and lack muscle definition.

• You’ve been at the same weight for months or years without noticeable physique changes.

Step 2: Calculate Your Surplus

Aim for a slow, steady gain of 0.3–0.5% of body weight per week. For a 150-pound person, this means 0.5–0.75 pounds per week.

Step 3: Train Smart

Follow a program that combines:

• Compound lifts for strength (e.g., squats, deadlifts, bench press).

• Hypertrophy-focused exercises for muscle growth (e.g., bicep curls, lateral raises).

Step 4: Track Metrics

• Bodyweight: Monitor trends to ensure you’re gaining at the right pace.

• Measurements: Track waist, chest, and limb circumferences to gauge muscle vs. fat gain.

• Progress Photos: Look for improved definition and proportional growth over time.

• Performance: Ensure strength and volume are increasing in your workouts.

Avoid These Pitfalls

1. Gaining Too Fast
   Stick to a moderate calorie surplus to prevent unnecessary fat gain.

2. Not Training Hard Enough
   Without sufficient intensity in your workouts, you won’t provide the stimulus needed for muscle growth.

3. Panicking Over Scale Fluctuations
   Early water weight increases are normal due to glycogen storage and increased training volume. Trust the process.

4. Cutting the Phase Too Soon
   Give your body enough time (at least 3–6 months) to add meaningful muscle before transitioning to a cut.

The Mental Game of Strategic Weight Gain

The hardest part isn’t the mechanics—it’s overcoming the fear of seeing the scale go up.

• Understand that weight gain is temporary and controlled.

• Focus on long-term results: a leaner, stronger body.

• Use support systems, like a coach or community, to stay accountable.

Why the Best Transformations Start with Gaining

The most successful transformations come from embracing the counterintuitive: adding weight to lose fat. My client Mark, for instance, went from chasing a lower body fat percentage to gaining muscle strategically. After his bulking phase, cutting was easier, and he achieved a leaner physique at a higher weight.

Take Action Today

If you’re ready to break free from the cycle of constant cutting and want to build muscle the smart way, download my Muscle Building Nutrition Blueprint for a step-by-step guide to gain muscle and minimize fat.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you're afraid to gain weight because the scale might go up. So you keep trying to diet down but never seem to get leaner, and you're frustrated because you feel stuck in this endless cycle of cutting calories without seeing real changes in your body composition. This episode is for you. Today, we're uncovering why your fear of gaining weight is actually keeping you at a higher body fat percentage, and how strategic weight gain could be the key to finally achieving a leaner physique. You'll discover the counterintuitive science behind why gaining weight first often leads to better long-term results, and how to break free from the constant cutting cycle that's keeping you stuck. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we're tackling one of those huge mindset blocks that keeps people from achieving their ideal body composition the fear of weight gain, and how it's actually preventing you from getting leaner. Now I also have a companion guide that shows you exactly how to structure your nutrition to build muscle while minimizing fat gain, and if you want to pause the show and grab my free muscle building nutrition blueprint, the link is in the show notes or you can go to witsandweightscom and click free stuff to download. I highly encourage you to download this free guide now so you can take real action based on the information you're about to hear in today's episode. Again, the link is in the show notes. Or go to witsandweightscom, click free stuff for my muscle building nutrition blueprint.

Philip Pape: 1:39

All right, let me start by telling you about Jenna. She was a client of mine who came to me frustrated after about three years of trying to get lean. She weighed about 150 pounds and she was constantly cutting calories. She was constantly trying to lose that last bit of stubborn fat, but every time she dropped a few pounds she would end up gaining it back and then her body composition wasn't really changing. We could tell by her measurements how her clothes fit, performance, everything. So this might sound familiar to you, because it's a very common situation. People get stuck trying to cut all the time and never really doing the other side of this equation that we're going to address today. Now, what Jenna didn't realize, what many of you might not realize, is that she was stuck in a constant cutting trap, even in moments when it felt like she wasn't dieting per se. It was just always in that under-fueled, under-fed situation, and today we're going to break down why this might be keeping you fatter than you need to be and then what to do instead. So let's talk about why this happened, just to set the baseline.

Philip Pape: 2:42

When you're always trying to cut calories to lose weight, there are three things working against you. First, your metabolism adapts. This is totally normal. There's nothing wrong. It's not breaking or getting damaged. It's just called metabolic adaptation.

Philip Pape: 2:58

And I think of men in this case, for example, because I can relate as a man myself. I had a client we'll call him John. He had gotten down to eating about 1800 calories a day, and that's starting to get a little bit low for an active guy who strength trains and weighs north of 180 or almost 200 pounds and I'm actually kind of in that range where, to me, a pretty aggressive diet is around 1800 calories, worst case. So his body had adapted to functioning on these fewer calories because of persistently trying to cut. And then what that does is it makes the fat loss incredibly difficult from that point, because you kind of need to reset things and rejigger what's going on or take a completely different approach, such as gain weight, which we're going to talk about and this process of your body conserving energy, of reducing its calorie burn as you lose weight and as you get deeper into a diet and be in a calorie deficit. That's called metabolic adaptation.

Philip Pape: 3:53

The second thing is that without adequate calories period, you cannot build meaningful muscle. You need to be in a surplus, or I'll call it a perceived surplus, which for some people means they can walk that fine line between gaining some muscle and losing some fat at the same time, mainly for newer lifters. But you have to have some sort of surplus, an energy surplus, for your muscles to grow. And this is crucial because muscle is the key to all of this. It's the key, it's a secret weapon for the fat loss itself. It's kind of the big twist or the big irony is that the vast majority of you are probably spending years, if not decades, trying to cut, trying to lose fat. You absolutely want to lose the weight, you absolutely want to lose the fat and you're making it harder on yourself just because you don't take a short blip of your time to build muscle. Just to say it like it is, muscle is metabolically expensive tissue. It burns calories even when you're not doing anything, and I know other tissue can do that, too, like fat, but it burns the most, and adding muscle to your frame makes so many things easier, all right.

Philip Pape: 4:58

Third thing and this is what I see all the time in my coaching practice is people get stuck in a cycle where they are afraid to eat more because they might gain weight, because their history has told them that nothing I've ever done has worked, that I'm always prone to getting fatter or gaining weight. Why the heck would I do this on purpose? That's the thought that goes through our head. Why would I do this on purpose? I just had a call today with a client where we talked about how I needed her to eat more. She was hesitant to do it. It wasn't due to any logistical or behavioral reason. It was simply the fear holding her back, and there were a lot of things pointing to why she needed to do that. We'll cover some of that today. I don't want to stretch that story out, but it's very common, so don't feel alone if you're listening and think that's you. The irony is, of course, that this fear is what's keeping you from achieving the lean physique that you want.

Philip Pape: 5:51

All right, so let me explain how this works, because let's just nail it down for you and talk about the science or the mathematics. It's really math of body composition, and I'm an engineer, I think, in terms of numbers. Not a lot of people do, and so it can frustrate people to go through this exercise. I'm really going to try to simplify it so you understand the big aha moment that comes from this. This is where it gets really interesting. All right, I'm going to break down the numbers so you think about weight gain and fat loss, maybe in a new way.

Philip Pape: 6:19

So let's just use a simple hypothetical example. Let's say we have a skinny-ish male, a man who weighs about 150 pounds. Let's say 5'9", 150 pounds. That's pretty quote-unquote skinny, but he has a little bit of extra body fat. He's got 20% body fat. Now, that's not in the obese territory, that's not excessively overweight, but at 150 pounds, this person is going to look what we call skinny fat. I'm using this example because I want you to know that there are all types of body types where you can have extra body fat and not necessarily be big right, and so we're going to start with this example, just for easy numbers. So, 150 pounds, 20% body fat, that means he has 30 pounds of fat mass. Okay, that's 20% of the 150. I'm doing the math for you. Just go with the numbers 30 pounds of fat mass and the rest is 120 pounds of lean mass. That's the remaining 80 pounds, or 80%. Now, lean mass is not just muscle, it's also your bone, it's tissue, it's all of your organs. It's everything other than fat. But just keep this simple. So when you focus on building muscle instead of trying to cut calories, what can happen?

Philip Pape: 7:29

So let's say, over a four-month period, a nice conservative, reasonable rate of gain so you don't gain too much fat, you go from 150 to 160. You gain 10 pounds Okay, 10 pounds, not a big deal Through proper training and nutrition, and that is key. About six or seven or even eight of those pounds are muscle, especially for a newer lifter. A vast majority of that can be muscle. We're going to go with seven. It's about two thirds. The evidence is very, very strong in showing us that this is a common ratio. The more advanced you get, the more it trends toward 50-50. The newer you are, the more it trends toward 50-50. The newer you are, the more it trends toward 7 or 8 out of 10. So we're going to go with 7. Okay, if it's 6, it just changes the numbers a little bit. So you've gained 10 pounds, you're 160 pounds. 7 of that is muscle, 3 of it is fat. So you've gained some fat as well. But stay with me.

Philip Pape: 8:18

So, after this gaining phase, we do a simple cut to lose three pounds of fat. That's it. The final result looks like this your new body weight is now 157 pounds. Remember, you started at 150, you gained 10, you lost three. You're at 157 pounds. However, your new body fat percentage remember originally it was 20, it is now 19.1%. Now, the real thing we care about here is you're going to look leaner and more defined despite weighing more on the scale.

Philip Pape: 8:50

This is just the math and I may be stating the obvious for some of you, but others you may have your mind blown. And the reason you should have your mind blown is you just went from 150 pounds on the scale to 157 pounds on the scale and you dropped a percentage of body fat. And that's just a small, simple example of something extremely achievable in a fairly short timeframe for just about anyone. That's why I wanted to use that example. I didn't want to go with 20, 30, 40 pound swings either direction. You know we can get into that.

Philip Pape: 9:20

Just keeping it simple, you are now heavier on the scale and leaner. So think about it the same amount of fat mass, because you gained three pounds of fat while you were gaining the 10 pounds, but then you lost it. So same fat mass, but you have more muscle. Now you have seven more pounds of muscle, 127 versus 120. And so now you have a lower body fat percentage.

Philip Pape: 9:40

Now, the bonus here is, of course, you're probably going to have a higher metabolism. Now you weigh more, so you have to burn more calories, and the portion of that extra weight is muscle, which is even higher calorie burning. Now you can eat more food. Now you're going to have more energy because you're eating more food. Now you can perform better in the gym because you have more energy, because you're eating more food, and you can have more restful sleep and be stronger than ever. Isn't that cool? Now you might be thinking okay, philip, the math makes sense. I get it, but how do we make this happen? Because you say seven out of the 10 is muscle, but I'm still afraid that if I gain 10 pounds, it's going to be fat, and then I'm just worse off and I'm where I started, or worse than that Okay, and this is where we have to understand the science of muscle growth. And I want to break this down into practical terms because you, unlike the vast majority of people out there, are going to be doing a few things very differently than most people in terms of food, in terms of movement.

Philip Pape: 10:33

First, let's talk about why you need a calorie surplus to build meaningful muscle. All right, so I had another client I'm going to call him Mike. He was trying to re-comp, do body re-comp. He was trying to lose fat and gain muscle at the same time, and he was eating at his maintenance calories, whatever those were at the time based on our tracking. He was lifting weights and he was getting frustrated because the changes were coming slowly. And why was he doing body recomp? Because he was afraid of gaining weight and the best thing that I could, I'll say, convince him to do was at least not cut right now. Let's at least try to hold steady and see what happens with our body composition, even though it's going to take time.

Philip Pape: 11:10

And I explained to him that, you know, building muscle is a very energy, expensive process. Your body needs the extra protein for the actual muscle tissue, it needs the extra calories to support the building process. It needs extra energy for recovery from training because you're going to train hard, and it needs resources for all the metabolic processes involved in your body. There's a lot going on to build this muscle and this is why research consistently shows that without a calorie surplus, muscle growth is significantly limited. And studies that look at natural lifters show that even in perfect conditions, you might gain one to two pounds of muscle per month as a beginner, and a half to one pound per month as an intermediate, and even less as you get more advanced. Okay now going back to that one to two pounds a month and the example I gave you of seven months, I think I said the 10 pounds was over four months. So what did that come out to be? Seven pounds of muscle. Of that, 10 pounds over four months just under two pounds. So I was going on a little bit slightly more aggressive side, but again, you could switch the math up, add an extra couple months to the time frame. It all works out.

Philip Pape: 12:13

The key here is that these rates are only possible in a calorie surplus. You're not going to gain at that rate. When you're at maintenance or at a deficit, the numbers drop dramatically. Yeah, sure, you might gain muscle, but now stretch out your time frame over years. And that's where the frustration lies, cause any little blip, any little interruption in your training or your life which happens all the time, especially as we get older, right, busier lives, more obligations You're just going to sabotage that. And so when people say, can I recomp, I'm like yes, under perfect conditions, or you can give yourself the benefit of life and go into a surplus, right? And that's why this constant cutting approach fails, because you're never giving your body the resources it needs to build the muscle that would ultimately make you leaner. So how do we actually put this into practice? You're like okay, what do I do? All right, after the break, I'm going to give you the step-by-step approach that I've used successfully with hundreds of clients.

Tony: 13:09

Stick around for that. My name is Tony. I'm a strength lifter in my 40s. Thank you to Phil and his Wits and Weights community for helping me learn more about nutrition and how to implement better ideas into my strength training. Phil has a very, very good understanding of macros and chemical compounds and hormones and all that and he's continuously learning. That's what I like about Phil. He's got a great sense of humor. He's very relaxed, very easy to talk to. One of the greatest things about Phil, in my view, is that he practices what he preaches. He also works out with barbells. He trains heavy not as heavy as me, but he trains heavy. So if you talk with him about getting in better shape, eating better, he's probably going to give you some good advice and I would strongly recommend you talk with him and he'll help you out All right, welcome back.

Philip Pape: 13:53

Let's start with how to implement a muscle gaining phase. First, you need to know when to start a gaining phase. Here are the best candidates from my experience and from what the evidence shows us. First, people who have been stuck in a cutting cycle. So if you've been going up and down, up and down, up and down, have not had progress, you're probably ready to try a muscle gaining phase. Just what's the worst that can happen? You gain a couple pounds of fat that you can cut off anyway. Yeah, but there's much more upside.

Philip Pape: 14:23

The second thing is those who can, for example, see their abs but they still feel skinny fat. There's a lot of you out there. You're like I don't want to lose my abs, but you don't have much muscle. What are those abs worth? What are they buying you? What are they giving you? I mean, if you are successful using your abs at something and you love what they give you, then maybe you're cool.

Philip Pape: 14:43

I'm guessing most people who are listening are like especially younger men, for example. I'd say most people who are listening are like especially younger men, for example, skinny men, but men, women, it doesn't matter who are just clinging on to being what they think is lean, but it's really just. They can kind of see some definition there because they don't have much weight on their body. They don't have much fat on their body but they also don't have much muscle right. So their body fat percentage is still quite higher than you would imagine. Like the original example 150 pounds, 20% body fat and to put that in comparison, when I am about 180, I'm about 20% body fat right, and guys I know are even leaner than that at 180, who've been doing it longer than me. So just keep that in perspective. Another person who this is good for anyone who's been at the same weight for months or years and who have not changed their physique All right, so kind of a similar situation, but different. Because you might be heavier, you might have a little extra fat and you're scared of gaining weight because you're like I got to lose this fat but maybe you're holding yourself back by not taking that opportunity. So let's talk about the actual process and I'm going to use another client, tom, as an example. I've got so many client stories that I can pull from here. It's a lot of fun really.

Philip Pape: 15:56

He started at 170, super common weight for guys that are like 5'8 to upwards of 5'11, even six feet, believe it or not. Some guys on the skinnier end right around there, 170 pounds, fairly quote-unquote lean, not happy with his physique, because really he had some extra body fat and didn't have much muscle. And I said, let's, we got to gain. And he was, he was good for it, right, he was cool with that Gaining phase. Let's go, let's, let's really push it at about 0.4% of your body weight gain per week. I'm not going to do all the math, but it comes out to several pounds a month, right, such that a decent chunk of that is going to be muscle. Going back to what I said before one to two pounds of muscle a month-ish.

Philip Pape: 16:36

We focused heavily on a training program that built his base of strength but also included some hypertrophy, some bodybuilding style stuff, so that he could really train hard and develop his physique at the same time and we can measure the physique as we go along. So that's the third part of this is monitoring his body composition changes, monitoring his bicep and chest size, for example for men, you know, that's a really great indication of body size. Making sure his waist size wasn't like ballooning up right, which it shouldn't. If you're going at a reasonable rate, you're not going to gain that much fat. You gain a little bit, so your waist is going to go up a little bit, but everything else is also going way up in terms of performance and strength and muscle. And, by the way, strength and muscle are sometimes proxies for each other, but not always. That's why you have to have a good coach and kind of understand how to train.

Philip Pape: 17:22

And so what did we track? Well, we track scale weight, obviously. We look at the trend of weight, make sure that it's trending up at the right rate and not too much, but also not too slowly. Where he's stuck, where he's in a hard gaining phase and we need to eat more, so we track that. We make sure that his strength and his performance and his reps and his volume should all be going up on his program. We look at measurements that show, you know, proportional changes, whatever those are. I mentioned the body metrics before.

Philip Pape: 17:55

Progress photos. Yes, progress photos can be a little deceiving during a gaining phase because again, you have some of the fat coming along from the muscle. So with a shirt on, you should kind of notice, especially as a guy, but even women, you know you've got your arms are starting to pop your delts, your shoulder caps are starting to pop nice back all of that. If you took your shirt off, yeah, you might have a little extra fat covering your abs, right. So that's kind of where we can play mind games with ourselves if we're not careful and having a coach to kind of look at that objectively and be like, no, it's cool, you know, yeah, of course your waist is up a half inch or an inch since we started, but look at all this exceptional growth in other areas of your physique.

Philip Pape: 18:31

And then there are the things that we want to avoid, the pitfalls that I see all the time. The first one is actually gaining too fast, which is, I'll say, for beginners and intermediates. My current recommendations are up to about 0.4 to 0.5% of your body weight per week max, and some of you might be more comfortable around that 0.3% of your body weight per week. But if you're gaining, like you know, over a pound a week, then that's probably way too much. Like that's just a simple rule of thumb.

Philip Pape: 19:07

The second thing is not pushing hard enough in your training. You don't want to waste the time you're doing in the stimulus. I'm not saying that you should ever not train hard enough. That's true you should, but there's something about knowing you've got the calories and the energy coming in that you've got to be dialed in enough where you're not constantly taking breaks, because if you're going on vacations and going on travel and shifting and skipping workouts, then you probably are going to gain more fat. And if you're going to do that, I would want to plan in times of potentially at maintenance instead of in a surplus, to prevent that.

Philip Pape: 19:41

The next thing is getting spooked by the normal water weight fluctuations that occur, which includes gaining early on. So your first few weeks you're going to gain a decent pop in weight and it's not necessarily you're gaining too fast, it's because of the water, the fluid, the carbs, and then it normalizes and then you're good to go. So the first few weeks, just let what happens happens it's not a big deal and then you can really have the data dialed in after that. And then, of course, that leads to people cutting the gaining phase short at the first sign that they're gaining too much fat or getting uncomfortable. And that could be as short, you know, as long as even three or four months, when we're intending to gain for, say, six or nine, and you're like, oh, it's three months and I'm just not liking it. You've got to stick it out. And again, this is where having support and having numbers and having data can really be helpful, because it is very easy to panic when the scale goes up three pounds in that first week, but when you know why this happens, you realize it's totally normal, right?

Philip Pape: 20:38

Most of the water weight is, or most is, water weight from increased carbs, glycogen, training, volume, inflammation. Your measurements in that week, you'll notice, probably didn't change at all. Even your waist. Even when you feel a little bloated, even when you have a little extra weight, you'd be surprised that your waist measurement didn't even change. I mean, if you're a bigger person, it might go up like a quarter inch, if that's even. It's in the noise. Your strength, though, should start to take off. I mean, for some people it's literally the next day after you have that first big meal bigger than you've been eating, and I was like, oh man, my deadlift just shot up. I've seen that happen. And then, after about two to three weeks, your weight will start to stabilize. So the magic here happens when you stick with the process long enough to get to that anabolic environment and see meaningful muscle growth right.

Philip Pape: 21:25

Remember the examples from earlier okay, many of my clients who get started on this journey, especially a lot of women, are convinced that the strategy is backfiring about six weeks in. Okay, six weeks, because the first three weeks they got through the waterway Okay, they're good, and then another three weeks in you're like is anything even happening? And yet I'm eating all this food and I'm feeling kind of full all the time. Right, there's a lot of mind games that go on, but then by I'm going to say week 12, which is three months in, that's when you're going to start seeing definition, really, that you've never seen before. If you're doing this right, even though you're technically heavier and you have a little more body fat, when you're really doing it right, that's where the gains start to pay off.

Philip Pape: 22:07

And this brings me to a crucial point about patience and mindset, because I think I said it before, the biggest obstacle is not the physical process. You get that, you get the numbers, you get that this is important. Hopefully, you've listened to Wits and Weights for a while and if you haven't plenty of episodes in the library about this, it's not that, it's not the physical process. I can tell you exactly what to do. You can go download my blueprint that I mentioned earlier. It'll tell you what to do. Great, it's the mental game of being okay with short-term weight gain. To have that long-term success, that ease of carrying around this extra lean tissue, eating more food, having more energy, looking and feeling great and better, even at a higher scale weight, you have to trust the process and the mathematics that we talked about earlier. But yeah, it can definitely be a mental game. So here's what might surprise you, because I always like to end with a little bit of a moment at the end of these shows. After working with hundreds of clients, I've noticed something and that is that the ones who achieved the most dramatic transformations you know we love the before and after photos, but the ones who achieve the most dramatic ones are not the ones who diet the hardest and are trying to stay lean year round. It is the people who embrace the counterintuitive approach of strategically gaining weight to build muscle period. The people who are willing to jump into that are the ones that have success. It might take some time, it might take working through the mental side, it might take some emotional support along the way, but it will pay off.

Philip Pape: 23:45

Take Mark I think I mentioned him. He was one of my most successful clients. He spent years trying to get below that magical 15% body fat for men by constantly cutting. I think he was doing carnivore. He was doing all these diets, you know, trying to like eat the same food all the time rice and broccoli and chicken or whatever. And we're like let's just throw all that out. Man, you can enjoy lots of different foods, you can enjoy a decent amount of calories. That out, man, you can enjoy lots of different foods, you can enjoy a decent amount of calories. You've got to commit to a proper, steady and long enough gaining phase and then we can follow that with strategic cut. And that's what we did, right. So he trusted me. He's like all right, I put my trust in your hands. Let's go six, nine months hard out on the gaining.

Philip Pape: 24:23

We had lots of discussions about like oh man, I'm noticing extra fat and blah, blah, blah. But I said but what is going well? Oh well, my deadlift keeps climbing, my squat keeps climbing, I feel great, my leverages are good. Like on and on and on. That's what we need to focus on. And guess what he ended up at the 12% body fat, I think, was the number right. He ended up doing better than, I think, most people when they try to do this. He just had a propensity for it, but he had never given himself the chance to build the muscle first, and I think what happened is his body just super responded to the stimulus and he just slapped on some meat to his body and then now the fat loss is easy, right, and he could get to that 12% body fat, weighing 10 pounds more than when he started. That's the part that's so cool, right? The key isn't just that physical transformation, even though it is amazing. It's the mental freedom of no longer fearing the scale going up.

Philip Pape: 25:18

All right, next week we are going to dive deeper into exactly how to structure your year as we're closing on the end of the year here. So, thinking ahead to next year, whenever you're listening to this, it doesn't matter how to structure a 12 month period between your bulking and cutting phases to set yourself up for an incredible 2025 or whatever year. You're looking ahead and I'm probably going to give you some different scenarios, but I'm going to try to simplify it and give you a single 12 month period that you can then shift left or right, depending on where your starting point is. Today I'm going to break down the timing, how to know which phase to start with, how to transition between phases for the best results, and then you know, we'll talk about that next week, but today I want you to remember that the fear of gaining weight is probably the thing keeping you at a higher body fat percentage than necessary, right? So having absorbed today's episode will set you up well for next week's, next Monday's.

Philip Pape: 26:15

I have other episodes before then, but next Monday's episode where we talk, where we help you structure out the cutting and bulking phases all right, because the math doesn't lie. Sometimes you have to be willing to see the scale go up temporarily to achieve the leaner physique in the long run, and that was really my message for today. All right, if you're ready to break free from the constant cutting and you want to learn how to build muscle the smart way, the how-to, the steps, download my free muscle building nutrition blueprint using the link in my show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash free. This guide is going to walk you through exactly how to structure your nutrition for optimal muscle gain and minimal fat gain. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember sometimes the fastest way to get lean is to gain weight first. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast. Thank you.

10 Intermittent Fasting Myths That Need to Die | Ep 254

Download my free Nutrition for Body Composition guide to setup your nutrition for fat loss without intermittent fasting. Discover how to master your macros, optimize your workout nutrition, and develop sustainable habits.

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Philip (@witsandweights) dives into the top 10 myths surrounding intermittent fasting (IF) that continue to dominate the fitness world. From the claims of fat-burning magic to boosting metabolism and enhancing cognitive function, Philip reveals what the science actually says.

This isn’t about bashing IF—it is about actionable advice to help you decide if fasting aligns with your goals or if there’s a better way to achieve sustainable progress. Philip also shares his personal experience with fasting and why he no longer follows rigid eating patterns.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

4:35 Myth #1
5:33 Myth #2
7:25 Myth #3
8:35 Myth #4
10:00 Myth #5
11:10 Myth #6
12:30 Myth #7
15:10 Myth #8
16:30 Myth #9
17:39 Myth #10
19:10 BONUS MYTH
24:20 Outro

Episode resources:

• Download my free Nutrition for Body Composition guide

10 Intermittent Fasting Myths Exposed and What Actually Drives Results

Intermittent fasting (IF) has been touted as the holy grail for fat loss, metabolic health, and longevity. But is it really the secret weapon it’s made out to be? While some people thrive on it, the hype around fasting often overshadows the facts. In this post, we’ll unpack the top 10 myths about intermittent fasting, explore the science behind these claims, and reveal what truly matters for achieving your fitness goals. Spoiler alert: It’s not about rigid eating windows.

Myth 1 – Fasting Makes You Burn More Fat

Yes, fasting shifts your body to burn more fat for fuel during your fasting window. However, fat loss over time depends on creating a calorie deficit—not when you eat. Studies show that when calories are matched, fasting offers no additional fat loss benefit compared to regular meal patterns. The key is consistency and awareness of total caloric intake.

Myth 2 – Fasting Boosts Your Metabolism

Short-term fasting might slightly increase metabolic rate due to stress hormones like adrenaline, but prolonged fasting can lower it. Your body adapts by conserving energy, a survival mechanism that kicks in when food is scarce. A sustainable calorie deficit and consistent eating patterns are better for maintaining your metabolism.

Myth 3 – Fasting Improves Insulin Sensitivity

The truth? Insulin sensitivity is more about body composition, activity levels, and overall diet quality. Building muscle, staying active, and eating enough protein are far more effective than fasting alone. The timing of meals has little to no added benefit when it comes to improving insulin function.

Myth 4 – Fasting Optimizes Hormonal Health

Fasting often disrupts hormonal balance rather than optimizing it, especially for women. Clients who’ve tried aggressive fasting sometimes experience irregular menstrual cycles or heightened stress. The real key to hormonal health? Adequate nutrition, good sleep, and stress management.

Myth 5 – Fasting Enhances Autophagy

Autophagy, your body’s cellular cleanup process, does increase during fasting—but so does exercise, sleep, and calorie restriction. Human studies don’t definitively prove fasting provides unique benefits for autophagy beyond these other practices.

Myth 6 – Fasting Is the Key to Longevity

Claims about fasting and longevity are based on animal studies or extreme calorie restriction protocols. The real drivers of longevity—reducing inflammation and improving metabolic health—can be achieved through balanced nutrition, exercise, and other sustainable lifestyle habits.

Myth 7 – You Can Eat Whatever You Want During the Feeding Window

This myth might be the most damaging. Overeating during your feeding window can erase any calorie deficit created during fasting. Total calories and food quality matter whether you’re fasting or not.

Myth 8 – Fasting Detoxes Your Body

Your liver and kidneys already do an excellent job detoxing your body. Fasting doesn’t enhance this process. For better "natural detox," focus on hydration, fiber, and a nutrient-rich diet.

Myth 9 – Fasting Improves Cognitive Function

Some people report mental clarity while fasting, but it’s often a temporary effect of stress hormones. Most people perform cognitively better with regular meals and stable blood sugar levels.

Myth 10 – Fasting Works for Everyone

This one-size-fits-all myth ignores individual differences. Fasting isn’t ideal for everyone, especially those with high physical demands, chronic stress, or a history of disordered eating. The best approach is one that fits your lifestyle and supports long-term consistency.

When Fasting Might Work for You

While fasting isn’t necessary for results, it can be a practical option for those who naturally prefer fewer meals or specific eating windows due to their schedules. However, it should never feel like an obligation or a magic bullet for fat loss.

What Actually Drives Results

1. Sustainable Calorie Deficits – Tracking and awareness, balanced meals, and a focus on protein and whole foods.

2. Meal Timing for Training Performance – Prioritize pre- and post-workout nutrition for energy and recovery.

3. Sleep and Stress Management – These are often overlooked but critical to achieving your goals.

4. Consistency – Master the basics before adding unnecessary complexity like fasting.

Final Thoughts

Fasting isn’t inherently “bad,” but it’s not the magic solution it’s often made out to be. Most of my clients achieve amazing results without ever worrying about fasting protocols. Instead, they focus on sustainable habits that align with their goals and lifestyles. If you’re unsure where to start, download my free Nutrition 101 for Body Composition Guide to take control of your nutrition without restrictive rules.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

Let's talk about intermittent fasting. You've probably tried restricting your eating window because someone told you it would burn fat, boost your metabolism, clean up your cells through autophagy. But instead of getting these amazing benefits, you're maybe gaining weight during your feeding window. You're feeling tired and cranky. You're wondering if there's something wrong with you, or is there a different way I can do this? Today, we're uncovering 10 myths about intermittent fasting that keep getting repeated by influencers and even some respected experts. You'll learn why many of these claims completely misrepresent the research, and I'll show you what actually drives results, because it's not about when you eat. It's about what you do consistently Now, whether you're fasting right now or thinking about starting. You'll discover why many of these so-called benefits might be holding you back from better results and how to decide if IF actually makes sense for your lifestyle.

Philip Pape: 0:58

Welcome to Wits and Weights, the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we are examining the truth about intermittent fasting claims that just won't go away Now. I rarely talk about IF on the show, but I have personal experience with it and it is still a hot topic. And let me be clear. This is not about bashing intermittent fasting. Some people genuinely thrive on it and they can, and I'll tell you about my own experience in a bit. But most people don't need it for results and you shouldn't feel pressured to follow arbitrary eating windows if they don't work for you. Now, before we dive in, if you want to take control of your nutrition without restrictive rules around meal timing, download my free Nutrition 101 for Body Composition Guide, where you'll learn how to master macros, calories, workout nutrition and develop a sustainable approach that still, of course, gets you results. Click the link in the show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash free to get your copy of the Body composition nutrition guide.

Philip Pape: 2:06

So, before we get into the myths, let me just quickly share my own experience with intermittent fasting, which was all the rage about 10 years ago, overlapping with CrossFit and paleo and the lean gains protocol, following this very strict, rigid approach, and the idea was a 16 to 8 fasting pattern. So I would have dinner around 5 or 6 pm and then not eat again till let's see let me do the math around 11, something like 10, 11 am. So basically, eight-hour fasting window, 16-hour eight-hour feeding window, 16-hour fasting window. So you would basically not have breakfast and then you would have a late lunch or an early dinner to make it work, and I followed this because I thought it would optimize fat burning. I didn't even worry too much about the longevity stuff, I was just trying to lose weight. I would train fasted and I did this for years and I thought, okay, I'm able to do the things I'm trying to do, so it's working right. But I still wasn't able to control my body composition or my weight. My body effectively got used to it and so I would end up eating more than I intended to in the feeding window. My performance in the gym was inconsistent because I was training fasted, even though I was also using at the time, bcaas branched-chain amino acids and later on EAAs CAAs branched chain amino acids and later on EAAs. My recovery wasn't great. I wasn't seeing better results than in another way of eating, which I only discovered later, once I stopped intermittent fasting.

Philip Pape: 3:34

And really my I guess, number one advice from this whole podcast, before we get into myths, is experimenting with if you're going to do fasting, track what you're doing and track the results and how you feel, and then do it without the fasting and see what changes. That's really the best way to tell what's going to happen. Now you may say, well, I don't really want to do that, because I think intermittent fasting is better for longevity or for burning fat or whatever. That is what we're going to address today. All right, we're going to talk about when it could be helpful, but then all the reasons it's not, so that you don't feel pressured to do it. And I think that's very liberating. It's very liberating because I still hear people who have struggled with, you know, having excess body fat, trying to lose weight, and they're like it's finally working because I started fasting. Well, we're going to get into why that is and the lens on that is you're telling the truth. Obviously, I'm not gaslighting. You are getting some change. You are losing weight, but is it because of the reasons you think? And are you putting something else at risk and preventing results from something else? So we're going to get to that. Let's just jump right in. Enough set up here Myth number one that fasting makes you burn more fat.

Philip Pape: 4:46

Now you can change the wording of this and say fasting makes you lose more weight, more fat. I'm just going to lump it all together, but the fat part, specifically is the claim that fasting puts you into a fat burning mode, making weight loss easier and more efficient. Now, yes, your body does shift to using more fat for fuel when you're not eating, but this misses the point because fat loss itself depends on being in a calorie deficit over time. If you're eating the same number of calories, studies show and physics show no difference in fat loss between intermittent fasting and regular meal patterns period. Any short-term increase in fat burning during the fasting window guess what? It gets canceled out by what happens in your feeding window. So that's myth number one it offers absolutely no benefit. I know this because my very approach with clients, which is focused on a sustainable way of losing fat efficiently and successfully, doesn't include intermittent fasting, and very few of my clients ever need it or want to do it, except for practical purposes and I'll address that a little bit later when I talk about who it might be right for. But it has zero benefit in burning more fat Zero.

Philip Pape: 6:01

Myth number two that fasting boosts your metabolism. Now, there's a kernel of truth here in that short-term fasting can temporarily increase metabolic rate through stress hormones, but long-term shows that extended fasting lowers your metabolism as your body conserves energy, and this is basic evolution. Your body doesn't know when the next meal is coming, so it adapts by becoming more efficient with its energy use. This is the same principle of unpredictability, right. The same reason. I tell people to eat consistently day to day, to sleep consistently day to day, to train consistently, do things in a consistent way, and your body then doesn't try to conserve energy because it doesn't know when this thing is coming next. It doesn't know when you're to conserve energy because it doesn't know when this thing is coming next. It doesn't know when you're getting to sleep, it doesn't know when you're getting food. Now, on the other hand, you might say well, what if I'm intermittent fasting very consistently? In that case, I think it's fine. And again, it doesn't boost your metabolism, it doesn't drop it either. My point is it just doesn't offer any benefit over any other feeding window, right. And the same thing happens when we are on a very low-calorie diet, right. In other words, your body conserves, you have metabolic adaptation, your metabolism drops, and that's why we focus on a more moderate approach to our calorie deficits and we use refeeds and diet breaks when appropriate to make it sustainable so that you can stick with it. So fasting definitely does not boost your metabolism.

Philip Pape: 7:27

We're going to move on to myth number three, which is that fasting improves insulin sensitivity Very important one here. This is now we get into the health claims. Here's the thing about insulin sensitivity it is primarily driven by body composition, activity level and overall diet quality. Body composition, as in more muscle, less fat. Right, we talk about muscle being a sink for glucose. The more muscle you have, the more you train, the more insulin sensitive you are. Your activity level just moving, controlling that blood sugar being active, and then your diet quality itself. Now, while short breaks between meals can help with insulin function in terms of you're reducing the number of spikes of blood sugar which, by the way, are not a big deal if you're active, in fact, we want them when we're lifting weights Studies that compare fasting to regular meal patterns no difference when calories and weight loss are matched in terms of insulin sensitivity. So what does improve insulin sensitivity? I alluded to it is building muscle through resistance training, staying active throughout the day, eating enough protein and maintaining a healthy body fat level. All right.

Philip Pape: 8:38

Myth number four that fasting is better for hormonal health. Oh, this one really irks me because I hear it especially in the over 40 and the peri-post-menopause crowd. Some podcasts, even podcasts that I respect, talk about fasting as being some panacea for women and for hormonal health, and the claim is that the fasting itself optimizes hormones like insulin, growth hormone and cortisol stress hormone, for better fat burning and better retention of muscle. And again, while fasting temporarily affects these hormones, the changes aren't necessarily even beneficial, because fasting can increase your stress hormones. They can disrupt your reproductive hormones, particularly in women. I've had female clients come to me after their cycles became irregular from aggressive fasting. So you really got to watch out. You're not doing more harm than good. The research shows that hormonal health is derived from consistent nutrition, adequate energy, not being underfed. A very key point we have harp on here is not always being dieting, but actually eating enough food, good sleep and stress management rather than manipulating meal timing. So again, with every one of these myths, I want you to be clear that the myth is actually a myth and there actually could be evidence showing the opposite in some cases. But again, I'm not going to go to the extreme on that side either.

Philip Pape: 10:04

Myth number five that fasting induces superior autophagy. So autophagy is the cleaning out of your cells. This claim is fascinating because it is based almost entirely on animal research and also on extreme fasting protocols that last at least 24 or more hours. So autophagy is your body's cellular cleanup process. It does increase when you're fasting, but it also happens during exercise, during sleep and during any form of calorie restriction. And we don't actually know if fasting enhances autophagy more than these other methods in humans. We just don't have evidence that supports that right. If, again, you want to support cellular health, guess what I'm going to say Focus on regular exercise, movement, training, quality sleep, good nutrition, rather than fasting. And, by the way, again, I'm not trying to bash on fasting. Fasting is just a tool. What I'm trying to show is that the claims people make about fasting being superior for these things are what are false giving you more options, which is great.

Philip Pape: 11:10

Myth number six that fasting is the key to longevity. And this one comes from studies where severe calorie restriction extended lifespan in various species. Have you heard about this? Right? You've heard about calorie restriction being somehow helpful for longevity, but the human evidence is much less clear, if existent at all, because any longevity benefits for humans likely come from improved health markers like reduced inflammation, better metabolic health things that you can achieve through lifestyle, through lots of other approaches that have nothing to do with fasting.

Philip Pape: 11:45

I've had people who come to me, actually not because they want to build muscle or lose fat, but because they're concerned with longevity. They're concerned with their high blood pressure or their high resting heart rate or their cholesterol, and they feel like they're compromising their health and they wonder should they be fasting, should they be doing so-called longevity protocols? And typically what's happening is they're either not eating enough they're not eating enough protein, fiber, nutrients, they're not moving enough, they're not training. There's all the lifestyle things they're just not doing. Yet Once we get those in place, we get to a balanced approach to their food, focused on whole foods, regular meals, very flexible approach, having nothing to do with, you know, restricting your feeding windows. Guess what happens? Health markers improve significantly. See it time and again and again it's a very liberating thought that you can do that and you don't need to fast.

Philip Pape: 12:33

Myth number seven is that you can eat whatever you want during the feeding window. Now, maybe not all of you buy into this myth and you understand that eating too much, whenever it is, can be a problem. I get it, but still I think it is a myth that's out there and it's probably the most damaging one, because it leads to overconsumption and poor food choices. Very much like a dreamer bulk right the idea that I'm going to just eat whatever I want, as much as I want to build muscle can lead to overconsumption and poor food choices, and I see it constantly.

Philip Pape: 13:07

People are fasting and initially they have some success because they lose some water weight, they cut their calories, they're not able to eat as much. Then what happens? Their body gets used to it. They start to overeat during their feeding window, and by overeat I simply mean they're consuming more calories than they intend or that they want for whatever their goal is, which usually is maintenance or fat loss, and so they're overeating. And this happened to me back in the day because I was fasting for years to the point where my body is like this is just how it is, so now you could eat more calories during that window, and then you almost feel like entitled to make up for the fasting period.

Philip Pape: 13:41

Or you feel like you're hungry, starving. Even if you get quote unquote used to fasting, you still may have higher hunger than you would have otherwise if you weren't doing it. And no matter what your fasting window is, you still have to consider total calories and food quality. It's still important. No matter what, the amount of calories in a day is still going to matter, and so I see people gaining weight on intermittent fasting. It happens all the time, right, even if they're perfectly adhering to the window, because they're cramming a day's worth of processed foods within eight hours. You know they think anything goes and their body adapts to it All right After the break. We're going to address one of the biggest intermittent fasting myths of all and I'm going to share a bonus myth related to your training performance and building muscle.

Jenny: 14:27

Hi, my name is Jenny and I just wanted to say a big thank you to Philip Pape of Wits and Weights for offering his free 50-minute nutritional assessment. During that time he gave me really good tools on how I can further my health and fitness goals. He asked really great questions and stayed true to his offer of no sales pitch. I have since applied these things and gotten really close to my health goals and my weight goals, and now I'm able to flip over and work on my strength and my muscle conditioning using a lot of the things he offers in his podcasts, and I just am very grateful for his positive inspiration and encouragement for all of our health. Thank you, philip.

Philip Pape: 15:13

Welcome back as we reveal the final three intermittent fasting myths that need to die, plus a bonus myth that will unlock even more progress with your body composition and physique. Myth number eight that fasting detoxes your body. Now I wasn't sure if I wanted to clue this in there, but I've actually seen more and more people make this claim and it's kind of related to the autophagy a little bit. It's this whole like cleaning you out thing. Your body's detoxification systems are already quite well-evolved and capable and robust your liver, your kidneys, your lymphatic system. They work continuously. Whether you're fasting or not, they're always working for you. They're amazing. Fasting does not enhance or accelerate this process at all. If you want to support natural detox, stay hydrated, eat plenty of fiber, get adequate protein, maintain a healthy lifestyle. Obviously don't smoke, don't drink to excess, because that'll put a strain on your detoxification system right, and those basic habits are going to do far more for you than any fasting protocol. And I don't know about you. I'd rather be lifting weights and eating what I want when I want, rather than having to fast and still get the result and still get the quote-unquote detox All right.

Philip Pape: 16:31

Myth number nine fasting is better for cognitive function. So some people swear by this. Oh, I fasted and I had this mental clarity. My brain was just firing on all cylinders. I didn't feel sluggish, lethargic, dah, dah, dah dah. You hear all of this and I've done that myself. Okay, I've used to fast once a week for a whole day, so I would go dinner to dinner, right, so a 24 hour period, and I would claim that I just felt so much clearer, so much mental clarity. The research actually shows mixed results and it shows a massive level of individual variation. So if you have what seems like a temporary boost in focus, it's probably because of your stress hormones, not an inherent benefit of fasting. A lot of people actually experience brain fog and or concentration when they're fasting, especially when they're having to then do demanding tasks, not just training fasted, but work. You work If you have a day job and you're now trying to work while you're hungry. And so, anecdotally, some people might have cognitive benefit, but most folks perform better cognitively with regular meals and stable blood sugar. Again back to the basics.

Philip Pape: 17:39

And then myth number 10, and again, this is maybe the biggest one I'm not going to say the most dangerous, but it's the one that just blanket statement on the internet that fasting can work for everyone, that it's a diet right. It's like here's keto, here's vegetarianism, here's carnivore, here's fasting, and it's going to work. You pick the one you want and it's going to work for everyone. And this myth insidiously ignores the massive individual differences that we all have. The whole reason I created this podcast is the reason I coach people to figure out their own bodies, their own metabolism, their own lifestyle, their own psychology.

Philip Pape: 18:13

It is so different from person to person that if you try to put yourself in a box it can be extremely problematic, especially for women. And again, men, women love you all. But unfortunately women get the brunt of the marketing on this stuff and the claims on this stuff. And women also have the bigger hormonal disruptions in late 30s into 40s and 50s. But fasting is also unsuitable for certain people. If you have a history of disordered eating, if you have very high physical demands, if you have chronic stress, it could make it worse. It just can Be careful. I'm okay if you want to experiment, but measure these things and see if one isn't superior to the other for you, for you.

Philip Pape: 18:55

I've seen far too many clients try to force fasting, and I mean before we work together. They tell me about their stories of fasting because they think that's the only resort they have left. Even maybe it'll be surprising to you is the impact of fasting on your training performance, and I am a proponent now that most people should not be training fasted and again, I use the word most, not every, because, just like all the other claims, or the very last one, that fasting's for everyone, fasted or fed, training may not be everyone. You may be in the very, very, very small percentage of people that, for whatever reason, perform better when you're fasted. It's extremely rare, though, and usually the reason they think they're performing better, faster than not, is because when they're fed, maybe they eat too much too close to their workout and they just don't like the digestive results or the feeling of it, or they feel sluggish, or they're eating the wrong things, or they're not eating carbs but they're only eating protein. There's a lot of reasons that you might think training fed doesn't work for you and we need to talk.

Philip Pape: 20:15

I want you to reach out to me, schedule a rapid nutrition assessment. Let's have a call and talk about your peri-workout nutrition. Peri meaning in and around. What are you eating before and after? When are you eating. What is the composition of macros? What is the food? Is it highly digestible? I will help you figure out if that's the problem, before you say I just need to train fasted and I'm going to start taking EAAs, which are pretty much a waste of money, since you could just eat protein, and because all these other myths are not true about fat burning and everything else autophagy you don't have to worry about those.

Philip Pape: 20:47

It really comes down to how do you get the most out of your workouts. Coming to the gym feeling ready to go energized, you don't feel like you have too much in your stomach. You go ahead and you slam the weights with control, with intensity and with focus, and you're able to get through a 60 or 90-minute training session with your energy intact, having gotten all the reps, and then you recover, and then you're not too sore the next day, and on and on. It all ties together and much of it comes down to not training fasted. And if you go from fasted training to fed training, you might find a step change in your lifting, in the weight, in the volume, in the intensity, in the energy, in the recovery, all of it, and so it's definitely worth trying out if you haven't done it or you've been training fasted for a long time.

Philip Pape: 21:33

And stop making the excuses. But well, I only have a half hour before I get to the gym. Well, guess what? Protein shakes and a banana, my favorite. Okay, half protein shakes and a banana, my favorite. Half an hour is plenty. Or you can guzzle on some highly branched cyclic dextrin just very simple, pure, easily digestible form of carbs, and get the energy in your body and see what it's like.

Philip Pape: 21:53

Stop making the excuses. There are some legitimate things like okay, I have to take thyroid medication and I'm trying to go to my home gym 10 minutes later. But again, even then can we work things out to make it work for you. Or, worst case, have a bigger carb, heavier dinner, not too late, but late enough that it's still in your system when you work out the next day. All right, so yeah, you might burn a little more fat during a fasted workout, but then you're going to burn less fat in the rest of the day and you're probably going to perform worse. Right, that goes back to myth number one. That means less muscle stimulation. Even the lower calorie burn it compromised results. All of it goes down okay, and training fasted will probably increase your muscle breakdown, and that's not what we're trying to do, because the research is clear that having amino acids available through eating protein helps preserve muscle during fat loss. So why are we trying to slow that down? So all of this illustrates the bigger point Don't let artificial rules get in the way of what actually drives results Proper fueling, progressive overload, consistency and all the basic lifestyle habits. All right.

Philip Pape: 22:55

So the key takeaway isn't that intermittent fasting is quote unquote bad. It's that you just do not need it for results. Most of my clients don't use it and those who do typically choose it because listen up it matches their natural hunger patterns or their schedule, purely practical reasons that are individualized to them. It is not for any supposed metabolic benefits whatsoever. Now what does matter? All right. Number one creating a sustainable calorie deficit. If you're trying to lose fat, you probably need to be in a moderate, sustainable calorie deficit through tracking and awareness, eating balanced meals, prioritizing protein and whole foods. Number two timing your meals to support your training performance. So where timing matters is getting it around your workouts, not whether you have fasting and feeding windows. The next one is getting adequate sleep, managing stress and then finally being consistent with the foundational basics before you start to add any complexity like intermittent fasting, which, at some point, if you want to try it out, great, but don't use that as step one.

Philip Pape: 23:58

What is the best approach? The best approach is the one that fits your lifestyle, the one that you can maintain long-term. If that includes some form of IF, then great, and if not, that's perfectly fine too. That is really my message today. All right, so if you want to learn exactly how to set up your nutrition for results without restrictive rules like fasting, download my free Nutrition 101 for Body Composition guide. You'll discover how to master your macros, optimize your workout nutrition and develop sustainable habits. That last, click the link in the show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash free to get your copy today. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting some weights and remember you don't need complicated rules around meal timing to get great results. Focus on the approach you can be consistent with while enjoying your diet. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast.

You Can Build Muscle FASTER Than We Thought (Without More Fat Gain) | Ep 242

Can you build muscle faster than we thought... WITHOUT gaining more fat as you bulk? What if the current advice to on rate of gain is actually holding you back?

Philip (@witsandweights) shares groundbreaking research that shows you can gain muscle faster than you thought - without getting bogged down by excess fat. He breaks down the latest science into simple, actionable tips for beginners, intermediates, and advanced lifters. Whether you're just starting or a seasoned lifter aiming to push past your current limits, Philip shares practical tips on tailoring your muscle-building pace based on your experience level. Tune in for a fresh perspective on building the body you want!

📲 For the exact steps to set up your next bulking phase for substantial muscle gains, download my free Muscle-Building Nutrition Blueprint (updated for 2025)  or go to witsandweights.com/free.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

1:11 Traditional bulking advice and why it’s outdated
2:06 Philip’s muscle-building program update
3:49 Why are recommendations changing?
5:41 Gain faster now
10:41 For optimal muscle gain
14:29 Tone up smart and assess your training experience
18:30 Determining your training level and rate of gain
20:23 Consistent progression and monitoring results
21:39 Importance of quality nutrition
23:37 Nutrient partitioning abilities

Episode resources:

• FREE Muscle-Building Nutrition Blueprint (over 25 pages!)

• Greg Nuckols Article – How Fast Should You Gain Weight When Bulking?

• Try MacroFactor free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS – Apple/iPhone or Google/Android

Related episode:

• The Hardgainers Guide to Outsmarting Your Metabolism and Maximizing Muscle Gain

New Science Shows You Can Build Muscle Faster (Without Getting Fat)

For years, I've told clients to gain around 0.2-0.3% of body weight per week when building muscle. This wasn't just my recommendation – it was the standard evidence-based advice for minimizing fat gain during a bulk. But science evolves, and new research has completely changed our understanding of optimal rates of muscle gain.

The Evolution of Muscle-Building Science

Recent studies show we can gain muscle faster than previously thought, with less fat accumulation than we feared. This is game-changing news for anyone trying to build their ideal physique, whether you're just starting or you've been lifting for years.

Why the Old Recommendations Were Too Conservative

The previous guidelines were based on limited research – just two key studies. Now, with five well-designed studies examining different rates of weight gain, we have a much clearer picture of how the body responds to various bulking approaches.

The New Science of Muscle Gain

Here's what the latest research reveals about optimal rates of muscle gain:

• Beginners: Can gain up to 0.5-0.8% body weight per week with minimal fat gain

• Intermediates: Can effectively gain 0.3-0.5% body weight per week

• Advanced: Should stay in the range of 0.15-0.35% body weight per week

Three Major Insights About Building Muscle

1. Training Experience Matters More Than We Thought

Your training status significantly influences how aggressively you can bulk:

• Beginners have incredible muscle-building potential

• Intermediates can handle more aggressive gains than previously believed

• Advanced lifters still need more precise approaches

2. The Sweet Spot is Higher Than Previously Believed

The body is more capable of using extra nutrients for muscle growth than we realized, especially early in your training career. This means you can push the rate of gain higher without excessive fat accumulation.

3. Better Muscle-to-Fat Ratio Than Expected

At moderate rates of gain, about 70-75% of weight gained can be lean mass. Even with faster gains, fat accumulation isn't as dramatic as once feared. This completely changes the old belief that "gaining too fast means it's all fat."

How to Implement the New Recommendations

Assess Your Training Level

1. Beginner: Still adding weight to lifts almost every session

2. Intermediate: Making consistent but slower progress

3. Advanced: Progress comes in small increments over time

Calculate Your Target Rate

Use these guidelines based on your experience level:

• Beginners: Start at 0.5% body weight/week

• Intermediates: Aim for 0.3-0.4% body weight/week

• Advanced: Target 0.15-0.35% body weight/week

Monitor These Key Metrics

• Daily weight (use weekly averages)

• Training performance

• Body measurements

• Progress photos

• Energy and recovery markers

The Bottom Line

Being too conservative with your rate of gain might actually be holding back your muscle growth. While you still need to train hard and eat properly, don't be afraid to push the envelope a bit more than previously recommended. Your body is smarter at nutrient partitioning than we once believed – especially when you provide the right training stimulus.

Want to implement these new recommendations? Download my completely revised Muscle Building Nutrition Blueprint.

📲 Send me a text message!

👩‍💻 Book a FREE 15-Minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment

🎓 Join Wits & Weights Physique University

👥 Join our Facebook community for live Q&As & support

✉️ Join the FREE email list with insider strategies and bonus content!

📱 Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS. The only food logging app that adjusts to your metabolism!

🏋️‍♀️ Download Boostcamp for free and access 70+ evidence-based workout programs

🩷 Love the podcast? Leave a 5-star review or share on social and tag @witsandweights

📞 Send a Q&A voicemail

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you've been following the standard advice of gaining weight slowly and methodically to build muscle, including advice that I've given on this show, you might be too conservative. New research has changed our understanding of how quickly you can gain muscle while keeping fat gain minimized, and I mean quite completely changed, because what we thought was optimal might actually be cutting your gains in half. Today, I'm breaking down the latest science that's forcing us to rethink what we knew about the rate of building muscle and why. This is actually great news for anyone trying to pack on size. Whether you're a beginner who can gain faster than ever, or an experienced lifter who needs to find your sweet spot to avoid constant bulking and cutting cycles, this episode is going to help you hone in on the most efficient physique building approach. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique.

Philip Pape: 1:03

I'm your host, Philip Pape, and today we're exploring something that challenges what many of us, including myself, have been teaching for years about building muscle. You're probably tracking your calories, your macros. You're aiming to get just the right rate of gain, probably around a quarter pound per week, maybe a little more, something like two to three pounds per month, because that's what everyone says is optimal. I've even said before 0.2 to 0.3% of your body weight a week is optimal and, yes, you're going to make progress. However, you do it when you're in a surplus, but it might be slower than you want. And now you notice others making gains faster. Maybe you feel like you're shortchanging yourself because it doesn't seem like you're putting it all out there. And the new research that we've seen over the last few years suggests exactly that that we can gain muscle faster than previously thought, with less concern about fat gain than we once believed, and this changes pretty much everything we knew about building muscle and how fast and how large our surplus should be. Now, speaking of changing everything, I've revised my free muscle building nutrition blueprint to reflect the new findings, the new rates of gain, and I separate it by aggressiveness depending on how comfortable you are gaining weight and gaining some fat along for the ride as you build that muscle. And if you want your free copy of my muscle building nutrition blueprint, just use the link in my show notes or go to witsandweightscom slash free and it's updated and it's a very detailed guide with not only the rate of gain, but it walks you step by step through the process of building muscle. It gives you an example of how I applied this to a past bulk, which, of course, if I did it again, I might actually go aggressively. And just so you know, I'm recording this as I've recently started a new bulk, which I will be reporting out on, probably in a few months, only because I want to see how well my new program goes as well. I'm running a 19 week program that has a base phase and then a peaking phase to push up my main lifts, which I haven't done in a while, and I'm combining that with the bulk and I'm going at what I would call a moderately aggressive rate based on what I'm going to share today.

Philip Pape: 3:14

So let me break this down into three parts. First, we're going to look at why the recommendations are changing based on new research. I've said in the past you should never be locked into a specific finding, whether it's from one study or 10 studies, because there could always be new information that enlightens us as to more precise, accurate approach, and that is exactly the case here. Then, in the second segment, I'm going to explain exactly what this means for you and your muscle building goals. And then, finally, I'm going to show you how to put this into practice based on your experience level, your level of training advancement. So let's talk about how our understanding has evolved, because this is super important.

Philip Pape: 3:53

Why are my recommendations changing? Why are the recommendations in the industry changing? And some very well-respected individuals out there, like the guys at Stronger by Science, for example and if you've listened to me for any length of time, you've heard me tell you, as a listener and clients, to gain around 0.2 to 0.3% of your body weight per week when trying to build muscle. And this wasn't just my recommendation, it was the standard advice based on the best available evidence at the time, including some meta-analysis, one by Dr Herrick Helms et al. I've had people on the show talk about that and it was in all of my guidance, even to clients as well, because it's the best thing we knew and everyone's worried about gaining too much fat, so we don't want to push it too aggressively and do the old dreamer bulk right. Just the seafood diet, see it and eat it. But you know, science evolves and sometimes it evolves dramatically and sometimes it catches up to some of the kernels of truth that we know about from the bro science, from the guys who've truly packed on some muscle and I'll be honest, you know I have a long way to go.

Philip Pape: 4:56

I've been doing this seriously now for four or five years but I want to say, like, from the nutrition side, probably about three years, and I've learned a lot personally. I've helped hundreds of clients and listeners go through this process and doing it successfully, and yet still we can learn and do it better. So we've gone from having just two key studies on this topic. This is the pitfall of relying on science too much is when we don't have quite enough information out there compared to the decades and hundreds and thousands of anecdotes which in some way count as their own evidence. So we've gone from having two studies to now having five well-designed studies.

Philip Pape: 5:34

Look at how different rates of weight gain affect muscle growth and fat gain, and the results are changing what we thought we knew. And I want to give credit where it's due because this was recently detailed in an excellent article by Greg Knuckles at Macrofactor. You know how much I love those guys. He was on the show in the past and he's just a phenomenal writer, but he's really good at distilling a lot of this complex information into an article that's still detailed enough to give you all the key points and graphs and comparisons. And their team. They analyzed these five studies and it kind of opened my eyes about how we need to update our approach as well, and that's why I'm doing this episode and so I've linked to that article in the show notes and you can check that out firsthand and see where it all comes from.

Philip Pape: 6:18

But to get into specifics, a recent study published in the Journal of Functional Morphology and Kinesiology found something pretty remarkable because in relatively untrained lifters which is a good place to start because they can change fairly quickly gaining up to about a pound or a half percent of body weight per week led to large increases in fat-free mass, with minimal to no increase in fat mass. And if we think about how our body is composed, when we talk about body composition, there is muscle mass and there is everything else which includes fat, but not just fat. And the way they typically measure these is just creating a binary buckets, you know, fat-free mass and fat mass, which is pretty helpful in our context because a lot of us really care about are we gaining too much fat when we gain muscle? But we also want to see that we're gaining the muscle and what the ratio is. So one pound a week is significantly faster than what we previously thought, even for newer lifters. I mean, I'll say it's on the cusp and you're going to find out. You're going to see here that the recommendations for intermediate and advanced lifters are actually a lot more aggressive than we thought as well. So where it gets interesting for those people, for experienced lifters and by experienced I mean you've been training hard for at least six to nine months Now you've moved into late novice, early intermediate and your propensity to gain muscle is just a little bit less than where it was at the beginning or anything more advanced than that.

Philip Pape: 7:46

The research shows that faster rates of weight gain might help increase muscle growth even a bit more, but too much, and you're still going to primarily just increase fat gain. So that's where there's consistency with the previous literature to an extent, but the numbers have just shifted to be more aggressive. So, for example, in a very advanced lifter, when gaining about 0.4% of their body mass a week, about 60 to 65% of the weight gained was fat-free mass, so that's almost two-thirds not as fat, which is more than I thought would happen. I used to say it was around 50-50, right, and any more than that. It just gets worse. But now we're saying it's two-thirds muscle or two-thirds fat-free mass to one-third fat.

Philip Pape: 8:32

Okay, in an advanced trainee at 0.4% a week, which, just so you know, is right about the rate I'm going at right now. I used to hit it at around 0.25, 0.3, and now I'm going at 0.4. I consider myself an intermediate lifter and I'm going more aggressive Pretty cool, right, and I know that that could. Then it gives me a lot of excitement because, first of all, I get to eat a lot more food, which is awesome, In fact, almost to the point where it could be uncomfortable, because I do still eat a lot of whole foods and fiber and sometimes I feel too full whole foods and fiber and sometimes I feel too full. So there's that hard gaining piece. I did a whole episode about that in the past and I'm going to link to that in the show notes as well.

Philip Pape: 9:11

Anyhow, if we take that rate of gain 0.4%, let's say we slow that down to more like 0.16, I think was the exact number. The amount of fat-free mass that these advanced lifters gained as a percentage of the total weight gained was 85%, so a vast majority of it being muscle. When they're going at 0.15% Now, 0.15% is roughly on the low end of whatI used to recommend anyway, like the lowest of the low end Kind of makes sense. So what this means is simple We've been too conservative with our recommendations, especially for beginners and intermediates and that's probably the vast majority of people listening to be honest Because once you're advanced, you kind of have things dialed in and understand how your body responds anyway, and it's going to take longer between. It's going to take longer to do everything you know to gain muscle mass, to gain strength, and so it makes sense that your rate of gain would slow down. So all of this is excellent news because it means that you might be able to build muscle faster than you thought, without packing on unnecessary fat. So now you understand why recommendations have changed. And again, go check out the article. You can check out the research study that I just mentioned specifically, but it's mentioned in the article, so I would rely on that and their citations to see all of the studies that are being drawn upon. And now I want to use this research to tell us what it means about building muscle, and this is where it gets really interesting. So this research has revealed three insights that I want to talk about, Three major insights about building muscle.

Philip Pape: 10:40

First, your training experience matters potentially even more than we realized. Beginners have an incredible capacity for muscle growth. They can gain up to 0.8% body weight per week with minimal fat gain. Like those are fat loss numbers. In other words, like that's the rate of body weight loss I would be recommending for fat gain. Usually, when we talk about muscle gain, we talk about a fraction of that, like a half or a quarter of that, and what we're saying is no, you can actually crank it up to like 0.8% and even potentially 1% of your body weight per week if you're total new and you're willing to gain a little extra fat for the chance of building a lot more muscle.

Philip Pape: 11:24

And then we have intermediate lifters and they're not far behind now. They have the ability to gain, say, 0.3 to 0.5% per week effectively and still gain a ton of that as muscle mass. We're talking a half a percent a week. So if you gain let's say you're an average, slightly bigger guy and you're 200 pounds, just for easy numbers that's a pound a week. Right, that's a pound a week. So that's like a little over four pounds a month, which means in six months you'd be gaining like 25 pounds.

Philip Pape: 11:50

Okay, and 25 pounds amounts to what does that come out to be? Over what 12.5% increase? And I used to recommend anywhere from seven to 10%, and this is suggesting we can go up to like well, 12.5% over a six month period. You can bulk for less, you can bulk for longer, and that's going to change the total weight gained, but the percentage of that gained as muscle mass should still be pretty high, All right. And then we have advanced lifters who still need even more precision and they should stay in the range of anywhere from 0.15 to 0.35% body weight per week.

Philip Pape: 12:23

And I realize I'm throwing a lot of numbers at you. If you go to the Macrofactor article, you'll see tables that give you ranges and I wouldn't worry too much about it. If you use Macrofactor the app itself, it's actually designed around percentage gain per week. Use my code, WITSANDWEIGHTS, try it for free for a couple of weeks and I'm sure you'll be hooked and you'll want to use it forever. Again, link in the show notes.

Philip Pape: 12:45

It sounds like I'm promoting a bunch of stuff here, but it's all connected, so beginners can go up to a percent or maybe 0.8%, intermediates up to half a percent and advanced maybe 0.35%. That's the first major insight from this research. But there's more to understand about how this changes our approach, because second is that we've discovered the sweet spot, for muscle growth is also higher than we previously thought kind of that optimal number and the research shows that your body's more capable of using the extra nutrients for muscle growth, especially earlier in your training career and we used to think a little bit slower. More of a lean gain was always better and we know that's not true now, which is great. It's liberating. It means you have a lot more flex pun intended to eat more and gain more muscle without being as worried about gaining a ton of fat.

Jenny: 13:35

Hi, my name is Jenny and I just wanted to say a big thank you to Philip Pape of Wits and Weights for offering his free 50-minute nutritional assessment. During that time he gave me really good tools on how I can further my health and fitness goals. He asked really great questions and stayed true to his offer of no sales pitch. I have since applied these things and gotten really close to my health goals and my weight goals, and now I'm able to flip over and work on my strength and my muscle conditioning using a lot of the things he offers in his podcasts, and I just am very grateful for his positive inspiration and encouragement, for all of our help. Thank you, philip.

Philip Pape: 14:21

And then third, and this might be the most exciting finding that the ratio of muscle to fat gain is much better than we feared. I alluded to that earlier. If you gain at one of these moderate rates which is now, is more aggressive than we thought up to three quarters of the weight gained can be lean mass. Now, a little bit of that might be some fluid mass, glycogen going on, but still that's a huge ratio of muscle. I've seen this. You know there's a sanity check. A sniff test on this is with my clients. We track a bunch of metrics. We track body measurements. I do some Navy formula based body fat percentage measurements and I also calculate how much lean mass versus fat you've gained or lost during a muscle building phase. And for my clients who have gone at a more conservative rate, like we used to recommend, it was often well over two thirds lean mass and I always thought, wow, this must just be because they're so new at it. Because many of my clients they've been training, but they haven't maybe been training effectively. So we get them training for strength using the right type of periodization, using the right stimulus, with volume and intensity, and they just get cranky. Their lifts go up, they start building a ton of muscle. So it makes sense. But now I'm thinking, oh, is it actually because we just can go more aggressively and still gain a bunch of muscle and it not be very much fat and let's not worry as much about the scale going up? We actually want that to happen. We want to be well over that threshold and now this liberates us to really push it and not worry. That's what I think is pretty cool. So even when we push the rate of gain higher, fat accumulation isn't nearly as dramatic as we once thought, and this completely changes the old belief that you know, if you gain too fast, it's all fat. Having said that, there is a rate of gain that some people would be going way too aggressively. You know, like one and a half, two percent a week is probably then at the point where you're just going to gain a bunch of fat, and that's like the dreamer book, right. But the evidence doesn't support the fear of too much fat gain in a fairly wide range now. So we've covered why the old recommendations were too conservative, what the new science shows Now, how do you actually apply this to your own training and nutrition?

Philip Pape: 16:33

And it's pretty simple how do we take this and turn it into your results? I think it starts with assessing. How do we take this and turn it into your results? I think it starts with assessing honestly, like very honestly, your training experience. All right, you're probably a beginner and I have air quotes here if you're still adding weight to your lifts almost every session so that's session to session. But honestly, if you're able to go up every week, you're probably still in a late beginner, early intermediate stage. So if you're able to go up every week, you're probably still in a late beginner, early intermediate stage. So if you're making progress, but it's less consistent and, again, progress is very fluid here because it's not just weight on the bar, it's also your volume, your periodization. If you use some sort of wave type programming, you kind of know who you are if you're not just cranking up weight on the bar super quickly.

Philip Pape: 17:21

So I'm in that situation where I'm not just going to increase weight every session and not necessarily every week. Sometimes I increase sets or reps as a form of adding more work, and there's different reasons for that, outside the scope of today's podcast, different reasons for that outside the scope of today's podcast. But I consider myself intermediate, but still with a huge propensity to grow muscle, and so I'm going to go that moderately aggressive like that. 0.4%. Maybe I could even go more aggressive than that. But the amount of calories required then become actually a little bit of a sustainability issue for me, just like when you cut too quickly and it's not sustainable. I know we're going into the holiday season here. I can only put down so much food at each meal, just how I am, and to go significantly past say 3,200 or 3,500 calories a day would be not that sustainable for me. I could do it, and it's an excuse if I said I couldn't, but that's part of the equation.

Philip Pape: 18:20

So 0.4%, anyway, beginner and immediate. You got to assess where you are and if you're advanced, you know who you are. I mean, I'm not going to try to define that for you. You know who you are, so let's talk about selecting your approach then based on that. If you're a beginner, I would start with something like a half a percent body weight gain per week. If you're a little bit worried about too much fat gain, okay, that's a pound a week for a 200 pound person, but you can push it up to 0.7, 0.8% and be probably fine and you're going to get even more gains. If you're intermediate, you might aim for about 0.3 to 0.4%. So this is like on top of the optimal range that I used to talk about. By a percent or so, I mean 0.1% or so, so that you can push it there. And that's where I'm going 0.4%, and then, if you're advanced, you're going to stay more conservative 0.2, 0.3, which is ironically the old optimal. So everything's been shifted up and it's not just about the rate of gain. So this is important. You have to monitor more than just the scale. We're going to monitor how is your progression in the gym strength, numbers, volume, sets, recovery.

Philip Pape: 19:22

Here's my premise for lifting and programming. Your program and your approach and your recovery should be set up where you are not missing reps period. Whether you're doing a very beginner program like starting strength, or a more advanced program, intermediate, you know, four or five day split, it should be set up and you should be doing things in advance so that you're not missing reps. I don't like the idea that some people have that I'm just going to push for some goal weight and I might fall short, but I stretched myself and that'll be an indicator of progress. That is not objective and if you are constantly failing reps, it tells me that you are overreaching or you are under-recovering with your program. It is not structured appropriately for you and if you're wondering about all this, reach out to me. I'll help you out. I'll help you identify either a standard template or program out there that's probably appropriate given your training age and capacity, or we can talk about how you might tweak a program in a custom way to work for you. So you shouldn't be missing reps right.

Philip Pape: 20:24

Are your lifts consistently progressing the way you want them? You should be taking measurements and progress photos right and tracking your various circumference levels in your body, fat and body composition to make sure they're on track where you want. I have a physique tracker in the Wits and Weights Physique University that everyone uses. So from day one when you go through onboarding, you get that and it shows you how to track all of these measurements. And then it does all the calculations for you and it tells you you are gaining lean mass versus fat at this rate and then you can tell okay, am I doing something that I shouldn't be? Am I not training hard enough or appropriately, or am I eating too much? Or maybe I'm low on protein. There could be something going on that you can tell.

Philip Pape: 21:05

Track your biofeedback, like your energy, your recovery between sessions, your DOMS right, your delayed onset, muscle soreness. Sometimes it's fine, sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's not. It's an indicator of under recovery, right? Your sleep, your digestion, your hunger, all of those things as well. All these factors tell you whether you're gaining in the right way, at the right rate for you. So we've talked about rates of gain, we've talked about monitoring progress.

Philip Pape: 21:32

There's one more piece that's crucial to making this work besides lifting consistently. There's one more piece that's crucial to making this work besides lifting consistently, and that is your nutrition quality right. Just because you can gain faster doesn't mean you should throw nutrition out the window, and it's very common, when you have all these calories you want to hit, that you start throwing in a ton more processed foods. You kind of start eating a little more randomly. Your meal timing gets thrown off right. Training days versus off days start to look quite different. You struggle on off days to even eat enough. There's a lot of these issues and we've got to have the principles in place. There's, of course, protein. It shouldn't be that hard to get enough protein when you're eating a lot more calories. You should have already set that up before you went into a muscle building phase. Anyway, of 0.7, one gram per pound body weight of protein shouldn't be hard when the calories are up. And then you still need quality carbs to fuel your training.

Philip Pape: 22:22

Now there's always lots of debates about carbohydrates. My position is that there's no harm in adding carbs. There could be harm in being too low in carbs, especially when you're building muscle. That's the way I like to say it. I'm not going to say low carb is going to harm you or hold you back. I'm just saying that you should try it out and see how carbs help, not just with performance, energy and recovery, but one thing that doesn't get talked about enough the anti-catabolic nature of carbs, the ability of carbs to prevent the breakdown of muscle tissue and make everything else you're doing serve you better, like the protein and the lifting right. It's just. It removes a potential hindrance by increasing your carbs. And then, of course, the balance of your macro is just to make it work, the healthy fats and all that fun stuff to support everything you're doing, which, again, shouldn't be a problem with all those calories. But the key thing with quality is still have the nutrients coming in, still have the fiber, but then you have to manage your timing and you have to manage your frequency so that you don't feel stuffed or uncomfortable and it's sustainable. All of that still applies. All right, now we're about to wrap this up.

Philip Pape: 23:29

I do want to share something that I discovered while reviewing the research. That actually changed how I think about muscle gain. So you remember those studies that showed really high rates of lean mass gains in beginners. What they actually revealed wasn't just about the rate of gain, it was your body's nutrient partitioning abilities when the right conditions are present. And one way to think about that is simply this Remember when you didn't lift weights. Remember when you were less active.

Philip Pape: 24:01

You were afraid of gaining weight. Probably you were afraid and it happens to people on the holidays every year you just gradually overconsume. You're probably consuming a lot more than you think you are and it's a lot more than your body even needs when you're not that active and you're not utilizing those nutrients in any productive way other than energy storage, meaning fat. Now you're completely flipping that on its head to say I'm doing stuff lifting weights, training hard and being active that actually use the nutrients and energy in a productive way for the first time in my life, and your body is super adaptive to that. It's adapting how it uses the food coming in, such that you're a completely different person than the version of you that wasn't active or lifting. So when you do this and I see this with clients all the time it's so incredible and it's so amazing and even my own personal journey has borne this out I don't fear gaining weight anymore. I can't possibly fear it, because every time I gain weight it's combined with the things that use those nutrients and I build muscle, even if some fat comes along for the ride.

Philip Pape: 25:10

I know it's super easy to cut fat after that, and it will be for you too, if you take this approach right. Your after that and it will be for you too, if you take this approach right your strength will skyrocket. Your body composition will change. Your body composition will improve from when you were gaining weight in the past and not lifting, but even potentially when you were gaining weight too slowly. And so ladies not just men, a lot of men I talk to have no problem with the concept of like, okay, I'm going to gain weight, maybe some fat, that's fine.

Philip Pape: 25:34

I sense the fear more in women and this is just a generalization but for some of you women who just need to spend time building muscle, you might have to do it even more aggressively than you thought, and it's going to result in weight gain, but for a purpose. A purpose that's going to make you leaner, stronger, more fit, more capable, and then you could just cut the fat, and you won't have to cut it as much as you think, because you're going to have all this extra muscle and you can walk around at a higher scale weight, you know, like a badass, looking great, carrying extra weight, eating more food Isn't that what we want, right? So the increased food, combined with progressive loading, creates such a strong muscle building stimulus that your body is going to preferentially use all those extra calories, the vast majority of them for muscle growth. So keep this in mind. This is a very important episode, a very important concept that sometimes, being too conservative, would actually hold you back from creating that optimal anabolic environment for muscle growth. Right, it's like trying to build a house with just barely enough materials coming in, right? Yeah, you're not going to have extra materials that represent fat storage, but you're making the whole process much harder and slower than it needs to be. It's just going to take forever. Now if you're the type of person who doesn't like to gain or lose weight and just wants to sit at the same weight and get some body recomp, that's a whole separate discussion you can do that. It's just going to take a lot longer time we're talking on the order of multiple years and you might get frustrated with the lack of progress in the gym because you're just not cranking up that anabolic environment.

Philip Pape: 26:59

All right, I think I've gone on long enough on this and I think it's all very exciting. I'm passionate about it. It's an evolution in our understanding of some really basic things in the science of muscle growth and strength. Don't forget, strength is a huge part of this. It means that many of you can make faster progress while maintaining a smart, methodological or methodical approach. It's not about going crazy and just dumping calories in your body. It's giving you the resources that you need and cranking it right to that limit to fulfill the potential on a reasonable timeframe. Right, because your body is even more remarkable than we thought at building muscle and when you provide the right stimulus through training and adequate nutrients through food, it knows exactly what to do with those resources.

Philip Pape: 27:43

And remember, if you want to implement these new recommendations and all the other things, what do you track? How do you track them? How do you know that it's working to maximize your muscle growth? I've completely revised my muscle building nutrition blueprint to reflect the latest research and it breaks down exactly how to determine your ideal rate of gain, set up your nutrition and monitor your progress. To get those results, just download using the link in my show notes, or, as always, go to witsandweightscom slash free. And if you want to track your progress with the app that I mentioned earlier, which I use, my clients use. Try Macrofactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS. I link to that as well in the show notes. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember that sometimes being too conservative can hold you back from your true potential. This is Philip Pape. You've been listening to Wits and Weights. I'll talk to you next time.

4 Ways to Increase Your Metabolism by 500 to 1000 Calories per Day | Ep 236

Are you tired of cutting calories to stay lean? Are you wondering how some people eat more while staying fit?

Philip (@witsandweights)  shares simple, effective ways to help you burn an extra 500-1,000 calories daily—all through sustainable lifestyle tweaks. Learn how to fire up your metabolism, feel more energized, and efficiently work towards your fitness goals. Philip breaks down four key areas that increase calorie burn. He’ll guide you through small, realistic steps like adding more protein, moving more throughout the day, and building steady habits that make a big difference over time.

👥 To connect with other listeners who are applying these evidence-based approaches to their fitness journey, join our free Wits & Weights Facebook group here or search “Wits & Weights” on Facebook.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

5:23 Strength training for calorie burn
8:25 Impact of NEAT on Metabolism
10:37 Nutrition's role in metabolism
12:15 Daily lifestyle activity boost
14:34 Listener feedback on nutrition coaching
15:01 Recovering from metabolic adaptation
16:12 How sleep affects your metabolism
18:03 Sustainable strength training tips
19:27 Adding more steps easily
28:07 Outro

Episode resources:

• Try MacroFactor free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS – Apple/iPhone or Google/Android

Related episodes:

• 7 Surprising BMR Facts (Your Metabolism Isn't Broken)

• How to Allocate 1200, 2000, & 3000 Calories in Your Meal Plan (Plus Hit Your Protein!)

Increase Your Metabolism by 500 to 1000 Calories per Day

Want to boost your metabolism without endless cardio or extreme dieting? Let's break down exactly how to increase your daily calorie burn by 500-1000 calories through sustainable strategies that actually work.

The Four Key Components of a Higher Metabolism

1. Strength Training and Muscle Gain (100-150 calories)

Building 8-10 pounds of muscle over 6-12 months increases your resting metabolic rate by about 50 calories per day. But here's something most people miss - the adaptations in your heart and other organs from consistent training can contribute another 50-100 calories daily. Your body becomes more metabolically active overall.

2. Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT) (200-300 calories)

This is where we can make the biggest impact. By increasing your daily steps by 5,000-7,500 (about 30-60 minutes of walking spread throughout the day), you'll burn an extra 200-300 calories. This isn't intense exercise - it's just moving more through:

• Walking meetings

• Taking stairs

• Parking further away

• Standing desk work

• General movement throughout the day

3. Thermic Effect of Food (50-100 calories)

Optimizing your nutrition through higher protein intake and whole foods increases the calories burned during digestion. Protein requires 20-30% of its calories just for digestion, compared to 5-10% for carbs and 0-3% for fats. Focus on:

• 0.7-1g protein per pound of bodyweight

• Whole, minimally processed foods

• High-fiber foods that require more energy to digest

4. Active Lifestyle Enhancement (50-100 calories)

Light physical activity you actually enjoy:

• Playing with kids

• Gardening

• Recreational sports

• Yoga

• Quick movement breaks throughout the day

Bonus Strategy: Recovery From Chronic Dieting (100-200 calories)

If you've been in a prolonged calorie deficit (12+ weeks), your metabolism has likely adapted downward. Strategic reverse dieting or a building phase can add another 100-200 calories to your daily metabolism as your body adjusts to higher energy availability.

Implementation Strategy for Sustainable Results

Don't try to implement everything at once. Start with one area:

1. Begin strength training 3-4 times per week with compound movements

2. Track current steps and add 1,000 steps per week until reaching your target

3. Focus on hitting protein targets first, then gradually shift toward more whole foods

4. Find movement you genuinely enjoy and incorporate it regularly

The key is creating an upward spiral where each improvement enhances the others. When you build muscle, you burn more calories during all activities. When you increase NEAT, you improve cardiovascular fitness. When you optimize nutrition, you support better training performance and recovery.

The Bottom Line

Your metabolism isn't fixed - it's trainable. By implementing these strategies systematically, you can increase your daily calorie burn by 500-1000 calories while improving your overall health and fitness. This isn't about quick fixes or extreme measures. It's about building a metabolism that supports your goals long-term through sustainable lifestyle changes.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

If you're tired of feeling like you need to eat less and less just to avoid gaining weight and you see others who seem to be able to eat way more food while staying lean, this episode is for you. Today, I'm breaking down exactly how to increase your daily metabolism to burn 500 to 1,000 more calories every day, without endless cardio or anything extreme. You'll discover the four key factors that actually determine your metabolic rate and how to optimize each one for maximum but sustainable results. Whether you're deep in a fat loss phase or trying to maintain while eating more food, this episode will give you a specific list of things to do to add up to a thousand more calories to your daily metabolism. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique.

Philip Pape: 0:58

I'm your host, philip Pape. Picture this You're eating what feels like barely any food. Maybe that's 1,100 or 1,500 calories a day, depending on your metabolism. You're doing cardio several times a week, your energy is in the gutter and still the scale the fat will budge. Meanwhile, you see others eating 2,000, 2,500, even 3,000 calories, while maintaining a lean physique. Well, what if I told you there's a way to systematically increase your metabolism by 500 to 1,000 calories per day, not through endless cardio or restrictive dieting, but through strategic approaches that work with your body to increase what we call energy flux. That's exactly what I'm giving you in today's episode. I'll show you exactly where these calories come from and how to implement each strategy in a way that actually works for your lifestyle without feeling deprived anymore. Now, if you want to connect with other listeners who are applying these same approaches to their fitness journey, go ahead and join our free Facebook group. It's called Wits and Weights. Just search the Wits and Weights community on Facebook or use the link in my show notes, and it's a great place to ask questions, to get support from like-minded people who, most of whom, listen to the show as well. Share your wins, your progress, but also focus on building your best physique through the smart, efficient systems we talk about, like increasing your energy flux to burn more calories, and then you can eat more food, have more energy and get the fat loss and muscle gain that you're going for.

Philip Pape: 2:31

Speaking of other listeners, I always promise that if you submit a review, I will give you a shout out and read it on the show Now, if you've submitted a review in the past and you're like I still haven't heard it written. I might have inadvertently missed it, and so please shoot me an email or a message on Instagram and let me know. But just to share some of what we've received lately Sarah P she recently wrote that the podcast is quote real, diverse, relevant. I appreciate so much the information on this podcast. Philip seems like a real person who I can identify with. He talks like someone I can understand, who has a ton of knowledge in a field I'm trying to dive into. I love the diversity of information for men and women, bodybuilders and soccer moms. The episodes are to the point and enjoyable to listen to. Thank you so much for all you do to help us on our individual journeys. Thank you so much.

Philip Pape: 3:23

I love reviews like that that show that you're really absorbing and listening to the information and you get something out of every episode. Sdjvdas said quote love this pod Seriously. So informational Can't get enough. The host is a class act too. I really appreciate. You know can always take a compliment, so thank you. And Jason Z27 wrote quote definitely recommend. I've been trying to work out more, but it's difficult to know if you're doing it right, figuring out how to diet, what muscle groups to work, how to find the right balance with cardio, etc. This podcast clears up a lot of those questions to make sure you get as much as you can out of your health plan. So so good. I love those reviews. Thank you for sending them in.

Philip Pape: 4:05

The reviews offer what's called social proof. They help others find the show and have some trust that it's what they're looking for. It makes a huge difference than in growing the community, and so if you're a listener, if you love the show, if you haven't left a review yet, hey, my birthday was two days ago before this episode came out. On the 26th of October was my birthday. I'm 44. I'll come out right out and say it I'm 44. And my goal is to get one year younger for every year of age when it comes to my physical fitness. But the best gift you can give me for my birthday is just a review of the show. That's all I ask for, please. I mean, you don't have to give me a gift at all. Just reach out and say hi, that would be great too. But leave a review on Apple Podcasts or Spotify. I'll give you a shout out. I'd be very, very grateful. Now, one of the reviews said we get to the point, so I better live up to that.

Philip Pape: 4:50

Let's get into today's topic. Here is what we are covering today. First, I want to go over the exact breakdown of where extra calories come from. When we talk about metabolism in general, I want to give a refresher of the components of metabolism and then how you can increase your metabolism in a sustainable way by up to a thousand calories a day, how to implement these strategies sustainably and then a little bonus approach at the end for those who might have been dieting for a long time. So stick around for that, all right.

Philip Pape: 5:23

I want to start with the overall theme here of increasing your metabolism, and some of you might be skeptical rightly so. You're like hey, philip, 500 to 1,000 calories is insane. That could be like double my current metabolism, or not double, but a huge jump to what I'm currently burning every day. But stick with me here because I'm going to break down objectively, scientifically, exactly where these numbers come from and give you a menu of options and you can kind of put them together. You don't necessarily have to do all the things, but it gives you some ideas to get started and make them work for you.

Philip Pape: 5:56

So first is strength training All right if you're not already lifting weights. That is the biggest low-hanging fruit in existence for your physical fitness for the rest of your life. In so many ways, well beyond calorie burning, even though that's the context for today, it is huge for your health, for your bone density, for your insulin sensitivity, for your function, for living a long, amazing life and, like I mentioned earlier, potentially turning back the clock as you age. I spoke to someone recently on his podcast. It was called On the Brink, john Brink. He's 84 years old and he's the oldest natural competitive bodybuilder on the planet, and he didn't get started until his, I think, late 70s. Bruce and Jan on Instagram they're in their 70s and they're kicking butt in the gym, showing that you can be strong and functional and completely defy aging.

Philip Pape: 6:49

Okay, I'm getting off track, but I think it's important. So let's talk about specifically calories. If you can add muscle just that alone let's say eight to 10 pounds of muscle over the next six to 12 months, which is totally achievable for both men and women you're going to burn an extra at least 50 calories per day at rest, and we know that because research shows that you can burn up to 9 calories per pound of muscle tissue on your body just from the tissue itself, let alone all the corollary ways that your body burns calories when you have more muscle. And again you might be thinking well, that's only 50 calories, right? But there findings from research that I want to add on to that, that people miss in this equation, and I've talked about them recently.

Philip Pape: 7:35

The adaptations in your heart and other organs from consistent training, from being an athlete, which you are, if you're a lifter, can actually contribute another 50 to 100 calories a day. Now some people might question the number, but I've seen it often anecdotally, and there does seem to be research that backs this up, if you add it all up. So, in summary, what I'm saying is, if you add muscle tissue, if you train like an athlete, if you're active, your organs increase in size as well. Your BMR will increase from multiple sources. You're more active in general. You are lifting weights. That burns calories. You add it all up and we're talking an extra 100 to 150 calories. So that's our first 100 to 150 calories. Just go out and lift weights and that is going to massively unlock so many other things. All right.

Philip Pape: 8:25

Second is non-exercise activity thermogenesis, or NEAT, and it's important to give you a refresher on these, even if you've heard it a million times, because somebody might be listening and saying I don't even know what that is. What are you talking about? Neat is the components of your metabolism where we can make the biggest impact, because it is all the non-exercise movement, such as walking, such as parking farther from the store, doing your chores, doing yard work, fidgeting, unconscious movement, really everything other than deliberate training or exercise. And we've seen that NEAT can by far have the biggest swing in your metabolic rate. For example, by increasing your daily steps by about 5,000, which sounds like a lot, but most people are super sedentary and getting only three or four so five gets you up to eight, nine, maybe 10,000 steps Stretch goal would be 12,000, but let's say eight to 10. That's about an extra up to an hour of walking spread throughout your day, and walking can be spread all over the place in all different ways.

Philip Pape: 9:30

Just doing that is going to burn an extra 200 to 300 calories. Now this is independent of your job, of how active you are in general. We definitely have seen a widespread between people who are sedentary, people who have a modesty, active jobs and like manual laborers of up to something like don't quote me on it, but I want to say it's almost a 2000 calorie difference on the extreme ends. But even if you were to shrink that by down to a quarter, we're still talking two 300 calories, right, just from your lifestyle. But deliberately walking every day in some way, excessively to you in an enjoyable way, is going to burn an extra 200, 300 calories. Right, we're not talking about intense exercise, we're not talking about running, it's just moving more throughout your day, getting off your butt, pacing around the house, doing all the things. And the beautiful thing about this is that is really sustainable. Right, you're not killing yourself with high intensity interval workouts or specific cardio sessions. You know, hopping on the treadmill, unless it's just to go walk on a treadmill. Or what I like is a standup desk with under-desk treadmill if that's a possibility for you. So that's our next 200 to 300 calories.

Philip Pape: 10:37

The third way we're going to add calories is optimizing your nutrition a bit, and one component of your metabolic rate is called TEF, the thermic effect of food, and there are a lot of people in the evidence-based space that are like eh, you know the extra calories burned from that really isn't worth discussing. I tend to disagree, because maintaining a higher protein intake and by higher I mean 0.7 to 1 grams per pound of your body weight, which is almost or more than double what most people are getting to start, and if you're eating more whole foods, with fiber, for example, you're going to burn more calories just from processing the food. You know it could amount to an extra 50 to 100 calories a day based on that shift. All right, so again, I give you I'm giving you ranges because we can be conservative and say maybe it's 25 to 50, maybe it is up to 100, depending on where you started and where you went. If you're eating a lot of ultra processedprocessed foods now a lot of fast food, quote-unquote junk food, whatever you want to call it chances are your body is not having to work very hard to digest it. If you switch to a lot of protein and whole foods and fiber things you have to chew harder foods, things you have to digest you are going to burn a bunch more calories just through digesting and processing that food, because protein requires 20% to 30% of its calories just for digestion, compared to, say, 5 to 10% for carbs and 0 to 3% for fats. So there's another funny thing If you are from the low carb, high fat camp in the past and now you're eating a more balanced diet with much higher protein and then some higher carbs, both of those are going to contribute to this metabolic bonus, just for eating different foods. So that's pretty cool, all right.

Philip Pape: 12:15

The fourth method here is what I call just active lifestyle enhancements, like light physical activity that you actually enjoy. Now you might say, well, this is part of NEAT, isn't it? But with NEAT we talked about specifically adding in walks. In this case, while it is part of NEAT, it's thinking of everything you do in your life, your daily life, and being more active in general. So this could be gardening, playing with your kids, recreational sports, yoga I don't care what it is, I bet, unless you're the type of person that's always out hiking, that's always out playing sports, which a lot of us are not.

Philip Pape: 12:52

We're kind of I'm not going to say stuck with desk jobs, but you sit around all day. You're tired. At the end of the day you just veg out, right, and then maybe the weekend you do some fun activities here or there. But can you think of a strategy where you every day are active, doing something, and if you have kids for example, fathers, mothers out there I mean especially the dads out there if you're not playing with your kids almost every day in some way, take advantage of that. It's such a wonderful bonding opportunity, it's so great for them. You know, get away from the devices and all that, just have fun, especially quick five-minute snacks, what we call. What did Brian Borstein call cardio snacks or exercise snacks. For example, running up and down the stairs a few times I mean silly things like that you can add another 50 to 100 calories to your day.

Jenny: 13:48

Hi, my name is Jenny and I just wanted to say a big thank you to Philip Pape of Wits and Weights for offering his free 50-minute nutritional assessment. During that time he gave me really good tools on how I can further my health and fitness goals. He asked really great questions and stayed true to his offer of no sales pitch. I have since applied these things and gotten really close to my health goals and my weight goals, and now I'm able to flip over and work on my strength and my muscle conditioning using a lot of the things he offers in his podcasts, and I just am very grateful for his positive inspiration and encouragement for all of our health. Thank you, Philip.

Philip Pape: 14:34

So, if we add it all up, strength training and the adaptations from strength training and the lifestyle of strength training add up to about 100 to 150 calories. Increased meat through walking is another 200 to 300 calories. Optimizing your nutrition, your protein, your fiber, whole foods another 50 to 100 calories. And having an active lifestyle 50 to 100 calories and that's maybe 400 to 600 calories per day. Right there, all right. Now here's the bonus strategy that can push this even higher.

Philip Pape: 15:01

For those who've been dieting for a long time and that's a lot of you If you've been in a prolonged calorie deficit and you may not even be in enough of a deficit to be losing weight anymore, you may just be below your set point for your current metabolic rate and just kind of under eating but not really losing weight. You could be in that situation. Your metabolism is probably adapted downward right. It's called metabolic adaptation and it's basically conserving resources because you're not eating enough. And if you can then recover out of that, if you could track your food, recover out of it, increase your calories to the point where you're now at your, you know, full, recovered, homeostatic maintenance calories, you don't have to use a reverse diet, right? You don't have to go into a building phase, although that can, in my opinion, you know, ramp it up even further. You can definitely add another, maybe 100 to 200 calories to your daily metabolism, and that's just like a starting point. Some of you may be more adapted than that. You know three, four, 500 calories, but if you've been dieting a lot, then 100 to 200 is a good estimate. If your thyroid has been slightly downregulated through being in a deficit, okay. So that brings our total potential increase to 500 to 800 calories per day.

Philip Pape: 16:12

And I would say there is one more thing that I totally forgot on my list, but it was what gets you to the thousand, and that is getting more and better quality sleep. Okay, so just improving your sleep would increase your metabolic rate, because a lack of sleep affects your hormones. It also affects things like visceral fat or visceral fat storage in the belly, but that's a separate topic. It downgrades your metabolic rate, downgrades your thyroid production, affects your cortisol, all the things, such that your body also conserves energy, and so getting more sleep is going to increase your metabolic rate. Notice that nowhere in that entire list that I mentioned cardio. In fact, for some of you, you're doing so much cardio that it's actually adding too much net stress to your body and that is actually causing you to burn fewer calories. You may be burning some calories from all the movements, but it is a small percentage of what you should be burning for that movement, because your body has adapted to compensate. So that gets you plenty of things to think about, of low-hanging fruit, where you may not be giving your body what it needs to fully thrive and be in this high energy flux state.

Philip Pape: 17:22

So how do we actually implement these in a way that's sustainable? All right, let's talk about strength training. Let's break it down Strength training if you can lift weights, if you can aim for three days a week to start and then eventually four or even five I like four or five for folks that are more in the intermediate to advanced phase of their training. Three days a week, full body, progressive loading with compound movements I'm talking squats, deadlifts, bench presses, rows the basics that build strength. Right, they build strength and by building strength they're going to build muscle as well. So don't think about it as two different concepts and you don't need anything fancy here, just consistent, progressive training that challenges you. That's lifting.

Philip Pape: 18:03

I've got tons of resources If you're like where do I start? How do I train? What program do I use? This is where you can jump on a call with me a 15 minute rapid nutrition assessment, and if you just want to talk training, I can get you started exactly where you need to go. You know, no charge. I don't charge for those calls. I also don't sell you on anything. I literally will suggest an app, I'll suggest a program, maybe even give you a guide or two that I have. If you're kind of newer to this and just send you on your way and if you're like, hey, I really love what you do and I need more support, that's when you'll reach back for more support. But I want to get you started. So reach out and you can use the link on my show notes to do that For neat.

Philip Pape: 18:38

For walking, first you have to know how many steps you're getting, so you should be tracking your current daily steps and almost any device now phone or wearable even very inexpensive wearables track steps just accurately enough. They're just fine. And if you can start this week and add a thousand steps a day this week, that's not very much at all. That's like a 10 minute walk, ideally after a meal. That's where I would place it if you have a choice, because that will help with blood sugar, insulin sensitivity, digestion and it just feels good Usually after you eat. It kind of helps settle down your stomach, gets the blood flowing and all that. But wherever you can add, it is what matters. So add a thousand steps this week and keep doing that each week until you consistently do it as a habit and reach your target, which I would aim for eight to 10,000, or, if you're bold, go for 12,000. All right, so this could be taking a 10-minute walk after meals, like I mentioned, or having walking meetings where you're pacing around on your Zoom calls, parking further away from stores, using the stairs.

Philip Pape: 19:42

When I go to any place with a parking lot. Now it's awesome because my goal is to park in the farthest spot I can possibly find, unless it's in like a massive Walmart or something where I have to walk. You know half a mile and there's a time constraint or something to my shopping. But you give yourself some time. I try to park far away. Guess what happens Nobody else is trying to get that spot. Your car is nice and safe. You get the steps. It's great, all right. So the key here is just making it feel effortless and natural and just part of what you do Not like.

Philip Pape: 20:06

Oh, I had to get a walk-in, or I feel like I'm forced to get a walk-in. All right, nutrition that's a whole separate topic that I cover many times on this podcast, but I would focus first on just hitting your protein target. Use a tracking app, and I'm going to, of course, suggest MacroFactor, because it's the only app that, once you track your food and weight, it can calculate your metabolism and if it knows your metabolism, it knows the targets it needs to give you for your calories and macros to get to whatever goal you have. But just start tracking, eat at maintenance and ensure that you're actually getting enough protein. People overestimate their intake big time. And then, after protein, I would shift toward more whole foods, with an emphasis on fiber, not being restrictive, but adding in the things that taste great, that satisfy your needs, that give you nutrition, that give you protein. We're talking lean meats, vegetables, fruits. I love fruit. If you can't think of what to eat for lunch and you haven't meal prepped, just think of a meat and a fruit, because to me that's super convenient. A meat maybe you've meal prepped it or maybe you've got some leftovers. If you don't, that's a good place to prep on the weekend, cook a whole casserole of chicken thighs, for example, and then fruit is usually just, you pull it right out of the fridge or right off the counter, the fridge or right off the counter. And that's why I suggest that as a very sustainable first step. And fruit people underestimate how nutritious it is. It's so tasty, it kind of covers your carbs and your fiber altogether. Sure, it has some calories, but it's so many fewer calories than you think given the volume, right, obviously, greens like broccoli are going to have almost no calories. But it's not all about calories, right, it's also about the fiber and the taste and you need some carbs and so on. So protein, then fiber, you know whole foods, and then you're still going to enjoy some of the foods you love anyway as part of that process. But now your body is going to be burning, you know, more like a furnace when it comes to digesting all of that food. And you're just optimizing your pattern slowly over time, all of that food, and you're just optimizing your pattern slowly over time. So that's for nutrition, for the active lifestyle.

Philip Pape: 22:13

Find something you really enjoy to do. Maybe it's throwing a frisbee with your kids, maybe it's doing some yard work. Let me tell you something my wife has taught me. Okay, I used to hate doing the lawn. We have a huge yard. Now it's like an acre and a half. We have a mowing tractor. I still, in the back of my head, think, oh, I have to mow the lawn. Now my wife loves it. She just loves being outside in general and doing anything outside, including yard work. She sometimes mows the lawn, so thank her for that. We have an equal opportunity household. I would say it's 50% of the time I mow the lawn, but she's taught me Now, granted, that's a lawn tractor.

Philip Pape: 22:42

So this is actually a terrible example. I just realized a lawn tractor. So this is actually a terrible example. I just realized. But after doing that, I'll go do some weed whacking, some cleanup of the weeds, you know anything to just use my hands.

Philip Pape: 22:57

Take pride in my house and I don't outsource any of that stuff. The only thing we outsource is plowing the driveway because it's like 300 feet long in the middle of winter in New England. I'm not going to do that when I've got to get to work, anyway. So I don't know if I'm like helping my case or hurting my case. Find a thing that you enjoy doing. Maybe you don't enjoy doing yard work, maybe you want to take a dance class, dance with the kids. Whatever, the goal is to move more without it feeling like exercise. Okay. So, hey guys, this is me being real. I'm not even going to edit any of that stuff out. Take with it what you will. All right. Now here's something that most people miss.

Philip Pape: 23:31

When it comes to enhancing your metabolism, it's not just about stacking up ways to burn calories. It's doing things that support your physical health, your function, your longevity, and allowing those things to then drive you to do the other things that also support that and create this compounding effect, not just a habit. Compounding effect like one thing leads to better outcomes over the long term. It's that one activity like lifting weights leads to wanting to move more, leads to wanting to eat better, leads to wanting to sleep more, and so on and so forth, and it starts to add up and create a compounding effect. I've mentioned the term upward spiraling from positive psychology. Once you do one positive thing, it leads to another, to another, to another, and they just start to stack on top of each other. Right?

Philip Pape: 24:21

So you think about, for example, when you build muscle, you're not just burning calories in the gym. You're also burning calories when you're at rest. You're also increasing your organ size. So that's even yet another way to think about the compounding effect is that there's a cascade even in your body. Your body's like okay, I see what you're doing here. You're active, you need to move heavy things, you need to load your body, I need to adapt. I as in like anthropomorphizing my own internal body's monologue. I need to optimize everything cognitively. You know the neural connections, the muscle tissue and the sarcomeres, the way I utilize nutrients and you become this like machine with a huge engine burning, burning lots of calories. And again, it's not just about that, but hey, take the bonus along for. And again, it's not just about that, but hey, take the bonus along for the ride for doing all these wonderful things that are great for you anyway.

Philip Pape: 25:13

Right, when you increase your neat, when you walk more, when you get up off the chair, you then improve your cardiovascular fitness. And, by the way, studies now have confirmed that the amount of cardio is more important than the type Meaning. If you just walk a lot and it's equivalent to running the same amount, you're pretty much going to get a similar cardiovascular improvement, with the exception of the optimal end of that. In other words, if you're trying to go at maximum VO2 and maximum conditioning and endurance sports, okay, you should probably add in training for those. But if you just want general fitness, that's like as good as it needs to be to thrive for the rest of your life and be sustainable. Walking can do it.

Philip Pape: 25:54

Believe it or not, now, many of us get into that. We're like okay, now what do I do? I'm going to throw on a rucksack, I'm going to go on an incline. Maybe I'm going to throw in some prowler pushes. Maybe I do want to do some sprinting, maybe I want to do this sport over here. And you start to get more athletic, anyway, hopefully.

Philip Pape: 26:08

Some of us, though don't Some of us just like to lift. We get off our butt, we walk around, we're just generally active. We do things outside, we do things with our hands, we go help somebody move into their new house and we're just a more active person. And then people are not having to take care of us when we're in our 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s In fact, we might be taking care of them because we can, because we're capable. So when you optimize all these things, other things improve when you optimize your nutrition. You improve your ability to train, to perform, to recover, and, yes, that includes potentially increasing your carbs. All right, I saved it for deep into the episode because then I know all the YouTube trolls will never hear it. All of these things create an upward spiral where each improvement enhances the other.

Philip Pape: 26:51

Now, the opposite of that would be crash diets, extreme exercise programs right, which are short, quick fixes, where you punish yourself, you berate yourself, you get a short-term result that you think is what you want and it ends up not being and it has no long-term impact whatsoever, makes you miserable and it trashes your mental state. That's not what we want. So the key to making all this work is sustainability. I think that is one of the most important terms that we use on this podcast and in this philosophy is getting it to work for you and it's part of your life. Don't try to implement everything at once right. Start with one thing. Maybe you increase your daily steps, maybe you start training right With a new training program and then, once that becomes ingrained, a habit, a system, you start to add other elements in right.

Philip Pape: 27:40

So not quick fixes, not extreme measures, but building and stacking a running, burning metabolism that also supports your goals long-term, and your body's incredibly adaptive. It's incredibly adaptive. So give it the stimulus, that positive stimulus that it needs. Give it to it consistently and it will respond and do the work for you. And then, guess what? You can eat more food. Hey, you're like what does this all mean? I can eat more food. Yes, absolutely All right.

Philip Pape: 28:07

So if today's episode resonated with you and you want to discuss these metabolism boosting strategies with other people who are implementing them, join our free Wits and Weights Facebook group super supportive community where we dive deeper into topics like this. We share our experiences. We help each other succeed. I do a bi-weekly live on fridays answering your questions. So much good stuff in there. Just search wits and weights on facebook or click the link in the show notes to join the group and I will approve you. Until next time, keep using your wits lifting those weights and remember your metabolism is dynamic and you can train it to work for you, not against you. Talk to you time here on the Wits and Weights Podcast.

What Causes Stubborn Midlife Belly Fat (It's Not What You Think) | Ep 218

Do you ever wonder why that stubborn belly fat won’t budge, even with a solid diet and workout routine? Are you in your 40s, 50s, or beyond and noticing changes in your midsection that weren't there before?

Philip (@witsandweights) reveals the real reasons behind midlife belly fat—and it’s more than just calories in versus calories out. Get ready to dive deep into the science of belly fat, and walk away with actionable strategies to take control of your health and physique without the typical advice that doesn’t work.

📱Book a FREE 15-minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment, designed to fine-tune your strategy, identify your #1 roadblock, and give you a personalized 3-step action plan in a fast-paced 15 minutes. https://witsandweights.com/free-call

Today, you’ll learn all about:

1:49 Why belly fat matters beyond aesthetics
3:01 Visceral fat and its health risks
5:26 The seven causes of midlife belly fat
15:40 Why eat less move more doesn’t work and what you can do
19:57 Reducing belly fat with core strength
25:35 Recap and final takeaways for belly fat reduction
28:18 Outro

Related episodes:

• Why Weight Loss Always Fails (But Don't Ditch the Scale Yet)

• 4 Surprising Ways to Lose That Midlife Belly Fat with Megan Dahlman

Episode summary:

Midlife belly fat is a persistent issue that can have significant health implications. As we age, particularly in our 40s, 50s, and beyond, many of us find that stubborn belly fat becomes a growing concern. Conventional wisdom often advises us to "just lose weight" or "work out your abs," but these tips usually fall short of addressing the root causes. This episode of Wits and Weights delves into the complexities of midlife belly fat, revealing why it's so difficult to get rid of and what we can do to manage it effectively.

One of the primary reasons why midlife belly fat is such a challenge is because it is often driven by hormonal changes. As we age, both men and women experience a decline in hormone levels, which can lead to increased fat storage around the abdomen. For women, the decline in estrogen levels during perimenopause and menopause is a significant factor. Estrogen helps regulate fat distribution, and as its levels drop, fat storage tends to shift towards the midsection. Men also experience a decline in testosterone levels, which can similarly lead to increased belly fat. Testosterone plays a role in muscle maintenance and fat storage, and lower levels can contribute to an accumulation of fat in the abdominal area.

Chronic stress is another major contributor to midlife belly fat. As we get older, our responsibilities often increase, leading to higher levels of stress. This can result in elevated cortisol levels, which are associated with increased abdominal fat storage. Cortisol is a hormone released in response to stress, and it has been shown to promote the storage of fat in the visceral area, which surrounds the internal organs and is particularly dangerous due to its inflammatory properties.

Insulin resistance is a condition that becomes more common as we age and can also contribute to midlife belly fat. Insulin resistance occurs when the body's cells become less responsive to insulin, a hormone that helps regulate blood sugar levels. This can lead to higher levels of insulin in the blood, which promotes fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. Lifestyle factors such as a poor diet, lack of physical activity, and muscle loss can exacerbate insulin resistance, making it even more challenging to manage belly fat.

Sleep deprivation is another factor that can significantly impact belly fat accumulation. Studies have shown that individuals who get less than five hours of sleep per night are more likely to store fat around their abdomen compared to those who get six to seven hours of sleep. Poor sleep disrupts the balance of hunger and fullness hormones, leading to increased appetite and cravings for high-calorie foods. This can result in overeating and weight gain, particularly in the abdominal area.

Alcohol consumption is another factor that can contribute to midlife belly fat. Alcohol is metabolized differently than other nutrients, and its presence in the body can halt fat-burning processes. This means that while the body is busy breaking down alcohol, it is not able to effectively burn fat for energy. This can lead to increased fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. Even moderate alcohol consumption has been linked to increased visceral fat, making it important to monitor and potentially reduce alcohol intake as part of a strategy to manage belly fat.

Age-related muscle loss, or sarcopenia, is another factor that can contribute to midlife belly fat. As we age, we naturally lose muscle mass, which can lead to a decrease in metabolic rate and an increase in fat storage. Maintaining and building muscle through strength training is essential for combating this natural decline. Strength training helps preserve muscle mass, which in turn helps maintain a higher metabolic rate and reduces the likelihood of fat being stored around the abdomen.

A sedentary lifestyle is another significant contributor to midlife belly fat. Many of us spend long hours sitting at a desk or in front of a screen, leading to decreased physical activity. This lack of movement can lead to an increase in fat storage, particularly around the abdomen. Incorporating regular physical activity into our daily routine is essential for managing belly fat. This can include activities such as walking, cardio, and strength training exercises.

Building core strength is not only important for aesthetics but also for overall health. A strong core can improve posture, reduce joint pain, and support belly fat reduction. Incorporating exercises that target the core muscles, such as squats, deadlifts, and targeted ab and glute work, can help improve core strength and overall fitness. Strength training, in particular, is crucial for maintaining muscle mass and metabolic rate, which can help reduce belly fat.

Creating a personalized fitness plan that emphasizes strength training, adequate protein intake, and overall movement throughout the day is essential for managing midlife belly fat. By addressing the root causes of belly fat, such as hormonal changes, stress, insulin resistance, sleep deprivation, and alcohol consumption, we can develop a comprehensive approach to managing belly fat and improving overall health.

In summary, midlife belly fat is a complex issue that requires a multifaceted approach to manage effectively. By understanding the root causes and implementing practical strategies, we can improve our overall health and vitality. This episode of Wits and Weights provides valuable insights into the causes and risks of midlife belly fat and offers effective solutions for tackling this common issue. By focusing on building core strength, maintaining muscle mass, and making sustainable lifestyle changes, we can achieve a healthier, stronger, and more vibrant midlife.

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Transcript

Philip Pape: 0:01

Ah, that extra bit of fat around your midsection. It shows up uninvited, it seems to keep getting bigger and it refuses to leave, no matter how well you eat or how often you exercise. If you're in your 40s, 50s or beyond and feel like your body's working against you, especially in this area, this episode's for you. Today, we are uncovering the real factors behind midlife belly fat. You'll learn why conventional wisdom usually doesn't work and what to do instead, because when you understand the root causes of belly fat gain and, more importantly, why we care about it far beyond aesthetics, you can create an effective strategy to deal with it.

Philip Pape: 0:38

So if you're frustrated with your belly fat, both for your health and physique, today you'll learn just what to do. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the podcast that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we're tackling stubborn midlife belly fat. Now, standard advice, like you just need to lose weight or you need to work out your abs, are not going to cut it. The real causes are more complex and they are frequently misunderstood, and so by the end of this episode, you will understand what's really behind that stubborn belly fat and, more importantly, how to effectively address it. Let's just get right into it. All right, we're going to break this down into three areas. The first is why this even matters. The second is the causes, all the real causes. I have seven causes of belly fat to share with you today. And then, finally, how do we fight back? How do we deal with it, if you need to or want to. And then, stick around, because later in the episode, I'm going to share the one thing that will dramatically change your approach to losing belly fat and improve your overall fitness, potentially without needing to lose weight at all. All right. So let's start with talking about why belly fat matters. Because in midlife and by midlife I mean starting as early as your 30s, but generally in your 40s, 50s and beyond it's kind of one of these unique issues because aesthetically, we start to notice that extra pudge, that extra what is it called? Muffin top right, the fluff, the love handles, whatever around this age, and there are a bunch of reasons for that we are going to talk about in a second. But besides the aesthetic piece of it, there's the underlying health implications, because we are not talking about subcutaneous fat, that's the kind of fat that you can pinch. We are talking about visceral fat, the fat that wraps around your organs. Visceral fat is metabolically active, so it's almost like its own organ. If you think of it that way, it's like this little alien creature growing inside. I don't know if that creeps you out or not, but that's where my geeky mind goes. And maybe, if you think of it that way, it's like something you want to keep at bay, right? Visceral fat? It releases inflammatory substances, it releases hormones that negatively impact your health, and this is why even a modest increase in belly fat can lead to some health risks, some very serious health risks and is associated very strongly in the evidence with a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, increased likelihood of developing type 2 diabetes, greater risk of certain cancers, potential cognitive decline and dementia.

Philip Pape: 3:19

And it gets kind of complicated when you get into the research because on one hand you find that there might be, it might simply have to do with having extra body fat. In general there is that, but there seems to be some independent factors, even in people that are a lower body weight, that are in normal quote unquote BMI range, where the belly fat itself seems to be an independent factor. And so it is more about than appearance, right, it's maintaining your health, maintaining your vitality. And then, yes, if you have aesthetic goals, if that bothers you a bit, then that'll be the outcome or the side effect of the lagging indicator Once you address these things. Having said that, I just one little caveat here is you know the belly area is a very loaded topic because you'll get some people saying that, no, it's okay to carry a little extra belly, that's totally normal.

Philip Pape: 4:09

If you're a lifter, if you lift weights, you know having that power belly, having that extra weight, is a sign that you know you're carrying a decent amount of muscle and fat to kind of push those lifts. And even having said all that, there is still a risk factor with having too much of it. But too much is a little bit subjective and it's going to depend on you. And what I don't want you to come out of this episode is that you have to be shredded or you have to have a six pack or you have to be like completely devoid of fat visually in the abdomen area, because there is again still subcutaneous fat. We are all genetically different in terms of where we store fat and how it looks when the fat is distributed. When you get leaner, for example, you still might have some fat in that area and it might look a little more pronounced because the rest of your body is leaner. Kind of an irony there. That's like damn what the heck.

Philip Pape: 4:58

And so it's going to really be very specific to everyone, and I just wanted to put that caveat out there, because even even I, when I get lean, like when I start to see a six pack, I still have this little pudge down there. I'm like, okay, that's just me, that's how I am. You know, maybe I've made some choices that have caused me to have more of that. Maybe I can clean some things up with what I'm doing, but in general, I probably just need to lose a little more body fat if I really want that to go away. And how important is that to me? So you got to ask yourself that question like how important is that piece of it?

Philip Pape: 5:26

But we're going to focus more on the health side, all right, and that's why I want to dig into with this second segment here, what is really happening and causing midlife belly fat. Right, based on the evidence, okay, not based on conventional wisdom or the assumptions people make, even though there are some truths in some of those things, as we'll find out. So I think I've got seven things here that I came up with. The first one is the hormonal changes, and actually this probably is the biggest reason. We see a step change in the amount of belly fat we store as individuals. So for you as an individual, you're kind of used to something up until your 30s and then all of a sudden your 40s and 50s, it starts to shift more to the belly fat, even if you have roughly the same fat, even if you lift weights, you know, you just see it shift more to the belly fat, especially in women, but even for men as well, and it has to do with hormones. So for women, that decline in estrogen, primarily during perimenopause and menopause or postmenopause, it plays a significant role because estrogen regulates fat distribution and so as the levels drop, the fat storage shifts more toward the midsection. Again, this is not a thing that we just throw up our hands and give up. It just means we have to be aware this is happening.

Philip Pape: 6:42

Now, obviously, if you are seeking hormone replacement, hormone treatment, that can help, if that's something that's indicated for you. For some of you you may not be able to be on treatment. Maybe you had cancer or something like that. So everyone's going to have a different situation. For men, decreasing testosterone is the primary factor and keep in mind, women also have a decrease because lower testosterone correlates not because I'm not giving you the mechanistic factor, but in the evidence we see that lower testosterone correlates with increased belly fat, independent of muscle loss, because testosterone influences fat storage as well. So hormones are the biggest change. It's not much you can do about other than therapy, hormone treatment, asterisk caveat, with the exception that the things we're going to talk about later with strategies that can improve hormones can then also improve some of these a bit.

Philip Pape: 7:31

Okay, the second cause of midlife belly fat is stress, chronic stress and chronic stress is prevalent as we get older. Right, because you've got more obligations, we've got kids, you might be the care, the sole caretaker or homemaker or what am I trying to say? Head of household whatever, that's a tax term. Head of household, you have a lot of obligations, you have a lot of stuff to deal with and people to take care of, and it's wonderful because you've got a family and you're becoming that person who you know is surrounded by loving people, hopefully, but it's stressful. You know work obligations, financial obligations and chronic stress elevate your cortisol levels, and we know there's a link between high cortisol and so many things.

Philip Pape: 8:15

I mean, I don't want to go overboard on the cortisol being the root of everything, but there is an association with, you know, higher cortisol on a chronic basis and increased abdominal fat storage, and so, being aware of that, how the fat storage in the visceral area seems to be a protective mechanism. We're going to see this pattern throughout this. It seems to be a protective mechanism, very much like how your metabolism adapts to save energy when you're dieting, and so we don't want to be in a situation where we cause our body to be fighting and away from homeostasis, which it's always fighting to get there. We want to give it the best shot of kind of relaxing and being in a normal state with our hormones and our cortisol. So just keep in mind hormones, stress and stress is something we could do about it. We can't change our situation precisely. We can change how we cope with it, how we mitigate it, and that'll be part, you know, one of the strategies we talk about.

Philip Pape: 9:09

The third cause of belly fat is insulin resistance, and this is a tricky one because there's a lot of misinformation about insulin resistance. We know that as we age, as we lose muscle mass and with a fairly poor or low quality diet and we're becoming less active as well, our bodies become less sensitive to insulin, right, and then that affects how your body processes and stores energy more likely as fat, more likely around the abdomen, and research clearly shows that connection as well. But what we're going to find is insulin resistance is something we have a lot of control over with our lifestyle. Number four is sleep deprivation. Okay, I know I talk a lot about sleep. That's because sleep is super important and the connection between poor sleep and belly fat is actually one of the strongest connections. I don't have it in my notes, but I believe there's a study that showed, over a five-year period, a 32% increase in belly fat storage with sleep deprived individuals, people less than five hours of sleep a day, versus people getting not much more, but like six to seven. It's not like you have to get eight or nine hours, like Tom Brady getting 11 hours or something. I don't know what he gets these days being retired, maybe it's less, maybe it's more. But the point is, lack of sleep disrupts your bunch of hormones because again it's your body fighting to get back to some state of energy that you're depriving it of with this lack of sleep, and so it cranks up the hormones the hunger and fullness hormone. Ghrelin is the hunger hormone, leptin is the fullness hormone. So it goes the opposite directions on both, making you more hungry. You crave sweets, you crave foods that have a lot of energy. You tend to overconsume. If you are in a calorie surplus, you're going to gain more fat around the abdomen with less sleep than someone else who's in a surplus, that has enough sleep. That alone should be a wake-up call to you saying, oh interesting, like okay, I'm stressed, I don't get enough sleep. That, combined with the hormones, is just a perfect storm.

Philip Pape: 11:04

Then we get to number five, which is alcohol. Okay now, on one hand, I think this factor goes a little bit unnoticed in terms of how important it is for visceral fat storage. On the other hand, I think it gets too much play when we talk about things like the beer gut. When somebody's like, well, you just drink too much beer, that is why you have visceral fat, chances are somebody that's over-consuming. Alcohol is probably over-consuming in other areas, probably not as active, probably not lifting weights, probably probably right, I mean definitely people that consume alcohol can have other healthy things in their lifestyle. But there are correlations.

Philip Pape: 11:34

The evidence is pretty clear. Okay, alcohol effectively halts I'll say halts your body's fat burning process because your body is prioritizing breaking down the alcohol before it gets to the other nutrients. This is a known phenomenon and that includes pulling energy from fat. Now, if you're in a calorie deficit and still drinking alcohol, you're still going to lose fat in that case in terms of net energy, because you're in energy deficit. But it could affect your muscle mass. It could affect how your body processes protein for preserving that muscle. So something's going to get affected because you're drinking alcohol and then, as a result, it's shown to be linked to increased visceral fat. Again, we know we call it a beer gut for guys. There's a reason we call it that, because just intuitively, people have seen this for decades or centuries that this happens, and that's even when controlling for calorie intake. I want to be clear that these are independent indicators, even though they also get exacerbated based on chronic dieting or overconsumption.

Philip Pape: 12:34

All right, number six out of the seven true hidden causes here of belly fat that you may not be aware of is age-related muscle loss. And I say age-related because a lot of people, the vast majority of people, are not strength training and we lose muscle mass with age. It's called sarcopenia and it accelerates after the age of 30, something like three to 8% of your muscle mass per decade after 30. And so you just really start to see it. At that point your bodies can no longer coast from its post-puberty 20s, early 30s. Now you start to lose muscle mass because you're doing nothing to maintain it, you're doing nothing to build it, you're not lifting weights, and so it's not because you're getting older, it's simply because the body doesn't need the muscle.

Philip Pape: 13:17

You're telling it it's not important. It loses the muscle mass and along with that muscle loss actually comes more visceral fat storage. That was my point here. Okay, so along with the muscle loss, your body is now storing fat, and it's storing more of it in the belly area. So, in other words, if you were training to maintain muscle and you were over-consuming, you wouldn't store as much belly fat. It's very amazing how these things happen, how the body knows what to do almost intuitively to help protect you, but it's going overboard because you are not acting in a way that is natural to being a human. You're not lifting weights, you're not putting load on your skeletal system, skeletal muscular system.

Jenny V.: 13:58

Hi, my name is Jenny and I just wanted to say a big thank you to Philip Pape of Wits and Weights for the 15-minute rapid nutrition assessment he offers for free. During that session, I found he asked really good personal questions that helped him be able to give me excellent advice and tangible tools which I've applied, and since then I have lost 12 pounds where I was otherwise stuck. Now that I'm closer to my weight goals, I'm focusing more on my fitness and muscle and strength. So I just really want to say thanks, philip, for all of your encouragement and the free tools you offer, as well as the positive podcast message. It's really helped me.

Philip Pape: 14:41

And then number seven is no surprise, but a sedentary lifestyle, right, our modern lifestyle. We're less active, we are older, we have desk jobs, we sit around all day. If you're not in a habit of moving, of walking, of doing a little cardio you know a little cardio. I'm just saying you know something fun that you throw in there, even if it's just running upstairs a couple times a day, but primarily it's just getting off your butt on a regular basis. That has contributed to more belly fat storage as well.

Philip Pape: 15:11

Prolonged sitting, in particular, is directly linked to increased visceral fat, even in people who exercise or train regularly. That is why I constantly say that I think of movement as like three buckets. In general, you want to be active all day somehow right, not necessarily moving quickly or intensely or sweating, but you don't want to be sitting all day. So we have our training sessions, we might have our walking or cardio sessions, but we should also have our not sitting time, okay, throughout the day. So if we understand that these are the causes right and we see that midlife belly fat is it's not just about overeating or not exercising enough, it's hormonal, it's metabolic, it's overall lifestyle, then our approach to it is just the inverse. It's a comprehensive way to combat these things, and so, given what we know, then you know simple advice is oversimplifying thing. The conventional advice in the industry is just always like eat less, move more, and that's not going to cut it right. What we have to do is focus on sustainable lifestyle changes, creating a system for ourselves that improve our body composition, and so something that I've talked about many times on this show is fat loss versus weight loss. In fact, last week's Monday episode if you go look in the feed, I'll drop a link to the show notes in there it was called why Weight Loss Always Fails, and in that episode I give you the rundown of why we care about body composition. And if you do the things that support body composition, you'll do the things that support reduced belly fat accumulation. So that's things like prioritizing strength training, number one right Always to build and preserve muscle mass, to maintain that metabolic fire, that efficiency in your body, all of which tells your body that I need the resources to go toward muscle and toward an active lifestyle, not get stored, especially not get stored in the belly. Increased movement beyond those workouts which you just talked about, finding ways to be active throughout the day.

Philip Pape: 17:08

Nutrition is the big lever, not the big lever, but in addition to training and movement, nutrition is the other big lever that we can kind of I'm going to say easily control right, and that's the thing that affects insulin sensitivity, that affects our inflammation, it's the quality of food, it's the timing of food relative to when you need those resources like around your training, like allowing you to sleep by not eating too late and balancing your macros out, which helps with blood sugar control and overall controlling your energy balance based on your goal. So, yeah, you will have periods of fat loss, but generally most of the year you know, three quarters of the year you should probably be at maintenance or in a surplus to feed yourself and also feed your training, right? We're not just eating to get fat, we are eating to build muscle, which is so metabolically helpful throughout this whole process. And then stress management and sleep are, of course, essential. They are not optional, they are essential. They actually influence where your body stores fat, as kind of a compliment to your nutrition and training.

Philip Pape: 18:08

And then alcohol has special mention. As always, my philosophy is always whatever you're doing now, if you can shift and nudge yourself toward less alcohol consumption, that will always be better all the way to zero. It is the one kind of exception I make when I talk about nutrition, where, when it comes to nutrition, I want you to add things in. I want you to add in in. I want you to add in protein, I want you to add in fiber, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, delicious, real foods that have the nutrients and macronutrients to support what you're doing. That will naturally crowd things out. We call that additive nutrition. I've talked about many times on the show. If you need a specific episode on that, I'm happy to send it to you.

Philip Pape: 18:47

But alcohol itself is kind of an outlier. It's not really nutrition, is it? Alcohol is a toxin, it's a poison. There are zero benefits to alcohol. But I understand why, culturally and historically and socially, we do it and I still. I don't abstain entirely. I still have a beer every now and then, a special occasion, or a glass of wine, or I might take a shot with friends. I honestly do. I'm just being totally honest. But I'll tell you what I keep no beer or wine in the house, and so where I used to have a glass of wine every day, it then became a glass of beer every Saturday and now it's zero alcohol most weeks and I might drink once a month. So that's what I'm asking you to consider is can you shift your alcohol consumption just in a positive direction by adding other things in, including experiences that would take the place of what alcohol gives you? So that's all I'm going to say about alcohol.

Philip Pape: 19:39

I do think it has a huge impact, though, on visceral fat storage, whether you're gaining weight or not. Even if you're in fat loss, I think it's holding you back from properly using all the nutrients for the other things we care about. So, whereas other nutrition, you're trying to add this in alcohol is kind of preventing it, and so we're trying to limit it and reduce it. Now your journey is unique, like your goals are unique. Your body fat and your body type is unique. It's going to be very personalized for you. All right, and you know to do that is more than what I can explain in an episode, but I do just let you know I do do free calls with people that are not sales pitches. It's called a rapid nutrition assessment and I'm going to throw the link in the show notes If you want to schedule one just to talk about. Hey, I heard your episode about belly fat. I've got that and I just want to understand why, what causes important to me and what is one or two steps I can take away to get immediate results on this in the next 90 days. So I'll include the link in the show notes. But I want to get to the last thing here that I think could be a takeaway today that you can act on right now and it's going to make all of this other stuff easier and you might not even have to lose weight and that is the importance of actually training your abs but, more importantly than your abs, all of the core, slash, trunk, slash, posterior chain muscles.

Philip Pape: 21:04

Now Megan Dalleman she was on the show a couple of times. She's the host of Self-Care Simplified. So shout out to her. And this episode is dropping right after my most recent interview episode with her. So the last episode was with Megan about joint pain and back pain inflammation, but the last time she was on I think it was episode 149, she talked about belly fat and a lot of the same things we covered today. I think today's went into a longer and a lot of the same things we covered today. I think today's went into a longer detailed explanation of all the causes, but definitely check that out. Anyway, she is a big fan of having a strong core, defined as the deep core muscles as well as the visual core muscles and your glutes right and your lower back kind of the whole mid-trunk and how that can help with a lot of these things with your posture, with joint pain, but also with belly fat.

Philip Pape: 21:55

And what I want to focus specifically on is training your abs, because, no, you cannot spot reduce. That is not a thing. You can't just like do a bunch of crunches and lose a bunch of fat and do nothing else and you're good to go. But we can build strength and muscle in a way that supports the midsection and and it will help with the visceral fat and it will also help with the aesthetics, since I know some of you probably clicked on this episode because you're like, yeah, how do I get a six pack? And it's cool, like it all works together. That's the nice thing about it. You don't have to do two separate things.

Philip Pape: 22:25

These goals work together, and so when you focus on strengthening your core and I'll tell you how you can do this in a second but you're then going to have a foundation for overall strength and better performance in all of your lifts. You're going to be able to push harder in the gym. You're going to stand with better posture, you're going to be more functional and then it's also going to be easier to reveal definition in your abs because you have that extra muscle. Also, extra muscle stretches things out to where the fat on top of that muscle, which is mainly the subcutaneous fat I'm referring to, kind of gets stretched out as well. So if some of your belly fat is really just subcutaneous, it will help that right. So a stronger core means you can push harder on your big lifts like squats and deadlifts, but also everything. You're creating a base that gives you power, that gives you stability in everything that you do right, and then, as you lose body fat, you're going to reveal you know, yeah, a flatter stomach and muscle definition, and then you can achieve the tone look that you're looking for at a higher overall body weight, which means you may not even have to lose fat, depending on where you're starting from, if you're just quote unquote a little overweight.

Philip Pape: 23:39

I've had so many clients in that position where we start them on a pre-diet maintenance phase. Okay, we put them at maintenance, we're eating our protein. We're training for strength. Yeah, we've got some core work in there, maybe, but it's mostly through big lifts. It's not like a ton of crunches, but we may have a little bit of ab and glute work in there.

Philip Pape: 23:54

And then, after about say six weeks, we're doing our check-ins, and sometimes they'll say, okay, are we ready for fat loss? Sometimes, though, they say you know what? I'm not sure I want to even go into calorie deficit. This is way too much fun. I'm eating all this food, I'm lifting weights. I'm not really gaining weight, but I'm getting more definition. That's what we're going for.

Philip Pape: 24:13

Like that is kind of the win-win-win of all of this is you get to do the process. That's fun, you get to have the results, you don't have to diet, and you get improved aesthetics. Like it's a pretty cool place to be, and so I've seen this play out, where you build the core of strength right, and then, yeah, you could do fat loss if you want, but you don't have to, and you're going to now be less prone to injury. For example, you're going to have less pain in your back and you're going to have less pain joint pain in your knees and your elbows. So you probably didn't think that an episode about belly fat would lead to overall fitness and health. But your trunk, your core right, your glutes are all part of this deep system that stabilizes your spine and your pelvis right. Even when you're doing things like an overhead press, it will help you with better form, which means less injury. And now you're investing in the future you, your long-term health, your functionality not just, but in addition to your appearance. So don't just think about losing belly fat, think about building everything that's underneath, because belly fat reduction is good for your health and your aesthetics, but this also supports everything else. With your aesthetics and your performance and your strength and your capability, and then your confidence, you're going to be a super confident person. So that's how we do it.

Philip Pape: 25:36

Let's just recap it here. Number one midlife belly fat is not just aesthetic, it's not just cosmetic, it is a significant health concern. Number two the causes are complex Hormones, stress, sleep, muscle loss, lifestyle. And then, number three, you can address many of these through your lifestyle choices, taking the right approach with training, nutrition, sleep, stress management and so on. Number four if you build core strength core strength and not just ab muscles right Core strength, doing your squats and deadlifts, and then adding in accessory work that supports your core, your glutes yes, your abs, all of it. It improves your overall fitness. It can also reveal muscle definition as you lose fat, or even without having to lose much weight, and then everything improves your health, strength, quality of life, everything Okay.

Philip Pape: 26:23

Your body is capable of remarkable change at any age. In fact, when you're in your 40s and 50s, if you thought life has passed you by, if you've thought that you haven't been doing the right things, what better time to start than right now and, in fact, get a crazy amount of positive change in your body at this age? Because it will happen. It will happen. I've had clients that are 60, that have started and they get just incredible improvements in their health and physique. And then everybody looks around and is like what are you doing? Just incredible improvements in their health and physique. And then everybody looks around and is like what are you doing? I didn't know that was possible. I thought you were getting old, aren't you getting old? Hormones Can't do anything about it. Hands thrown up, emoji, no, it's not like that.

Philip Pape: 27:00

Okay, now again, I can't tell you all the step-by-step-by-step in this episode. So if you want to act on this. Schedule a call with me. I've got these free 15-minute rapid nutrition assessments which I mentioned once before. It's your chance to just sit with me on a Zoom chat for 15 minutes. Hey, what's going on? Hey, where do you live? What's happening, how's the weather, and then we'll get into.

Philip Pape: 27:21

Okay, what's the thing holding you back? What are you trying to do here? Let me help you out. Maybe there's a little misconception, maybe there's something that unlock your perspective or thinking. Maybe I could just give you a nice laugh and some motivation and, you know, send you on your way. More likely, what happens is you come away with one, two or three steps okay, that I like to max it at three that will tell you like do this, do this, do this.

Philip Pape: 27:42

This is what we're going to start with to get you some results, and I will send you a follow-up email with those, with some resources if needed. I'll be available if you have questions. All of this is totally free, because I want you to know that the change is possible, okay, and that there are things you can start doing, and that I'm happy to tell you the process and how those things work. I'm not going to hide anything behind a paywall or anything silly like that, like these, you know, hyped up marketing coaches. I don't do that, so schedule a call with me. It's not a sales pitch.

Philip Pape: 28:11

Go to witsandweightscom, click the button at the top or click the link in my show notes and let's just create a plan for you. Okay, let's get you going. That's it for belly fat. I hope you found something insightful today, something different, something unique, something you hadn't thought of before. Until next time, keep using your wits, keep lifting those weights and remember that your midlife can be your best years yet. This is Philip Pape. You've been listening to Wits and Weights and, as always, I will talk to you next time.

Spend 70% of Your Time Doing THIS for a Faster Physique Transformation (Rapid Prototyping) | Ep 192

What if you could get FASTER results with your physique development by spending most of your time on something very few people put much energy into?

What if spending less time goal-setting, researching, planning, and designing your training and nutrition routine could actually lead to BETTER results?

Are you a perfectionist getting stuck in analysis paralysis or stubbornly being "consistent" but with a plan that's not working?

Discover how focusing 70% of your time on THIS can lead to faster and more sustainable progress. We'll explain why traditional approaches often fall short and what to do instead, inspired by engineers who design complex systems.

And you can do it without feeling overwhelmed, ensuring you reach your goals with greater ease and sustainability.

Book a FREE 15-minute Rapid Nutrition Assessment, designed to fine-tune your strategy, identify your #1 roadblock, and give you a personalized 3-step action plan in a fast-paced 15 minutes.

Episode summary:

Are you tired of spending endless hours meticulously planning your fitness routine only to find yourself stuck in a cycle of ineffective workouts and stagnant progress? If so, it’s time to rethink your approach and embrace a revolutionary method known as rapid prototyping. In the latest episode of Wits and Weights, we dive deep into how adopting an experimental mindset can transform your fitness journey, yielding faster and more sustainable results.

Rapid prototyping is an engineering concept that emphasizes spending a significant portion of your time on testing and iteration rather than exhaustive planning. This approach is a game-changer for those who often find themselves in analysis paralysis, meticulously planning every detail of their diet and training, yet failing to achieve the desired results. By shifting the focus to continuous improvement and adaptation, you can craft a personalized, effective fitness plan without feeling overwhelmed.

One of the primary benefits of rapid prototyping in fitness is the ability to start with small, manageable steps. Rather than overwhelming yourself with a comprehensive plan, you can begin with basic actions and adjust based on immediate feedback. This involves collecting and analyzing data from each workout or dietary change, setting realistic expectations, and understanding your body’s biofeedback. By methodically tracking your progress and making timely adjustments, you can achieve your fitness goals more efficiently.

Traditional fitness planning methods, such as the waterfall approach, often fall short in dynamic systems like human health and fitness. The waterfall method involves extensive upfront planning followed by rigid execution, leaving little room for adjustments. In contrast, rapid prototyping embraces flexibility, allowing for continuous iteration based on real-world results. This adaptability is crucial in fitness, where individual responses to training and diet can vary significantly.

In engineering, rapid prototyping involves spending up to 70% of the process on testing and iteration. Similarly, in fitness, this means dedicating a significant portion of your time to experimenting with different workouts and dietary approaches. By doing so, you can quickly identify what works for your unique body and lifestyle, avoiding the frustration of sticking to ineffective plans.

To implement rapid prototyping in your fitness journey, start by understanding your current state and setting clear goals. Gather basic information about your weight, demographics, eating habits, schedule, and training history. With this initial data, create a simple, flexible plan that serves as your prototype. The key is to avoid overcomplicating things—focus on one or two actionable steps that you can start executing immediately.

Once you begin executing your plan, track your progress meticulously. This includes logging your workouts, dietary intake, and biofeedback such as sleep quality, energy levels, and recovery. Treat each piece of data as valuable information that can guide your next steps. If something isn’t working, adjust it quickly. This iterative process ensures that you’re constantly evolving your approach based on real-world results, rather than sticking to a static plan.

A crucial aspect of rapid prototyping is setting realistic expectations. Understand that progress may not be linear and that it’s normal to encounter setbacks. View these challenges as opportunities to learn and refine your approach. For instance, if you’re not hitting your protein targets or struggling with certain exercises, use this data to make informed adjustments. This mindset shift—from seeking perfection to embracing continuous improvement—can significantly enhance your fitness journey.

Consistency and accountability play a vital role in the success of rapid prototyping. Whether through a coach, a supportive community, or self-monitoring, ensure that you’re staying on track and making the necessary adjustments. Remember, the goal is not to find a perfect plan from the start but to continuously refine your approach based on real-world feedback.

Incorporating rapid prototyping into your fitness routine can also have a positive impact on your mental outlook. By focusing on the process rather than the outcome, you can reduce stress and enjoy the journey. Each adjustment becomes a step towards discovering what works best for you, fostering a growth-oriented mindset that can lead to long-term success.

The beauty of rapid prototyping is that it never really ends. As your body and circumstances change, your fitness plan should evolve accordingly. This dynamic approach ensures that you’re always optimizing your routine for the best possible results. Whether you’re dealing with age-related changes, lifestyle shifts, or new fitness goals, rapid prototyping allows you to adapt and thrive.

In conclusion, rapid prototyping offers a powerful, flexible approach to fitness that can help you achieve faster and more sustainable results. By dedicating a significant portion of your time to testing and iteration, you can avoid the pitfalls of analysis paralysis and rigid planning. Embrace the process of continuous improvement, track your progress meticulously, and make timely adjustments based on real-world data. With this mindset, you’ll not only reach your fitness goals more efficiently but also enjoy the journey of discovering what works best for your unique body and lifestyle.

📲 Send me a text message!

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Transcript

Philip Pape 

00:00

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're probably doing more than you need to do to get the results that you want in many cases. It's surprising, I know, because in some cases maybe you're not training, maybe you're not getting enough steps, maybe you're not getting enough sleep, and we talk about those a lot. But today we're going to focus on where you might be out of balance you might be doing too much in some areas for the results that you're getting and a way that we can rebalance that using a powerful principle from engineering, so that you can know where you're overdoing it and where you might need to step it up a little bit. And we're going to deep dive into how you can apply that to your fitness journey to work smarter, more efficiently and break through any of the frustrations or plateaus you've been experiencing because you're not sure how to fit it all in. Welcome to Wits and Weights, the show that blends evidence and engineering to help you build smart, efficient systems to achieve your dream physique. I'm your host, philip Pape, and today we're kicking off our new Wednesday episodes, where we apply principles from engineering to health and fitness, something that I don't think you're gonna find out there very often at all. We talk about evidence-based fitness and science quite a bit. We also talk about applying psychology to health and fitness, but there's not really anybody taking the principles from one of the most important fields on the planet engineering, which I have a very long, rigorous background in and applying that to fitness. And so you're going to get a new angle on Wednesdays going forward and there will only be three episodes a week now, three higher quality episodes that I'm spending more time making sure to get you what you want and need to really take your results to the next level, rather than just quickly pumping out a bunch of episodes and overwhelming you. And we're going to touch on that principle today of how less is more and how you can apply a principle to your overall fitness and nutrition strategy and make it a little bit more efficient and less time consuming. That's what we're going to talk about today, and it's a principle called the Pareto principle. It's the 80-20 principle, but you might've heard 80-20 used in different contexts like 80% whole foods. That's not what we're talking about. I'm going to explain in a little bit and, of course, before we dive in, as always, if you enjoy these concepts, if you enjoy the show if you want more content on building muscle, losing fat, improving your health and physique, especially from a different angle, right where we're more intelligent about it. We want to take advantage of the limited time that we have so that we can really enjoy life to the fullest. I want you to hit the follow button right now to help more people find the show, but also help you never miss another episode. So let's get into it.

02:49

Today. This, again, is going to be a little bit less scripted on Wednesdays. Our Monday episodes will be the more traditional deep dives. For example, next Monday's episode will be on my stair step fat loss approach, what it is, how it compares to the traditional approach and how you can apply it to potentially make a fat loss phase much easier. And then on Wednesdays, like today, today's, the very first one you are going to hear me take something from engineering and apply it to fitness and nutrition. And then Fridays are our guest episodes, and sometimes we'll mix it up a little bit, but that's the general idea.

03:25

So here's the common issue that I want to address today that we all experience. We always fall into the trap of thinking that more is better, right? More sets, more exercises, more supplements, even more protein, whatever it is that more, more, more. And at some point we hit diminishing returns with some of those things. Right, we only have so much time in the day, we only have so many resources, we only have so much money, we only have so much mental energy and there's only so much of that energy you can put into any one thing, and I'm guilty of this. But there are certain things I like more than others, so I will spend more time on them, even if it doesn't produce much for the effort. Right, and as an engineer by background, I see this as a classic case of inefficient resource allocation. Right, in engineering, we're always looking for ways to optimize systems to get the most output for the least input, and if you can apply that principle to your life, it's going to make things a whole lot less stressful and a lot easier. And I'm going to break it down and make it simple. Even though I'm talking about engineering, I am not expecting you to, you know, deal with jargon or lingo or any of that stuff, but I do like to take frameworks that have already been rigorously built and tested over decades in an industry where people have to design products that keep people safe, like airplanes and cars, for example, and they've figured out ways to optimize resources. And we could do that with our bodies. Our bodies are these beautiful machines that can be very efficient, and our time is very limited. So when we combine the two, we can get something very powerful.

05:08

Okay, this is where the Pareto principle or the 80-20 rule comes in handy. And the Pareto principle suggests that roughly 80% of the effect, the output, the result, comes from 20% of the causes or the effort, right? So in fitness terms, 80% of your results can come from 20% of your efforts. Now, this is just a rough guide, right? We don't have to actually be precise with the numbers, but the idea is this Think about this If you don't go to the gym at all, okay, what is your result?

05:45

Nothing, right, and sometimes worse than nothing. Like, you lose muscle mass and you get, you know, weaker with time. But if you went into the gym, even one day a week, you're going to move that needle up significantly from nothing to a meaningful something. Right Now, it may not be enough of a something to really push the growth like you want it, and that's where there's this threshold, where we say look, if you can get to the gym two days a week, you're probably going to start to grow your strength and muscle and be able to keep adding weight to the bar or reps every time you go to the gym. Right, and some people argue you could do it once a week if you train to the gym. Right, and some people argue you could do it once a week if you train super, super, super hard that one day. But there's some practical considerations here, like going one day a week. It's hard to be consistent. It may not be as enjoyable just doing it one day a week. How do you make it a routine, things like that? But besides that, I would say three days a week is where we see roughly 20% of your effort now is going to the gym and you're getting 80% of the results.

06:52

Right, and let's put that into hard, practical numbers. If you go to the gym three days a week and you do three or four exercises of, say, three sets, you're probably doing about 10 sets per muscle group per week, probably around seven to 10. And we've got to talk now about optimal versus good enough. When we talk about optimal in the industry, we talk about maximum output For you, the maximum output in terms of your muscle growth and your strength would be getting as much as 20 hard sets per muscle group per week. You'd have to be in the gym probably five or six days a week for 90 minutes. Do you want to do that? Can you do that? Does that make sense in your life? That's what I'm talking about. However, if you have as little as five hard sets a week and you go in three days for maybe 45 minutes, maybe not even that long, the research shows us that you can get significant hypertrophy, significant muscle growth doing that.

07:52

And so, when you think of the whole spectrum, when we think about resource allocation, if you're going to the gym five days a week and you're able to cut two of those days out and your results drop only by like 5%. You know they've gone from, say, 85 to 80%, but now you've saved two out of five days of your week. That's 40% of your week in the gym. Imagine now what you can do with that freed up time. You can get an extra hour, hours of sleep, right. You can get some other productivity, some things done for work. You can spend some time with your family. You could just relax right and recover, go for a walk, and the reason this is on my mind right now is the exact thing I told you about this podcast. We are switching from five episodes a week down to three, so very much like you can go from five days a week in the gym down to three days a week in the gym. My supposition, my assumption, my prediction, is that I'll be able to bring you more quality content in fewer days per week. You will be able to consume that content without feeling like you're falling behind or having to skip or delete episodes, and you will then get more out of it and your life will be changed for the better because of me going from five down to three.

09:06

I've had countless clients who were in a similar situation. They were doing too much, they loved to go to the gym and so they would work out almost every day. Maybe it was six days, maybe it was seven days. Now, it wasn't always strength training, sometimes it was a group class or a Peloton spinning, maybe they played tennis. And when we stepped it back and said, okay, let's first prioritize what's important and then identify the amount of effort you actually need to put in that minimum amount of effort to get all the results you really need and then save the rest for other stuff. So we're kind of applying two principles. Today we're applying the Pareto rule to 80, 20, where 20% of your effort gets 80% of the results. But we're also coupling that with the law of diminishing returns, like when you do more than that 20%, now you're only eking out a little bit more percentage. Right, they go hand in hand. So if you put in 25 or 30% of the effort now, you might get 90% of the results. Now you put in 40, 50, 60% of the effort, now you get 95%. And then you'd have to put in, you know, 100% of the effort to get the 100%. That's what we mean.

10:09

Same thing goes for cardio. We shouldn't be doing cardio to burn calories. We should be doing cardio for cardiovascular health, for our overall longevity, biomarkers, things like that. And for most people there's a certain minimum that's gonna get them a huge step change from not healthy at all, very sedentary, sitting around all day, high mortality rate, high disease rate, up to you're just fine. And that is not five hours a week of cardio, that might be an hour or two right Now. If you look at some of the recommendations, you might hear things like 120 or 150 minutes a week of cardio. That might be an hour or two right Now. If you look at some of the recommendations, you might hear things like 120 or 150 minutes a week, which again is only two, two and a half hours. And, frankly, if you're lifting heavy two or three days a week, there's a lot of that quote unquote cardio built into that. If you're walking a lot, you're also getting cardio.

10:56

So you see, where I'm going is we're trying to balance all these things or, more accurately, integrate them into your life, and you can't go all out on everything. You can go all out all out on perhaps one thing If you are super passionate about it, like we talked to Ben Lewis on the podcast and he gets in 60 miles of running a week, plus he lifts weights, but he is super passionate about endurance training and competition and he loves it, just like I'm super passionate about nutrition science. But I don't expect all of you listening to this podcast to just be spending hours and hours and hours learning about it. Hopefully you just have to listen to a few podcasts, including this one, and I'm hoping that it's number one on your Spotify playlist or that you gave it a five-star review on Apple, but either way, you might be just doing too much and need to scale it down. So, whether that's cardio or training or exercise variety or your meal planning strategy, are you overdoing it somewhere? And I'm going to tell you how to apply this principle to your life so that it's not just theory. All right, so how do we apply the 20% of your effort to get 80% of the result and not going past that and getting diminishing returns and just wasting time?

12:09

I suggest you make a list. Get out a piece of paper or do this in your, you know, like a Google doc or whatever. Make a list of the five things that are most important to you for your health and fitness. Really, the sky's the limit, but I'm going to give you some ideas, all right, that are probably going to be on the list Strength training, tracking your nutrition or your macros. Right, eating enough protein could be its own category. Eating enough fiber, getting enough steps you know enough walking in, getting enough sleep or high quality sleep, or both managing your stress you can definitely.

12:47

There may be other specific things on the list for you. For you, it might be emotional eating. Specifically, Write down five things that are the most important for you right now. And then I want you to, next to that, write down how much effort you're putting into it every week. Imagine that zero is zero and a hundred percent is. You're obsessed about it, you can't stop thinking about it, it's all you put, it's all you spend time on, right, most of you are not going to be at. You might be at zero, I don't know, but you're probably not going to be at a hundred percent. But you might be at, let's say, 50% or 75%. If, let's say, you strength train five days a week or you go to the gym six days a week, I would put that at like 75% effort right, it's most of the week. And then look at the one that has the highest number and circle it. That is the thing where you could potentially reduce the amount that you're doing down to the 20% mark, still get amazing results. And now you've freed up that resource, which is probably time for something else. So again, it's very simple.

13:53

Let's recap. Number one identify the areas that are important to you. Number two identify the area where you're doing too much. And then, number three reallocate the time and energy from that to another area. Right, the goal is not to do more of everything, it's to do the right amount of the things that matter most. And if you could rebalance your efforts, because we talk about balance, but balance doesn't mean doing everything all out in equal parts. It means integrating it into your life in a natural way that's enjoyable. They still get you the result. So if you can rebalance your effort, based on the 80-20 rule, the Pareto principle, you don't just change how you approach this, you're actually changing your mindset to allow yourself the freedom and the time to do other things and still get the result All right.

14:38

So I said it would be a little bit unscripted and it was. If you enjoyed the episode, let me know if you didn't or think I can improve Again. This is the first one. I'm going to continue improving on these. You know this is. This is step one. This is like when you go to the gym the very first time and you try a squat you've never done it before time. And you try a squat you've never done it before. You're clumsy, you're imbalanced all over the place. That's like this episode for me.

14:59

Granted, I have some other foundations, having done, you know, 300 episodes at this point, but I want these to be very helpful going forward If you want help engineering your strategy using this principle. I've got something new going on, so I used to do these 30 minute calls. I'm now doing something that's shorter and more fast paced and it's a 15 minute rapid nutrition assessment. It's not a sales call. I've said this before. I'm not going to sell you anything, trust me. I'm not going to mention my coaching at all.

15:27

What I like to do is meet people and help you identify where you might be overdoing it and how to rebalance your efforts. We're going to come away with the one thing that's really holding you back that you can change and a quick three-step action plan to get you results quickly. That's really all it is. So to book your free 15-minute rapid nutrition assessment, click the link in the show notes or go to witsandweightscom and click free call at the top. Actually, there's a link now at the top of the website, on the top right, a big button that says uh, rapid nutrition assessment. So again, click the link in the show notes or go to my website, witsandweightscom, click the big button at the top right and we'll have that discussion. We can say hello, we can meet and come up with that quick action plan for you. Until next time, keep using your wits, keep lifting those weights and remember, in fitness as in engineering, it's not about doing more, it's about doing right. I'll talk to you next time here on the Wits and Weights podcast.

The New Over 50 Roadmap to Lifelong Strength, Health, Muscle, and Longevity | Ep 180

Are you over 50 and wondering how to keep your muscles strong as you age? Are you curious about how your eating habits affect your health? Want to discover the secret to living a vibrant life in your 50s and beyond?

In this episode, Philip (@witsandweights) provides a practical guide to optimizing health and strength for individuals over 50. He highlights strength training as a key strategy in preventing muscle loss and increasing longevity. Philip also talks about nutrition and gut health, including the recommended protein intake and suggested protein sources, as well as the benefit of consuming a variety of fiber-rich and fermented foods. He also touches on how having a positive mindset and staying connected with others are keys to aging well, highlighting the role of support networks in helping you stay on track. So, whether you’re over 50 or planning for your future, this episode has practical tips for living a full and healthy life.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

3:45 How to avoid sarcopenia and dynapenia
7:39 Strength training tips for individuals over 50
11:02 Recommended protein intake and sources for older adults
14:59 The importance of social connection and mindset for longevity
21:03 The connection between gut health and age
25:37 Fixed vs. growth mindset
29:33 Five fundamental principles to create your fitness roadmap
41:19 Outro

Related Episode: 

• Ep 177: How Anatomy Impacts Your Gut, Muscle Mass, Hormones, and Health with Justin Cottle

Episode resources:

• Give Bruce and Jan a follow: @bruceandjantrain

• Send me your question for the next Q&A by voicemail or text.

• Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS. It’s the only food-logging app that adjusts to your metabolism! 

• Learn about Wits & Weights Physique University

Episode summary:

As we age, our bodies undergo several changes, one of the most notable being the loss of muscle mass and strength. This podcast episode delves into the critical aspects of reversing muscle loss after 50, focusing on strength training, nutrition, and mindset. Whether you're in your 50s, 60s, or beyond, the insights shared in this episode are invaluable for anyone looking to maintain or regain their physical vitality and overall health.

The first chapter of the episode sets the stage by explaining the science behind muscle loss, known as sarcopenia, and the related decline in muscle strength, referred to as dynopenia. These conditions start affecting us as early as our 30s and accelerate after 50, leading to significant muscle and strength loss by the time we reach our 70s. However, the episode reassures listeners that it's never too late to start combating these effects. Strength training is highlighted as the most effective way to prevent and even reverse sarcopenia and dynopenia. By incorporating compound movements like squats, deadlifts, rows, and presses into your routine, you can build and maintain muscle and strength at any age.

The importance of protein in muscle building cannot be overstated, especially as we age. The episode emphasizes that older adults need more protein to achieve the same muscle-building effects as younger individuals due to a phenomenon known as anabolic resistance. The recommended intake is around 0.7 to 1 gram of protein per pound of body weight, distributed across meals to ensure maximum muscle protein synthesis. Practical tips for meeting these protein needs include consuming high-quality sources like eggs, dairy, meat, fish, and poultry, as well as using supplements like whey protein.

Nutrition doesn't stop at protein. The episode also explores the role of gut health in aging well. A fiber-rich diet is crucial for maintaining a balanced microbiome, which in turn supports metabolic health and reduces inflammation. Incorporating a variety of fiber-rich foods such as vegetables, fruits, legumes, and whole grains, along with fermented foods like yogurt and kimchi, can significantly boost gut health.

Mindset plays a pivotal role in healthy aging. The episode discusses the importance of embracing a growth mindset, which involves viewing challenges as opportunities for growth and learning. This mindset fosters resilience and a positive outlook, which are essential for maintaining quality of life as we age. Practical strategies for cultivating a growth mindset include starting small, being consistent, and celebrating effort rather than just results.

Social connections are another crucial element of healthy aging. The episode highlights research showing that strong social networks are vital for longevity and overall well-being. Social connections provide a sense of meaning and purpose, which in turn motivates us to take better care of ourselves. Whether it's reconnecting with old friends, joining clubs, or volunteering, maintaining social connections can significantly enhance the quality of our later years.

The episode concludes by emphasizing the importance of support networks in achieving personal transformation and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Coaches, accountability partners, and communities can provide the guidance and encouragement needed to stay on track. Investing in these support systems can lead to consistent and lasting results, helping you build strength, health, and resilience at any age.

In summary, this podcast episode offers a comprehensive roadmap for those over 50 looking to optimize their health, strength, and longevity. By focusing on strength training, adequate protein intake, gut health, a growth mindset, and social connections, you can defy aging and live your strongest, healthiest, and most vibrant life.

🎓 Join Wits & Weights Physique University

👩‍💻 Schedule a FREE nutrition/training audit with Philip

👥 Join our Facebook community for support, live Q&As, & challenges

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Transcript

Philip Pape  00:00

If you're over 50 and want to optimize your health, strength and longevity, or you're wondering how to get a head start for your later years, this episode is a must listen, we are going beyond the typical advice and diving into the surprising science of what really moves the needle to prevent muscle loss, increase your lifespan and choose how you want to age. Whether you're in your 50s 60s 70s or beyond. This episode will give you a practical roadmap to defy aging and live your strongest, healthiest, most vibrant life. Welcome to the wit's end weights podcast. I'm your host, Philip pape, and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self mastery by getting stronger. Optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition will uncover science backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle and mindset with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry

Philip Pape  00:52

so you can look and feel your absolute best. Let's dive right in Whitson weights community Welcome to another solo episode of the weights and weights podcast. In our last episode 179 the real reasons your scale weight fluctuates. It's not always fat gain. With Louise Digby, you learn about all the reasons the scale weight fluctuates, the dangers of scale obsession, and the importance of non scale victories. We discussed the role of hormones in weight management, the problem with restrictive dieting, and the emotional and psychological side of fat loss and body image, plus lots of tips for sustainable fat loss. Today for Episode 180, the new over 50 roadmap to lifelong strength, health, muscle and longevity, we're gonna put together your new roadmap for optimizing your physical and mental health in your 50s 60s 70s and beyond. As always, we're about sustainable practical changes here that deliver real results, not quick fixes, not being impatient, not just giving up when things start to get a little hard, because oftentimes hard things done now make everything else easier later. So whether you're over 50 yourself, or you just want to set yourself up to thrive in the second half of life, this episode is for you. But before we dive in, I want to give a special shout out to Bruce and Jan at Bruce and Jan train on Instagram. As it says on their bio, Bruce is 72 Jan younger, and they are absolutely crushing their health, their fitness, they post videos about their training, their Instagram bio says they are attempting managed decline naturally. So I love the way kind of very conservative way they put it. But it says a lot. And there's very profound. And Bruce reached out recently over Instagram suggesting that we make an episode specifically for listeners over 50. And how their biggest challenge is trying to change a lifetime of habits all at once. And I agree as much as the principles apply to everyone of any age. There are specific things that are unique to different age groups and different demographics. And so and one of those is that, yes, you've lived so many decades doing things a certain way. You've heard different influences over the years, then maybe younger generations have heard, you know, you didn't grow up with the internet and all the stuff we have now and try to change those habits maybe have more friction in front of them, then maybe someone who's younger would. So Bruce and Jan, this episode is for you. Now I know many of you in the over 50 Crowd may feel like your best years are behind you or it's too late to get in the best shape of your life. But as we're going to make crystal clear today, nothing could be further from the truth because with the right approach, you can build strength, vitality, resilience at any age, you'll vastly improve your physical capability and appearance as well. And it's never too late to start. And the research is unequivocal that we can slow down and even reverse certain aspects of aging, simply by changing our lifestyle. So let's get into it today, we have a lot to cover with the new over 50 roadmap to lifelong strength, health, muscle and longevity. And of course, the first thing we must start with here is the importance of strength training. One of the most important things that happens as we age is a condition called sarcopenia. sarcopenia is the progressive loss of muscle mass, it starts at around the age of 30. You know around that age, I mean, it's it's starting fairly young, if you're just not using your muscles, but it really starts to pick up then. And it accelerates after 50. And by 70, you can lose or have lost up to 30 to 50% of your muscle mass. If you don't just take steps to prevent it. And it's okay if you're already there. Because we've seen that you can add new muscle tissue up to any age we've seen in 80s and 90 year olds. Now it's not just about the muscle size. I mean as much as we think muscle mass itself is important for size. Obviously it's important for physique, things like that. There's something called Dinah Peenya which is the age related loss of muscle strength. Right? If you haven't heard that word before, it's not thrown around very often, even in this space. We talked about sarcopenia but not necessarily Dinah Peenya and studies show that muscle strength declines two to five times faster than muscle size man that is, that's an incredible statistic, let that sink in. Not only are you losing tons of muscle from the age of 30 to 70, you're losing even more relative strength. So you could be maintaining some of the muscle but still be getting significantly weaker over time. And why does that matter? It's probably obvious if you're over 50 already. But sarcopenia and Dinah paeonian are linked to a whole host of problems like increased risk of falls, fractures, disability, even premature death. And I think I mentioned in a previous show how falling is like the number one cause I don't know if it's the number one cause of death over a certain age, but because I know heart disease is number one as well. But I think a lot of people have died off of heart disease, then they die off of falls, because they're weak. The good news is we can prevent and even reverse these conditions, with one thing, strength training. This is why I am so passionate that everybody on the planet should be strength training one way or the other. An older you are, the more important it is not less. Lifting weights is hands down the most effective way to build or maintain muscle and strength as you age period. Okay, I did a quick which recently, I think, well, I don't know if it came out yet. But it was about the advice that gets thrown around in these, like in newspapers and these listicles that say, like, just move more, you know, most people are sedentary, just gotta move more. And that'll do it, that's not going to do it. That is not going to do it. As you age, you've got to lift weights, you've got to put load on your muscles and bones, you just have to do it. Yes, moving is better than not moving, but not much better compared to strain training, that is a life changing. Difference. All right. And it doesn't have to be complicated. That's what I want to share in this episode, just two sessions a week, usually for somebody who's over 70 is going to make a massive difference. And it can reduce sarcopenia risk by I think there was a study that said by up to 30%. Right. And honestly, I don't care what it reduces by I know, we all know that lifting weights is going to build your muscle tissue. So just do it. Don't worry about the percentages and all that just you are avoiding the massive sarcopenia your peers are going to be facing who are not lifting weights, right, just like Bruce and Jana, I mean, they're a living example of this. Now, the key here is, if I were to sum it up in like one sentence is to focus on compound movements, like squats, deadlifts, rows, presses, and then gradually increase the weight and the reps over time. That's like the overarching principle of lifting heavy and progressing, you know, progressive overload over time. And then doing that at least two to three times a week, just so you get enough frequency in there. But I want to give you some specifics for older adults, I promised that I would give you some different things in this episode, specific to you. So the first thing is, especially if you're new to this, or you haven't trained in a long time, you're going to be a little bit more, it's going to be harder for you to warm up and recover, right, you're going to have your joints, your connective tissue are just not what they were when you were younger. And so you may need to do a little more more warm up, you may need to ease into not only this session, but whatever weights you're trying to start with, when you first start lifting like you know, you don't have to go all out. And chances are, you're probably not in a position where you want to do that anyway, but it's just worth mentioning. The second thing is that I firmly strongly believe in this compound lifts, which are ideal for building strength anyway, compound lifts like squats, deadlifts, anything with multiple joints, with free weights, barbells, you know, dumbbells? Yeah, maybe cables and machines, but mainly barbells. And free weights are going to build so much balance, and so much coordination, and make you an independent person who's better at life, using the full range of motion using your entire system. It's how you function in the real world. And for the over 50 population, I think that almost becomes the top priority over anything. Yeah, even if you want to lose some weight and look good, and whatever, I'm guessing by the time you're 60 7080, you really just want to be able to be strong. And if you get hit by a slow moving car, you're gonna get up and be fine. As opposed to having your hips shattered into a million pieces, like these are really life changing things because once those things happen, it leads to going into the hospital, being on medication, getting pneumonia, you know, polypharmacy, all the things that we are associated with, quote unquote, old people, and you are taking control of your age by being a strong MF ER for the rest of your life. Right. But, you know, don't just start with any old hypertrophy bodybuilding program, like, really consider using compound lifts early on, and that yes, includes barbells. And I think that's one of the best tools for older folks. Right? And it might sound like the opposite of what a lot of people think, Oh, is that is that safe? Are you gonna hurt your back? No, no, that's how you get strong. Alright, the next thing is recovery time and kind of the, how you spread your workouts across the week, older folks take longer to recover. I'm in my 40s and I already can see that compared to when I was in my 30s or 20s. And so this might mean you need to stretch out your program. So if you're following it for A week program, you might stretch it out over six days or seven days, or three days a week program, you do it two days a week and you stretch it, things like that. Having shorter sessions, maybe you want a couple sessions a day that are really short, there's a lot of different ways of slicing, you're going to have to make it work for you. The next one is I have for you is as much as you want to progressively overload. So session to session, you want to add weight to the bar to the dumbbells, whatever it has to be appropriate has to be just the right amount to push you but not too much. I feel like there's a propensity to try to wanting to jump too much. And that's one of the biggest reasons people fail to reps and feel like they're stalling out. So increased by the appropriate load. And then the last thing is just don't be stupid. I mean, in your 50s, you're in your 60s, Junior 70s, you don't have the same tolerance for getting injured. And for the time that it takes to rehab from an injury, as you did when you were an idiot, 20 year old. Okay, so you're not an idiot, 20 year old, you're very wise, over 50 year old, so don't be stupid. So that's that's strength training. Now, strength training provides the stimulus for building and maintaining muscle, it is a non negotiable. But to actually build new muscle tissue, you need the raw materials for that. And that's our protein comes in. All right, protein is made up of amino acids. These are the building blocks of muscle. When you eat protein, your body then breaks it down and uses those amino acids to repair and build new muscle fibers. But as you age, your body becomes less efficient at doing that. It's called muscle protein synthesis. And the phenomenon of getting less efficient, is called anabolic resistance. We see this in women getting older, we see this just in general as we get older. And anabolic resistance means you need more protein to get the same effect. As a younger person, you're just less efficient with it. And the current RDA for protein is abysmally low, it's like point eight grams per kilogram, which would be like point four grams per pound. But for you know, for anybody, let alone older adults who are active or lifting, this is woefully inadequate. Like that's just survival level, there's actually position stance and plenty of studies related to aging populations for older adults that are in line with what I always recommend anyway for most people, and that is around the one gram per pound, right, so like point seven to one grams per pound of body weight. Or that's like 1.6 to 2.2 grams per kilogram of body weight. So if you weigh 150 pounds, that's anywhere from like 100 to 150. You know, in that range, chances are, you're far below that. And if not, if you've been paying attention to this for any length of time, then you've probably gotten into where you need to be. And if you are, let's say you're very overweight, just go by your target body weight, your ideal body weight, that's total protein, then we also have to consider you know how protein is distributed. And the more science we've discovered on this shows us that what's more important is that you get a certain minimum when you eat but not necessarily a maximum. And you don't have to necessarily spread it out. You don't have to force spread it out throughout the day, two, three meals a day with protein is good enough for most people, as long as you get the total, right, you don't have to eat six times seven times, just try to get around 20 to 30 grams or more protein per meal. And don't worry about the other other the other stuff leucine threshold and all that stuff. So total protein, point seven, one gram per pound, eat it across anywhere from like two to five meals a day. And focus on high quality protein, really, I mean protein from anywhere, but I'm saying that not like not all collagen protein, for example. You want sources like eggs, dairy, meat, fish, poultry, and then all the plant sources of protein as well. And of course, whey protein is a great way to supplement if you're having trouble getting enough of it. And with my experience with older adults, appetite seems to be lower as we age, right, you might have trouble eating as much. And so using liquid forms using, you know, pre digested processed forms of some foods actually could be helpful. And it's perfectly fine. Right? So whey casein, things like that, making a smoothie making a shake. So that's Protein Protein is massive. If you're not getting enough, start tracking your food so you can see how much you get. And then set the target. My favorite app for this is called macro factor. All one word macro factor. Yes, it's a food logging app. But it also tells you what your metabolism is. So you know if you need to eat more or less for your goal, and if you're trying to build muscle, if you're trying to do what Bruce and Jan are doing. It helps to be tracking so that you know you're eating enough. You've got enough energy, you've got enough protein, right? That you're not selling yourself short, that you've got enough carbs to support this muscle building process. So macro factor, download it, use my code, Whitson weights, I'll throw it in the show notes. So you have it. My code, Whitson weights all one word will get you a two week free trial. It is a paid app, but all the best apps of course are going to be paid and it's more affordable than you can imagine. So use that to track. The next thing I want to talk about. Out is. So we talked about food, we talked about building muscle, I want to talk about social connection, longevity, purpose, things like a little bit more on the mindset side that really come into play as we get older. And I'm seeing this now in my 40s. And I can definitely see it among my parents my in laws. We all know that relationships are important. But you might be surprised to learn from the data how critical social connection is for healthy aging, maybe you won't be surprised. You hear it a lot these days. But the research shows that lacking social connection is a big risk factor. And as big a risk factor for premature death as smoking 15 cigarettes a day. That's how important social connection is. There was a meta analysis from 2015 That looked at 70 studies with over three and a half million participants. And it found that loneliness, social isolation, and living alone all significantly increased the risk of early mortality. And the effect size was comparable to obesity. So I'm not trying to scare you, I'm trying to iterate that or reiterate that social connection are vital as we age. And relationships then influence our health. And this is about health. This is about longevity. Right? People with strong social networks have healthier lifestyle habits, they tend to go hand in hand. Like when your friends when your loved ones when your group that you hang out with when they eat well, when they train, when they avoid risky behaviors, you're more likely to do the same. And maybe you're an influence on them. And this is a way that you can, you know, change the family tree of people in your peer group of your friends and family. Here's the other thing, another side tangent, I know that the generations that are currently over 50 come from a time when exercise was just not as much a thing, right. And it's slowly starting to shift. But we need to make it more of a thing. So spread the message, share this episode, as we, you know, reach out to Bruce and Jan and follow them. Follow me on what's in wait so we can get this message out. Right. The other thing is that I wanted to talk about what social connection is it provides a sense of meaning and purpose, right? When you feel like you matter to others, when you're in this, like web or cocoon of support. And we'll say accountability and obligation, right. Because when you're when you're with other people who are trying to do the same thing, you almost feel obligated to them to do it in a good way. Like you don't want to let them down. Right. And that provides a reason to take care of yourself. I have friends like that I have colleagues, acquaintances, other coaches, just feeding off of each other's energy, we're like, oh, you're doing that. All right, I need to step it up. Right. And that's a good thing. As we get older, we want to have that positive push to keep improving, you'll, you'll never stop improving. And you'll take care of yourself, and you'll show up for the people who depend on you. And then they will do the same for you. And then you and all your other strong friends, you know, who are far healthier, stronger than most people your age, are gonna be the ones that are able to help and stand up and show up and make a difference. And that's huge. When it comes to meaning and purpose. And we know how important it is to have purpose in our lives. from a health standpoint, in a mental health standpoint, right? Now, the quality of your relationships is more important than the quantity. And I'm sure you know this, I'm sure you know that you can have 1000 friends on social media, and you hardly talk to them. And it's all often I don't wanna say negative, but they're not your quote unquote, real friends necessarily, except for maybe a handful of them. And it's usually better to have a few close supportive connections in this huge social network of superficial links, and a kind of a mix of people, right a mix of friends, family, neighbors, co workers, people who share your hobbies, your interests, all that kind of good stuff. Especially if you're retired, for example, you know, you're no longer kind of artificially immersed in an environment where there are lots of other people. But even Hey, I work from home, I understand the importance of needing to reach out and avoid neglecting relationships. I'm thinking of a couple of people already, as I record this that I should reach out to by text or phone afterward to reconnect because it's been a while. So consider this right now. This episode as you're listening to me, you're signed to reach out to an old friend, maybe join a club, so many clubs and or take a class right to meet new people volunteering, huge way to find meaning and expand your social circles, kind of two birds one stone, right. The bottom line here is investing in a relationship is investing in your health and longevity. And I thought it was important to include in an episode about the year over 50 roadmap.

Philip Pape  19:25

Hey, this is Philip and I hope you're enjoying this episode of wits and weights. I started with some weights to help ambitious individuals in their 30s 40s and beyond, who want to build muscle lose fat and finally look like they lift. I noticed that when people transform their physique, they not only look and feel better, but they also experience incredible changes in their health, confidence and overall quality of life. If you're listening to this podcast, I assume you want the same thing to build your ultimate physique and unlock your full potential whether you're just starting out or looking to take your progress to the next level. That's why I created wits and weights physique University, a semi private group coaching experience designed to help you achieve your best physique ever. With a personalized done for you nutrition plan, custom designed courses, new workout programs each month, live coaching calls and the supportive community, you'll have access to everything you need to succeed. If you're ready to shatter your plateaus and transform your body and life, head over to Whitson weights.com/physique, or click the link in the show notes to enroll today. Again, that's Whitson weights.com/physique. I can't wait to welcome you to the community and help you become the strongest leanest and healthiest version of yourself. Now back to the show.

Philip Pape  20:46

Alright, so the next one I want to talk about as another, it's starting to get talked about a lot more. It is something that people seem to overhype. And yet it actually deserves the hype. And it's extremely important when you're older. And that is gut health. You're like, oh, here we go. Again, gut health. But here's the thing, your gut inside your GI tract, which is the entire tube from your mouth to the other end, is a huge, complex ecosystem of trillions of bacteria, known as your gut microbiome, the makeup of that family of bacteria has a profound impact on every aspect of your life. We tend to label bacteria as good or bad, right? Like the good bacteria keep the bad bacteria in check. The good ones are the ones that digest your food, they produce nutrients, they regulate your immune system, they protect against infection. But here's the thing where age comes into play. As we are aging, the diversity of that gut bacteria declines, right? And it starts from when your baby have all the experiences of whether you have pets of whether you had a vaginal birth, whether you have breastfeeding, all of those things, it starts that early, then it's like, Okay, do you play outside? Or are you in a sterile environment, things like that, and it progresses. But it also is depends on what you eat. And if you've been eating the same foods for decades, the older you are, the less and less and less diverse your gut bacteria becomes, because of that limited diet, or let's just say that routine boring diet that we get used to. And then the quote unquote bad guys start outnumber the good. And that's when you run into problems. And you get an imbalanced microbiome. Now, they call this dysbiosis, right, which is kind of the extreme increase, you get a lot of increased inflammation, but it is associated with diseases like diabetes and heart disease and Alzheimer's, it could be confounded by the lifestyle as well, right? I don't want to kind of overblow that piece of it. But having a healthy diverse microbiome becomes increasingly important over 50. And it's just important in general, for the fiber for the overall health for all the impacts that it has your metabolism on your hormones on everything. I'm going to simplify what you do about it, because that's where people get all wonky and complicated. The number one thing you can do to support your gut bacteria is just feed them fiber. Right fiber is the preferred fuel source for most of the beneficial gut bacteria. Right when they feast on fermentable fibers, they produce some short what they call short chain fatty acids that heal your gut, your gut lining, reduces inflammation and support your healthy metabolic rate. And all you have to do is aim for a certain amount of fiber each day. It's usually around 2530 grams of fiber, right a little bit more for men a little bit less for women. It depends on your size, how much you're eating. But let's say 30 grams of fiber from a variety of whole food sources vegetables, fruits, legumes, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and what I learned from Justin Caudill, who was on episode, what was at 177. Okay, he's the anatomy and cadaver guide is not only eat like apples, but eat three or four different types of apples because of the different pectin compounds in the skin that will give different sources of food to bacteria. And some of the most gut friendly fiber rich foods are leafy greens. You know, onions, garlic, leeks, asparagus, bananas, apples, oats, flaxseed, all this delicious food that you should have in your diet. There's always talk about fermented foods as well, which are super helpful like yogurt, kefir, sauerkraut, kimchi, miso, tempeh, those kinds of things. And these are naturally probiotic rich foods, and they boost the beneficial bacteria, right. But if you've gotten to a point where it's pretty depleted and pretty out of balance, you know, you may also need some supplementation. So definitely consider that. But overall, my point here is the gut is important. And having a diverse diet full of fiber is important as well, by the way, fiber has some side benefits. It helps with your like with gas with your bowel movements. And it also helps with satiety, keeping you full, so protein and fiber keeps you full. So when you're, let's say you're trying to lose a little bit of fat and calories a little tighter, they help keep you full. So fiber is a good one. And then the next one is I guess this is the last big category I wanted to cover on this roadmap is back to the mental side because no matter how well you eat, how much you train, or how well you train, how many supplements you take, how much fiber protein, you're not going to stop the clock, like that's the reality of it, right? Things are going to change as you age. You're going to face new challenges, physical challenges, mental challenges, I mean, think about what your friends are going to start passing away. Like, that's the reality that we acknowledge it, right? I'm only in my 40s. And I've seen people starting to pass away, right. And as you get older, that accelerates, that's just one of many things, right? You might lose friends, their situations change. I know how older people if they don't have that social connection, that can feel a little bit lonely and neglected, right? It's just different things change, you're not working anymore, most likely, you're retired and you're trying to find a new way to live your life. The financial situation is different sources of stress. And how you review and respond to those is what matters more than anything not they exist. It's how you respond to them. So you may have heard of psychologist Carol Dweck, and in her research, she identified the two mindsets that shape how people approach their lives. The first is a fixed mindset. With a fixed mindset, you believe that your abilities, your intelligence, your talents are fixed, right? That they can't change like that is who you are. And you might as you might know, you might have made statements throughout your life that I am this, or you talk about other people like my daughter is this, right? Those are fixed mindset statements. And whether we intentionally do it or not, they usually lead to avoiding challenges giving up easily, and often feeling threatened by other people's success. On the other hand, if you have a growth mindset, which I'm a huge fan of having a growth mindset and cultivating it, you believe your abilities can be developed. And it will all it takes us two things dedication and hard work. And dedication is kind of a loose term, it could refer to persistence, perseverance, grit, not so much willpower. It's more of a long term dedication, right. Like you're you're committed, you keep being consistent. You know, you're not perfect, you keep being consistent and pushing through. And people with growth mindsets embrace challenges, they persist in the face of setbacks, they find inspiration in the success of others who, what a different perspective, isn't it. And it turns out that this growth mindset becomes increasingly important, as we age. And as you navigate the challenges of aging. There's a study from 2021 found that adults over 60, with a growth mindset had significantly greater resilience, wellbeing, and sense of purpose than those with a fixed mindset. They were also more open to learning new technologies that can improve their quality of life. And so think about how that might apply to what we're talking about today. Strength training, maybe you've had you maybe haven't trained, maybe you think, look, none of my friends are doing it. Older people just don't do that. That's a fixed mindset. A growth mindset is, yeah, this is a brand new area I get to explore, I get to test the theory that you can build new muscle at any age. Isn't that exciting? Right? So how can you cultivate that mindset, because some of you just may not, you may be stuck in your ways. And that's kind of a fixed mindset statement I just made. But let's be honest, some of us are stubborn, right? And we have to notice those fixed mindset triggers, like, let's say something new, is something new comes your way, like this podcast episode might be a trigger, right? I'm asking you to try these different things. You're like, God, that's, that's no, that's too much. Right? So when you hear this, what I'm telling you, are you focusing more on the potential to fail, or the opportunity to learn and to grow, right? And so I want you to embrace the power of yet the word yet. You're not too old to get fit, you're just not fit yet. You can't do a pull up yet. But every attempt gets you stronger toward that pull up, right? Use the word yet and see what it does for you. And I want you to celebrate, I think I mentioned this in a Saturday bonus episode where I talked about my insecurities. I want you to celebrate effort. It's great to celebrate wins when they happen. It's great to celebrate results. But I want you to celebrate effort, so that you get into the process. And this is a lot of fun, new stuff you get to try here. You know, just lifting weights, if you've never done before, it can be invigorating. It's just all this new stuff you get to learn. You don't think of it as a fun hobby that also gets you amazing results at the end, not at the end, it gives you amazing results every day, along the way, right? Because we're celebrating the process and the effort. So I want you to reframe failures as a chance to learn and surround yourself with people who inspire you to push your limits. Right? You can't help getting older, but you don't have to get old. Does that make sense? Like you don't have to be an old person. Again, Bruce and Jan, you go look at them. And you're like, you know, they may be a certain age, right? But they're not like typical old people at all. They are strong, they're capable, they're resilient. It's amazing. It's inspiring, and embracing the growth mindset like they haven't they did it late in life. That is the key to Aging Gracefully and resilient, strongly. So I've thrown a lot at you today, a little bit of science, a little bit of strategy. I didn't necessarily cover every single principle I would talk about when it comes to say fat loss or building muscle because you can find those in the rest of my podcast and they apply to you as well. I wanted to cover the things specifically that are unique to those over 50. And you might be hearing this and saying okay, I'm half hour into this podcast, I'm not sure where to start. And even though there's no one size fits all approach, right and you are at a different point than someone else. Because if you're 60, I don't know you could have been lifting for like you could have been active in your earlier years, you might have been an athlete, maybe you are already active and you want to find something different. Maybe you've been sedentary, maybe you have all sorts of health issues, right? There's a lot of different things. But there are principles that will help you create your personal roadmap. So this is the new over 50 roadmap. And these are the principles, I'm gonna give you five right now five key principles. Principle number one, start small and focus on consistency. Right? Start where you are at today is your baseline, doesn't matter what happened in the past, doesn't matter what the person next to you can do. If you try to overhaul your entire lifestyle overnight, you're gonna get burned out, and you're gonna fail period. And this is exactly why clients come to me all the time, they've tried this over and over, try to change everything, New Year's resolution, change, everything doesn't work. Choose one small change you can make this week. That's it all I want you to do, there's no rush. It took me this many decades, what's another day or week. So one small change, maybe it's doing your first strength based workout. And I can recommend I can recommend programs to and in fact, I would say go get the book. Actually, here you have the barbell prescription by John Sullivan. Okay, it's based on the starting strength model. But it's specifically for people. It's targeted at people over 40. But it's all about being an athlete of aging, that's the term of use an athlete of aging taking control. So, go buy the barbell prescription. And that's going to change your mind and your life forever when it comes to this stuff when it comes to strength and muscle. So buy that book, and then do your first workout, like read the book, and plan to do your first workout. Another thing you can do just again, one thing, I'm not telling you to do all this one thing, add protein to a meal that currently doesn't have protein. For many people, that's breakfast, but it might be some other meal during the day. Simply add protein, right. Another thing you can do, again, one thing, call up an old friend, I mentioned this earlier about social connections. Think about an old friend that you haven't talked to in a while, call them up right after the show, right after you follow the show. So you get the next episode. Alright, so that's number one, start small focus on consistency. Number two, I want you to use something called habit stacking. Maybe you heard about this, it's a way to make new behaviors stick. And the way it works is you try a new habit that you want to develop to an existing routine that you already have. So it's kind of coming along for the ride. So I mean, the protein thing is an easy one, right? Like you already have you already eat. So you already eat breakfast. So go ahead and add in the protein. Right? Or you like to listen to podcasts. Why don't you go for a walk after lunch while listening to the podcasts, you're basically just doing two things in one, you're sticking something that you don't quite do regularly yet to something you do already do. So if you already listen your podcast, and you're doing it while sitting down, you can now do it while walking. That's just an example. I'm sure you can come up with many more. There's all sorts of things that, you know, I think it's some of the research. They said, Well, what do people What does almost everybody do? Well, they sit and watch TV, everybody watches, like at least an hour of TV day, some people much more. Well, can you just do that? Can you set for yourself a rule that I'm only going to watch that Netflix show that I want to binge, if I do it while I'm on my assault bike or on my treadmill. That's just one example. I like to listen to podcasts while I'm lifting weights, not when I'm actually doing the set, but what you know, in between. So that's habit stacking, it's just combining something you already do with something you want to do. The third thing is the third principle, look for ways to make the healthier choices more convenient. Okay, one of the excuses that people make is there's too much friction, there's too much stopping them from doing it like Oh, I forgot to do or that was too much. Or by the time my alarm went off, and I had to go to the gym, but I felt like sleeping. So food wise, right? prepping food meal prep meal planning on the weekend. So you have your food ready for the week, when you make dinner, don't just make dinner for two or four, make it for 12. To end use leftovers, buy things that are a little more convenient, if needed, like pre cut veggies or whatnot. Again, it depends on your budget and things like that, you know, convenience can still be healthy, right? The big one I like for strength training is keeping your workout clothes, and your squat shoes and your bag and your blender bottle and all that like getting it all ready the night before. So you have no excuse but to go to the gym. In fact, it's more work to take it all apart and just go to the gym. So you're just trying to remove friction wherever possible. And again, this is a principle. So you need to evaluate in your life where the friction points are. What is it that you're telling yourself? It's an excuse? Yes, it is an excuse, but it's there. How can we eliminate that thing? So it can even be an excuse. Principle number four. And I alluded to this already, but it's focused on the process over the outcome. It's nice to say, Okay, I want to lose 20 pounds. But that's a one and done thing. It's going to happen if you do it, right. But it doesn't help focusing on it, the whole time you're making it happen, what really matters is developing, the way that you eat, the way that you move that feels sustainable, that you can do forever. And then by the way, it happens to get you that 20 pounds, and then eventually get the 20 pounds. And you're like, Okay, I got my 20 pounds, but really, I enjoyed the process to get there. Right? Instead of fixating on what the scale says on any given day, why don't we instead think about how much more energy we have, how much more we're sleeping, how much stronger you're filling in workouts, did you get five pounds more on the deadlift? Those are things that are process related. And you could argue that they are, they're still outcomes, but they're micro outcomes. They're outcomes that occur on a frequent, you know, daily basis. All right, and then the last principle is to get support, reach out for help, please, you know, I used to, when I first started in this with my own personal transformation, I was very much like, I'm going to do this myself. I read books, I listen to podcasts, and I started doing things myself, but then I would constantly step back, or I'd get tripped up, or I couldn't be consistent. And then I started to join some free Facebook groups. I joined you know, I got a coach at my gym. I mean, today, I have like 10 different coaches for different things. Because I realized every time I would get support, whether it was paid free, as long as it was somebody else in that same circle, my progress would accelerate, but I would also have a safety net that wouldn't allow me to step back too far. Right? Like, not only did it push me forward more quickly, whenever I gotta took a step back, somebody was there to kind of Prop me up. And then let me keep going. It's like, yeah, you take a little step back, but then you get to keep going, you know, hiring a coach, getting an accountability partner, a training partner, join in any sort of community, I don't care if it's, you know, a physical community, like a club, or with a gym, you know, with people that you go train with, whether it's like a Facebook group, social group, like a club, where you do things together, it doesn't even have to be related to fitness, per se. But I guess where I'm going at here is it's got to be people that are going after the same goals. It could be a paid community or group coaching program like Woodson waits physique university that I run, just there's so many ways to do it, right? The more you invest in yourself, the more that you get to help the faster you're gonna get the results and have the safety net so that you don't fall back. And then that behavior change then becomes a lot easier. That's the thing you're removing, not only removing friction on the front end, you're also removing friction on the back end, if that makes sense. And again, Bruce, and Jan, the couple I mentioned the beginning, they are great examples of what's possible with mutual support and encouragement. I mean, they've got a ton of followers and Instagram. And I know they're constantly reaching out and commenting and sharing things with people and they're telling people hey, go listen to Whitson weights and go listen to this person, because they are trying to help. So whatever your age is, whatever your current fitness level, you have an incredible capacity to get stronger to get healthier, and more resilient. You do I don't care what age you are.

Philip Pape  37:56

Is it going to be easy? No, it's not going to be easy. Is it going to be worth it? Absolutely. And you know, it's harder, not doing it. There's actually no easy in life unless you just die. Okay, you either do the hard thing so that life feels great, and you're strong and capable. Or you don't do the hard thing. And then life is even harder, because it hits back. It hits back at you in so many ways that are often or unexpected as well. Alright, so it's worth it. Start small stack your habits focus on the process get support, that's the real secret to Aging Gracefully, and vibrantly. Alright, we've covered a lot of ground, from practical tips to build strength and muscle, to protein to social connections, purpose, mindset shifts, all that good stuff. And what I hope for you is that you are walking away with a renewed sense of possibility and purpose, I hope, just my positivity, I hope it's infectious for you guys. Because if anything, just the way I like to communicate on this podcast is with a hopefulness. Right, anything is possible. Getting older is inevitable, but how we age is a choice. That's powerful. And if you have the right roadmap, and you have the right mindset, your 50s, your 60s or 70s and beyond, can be your best years ever. best years ever. I know it for sure I've seen it with my parents. I've seen it with lots of other folks in their 60s and 70s, who are sedentary their whole life, they start to have health issues, they start to have joint pain, they're on medications, and then they start lifting weights. And one by one, these issues start to go away. They start to feel better. They get off medications. It's just an amazing transformation. And then now you can have years and years and years, where not only do you have a lifespan you have a health span filled with strength, vitality, growth, joy, right, you can play with your grandkids, your great grandkids, whatever people of any age, you can volunteer. So no matter what your age is, you have the power. You have the power to build your strongest, healthiest, best self however, you know one habit at a time and I believe in you and I'm honored that I get to be part of this journey with you and I hope that it is something I said here's going to change you in some small way and ultimately change your life and potentially change the lives As others, alright, so I did say that when it comes to support, if you want to go to the next level, if you want to defy conventional wisdom about aging, I definitely urge you to check out and join us inside Whitson weights physique University. That is our semi private group coaching program where you get access to a custom nutrition plan, monthly workout programs, including ones that are perfectly appropriate. whatever age you are, we give you form checks, we help you figure out how to do them safely and properly. There are courses on all this stuff, there's live coaching calls, where you can ask questions, private community of like minded individuals all on a mission to optimize our health, and vitality. And it is designed for folks in their 30s 40s 50s and above. So you are in good company. And we take all the guesswork out of the process, we give you the science back tools and support you need to build strength to shed fat to fill your best at any age. It's not quick fixes. It's not fad diets, it's the sustainable evidence based practices that we talk about here. But I do warn you, it is not for people who are impatient to jump right into a diet or get a quick result. Right. This is for those serious about choosing how they want to age and making it last. So just go to Whitson weights.com/physique or click the link in my show notes to learn more and enroll. That's Whitson weights.com/physique Okay, and our next episode 181, how not to be skinny, fat and weak with Adrienne McDonnell. You'll learn the real reasons you might be skinny, fat and weak right now what to do to get strong, feel energized, nourish your training and your body and build that lean Well, muscle physique you're going for. Adrian will also share his personal journey with body dysmorphia. So you can come away with strategies for a healthier, more positive self image. Make sure to hit follow right now in your podcast app to get notified when that episode comes out and support the show. And if this episode resonated with you, if you got value from this episode, the best way to support us is just share it with a friend or family member who needs to hear this message, share it in your book club, share it at the gym, all your friends, if you're you know 6575 90 And you're listening to this and you're like that is a helpful message that others need to hear. Just tell people tell them go check out what's in waits, show them how to use a podcast, you know, show them how to click follow do all the things. Alright, as always stay strong. And I'll talk to you next time here on The wit's end weights podcast. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of wit's end weights. If you found value in today's episode, and know someone else who's looking to level up their weights or weights. Please take a moment to share this episode with them. And make sure to hit the Follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode. Until then, stay strong

Ep 166: The Body Recomposition Blueprint (Recomp to Build Muscle and Lose Fat at the Same Time)

Are you feeling lost in the calorie counting maze for body recomposition? Struggling to juggle muscle gain and fat loss at the same time? Tired of the yo-yo effect after dieting?

In this episode, Philip (@witsandweights) talks about body recomposition and strategies for muscle gain and fat loss. He emphasizes patience and consistency, starting with maintenance calories for beginners and slower recomp for experienced individuals. Philip also dives into caloric balance, setting and adjusting calorie targets, and optimizing macronutrient ratios for muscle growth and fat loss. He emphasizes the importance of peri-workout nutrition to support muscle growth through strategic protein and carbohydrate consumption.

Philip also stresses that strength training is crucial to body recomposition and long-term fat loss. He shares principles of effective strength training, including progressive overload and proper exercise techniques. He also touches on the hormonal benefits of strength training, like elevated testosterone and growth hormones.

Philip advocates a holistic approach to body recomposition, incorporating nutrition, training, mindset, and lifestyle factors. He encourages celebrating small victories, staying dedicated, and trusting the process towards achieving your desired physique.

Today, you’ll learn all about:

1:59 Wins from the WWPU community
6:48 Common misunderstanding about body recomp
10:57 Underlying body recomp mechanisms
13:47 Three categories of body recomp
19:37 Using nutrition for body recomposition
27:20 Setting your macros
28:47 The significance of effective strength training
31:09 Benefits of proper training and building muscle mass
33:40 Peri-workout nutrition
36:34 Optimizing health and hormone status
39:59 The importance of mindset
44:02 Final thoughts on body recomp
48:27 Outro

Episode resources:

• Watch this FREE video on how to setup MacroFactor for body recomp

• Try MacroFactor FREE with my code WITSANDWEIGHTS

Related episodes:

• Ep 66: Sustaining Fat Loss Results and Maximizing Recovery for The Long Game with Jeff Hoehn

• Ep 136: How to Maintain a Lean Physique Year-Round (Without Cuts or Bulks)

• Ep 162: Bodybuilding for Everyday Lifters Who Want to Build Their Dream Physique

Episode summary:

Philip Pape guides us through the intriguing process of body recomposition, a dual-purpose approach that entails building muscle while losing fat. This episode delves into the nuances of this transformational journey.

The podcast begins with an exploration of the science behind body recomposition, addressing the common misconceptions that have long been associated with this concept. Philip emphasizes that achieving muscle growth and fat loss simultaneously is not exclusive to beginners or individuals with higher body fat percentages but is a viable goal for even the trained athlete. The episode stands out for its clear demystification of this process, shedding light on how to strategically balance one's nutritional intake and exercise regimen to optimize results.

As the episode progresses, the discussion pivots to the topic of caloric balance and macro tracking. Philip introduces Macrofactor, an app designed to streamline the often-overwhelming process of calorie and macronutrient tracking. The app's ability to adjust to an individual's personal metrics and goals is highlighted as a game-changer in personal fitness. Listeners are offered a free Macrofactor Mastery video, a tool that promises to simplify the initial setup and goal configuration within the app.

Strength training, as Philip discusses, is not only instrumental in muscle development but also serves as a catalyst for an increased metabolic rate. The podcast underscores the aesthetic benefits of muscle density, where one can achieve a leaner appearance without a significant drop in scale weight. Philip touches upon the importance of pre- and post-workout nutrition, shedding light on the optimal timing and composition of meals that fuel workouts and facilitate recovery.

The final segment of the podcast centers on the psychological aspect of body recomposition. A mindset grounded in patience, consistency, and trust in the long-term process is deemed crucial. Philip illustrates this with a personal narrative about managing expectations during his shoulder rehabilitation, emphasizing the significance of celebrating incremental progress.

Throughout the episode, Philip intertwines personal anecdotes and success stories from the Physique University, each one reinforcing the central theme that consistent, practical actions, aligned with a sustainable and flexible approach, are the cornerstones of a successful body transformation.

In summary, the episode of Wits and Weights not only serves as an instructional blueprint for those seeking to revolutionize their physique but also instills a sense of confidence and reassurance that with the right mindset and tools, body recomposition is an achievable reality. Philip’s expertise and thoughtful guidance make this episode an essential listen for anyone interested in elevating their fitness journey.

emphasizes that achieving muscle growth and fat loss simultaneously is not exclusive to beginners or individuals with higher body fat percentages but is a viable goal for even the trained athlete. The episode stands out for its clear demystification of this process, shedding light on how to strategically balance one's nutritional intake and exercise regimen to optimize results.

As the episode progresses, the discussion pivots to the topic of caloric balance and macro tracking. Philip introduces Macrofactor, an app designed to streamline the often-overwhelming process of calorie and macronutrient tracking. The app's ability to adjust to an individual's personal metrics and goals is highlighted as a game-changer in personal fitness. Listeners are offered a free Macrofactor Mastery video, a tool that promises to simplify the initial setup and goal configuration within the app.

Strength training, as Philip discusses, is not only instrumental in muscle development but also serves as a catalyst for an increased metabolic rate. The podcast underscores the aesthetic benefits of muscle density, where one can achieve a leaner appearance without a significant drop in scale weight. Philip touches upon the importance of pre- and post-workout nutrition, shedding light on the optimal timing and composition of meals that fuel workouts and facilitate recovery.

The final segment of the podcast centers on the psychological aspect of body recomposition. A mindset grounded in patience, consistency, and trust in the long-term process is deemed crucial. Philip illustrates this with a personal narrative about managing expectations during his shoulder rehabilitation, emphasizing the significance of celebrating incremental progress.

Throughout the episode, Philip intertwines personal anecdotes and success stories from the Physique University, each one reinforcing the central theme that consistent, practical actions, aligned with a sustainable and flexible approach, are the cornerstones of a successful body transformation.

In summary, the episode of Wits and Weights not only serves as an instructional blueprint for those seeking to revolutionize their physique but also instills a sense of confidence and reassurance that with the right mindset and tools, body recomposition is an achievable reality. Philip's expertise and thoughtful guidance make this episode an essential listen for anyone interested in elevating their fitness journey.

🎓 Join Wits & Weights Physique University

👩‍💻 Schedule a FREE nutrition/training audit with Philip

👥 Join our Facebook community for support, live Q&As, & challenges

✉️ Join the FREE email list with insider strategies and bonus content!

📱 Try MacroFactor for free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS. The only food logging app that adjusts to your metabolism!

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Transcript

Philip Pape  00:00

Do you want to build muscle and lose fat at the same time? It may sound too good to be true. But body composition or recomp is a real phenomenon that can completely transform your physique if done in the right way for you, your body and your phase of nutrition and training, and in this episode, we are providing you with the ultimate evidence based blueprint to optimize your nutrition training and health to achieve simultaneous fat loss and muscle growth like never before. Welcome to the wit's end weights podcast. I'm your host, Philip pape, and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self mastery by getting stronger. Optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition will uncover science backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle and mindset with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry so you can look and feel your absolute best. Let's dive right in.

Philip Pape  00:55

Whitson weights community Welcome to another solo episode of the weights and weights podcast. In our last episode 165 The Stealth mind trick to turn excuses into action with Paul Salter, you learn how to turn your excuses your self sabotage your procrastination and your perfectionism into massive action by digging beneath the surface to the subconscious mind. Today for episode 166 The body composition blueprint recomp to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, I'm going to break down the science behind body composition, aka body recomp, which is building muscle and losing fat at the same time. Discuss the different ways it can play out based on your starting point and provide concrete strategies for optimizing everything required to get there your nutrition, your training your health, so that you can maximize your results for body recomp. And by the end of this episode, you'll have a clear blueprint to put body composition into action. Now before we get into it, I did want to share some wins from the first few weeks of Whitson weights physique university that we just launched earlier this month. And I want you to spot the pattern here as I share some of these so here we go, quote, I consistently logged my food everyday. This week, I got all my workouts in. I started journaling again, first thing in the morning, every day. I'm seeing good progress and my fat loss phase. I learned cardio is not a bad thing, and can be integrated into my strength training. As long as it doesn't affect my lifts. I settled in with my mindset to be in sync with my goals. I worked on my sleep. I'm starting to track more consistently, even the small bites. I am most proud of the positive self talk. Knowing this is a lifelong journey, not a race. I am most proud of how I was able to put into practice what I've learned about flexible dieting. While traveling for the past two weekends, I was able to enjoy food without feeling restricted and quote, now that is just a sampling of wins from the Whitson weights physique university community over the first few weeks. And I asked you now to tell me could you spot or can you spot what they all have in common? Now I know you can actually answer me here. But rhetorically, the common theme with all of these comments is, they are all simple practical wins focused on consistency on daily habits, on enjoying the process. And the process ultimately produces the progress, right? They're not about quick fixes. They're not about losing 20 pounds in one week, saying no to particular foods or activities, or punishing yourself to get a result. There simply positive affirmations from people who are expanding their comfort zone. They're doing it in the right way. They are starting to shift both their bodies and their minds their perspectives in the pursuit of better health, which just so happens will also get them a better physique and more confidence along the way. Now, all of these students in WWE pu are then able to ask questions, get support, join live calls, watch courses to level up their knowledge and share their success with other curious like minded and very ambitious individuals who are seeking to become their best selves, even in their 30s their 40s their 50s and beyond. And we're just scratching the surface of what students will be achieving in Whitson weights physique University. So if you're curious what it's all about, just head over to Whitson weights.com/physique or click the link in my show notes. That's winsome weights.com/physique. Alright, one more thing related to today's topic on body recomp. So my friend and fellow podcaster Jeff hain, you may already know him he's the host of the mind muscle connection. Definitely follow his show. If you don't already. It's been in my feed for quite a long time. That's Jeff Hain H O Ehn. And he and I recorded a co hosted q&a coming out on May 3 for episode 169 and Jeff is all about body recomp. He has a free work Shut up, like that's his thing these days. So wanted to give him a shout out. Given that that is the topic of today's episode on Whitson weights, and he was on our show as a guest way back on episode 66. And on that show, we talked about sustaining your fat loss results at maintenance, which is somewhat related, not entirely, right, because that's after going through a fat loss phase. But I wanted to mention that, and I'm going to include a link to that episode in the show notes, as well as some other episodes that I referenced today. But I bring this up, because if you want to be 100% sure that you don't miss our upcoming q&a, where we answer questions on menopause, weight loss resistance, bulking without getting fat, whether you should be dieting during periods of low sleep, and more, there are six questions in total from our two communities together, I want you to pause right now, and click the Follow button in your podcast app. Alright, you're gonna get notified of the episode when it comes out. And as a side benefit, the more people that follow the show, you know, who actually click that button, the more people who can find the show, because Apple and Spotify they tend to prioritize followers, right, it used to be called subscribers and other called followers just make it confusing. And they prioritize those over just individual episode downloads. And also, as much as I love ratings and reviews, and I really would love you to take time to go out and review in Apple right now, feel free to pause and go do that. As much as I love that. And it's great for social proof, the best thing for the algorithm is to follow the show. So again, pause the episode right now, go to the Show page in your app and tap the Follow button to support the show and get notified of future episodes. Alright, so let's get into today's topic, the body composition blueprint recomp to build muscle and lose fat at the same time, body composition, right what the cool kids call body recomp. Now, actually, body recomp is a pretty common casual term for this. And body composition tends to be the slightly more formal term. But it's the same thing. And today, I want to lay out this blueprint for how to do it how to successfully build muscle and lose fat at the same time, which is an approach that really can completely transform your physique. In fact, it is the underpinning of everything we do, even when we talk about cuts in bulks, and I'll explain why when we get there. It's often misunderstood. Because you might have heard, it's impossible to gain muscle and lose fat simultaneously. Or it's very hard to do it. Or it can only be done by brand new lifters or people who are very obese. Right? I might have mentioned things like that myself, honestly, I might have said things like, and really it's only good for newer lifters. But we have to think about context. And we have to define body recomp. And what we mean and I think there's a broader term, a broader definition I'm going to use in today's episode, that will give you some clarity and some options as well. And some flexibility which we love here. And people will say well don't you have to focus on one goal at a time either bulking up or cutting fat? Well, it turns out that that's not necessarily the case. Or it's not doesn't have to be as extreme as you think in either direction. And that's what we're gonna talk about today. So with the right strategies with the right mindset with the right knowledge and options, you can definitely achieve body recomp and sculpt that leaner more muscular physique, using a slightly different approach than just going all out on cuts and books. So as always, definitions are important. So let's define exactly what we mean by body re composition. Okay, body re composition, I want to be clear. So body composition just refers to the amount of fat and muscle you have. Body recomposition refers to simultaneously decreasing your body fat percentage while increasing your lean muscle mass, thus improving your overall look your overall leanness, and your overall body composition, re composition. So you're not just focusing on one aspect, like scale weight, or just on body fat. It's really the whole thing doing it at the same time. But the same time is kind of a flexible term we're going to get to in a bit. Now there's plenty of evidence that supports the viability of body recomp. Even in trained individuals, not just newbies, so trained individuals, one that I like is a 2020 article by Chris bear caught at all Chris Bearcat. And you probably know Chris, he's been on a ton of podcasts, I really need to reach out and get him on the show. If you're listening man, or if anybody else is listening, who paid my friend Jeff hay and anybody else my podcasters who know Chris and want to hook us up, feel free to give me an introduction, but either way, I'm gonna reach out. He and his colleagues had an article titled, body composition can trained individuals build muscle and lose fat at the same time. And it concluded that quote, despite the common belief that building muscle and losing fat at the same time is only plausible in novice slash obese individuals. The literature provided supports that trained individuals can also experience body composition, individuals training status, the exercise interventions, and their baseline body composition can influence the magnitude of muscle gain and fat loss risk. assistance training coupled with dietary strategies has been shown to augment this phenomenon and quote, alright, we also see this play out anecdotally all the time when I'm working with coaching clients, because I can't tell you how many clients I've worked with who stayed the same weight on the scale. And sometimes they maybe didn't want to stay the same way early on, at least they wanted that quick win of fat loss. But they ended up staying the same way it might have even looked like a little bit of a plateau, or they even gained a tiny bit of weight. But then their physique completely transformed, their waist size went down, their clothes fit better, they look better in the mirror, they felt stronger, and, and they were standing taller, and all of those things, because they gain muscle and drop body fat simultaneously. And so the scale just doesn't tell the full story when it comes to the composition. And it also doesn't have to necessarily stay at maintenance, like stay the exact same for you to achieve body recovered can happen in different phases, which we'll get to. So why is re composition physiologically possible. And I'd like to dig a little bit into the underlying mechanisms underlying processes. And when we do that, it starts to make a little bit of sense. Because to lose stored body fat, you normally need a calorie deficit, right, you normally need to be dieting, eating less than you burn, you expend more energy than you consume, right? But okay, so that's for fat loss, that's to lose store body fat. But to build muscle mass, you don't necessarily need a net calorie surplus, what you need is sufficient protein and a muscle building training stimulus. Now, protein synthesis, muscle protein synthesis and fat lie policies are separate metabolic processes, they involve different tissues. And as long as you achieve a net deficit to tap into fat stores, while providing enough protein and training to build muscle, re composition can occur. And this is why it can be confusing. So the way I like to put it is, imagine you're eating just enough food to maintain your weight. And at the same time, your training is very effective. And you have plenty of protein. And so your body at this state where you're kind of like just maintaining your weight, you're training hard, you're having that protein, your body feels relaxed or safe enough, like it doesn't feel like it's threatened or in a deficit. Right. So it's safe enough to draw from the protein you're consuming, and to build a little extra muscle. But when it does that, when it prioritizes that because you're telling it, it's important with this training stimulus, it all of a sudden doesn't have that much energy left over for everything else, your body needs to stay at homeostasis. So then your body's all says, oh, I need to release a bit of energy from fat cells to make up the difference. And voila, you've added a bit of tissue over here, you've lost a little bit of fat over there, and you've maintained your weight. But it's as if you're in a slight surplus, it's as if you're in a slight surplus from the muscle building side of the process. I mean, it's pretty cool. It's like your body kind of thinks it has enough resources to build muscle and you're telling it, it's important. So it's going to do that. But then it realized that sacrificed some of the energy coming in over here, so it needs to release some fat. Now there's one other phenomenon, I didn't have it in my notes. But it came to mind when somebody has excessive weight to lose, and you go into a fat loss phase, right, you can still build muscle then as well like in a decently aggressive fat loss phase. Because you have so much fat, so much extra fat stored, that the body is able to pull from that without even feeling like you're in a deficit. And thus, also build muscle with that what appears to be a surplus, it's almost like a trick surplus, because you have all that extra stored fat. Anyway, those are some interesting mechanisms going on. That tell us why it is possible to do this. So what I want to do is talk about how recomp can play out for you based on your starting point. And I want to break it into three categories, losing weight, maintenance, and gaining weight because body recomp can occur in all three. It can also occur over the long term, which is not in the scope of today's show, but I am going to mention it when we talk about gaining weight. But losing weight maintenance and gaining weight are three scenarios where body recomp can occur. So right there, hopefully shattering a belief or myth that you might have that recomp is equivalent to maintenance because it's not equivalent, you can definitely recomp at maintenance, and it's the most common way people do it or try to do it. But you could also recomp losing or gaining. So we're just going to start with losing weight. But then we're gonna talk about maintenance and we're going to talk about gaining weight. So the first category is what is what people think of as like the dream scenario of recomp which is you can lose more body fat than you gain muscle but you're still doing both. In other words, your weight is actually going down and your measurements are going down as well. And you look leaner and more muscular rather than skinny fat because you're building muscle so you're losing fat, building muscle the same time you're actually losing more fat in terms of mass, you know, weight Eat, then you are gaining muscle, which means you also lose weight on the scale, a lot of people like really want this scenario because you kind of get wins on all sides, right, you get lighter on the scale, you get leaner looking, you get more muscle, it's all the best of everything. Now, this tends to be common in individuals who are pretty new to proper training and nutrition, because they have a lot of room for quick improvement on both fronts, right, they have a lot of room for the training side, because they've never given their body this amazing signal from their strength training. At the same time, they are properly dieting at the right rate of loss to induce a little bit of fat loss, but not so much that it threatens their body's resources to kind of clamp down and avoid building more muscle, you know, let alone lose muscle, right? That would have to be more aggressive dieting. So we're going to talk about the rates of loss in a later segment today when we get into nutrition. But that is the first scenario is your net loss in weight, while you're building a little muscle and losing fat. The second scenario is maintenance. Okay, this is gaining muscle, losing some body fat, not much change in scale weight. All right. So this would be like, Okay, so this is an interesting one, because you might maintain your weight, or this could also refer to over the long term you've gained and lost weight, and you've come back to the same scale way as you started. But in the process, you've added muscle and loss fat, we're not really talking about that one, because that's kind of cheating when I say body recon, because then everybody is doing body recover over time. If you're doing this the right way, right, if you're at some point building muscle, and at some point losing fat, and then it all kind of nets out. All right, that's not what I'm talking about. I'm talking about just staying at maintenance, more or less maintaining your body weight within, say, plus or minus three pounds, but you're slowly but surely, adding a little muscle losing a little fat, the weight on the scale doesn't change, your waist size continues to go down, you keep getting stronger, and it's all happening without any change on the scale. So again, for brand new lifters, this is totally possible. In fact, it's a very common and recommended approach that I use with clients is just stay at maintenance for a while to beginning. And you can even stay there for longer than a while, if you find it's getting great results. Because now you're not even worried about having to gain or lose weight, which adds an extra stressor and an extra level of planning and tracking. So the only other scenario, where I would say that this happens is once you've gone through some cuts and bulks and you've improved your body comp in the past, and you just want to maintain your physique, you know, staying at maintenance train really hard and not accidentally dieting for the most part, you can still slowly recover over time on top of it. So even advanced or trained individuals might consider this approach to body recomp. The third category is very, very, very slowly gaining weight, so modestly gaining being in a surplus and gaining a little bit more muscle than you would at maintenance, right, because at some point, especially the more advanced you are as a trainee, it's very hard to build extra muscle tissue without getting yourself in a little bit of a surplus. So this is most common and very well trained individuals who want to keep getting leaner, but they don't want to necessarily go through the bulk and cut cycles. And, you know, this is where we might be cocking your eyebrows and thinking, well, that's not really body recomp is it if you're gaining weight, but again, technically, it's not short term body recomp that would happen in maintenance, but it's potentially medium term, or kind of an efficient version of body recomp. Because you're spending some time slowly gaining muscle and then maybe a little bit of time doing a micro cut or a very slow conservative fat loss phase like you can pick one or the other. And it doesn't feel too extreme in either direction. So I would say that this is a bit different from the kind of more optimal or even aggressive muscle building phase. That's then followed by a moderate progressive cut, which I like to live in that state because I feel it's the most time efficient to get from A to B in terms of body fat percentage, and leanness, and muscle and strength and everything is the most efficient, and I enjoy kind of eating a bunch of food for a long time of the year. And then not taking too long to cut that off. Right. But some people might rather enjoy eating a moderate amount of food all throughout the year. And then when you're losing fat, you're still eating a moderate amount of food because it's not much different. So one might appeal to you and there's no wrong answer, there's no right or wrong answer, they're gonna result in slightly different timing, aggressiveness and results. The results gonna be the same at and long term. But you might see different results in the short term. Alright, so if you do things more slowly, but still biased toward one direction, like the gain weight and the lose weight part, this will produce body recomp over time without the larger swings that come from these very focused bulking cut cycles. And that might be an attractive reason to do it for a lot of you. Alright, so first you want to figure out which category you want to go after. Because you might have started listening to this episode thinking okay, he's gonna talk to me about maintenance. How do I do that? Oh, now I realized that there are options I might want to go in one direction or another. If you're a newer trainee, you might want to try a little bit of fat loss while you're recopying. Or if you're more advanced, you might want to try a little bit of the gain side. Then we're going to segue into my favorite topic which is using nutrition to optimize your body composition. In that context, whatever you choose, okay, it's going to depend on the three categories, which category you choose. So first, we need to nail down Calories. Calories are your energy balance that tells you which direction you're gonna go. And they're going to be pegged to your expenditure, your daily expenditure, also called your maintenance calories. And I've talked about this before. But just to reiterate, especially if you're new or not familiar with this topic, the best way to determine your maintenance calories is not an online calculator. And it is not your wearable device, it is tracking your food over about two to three weeks, tracking your weight over two to three weeks and seeing how one affects the other. If you eat 2500 calories every single day and your weight doesn't change one ounce over that two weeks, then you know your expenditure is 2500 calories. Now, the problem with this approach is it requires not only the tracking which tracking is fine, I'm perfectly cool tracking, I think tracking is a wonderful thing. It's the more tedious, laborious calculations based on what you've tracked, that can be tricky for some people, or downright overwhelming, scary or tedious. So this is where a tool or an app that can do this for you is going to be your best friend. From a practical standpoint, the one that I use is called macro factor. My clients use it my students and Whitson weights physique University use it. And it can calculate your expenditure, your true metabolism based on what you're eating and your weight. And then it can make adjustments weekly to your calories into your macros based on your goal. So it does everything for you. And if you want, okay, so here's what I'm gonna throw in as a goodie, for this episode, I made a video in which awaits physique University under a course called macro factor mastery, and it's how to download, do the initial setup and then set up your goal for maintenance and for recomp in macro factor walks you through the whole process with screenshots and everything on how to set up everything. So I actually put that on YouTube, it's unlisted, you can't get to it publicly. But I'm gonna put the link in the show notes for free for you as a podcast listener to go check it out. Okay, totally free, you don't have to opt in, you have to give me an email or anything. It's a YouTube link. It'll just take you right to the video. Check that out in the show notes on our episode resources. And I talked about it. So why am I telling you all this because to figure out what calories you need, you need to know your maintenance calories, the only way to do that is to know your true metabolism that how your body responds to your activities, and your food. And the best way to do that is track your weight and food over time. All right, then you're going to adjust your goal to either gain or lose or maintain. And then if you're gaining or losing, you want to pick a conservative rate, if we're going for body recomp, right, we're not going for cuts and bulks all out we're going for recomp. And then you'll have your surplus or your deficit relative to your maintenance calories. And then you can update that each week as your metabolism adapts. Okay, so now I'm going to give you some actual numbers that makes sense for most people that you can use. So obviously, if you're going to maintain, just eat around your maintenance, and you're good, so if you've burned 2500 calories, eat 2500 calories a day, more or less, and you're good. You know, if the next week your metabolism has gone up a bit, because you've got all these resources, your body feels relaxed, you don't have as much stress, or maybe you've got an extra few 1000 steps a day of walking, whatever causes that increase, you're going to eat 2600 calories, let's say, either way, you're going to eat in a way that maintains your weight. And I would prefer aiming a tiny bit above that, like up to 50 calories over on a daily basis. So you're gonna hit your protein, then you're gonna get in fats, and carbs. And so your calories come up to your maintenance, and you're gonna kind of overshoot that just a tiny bit every day. And I like that approach because it avoids accidentally dieting, and accidentally being under fueled. Because my opinion is if you're going to maintain your weight, you might as well do it in the most fueled, fed, you know, resource, abundant state rather than slightly under fed constantly where you get symptoms of dieting, like hunger. And there's no reason for that. I mean, the only reason you think there's a reason is you're afraid of gaining all this weight. But if you're properly tracking, if you're using an app like macro factor, you're gonna be very precise, you'll know where you need to be. And if your weight does start to drift one way or the other, you can always adjust the other way. And it's a slow process. Right? So yeah, you risk the tiniest, tiniest bit of weight gain doing this, but it's well worth the being in that fed energized state all the time. And that's that maintenance. Okay. Hey, this is Philip and I hope you're enjoying this episode of wits and weights. I started Whitson weights to help people who want to build muscle, lose fat and actually look like they lift. I've noticed that when people improve their strength and physique, they not only look and feel better, they transform other areas of their life, their health, their mental resilience and their confidence in everything they do. And since you're listening to this podcast, I assume you want the same things the same success, whether you recently started lifting, or you've been at this for a while and want to optimize and reach a new level of success. Either way, my one on one coaching focused on engineering your physique and body composition is for you. If you want expert guidance and want to get results faster, easier, and with fewer frustrations along the way to actually look like you lift, go to Whitson weights.com, and click on coaching, or use the link in my show notes to apply today, I'll ask you a few short questions to decide if we're a good fit. If we are, we'll get you started this week. Now, back to the show.

Philip Pape  25:33

Now, if you want to lose weight, I would aim for the low end of the evidence based range to avoid muscle loss, but still make progress. And that is point two 5% of your body weight per week. Alright, so a quarter percent of your body weight per week. So let's say you weigh 200 pounds, that's half a pound a week. And if you do the math, based on 3500 calories per pound, that's a 250 calorie deficit, which is enough to move the needle. But it's not anywhere close to the regime of potentially losing muscle, or getting into those real dieting. Biofeedback, states have lots of hunger and potentially higher stress and lower sleep and so on. Right, it's only 250 calorie deficit, it's really not that much. Alright, and remember, we're trying to possibly add more muscle tissue even while losing weight. So we can't go that aggressive. But we don't want to go so slowly that we're really just at maintenance anyway. Right. So that's where I think the point two 5% body weight a week is reasonable. And then if you want to gain I would also aim for the low end of what we have found is the evidence based range of actually gaining muscle and not just being a maintenance. And that's pretty conservative. It's point 1% of your body weight per week. So let's say you weigh 150 pounds, that's only point one five pounds per week, that's like a 55 calorie surplus. And that's barely above maintenance. As I said earlier, even at maintenance, I aim for up to about 50 calories over. So when you're trying to deliberately build weight over time, you know, 55 calories for 150 pound person, which for a 200 pound person is going to be like, you know, 75 calories is not that big of a difference, it's enough to kind of push the needle and make sure that you're building that muscle, but then it's not so much that you can also potentially lose fat at the same time. Okay. Now, once you've got your calories set, you can then peg your macros accordingly. And you're going to aim for point seven to one gram of protein per pound of your target body weight. Now your target body weight may not be that far from your current body weight. So to simplify, it could just go with the current body weight, and I would be closer to the one gram per pound since we're going for recomp. So to simplify all of what I just said protein, around one gram a pound for what you weigh right now. So if you weigh 180 pounds, aim for 180 grams of protein, right? Because it is body recomp. I want you to bias the protein a little higher than if we were just in one of the more extreme phases for fat, I would get in somewhere around 20 to 30% of your calories for general health for hormone production, all of that. And then the rest goes toward carbs. There's a lot of flexibility of fats and carbs. I've mentioned this in the past on this show. But carbs are really important, especially if you're a main, you know, in either of these phases, because in all three of these potential phases, you're not that far from maintenance, so you should have a reasonable amount of calories to work with. And carbs are always your friend when it comes to training, performance, you know, fueling your workouts, partitioning nutrients toward muscle building instead of fat storage and recovering from your workouts as well. They just helped me feel great, they give you energy. And for many of us practically we love to eat food that contains carbs as well fruit, starches, grains, you know all of that. So there you go. That's the basic nutrition for those three categories of recon. Now, Perry workout nutrition, by Perry, we mean around your workout. So before during after kind of within a couple hour window of that workout. Perry workout nutrition is super important. But before we go there, I want to take a tangent on training on your workouts for a second because this is the only time I'm going to discuss that today. I'm always assuming that if you're listening to this show strength training is important and you understand the value of it. But I do have to reiterate that all of the other stuff we talked about today is kind of irrelevant. If you're not training, right. Most of today's discussion is about nutrition and lifestyle, but it assumes your strength training and doing it effectively to give your body plenty of stimulus for muscle growth that is just default. That's assumed because for body recomp we're trying to build muscle and lose fat at the same time. So the premise is you're doing something to build muscle, right? The doing both at the same time part is what's tricky, and that's why I'm covering most of these other topics today. But good timing on this episode because if you want all the details behind effective training principles, I did recently cover them all in Episode 162, which is titled bodybuilding for everyday lifters who want to build their dream physique. And I'm gonna link that one in the show notes as well. So If you want to get into details on all these principles, check that episode out. It's actually one of my favorites personally that I made for the show. And it's a recent one as well. So I think you'll like that. But in summary, what do we mean by effective training or training hard, I think it means three things. Okay. And I usually state these things in a similar kind of approach. Whenever I talk about this, it's generally the same things. And we're talking principles here not programming. And in all of that, number one, it means training close to failure, most of the time, within one to three reps of failure, depending on the movement. That's the first one. Number two, it means progressing in load reps, set some combination of these things over time, what we call progressive overload. And number three, it's training with sufficient intensity and execution, using movements that build strength and muscle, right. And this is really important the intensity and the execution, because if you're not doing it, right, it's not the other things aren't going to matter. And beyond your initial training phase of like your first few weeks, or maybe even the first few months, if you're on the weaker end, this is going to include free weights, like barbells, like dumbbells, combined with machines and cable machines, things like that as needed, you know, stuff that you would find in a gym. So not only does proper training build muscle mass, of course, which is one very important half of the body recomp equation. It also has three other benefits for body recomp that I want to reiterate today. All right, benefit number one, muscle tissue is metabolically very active, it's way more active than fat tissue, meaning it burns a ton of calories even at rest. And this increased muscle mass thus boosts your basal metabolic rate your metabolism, and so you burn more calories throughout the day. And that can aid in fat loss while you're maintaining or increasing muscle mass. So it's not a huge impact. I've talked about this before, maybe six to nine calories per pound of muscle mass that you add to your body. But even like an extra 50 calories a day, when we're talking recomp can make all the difference. Number two, the second benefit of muscle mass, and building muscle mass, when you're engaging in training, the strength training itself has a massive positive impact on your hormonal response. Because your hormones start to shift to facilitate the muscle growth and the fat metabolism all of it, it increases testosterone, it increases growth hormone. And both of those are vital for muscle synthesis, and for the breakdown of fat cells. So you get this two for one hormonal milieu is the French word they like to use of Perfect Storm toward building muscle and losing fat that gets accelerated just through the act of strength training. And then benefit number three, muscle mass is denser. So you can look lean and toned at a higher body weight, which tends mean even burn more calories and thus fat without needing to lose as much weight. So you can that's like another way to recomp kind of in a backdoor approach. Right? So you could just not have to lose as much weight. And so you can recomp in that way. Now we've established I think, why every single person listening to the show should be resistance training. If your goal is to improve your body composition and get a fantastic physique, period, bar none. If you listen, and you're a runner, and you don't strength train at all. And you reach out to me say I need some help with my nutrition, I'm going to say what's your training look like? And if you tell me, here's when I run, I'm going to say Well, where's the strength training and you say, I don't wanna say alright, come back to me, because you've got to be strength training, if you care about your physique, and your body composition, which all of this contributes as well to your health. This is why I love this so much. And I'm passionate about muscle mass and strength training because it helps everything. It makes everything easier, even yes, you're running. So let's continue and talk briefly about workout nutrition after I went on that long tangent, my recommendation here is that you simply want to book and your training. Alright, a little before a little bit after you've got flexibility in the amount of time you don't have to eat or drink in the middle of your workout unless you're starting it fasted potentially. But for the most part, you want to bookmark it with some easy digesting proteins and carbs. This is going to fuel your workout, it's going to kickstart your recovery after it's gonna help with muscle protein synthesis. So something like you know whey protein, quick carbs, like fruit, I love bananas, you know, rice cakes, I know. I know someone who loves you know, Rice Krispie treats I'm not huge on using ultra processed foods for a lot of this stuff, but hey, it can work and then you know, and that's like your pre workout then your post workout can have a little more variety, maybe even a little bit of fat in there. Only reason we don't want much fat pre workout isn't simply slows your digestion, which means you would just have to eat more protein and carbs or or you have more stomach, you know, digestive issues having more food in your stomach. So yeah, a little bit of fat after in your post workout. Like for me, it's oatmeal peanut butter, love it. And I would aim to split your protein evenly across your meals and get anywhere from like a third to two thirds of your carbs in the peri workout period, depending on how many carbs you're working with. So if you're in fat loss and you have less to work To quit, it may be a smaller percentage because or no, it actually may be a bigger percentage, because you have fewer calories, right, and you're trying to keep the amount of carbs around your workout roughly the same, whether you're in fat loss or not. So when you're in fat loss, you're basically siphoning most of those carbs around your workout, I've seen it to the point where like almost all your carbs around your workout, because the calories are fairly low. But that's also why we don't want the fats to be too high and take away from the carbs, or even the protein to be much higher than it needs to be to give you room for your carbs. So that was just my little thing on Perry workout nutrition, as far as just a general principle, but also in the context of body recomp to make sure everything is fueled properly for maximum results. Now, it's not just about calories and macros, we know there are a lot of other things here, nutritionally and otherwise. On the nutrition side, I think micro nutrition, I think hydration, electrolytes, they all impact our performance and body composition. And here, we're just going to stick to basic principles, focusing on whole nutrient dense foods 80% of the time, you can leave the other 10 to 20% for whatever you want for your indulgences so that you don't over restrict you don't feel deprived, always be drinking plenty of water and liquids, don't fear, you know, sodium, potassium, all of that. This is where I like fruits like bananas for your electrolytes, and especially around your training, because that's when you need it to support the fluid balance. And it helps with muscle contractions and avoiding cramping and things like that as well. So that's all I'm gonna say on micros and hydration, just the basics of mostly Whole Foods, a lot of variety of foods, don't put any foods off limits, and so on. And then beyond nutrition, you know, optimizing your health and hormone status is also important for recomp. Because, you know, recomp is, I don't want to put this like, because we're not going all out on a bulk or a cut. We want to play with some of these variables and make sure they're they're fine tuned a little more because the progress isn't as visible in the short term assay, then with the other approaches where the biofeedback signal tends to be more amplified. So if you know, if your sex hormones are out of whack testosterone, estrogen, progesterone, you're not gonna be able to gain muscle or lose fat effectively. And so biofeedback signals like low libido, for recovery, like stubborn fat retention, which I know that's kind of a subjective one, because we all gain and lose fat in different areas, some of us just happen to, you know, gain it in our stomach where we don't want it or again and I but where we do or don't want it. And I say that do or don't want it because but fat can be helpful to some people, all right, and you can get blood work as well, like a before and after. So here, like your lifestyle practices are all going to be dialed in, if you're going for body recomp. Besides the nutrition and the training, we've got stress management, we've got sufficient sleep, like all of these are going to support your hormones, especially sleep, I mean, I can't overestimate the value of sleep for your hormones. And then one other little one is alcohol. I mean, the less alcohol the better. It's going to be for your hormones as well. Ideally, no alcohol, but again, practicality lifestyle, I get it, you know, do what works for you, and see how you respond. Thyroid, specifically I want to call out the more I learned about the thyroid, the more I think it deserves its own category, because if your thyroid is under functioning, your metabolic rate will be slower. And it's gonna be harder to eat enough food and being where you need to be to change your body composition. And so I still think lifestyle for the most part is going to work for most people and most women, you know, because men are affected by thyroid as well thyroid conditions. But if you want to get your labs done proactively, if you suspect an issue, get your T three and T four checked, you know the ratio, but continue to focus on all these strategies, right calories carbs, not over restricting, getting into your key micros for thyroid health. That would be iodine, selenium, zinc, foods that contain those supplementation as needed, so that your thyroid produces the hormones and keeps your metabolic rate where it needs to be. Alright, so other aspects of biofeedback in general health would be your digestion, your circadian rhythm, right, like having a consistent daily routine and schedule for your sleep, your waking and sleeping cycle, but even your eating cycle, even your walking cycle, believe it or not, like your body starts to get used to these rhythms and tend to go in a more relaxed state when things are consistent, and thus keeping your metabolic rate higher and you can eat more food and recomp more easily. sleep and stress we already mentioned because they can affect your ability to lose fat and gain muscle. So you just got to audit your lifestyle see where you can upgrade your habits outside the gym. Everything works together synergistically. If you are for example, in our program, right, if you're lifting weights, physique university, you have a biofeedback tracker, and we can easily see on a week to week basis, what is going on relative to the other things and if you're struggling or if you hit a plateau or you know something's not going the direction you want. We can take all that data together, we can take your calories and macros your food intake, we can take your scale weight, we take your body measurements, and we can take your biofeedback and see where the patterns are. So and you can do the same thing for yourself. Fine Generally, don't underestimate the importance of mindset. I know, I often put it last on the list. For whatever reason, I think we just do this inherently. And yet mindset could be the first thing on the list for a lot of this. And for a lot of you listening, you know exactly what I mean. Like, you may know all this stuff I'm telling you today, you may know exactly what numbers to use for yourself, you may be doing many of these things. And yet the mindset comes in, in places like getting impatient or not being consistent or not trusting the process. So the antidote to those is be patient consistency, trusting the process, you know, you're training hard, you're eating in a slight deficit, let's say if you're doing the lose weight version of this, and maybe you're not seeing a huge drop in scale weight right away, because you shouldn't, you shouldn't. And yet, in your mind, you might be thinking, Oh, I'm trying to get this body comp, and also the scales not budging as much as I'd like. And it's easy to get discouraged. If you're only focused on the day to day or only on specific metrics, we need to collect all this stuff, but at the same time, not get hung up on any one number. On any short time horizon. Keep your eyes on that bigger picture. But while you're doing that, I do want you to celebrate small victories along the way. We just don't want to overemphasize victories and aren't really victories, like, Oh, my weight dropped a pound yesterday. I don't think that's really a victory. I don't, because I would never want to overreact to weight dropping or gaining in one day ever, I want to look at it over two or three weeks, over, let's say, three weeks, you can say, hey, the combination of things that I'm tracking shows me that I built a little muscle, I lost a little fat, here's why, you know, my waist size went down by half an inch, my biceps went up by half an inch, and my scale weight went down by you know, two pounds over the three week trend. Hey, you know, I'm pretty happy with all of that, that's pretty good. I'm headed in the right direction. That's cool. You know, like, we can definitely celebrate those things. But I would also celebrate the small victories on a daily basis, like the things you are doing, to me, those are the victories worth celebrating, I did this thing that I committed to doing. And because I did that thing, I know it's going to later on produce a result. And I know that it will be worth it. When I unveil that strong, lean, muscular physique that I've built through the process, the process. So go back to the quotes that I said earlier from our community, and their wins. And you saw that all of those wins. Were from this healthy and positive mindset of the process. Like I did this every day, I was consistent. I didn't have to deprive myself, it wasn't I lost X weight on the scale, right? We can still celebrate those results when they come. But if we focus on the day to day in the process, it's you're almost not going to care when the result happens, because it will have been happening the whole time. And you'll have been enjoying the process. So that's kind of the mindset piece of recomp, because it can be harder to see the result happening. Now that's also in some ways you can argue for some people, that's why you like to do more aggressive boxing cuts, because you can see some of the result based numbers changing faster. And for some of us, we want those wins, too. And that's okay, there's no right or wrong, there really isn't it too, because right now I'm rehabbing my shoulder again, occasionally, it gets a little wonky. Since I've had rotator cuff surgery, it happens, I've been assured that this is totally normal. And yet, I'm the type of guy that wants to push I want to grow, I want to keep going I want to improve. And it can be a little bit frustrating when I know I have to come out of my fat loss phase, I have to tone down my intensity tone down my volume workout fewer days a week. But I know that doing all those things will produce a result. So what do I take pleasure, and I take pleasure in the fact that my shoulder has more range of motion each day and is feeling less pain. And I know that that is a result based thing, but it's also process. It's showing me that every day that I put into doing these things, I'm getting what I want out of it. And even though I'm kind of at maintenance, let's call it I am getting a ton of winds every day as a result, that will set me up for going back into a more aggressive phase at some point from a healthier standpoint. So that's my little personal story there. Some final thoughts on body recomp body recomp is absolutely possible. It can be a highly effective approach for a lot of people to completely transform your physique it really can and for and or but for many individuals using more aggressive bulks and cuts will be the most time efficient way to achieve long term body recomp. But many of you might prefer this more casual approach that doesn't get too extreme in either direction. And guess what these choices are part of the flexibility and the sustainability in everything we do and talk about on this show and with our coaching approach and in our community and in which awaits physique University. This is the fun part about it. It's not sexy, it doesn't sell you know, 30 pound fat loss in three weeks, but it sells you a lifetime of joy because you can have such a flexible, individualized for you approach that Just is totally in sync with your life. And I know so many of you want that. And I strive on this show to show you how to do it practically and take actual steps. And it's not just lip service, right? And whichever way you want to go, right losing fat, building muscle, you know, quickly or simultaneously over the long term. Either way, doing all these practices, the right way is how you will achieve that lean, strong, athletic look you want. So the exact way it plays out is going to depend on your starting point. What do you have a lot of fat to lose, you're already lean, you want to focus on muscle gain, you're very well trained or you're, you know, just looking to etch in those final details in your physique and that symmetry, whatever the key principles are still the same train hard with sufficient intensity execution, volume progression, eat enough protein and carbs to support your muscle growth, while still achieving a modest, you know, fat loss either a deficit or in less of a surplus or at maintenance, optimize your Perry workout nutrition, or hydration, focus on nutritious Whole Foods, and pay attention to your health, your hormones, and your biofeedback not just your body composition because it all plays together synergistically. And this is where having an experienced coach or community to guide you through the process can make a huge difference. But regardless, I strive on the show to give you these blueprints to help you get started doing it on your own. You just have to be patient, consistent, keep showing up, keep putting in the work. And then your physique will transform before your eyes when you look back and you'll say Wow, look how far I've come. And that's it. That is what we do for body recomp. I hope this has been not only informative, but maybe a little bit eye opening. Given that there are so many ways there's so much flexibility in achieving recomp besides just maintenance, right and now you're inspired right you've got some ideas, you're ready to put these into action. And as I mentioned before, if you're interested in using macro factor to set up your body recomp phase without worrying about calculating your maintenance calories or your calorie macro targets. I'm giving you all a free video on how to set everything up in the app, screenshots and everything step by step. This video is from the macro factor mastery course in Whitson weights visit university but I'm giving you this video itself not the whole course. I'm giving you this video absolutely free no opt in no email, just click the link in my show notes for the free video on YouTube. It is unlisted, so you're not going to find it on my channel. It's it's exclusive to podcast listeners, you have to use the link in my show notes. You'll find it under episode resources. And go click it to get my free video on setting up macro factor for body recomp. Okay, in our next episode 167 optimizer thyroid. Hey, look at that perfect timing didn't plan it this way. Optimize your thyroid for hormone health metabolism and fat loss with Haley fountain. We're exploring thyroid health, which affects everything from your weight and your metabolism to your sleep and even your mental health. You'll learn how to manage your weight when you have a thyroid condition. The link between minerals and thyroid function and why exercise and nutrition are so important and what you should be doing, as well as how the mind body connection and sleep all play into thyroid health. So make sure to hit follow right now in your podcast app. Just pause before the episode finishes and deletes go hit follow go hit follow, and you'll get notified when that episode comes out. And you'll also be supporting the show. So as always, stay strong. And I'll talk to you next time here on the wits and weights podcast.

Philip Pape  48:35

Thank you for tuning in to another episode of wit's end weights. If you found value in today's episode, and know someone else who's looking to level up their wits or weights. Please take a moment to share this episode with them. And make sure to hit the Follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode. Until then, stay strong