In this “Science Says” episode, we answer the question: which is better for weight loss: diet (a calorie deficit) or exercise (in the form of cardio)? Listen to find out—you might be surprised!

Whether you’re trying to lose weight, get healthier, increase strength or performance, or just look and feel better in your body, improving your body composition is the path to overall health. Everyone can benefit from improving their body composition, and today we’re diving into the topic, including its benefits and the most important priorities for achieving a leaner, healthier physique.

Today I am joined by Louise Valentine to talk about how to achieve sustainable fitness goals by doing less rather than more, how to work WITH our physiology and not against it, how to optimize health for women 35 and older, and actionable tips you can start applying right away to unlock your best health despite age, a busy life, or obstacles.

What if you have significant weight to lose—around 30 pounds or more? In this episode, we cover how to lose mostly fat, do it sustainably, and have the knowledge to do it whenever you want for the rest of your life. We’ll discuss what happens when you lose weight through chronic dieting, what I would do with a client who needs to lose significant weight, and step through the entire process to get successful, long-term results.

In our first “Science Says” episode, we answer the question: Can we build more muscle mass by evenly distributing protein throughout the day (primarily by increasing protein at breakfast if it is low to begin with)? 

If you could be in a calorie surplus for three-quarters of the year and constantly get leaner, would that appeal to you? You’re going to learn how to periodize your nutrition with cut and bulk cycles to get leaner and leaner by minimizing fat gain while maximizing muscle gain.

This episode is all about achieving LASTING results: finding that place where you no longer have to yo-yo diet, jump from one program to another, or feel like the only way to success is severe calorie restriction, excessive cardio, or short-term transformations.

We dive into 21 specific ways to measure progress toward your health and fitness goals, categorized into six areas: biometrics, biofeedback, nutrition, physical activity, behaviors, and self-awareness. We want to select the right measures for the job so we have clear, objective feedback that tells us whether we’re on track.

Should you continue my current health and fitness behaviors when you’re on vacation? If so, to what extent?

This topic may not seem exciting, but it could be the critical missing ingredient to your nutrition and recovery, whether everything else is dialed in or not. I’m talking about sleep: too little sleep, low quality sleep, irregular sleep, and poor sleep habits. Here are 25 ways to improve sleep.

Last year, I went under the knife for a microdiscectomy, a type of minimally invasive spine surgery where a portion of a herniated disc is removed using microsurgical tools. In this episode, I share my story of what happened, how I dealt with low back pain in the context of health and fitness, the surgery and recovery process, and lessons I learned along the way. 

In this episode, we cover how to maximize your lifting sessions regardless of where you train so you can get the most out of your workout without it taking forever, while also producing the results you want.

As a follow-up to the last episode on losing weight without losing muscle, I want to address the frustration many of us have experienced with either not being able to lose weight or hitting a plateau, usually in the form of scale weight no longer going down.

Today we’re tackling the “losing fat” part of getting lean. If you’re a late novice or intermediate lifter who has spent time in a building phase and is ready to “lean out” through a fat-loss phase, this episode is for you.

Today I want to talk about a refreshingly sustainable, enjoyable approach to getting lean by gaining weight! This episode is all about the benefits of using a nice, long building phase to develop muscle, increase your metabolism, and set yourself up for a much easier dieting phase later on.

After going through the process myself and talking with hundreds of other lifters, I wanted to share some thoughts to help you keep making progress and avoid some common pitfalls that could derail you.

I go over 7 “big priorities” for strength and fitness that, if you can do these at least 80% of the time, will help you accomplish your goals.