Are Toxins Disrupting Your Metabolism? (Michele Scarlet) | Ep 445
27/02/2026 | 51 mins.
Are environmental toxins quietly slowing your body recomp? Or is the wellness industry selling you fear about things that barely matter? Functional diagnostic nutrition practitioner Michele Scarlet joins me to separate science from hype around metabolism, hormone health, and detox culture. We unpack what the research actually says about pesticides, plastics, cosmetics, and endocrine disruptors, and whether they truly impact weight loss, muscle building, and strength training results. We challenge extreme clean-eating rules, the fear around fruit and sugar, and the obsession with trendy detox protocols. Instead, we focus on practical, evidence-based nutrition and fitness strategies that support metabolism, liver function, and long-term body recomp. If you’re lifting weights, dialing in your macros, and still struggling to lose fat or build muscle, this adds the missing layer. Get Fitness Lab (20% off for listeners), the #1 coaching app that adapts to YOUR recovery, YOUR schedule, and YOUR body. Build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger with daily personalized guidance. Timestamps: 0:01 – Fear-based marketing in wellness 5:43 – Accumulation versus dosage 8:48– Ingestion versus exposure 11:15 – Cosmetics and chronic absorption 13:48 – Endocrine disruption and fat storage 21:35 – Breast implants and immune activation 28:58 – Why fruit is not the enemy 32:39 – When functional lab testing makes sense 35:15 – Detox support through nutrition 40:02 – How liver detox and bile really work 47:48 – When functional lab testing makes sense Episode resources: The 3 Lab Tests That Changed My Life on True Health Podcast Instagram: @michelescarlet_ Facebook Group: facebook.com/groups/213894783148245 YouTube: @michelescarlet_
📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40. 🎓 Join Physique University - Evidence-based strength training, nutrition coaching, and live coaching calls for adults over 40. Build muscle, master your macros, and lose fat with accountability. FREE custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN. 👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.
👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
You Know Enough About Nutrition and Fitness (Here's Why You're Still Stuck) | Ep 444
25/02/2026 | 37 mins.
You track your food. You lift. You can explain why protein matters for building muscle. So why hasn't your body changed? The gap between knowing what to do and getting results is not a discipline problem. It's a structure problem. And more nutrition and fitness information won't fix it. Philip breaks down what's actually missing for experienced lifters over 40 who have tried multiple programs and still feel stuck. Drawing intake data from hundreds of coaching clients, he explains why conflicting advice creates rational paralysis, why 49% of knowledgeable lifters still struggle with the basics, and the 3 specific things (sequencing, context, and feedback loops) that separate people who know what to do from people who get results. He also covers why this gap hits harder after 40, when hormonal shifts from perimenopause, menopause, and declining testosterone shrink the margin for error on both strength training and nutrition. If you've been doing "all the right things" and your body composition hasn't budged, this episode will reframe what's actually standing in your way, and what an effective solution looks like. Join the Eat More Lift Heavy waitlist to be the first to hear about a brand new structured asynchronous coaching process built for experienced lifters who have the knowledge but need sequencing, context, and feedback loops to finally close the gap between knowing and doing: https://witsandweights.com/eatmore Timestamps 0:00 - Knowing vs. doing (the real reason you're stuck) 2:02 - The information trap in nutrition and fitness 6:45 - Conflicting advice and analysis paralysis 11:25 - What's actually missing (it's not discipline) 14:30 - Sequencing: why 1 change per week beats 50 19:10 - Why generic plans fail lifters over 40 23:20 - Building feedback loops for your training and nutrition 27:10 - Structured asynchronous coaching 28:30 - What good coaching actually looks like 36:20 - The middle ground that barely exists in fitness
📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40. 🎓 Join Physique University - Evidence-based strength training, nutrition coaching, and live coaching calls for adults over 40. Build muscle, master your macros, and lose fat with accountability. FREE custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN. 👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.
👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Strength Training and Endurance Together (Without Killing Your Gains) | Ep 443
23/02/2026 | 32 mins.
Do you love endurance training AND want to build muscle, but you've been told you have to pick one? The "cardio kills gains" claim has been around for decades, and if you're over 40, it can feel like an impossible tradeoff between the activities you enjoy and the strength training your body needs. However, the "interference effect" on hypertrophy is negligible when sessions are structured correctly, and adults over 40 might have an advantage. Philip breaks down the evidence-based programming rules that let you combine strength training and endurance without compromising either. You'll learn about the session timing strategy backed by research, why running and cycling create different types of interference, the specific protein and carbohydrate targets concurrent trainees need (especially after 40), and how to monitor recovery so you know when to push hard and when to back off. If you want to stay strong, fit, and healthy for decades through both lifting weights and endurance work, this is your roadmap. Shoutout to listeners Richard G. (60+, cyclist) and Gerwyn (56, runner and cyclist) who both asked how to optimally balance endurance sports with strength training and nutrition. Try the Fitness Lab app to get daily adaptive coaching that adjusts your strength training and endurance programming week to week based on your priorities and recovery. Whether you're in a strength-focused block or transitioning to endurance prep, the Coach recalibrates your training, nutrition, and recovery plan as your focus shifts. Exclusive 20% off: https://bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20 Ask a question for the show: witsandweights.com/question Get your free Muscle-Building Nutrition Blueprint: witsandweights.com/muscle Timestamps 0:00 - Does cardio kill your gains? 2:07 - What the interference effect really means 5:05 - New evidence shrinks the interference effect 6:31 - Fatigue model vs. molecular myth 9:14 - 6-hour cardio scheduling rule 11:15 - Exercise order and same-day strategy 12:18 - Running vs. cycling for muscle building 15:03 - 80/20 cardio split 16:15 - How to program hybrid training 17:59 - Why over 40 benefits most 20:32 - Bone density and longevity 21:28 - Protein and carb targets for building muscle 23:10 - Creatine and sleep 27:10 - Bonus: 10-second morning recovery check
📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40. 🎓 Join Physique University - Evidence-based strength training, nutrition coaching, and live coaching calls for adults over 40. Build muscle, master your macros, and lose fat with accountability. FREE custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN. 👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.
👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Why "Moderation" Fails and What Actually Stops Binge Eating (Dr. Glenn Livingston) | Ep 442
20/02/2026 | 53 mins.
Why does “just eat in moderation” fail so often? Why do binge eating and emotional eating feel stronger than your willpower? I’m joined by psychologist and former food industry insider Dr. Glenn Livingston to break down what’s actually happening in your brain. We unpack the neuroscience of cravings and why a healthy brain can struggle in a hyperpalatable food environment. You’ll learn how food cues override hunger signals and quietly sabotage your nutrition and fitness goals. If you want to build muscle, lose fat, or improve body recomp, you need to understand why rigid calorie cutting and relying on willpower almost always backfire. That’s why we talk about engineering your environment instead of fighting yourself. We focus on structure, clear food rules, and reducing decision fatigue so you’re not negotiating with cravings all day. You’ll walk away with evidence-based strategies that make sustainable weight loss possible without constant mental friction. Get Fitness Lab (20% off for listeners), the over 40 coaching app that adapts to YOUR recovery, YOUR schedule, and YOUR body. Build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger with daily personalized guidance.
Timestamps: 0:00 – What cravings really are 6:25 – What causes cravings 13:25 – Managing triggers and food cues 21:29 – Extinction bursts explained 30:45 – Rules vs willpower 39:48 – Identity and habit engineering 51:50 – Free resources to defeat cravings
Episode resources: Free Book (and bonuses): Defeat Your Cravings - The Back Door to Weight Loss Facebook: facebook.com/profile.php?id=61550719047966 LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/drglennlivingston YouTube: @DefeatYourCravings
📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40. 🎓 Join Physique University - Evidence-based strength training, nutrition coaching, and live coaching calls for adults over 40. Build muscle, master your macros, and lose fat with accountability. FREE custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN. 👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.
👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Are Your Fitness Goals in Conflict? (Fat Loss vs. Muscle vs. Longevity vs. Endurance) | Ep 441
18/02/2026 | 37 mins.
Are you strength training, watching your nutrition, doing cardio, and still not seeing the fat loss or muscle gains you expected? The problem isn't effort. It's that your fitness goals are in conflict, physiologically fighting each other, and every week you train this way, you're getting further from all of them. Philip breaks down exactly why fat loss and muscle building require opposite nutritional environments, whether the interference effect from concurrent training can reduce your strength gains or hypertrophy, and why chasing peak performance can actually work against longevity. You'll learn the specific conditions where body recomp can work and the evidence-based approach that gets you to every goal faster. Take the free Fitness Lab quiz for a custom plan built around your primary goal (20% off with the link in the show notes: https://bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20 Whether your priority is to build muscle, lose fat, improve your endurance, or increase your longevity over 40, this episode gives you the framework to stop stacking goals and start making real progress. Philip also walks you through a 2-minute "Goal Audit" exercise you can do tonight to identify your primary focus for the next 12 weeks and put everything else on maintenance mode. Upgrade your recovery with Cozy Earth's bamboo pajama set and Classic Cuddle Blanket. Recovery is the one fitness goal that never conflicts with any other. Visit witsandweights.com/cozyearth and use code WITSANDWEIGHTS for up to 20% off. 100-night sleep trial, 10-year warranty. Timestamps 0:00 - Stop chasing every fitness goal simultaneously 1:02 - The SAID principle 5:13 - Why you can't lose fat and build muscle at the same time (and when you can) 9:04 - How real is the interference effect (does endurance training blunt strength gains)? 12:03 - When strength training and longevity goals conflict 17:41 - A 12-month plan for faster results 19:58 - How little training do you need to maintain your gains? 23:59 - The compounding effect of using nutrition phases and training blocks 28:40 - How to include cardio and other goals without hurting your primary focus 32:19 - Why recovery and sustainability are "meta" goals 38:10 - When body recomp and concurrent training actually work
📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40. 🎓 Join Physique University - Evidence-based strength training, nutrition coaching, and live coaching calls for adults over 40. Build muscle, master your macros, and lose fat with accountability. FREE custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN. 👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.
About Wits & Weights | Evidence-Based Fitness & Nutrition for Lifters Over 40
Wits & Weights is a strength and nutrition podcast where in every episode I put a popular piece of fitness advice under the microscope, find the hidden reason it doesn't work, and give you the deceptively simple fix that does.For skeptics of the fitness industry who are tired of following the rules and still not seeing results. If you've been lifting weights, tracking macros, and doing "all the right things" but your body composition hasn't changed, you're probably overcomplicating it. This is the fitness podcast that shows you how to build muscle, lose fat, and achieve a real body recomp by focusing only on what the evidence actually supports.Evidence-based fat loss coach Philip Pape brings an engineer's approach to strength training, nutrition, and metabolism. Instead of another generic program or meal plan, you get specific, science-based strategies for optimizing body composition, whether you're focused on building muscle, losing fat, or both. The focus is on strength training over 40, hormone health, perimenopause and menopause, and longevity.You've seen the conflicting advice. One expert says cut carbs, the next says eat more. One says train six days a week, another says three is plenty. Building the body you want doesn't have to be this confusing or time-consuming. By using your wits (systems + identity-based behavior change) and lifting weights, you can build muscle definition, improve your physique, and maintain your results for life without rebound weight gain.You'll learn smart, efficient strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle, and mindset, such as:- Why fat loss matters more than weight loss for both your health and your physique- Why all the macros, including protein, fats, and yes even carbs, are critical to body composition- How just 3 hours a week of proper hypertrophy training can deliver better results than most people get in twice that time- Why building muscle is the single most powerful thing you can do for metabolic health, longevity, and aging well- Why perimenopause and menopause don't have to derail your progress when your training and nutrition are dialed in- How shifting the way you think about fitness can unlock more physical (and personal) growth than any program aloneIf you're ready to learn what actually works with evidence-based training and nutrition, hit "follow" and let's engineer your best physique ever!Popular Guests Include: Mike Matthews (author of Bigger Leaner Stronger), Greg Nuckols (Stronger by Science), Alan Aragon (nutrition researcher), Eric Helms (3D Muscle Journey), Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (Docs Who Lift), Bill Campbell (exercise science researcher), Jordan Feigenbaum (Barbell Medicine), Holly Baxter (evidence-based physique coach), Laurin Conlin (physique coach), Lauren Colenso-Semple (nutrition researcher), Karen Martel (hormone optimization expert), Steph Gaudreau (women's strength and nutrition), Bryan Boorstein (hypertrophy coach)Popular Topics Include: hormone health, metabolism optimization, hypertrophy training, longevity and healthy aging, nutrition tracking, best protein powder selection, strength training over 40, women's fitness, perimenopause, menopause, muscle building, body recomp, macros and nutrition tracking
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