Fit Father Project Podcast

In Episode 308 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I sit down with Luke Storey — author, international speaker, spiritual teacher, and host of The Life Stylist — for a conversation that goes somewhere we haven’t gone in a while.

Not blood work. Not the hidden body systems. The stuff underneath it.

Here’s the uncomfortable truth. You can be doing everything right. Training four days a week. Hitting your protein. Sleeping eight hours. And still feel empty at the end of the day.

That feeling has a name, and it has a cost.

Loneli...

In Episode 307 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I sit down with Dr. Amie Hornaman — the Thyroid Fixer — to discuss something most men are missing: the thyroid panel your doctor isn't running.

Here's the uncomfortable truth. You go in for your physical. They check your TSH. It comes back "normal."

Your doctor says you're fine, hands you the paper, and sends you on your way.

But you're not fine.

You're gaining weight eating chicken and broccoli. You're exhausted by 2pm. You're cold all the time. You're counting hairs in the shower drai...

In Episode 306 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I close out our Blind Spots series (episode six of six) with the organ that ties the whole series together:

... Your eyes.

Here's something strange. Right now, each of your eyes has a real blind spot.

It's where your optic nerve leaves the eye, and there are no light receptors there at all. You've never noticed it because your brain quietly fills in the gap.

That same trick is why glaucoma is so dangerous.

About 4.2 million American adults have glaucoma. Nearly...

In Episode 305 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I continue our Blind Spots series — episode five of six — by uncovering one of the biggest kidney health blind spots in modern medicine:

...Almost nobody gets tested for urine albumin, the earliest warning sign of kidney damage.

More than 1 in 7 American adults have chronic kidney disease. Nine out of ten don't know it.

This organ runs your blood pressure, your red blood cell production, your active vitamin D, and your electrolyte balance — and it fails silently, with no pain, until something breaks.

I walk t...

In Episode 304 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I'm tackling a topic that almost never gets the attention it deserves — your liver, and the quietly devastating condition called fatty liver.

Most men think of their liver as the organ that "processes alcohol."

In reality, it's the central processing plant for your entire metabolism — regulating blood sugar, manufacturing cholesterol, producing bile, clearing hormones, and building your body's master antioxidant, glutathione.

Here's the problem: your liver has no pain fibers.

It never taps you on the shoulder to say something's wrong.

And...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I continue our Blind Spots series with a topic most men never think about until it's a problem: Hearing loss.

We walk through why age-related hearing loss (presbycusis) isn't some unlucky draw — it's the default trajectory of the human body, and it's already starting for a lot of you in your 40s and 50s.

I break down what's actually happening inside your inner ear, why listening becomes cognitively expensive as your hearing declines, and why that cognitive load gets pulled from the same bank account your br...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I take you inside a moment I'll never forget: standing in the middle of the Vatican, surrounded by Michelangelo's ceilings… and all I could think about was my armpits.

They were so swollen I couldn't let my arms hang at my sides without pain. I felt heavy. Foggy. Totally off — like my body was backed up.

Because it was.

What I was experiencing that day was a traffic jam in a system almost no one has been taught to think about: your lymphatic system.

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I'm kicking off a brand-new series I'm calling "Blind Spots" — parts of your health that genuinely matter but rarely get enough attention.

First up: your feet.

I open with the true story of Abebe Bikila, the Ethiopian marathoner who won Olympic gold in Rome in 1960 running barefoot over cobblestones after his shoes didn't fit — then won again four years later in Tokyo, becoming the first man to win back-to-back Olympic marathons.

That story sets up everything we cover: the anatomy of your feet (26 bones, 30+ join...

It's Episode 300 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, and I'm celebrating a massive milestone!

15 years since starting Fit Father, hundreds of episodes recorded, and thousands of videos produced. To mark it, I'm stepping outside the usual health-and-fitness format for something more personal.

This is part two of a two-part series, and where episode 299 covered the physical side — training, nutrition, sleep, recovery — this episode goes deeper into the mental, emotional, and spiritual lessons I've learned running Fit Father and Fit Mother for a decade and a half.

I'm not showing up today as your heal...

In Episode 299 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi steps away from the usual guest format to do something different — and personal.

As the show approaches its 300th episode, Dr. A sits down solo to share 10 of the most powerful physical health and longevity lessons he's learned over 15 years building the Fit Father and Fit Mother communities.

This is part one of a two-part series, covering the training, nutrition, sleep, and recovery insights that have shaped his own evolving approach to staying strong for life.

Part two — covering mindset, relationships, and fulf...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony sits down with Kiran Krishnan, microbiologist and Chief Product Formulator at Just Thrive, for one of the most eye-opening conversations on gut health we've ever recorded.

Kiran breaks down why chronic issues — anxiety, weight gain, brain fog, low energy — are often ecological problems in your gut, not genetic ones.

You have 22,000 genes, but you're carrying around 2.5 million microbial genes on top of that. As Kiran puts it, "you're not really an organism at all — you're a walking, talking rainforest."

Dr. Anthony and Kiran...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I make the case for the single most powerful longevity lever in exercise science: Cardiovascular training.

Pulling from major studies out of the Cleveland Clinic, the VA, and Copenhagen, I explain why VO2 max — your body's ability to take in and use oxygen — is a stronger predictor of how long you'll live than your weight, cholesterol, or even your muscle mass.

I state this clearly: This isn't an argument against lifting. Strength training is non-negotiable for your bones, blood sugar, and independence as you age. But I br...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, I sit down with Liz Plosser — former Editor-in-Chief of Women's Health, author of Own Your Morning, and a busy parent juggling three kids, a career, and a serious training schedule.

We break down one of the most overlooked tools in modern nutrition: essential amino acids (EAAs). This conversation goes beyond "eat more protein" and into the real science of how fast your body can actually use it.

Liz and I unpack what EAAs are, why leucine is the trigger switch for muscle building, and why men ov...

In episode 294 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with Dylan Gemelli, one of the most recognized voices in peptides, longevity, and the responsible use of anabolics.

Dylan opens up about his journey from college athlete to international male model to a 15-year prison sentence, and how a single conversation with his mother in a jail cell became the turning point that rebuilt his entire life from the ground up.

This isn’t a typical biohacking interview. Dylan and Dr. Anthony dig into the real foundation underneath sustainable health: personal accountability, ne...

In episode 294 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with Brent Yates, founder of AION, to break down the real science behind weighted vest training — and why adding load, compression, and heat to your daily walks and workouts could be one of the smartest longevity moves a man over 40 can make.

Dr. Anthony speaks from personal experience, having worn the AION vest daily on his morning walks with his dog Luna and during bodyweight training sessions, noticing more calorie burn, more sweat, and a genuine upgrade in workout quality without changing anything else.

n Episode 293 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony sits down with Cathy Eason from Berkeley Life, and a clinical nutrition practitioner with 30 years of experience, to break down one of the most overlooked molecules in men’s health: Nitric Oxide.

By age 40, your body has already lost nearly half of its ability to produce this critical signaling molecule — and by your 50s and 60s, production can fall to just 20% of youthful levels.

The drop is silent, but the consequences show up as low energy, poor circulation, high blood pressure, reduced exercise performance, and even...

In Episode 292 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi reveals why most men are unknowingly leaving one of the most important entry points to their health wide open — their mouth.

This is a practical, science-backed deep dive into how your oral health directly shapes your heart health, circulation, sleep, immune system, and even the structure of your face.

Dr. A breaks down five key areas: the mouth-heart connection, nitric oxide production through the oral microbiome, the critical role of nasal breathing, the ancient practice of chewing mastic gum, and what your tongue coating ca...

In Episode 291 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi makes the case for something most men have completely stopped doing — spending real, intentional time connected to nature.

We are the most nature-deprived generation in human history, with most people spending 90% of their time indoors, and Dr. A explains exactly why that matters for your health.

This episode walks through three powerful, science-backed pillars: grounding (direct skin contact with the earth), forest bathing (mindful time among trees), and sunshine (the master regulator of your body clock).

Dr. Anthony explains the physiology behind ea...

In Episode 290 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony sits down with Caroline Alan, the founder of Beam Minerals and author of the new book The Mineral Reset.

They settle in for a deep, eye-opening conversation about the most overlooked driver of low energy, poor sleep, brain fog, and declining health: mineral deficiency.

Caroline shares her personal story of complete health collapse in 2010 and how full-spectrum plant-based minerals transformed every symptom she had struggled with for years.

Together, Dr. A and Caroline break down the difference between isolated mineral supplements and the...

In Episode 289 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi takes a deep dive into one of the most urgent and underappreciated health threats of our time: microplastics and nanoplastics.

While most people know to avoid drinking from single-use plastic bottles, this episode goes far beyond the obvious.

Dr. A explains the critical difference between microplastics and nanoplastics, breaks down the five mechanisms by which plastic damages the body, and exposes the hidden sources of plastic exposure most people never think about, including tea bags, table salt, cookware, clothing, seafood, and grocery store receipts.<...

In Episode 288 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with Andy Rioux, a Fit Father member since 2017, to unpack nearly a decade of real-world transformation.

Andy shares how he went from 336 pounds, pre-diabetic, and exhausted to losing over 100 pounds — and then doing it all over again after a blip.

This is an honest, inspiring conversation about what sustainable fat loss actually looks like when life keeps throwing curveballs: a pandemic, COVID, a family health crisis, and the slow creep of old habits.

Andy walks through the exact tools that fi...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with cardiac surgeon Dr. Philip Ovadia for a deep dive into the nutritional side of heart disease.

Dr. Ovadia shares how his own journey from morbid obesity and pre-diabetes to optimal health at 52 completely transformed his approach to medicine, and why he now dedicates his life to keeping people off his operating table.

Together, they dismantle decades of conventional wisdom around cholesterol, statins, and dietary fat, and reframe heart disease prevention around its true root causes: inflammation and insulin resistance.

Episode 286 of the Fit Father Project Podcast - Dr. Anthony Balduzzi breaks down the difference between simply exercising and actually training your body for longevity. This is a powerful mindset shift for men who want more than just consistency. They want strength, energy, resilience, and independence as they age.

Dr. A explains why muscle is one of the most important organs for metabolic health, blood sugar control, insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial function, and healthy aging. He also shows how exercise activates protective pathways in the body that support recovery, repair, and long-term vitality.

Most importantly, this...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Episode 285, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi explains why staying young is not just about having muscle or good heart health. It is also about staying fast. He makes the case that one of the most overlooked aspects of longevity is your ability to react quickly, turn muscles on fast, and keep your nervous system sharp.

Dr. Anthony breaks down the difference between strength and power, explains why rapid force development matters so much in real life, and shows how speed plays a key role in balance, fall prevention, athleticism, and...

In Episode 284 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi shares a deeper layer of nutrition that many people miss: polyphenols. While most men think healthy eating starts and ends with protein, calories, and carbs, this conversation explains why compounds found in olive oil, berries, cacao, coffee, tea, apples, onions, walnuts, pomegranates, and spices may be one of the real keys to long-term health.

Dr. A explains how polyphenols help support healthy blood vessels, metabolic health, insulin sensitivity, gut function, brain health, and lower inflammation. He also makes the topic practical by walking through 10 of his...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi breaks down what is really happening in the body during seasonal allergy season and why histamine can make spring feel miserable for so many men. This is Episode 283, and it is a practical, research-backed guide to understanding mast cells, histamine release, pollen exposure, and the most effective ways to calm the allergic response naturally.

Dr. Anthony walks through a simple three-part framework: reduce your exposure, mechanically clear pollen from the nasal passages, and support the body with smart nutrition, gut support, targeted supplements, and when...

A lot of men think they have a motivation problem. But in Episode 282, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi explains why the real issue is often something deeper: a lack of mission. When your health becomes nothing more than maintenance, routines can start to feel flat. But when there is a real challenge, a target, a deadline, or a meaningful test on the calendar, something powerful comes alive again.

Dr. Balduzzi explores why men thrive when they have something worth rising toward, and how the “warrior” dimension of the male spirit is less about aggression and more about purpose, discipline, and...

In Fit Father Project Podcast Episode 281, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi explores how to calm your mind and reduce anxiety naturally by understanding what anxiety really is: not a character flaw, but a nervous system state that does not feel safe. In this episode, he explains the powerful connection between the body, the brain, and emotional wellbeing, and why true calm begins by restoring safety from the inside out.

Dr. Anthony walks through the biggest “safety levers” you can pull each day, including proper breathing, movement, balanced blood sugar, hydration, reduced screen stimulation, time in nature, gratitude, forgiveness, and medi...

Bloating can make you feel heavy, uncomfortable, and completely off. In Episode 280, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi breaks down what bloating actually means, why it happens, and how to start reducing it by understanding your body instead of just masking the symptoms.

He explains how food choices, meal complexity, eating speed, digestive stress, microbiome health, and even the order you eat foods can all shape how your body feels after a meal. You’ll also hear practical strategies to help you identify your biggest triggers and build meals that leave you feeling lighter, cleaner, and more energized.

If...

Alcohol after 40 hits differently—especially when it comes to sleep quality, cravings, recovery, and fat loss. In this solo episode, Episode 279, Dr. Anthony breaks down what actually happens in your body when you drink, why alcohol gets metabolic priority, and how to make smarter choices without derailing your goals.

You’ll also learn why alcohol can make you feel sleepy but still wreck your sleep quality (especially REM), and why that ripple effect can hit impulse control, recovery, blood sugar, and motivation the next day. Dr. Anthony closes with practical “drink smarter” rules, the healthiest choices if you do d...

Travel routines are the difference between coming home proud and coming home feeling like you need to start over. In today’s episode, #278, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi shares a simple system to stay consistent while traveling, even when your schedule is packed and your environment is totally different.

You’ll learn Dr. Anthony’s four anchors for travel routines: nutrition, movement, hydration, and sleep. From airport strategy and a travel fuel kit, to restaurant ordering defaults and a simple sleep kit, these routines help you keep momentum without killing the fun.

Missed Part 1 or 2 of this series...

In Episode 277 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi breaks down why your best mornings are built the night before. If you are eating clean and working out but still waking up tired, sleep is often the missing piece that makes everything else harder.

You will learn a simple framework where every evening routine has three jobs: set the clock, lower arousal, and protect the sleep cave. Dr. A explains how light, meal timing, and screen habits affect melatonin and deep sleep. He also shares practical tools like a wind-down rule, hot shower timing, breathing...

This week, in Episode 276 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi kicks off a 3-part series on routines by zooming in on the one that sets the tone for everything: your morning. He shares what’s actually worked for him across different seasons of life—and why your routine should evolve as your life evolves.

You’ll learn a simple “3-bucket” framework (physical, mental, spiritual), how to identify your non-negotiable anchors, and how to drop the “shoulds” that create friction. Plus, Dr. A explains how to shrink habits when life gets hectic, and why missing one day is fin...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with FFP Coach Steve Roy for a deeply human conversation about resilience, fatherhood, and why fitness is about far more than aesthetics. Steve opens up about his personal journey—from a painful childhood and early struggles with confidence, to discovering fitness as a pathway to strength, purpose, and service.

Together, they explore how movement becomes medicine during life’s darkest seasons, why “showing up” matters more than motivation, and how physical practice can anchor us through grief, stress, and uncertainty. This episode is a powerf...

In Episode 274 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi concludes his 3-part series on the art of health—shifting the focus from knowing what to do to actually staying consistent for life.

You’ll learn why most people fail by chasing extreme “accelerators” without first building stable anchors, and how simple, identity-based routines create momentum even when motivation is low. Dr. Anthony breaks down real-world examples across nutrition, movement, sleep, mindset, and recovery—plus how to wisely deploy accelerators when the season is right.

If you’ve ever felt stuck restarting your health journey, thi...

In episode 273 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi builds on last week’s longevity conversation by tackling one of the most misunderstood topics in modern health: insulin sensitivity.

Dr. Anthony breaks down how insulin actually works in the body, why insulin resistance is at the root of weight gain, fatigue, inflammation, and pre-diabetes, and how most men unknowingly make themselves more insulin resistant through poor sleep, chronic stress, inactivity, and mistimed nutrition.

You’ll also learn how strength training, fasting, gut-friendly carbohydrates, and stress regulation work together to create metabolic flexibility—allowing your b...

In episode 272 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi kicks off a powerful new solo teaching series with a message that cuts straight to the core: after 40, muscle is not optional. It is the master regulator of aging, metabolism, hormones, and long-term independence.

Dr. Balduzzi explains why aging is not about birthdays, but about muscle loss — and how strength training directly improves fat loss, insulin sensitivity, mitochondrial health, joint integrity, nervous system resilience, and even brain function. This episode reframes exercise from a “nice to have” into a foundational survival skill for modern life.

If y...

In this week’s Fit Father Project Podcast, Episode 271, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with FFP member Herman Ramos. Herman is a 55-year-old father from New Jersey who transformed his health after realizing that staying “active” wasn’t enough anymore. As weight slowly crept up and energy declined, Herman made a commitment to strength, structure, and long-term vitality — not for aesthetics, but for his family and future generations.

Herman shares how simple, repeatable habits like intermittent fasting, two daily “perfect plates,” hydration strategies, and metabolic resistance training helped him lose over 20 pounds, shrink his waistline, and rebuild strength in hi...

In this episode of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Episode 270, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with longtime member Kim Wright, a quiet but powerful example of what sustainable health really looks like after 50. What began as a simple decision during a hospital visit turned into a three-year journey of physical transformation, spiritual grounding, and deep personal growth.

Kim shares how morning routines, strength training, plant-based nutrition, and intentional sleep helped him drop inches, build muscle, and reclaim energy—without burnout or perfection. Along the way, he learned how health builds resilience, improves family relationships, and creates the ca...

In Episode 269 of the Fit Father Project Podcast, Dr. Anthony Balduzzi sits down with Reuvein Mittler, a 36-year-old father of five from Chicago who decided he wasn’t going to follow the same unhealthy path he saw in his own family. After a pre-diabetes warning and years of weight gain, Reuvein took control and began a journey that would completely transform his health.

Through the Fit Father Foundations program, Reuvein lost nearly 40 pounds, rebuilt his strength, and discovered how simple habits like hydration, protein-focused meals, and consistent training could change his energy, mindset, and daily life. What st...