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...
Why "Listening to Your Body" Kept Her Stuck for Years (Cori Lefkowith) | Ep 452
Can macro tracking actually create food freedom? What if the structure you’ve been avoiding is the exact thing that helps you lose fat, build muscle, and stop starting over?
I’m joined by Cori Lefkowith, founder of Redefining Strength, certified trainer, former Division I athlete, and powerlifting champion, to unpack why macros, nutrition, and strength training are powerful tools for body recomp when used the right way.Â
We talk about why tracking is just data, how the “change loop” keeps people stuck in weight loss frustration, and why muscle building has to come before more rest...
Breastfeeding and Body Composition (Nursing, Lifting, and Fat Loss) | Ep 451
"Just breastfeed and the weight will fall right off." That's what every nursing mother hears.Â
And then it's a struggle because of what's going on hormonally while you're producing milk.
Lactation does a few things. It suppresses estrogen to near-menopausal levels, shifts fat storage toward your midsection, and creates anabolic resistance in your muscles, all while burning 350 to 450 extra calories a day.Â
One side says don't touch your nutrition until you're done breastfeeding. The other says eat in a deficit and train hard like everyone else. Both are inadequate.
Philip walks th...
Lose Weight Through PMS, Your Cycle, and Even Perimenopause | Ep 450
You're tracking your food, hitting the gym, doing everything right. Then your period shows up and the scale jumps 3 pounds overnight.
Should you "cycle sync" your diet? Should you just ignore it as "water weight" fluctuations? Or are both approaches missing what works?
This episode covers why weight loss stalls around your cycle and what to do about it, whether your periods are predictable or all over the place.
You'll hear the actual research on how much water weight your cycle adds (it's less than you've been told), why cycle syncing your nutrition...
Why Streaks and Badges Don’t Help You Lose Fat (And What Does) | Ep 449
You've been hitting your macros for two or three weeks, then one bad day wipes everything out and you're starting over. Again.Â
The problem isn't your discipline but how you're setting up your targets.
Most people use streaks, badges, and all-or-nothing tracking to stay consistent with nutrition. The research shows those extrinsic reward systems actually increase dropout rates and erode the motivation you need to lose fat and build muscle long term.Â
A 2015 study found that gamified systems made people less motivated, more anxious, and worse at the task. If you've ev...
Why You NEED to Lift Weights Over 50 (It Won't Make You Bulky)
Getting strong after 50 isn’t about grinding harder on the treadmill or eating like a bird. But read any fitness article for those over 50 and what do you see?
"Exercise" more, walk more, do yoga, eat less.
But after 50, that approach misses the single most important thing you can do for your metabolism, your bones, your hormones, and your longevity....
Lift weights and build muscle.
I recently joined Lynn Hardy on The Aging Games Podcast to talk about why strength training is the foundation, not the supplement, for aging we...
The Gym Won't Work Until You Fix THIS (Mitchell Osmond) | Ep 448
What if the missing piece in your nutrition and fitness results has nothing to do with the gym? Could the biggest barrier to body recomp and strength training progress actually be stress at home?
Leadership consultant and Dad Nation Podcast host Mitchell Osmond brings a perspective most fitness podcasts rarely talk about. Chronic relationship stress and how it quietly sabotages nutrition and fitness progress. We explore how emotional tension at home can disrupt metabolism, hormone health, recovery, and muscle building even when your strength training, macros, and lifting weights routine look solid on paper.
Mitchell...
5 Training Mistakes That Make Lifting and Cardio Work Against Each Other | Ep 447
If you are both lifting weights and doing cardio, is your program optimizing for both without undermining each other?
It's not that combining them is bad, but that most people struggle to arrange their training week.
Philip walks through the 5 programming mistakes that create interference between your strength training and your conditioning, using the new Velocity 5-day Hybrid program from Physique University as the example of what it looks like when you fix all five.
You'll learn when to program your heaviest lifts, which days your sprint intervals should...
How to Become an Intuitive Eater (Without Ignoring Data) | Ep 446
"Just listen to your body" is the most popular nutrition advice for anyone tired of tracking who is trying to lose fat.
The problem is, your hunger signals may be giving you bad data.
Chronic dieting, sleep disruption, hormonal shifts in perimenopause and menopause, and ultra-processed foods all degrade your appetite signals. A 2013 study found that intuitive eating only helps weight loss when those signals are accurate. If they're off, the whole system breaks down and it's very difficult to lose fat.
Philip walks through what the intuitive eating research actually measures (psychological...
Are Toxins Disrupting Your Metabolism? (Michele Scarlet) | Ep 445
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...
You Know Enough About Nutrition and Fitness (Here's Why You're Still Stuck) | Ep 444
You're tracking your food and lifting weights. You can explain why protein matters for building muscle. So why can't you lose fat, and why hasn't your body changed?Â
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 (for strength training and fat loss) and still feel stuck. Drawing intake data from hundreds of coaching clients, he explains why conflicting a...
Strength Training and Endurance Together (Without Killing Your Gains) | Ep 443
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...
Why "Moderation" Fails and What Actually Stops Binge Eating (Dr. Glenn Livingston) | Ep 442
Why does “just eat in moderation” fail so often? Why do binge eating and emotional eating feel stronger than your willpower?Â
I’m joined by psychologist and former food industry insider Dr. Glenn Livingston to break down what’s actually happening in your brain.Â
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.Â
If you want to build muscle, lose fat, or improve body recomp, you need to understand...
Are Your Fitness Goals in Conflict? (Fat Loss vs. Muscle vs. Longevity vs. Endurance) | Ep 441
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.Â
You'll learn t...
How Lifting Weights Improves Cardiovascular Health (Better Than Cardio?) | Ep 440
You've been told cardio is for a healthy heart and lifting weights is for building muscle. But what if strength training is itself a form of cardio?
What if you're ignoring one of the most effective tools for lowering blood pressure, improving cholesterol, and reducing your risk of heart disease?
Philip breaks down the evidence showing that strength training lowers blood pressure on par with first-line medication, improves HDL and LDL cholesterol, enhances insulin sensitivity, and reduces visceral fat, all independent of cardio.Â
You'll learn why your muscle tissue functions a...
Does HRT Cause Weight Gain or Help Fat Loss After 40? (Dr. Maria Sophocles) | Ep 439
Are hormones making you gain belly fat?Â
Is menopause really breaking your metabolism, or is something else going on? And does hormone replacement therapy help or hurt body recomp after 40?
Body recomp, weight loss, hormone health, and women’s fitness all collide in this conversation with Dr. Maria Sophocles, a board-certified OBGYN and nationally recognized menopause expert with 30 years of clinical experience.Â
We break down why women lose muscle, gain abdominal fat, and struggle with metabolism during perimenopause and menopause even when nutrition, macros, and strength training are dialed in.
We unpa...
7 Natural Testosterone Boosters That Actually Work (Evidence-Based) | Ep 438
Struggling with low T?
The testosterone supplement industry wants you to believe your T levels require exotic herbs, pills, and "testosterone booster" powders.
The TRT industry wants you to believe your hormones are the root cause.
Many men over 40 with suboptimal testosterone don't have (primarily) a hormone problem.
They have a lifestyle problem. Chronic under-sleeping, chronic dieting, and chronic stress suppress testosterone far more than you might think.
Learn the 7 evidence-based lifestyle factors that affect testosterone levels in men, why strength training is non-negotiable for hormone health, how chronic...
Carbs Spike Your Insulin (But That's IDEAL for Muscle Growth) | Ep 437
Do carbs make you fat?
Are spikes in blood sugar and insulin a problem for health or weight loss?
Maybe you've been cutting carbs or tried keto or carnivore, yet your strength training progress has stalled, your recovery feels sluggish, and you're still not seeing the body composition results you want.Â
The problem isn't your discipline. It's a fundamental misunderstanding of what insulin actually does (especially if you lift weights).
Insulin is not a "fat-storage hormone" but a nutrient-partitioning hormone whose effects depend entirely on context: your training status, m...
New Episode Schedule (Plus I Need YOUR Questions)
Submit your question for the podcast at witsandweights.com/question. If your question is featured, you'll get a shout-out on the show!
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Big changes are coming to Wits & Weights!
My goal is to deliver higher-quality, more focused content while respecting your time.
Also... what do YOU want to hear on the show?
👉 Submit your question or topic and help shape the future of the podcast!
đź’Ş Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are do...
She SMASHED the Raw Squat World Record at 515 lb with THIS Training Program (Steph Mager) | Ep 436
Get Fitness Lab, the #1 adaptive coaching app that adjusts to YOUR recovery, YOUR schedule, and YOUR body. Build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger with daily personalized guidance.
Now 20% through February 17. Take the free 2-minute quiz to see your custom plan before you buy.
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How does someone smash a 515-pound raw squat at 181 pounds bodyweight?Â
What separates elite strength training from the way most people lift weights? And are deloads quietly sabotaging your body recomp progress?
Body recomp, strength training, and lifting weights look very different when wor...
5 Signs You're Building Muscle (Even When the Mirror Says Otherwise) | Ep 435
Upgrade your sleep and recovery with Cozy Earth's bamboo pajamas and blankets. Temperature-regulating, lightweight, and designed to help you fall asleep faster. Go to witsandweights.com/cozyearth
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You're training consistently, eating enough protein, doing everything you're supposed to, but when you look in the mirror or step on the scale, nothing seems to be changing.
Or worse, you look softer than last week. What's going on?
The mirror and scale are terrible short-term indicators of muscle growth.Â
They're influenced by glycogen levels, water retention, inflammation, and y...
Stop Blaming Menopause for Muscle Loss (Here's What's Really Happening) | Ep 434
If what worked in your 30s isn't working anymore, it's not your fault. Your body and life have changed. The Fitness Lab app adapts to your sleep, recovery, and stress so you can actually build muscle and lose fat over 40. It also now syncs with Apple Health (iPhone version only).
Podcast listeners get 20% off at bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20
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Does menopause cause muscle loss or make it harder to build muscle?
The fitness industry loves to blame hormones for everything. Wellness gurus want to sell you special programs, protocols...
Can Electrical Stimulation Build Muscle and Speed Recovery? (Garrett Salpeter) | Ep 433
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.
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If you train hard, want to build muscle, and still lose fat, how do you actually recover faster without breaking yourself down? Can electrical stimulation really support body recomp and strength training, or is it just another shiny gadget?
Garrett Salpeter joined me to connect the dots between neuroscience, rehab, and performance. We break down how early strength gains ar...
The Body Recomp Advantage for Appetite and Fat Loss After 40 | Ep 432
Try Calocurb, a 100% natural appetite support supplement that activates your body's GLP-1 signals to reduce cravings by 40% and hunger by 30% within one hour. It's a helpful tool for your next recomp or fat loss phase. Get 10% off at witsandweights.com/calocurb
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If you're over 40, cutting calories to lose fat can backfire.
Why? Because if your approach is too aggressive or your stress is too high, your hunger spikes, training suffers, and you often regain everything you lost when you increase calories again.
Body recomposition...
I Messed Up
Since late 2025, the 20% discount link for Fitness Lab wasn't applying at checkout but it's fixed now!
Plus: a quick update on Apple Health ❤️ integration for iPhone users.Â
Here's the (working) link for 20% off Fitness Lab:
https://bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20
đź’Ş Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.
📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclus...
How Strength Training (Not Cardio) Suppresses Appetite and Burns Fat | Ep 431
Struggling with hunger during your cut?Â
Try Calocurb for natural appetite support that activates GLP-1 to help you feel satisfied. Clinical studies showed a 40% reduction in cravings and 30% reduction in hunger within one hour. Get 10% off at witsandweights.com/calocurb
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Hungry after every workout and stuck in an endless “eat less, move more” loop?Â
Strength training is actually one of the most powerful appetite control tools you have, but most people only think of it as a muscle-building tool.
Learn the science behind...
Why Generic Fitness Programs Don't Work (Do THIS Instead)
For the ultimate in personalization, check out my Fitness Lab app, now with full Apple Health integration. It's like having a coach in your pocket. Listeners get 20% with this exclusive link:
http://bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20
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What does it mean to "personlize" your fitness really?
In this episode, you'll learn about my ADAPT framework for personalizing fitness:
Assess your starting pointDo the thing (take action)Analyze your dataPivot based on what y...Why Your Metabolism Is Stuck at 50% and How to Fix It Without Biohacks (Jenn Trepeck) | Ep 430
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. Now with Apple Health integration.
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Are biohacks keeping you stuck instead of helping you lose fat and build muscle? Why does body recomp feel so hard even when you are doing all the “right” things?
Body recomp, build muscle, and lose fat come up constantly on fitness podcasts, but I keep seeing the same mistake. People chas...
Build Muscle First, Cut Later for Easier Fat Loss and Less Hunger | Ep 429
Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
https://witsandweights.com/calocurb
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If all you've done is diet, every cut will be harder than the last.
More hunger, less energy, slower results. There's a reason, and it's not just your age or metabolism.
Learn why building muscle first makes cutting (fat loss) dramatically easier, how more lean mass directly reduces hunger per calorie of deficit, and why chronic dieters sabotage their own results by skipping the...
How to Lose 12 Pounds in 45 Days
Join the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop TODAY at live.witsandweights.com to get the complete mini-cut protocol, training template, 8-week guided course, and your first month in Physique University. Workshop starts at 12pm Eastern (recording included if you can't make it live):
https://live.witsandweights.com/
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Want to lose 8-12 pounds of body fat in the next 6 weeks?
Learn the mini-cut approach: a shorter, more aggressive but "internally sustainable" fat loss phase that actually works because you can commit to a clear end date.
Discover how...
Why Appetite Changes After 40 (And How to Still Lose Fat) | Ep 428
Register for the Get Lean in 45 Days workshop at live.witsandweights.com to learn exactly how to drop 8-12 pounds of body fat in 45 days while managing hunger the right way.
Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
https://witsandweights.com/calocurb
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Hunger hits different after 40.Â
You might feel like your body is actively fighting against fat loss: cravings show up more often and deficits feel harder even when you're doing everything right.
The Fat Loss TRAP (Why You ALWAYS Gain the Weight Back)
Register for the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop to get my complete 45-day fat loss protocol (6-week mini-cut) with a built-in exit strategy so you can drop 8-12 lbs before summer and actually keep it off.
https://live.witsandweights.com/
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You've lost weight before, right?
The problem is... you probably gained it all back.
Multiple times anyone? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️
That's because most weight loss attempts fall into THIS fat loss trap.
These mistakes GUARANTEE a rebound... but this doesn't have to happen!
Learn how to lose fat AN...
Can THIS Plant Extract Activate GLP-1 Like Ozempic? (Sarah Kennedy) | Ep 427
Try Calocurb natural appetite support backed by clinical research. Get 10% off your first order at https://witsandweights.com/calocurb
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Why does hunger sabotage weight loss even with perfect macros? Is appetite control really about discipline or hormone health?
Body recomp, weight loss, and building muscle get complicated fast when appetite refuses to cooperate. I dug into the real biology behind hunger with Sarah Kennedy, founder and CEO of Calocurb, to explore how the gut and brain regulate appetite through GLP-1 and other hormones tied to metabolism and nutrition. We unpacked why ca...
2 Biggest Causes of Belly Fat, Sugar Cravings, and Constant Hunger | Ep 426
Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
https://witsandweights.com/calocurb
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One bad night of sleep can increase your calorie intake by up to 500 calories.
Chronic stress drives fat specifically to your belly.Â
And both of these hijack the exact hunger hormones that control whether you feel satisfied or ravenous, even when your nutrition looks perfect on paper.
Discover how sleep deprivation tanks leptin, spikes ghrelin, and reduces GLP-1 (the hormones behind appetite c...
Brand New 6-Week FAT LOSS Workout Program (Introducing CHISEL)
Get the new CHISEL fat loss workout program (when you register for the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop) along with my complete 45-day fat loss protocol (6-week mini-cut) to drop 8-12 lbs before summer and actually keep it off.
https://live.witsandweights.com/
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Introducing CHISEL, a flexible 4-day upper/lower fat loss workout program built to preserve muscle and strength during a calorie deficit.
This training template pairs heavy work with volume, clear progression, and biofeedback checks, and it's flexible enough to adapt to the lower energy and recovery...
Hunger Hormones Controlling Your Fat Loss (Ghrelin, Leptin, and GLP-1 Explained) | Ep 425
Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
https://witsandweights.com/calocurb
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Your body is fighting your fat loss, and it's not a willpower problem.
When you diet, ghrelin spikes to make you hungrier, leptin crashes so your brain thinks you're starving, and GLP-1 drops so meals stop filling you up. Understanding these hunger hormones is the difference between white-knuckling through every deficit and actually working with your biology.
In this episode, you'll learn the science...
Midlife Metabolism Myths That Keep You Stuck (and How to Fix Them)
Enjoying the show? Leave a rating (and review) in your podcast app to help more people discover evidence-based fitness information... and let me know if you want more bonus episodes like this one!
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This is my conversation with Zora Benhamou on her podcast Hack My Age. Zora is a gerontologist and menopause coach who works with women navigating perimenopause and postmenopause.
We dig into why your metabolism isn't actually slowing down the way you think, what's really behind that midlife weight gain, and why the "eat less, do more cardio"...
The Forgotten Thyroid Hormone That Supercharges Fat Loss and Metabolism (Dr. Amie Hornaman) | Ep 424
Want to drop 8-12 lbs before summer without crash dieting or losing muscle? Join the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop on January 20th. Includes replay, fat loss workout program, custom macros, and complete 45-day protocol.
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Are you lifting weights, tracking macros, and still stuck with stubborn fat? What if your labs look “normal” but your metabolism feels broken?
Body recomp is supposed to feel simpler when you train hard and eat well, yet many people chasing weight loss and muscle building feel stuck. I brought on Dr. Amie Hornaman, known...
Lose Fat Without Hunger Using Protein, Fiber, and Appetite Control That Works | Ep 423
Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
https://witsandweights.com/calocurb
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Can you lose fat without all the hunger?
Maybe you're eating fewer calories than ever but somehow hungrier than ever, and it feels like a vicious cycle that prevents you from losing weight or stalls out your metabolism.
Discover the satiety hierarchy that explains why some foods keep you full for hours while others leave you raiding the pantry within minutes.Â
Why You're Always HUNGRY on a Diet (7 Mistakes Killing Your Fat Loss) | Ep 422
Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
https://witsandweights.com/calocurb
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Are you constantly HUNGRY? Battling cravings, feeling like your body is pushing back hard?
You're in a calorie deficit, doing everything right (tracking your food, hitting the gym, staying consistent), yet you're ravenous and not sure what to do.
This episode kicks off our 8-part Appetite Series with the most common question I hear: "Why am I always hungry on...
Metabolism 101 (The Science Behind Fat Loss and Muscle Building) | Ep 421
Get Fitness Lab (20% off through January 2), the #1 fitness app that adapts to YOUR recovery, YOUR schedule, and YOUR body. Now available for iPhone and Android. Build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger with daily personalized guidance:
https://witsandweights.com/app
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Why do some people eat more and stay lean while others diet nonstop and still struggle? Is your metabolism actually slow, or have you trained it to fight you?
I dive into the real science of metabolism, body recomp, and why most weight loss strategies fail long-term...
