Is there a healthy amount of alcohol?
PSA: The ideal or healthy amount of alcohol in your diet is ZERO. Zilch. Zip. Nada. Not one glass of wine a day for the resveratrol or a drink after work to take the edge off. The much-celebrated health benefits were all a ruse—a classic case of "when marketing meets wishful thinking." The results from multiple randomized trials keep rolling in and they’re unequivocal: ANY amount of alcohol—even...
A solid foundation of structure and habits for fat loss
"I want to build muscle but keep reading that I should get lean first. Is that BS?" Sorta. The gurus say you have to be lean before you try to add muscle. Some even give targets like under 10% body fat. Why? Broadly speaking, the leaner you are, the more insulin sensitive you are, which means better nutrition partitioning. Surplus calories/carbs get "shuttled" towards muscle cells as opposed to...
Balancing passions and obligations
Meet Brody, a young social media guru and party enthusiast. He's jacked, charismatic, and oozes youthful style and confidence. But would you turn to Brody for advice on getting someone over 40 into shape, especially with a challenging career and growing family? Probably not. Because “skin in the game” is crucial. It separates wisdom from knowledge. It's living and experiencing life’s very real...
Testosterone is criminally misunderstood
Testosterone is criminally misunderstood. On one side are morons and the media, who vilify the hormone and blame it for every random act of aggression, from road rage to Black Friday brawls. On the other side are bodybuilders and biohackers, who almost worship the mighty T. As usual the correct answer is somewhere in the middle, though to be clear: healthy T levels are a VERY good thing. There...
Adding new muscle as you age
The older you get, the harder it is to build muscle. Especially new muscle tissue — not maintaining what you already have. 'Cause if you're in your fifties and in good overall health, preserving the muscle you've built over the years (naturally) is mostly straightforward. But adding NEW muscle as you get into the later years? Especially if you are close to your "genetic ceiling?” That's MUCH...
Four parts of the fat loss process
A new client set a goal to be photo-lean by Halloween. Lets just say things aren't going well. Now I never say "I told you so" but in this instance I sure wanted to. Because back when she told me her goal, she also mentioned a 3 week European summer vacation while sticking to the plan. My first words were "that’s gonna be tough." Sadly I was right. The gym situation near her sucks. The food is...
The invaluable lessons of tracking macros
Whenever possible I ask clients to track daily macros. It's highly effective for getting in shape, is easy to report, requires engagement to do right, and demands accountability. It also leads to a few precious "aha" moments: "I can't believe that single mistake erased my entire calorie deficit." 90% of these involve trail mix, peanut butter, red wine, granola, and pasta. These alone make macro...