Your Fat Loss Stalled ! How Do You Fix It? | Mind Pump 2921

Key Takeaway

If fat loss has truly stalled, do not automatically slash calories or add more cardio. For the next four to six weeks, shift to a performance goal: train to get stronger at one lift or improve endurance or mobility, fuel that goal with adequate whole foods and protein, and stop obsessing over the scale. This reset can support recovery, protect muscle, make training enjoyable again, and give you a more sustainable runway before returning to a fat-loss phase.

Episode Overview

The hosts explain why fat-loss plateaus occur through metabolic adaptation and argue that relentlessly eating less and exercising more can worsen the problem. Their preferred solutions emphasize building muscle, strategically changing cardio, taking a short diet break or reverse-diet phase, and temporarily focusing on performance rather than aesthetics. Listener calls also reinforce patient, performance-centered approaches to body composition and postpartum training.

Full Transcript

Transcript of Your Fat Loss Stalled ! How Do You Fix It? | Mind Pump 2921 from Mind Pump Show. Auto-generated from episode audio; may contain minor errors.

You have been in a fat loss process . It worked until it stopped . Today we're going to talk about how to break through plateaus in fat loss. We'll give you some tips on how to restart fat loss. Don't stay where you are. That's terrible. Let's get it going . . . Yes. Let's go. one of the last seminars I did as a fitness manager. Trapped in routine. Oh really? Yes, that was the...yes, that was the... Those are the posters you used to put up in the gym.

the gym. the gym. Yes, yes, yes. Do you remember that? Do you remember the little kits you used to receive? Yes. With the poster? Yes. I like this topic because, well, this is inevitable. OK ? So, it's not a question of whether this will happen. This is going to happen. It's about when and how strong. TRUE. And the usual, well, that's how it feels, right? You continue your diet. You do your workout. You are consistent enough to see some fat loss. And the fat loss seems relatively constant.

Then you notice the scale, or you notice the skinfold caliper changing and going down week after week, and then it doesn't move, and it doesn't move for a week, and it doesn't move for two or three weeks, and you realize : "Wow, I'm totally stuck." What I do? The typical response is to reduce calories and further increase activity. Which, you know, can definitely work, but that eventually also leads to a standstill when those two things stop working. In other words, when further calorie reduction isn't realistic and when increasing exercise isn't realistic, what do you do?

How do I break through this plateau? I'm already eating 1,500 calories, or I'm already doing a lot of exercise and. If I reduce my food intake any further, there's no way I can maintain this; I'll either feel terrible or lose muscle. Or, if I exercise more, I don't think I can do it consistently, and I'm not going to like that. I'm going to hate this and then I'm just going to bounce back. Is there anything I can do, or am I finished? Is the fat loss process over?

And the truth is, there are some things you can do to get the needle moving again that don't include cutting calories or drastically increasing activity. activity. activity. Quite the opposite, in fact. That's how it is. I think you should, I mean, I think you should talk a little bit about what's going on, I feel like in Why is there stagnation? stagnation? stagnation? Well, not only that, but this was very common when I was a young trainer, and your main method is, and I think it's still very common in commercial gyms when you see people training clients, that when this happens, the levers they always pull are cutting calories and running more.

And I think it is, and still is, predominant. I mean , recently at the gym, you know, I saw a group of people working out with an instructor, trying to lose weight, obviously. And the entire hour is dedicated solely to burning and sweating. And I think, wow, it would be much more valuable for those people to focus on strength right now than just trying to burn calories all the time. So I just think it's important to communicate how common this still is. That's how it is.

So, this is what happens. And this is a very simplified, super simplified, explanation of the weight loss or fat loss process. So, you're burning more energy than you're consuming. Or, to put it another way, you are consuming less energy than you burn. This causes an energy imbalance. OK? So, if I'm consuming 2,000 calories, and that's how we measure the energy in food. So, if I consume 2,000 calories, but burn 3,000 calories, well, the only possible way to burn 3,000 calories of energy if I consume 2,000 calories of food is if I get those 1,000 calories from somewhere.

Where do they come from? Ideally, it should be body fat, right ? Therefore, that deficit or imbalance has to exist for a constant loss of weight or fat to occur. The reason you stagnated is that that balance disappeared. Or rather, that imbalance disappeared. There is no longer a deficit. Even if you continue eating the same amount and moving the same amount, your body has found a way, or rather , adapted, to match them. So, if you're consistently consuming 1,500 calories a day and exercising 5 days a week with a lot of exercise, and that worked for a while but now it's stopped, this is what it literally means.

It literally means that your body has figured out how to burn what you're consuming. He's already figured out how to survive, function, and burn 1,500 calories a day because that's what you consume. And that's what stagnation means. So there are two ways we can make that imbalance happen again. There are a few ways. One of them is: well, I'll just eat less. Great, I got another imbalance. But guess what's going to happen now? We'll go back to where we were before my body figured out how to adapt in that direction.

It's called metabolic adaptation, by the way. The second option is that I could move around much more. Let me keep moving even more. But believe it or not, your body eventually finds a way to rebalance that energy. There are many different ways in which it does this. You may lose muscle. Muscle burns more calories. It can reduce activity when you're not exercising in ways you don't even notice. In extreme cases, it can even draw energy from other bodily functions. You start to feel tired. You start to notice that your hair doesn't look as good, your skin, your nails.

If this happens too aggressively, you can get sick. Something like total exhaustion. You can lose bone mass, okay? Now, and that's typically, uh, what you're up against . So we need to find a way to create this energy imbalance again without necessarily having to eat less and exercise more. And I'll give you the first thing you can do, and this is the most effective. most effective. most effective. Build some muscle. Yes, of all the options we're going to talk about, this is the one that works , uh, best and most predictably.

Unfortunately, it is also the most challenging and the most frightening. And that's changing course, going from being in deficit to what we would call a mini bulk or a reverse diet for a short period of time. time. time. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. So, this is where you take your calories, whatever you're eating, and eat more, you increase them, in some cases by 500 calories, in others by up to 1,000. And now you will try to build mass over the next week, two, three, or four weeks. And then, when your body has balanced out there and you've gained a little , then you can go back, uh, to the definition phase.

And this is really the philosophy behind, uh, a reverse diet, more or less how it works. Yes, I see this a lot like even when lifting weights. There are safeguards. There are, you know, ways in which the body protects itself from injury and overexertion. And, you know, in terms of dieting and, you know, getting to an unhealthy point. So your body has safeguards there and tries to conserve energy. And at that point, try to hold on, you know, as much as you can. So you're going to reach this stagnation because it's a safeguard .

This is, this is your body protecting itself. So, in order to overcome this, we need to introduce, you know, a new standard for it. Yes. I find that one of the biggest challenges in communicating this, at least today, is that our own fitness community rejects how beneficial it is to add two to three pounds of muscle. Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes. You Yes. You Yes. You know, there's this ongoing conversation and debate about how metabolically advantageous it is for your body to add three to five pounds of muscle.

And you know, you and some of the scientific community, the fitness science community, say: oh, it just gives you a little extra . Yeah. It's really worth 20 calories at most a day that you're doing that . That was the argument I heard. And it's crazy because, um, and through what mechanism this happens, I'm not sure. But it's not just a handful, it's hundreds of cases where I've seen clients who have only added five or six pounds of muscle, but are able to eat a thousand more calories a day and not gain body fat.

So, it doesn't add up mathematically, now we can sit here and theorize about the different things that are happening. Oh, that person now has 6 pounds more muscle and is therefore, you know, fitter. So they are more active throughout the day and perhaps that explains some of the extra calories. Now they can, they are stronger, so they can lift more weight. So, there has been a natural progressive overload that happens. So maybe they're burning more calories out there. I'm not sure exactly where it comes from , but I know for a fact that putting 5 to 10 pounds of muscle into someone's body is radically different on a metabolic level for them.

And no, and I hate when we hear people in our space argue that building muscle is not the way to do it. We will have the science to back up what every good trainer has observed for decades. So, eventually we'll have the science to back it up. The problem is that metabolism is so complex and the way we measure things is simply inadequate to capture what is happening. But we do know this, it's a fact: your body can burn more or fewer calories with your current lean mass.

You don't even have to gain muscle. It could become more or less efficient . . . Well, for me, that's just another, you know, hole in their argument of trying to make it 3 to 5 pounds. They are exactly this or approximately this amount of calories, when we know that hormones and stress can cause how you burn calories to fluctuate in a single day. single day. single day. You take advantage of insulin sensitivity. You take advantage of mitochondrial uncoupling. Your body can become more or less efficient.

I've had clients gain 2 pounds of muscle and increase their metabolic rate by 600 calories by working with me. We do reverse dieting with people all the time. This actually works, guys. And look, I'll explain it in a way that makes sense. Although the science will be much more complex than what I'm going to say, this is the point. If you're in a calorie deficit for too long, your body doesn't feel safe burning tons of calories. You will learn to burn fewer calories. A couple of weeks of a small surplus tells your body, "Hey, go ahead." Become less efficient with calories.

"It burns more calories because we're getting food." By the way , bodybuilders have observed this for years. They used to do this old bodybuilder trick where they'd plateau on a diet and have a " cheat day" or weekend, come back, and notice they were leaner. This is my favorite way to break a fat-loss plateau fat-loss plateau fat-loss plateau because most of them don't happen when someone's calories are still high. That's rare. It's not like I'd take someone down from 3,000 to 2,500 calories and they'd plateau.

This is typically a problem when someone goes below 2,000 calories, which is when I have to start doing these kinds of meals. Below 2,000 for a woman, I'd say below 2,500 for a man. Yeah, you get most men below 2,500. Down to 2,000 for a man, and that's when you have to put them on. Oh yeah. Oh yeah, definitely. Next, this is going to sound weird, Uh, but if your fat loss has plateaued, you can add or remove cardio. Now, this sounds contradictory. Uh, what are you talking about?

What do you mean by adding or removing cardio? Well, it depends on the person. Hmm. You don't do any cardio? You can add some cardio. You do a lot of cardio? Remove some cardio. Yes. Yes. Yes. And believe it or not, both work for fat loss, but let's explain a little bit, shall we? For the person who doesn't do any cardio, adding a little extra cardio a couple of days a week or three days a week does predictably increase predictably increase predictably increase calorie expenditure. It's very predictable.

Obviously, by moving more, you're going to burn more calories. Uh, pretty straightforward. But what about the person whose cardio we remove? How does that help with fat loss? Well , I'll tell you. When I have someone who does cardio six days a week and trains a lot and their calorie intake is low, I often remove the cardio. Um, and I reduce some of that stress by doing cardio, they build a little muscle, and I see fat loss. And I've seen that time and time again. Nobody wants to do it when I suggest it.

Everyone's against it. against it. against it. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Um, but I give them two or three weeks, and it's not like I'm cutting it out completely, but you know , if you're doing six days a week, we're going to drop it down to three days a week. That's all we'll change. Let's see what happens. And sure enough, we'll see it go from half a percent to one percent. Yeah, sometimes that's what the body needs to fully recover and really adapt to gain muscle. muscle. muscle.

That's right. That's right. That's right. I used to always explain that cardio is like, uh, nitrous oxide for an engine. engine. engine. Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. It's such a cool way to get that extra boost and speed, right? If you understand how nitrous oxide works in an engine, you get like a blast of cool air coming in, and you get horsepower. But you'll burn out the engine if you just keep keep keep running it, if you keep using it all the time. So, someone Someone who uses it all the time, by eliminating it and then building a metabolism, will sort of be through through through muscle building, like you were saying.

Someone who never uses it, right? And they store it, and suddenly they use it, and you'll see, you'll see a boost because of that. But it's short-lived, just like nitric oxide. It's not something you want to keep using over and over again like that, because eventually you'll hit the same plateau. So, when I was competing, my goal was always, for myself and my clients, to see how much I could get this person to get cut before a show without doing any cardio. So I knew that in the final weeks, if I needed to ramp it up a little or get more defined, I could use that "nitric" at the end.

If we had been doing that—and you see this all the time with competitors, especially competitors, especially competitors, especially bikini competitors—they're in a 16-week prep and from day one they're already doing an hour on the stair climber. It's like, dude, you're doing that so early. We get to the final weeks and we don't like how The line goes there, or we can't increase it because you've already exhausted it. That's why I like to give clients that analogy. It's like...it's a powerful tool, but what you get from it is short-lived.

The person who isn't doing cardio right now agrees, thinking, "Oh yeah, I'll add a little." But I guarantee you that the person listening right now who does five or six days of cardio a week, and whose fat loss progress has plateaued, "Oh, no way," hears me tell them to cut their cardio in half to help with fat loss, and they just don't believe it. believe it. And here's what I have to say to them: They want to fight you. You have nothing to lose. You've already plateaued.

Give it a shot. Worst case scenario, nothing happens, and you can go back to what you were doing before. Next, I don't necessarily have a lot of science to back this up, but stage competitors have done it for a long time, and there are plenty of anecdotes about it. And I've personally experienced it, so Which I think is a pretty good way—not as effective as a "mini bulk," but a somewhat decent way to break through a fat loss plateau . And that's carb cycling. So, carb cycling looks like this: You do two days of very, very low carbs, and then you do one day where your carbs are high, and you just alternate.

That's one way to do it. And in my experience, I've managed to gain that last half percentage point of body fat when I've plateaued, you know, something like 5% or 5.5% body fat. Yeah, I'm not sure if this is attributed more to it—I mean, I know most people say it's just the calories that you manipulate while doing that. I had a lot of success doing this. I liked it. It also gave me something to look forward to in that aspect. aspect. aspect. Yeah, and we talked about that a lot, you know, being such a big piece of this whole puzzle, like being able to play the psychological game that you're constantly in.

So, it's different, I think, sometimes when you 're in this constant deficit and You're trying to lose body fat and you're eating the same calories every day, it's just monotonous. just monotonous. just monotonous. A break. A break. A break. Yeah, so it gives you a nice little break. I always try to schedule, if you know, this is for someone who's doing it to change body composition, I like to schedule high- schedule high- schedule high- carb days around the muscle groups I'm really trying to work and develop, or the big ones like legs.

like legs. like legs. Training days. Training days. Training days. You need energy like that, so I can really push myself in a kind of upper- upper- upper- body workout when I'm low- carb. It's not hard for me. For lower body, I need a lot more fuel and energy. And so, I liked that part, instead of just having this kind of constant moderate or low calorie thing . And that's why I was always successful with it. I liked the psychological aspect. I liked the feeling because when you go to zero carbs or very low carbs for two days, everything flattens out.

Your muscles don't feel as pumped up, but you feel like you're losing water , so you feel like you look more defined. Then I do the day that's high, the muscles get a bigger pump. No I necessarily retain water immediately, so for a short period of time I look a little more defined in the mirror, and psychologically that was always very motivating for me. But I've done it and kept the calories down. So I've done it where my carbs are low, but my fats are higher, so it's not like my calories go down.

go down. go down. Yes. Yes. Yes. But I keep finding that it is, and I've done it enough times, where it's like I could drop another half point to a full percentage point of body fat just by doing this. And I would, I did this. The times I've done this are when I'm feeling really low on energy, and that's when it's really hard to keep going. going. going. Well, I also like it, because when you eliminate something like that, it could be a potential tool to really boost your energy and make it useful energy at that moment.

You know, when you eliminate it, sometimes you kind of... I do n't know if it's like you adapt or it's just that you've been doing it for so long that you don't notice, you know, that energy boost. It's good for... Oh, when you increase your... Totally. And finally, this is... this It's excellent for several different reasons. One, it requires you to eat a little differently, which is good, kind of similar to number one, right? Doing a mini bulk. Two, it takes your attention off aesthetics, which I will never underestimate—the never underestimate—the never underestimate—the psychological aspect is crucial when it comes to changing body composition.

Because of all the things we need to consider, the psychological is the most important. It's the most important. I know that as a coach. If you figure that out, everything else is easy. You can do everything else, but if you don't figure out that part, then forget it. So, that's performance-focused. You've been focused on fat loss for a long time and now you've plateaued. Give yourself five or six weeks for a performance goal. I'm just going to get stronger. Or I'm going to improve my endurance, or I'm going to improve my mobility.

And then fuel accordingly. How should I eat to enhance this new performance goal I have? And I'm going to do that for five weeks. I'll go back to fat loss after five weeks. But for the next five weeks, I'm going to give myself A break, a mental break. I'm not going to weigh myself, I'm not going to look in the mirror. All I care about is this performance goal that I'm going to achieve in the next four to six weeks, and eating accordingly. And this is a wonderful plateau buster.

It's one of my favorite plateau busters because it's also a psychological plateau buster. You get out of your head, you fall in love with performance, which will take a couple of weeks, but then you'll see the gains in your performance and you'll start to love it. And then you go back to your fat-loss journey , and it feels brand new. It feels fresh again. More specifically, I love to pick one exercise that you've never done or that you rarely do, and focus on that. Right, that's exactly what you're saying, isn't it?

You say that because someone might be listening right now and thinking, well, I'm always trying to improve my bench press and I'm always trying to improve my deadlift. I never stop trying to do it and that focuses on performance, but I'm still stuck. I don't see any Change. One of the best ways to overcome a plateau, focus on performance, and see positive changes is to choose something you don't normally do. If you never do Bulgarian split squats and you're bad at them, it's a great time to switch things up, focus on them, and see how much you improve.

I love this, even when I have someone who's cutting or cutting or cutting or trying to lose weight, because sometimes, even in a calorie deficit, we see strength gains, which is difficult. It's very hard to see performance and strength gains when you're trying to lose fat, many times over. But when you do a new movement, you'll often see that performance improvement, even when you're sometimes in a deficit. That's why I love adding to someone's routine, swapping a basic movement for one they don't usually do, staying focused on that, improving, and seeing how it helps.

Of all these steps—because the last one we mentioned goes hand in hand with increasing your calories since you're trying to improve performance—the one I was most consistent with for my clients was this one we're talking about. When I had a client in the process of losing fat , doing Good work that's stalled is frustrating, very frustrating. I was literally having this conversation with my client. They would come in and say, "Okay, this is week four or five and it seems like nothing is moving." We're definitely at a tough stalemate." And I was like, " Hey, here's what we're going to do." " For the next four weeks, for the next 30 days, we're just going to focus on this one performance indicator." And I used to choose—I usually chose strength because it's something easy.

So, I'd say, "We're just going to make you stronger, and I want you to specifically improve on this particular lift." And we're just going to focus on that for the next 30 days, that's it. When we're done, we'll go back to our fat loss process. And they'd say, "Well, I want to move on ." So, we've already plateaued. If we keep pushing, nothing will happen. So let's just have some fun for the next 30 days. And don't worry, when we go back to fat loss, it will start happening again.

And my clients agreed. We did it. We had fun . They focused on performance. Then we went back to fat loss, and like magic, it all started happening again. You know, going back to what you were saying about building muscle and how it contributes to fat loss. It's really interesting, Adam . A study just came out, and I'm going to look it up right now, about the effects of muscle building on fat loss. It's actually a real study. This was in June 2025. And it's a peer-reviewed study.

The title is "Effects of skeletal muscle hypertrophy on fat mass and glucose homeostasis in humans and animals." It's a narrative review. And there's a systematic literature search. So, here's what they found. The analysis reveals that an increase in the A 1.9 to 3.3% increase in overall muscle mass in humans is associated with a 4 to almost 6% decrease in fat mass. In other words, as muscle mass increases, fat mass tends to decrease. That's right . This increase in muscle mass was associated with a 23 to 22% decrease in fat mass.

So, in other words, muscle does contribute to fat loss. And there they show how it affects glucose homeostasis. glucose homeostasis. glucose homeostasis. Muscles... well, glucose is obviously blood sugar. Muscles are a storage depot for sugar and carbohydrates, just like the liver. And as muscles develop a bit, they become more sensitive to insulin. They store more of it. So, you start tapping the body more to burn body fat, less to store it, and more for performance. And what we're finding is that if you combine this with other studies where they use strength training as the primary form of exercise for fat loss, even though strength training burns the fewest calories—it's not really a great calorie burner—it's a great A tool for losing fat.

How is that possible? Muscle. Muscle is very valuable when it comes to losing fat. Yeah, I don't think anyone in the scientific community would argue—obviously they wouldn't , it comes directly from a study—that they're going to argue with that point or most of the points that are made about the benefits of gaining muscle and speeding up your metabolism. I just think it's a classic example of when, you know, we want to be more right, and then when someone communicates, "Oh, I had a client where we gained 5 pounds of muscle and he's eating 1,000 more calories," they want to come in and say that's a load of rubbish.

That's not true. Every pound of muscle is just so many calories. And what I hate, I hate when this is done, because the average person listening, it's been so hard to get people out of this vicious cycle of changing body composition just by running and eating fewer calories and encouraging people to build the body they want. We've spent most of our careers trying to make this case, and when you have someone like that from the scientific community come along and use studies to back it up...

it's just so unfair. in the water. You do it. You cloud everything. cloud everything. cloud everything. You, you, you, you discourage, too? Yeah. too? Yeah. too? Yeah. Yeah, to be more right, brother. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. To be more right. It does n't help anyone. You know, to be, uh, you know what, you know what the challenge is with that? I know. So, here it is, here's the fall. It's so funny. This is totally tied to that conversation I was texting you guys, uh, the other night.

Um, this is because the people who are really into the science, the data, and the literature, they only use the science, the data, and the literature as their litmus test for truth. Everything else is just an opinion. There is no truth unless it's proven by a study, okay? I get it. I understand why someone or how someone might come to that conclusion. But here 's the deal. You take a doctor, right? Uh, a well-educated doctor. The best doctors in the world, the ones who really do phenomenal work, are the doctors who know the science very, Very well, and they also have a lot of experience.

Nobody would argue with that. I think everyone would agree with that, right? They're the most educated, but also the most experienced. You combine both, and they just have a knowledge that's applicable, that understands the nuances. They're just so much better. The same goes for coaches . You could have a coach who has all the courses, certifications , who knows all the facts, the studies, the anatomy, but they won't be a great coach until they also gain the experience. Now you combine both, and it's incredible. The challenge was that the anecdotes and opinions, you know, were kind of based on your opinion of the people you listened to, or maybe your own opinion.

And if I get an anecdote from one person, two people, or three people, I mean, it could be anything, right? Is that true? I do n't know. Maybe, maybe you just experienced it and attributed your success to that thing, and maybe it was something else . But if you could compile thousands From anecdotes, or millions of anecdotes, we now have something that points us in a particular direction, right? So, experience, uh, that's it. Experience is: well, I've been a doctor for 20 years. I've seen enough patients to know that the study says this, but this is what happens in real life, and it's something different, right?

Well, we really have an opportunity now, uh, to compile anecdotes to start pointing in the right direction. You can use AI in that way, and that's what was driving me crazy. Yes. I used AI the other night and asked it, "Can you go into all the fitness forums, for example, and tell me what the consensus is on what works for fat loss or what supplements are best for performance?" Now take that data set and compare it with what the studies show and try to find the commonalities.

"And it's remarkable. Mmm. Mmm. Mmm. It's incredible. So if you just did that, give it some credit. Listen, you could do that. Go, you could, uh, you could ask the AI: 'Go to all the fitness forums on, uh, for fat loss, um, and what are people's experiences with reverse dieting? Do their metabolisms actually get faster?'" "And I bet what you'll get is that most of the people who did it right will say, ' Oh yeah, it totally worked.'" It worked perfectly. worked perfectly. worked perfectly. Yes.

Yes. Yes. And yet, data and science have yet to prove it. Yes. They Yes. They Yes. They still have to test how it works. Or why it works. Yes, yes. Yes, yes. Yes, yes. So, but anyway, I did that the other day. Were you, were you...? I mean, uh, Courtney, Justin's wife , was talking when we were sitting by the fire about her experience as a nurse, just, uh, being very educated in the field and then, however, they would hire all these nurses with less education, but who have had two.

Yes, 2 years of experience because they did like an internship or something for 2 years, and she says, "I mean, just...I think everyone would prefer to have...I mean , I would always...I would always prefer a coach or trainer who has been... who has been doing this for a long time rather than...who has all the national certifications." I mean, I don't care about any of that. Yes. Yes. Yes. If you have all the national certificates and have trained for 6 months, or give me the guy or girl who has trained for 10 years.

It's like, " Oh, I'll choose the one that's been... The crazy thing about that is also... And the crazy thing is how few studies are repeated. So, they have a study with one conclusion, then someone else repeats the study and comes to a different conclusion. They say, ' Well, I guess...' Exactly. Exactly. Exactly. I guess that didn't work." Yeah. You know? I know, it's pretty crazy. Uh, speaking of science, studies and stuff like that, uh, we, you know, get questions about, uh, skin stuff. We have a big female audience and they ask us, "What really makes the biggest difference to improving your skin's health or how it looks or whatever?" "And there are some things you can do, but none of them compare, besides being healthy, I have to say that, right?" "Being healthy is the best thing you can do for your skin, but red light therapy is by far the most effective...nothing even comes close.

That's what, by far, is the...So , another way of saying that is the most...the most, uh, intervention by far. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, nothing beats, nothing beats diet. diet. diet. Yeah. Getting enough sleep. Diet, stress management, exercise, that's obviously that's obviously that's obviously it. it. it. Right, but the...But what you can do in addition to that is the biggest intervention. You get your Juve red light panel, uh , in a week, in a week you notice a difference. a difference. a difference. Oh, I feel like in a couple of sessions or two of doing it you can see it.

It makes a huge difference. It's the biggest difference of all. So, for you, like for people who want to change the appearance of their skin and make it look younger, you get a red light panel, use it three days a week, man. That's going to beat everything else you... else you... else you... I think it was Mercola, because a while back when I was watching him, because it sounded like Magic. Yeah, and he was really questioning it and analyzing it. And the studies are so solid.

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And it was just amazing. Oh, yeah, a long time ago. Like, since the ' 70s. 70s. 70s. But it's so accepted. Did you hear Doug talking about Brianna? He just dropped Brianna off at her new place. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. And it's like college campus condos or something. And inside their gym, there's red light therapy. Oh, yeah. Wow. They have a room dedicated to red light therapy. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Yeah. No, it's packed, I mean, it 's packed.

's packed. 's packed. Recovery rooms and stuff like that are becoming popular in gyms. gyms. gyms. Everywhere. It's really not unusual to see. In fact, almost every major gym has it now. Which is crazy to think about, right? Because the studies go back quite far. You talk about McCollum and stuff. I mean, he's been talking about it for a long time. Red light therapy studies go back to the '70s. the '70s. the '70s. And I remember when we first met, I remember that You would review the studies and say, "Wow, these are old, they're studies from a long time ago ." So, this has been happening for a long time, but man, it didn't really take off until recently.

It did n't take off because, just 20 years ago, if you wanted a legitimate red light panel , like the ones in the studios, oh yeah, you had to spend $20,000. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So the only way to get red light therapy, 20 or 30 years ago , was to go to an expensive salon that had them and pay $50 or $100 a session. session. session. Yeah. Isn't that typical? It's like, the gym industry was so focused on workouts, like that was the priority, and all of a sudden we realized, "Damn, recovery is really where you get everything from." And now they're just highlighting all the interventions instead of the actual way to recover .

You know what's funny? Because recovery means not coming here. I'm the gym. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Hey, go rest tomorrow. It's like, wait, we need you, we want you to come. We come. We come. We want you here. Yeah. How do you recover more here? Did you see this? There's a hammock here and a red light here, you know. Did you see the clip Doug sent about experiences and hospitality? I didn't see it. Oh, it was a good clip. You should have seen it. It was a, it was a very good, it was a very good analysis.

Just a prediction about the rise in hospitality. hospitality. hospitality. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It says we're going to see one of the biggest booms we've ever seen in hospitality. And as AI becomes more prevalent in our day-to-day lives, more people want to have in- person experiences. person experiences. Hence, gyms and wellness are exploding now, going in that direction. But you say even clubs, lounges, and pool parties, and you see it happening even in HVAC and things like that. You have to, You have to go to places that are booming right now, and the thing is, we're using this technology more and more , which is great, and everyone is starting to adopt it in business.

You have to make an effort to build community and be social. Exactly. It doesn't happen by default in your life anymore. Yes. It used to . Your . Your . Your daily life used to include social components because you were surrounded by people. But, you go weeks without seeing anyone. No, no. A classic example of something so many people have adopted is using Instacart or DoorDash for shopping. I mean, there was a time when to do your shopping you had to go to the supermarket, see other people, say hello, and talk to a cashier; you could literally never do that again .

And then, I think more and more people have adopted things like that . And I think you take it for granted and start accumulating those things before you realize it . I mean, going to the movies. I even see it with my own son, who prefers not to go to a premiere because he knows it'll be out at home and prefers to watch it with the convenience of streaming. You know, it's just that these things are happening more and more. Well, I hope the norm comes back.

The norm used to be, when you were a kid, that there was nothing to do unless you went outside and played with the other kids. It wasn't that long ago. It was a , you know, couple of decades ago . Where you just thought, I want to hang out with someone. I have to go outside. If you needed something, you went to your neighbor and asked them, you know, the classic: Can I borrow a cup of sugar? sugar? sugar? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. That kind of thing.

And most of society attended some kind of religious service once a week, something very communal. We worked with each other. Now, remote work is very common compared to how uncommon it used to be. It did n't even exist. Also, we entertain ourselves so much when we're on our own that it takes away some of the pain of boredom. That's why it makes sense to me that services that organize social interactions are going to explode. It goes back to what I think I've said on this podcast many times when we discuss friends or social issues.

And it's like we always let the pendulum swing to one extreme, and then... I feel like this is a good thing, right? This is what always makes me feel good about humanity: no matter how bad things get, we only let them go so far, and then I feel like the trend starts to swing back in the other direction. Now, it tends to swing really hard to the other side, and that's what usually happens, but I feel like that's what always happens. And this is an example of that.

With all this AI stuff and the alarmism surrounding it, like, "Oh my God, nobody will have a job, nobody will talk to anybody." And it's like, " Okay, maybe for a while." Maybe we'll all experience a little bit of that, and then we'll realize, "Oh, this doesn't feel good." I don't like it ." And ." And ." And well, I do like the direction gyms are taking. I really think it's great. I think gyms are moving toward a path of socializing and connecting. Okay, you've been saying this.

And now after seeing that clip Doug sent, I have a slightly different perspective on whether this is going to completely blow up, or if gyms were gyms were gyms were smart enough to be the first to grasp this trend toward hospitality. And they're benefiting from being at the forefront of this wave. And will other businesses, like the Ritz and similar companies, start to realize that "we're missing out on a chance to participate in this"? And then, will some of that market share be taken away from gyms?

I do n't know how they'll take it, because I think they will. Well, I don't know, because gyms are in a perfect position to do this. One of the things is that, to socialize without really having an activity to do, it's hard to get people out of the house. Like, "Hey, go hang out with people." It's a No." "Hey, go play pickleball." Okay. Or, "Go hang out and take this exercise class, join this hiking group," or maybe a book club. I don't know, maybe libraries will make a comeback because of that, but my point is, I don't see people going out just to be with others unless there's something to do, and gyms are kind of like a country club model, but smaller.

It also gets me thinking, because I've been watching the HBO documentary about Burning Man, and it's interesting to see the potential people have to get this crazy experience. It's really just the human connection they 've lost, and this basic sense of having to figure out how to interact with people. And the weather is crazy, everything is crazy , and we're appreciating people's talents, the art, and the things they bring there. Obviously, there are drugs, sex, and all that kind of stuff. You know, they did n't really go into that in the documentary, of course.

Which I thought was a minor detail. I'm just... funny to watch it from afar because I've never been. I know, you know, Doug's been there. So I could probably give my opinion, but it looked great. looked great. looked great. Yeah, he's got a lifetime membership. I get the appeal of it being, you know, people really like to dedicate this idea of ​​something that others will benefit from, it's something outside of themselves, and they're really thinking about others, in a way. And then I thought, man, I wonder if because of this documentary, I assure you it's going to explode and a lot more people will go.

Yeah, yeah. You know, because of the way they portrayed it. But it's also, you know, in the '60s there was this big revolution and stuff where people were hanging out and it was like free love and all that. I thought, I wonder if there was some kind of underground hippie movement . I . I . I think so. I think it's a pretty good speculation. I think what Sal's been observing and noticing in the gym space for a while now, and the reason we looked at them, is because the people who were probably more resistant to being The wellness and fitness crowd are antisocial because they're aware of how unhealthy that can be.

Everyone else is like, "Cool, new technology." Oh, great, if you're not a fitness person, you're not thinking about the unhealthy aspects of AI. You're not thinking from that perspective. The fitness and health crowd understands that, right? So, I think what they did was catch the beginning of a wave. A wave that was going to happen with or without them, and they're benefiting from that right now. I agree, and I also think gyms are one of the few semi-social places that are that way by accident. accident.

accident. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. There are very few gyms; I don't know of any where you sign up and you're the only person there. Well, it's like...you know what I mean? mean? mean? Everyone's there to improve themselves. You want to be surrounded by that kind of energy. You know, and it's really hard to find that available until people invent other places to do it. It just happens by accident. If you go to a gym and you're consistent, you're probably going the same days and times. The same times, right?

So, you're probably consistent on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 5:00 or whatever. You start recognizing the same people because they 're consistent too, and they go at the same time as you, right? Everyone has their own schedule, so what happens naturally—I know this because I've managed gyms—is that maybe you go without any intention of building a community. You just think, "I need to get fit." But you go at the same time, the same days every week, and you're very consistent because you're trying to get fit, and you see the same people, and without realizing it, you nod to them.

Subconsciously, you're also motivating someone else. It's true. You talk to them, and suddenly you're part of the 5:00 a.m. crowd or whatever—you know, every gym has that. So I think gyms were just doing it by accident and thought, "Oh, wait. This could really be the key." key." key." I think they saw it, leaned into it, and are riding the wave. What I It's curious, because I'm trying ... I don't know. Yeah, what's going to compete with that? Well, yeah, I mean, there'll be a lot of things.

Right now, gyms are... are... are... Pubs are declining, but I bet they'll come back up. That's this guy's prediction. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, pubs and all that stuff, because people are going to want to... go back. go back. go back. Which, for someone who's an investor, would be a smart move right now because they're probably discounted due to the recession... You know how important it is to English culture? I know because my wife's family is British. How important is it to their culture—I do n't know if it still is, it probably is—but how important are pubs in their culture?

Yeah. Oh, yeah. Where after work you go to the pub every day, socialize with your friends, and go home. Well, wasn't it you? Was it you or was it my other friend who was over there? Do n't they do something where at 1:00 or a certain time the pubs close, but they keep going The party inside? So, it's like you're partying there and you go ... ... ... all night, yeah. And it goes on, you know, all night, but then you can't drive off. Time, you know, you can't drive, they lock you inside.

Yeah, so at 1:00 it's like, stay or go. You know what I mean? But we're, if you want to keep going, go ahead, but then they lock the doors and you have to stay or something. So, to avoid drunk driving? I do n't know. I don't know. I thought, I thought Justin was the one who told me that. So. Yeah, I'm trying to remember. I think it might have been in Ireland, yeah. Yeah, I think it is, I don't know. I thought , I thought someone said, "Oh, that's interesting." I mean, talking about a bar culture or drinking culture where that might be the norm.

Can you imagine? You stay all night. Come on. Come on. Come on. And people really, really do it . . . That's what you just... But, I don't know. And They locked the doors. Yes, yes, yes. Yes, the traditional pub lock-in is a real, invitation-only custom. Isn't that interesting? interesting? interesting? It's an after-hours gathering of trusted regulars, not a legal practice. Because serving alcohol after the official licensed hours is usually illegal. Oh, right. Oh, right. Oh, right. So the bartenders lock the doors to keep new customers out while letting in the most loyal ones.

loyal ones. loyal ones. Yes, the customers who just get drunk and sleep there. The real alcoholics. You guys can stay here. That's pretty cool. The amateurs can leave, you know. That's crazy. That's crazy. That's crazy. Oh, yes, UK and Ireland. So, that's where it happens. Yes, it's interesting. Did you see the video of the 16-year-old lifeguard? 16-year-old lifeguard? 16-year-old lifeguard? Yes, me Yes, me Yes, me saving, yes, mate. It gave me me me anxiety watching it. Bro! First of all, how old was the kid you saved?

Oh, 13? 13, I think. Something like that, 12, 13. Obviously younger. But, he's got 16. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dude, he's out there diving in . Just hanging on. The waves were awful. Were they ? ? ? Waves, and here's the cruise ship. Oh, Seabright. I do n't know if there was some kind of storm somewhere else that caused this crazy swell where it wasn't just normal swell with waves coming in. It was like from multiple directions. multiple directions. multiple directions. So, you'd have one breaking, another breaking, and then it was all at different times.

Yeah, and the rip current was insane. You know this was in Seabright. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. This was in Santa Cruz. He's a local hero. Am I saying this wrong? Is there a difference between a rip current and a rip current? Are they the same thing? This is, I think it's the same thing. Okay. Okay. Okay. A rip current is when your fingernail is... well, it pulls you out. Regardless, it's pulling you out into the ocean. I thought, I thought you were correcting me or something. I was like, damn, isn't that what it is?

I do n't know. Just Let me put it another way. And a rip current are different water movements. A rip current is a brief pull of water downwards under a breaking wave, while a rip current is a narrow, strong channel of water moving fast away from the shore. So, they're different. Okay. Okay. Okay. Interesting. Interesting. Interesting. Well, there you have it. But, dude, I saw a video. I think it was a combination of both, right? I mean, I really thought that was it. I heard rip current and rip current.

Did you know that the kid he was trying to save had passed out? Yeah, you could tell. I mean, I could tell by how unconscious he looked, the way he was holding on to him, and just just just because of how he was pulling on his other arm. The kid wasn't lifting himself up . I do n't know how many seconds, but he only had a few seconds to even get up, take a breath, hold on, and then bam! He gets hit again. Multiple times. Apparently, he's a water polo player.

Oh, and apparently, this apparently, this apparently, this wasn't even... The craziest rescue he ever did. There were a bunch that day. No way. No way. No way. Yeah, there were a bunch, like Courtney and I saw some articles where he was interviewed and he said, yeah, nobody was recording. The craziest one, I was like, he basically recovered and then went out and did it again. again. again. Oh my God. So, I'm like, this guy is a champ. champ. champ. Dude, we're talking about him risking his own life to save a 10-year-old kid...

It was a 10-year-old kid he doesn't even know. even know. even know. 10 years old. But yeah, I read an article, I guess he 's a water polo player and I forgot what position he played. Never mind. Never mind. Never mind. Yeah, there's a position in water polo where you're where you're where you're constantly getting hit. Oh. Oh. Oh. And well, first of all, it's like one of the most physically demanding sports. Have you ever coached a water polo player? Have you guys ever coached one?

No. No. No. Okay. Water polo players, it's like they have the most brutal practices of all. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. They're out there for hours and hours. His resilience is ridiculous. For sure. For sure. For sure. They take a beating, so it's... And what goes on underwater is crazy, man. I guess. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. Kicking and yeah, yeah. Pinching and you know. know. know. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Oh, wow. Anything else there. But they invited him, they invited him to the White House. Did you guys know that?

Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. Him and his family. I guess he'll get an award or something. That's cool. cool. cool. That's good. Although it's amazing that he's had other rescues that weren't like that. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Dude, how popular do you think this kid is in high school right now ? He's 16. He's going back to school. school. school. Yeah, yeah. He's... Oh my God. But that, well, that also reminds me that I've been watching another documentary, the one about the 100-foot wave, looking for the 100-foot wave.

Uh, Garrett McNamara, I think that's how you pronounce his name. Um, it's interesting to know the whole origin of big wave surfing because this wasn't common for a long time until They figured out how to tow them out, basically with a jet ski. jet ski. jet ski. Oh. Oh. Oh. Because it was just so dangerous, and going out there is crazy. You really have to have safety measures in place. And so, a lot of this has been over the last decade or so , it's developed into this whole new sport.

And so he's one of the pioneers of all this, he started it in Hawaii. He was saying that then he came looking for bigger waves, right? He came, this is where you started to see it too, around the world. You started to see even places like Ireland, and they have huge waves, but, you know, it's freezing water, and nobody's out there saying, "Oh, I love surfing in this weather." You know, they're looking for these crazy, stormy waves." Uh, but he's the one who found Nazaré. So this guy's like...

What's Nazaré? This is in, um, uh, what country is that right next to Spain? Portugal. Portugal. Portugal. Portugal, thank you. I was thinking I was going to say Peru. Only it's not Peru . Portugal, um, and, well, there's this spot where the lighthouse gets these incredible waves, and I guess because of this big underwater valley that's really deep and then rises up, meeting perfectly on this pinnacle, these crazy waves are created that can go up to about 100 feet high. It's insane. And do people surf that?

Well, they never did. Only fishermen went there, and there are a lot of stories of them dying and stuff like that. like that. like that. If you fall from 100 feet, you're dead, right? Isn't 100 feet enough? If you hit the water from 100 feet, you're dead. I mean, it's literally like a high-rise building. high-rise building. high-rise building. Yeah, it is. Right. Look at the picture. Yeah, what are you doing? Dude, if you see this, it gives you all the anxiety. It's crazy to watch, but he really had to learn how to navigate when those kinds of waves were forming.

And, you know, they went really deep into the science of oceanography, how this happens, what the conditions are going to be, and all that. And, well, they worked out the plan. He went out there himself , you know, and almost drowned a couple of times. And then they figured out how to use spotters outside. They had megaphones to give warning because, you know, the person on the jet ski can't find them right away. They only have a few seconds when their head comes up. So they were directing them.

directing them. directing them. God. God. God. And it was incredible to see how all of this played out. To begin with, being able to surf that. And then they started breaking records there. It's It's It's the biggest waves ever seen . Was that an old documentary? Is it new? new? new? It's new. It's new. It's new. Oh, it's new. It's really good, man. And I 'm not doing it justice. It's like they go through that whole progression. I saw one more Old, but then, this must be a new record, right?

Yeah, he's still... The wave? He's a maniac. He keeps trying. And he's an older guy. older guy. older guy. That's my biggest fear, so to speak. Like, one of my biggest, normal, natural fears is water, and that in particular. Being in the water the water the water with a crazy wave. Yeah. Have you ever seen videos of ships, huge ships on the ocean during storms? And you see from where the captain is, and they go over a wave, a wave, a wave, and it's just like they're falling off a cliff.

Or you see them like this. They're completely sideways. The wave coming right over them . . . Dude, there's a clip of him, and well, he got too confident because he had already mastered Nazaré and all that. He went back to Mavericks. And Mavericks has huge waves, too. But, you know, he was too confident because he was thinking, "Ah, this isn't a big deal." He didn't ask for a tow; he ended up doing it without one. So he arrived a little late to the breaking point.

And just as the crest slammed into him, he ended up bouncing like a rock in the water. Boom, boom, boom, and he was totally wrecked. He broke all kinds of bones and everything. I was like, "Oh my God." It wasn't fun. " The wild thing is how, uh, do people actually do that? How crazy is that? Well, yeah, I know. How crazy does it look from our perspective? So, have you ever been on a, um, when you... Yeah, being underneath is so different. It's like when I don't know how many times I've gone skiing something that's like a double black diamond run or something.

And when you look at it from far away, it's like, ' like, ' like, ' Not so bad. Not so bad.' And then when you get to the top, you look down and you're going down, woah. woah. woah. And you look down, oh my god, it's a... So I can't imagine, man, just the hairs on the back of my neck would be... would be... would be... Oh, yeah. It's got to probably... It's got to feel similar to being on top of a really tall building, like you're...

It's pro... What would you call that? What's that called? Pro surfing? What do you call what you do that? Yeah, it's big wave surfing. Big wave surfing. Does it have a high fatality rate? fatality rate? fatality rate? Yeah, I mean, it sure has There have been deaths . Um, I don't know what the rate is. It's the wingsuit people who have the highest mortality rate, right? right? right? Where they jump in and they... Yeah, yeah, yeah. You remember that documentary where, like, at the end, half, more than half, have died since the documentary was made, right?

That was kind of crazy. The overall mortality rate for surfing, including big wave surfing, is statistically very low. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. 10 to 20 deaths worldwide. Why, though? Very few people do it. do it. do it. Well, it's because nobody does it. Nobody does it . I know. Who's going to try that? There are n't many people doing it. I did n't know Mavericks is in Half Moon Bay. You didn't know that? No. You've never been there? Oh, you've gotta go there, man, when there's a big swell.

It's so... Really? It just looks crazy? Crazy. Crazy. Crazy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Oh, man. Oh, man. Oh, man. Yeah. You realize... Oh my God. You get the picture. Real, at least even if you 're nearby and you see them coming, you're like, I ca n't believe anyone's out there right now . This is crazy. crazy. crazy. Oh, that's crazy. Yeah. Um, Adam, I was going to ask because I heard you off-air before we started the show talking about Legion's protein cereal. Uh, Legion. What are the macros for that?

that? that? They're really good, you know? Yeah, they're really good. The bowl ends up being like close to 40, I think I'm going to say, like, well, with the milk. Really? milk. Really? milk. Really? You get, oh, yeah. I mean, a good... It's like a good-sized bowl for me. Can you find the macros ? I ? I ? I have them right here. One serving, 170 calories, 17g of protein. So, 17g of protein. Yeah, that's right. That's it. That 's half a cup of cereal. A quarter or a cup and a quarter.

Yeah, so that's not even a bowl of cereal. A bowl of cereal... A bowl of cereal has 7 to 8g of fiber in that serving. So, you could get 35g of protein if you made two of those, and you'd have 16g of fiber, which should produce a good feeling of fullness, I imagine. It's good. What Legion did really well is... I don't know how many protein cereals you guys have tried. I've tried a lot of them. Um, they get stuck in your teeth. I really like the technology, but because they're healthy for you, they don't have a lot of junk in them, and that's why the texture is tough.

They got the texture just right. It doesn't get all, you know, weird. It's like, like cereal. What protein is in it? Is it whey? It has to be whey. Most likely. I think so. Let me check my phone. It's most likely, it's most likely. likely. likely. I've tried, I mean, I can't eat dairy, right? But I've, I've tried plant-based protein cereals. Yuck. Really? Yuck. Really? Yuck. Really? I got... They 're terrible. 're terrible. 're terrible. Terrible. I got my digestive enzymes that you made me buy.

buy. buy. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. You know, it's, uh, So, do they help? Yes, they did. I had—I mean, I took it with that—so I'm taking whey and then milk with vitamin D. And that would be an example in a big bowl, right? A lot of dairy for you. It's just a lot all at once. And I never could do it, but I definitely felt a lot better taking them. What I noticed, though I didn't know it, and now I know why you take so many, is that one pill is for every 5 grams of protein.

protein. protein. Yes. Yes. Yes. So you have to take quite a few. So, I have to get a much bigger bottle than the one I have. Also, to be honest, I just overdo it with supplements. I don't really count. It says on the bottle that one is enough. It says on the bottle that one pill is for 5 grams of protein. So, if I have a 50-gram protein meal, that's 10. So, you have to take 10 pills. Yes, I only took six because I said, I don't want to overdo it the first time, and who knows what the opposite effect would be.

So, I said: Let me start small. And so, I had six of those and thought, oh wow, that was really good. So that's going to be my new goal, trying to be disciplined about when I have them . You know what I did the other night? Because for me, dairy is the worst thing ever . I can tolerate a little gluten, you know, these days now that my gut is so much better. Dairy, I just have to stay away from. It's just going to upset me no matter what.

But what I did the other night because I don't eat dairy is I ordered what my wife called salami bread, because I ordered a pizza without cheese. And I know that when I sent that order, I was like, "Do you do that?" I bet the guy who makes it is looking at that thinking, "What?" " I feel like the guy who makes pizza without cheese is like the guy when my wife orders a well-done steak at a steakhouse. Like the chef thinks, 'Yeah, this is an absolute sin.' You know what I mean?

While he's grilling it, he's just squashing it. squashing it. squashing it. The guy's thinking, 'What kind of idiot?'" "Yes, the pizza maker thinks: "What kind of idiot?" Without cheese. I've heard of a double cheese pizza, but a pizza without cheese. It's literally a piece of bread with sauce, and then it has salami, sausage, all that stuff. It's like, it's like, it's like, "How's your salami bread?" I'm like , not bad. I almost want to try it. I'm curious to know what it's like. I mean, it's still tasty.

It's not pizza, but it's tasty. Not bad. So, gluten really isn't that bad? Because if you're going to compare the two, dairy is worse than gluten. Dairy is worse, so yeah. yeah. yeah. Yeah, what gluten does to me is, uh, I get a little bloated. If I eat a lot of gluten, I retain water. You guys will notice. I'll come in here and you guys will be like, "What happened to Sal's face ?" " ?" " ?" " Yeah, like, Yeah, like, Yeah, like, uh, this uh, this uh, this Jordan Peterson Jordan Peterson Jordan Peterson thing—thanks for pointing that out.

I appreciate it. I'm really glad we got that sorted out. sorted out. And our, and our Instagram, by the way. Every time I see that, I'm like, ' What was going on there, bro?'" " Uh, no, at first it slows down my digestion. So, at first it does n't seem to bother me, but I'm a little slower. Okay, let's put it that way. And then, a day or two later, I get an upset an upset an upset stomach. And that takes about a day or two.

Dairy, dairy is practically from the start . I mean, I eat it and I'm practically not going to have a good time for a while, so. Oh, wow. Interesting. Now, I have something right now. Dude, I mean, you guys know about my squirrel problem I had recently. So, I have this new one. Where are you going to fight the squirrels? the squirrels? the squirrels? Because they... I lost, I'm not going to fight. I lost. It's over. The war is over . The war is over. I don't have any peaches .

Zero. . Zero. . Zero. So, they took them all. They won. Until next year. So, we're So, we're So, we're down, but the war goes on. There you have it. Yeah, yeah. I definitely lost this battle. I lost a lot of deer this..." year. So, So, So, but I have a new one right now, and I'm not 100% sure. I'm almost certain it's my neighbor's cats. They have three cats that roam free . And he or she, I'm not sure, pees on my car. Huh? On top of my car?

car? car? No, they don't. Yeah. Yeah. In all sorts of places. The same car. Just one of my cars. my cars. my cars. God, bro. God, bro. God, bro. Yeah, just one of my cars. The one that would bother me the most. The one that would bother me the most about this. Pissed off right now. Okay. The first three, like the first three, three, three, the worst. If you ever pee on something of Adam's, the worst would be his car. Which is so weird, on his clothes.

It's on the the the back, on the roof. And, uh, cat pee sucks. It's the most annoying thing, and it's extremely consistent. Every time I don't cover it up—I mean, I cover it up most of the time—but then I discover it. Yeah. And it's in the same place on the back. And I thought they were birds. I thought they were birds when it started happening to me. I said to Katrina, "Did you see it on the camera or something?" something?" something?" So, well, originally the way I back up the car, I back it up so that my house's eaves shade the car for most of the day.

So, I back it up. So, I thought it was a bird landing and peeing, and I was like, "Oh my God, what is that?" "And it only started happening when I got that car. It didn't happen with any other car. It's just this car. It does n't like your car. And then, what? That's really weird. And then, it started happening three or four times in a row, and I was yelling at Katrina. I was like, 'Well , this sucks.' The reason I back it up is so it gets shade.

Now, I have to back it up so it doesn't get shade, so it does n't... But even then, the pee keeps showing up. So I said, 'Okay, there's no way a bird would hit that spot perfectly after I moved it,' because I thought it made sense if it was perched there... But I moved it five feet forward, and I still find the pee in the same spot on the car every day. So it's like it has to be these cats. Because I've seen cat paw prints on car hoods before when they're dusty or whatever.

So it has to be cats. be cats. be cats. When your car is still warm , mine always tries to climb on it." I tell him, "No." Oh, maybe it's... Well, the engine's in the back. Where's the engine? the engine? the engine? Yeah, that's where the engine is, because it's mid-engined, but I 'm not driving it. I don't drive it that much. It much. It much. It just doesn't like your car, man . Mhm. . Mhm. . Mhm. It's... it's just that one. It's just... None of the others.

On camera yet? Well, no. I've tried to catch it, but cats are stealthy enough not to set off the sensors. sensors. sensors. They're ninjas. They're ninjas. They're ninjas. Wow, so no sensor, just pee . . . Yeah. What if it's a demon? Demon cat. Demon cat. Though I'm so mad. It's so frus ... it's so... I've had some pet pee problems lately. lately. lately. That's a triple P right there. Yeah, a triple P. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Yeah, yeah. That came out of here. Pee problems.

I have pee problems. pee problems. And we're speculating, like, my dog, Arlo, likes peaches, he likes plums, he likes all that stuff. And I always put him on a leash Now he runs away and goes all the way to high school and eats from garbage cans, and it's a real problem. So I 'm always the one constantly putting his leash on and all that. And Courtney sometimes says, "Oh, you know, just let him out." I'm like, "What are you doing?" "You know, he...you know where he goes.

And boy, did he go downstairs and eat all those peaches and plums and everything. He comes back and his breath smells like fermented fruit, you know? Anyway, I was sleeping the other night and there was this really bright full moon around 2 in the morning, and he gets up and pees all over the place, you know, on my side of the bed. Inside the house? the house? the house? Inside the house. The house. The house. The house. Oh, my God. And he never does that, at least not in a long time.

And there was just this huge puddle. I was like, 'Oh, no.' We got up trying to find towels to clean it all up. We did n't let him outside. That dog has nine lives. That dog, man. He's done so many things to you. Man. Man. Man. Yeah, I'm at...Dude, I don't know what to do because I can't just... I'm looking for places that will take him, you know? I'm that kind of person. I'm looking for people." Hey, do you want a dog? "He's very sweet." You know, he's great.

He has his little quirks. Little issues here and there, but ... ... ... He likes to wrestle with skunks. He pees in your house. Literally, remember when he looked Justin in the face and pooped in his shoe? shoe? shoe? Yeah, man. Yeah, man. Yeah, man. While I was looking him in the face. Yeah, right when I was walking, bro. I would have lost that dog camping a long time ago. I feel like it's my anger... I do n't know what happened. It's my anger training. You know, so no...

I'm actually more prone to... and I keep it under control with him. I feel like he brings that out of me, so I'm not like that with my kids. And I've restrained myself from destroying him, you know? I'm like... but no, I get over it. My wife thinks it has something to do with the way I am with nature, she's more spiritual than I am, right? So she says he's great, yeah, the squirrel thing was because I killed the squirrel. We never got that many, we'd lose some peaches.

But she says, " Once you killed the squirrel, everyone came back and told the others, and now they've eaten all our peaches." And then, she and the cats, so, going back to...I don't know if I ever... "Is it like the planet in Avatar? Like all nature now? Yeah, it's so...in my backyard I have all these...I have furniture with white cushions, which, you know, is hard to keep clean. So, if I don't put...if you ever come to my house, have you ever noticed that when you come over during the day, if we're not there having a party, my cushions are all up?

I tilt them all up like that. And the reason I do that is because those stupid cats sleep on them, and then all my furniture gets covered in cat hair. So I have to do that every night after we come in; I have to put all the stuff up so the cat doesn't sleep there, because if I don't, it will sleep there. And then, whenever that cat is in my yard, I yell at it, I throw a rock, I do anything just to scare it away, so it knows it's not welcome.

And then, Katrina thinks that's why that's now peeing on my car. So that's... well, I've got the squirrel eating all the peaches, I've got the cat peeing on my car, and I just do n't know what to believe anymore. Did I ever tell you guys? This might be a horrible story to share, but I'm going to share it anyway. This is like just a heads-up. This is kind of old school, I guess Sicilian justice, I guess you'd say. When we were kids, I was young, we went to Sicily to visit my dad's parents .

Now, remember, they're my grandparents. They're not alive anymore, but they were like old-school poor Sicilians , okay? So, imagine all this, okay? We went to visit them, and we were there for... I think it was the whole summer. Like two months or something. And there was this dog the neighbor had, and it was an aggressive dog. So, when we were outside playing, the dog, you know, would bark and bark and scare everyone. Well, anyway, apparently my Grandpa hated that dog because it had tried to bite one of his other grandchildren before, and he said, "If that dog tries to bite anyone else, I'm going to kill it." I remember him telling me that.

Anyway, we were playing outside and went inside. My sister was still outside. She started screaming. The dog came out of his garage and bit her ankle. Then the neighbor came out, then Grandpa came out, and he was so calm that I remember thinking as a kid, "Oh, he's going to fight." My grandfather is going out and he's going to fight that guy." He was terrifyingly calm. He looked at the man, shook his head, and said something like, "Wow." He wasn't even angry. No, no, he wasn't angry, and he had a terrible temper.

I asked him, "You weren't angry or anything?" "It was weird. The dog died a few days later. Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no. I'm pretty sure... Are you ...? ...? ...? My grandpa did something. Oh, wow. I'm pretty sure. Because I remember him coming in, and he was very quiet. He quiet. He quiet. He came in, man. He came in, you know, I remember we were all gathered together. We were having dinner. This was like 3 or 4 days later, and my grandpa said, ' That dog won't bite anybody anymore.' Yeah, exactly.

And he just blurts it out like that. He said it out of the blue. 'Oh, that dog won't bother anybody anymore. Notice how quiet it is outside?' What do you mean by that? 'That dog is gone. He's dead .' What do you mean, he's dead?' I don't know. You know, he sleeps with the fishes now. Oh my God. What's going on here, man? man? man? Wow. Anyway, I don't know if he did it or not, but let's just say there was no investigation. So I'm excited to share with you Fatty 15's C15.

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So, Fatty15 is backed by science, award-winning, patented, and it works. I've used it myself. I noticed less inflammation, in particular, when I take it daily. Go check them out. Go to fatty15.com/mindpump. It's fatty15.com/mindpump, and use the code mindpump at checkout for a discount. Here comes the show. Our first call is from Amber in Texas. Texas. Texas. Hi, how are you, Amber? Hi guys, I'm pretty good. A little nervous. little nervous. little nervous. Oh, it's okay. So, what's going on? Give us an update. This is, what, 30...?

We spoke to you, what, a month ago? Yes, it was... So this is the third update, and since then I've listened to the advice, I'd like to say that this time I didn't half-heartedly. Adam is very surprised. I know. I'm sure we hung up and I thought, ' She's not listening to us.' I know. No, I didn't say she wasn't going to listen. listen. listen. No, I said that. I think I said that. What I said in Spanish was that I'm afraid they're going to... What's the word in English?

Scold me again? But, I lowered the dose and then I've stopped my GLP. I've gained weight. I've... I don't know how much because, again, I don't weigh myself, but the clothes that used to fall off now fit me well. So, good job. They fit better, and I'm getting stronger with my workouts. I haven't changed my exercises, and it could be the testosterone too, but I have, and I have more energy, so much so that I do n't know if it's Good or bad, but I really love to dance, it's my life, and I've been able to get more energy to dance again.

So, I've been asked to teach more dance classes, so... Okay. Okay. Okay. Yes, I quit and I've gained weight. I 'm not happy about it, but I've gained weight. weight. weight. Amber, great job. And there's more in your email. Is it okay if I read a little bit of it? Yes, please. Yes, please. Yes, please. It says you're now working with someone virtually to talk about body dysmorphia and all that. Yes, not long after our conversation, our follow-up, I started seeing a different therapist through my work.

And actually, I didn't even mention you guys; I mentioned the podcast because I was telling her that's why I'm gaining weight before the surgery. Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have quit the GLP. I would have just continued on the same trajectory, and I'm actually meeting with her later today. So , you know, just to talk about why I'm having these feelings. I mean, my life is a novel, so she's got a lot of work ahead of her, but that's one of the Things we're dealing with. That's great.

So, Amber, very well done. Yes. Very, very well done. And just to start, I want to encourage you, and then I'm going to prepare you a little bit. Okay? Okay? Okay? Mhm. Mhm. Mhm. Okay. Okay. Okay. I want to encourage you because you did something very difficult. You did something very complicated. You stopped taking LPG. You're eating more. You're not weighing yourself. And you 're talking to someone about some of these challenges. Now, just to prepare you, it gets very difficult after about 60 to 90 days, or maybe a little bit longer.

So, at first, these changes feel good. You say, "Okay, I have energy." Starting out is difficult. You got over that hurdle. And then what happens is we tend to fool ourselves because we think, "I feel good." "I have a lot of energy." This is fantastic . And you start compromising on some of the things you had decided not to do or to do now. And it starts small, but then the compromises get bigger and bigger . So, I just want to encourage you, it will get harder.

Maybe you'll take a couple of steps back, but when that happens, just say, " Okay, I'm going to get back on track." I'm going to do it again. Be patient with yourself. That's what this journey looks like. It doesn't look like, "Okay, I'm fine now, this is fantastic." It looks like, "Okay, things are going well, I'm great." Oh, oh, this is difficult ." Ugh, this sucks." "Let me do a little bit here, a little bit there." But if you get discouraged and start feeling ashamed, that spiral really starts to accelerate .

So, just be patient with yourself and remember that, and what might help is saying, "Oh yeah, Sal told me this would happen." This is to be expected. It's expected, it's normal. Let's get back on track. Yeah, well, I want to say that you guys have helped me a lot over the years. I'd say I've been listening to you for about 10 or 11 years. And first, you helped me stop weighing myself. That was important because I used to weigh myself, when I was at my worst, I'd say after every single meal, about 10 times a day.

And then, you helped me focus on getting stronger, so much so that I even entered a powerlifting competition powerlifting competition powerlifting competition . I didn't do well, but I did it. And then, you know, with not logging my food, that was a big thing for me because I'd been doing it for over 24 years. So I trust you all. It's not always easy, but I really appreciate the help you've given me, even if it's not always what I want to hear. I truly appreciate it. I really appreciate it.

You 're doing great. Yes. We were just talking. We saw your name come up and remembered when we first met. How long ago did we meet you in person? in person? in person? Nine or ten years ago. It was when you had that live event in Encinitas. It was there. there. there. Like eight or nine years ago, right? At least that much. Yes, and I mean, at that time I was the first one they offered a free show to because I talked about the nonprofit work I wanted to do , and ended up doing.

I'm actually a member of the nonprofit organization Guardians of the Children. We're a motorcycle group, and we escort kids when they have to testify in court and things like that. I've been able to teach some group fitness classes for those for those for those kids, and I've been doing a lot of volunteer work; a lot of the things they want to do in terms of exercise, I can Helping them, and a lot of what you guys taught me, I've carried over to that. Oh, you have such a kind heart, Amber.

That's great. That's great. That's great. Yes, we're so glad you're one of our listeners. Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Don't hesitate to contact us if you need anything else, okay? I will. Great will. Great will. Great . Keep focused on getting stronger. You're doing really well. Yes, let's go! By the way, my partner's name is Flex . . . Oh, wow. I love it. Thank you, Amber. It's great talking to you too, Amber. Amber. It's great. It's great. Yes, she's doing really well, man. And she's definitely come a long way.

And you know, the reason I asked her how long ago we met is because it's been a while. So it's not like she's been progressing all that time. Like she said, she's moving in the right direction, and I hope she hears this later, but you know, when you go through tough times, think about how far you've come. That was the Vuori launch. That's right. right. right. We helped launch that store, didn't we? The store Physics. Yes, yes. Yes, yes. Yes, yes. That was, yes, that was a long time ago.

How many years ago was that? Yes. Yes. Yes. Yes, about 9 years ago. And I mean, the weird thing is we did that and look how big they are now. So I don't know if there was some kind of weird effect afterward . . Our next call is Chase from Arizona. What's up, Chase? Hello, gentlemen, how are you? Good, man. Good, man. How can we help you ? ? ? Good, thanks for having me on today. I appreciate it. What do you have for us? I'll get straight to the point.

I'm a 34-year-old father. I'm 6'6" and weigh between 300 and 300 pounds right now. I played a lot of sports in college. And I'm just tired of being an overweight dad. The reason I say that is because, maybe I'll get sentimental, but about a year and a half ago my oldest daughter had an accident with a dog. She was attacked by a dog and I remember running to the hospital with our other daughters, there was no parking, I had I had to park really far from the hospital.

I had to carry them all, and it was exhausting. I had to stop a couple of times, and it was frustrating trying to get into the hospital to see her and help her. I had to make stops along the way, and it was very frustrating. Sorry, that makes me a little emotional. So I decided to make a radical change after that. I've listened to your podcast for a long time. I've been trying to get back into weightlifting. So for a year and a half, the goal has been to build muscle.

To establish a solid foundation. So I've been doing that ever since. Well, a couple of years ago, probably four or five, I had some success with the keto diet. I lost about 70 pounds, but I hated how I felt and how I looked. Honestly, I felt like I looked exactly the same, just less on the scale. I lost a ton of muscle mass. It wasn't a good experience. Since then, I've learned a lot about health and nutrition, I try to improve, and again, just keep moving forward.

So my question for you guys today is that I'm really confused by all the information out there about Calories and how many you should be consuming. You know, I put my information into a calorie tracker and it shows me anywhere from 2,200 to 3,500 calories a day. I'm a big guy, so it's hard for me to gauge what's right for me. Also, about protein intake. I know on the podcast you talked about having the right amount of macros and protein for your target weight. So I've been trying to eat between 260 and 270 grams of protein a day.

I'm not as consistent as I'd like to be, but that's my goal for now. I easily get around 7,000 or 8,000 steps every day. So , that's where I'm at. I'd love to hear your thoughts on where to start with calories; I feel like I have good muscle mass and now I just want to start cutting a little. little. little. Well, Chase, first of all, thanks for calling, man. And that story you told about carrying your kids to the hospital, I totally understand. That must have been really tough.

The reason I'm reminding you of that is to help you start from a point that I think will give you more success. Also considering you're an athlete. By the way, what sports did you play in college? in college? in college? Football. Football. Football. Good. Understood. I think this will help you a lot, what I'm about to say, because the source of motivation, for lack of a better term, makes a huge difference to success. The motivation you have, the core motivation, is to improve your fitness. It's not to lose weight.

The motivation to be able to do what you need to do as a parent or do what you need to do in life really has nothing to do with your weight. Now, your weight will start to react to your improved fitness. But I think, especially as a former athlete, and especially with that time you had, which is a very strong memory, I think the goal should be to improve your fitness and let your body weight settle where it needs to. Does that make sense? Now, what will probably happen is that you'll get leaner, right?

You'll probably get leaner. You will . . . But if you can move and you have incredible athleticism and fitness at, you know, 290 pounds, 280 pounds, Who cares? By the way, your body will reflect that. You'll look more like an athlete. Like you experienced when you did keto, getting smaller doesn't necessarily mean being better. You lost muscle, you didn't feel good, your fitness decreased, even though you were lighter. So, the goal of fitness and the goal of diet is what's going to fuel my stamina, my energy, and my strength.

So, if we start from there, you're going to crush it. Now, if we start with "I have to lose weight," you're going to run into the same problems you had before. Where you start compromising your fitness, you start compromising how you feel in pursuit of a number on the scale. Which can definitely happen. Does that make sense? sense? sense? Yes, it makes perfect sense. And I totally understand what you're saying. Before I started lifting weights intensely again, I was around 318 pounds. So, naturally, I've lost a little bit just from lifting weights and trying to eat better whole foods and stuff like that.

So, I totally get it. That's great. Yes, so we can definitely track it and all that. I think , you know, I think 250 grams of protein is enough. Oh, yes, Oh, yes, Oh, yes, for you. I don't think you need 200 to 250. Yeah, I don't think you need to go over 250. And if you go over 220, you're doing well. So I would keep it in that range for someone your size. So, that would really be the only thing I would tell you to track.

And what you do is eat only whole foods. And you eat when you're hungry. And then you evaluate your performance. Your training is also very important here because when we train for performance, movement, endurance, and strength, exercise makes a huge difference. How many days a week is realistic for you to go to the gym? And I mean realistic, like something you can be consistent with. Don't give me unrealistic illusions. unrealistic illusions. unrealistic illusions. Now, I aim for four days a week. I have some equipment at home that I enjoy, so it's not too difficult to go out to the garage and do a workout.

routine, but but Maps Performance, Maps Performance, that 's your program. Maps Performance. You're going to love it. Aim for about 240 grams of protein a day. Only eat whole foods ; if you're hungry, eat, and you'll be fine. And literally, it's like this: "Oh my God, I'm hungry." "I'm going to eat whole foods." And what will happen is that your performance and athletic ability will continue to improve with Maps Performance, and your body fat percentage, muscle mass, and body composition will change over time. And you won't feel like you're chasing something you can't achieve.

achieve. achieve. Hmm. The one thing I want to delve into, since you have that competitive athlete side that I like to work on with my former athletes, is being competitive with yourself in terms of your consistency with your eating habits. So, here's what it looks like . If your primary goal is performance, health, the strength that Sal talks about—and that's the perspective through which we look at it—and it's inevitable, you're going to have a day that isn't good. You're going to have a day where you 're busy, you can't, and so what?

The what? The what? The next day you're back on track. And what I want you to look at as a competitive athlete is: How many days in a row did I manage to eat whole foods, meet my protein intake, and be consistent? Oh, it was seven. And then I had a fail. Great. You're back to square one. The next day, your goal is eight. Can you hit eight? And you're only competing with... Now, along the way, you're going to have these days. That's right, it just happens.

However, what happens to people is that they have that one bad day where they ate badly, drank too much, or didn't hit their protein quota. And then it's like everything spirals out of control. Oh, screw it all. Or they step on the scale and see a number they don't like, then they totally lose control, and one day turns into a week of poor eating and lack of consistency. I don't want you to see it that way. It's not a bad thing. In fact, when you're going for performance and strength, sometimes one day with more calories, eating out of the ordinary, will fuel tomorrow's workout, and you'll feel amazing.

So don't see it as a negative. Look at it like, "Whoa, man." I reached 7 days, it's my new record. "I'm on eight now." Can I really achieve eight days of perfect eating while sticking to my protein? So don't let that one slip-up get you down. Start tracking how many days you can string together and compete against yourself to improve. Before you know it , you'll wake up having achieved 30 or 40 days of perfection and feel better than ever. Chase, do you meal prep? Yes.

Every Sunday I put some things together, store them in glass containers, and have them ready for the whole week. Good. I'm doing my best. best. best. Yes, good. Meal prepping will be key to this. And another thing to watch out for is that, since your weight will always be in the back of your mind , you might start eating less than you need, which will affect your performance. You might think, "Okay, I know I'm supposed to eat natural, whole foods, but if I skip one, it's not the end of the world ." "Anyway, I need to lose weight." And then you'll see a drop in your performance.

So I'm going to give you some structure, okay? I want you to eat at least four meals a day, no matter what . Now, if you're hungrier afterward, eat more of those natural, whole foods, but I don't want a guy your size sacrificing his performance. If you eat fewer than four prepared meals a day, you'll be eating less than you need. You'll also notice a decrease in your performance. your performance. your performance. Note, Chase, that no one on this call has mentioned yet that we care about how many calories you consume.

It's like, everything... It'll everything... It'll everything... It'll go where it's going to go. Exactly. If you focus, like we 're saying, on where they need to go, you'll have better days and worse days. But what you should be looking at is consistency: is consistency: is consistency: steadily getting stronger, feeling better, improving your performance, and then, like Sal says, the body will follow. Yes, body composition follows later. later. later. The aesthetics, the definition, and all that will come later, but if you stay focused on hitting your protein intake, eating to fuel the Get your body ready for performance, and string together so many consecutive days focused on your performance, the rest will fall into place.

That's right. But at least four meals a day, because you need a lot of fuel, man. You're a big guy . And yeah, like I said, deep down you might be thinking, "Ah, you know, I'll lose weight." It's okay if I skip a meal here or there," and that's going to take you down the wrong path . Another thing, Chase, if you want someone to guide you through this, have you thought about working with a trainer? Because we have trainers, and I have a few in mind that I think would work great with you.

Yeah, yeah, I heard you guys talking about that on the podcast. I would love to, I mean, I would love to sit down and chat with one and see what that's like. Okay . . . Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It's funny, exactly what you guys are saying is what I go through every day, where, you know, I skip a meal or two , and it's hard...it's, it's, it's hard to overcome the obsession of, "If I do n't eat, then I'm going to lose weight," or whatever, but no, no, no.

I need to adopt a better mindset of fueling my body and just focusing on being an athlete. No less than four meals a day. Have fun with your workouts. You've got what it takes. To be able to get strong. And man, you'll start to enjoy it. You'll really have a lot of fun, and Your body, I promise you, your body will look more athletic if you get more athletic. I think working with a trainer, I think six months for you would be great. Six to nine months, you'd be amazing, man.

You'd be amazing. It'll give you a much better mindset toward all of this, no doubt. They'll guide you. I'll have someone call you today, Chase, and you can ask them all the questions you want, but in the meantime, I'll send you Mass Performance if you don't already have it. Um, yeah. And you'll do great, man. If you remember what we 're saying, stick with it and don't try to do anything crazy, you'll make it. make it. make it. Yeah, I'll stick with it. I'll tweak the program a little and focus on what you guys said.

I... I understand, Chase. Thanks for calling, man. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks to you guys. I really appreciate it . You're welcome. Take care. Yeah, I think especially with a former athlete, getting that feeling back of, "Wow, it feels good to move." Also, what happened with his kids, it can confuse him with, " I need..." "Lose weight." And yes, losing weight can be part of it, but what you're really looking for is ability. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Oh, yes. Exactly. Fitness. Exactly. Fitness. Exactly. Fitness. Oh, believe me.

There are 350-pound guys who move faster than me. Yeah, yes. So it's not about weight, you know? Yeah. Defined guys on Instagram who would have to pause every time because they're not fit. fit. fit. That's right. That's right. And let that be your guide throughout this whole process. You know, the hardest part with athletes is that they tend to be all or nothing. Right. Right. Right. And that's why I... That's why I mentioned the trainer thing at the end. end. end. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And that's also why I pointed out that if you're going to use that competitive side, use it to be consistent with your diet.

String those days together. Yeah. And the fact is, we all have bad days. And what often happens is that the all-or-nothing person lets that bad day turn into a " now it's nothing" kind of thing, you know? So I'm hoping I can get a trainer and that they guide him through all of this. Our next caller is Ashley from Texas. Texas. Texas. Hi Ashley. Hi Ashley. Hi Ashley. Ashley. Ashley. Ashley. Yes, I'm so nervous. I'm so excited to talk to you. Um... How can we help you?

Yes. Yes. Yes, I wrote just to say thank you. You've really inspired my fitness journey, and I've accomplished so much since I started listening to you, since I discovered you about 5 years ago. I really appreciate all the information you guys have provided. Uh, but I wanted to ask a question. I feel like I was in really good shape a year ago. I was working out 5 days a week. Uh , I felt really strong and good, and then I got pregnant and had hyperemesis gravidarum.

Which, uh, is basically the most extreme morning sickness. I was basically on complete bed rest and didn't do any movement other than get from the bed to the couch for about 9 months. Uh, and since then, I'm now 4 months postpartum, and I just don't know what program I should follow to get back to the gym without hurting myself. I feel like a stranger in my own body, where nothing feels right. Okay. I'm really weak all over . Uh, even simple movements are really hard for me again, and I feel like I've lost all my progress, all my muscle mass, everything, and I'm starting from scratch.

from scratch. from scratch. Uh, that's... I'm so glad you called. It's a tough position to be in, Ashley. I've coached women like you in similar situations. Uh, it's really hard. It's really tough. By the way, my wife was pretty close to that for about four months while she was pregnant with my daughter. So difficult. What could you eat when...? Because I know with my wife, if I mentioned a food, she would throw up. Was there anything you could eat? I mean, it was pretty minimal. I would get IV fluids, and, uh, it was kind of random.

I don't know, carrots were something I could be okay with and gain some weight on. It was super random what I could eat, but yeah, the microwave would turn on, and I would be like, " Ew!" "." And then I started throwing up, it was awful." awful." awful." Brutal. Brutal. Well, uh, you...the way you're feeling is totally normal. Uh, I have the perfect program for you. Uh, and it's going to be MAPS Starter. And just to encourage you, Ashley, you have muscle memory. And that's a real thing.

So the results will come back faster than you expect. The challenge will be not pushing too fast or too hard. That's the challenge. Ma-uh MAPS Starter, perfect. That's where you need to go. Just follow that program exactly. And it might seem easy after a few weeks, but stay consistent. Don't do any of our other programs. Don't add anything else, other than maybe walking. Just stick to MAPS Starter. And when you finish, you should feel like you can do more traditional programs a couple of days a week.

Very good, excellent. Thank you. I started with Anabolic at first and I felt like I was hurting myself, it was too much. Too much at the beginning. So you could even repeat Starter twice depending How you feel. I would tell you to complete Starter, and if you feel great, I would say, "Hey, let's see if we can handle MAPS Anabolic." And then I would want your feedback on how you feel. And if you say, "I feel great," we move on . If you say, "Wow, this still scares me," "I still don't feel like this is my body." Then I would say, "Go back to Starter." Let's do Starter again.

So you really have to be guided by how you feel . It will probably be at least a year before you're even thinking about going to the gym five days a week. That's a lot of volume for anyone, and a lot more for someone who just gave birth and went through what you went through. So do MAPS Starter at least once. If you still don't feel confident, repeat it. You'll be fine. And then, little by little, try Anabolic and see how you feel. feel. feel. The way to do MAPS Anabolic, if you decide to continue with it afterward, would be to start with the pre-phase and do it for about five weeks before moving on to phase one.

Does that make sense? Yes, totally. It's very encouraging to hear others say that it's okay and that it will take time, because I need to get back to who I was, and it's hard going from feeling strong and good to feeling like I can't do anything. You actually mentioned things that so many people I've worked with, so many women, have said. And the common thing they say, which you also mentioned , is, "I feel like my body isn't mine ." Super common. So don't worry, and what Adam said is very accurate.

It takes one to two years for moms to feel completely recovered. That doesn't mean you won't make progress during that whole time. You will make progress the whole time , but it will take a little while because you'll still have a one-year-old. You'll have all of that going on, and then like one to two years later you'll say, "Okay, I'm back . I feel good," and in that case, you tend to have another baby, but we'll see. Yes, so we'll send you the starter kit. starter kit.

starter kit. Yes. Yes. Yes. Well, that's great. Thank you, guys. I appreciate it. appreciate it. appreciate it. Thank you, Ashley. Yes, be patient and stay in touch if you need any help. Yes. Yes. Yes. Okay, thank you very much. I really appreciate it, guys. You're amazing. amazing. amazing. Okay, Ashley. Okay, Ashley. Okay, Ashley. Bye. Bye. Bye. Bye. Have you ever worked with a woman who has had Hyperemesis? No. No. No. Dude. Not to that level. Of that, yeah. I've had clients who've had it before. I've before.

I've before. I've had clients who've gone through, uh, like the first trimester with really bad morning sickness, but not 9 months and on an IV drip. On an IV drip and trying to give her nutrients or something? something? something? Like, you can't eat anything. It's very extreme. So Jessica was...there was a moment...there was like a week within that period. The whole period was tough. Where she was like hypersensitive to everything. There was like a week there, dude, where I was like, we have to, we have to get you to eat something.

eat something. eat something. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Like, you can't just not eat , because she literally couldn't do anything. She was on the couch the whole time . It was crazy. Okay, I know you liked that episode. If you did , check this one out. One of the keys to fat loss is protein. It's true. If you don't eat a high- protein diet, you're not going to burn as much body fat as you could. So, in today's episode, we're going to talk about the Smarter ways to use protein to burn fat and build muscle.

You have to see this. this. this. I wish I had understood this earlier in my career. I think it was almost 10 years before I started focusing solely on this with my clients. It was important, but I didn't know how important. important. important. Yes, and I also knew it was important, but I also didn't