Mikkipedia

It’s festive season, the pours get generous, and fat loss can suddenly feel… mysteriously harder. In this Mini Mikkipedia episode, Mikki breaks down why alcohol has more power than you think — not just because of calories, but because your body treats ethanol like a toxin and prioritises clearing it first. That means acetate becomes the preferred fuel, fat oxidation gets shoved to the back of the queue, and appetite, sleep, and next-day decision-making can all take a hit. Mikki also explains why midlife women often notice these effects more (sleep fragility, hormonal shifts, body composition changes), plus the real-world patterns that matter most: “most nights,” “weekend warrior,” and the classic “optimistic home pour.” You’ll also get practical strategies to keep alcohol in your life without it quietly body-slamming your goals.Highlights / topics coveredWhat alcohol metabolism does to fat burning (acetate, ADH/ALDH, suppressed lipid oxidation)Why “two glasses” often isn’t two standard drinks (and why the liver doesn’t care)Sleep disruption → hunger, cravings, blood sugar swings, and reduced training qualityHow alcohol can blunt muscle protein synthesis after training — especially relevant in midlifePractical guardrails: weekly caps, timing, measuring pours, and choosing your “non-negotiable” drink Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKIPEDIA at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz Supplement: Use code MIKKIPEDIA to get 20% off your first order - go to www.curranz.co.nz  or www.curranz.co.uk to order yours This week on the podcast, Mikki speaks to fan favourite Brandon DaCruz — coach, educator, and one of the sharpest minds in physique and performance nutrition. Their conversation takes a personal turn with Brandon sharing what he has done over this N orthern Hemisphere summer to get shredded, how he has leveraged his model of high energy flux in a fat loss phase to get the most out of his food and his training, the foods that he chose, supplements he takes and how he implemented rapid fat loss days (aka protein sparing days) to accelerate loss - and his approach when things got tough. Brandon normally regales us with the literature and client stories but today it is a mix of his personal practices and how this has been informed by his understanding of the research. Such a great opportunity to hear how the pros do it.Brandon DaCruz at his website https://www.brandondacruzfit.com/, and on Instagram @brandondacruz_Chasing Clarity https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/ep-112-spot-reduction-is-it-possible-to-lose-body-fat/id1619611966?i=1000657394910Brandon DaCruz is an online nutrition and physique coach and sports nutritionist. He’s also a National Level NPC physique competitor and an internationally published fitness model who’s written articles and filmed educational content for publications like Men’s Fitness Magazine and Bodybuilding.com. Brandon has spent over 13 years  working within the sports nutrition and fitness industries and has coached every type of client including Olympia Level professional men’s physique competitors, college athletes, MMA fighters, CrossFit competitors, and lifestyle clients. He believes in blending what’s been proven in the research with his own anecdotal and first hand "in the trenches'' experience to improve body composition, optimise performance and enhance health in order to help his clients achieve their goals whether that be building muscle, losing body fat, increasing performance and/or optimising health and longevity. This is what he refers to as his health-centric coaching model as he believes that improving one's health is the cornerstone to optimising their physical goals. https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/270https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/226 https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/300 https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/368 https://podcast.mikkiwilliden.com/416  Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwilliden

Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKIPEDIA at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comThis week on the podcast Mikki brings back Dr Cliff Harvey and Darren Ellis to talk about their latest book (and first joint collaboration) Awesome after Forty. We talk about the inception of the book, their current thoughts on all things strength training, fitness, nutrition, health, sleep, fasting and give teasers as to what you will be able to find in the book. This is going to be a must-have for almost everybody to have on their shelves and to dive in on any given topic. It’s practical, applicable and readable but they haven’t dumbed things down. Would be a perfect gift.Cliff Harvey, PhD, is New Zealand’s expert on the effects of a ketogenic diet in a healthy population, but so much more than that. He has been  helping people to live healthier, happier lives, and to perform better since starting in clinical practice (way back...) in the late 1990s. Over this time he has been privileged to work with many Olympic, professional, Commonwealth and other high performing athletes. He has also worked with many people to overcome the effects of chronic and debilitating health conditions. Along the way he has founded or co-founded many successful businesses in the health, fitness and wellness space, including  Holistic Performance Institute, NZ’s leading certification and diploma for health, nutrition, health coaching and performance that has many of the world experts teaching on the course, so students are learning from the best. Cliff has  over 20 years experience as a strength and nutrition coach and, in addition to his PhD research, he is a Registered Clinical Nutritionist, qualified Naturopath (Dip.Nat – NCNZ) and holds a diploma in Fitness Training (AUT) and Health Coaching in Patient Care.You can find Cliff over at https://cliffharvey.com/Darren Ellis, MSc, has an aim to share what he’s learned with as many people as possible, teaching them that there are no shortcuts with exercise, but that it can be achievable, and even fun, with good coaching and a supportive peer group. He is a regular contributor to a variety of popular print and web based health and fitness magazines, public speaker, and consultant to sporting organisations, businesses, universities and television.Specialties: Strength training and nutrition for fitness, sport, weight loss, muscle gain, longevity.Darren can be found at: https://www.darrenellis.coach/ Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order Curranz Supplement: Use code MIKKIPEDIA to get 20% off your first order - go to www.curranz.co.nz  or www.curranz.co.uk to order yours Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwilliden

In this Mini Mikkipedia  episode, Mikki digs into one of the trickiest parts of life after fat loss: eating out while you’re in maintenance. It’s a phase so many people skip entirely—swinging between strict dieting and full-tilt abandon—but learning to live in the middle is where long-term results are actually built. Mikki breaks down how to approach restaurant meals without panic, how to categorise your choices (green, amber, red), and why pre-planning beats starving yourself all day. From menu overwhelm to invisible fats, alcohol boundaries, shared plates, and how to calm the mental chatter afterwards, this episode is a practical guide to enjoying real life while keeping your hard-earned progress. A perfect listen heading into the festive season, when eating out becomes the sport of December.✨ Highlights • How to approach maintenance eating without slipping back to “all or nothing” • Green/amber/red meal categories that remove guilt and guesswork • Restaurant strategies that keep satisfaction high and stress low • Alcohol boundaries, dessert decisions, and handling social pressure • What to do the day after so one meal doesn’t become a spiral Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Save 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKIPEDIA at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz Supplement: Use code MIKKIPEDIA to get 20% off your first order - go to www.curranz.co.nz  or www.curranz.co.uk to order yours This week on the podcast Mikki speaks to Erin Power — metabolic health coach, writer, educator, and one of the most refreshingly honest voices in women’s health today. Erin has spent more than two decades in the nutrition and fitness world, and her own lived experience of burnout, dieting culture, and metabolic chaos has shaped the philosophy she now brings to the midlife women she works with.Their conversation digs into what it truly means to “heal your relationship with food and metabolism,” the mindset shifts women in their 40s and 50s often need to make, and why Erin created her Metabolic Reboot framework to fill a glaring gap in women’s health. They explore  how hormonal changes in perimenopause alter both how women feel and function, and why mainstream diet advice so often misses the mark.Mikki and Erin also talk about the very human fears behind behaviour change — the ghosting, the hesitation, the stories women tell themselves — and how stress, sleep, perfectionism, and nervous system dysregulation quietly sabotage progress. Erin shares her flexible “low-carbish, real-food-ish” approach, her stance on protein and tracking, and what it means to aim not for perfect eating but peaceful eating.It’s a wide-ranging, generous conversation about midlife metabolism, self-trust, and the kind of support women actually need during this transition — delivered with Erin’s blend of clarity, humour, and hard-won wisdom.Erin Power is a veteran health coach, writer, and educator with nearly three decades of experience in the fitness, nutrition, and behaviour-change space. She began her career in the trenches of the fitness industry as a personal trainer and group fitness instructor, where she watched countless clients do “all the right things”—counting, weighing, measuring, grinding—yet still fail to find the health, ease, or body composition they were promised.Her own health unravelled in the middle of that career, forcing a reckoning. The conventional wisdom she had been taught—and had taught others—simply didn’t match human physiology. This realisation fuelled a deep dive into the science of metabolism and appetite regulation. Erin rebuilt her own health and became fiercely committed to helping others do the same.She formalised her education with a diploma in Holistic Nutrition and went on to accumulate advanced coaching certifications, behaviour-change training, and metabolic health education. Erin became one of the earliest senior coaches and the Head of Coaching at Mark Sisson’s Primal Health Coach Institute, where she helped shape curriculum and mentored thousands of students and coaches worldwide. She’s known for her trademark blend of metabolic literacy, compassion, and refreshing bluntness—equal parts educator, myth-buster, and coach.Erin specialises in helping people unravel long-standing metabolic struggles, particularly those who feel they’ve “tried everything.” Her coaching approach dials in appetite, cravings, energy, mood, and body composition through strategies that often defy mainstream advice—because, as she says, “those things didn’t work.”Her mission is straightforward and unapologetic: to help people build an effortless relationship with food, for life, and to show them how beautifully the body works when it’s finally given the right inputs.https://www.eatsimple.ca/https://www.eatsimple.ca/podcast Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwilliden

In this Mini Mikkipedia episode, Mikki unpacks why fat loss in midlife never feels as straightforward as it used to — even when your strength is climbing, your shape is changing, and you know you’re doing everything right. She breaks down the hormonal shifts after menopause that make the scale far more chaotic, from cortisol-driven water swings to vasopressin turning you into a temporary camel. Mikki also explores the mindset piece: why new habits feel heavy at the start, why slow progress is still genuine progress, and how to build anchor behaviours that keep you steady when life isn’t. It’s a mix of physiology, reassurance, and practical strategy to help you stay the course without letting one number steal the win.HIGHLIGHTS • Why weight loss naturally slows after menopause • How cortisol + vasopressin create confusing water weight • What “slow but steady” fat loss really looks like • The mindset shift that stops overwhelm and all-or-nothing thinking • Anchor habits to keep you on track through messy weeks Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Brandon DeCruz, an online nutrition coach and national-level physique competitor, shares his insights on nutrient timing, the often-misunderstood ‘anabolic window,’ and effective peri-workout nutrition. He explains how pre- and post-workout nutrition influences muscle protein synthesis and recovery. The conversation debunks common myths around fasted training and emphasizes tailoring nutrition based on individual goals. Brandon also highlights the significance of carbohydrate timing, intra-workout fueling, and the impact of cortisol, making this a must-listen for fitness enthusiasts.

In this Mini Mikkipedia, Mikki dives deep into what’s really happening to your bones in perimenopause and beyond—plus what you can do to reverse bone loss, not just slow it. She explains why the drop in oestrogen accelerates bone breakdown, why osteopenia is far from “nothing to worry about,” and how fractures become a major driver of loss of independence and early mortality.Mikki walks through the non-negotiables for stronger bones: the right kind of exercise (hint: walking alone won’t cut it), why sleep is a critical bone-building tool, and how protein, calcium, vitamin D, K2, magnesium, collagen, creatine and omega-3s all fit together. She also covers meds, alcohol, smoking, and what realistic “reversal” of osteopenia looks like in your 50s, 60s and 70s.Episode HighlightsHow much bone density women typically lose after menopauseThe most effective training mix: resistance, impact, and where weighted vests/vibration fitThe surprising role of sleep and stress in bone buildingProtein, calcium, K2, D, magnesium, collagen, creatine & omega-3 for bone healthWhy osteopenia can be improved—and what success really looks like Contact Mikki:https://mikkiwilliden.com/https://www.facebook.com/mikkiwillidennutritionhttps://www.instagram.com/mikkiwilliden/https://linktr.ee/mikkiwillidenSave 20% on all Nuzest Products WORLDWIDE with the code MIKKI at www.nuzest.co.nz, www.nuzest.com.au or www.nuzest.comCurranz supplement: MIKKI saves you 25% at www.curranz.co.nz or www.curranz.co.uk off your first order

Dr. Abby Smith-Ryan, an exercise physiologist and nutrition researcher specializing in midlife women's health, discusses the metabolic changes during perimenopause. She highlights the importance of sufficient nutrition and the pitfalls of under-fueling. Abby explores effective training strategies, including the role of pre-exercise protein and progressive resistance training, to boost muscle mass and overall health. She also introduces innovative tools like continuous glucose monitors and hormone trackers to personalize care for women navigating this life stage.