Wits & Weights | Fat Loss, Nutrition, & Strength Training for Lifters

We challenge the myth of a “broken metabolism” and show how results improve when your plan matches your current physiology, lifestyle, and recovery.Take the 2-minute quiz that identifies whether you’re facing metabolic adaptation, lower insulin sensitivity, or a recovery mismatch along with a 15-page personalized fat loss blueprint with macros, movement, and recipe recommendations: witsandweights.com/quiz--Tired of blaming a “slow metabolism” for stalled fat loss or flat training?Let’s fix the real issue: the mismatch between your plan and where your body stands today. Learn about the most common roadblocks to fat loss and how to turn each into a clear path forward.Go to witsandweights.com/quiz to take the free 2-minute metabolism quizSupport the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Register for the Live Q&A with Karen Martel on Tuesday October 14, only in Physique University (replay included). Use code FREEPLAN to get a free custom nutrition plan when you join ($97 value) at physique.witsandweights.comGet hormone creams and oils without a prescription at witsandweights.com/karenmartel (use code WITSANDWEIGHTS for 10% off)—What if waiting too long for hormone therapy meant more than hot flashes? What if it set you up for stubborn weight gain, bone loss, and low energy?I talk with hormone specialist Karen Martel about why timing matters for HRT, how hormone shifts impact metabolism, muscle, and mood, and why lifestyle alone isn’t always enough. We cover genetics, trauma, and the latest tools, from HRT to GLP-1s—that can help women reclaim vitality in midlife and beyond. Karen Martel is the host of The Hormone Solution Podcast, where she helps women thrive through perimenopause and menopause with practical, science-backed solutions. Today, you’ll learn all about:6:35 – How hormones trigger a metabolic storm12:56 – The rise of belly fat and insulin resistance19:11 – Muscle, bone, and recovery challenges23:51 – Life without hormone therapy28:55 – Key tests to watch in your 40s44:12 – GLP-1s as a new tool59:17 – A positive future for women’s healthEpisode resources:Karen’s Bioidentical Hormone Products (Creams & Oils) - use code WITSANDWEIGHTS for 10% offKaren’s group hormone coachingSupport the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Take our free 2-minute Metabolic Quiz and get a 15-page assessment and body recomposition road map Book your Performance Bloodwork Analysis at witsandweights.com/bloodwork to identify your biggest constraints and get a personalized plan based on your hormone levels and metabolic markers. Podcast listeners get 20% off with code VITALITY20.--We've been conditioned to think that spending money directly on coaching, guidance, accountability, and taking ownership of our own healthcare is indulgent, while spending on products, equipment, and supplements feels responsible.The average American spends $13,000 annually treating preventable conditions, while personalizing your health might cost $2,000.Learn how an engineering tool called the Fishbone Diagram helps you prioritize where your resources (time, money, effort) should best be spent.Investing in your health isn't selfish. When you have more energy, you show up better for your family. When you're strong and confident, you're more effective at work. When you feel good in your body, you're more present in relationships. Taking care of yourself doesn't take away from others, it's what allows you to give more.Main Takeaways:5 high-ROI interventions that actually move the needle for personalized healthHow to separate evidence-based health optimization from expensive wellness theaterInvesting in your health isn't selfish, it's foundational for showing up for othersEpisode Mentioned:How Performance Bloodwork Reveals What's Really Blocking Your Fat Loss (Constraint Theory)Timestamps:0:00 - The personal spending paradox 5:13 - The privilege narrative 8:03 - Wellness "theater" vs. what works 11:50 - What personalized health actually means 17:23 - The real cost of prevention vs. treatment 22:22 - Permission to invest in yourself 23:37 - What is the Fishbone Diagram? 28:34 - 5 high-ROI health interventions 41:03 - Addressing the "selfish investment" mindset 44:29 - Accessibility doesn't mean compromiseSupport the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Book your Performance Bloodwork Analysis at witsandweights.com/bloodwork to identify your biggest constraints and get a personalized plan based on your hormone levels and metabolic markers. Podcast listeners get 20% off with code VITALITY20.Get 20% off Cozy Earth temperature-cooling sheets (with code WITSANDWEIGHTS) at witsandweights.com/cozyearth--Are you gaining belly fat with age and frustrated that restricting calories and ab exercises aren't working any more (if they ever did)?Discover the 7 root causes of midlife belly fat, most having nothing to do with what you're eating or how you're training. Understanding these physiological mechanisms helps create targeted solutions that address the real reasons fat is being stored around your midsection rather than simply doing more of the same.Main Takeaways:Root cause #1 tells your body to store fat centrally, even in a calorie deficitRoot cause #2 disrupts hunger hormones and directly raises insulin resistanceRoot cause #3 shifts fat distribution to the abdomen with ageRoot cause #4 promotes belly fat storage, especially liver and visceral fatRoot cause #5 suppresses fat-burning enzymes independent of exerciseRoot cause #6 slows metabolism and favors central fat storageRoot cause #7 suppresses fat oxidation while raising cortisol and lowering testosteroneEpisode Resources:Get 20% off Cozy Earth bamboo-derived sheets (use code WITSANDWEIGHTS) at witsandweights.com/cozyearthGet 20% off a Performance Bloodwork Analysis (use code VITALITY20) at witsandweights.com/bloodworkTimestamps:0:00 - Why you gain more belly fat with age 5:06 - The 7 root causes 41:13 - Why belly fat responds fastest when you fix the right things 42:17 - How to get deeper answers about the 7 root causesSupport the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Want to build muscle, lose fat, balance hormones, and enjoy life? ⁠⁠⁠Join Physique University and get a FREE custom nutrition plan using code FREEPLAN. Go to witsandweights.com/physique—Think you’re too old to transform your body? Brian Kopka proves otherwise.At 46, Brian, a medical professional and former athlete, was stuck in the low-carb trap, feeling drained and frustrated. Six months later, he’s stronger, leaner, and more energized than ever. Brian joins me today to share how reintroducing carbs supercharged his workouts, why logging every rep reignited progress, and how coaching gave him the push he didn’t know he needed. We also talk openly about the struggles men rarely admit: scale obsession, restrictive eating, and the mental toll of chasing fitness alone.Today, you’ll learn all about:3:07 - Why Brian hired a coach6:09 - Tracking workouts and progressive overload8:08 - How carbs transformed performance15:12 - Using data to cut through fitness myths18:43 - The truth about aging and decline25:00 - Coaching as an accelerator for growthEpisode resources:Brian’s email: mdkicker17 [at] yahoo.comSupport the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Get your Performance Bloodwork Analysis - Use code VITALITY20 for 20% off and discover what's really constraining your progress at witsandweights.com/bloodwork--Stop guessing what's holding back your metabolism, fat loss, or muscle gains.Learn how to use performance bloodwork analysis to identify your body's biggest constraint and fix it using the engineering principle of Constraint Theory.Main Takeaways:Your body is an engineering system limited by its weakest linkPerformance bloodwork uses optimal ranges (not just "normal" disease-prevention ranges) to identify constraintsPattern recognition reveals hidden issues that standard bloodwork misses (like being both inflamed and dehydrated)Max impact interventions can improve 5-7 biomarkers at once instead of chasing individual symptomsThe most efficient improvement comes from using a feedback loop to identify your constraintsEpisode Resources:Performance Bloodwork Analysis - Code VITALITY20 for 20% off at witsandweights.com/bloodworkTimestamps:0:00 - The hidden constraint blocking your progress 2:08 - Introduction to Performance Bloodwork Analysis 2:55 - Your body as an engineering system (Constraint Theory) 7:25 - Performance vs. "normal" lab ranges 11:06 - Pattern recognition and hidden constraints missed by standard bloodwork 13:25 - How Performance Bloodwork Analysis works 16:53 - Max impact interventions and the engineering feedback loop 20:31 - Real-world application examples (fat loss, muscle growth, recovery) 29:06 - Why most people chase symptoms in circles 31:42 - Your body is a system to be optimized, not a mysterySupport the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Get Cozy Earth temperature-cooling sheets and use code WITSANDWEIGHTS for 20% off: witsandweights.com/cozyearth--Tracking every calorie, hitting your workouts consistently, staying in that deficit... but the scale isn't budging? Your energy is tanking and you're obsessing about food despite all your effort?This ONE thing is the often-overlooked catalyst that determines whether you can lose fat efficiently with good energy and minimal cravings, or find yourself stuck in a miserable cycle of extremely low calories and poor results.It's... recovery!Rest and recovery acts as your body's operating system, controlling whether you can lose fat eating plenty of calories with good energy, or get stuck at very low calories feeling miserable with terrible biofeedback.Main Takeaways:Recovery determines how much you can eat while still losing fat consistently by supporting higher energy expenditureSleep restriction can reduce fat loss by 55% compared to adequate sleep in the same caloric deficitChronic stress elevates cortisol, promoting visceral fat storage and water retention that masks progressPoor recovery creates a downward spiral: decreased performance → lower calorie burn → harsher deficits → worse recoveryStrategic recovery practices support higher NEAT, better training performance, and optimal metabolic functionEpisode Resources:Adaptive Cardio Workshop Replay at live.witsandweights.com/replaySubmit a question for the podcast (and get a personal reply plus a shoutout). Just go to witsandweights.com/questionTimestamps:0:00 - Why your deficit isn't working 3:29 - Why traditional weight loss approaches fail 7:41 - The master controller of fat loss efficiency 11:53 - The #1 saboteur of fat loss even in a reasonable deficit 16:04 - Recovery-performance feedback loop 19:33 - Autonomic nervous system and measurable recovery markers 22:29 - Metabolic adaptation and why recovery acts as a buffer 23:45 - How recovery creates an upward spiral 26:42 - Recovery is NOT the opposite of intensitySupport the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

If you could design the perfect fitness app, what would it do? Let me know at witsandweights.com/question--What if a fitness app could actually think like a human coach?Not just track your activities, but understand them, analyze them, and make intelligent adjustments in real-time?That's exactly what I'm designing: an AI-driven fitness coach in your pocket built on the Wits & Weights philosophy of personalized, sustainable body recomposition, built on sound principles of evidence, physique engineering, and experience.It will adapt dynamically to your training, nutrition, lifestyle, and biofeedback as you take action and make progress. It will motivate you and provide accountability. It will "close the loop" between what you do and the results you're seeing.The tentative launch timeline is this November 2025!And I need your help.What would the PERFECT fitness app do?I want to hear YOUR ideas!Go to witsandweights.com/question and let me know. Everyone who submits a question will be added to a special list and get a bonus when the app launches.Support the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Want to build muscle, lose fat, and train smarter? ⁠⁠⁠Join the new Physique University for just $27/month⁠⁠⁠ and get a FREE custom nutrition plan using this special link.—Can you really lose 340 pounds without surgery? What if the secret isn’t dieting harder, but thinking differently?I am joined by Jamie Selzler, who completely transformed his body and life using three tools: GLP-1 medication, walking, and lifting weights, and four simple rules that kept him consistent when motivation ran out. Jamie reveals how he went from struggling to walk 20 feet to seeking out movement every day, why food noise nearly controlled his life, and how self-respect changed everything. Whether you want to lose 20 pounds or 200, Jamie’s story proves it can be done without extremes.Today, you’ll learn all about:3:06 – From avoiding movement to seeking it6:07 – Facing mortality and fear of dying young10:15 – Confidence versus true self-respect14:25 – Keeping promises to yourself daily18:03 – Food noise, GLP-1s, and relief29:47 – Loose skin, body comp, and lifting40:34 – Jamie’s four rules for sustainability59:01 – Why lasting change takes yearsEpisode resources:Website: jamieselzler.com Instagram: @jselzler Facebook Group: Jamie’s Wellness CircleTiktok: @jamselz Youtube: @jselzler Support the show🔥 Take our 2-minute Metabolic Quiz for a free, personalized fat loss blueprint with training and nutrition recommendations 🩸 Book a Performance Bloodwork Analysis to find out what's slowing your metabolism, fat loss, & muscle gain (20% off with VITALITY20) 🎓 Lose fat + build muscle in Physique University (use code FREEPLAN for a free custom nutrition plan) 👥 Join our Facebook community for fitness support👋 Ask a question or find me on Instagram📱 Try MacroFactor 2 weeks free with code WITSANDWEIGHTS (my favorite nutrition and macros app)

Discover why sleep is crucial for fat loss and recovery. Learn how training timing and temperature regulation can enhance your sleep quality. Uncover the importance of avoiding long weekend sleep-ins to prevent social jet lag. Plus, get tips on wicking sheets for cooler nights and quick hacks for restoring alertness, like coffee naps. This episode dives deep into optimizing your sleep for better performance and physique goals!