Wits & Weights | Evidence-Based Fitness & Nutrition for Lifters Over 40
Wits & Weights is a strength and nutrition podcast where in every episode I put a popular piece of fitness advice under the microscope, find the hidden reason it doesn't work, and give you the deceptively simple fix that does.
For skeptics of the fitness industry who are tired of following the rules and still not seeing results. If you've been lifting weights, tracking macros, and doing "all the right things" but your body composition hasn't changed, you're probably overcomplicating it. This is the fitness podcast that shows you how to build muscle, lose fat, and achieve a real body recomp by focusing only on what the evidence actually supports.
Evidence-based fat loss coach Philip Pape brings an engineer's approach to strength training, nutrition, and metabolism. Instead of another generic program or meal plan, you get specific, science-based strategies for optimizing body composition, whether you're focused on building muscle, losing fat, or both. The focus is on strength training over 40, hormone health, perimenopause and menopause, and longevity.
You've seen the conflicting advice. One expert says cut carbs, the next says eat more. One says train six days a week, another says three is plenty. Building the body you want doesn't have to be this confusing or time-consuming. By using your wits (systems + identity-based behavior change) and lifting weights, you can build muscle definition, improve your physique, and maintain your results for life without rebound weight gain.
You'll learn smart, efficient strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle, and mindset, such as:
- Why fat loss matters more than weight loss for both your health and your physique
- Why all the macros, including protein, fats, and yes even carbs, are critical to body composition
- How just 3 hours a week of proper hypertrophy training can deliver better results than most people get in twice that time
- Why building muscle is the single most powerful thing you can do for metabolic health, longevity, and aging well
- Why perimenopause and menopause don't have to derail your progress when your training and nutrition are dialed in
- How shifting the way you think about fitness can unlock more physical (and personal) growth than any program alone
If you're ready to learn what actually works with evidence-based training and nutrition, hit "follow" and let's engineer your best physique ever!
Popular Guests Include: Mike Matthews (author of Bigger Leaner Stronger), Greg Nuckols (Stronger by Science), Alan Aragon (nutrition researcher), Eric Helms (3D Muscle Journey), Dr. Spencer Nadolsky (Docs Who Lift), Bill Campbell (exercise science researcher), Jordan Feigenbaum (Barbell Medicine), Holly Baxter (evidence-based physique coach), Laurin Conlin (physique coach), Lauren Colenso-Semple (nutrition researcher), Karen Martel (hormone optimization expert), Steph Gaudreau (women's strength and nutrition), Bryan Boorstein (hypertrophy coach)
Popular Topics Include: hormone health, metabolism optimization, hypertrophy training, longevity and healthy aging, nutrition tracking, best protein powder selection, strength training over 40, women's fitness, perimenopause, menopause, muscle building, body recomp, macros and nutrition tracking
Wits & Weights | Evidence-Based Fitness & Nutrition for Lifters Over 40
Quick Wits: Food Abundance and The Positive, Nurturing Act of Eating
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Don't eat this, don't eat that. Are you sick and tired of all the don'ts when it comes to diet? All the no's and the can't's and the bad's?
We're getting rid of all of that. We're going to flip things around and explore additive nutrition. This is a liberating, freeing approach to focusing on what to ADD IN your diet rather than what to cut out...on today's Quick Wits.
Wave goodbye to the tyranny of dietary restriction and say hello to a life of nutritional abundance. This episode is your ticket to embracing additive nutrition, a joyous pivot from what you 'can't have' to what you 'can add' to enhance your health and vitality. You will learn about a perspective on eating that celebrates the diversity of foods that can enrich your meals and your life.
Today, we're all about enriching your plate with the essentials our bodies crave, from proteins that repair and build muscle, to fibers that bolster our digestive health. It's not just about the food; it's about cultivating a positive relationship with eating, acknowledging it as a nurturing act rather than a source of guilt. Let's revolutionize the way we think about meals, focusing on the satiating power of nutritious choices to naturally replace those less beneficial eats. Join me, and let's transform not just our diets, but our approach to food as the nourishing fuel propelling us toward our goals.
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“Quick Wits” are short, 3-5 minute episodes between full episodes to give you an actionable strategy or hit of motivation.
These mini-episodes give you practical advice on fitness, training, and mindset based on my everyday experience with clients that you can implement right away.
If you enjoy these bonus episodes or have feedback on how to make them better, just send me a message on IG @witsandweights or hit me up in the free Wits & Weights Facebook community.
💪 Join Eat More Lift Heavy - A 6-month coaching program for lifters over 40 who are done collecting information and ready to have real human coaches watch their data and know what to focus on each week.
📱 Get Fitness Lab (exclusive 20% off) - The #1 adaptive fitness and nutrition app. Daily coaching, workouts, and biofeedback-based guidance to help you build muscle and lose fat over 40.
👥 Join our Facebook community - For adults over 40 who want to build muscle, lose fat, and stop following bad advice. Weekly Q&A threads, coaching insights, and real chat with other lifters.
👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
Don't eat this, don't eat that, I can't have this. Are you sick and tired of all the don'ts when it comes to diet? All the no's and the cants and the bads? We're gonna get rid of all of that. We're gonna flip things around and explore additive nutrition. This is a liberating, freeing approach. Focus on what to add into your diet rather than what to cut out.
Philip PapeWelcome to the Whits and Weights podcast. I'm your host, phillip Pape, and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self-mastery by getting stronger, optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition. We'll uncover science-backed strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle and mindset, with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry, so you can look and feel your absolute best. Let's dive right in. Welcome to another Quick Whits, and today we are shifting your mindset yet again.
Philip PapeEven though we are talking about nutrition, it's about how we think about nutrition, using a for some refreshing concept called additive nutrition, where we focus on abundance rather than scarcity rather than restriction, and the principle is very simple yet profound by prioritizing, including beneficial foods in our diet, beneficial being things that you need and want that align with your goals. Think about protein for muscle repair and growth, fiber for digestive health, micronutrients, vitamins and minerals for your overall well-being, carbs for building muscle as well and for energy and recovery. All of those things, adding in the things that you want and need, we naturally begin to edge out or crowd out the we'll call it less nutritious options, the things that don't serve you as well. So this is a positive approach. This concentrates on the wealth and diversity of foods out there that can enhance our health, rather than dwelling on any particular food we quote unquote should avoid, because anyone who follows my stuff knows that I am not against any food in a vacuum. If 10 or 20% of your diets is filled with whatever the heck you want because you love eating those things, you're probably okay, because the other 80% is where it's gonna have a major impact on your health and results, and so that's where we encourage adding things in. We encourage a richer, more varied diet and we eliminate any sense of deprivation that comes with these strict, restrictive diets, which then causes us to binge, causes us to crave, causes us to emotionally eat.
Philip PapeWe want to build meals around what we know our bodies need, and those are often the lean proteins, the grains, the fruits, the vegetables, the healthy fats. It's not going to include things that don't serve you, like if you have an atrogen or intolerance, for example, or if you don't enjoy eating something, why would you include that in there? But if something does serve you and supports your physical goals and your mental and emotional health, because you're removing the guilt often associated with eating and you're simply adding in the things that you want to need, things start to align really nicely right, and the beauty of additive nutrition extends beyond food choice. That's what I mentioned. It's a mindset thing. This is an approach that gives you a deep connection with eating as a positive, nurturing act. We talk about fuel, we talk about nourishment. That is what it's about. It allows us to celebrate food's role in our lives. We have to eat every day, like every single human on the planet has to eat, and so don't. We want that to be a positive experience. We want to honor food as the fuel that powers our ambitions right. Our ambitions for personal and physical growth, whether that's athletic performance, body composition, living a healthier life, all of those things.
Philip PapeSo the next time you plan a meal, I want you to be very intentional. Ask yourself what can I add to nourish and satisfy me? What can I add to nourish and satisfy me. Don't worry about what you're cutting out. Just add in something. For a lot of people, this is simply adding in protein. Think about a meal during the day where you don't have very much protein and now add in the protein. Embrace the abundance of choices that you have. Watch how the mindset shift that comes along leads to a healthier, happier mental state as well. And until next time, remember that nutrition is not about eating less. It's about eating right for you. Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits and Weights. If you found value in today's episode and know someone else who's looking to level up their wits or weights, please take a moment to share this episode with them and make sure to hit the follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode. Until then, stay strong.
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