Chasing Clarity: Health & Fitness Podcast

Hunger is the number one reason most people struggle to stay consistent during a Fat Loss Phase. It’s not that dieters don’t know they need to eat fewer calories. It’s that staying in a deficit feels impossibly challenging when hunger and cravings take over. 

What I want to establish in this episode is that hunger management isn’t about willpower or about white-knuckling your way through a diet. It’s about understanding the specific principles that determine whether food leaves you satiated or starving, and then building your diet around those principles so the deficit becomes feasible to sustain.

In this episode, we go deep on the science of hunger and appetite management and the six strategic principles I use with my clients to make a Fat Loss Phase feel dramatically easier. We cover what hunger actually is and how it differs from appetite, the distinction between homeostatic hunger driven by physiological need and hedonic hunger driven by reward, and the six dietary principles that determine whether your food choices fill you up or leave you fighting hunger throughout the day. Each principle is backed by research and operationally tested across thousands of client transformations.

Because once you understand how these principles work and how to apply them, hunger stops being something you have to fight at every meal and starts being something your nutrition is structurally producing for you.

HERE’S WHAT WE COVER: 

WHY HUNGER MANAGEMENT ISN’T ABOUT WILLPOWER OR WHITE-KNUCKLING THROUGH A DIET 

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUNGER, APPETITE, SATIATION, AND SATIETY 

HOW THE INTERVENTIONS FOR MANAGING WITHIN-MEAL FULLNESS DIFFER FROM BETWEEN-MEAL FULLNESS 

HOMEOSTATIC VS HEDONIC HUNGER AND HOW TO TELL WHICH ONE YOU’RE EXPERIENCING 

THE DIAGNOSTIC TEST FOR DISTINGUISHING TRUE HUNGER FROM CRAVINGS 

WHY HEDONIC HUNGER OVERRIDES YOUR BODY’S TRUE NEEDS IN THE MODERN FOOD ENVIRONMENT 

PRINCIPLE #1: HOW TO USE ENERGY DENSITY TO EAT MORE FOOD FOR FEWER CALORIES 

HOW LOWERING THE ENERGY DENSITY OF YOUR DIET REDUCES CALORIE INTAKE BY 223 CALORIES PER DAY 

PRINCIPLE #2: THE HOLT SATIETY INDEX AND THE FIVE FACTORS THAT MAKE FOOD FILLING 

WHY BOILED POTATOES ARE 7X MORE FILLING THAN CROISSANTS PER CALORIE 

PRINCIPLE #3: WHY ANCHORING EVERY MEAL WITH PROTEIN IS THE FOUNDATION OF HUNGER MANAGEMENT 

THE HORMONAL MECHANISMS BEHIND WHY PROTEIN SUPPRESSES HUNGER AND INCREASES SATIETY THE PROTEIN LEVERAGE THEORY AND HOW IT DRIVES YOUR TOTAL CALORIE INTAKE 

HOW INCREASING PROTEIN FROM 15% TO 30% OF CALORIES PRODUCES A SPONTANEOUS 441 CALORIE REDUCTION 

PRINCIPLE #4: WHY FIBER IS THE QUEEN OF FAT LOSS AND HOW IT PRODUCES STRUCTURAL SATIETY HOW INCREASING FIBER BY 28 GRAMS PER DAY CAN SPONTANEOUSLY REDUCE CALORIE INTAKE BY 20% 

PRINCIPLE #5: MODIFYING FOOD PALATABILITY

HOW ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS DRIVE 508 EXTRA CALORIES PER DAY EVEN WHEN MATCHED FOR EVERYTHING 

PRINCIPLE #6: HOW ALIGNING MEAL TIMING WITH YOUR CIRCADIAN BIOLOGY MAKES FAT LOSS FEEL EASIER 

WHY FRONT-LOADING CALORIES EARLIER IN THE DAY PRODUCES LESS HUNGER AT MATCHED CALORIE INTAKE

If you’ve been white-knuckling your way through fat loss diets, if you’ve struggled to stay consistent in a deficit because hunger and cravings derail you, or if you’ve never fully understood the science of appetite management, this episode is going to give you the strategic framework to make staying in a deficit feel dramatically easier.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email: [email protected]

My Reading Recommendations:

THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw

How much do you actually need to eat above maintenance to maximize muscle growth?

And once you’re eating enough to support hypertrophy, does pushing calories even higher build more muscle, or simply make you gain body fat faster?

In Part 2 of my Intermittent Modified Fasting series, I’m joined once again by Lyle McDonald to move beyond using IMF strictly as a fat-loss strategy and explore how some of these concepts can be applied across different phases of physique development.

We start with one of the most debated topics in evidence-based bodybuilding right now: how large of a calorie surplus is actually necessary to maximize muscle growth?

Lyle and I break down the research comparing different surplus sizes, realistic rates of muscle gain across different levels of training advancement, the estimated energetic cost of synthesizing new muscle tissue and why simply eating more doesn’t allow you to force-feed muscle growth.

From there, we take the IMF framework in a direction I found particularly interesting:

Could strategically placed Rapid Fat Loss days be incorporated into a Lean Building Phase to help control fat gain without compromising hypertrophy?

We discuss using a 6:1 approach where the majority of the week supports muscle growth while one strategically placed RFL day helps reduce the cumulative weekly surplus, how this compares with simply running periodic mini-cuts, and which individuals might actually benefit from this strategy.

Finally, we shift back into fat loss and revisit diet breaks. For years, diet breaks were promoted as a way to “reset” metabolism and reverse the physiological adaptations to dieting. But as more research has accumulated, that explanation has become increasingly difficult to defend.

That doesn’t mean diet breaks are useless. Instead, their biggest benefits may come from improving hunger management, training performance, psychological fatigue, adherence and giving someone an opportunity to actually practice eating at maintenance.

IN THIS EPISODE:

HOW LARGE OF A CALORIE SURPLUS IS ACTUALLY NECESSARY FOR MUSCLE GROWTH?

WHY YOU CANNOT FORCE-FEED MUSCLE GROWTH

HOW MUCH MUSCLE CAN BEGINNER, INTERMEDIATE & ADVANCED TRAINEES REALISTICALLY GAIN?

WHAT THE RESEARCH SHOWS ABOUT SMALL VS. LARGE CALORIE SURPLUSES

WHY FASTER WEIGHT GAIN OFTEN MEANS MORE FAT GAIN, NOT MORE MUSCLE

HOW TO DETERMINE WHETHER YOUR CALORIE SURPLUS IS ACTUALLY PRODUCTIVE

LEAN BUILDING & MINIMIZING UNNECESSARY FAT GAIN

USING RAPID FAT LOSS DAYS DURING A LEAN-BUILDING PHASE

THE POTENTIAL 6:1 APPROACH: SIX BUILDING DAYS + ONE RFL DAY

RFL DAYS VS. PERIODIC MINI-CUTS

BODY RECOMPOSITION & WHO IS MOST LIKELY TO EXPERIENCE IT

DIET BREAKS: PHYSIOLOGICAL VS. PSYCHOLOGICAL BENEFITS

HOW DIET BREAKS MAY IMPROVE HUNGER, TRAINING PERFORMANCE & ADHERENCE

WHY PRACTICING MAINTENANCE MAY BE ONE OF THE MOST UNDERRATED BENEFITS OF A DIET BREAK

The major theme running through this episode is that more is not automatically better.

More calories don’t necessarily mean more muscle. More restriction doesn’t necessarily mean a better diet. And more complexity doesn’t necessarily mean a better strategy.

The goal is understanding which nutritional tool fits the individual, their physiology, their psychology and the phase they’re currently in.

If your goal is to build more muscle while minimizing unnecessary fat gain, or to better understand how to periodize periods of surplus, maintenance and energy restriction across a long-term physique transformation, this episode is for you.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services:

https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email:

[email protected]

LYLE’S NEWEST BOOKS: 

https://store.bodyrecomposition.com

SAVE 20% BY USING CODE: larrywon

Calories and macros are the foundation of your fat loss diet. That’s not in question. But the quality of the foods you choose to hit those targets is what determines whether your diet actually produces the body composition outcome you’re working for or whether it produces a smaller, scrawnier version of yourself while leaving you constantly hungry, undernourished, and unable to adhere.

Two foods can have identical calorie and macro profiles yet produce completely different effects on your body. The signals each food sends to your physiology, your hunger and satiety hormones, your thyroid function, your metabolism, your training performance, and your ability to adhere to the deficit you need to hit can drastically differ depending on the quality of the foods you select. And the individuals who succeed at long-term physique change aren’t just the ones who get their calories and macros right, they’re the ones who also get their food quality right.

In this episode, we go deep on the science of food quality and how it affects every dimension of the fat loss process. We cover the research that establishes food quality as a measurable variable affecting fat loss outcomes even when other variables are matched, the six distinct mechanisms by which ultra-processed foods drive overconsumption, the way food quality affects both sides of the energy balance equation through TEF and metabolizable energy, the satiety framework that determines whether your food choices fill you up or leave you hungry, the micronutrient connection that ties food quality to thyroid function and metabolism, and a targeted critique of the IIFYM approach that explains why flexibility without quality fails for most people.

Because once you understand how food quality affects your fat loss outcomes, you can finally address what’s actually been holding you back.

HERE’S WHAT WE COVER:

WHY ALL CALORIES ARE EQUAL BUT NOT ALL SOURCES OF CALORIES ARE EQUAL

THE HIERARCHY OF NUTRITION: CALORIES, MACROS, AND FOOD QUALITY

HOW FOOD CHOICES SEND SIGNALS TO YOUR BODY AND PHYSIOLOGY

THE KEVIN HALL METABOLIC WARD STUDY ON ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS AND 508 EXTRA CALORIES PER DAY

WHY ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS HAVE MORE THAN DOUBLE THE CALORIE DENSITY OF WHOLE FOODS

THE PROTEIN LEVERAGE THEORY AND WHY PROCESSED FOODS DRIVE PROTEIN DILUTION

HOW PROCESSED FOODS INCREASE EATING RATE AND BYPASS YOUR SATIETY SIGNALING

HOW ULTRA-PROCESSED FOODS DYSREGULATE YOUR APPETITE AND HUNGER HORMONES

WHY WHOLE FOODS HAVE A 47% HIGHER THERMIC EFFECT THAN PROCESSED MEALS

WHY FDA LABELING GUIDELINES ALLOW PACKAGED FOODS TO BE OFF BY UP TO 20%

THE FIVE DETERMINANTS OF FOOD SATIETY: VOLUME, VISCOSITY, PALATABILITY, PROTEIN, AND FIBER

WHY ULTRA-PROCESSED FOOD CONSUMPTION DECREASES EVERY MEANINGFUL MICRONUTRIENT

THE THYROID CONNECTION: WHY IODINE, ZINC, AND SELENIUM ARE CRITICAL FOR FAT LOSS

WHY THE OVERFED YET UNDERNOURISHED PATTERN IS SO COMMON IN MODERN DIETERS

THE THREE CATEGORIES OF VOCAL IIFYM PROPONENTS AND WHY THEIR APPROACH DOESN’T APPLY TO MOST PEOPLE

WHY PLAYING MACRO TETRIS WITH PROCESSED FOODS UNDERMINES YOUR FAT LOSS PROGRESS

THE 80/90% WHOLE FOODS FRAMEWORK FOR BUILDING A SUSTAINABLE FAT LOSS DIET

If you’ve been hitting your calories and macros but still not seeing the body composition results you’ve been working for, if you’ve struggled to manage hunger and cravings during your Fat Loss Phases, or if you’ve never fully understood why food quality matters beyond just calories and macros, this episode is going to give you the framework to finally address the variable that’s been holding you back.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email: [email protected]

My Reading Recommendations:

THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS

https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw

When most people hear “intermittent fasting,” they immediately think about skipping breakfast, eating within an 8-hour window or going extended periods without food.

But Intermittent Modified Fasting is something very different.

On this episode of the Chasing Clarity Health & Fitness Podcast, I’m joined once again by Lyle McDonald to break down the framework behind his newest book, Intermittent Modified Fasting. This is the first interview Lyle has done since releasing the book. 

Rather than treating IMF as another fasting protocol, Lyle has brought together concepts from decades of his work on rapid fat loss, calorie cycling, training, body composition and sports nutrition to create a system for strategically distributing energy restriction across the week.

And that creates a much more interesting question than simply asking whether fasting “works.”

Can we manipulate where we place our calorie deficit to lose fat while better supporting training performance, recovery and lean mass retention?

Throughout this conversation, Lyle and I each give our perspectives on how these concepts can be applied in both physique-focused clients and athletes.

IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER:

WHAT INTERMITTENT MODIFIED FASTING (IMF) IS & WHY LYLE DEVELOPED IT

WHETHER INTERMITTENT FASTING HAS UNIQUE METABOLIC OR FAT-LOSS BENEFITS

WHY INCREASED FAT OXIDATION DURING A FAST DOESN’T AUTOMATICALLY MEAN GREATER BODY FAT LOSS 

IMF AS A FORM OF CALORIE CYCLING & NUTRITIONAL PERIODIZATION

HOW TO SYNCHRONIZE CALORIE & CARBOHYDRATE INTAKE WITH TRAINING DEMANDS

RFL DAYS VS MAINTENANCE DAYS

BALANCING AGGRESSIVE FAT LOSS WITH TRAINING PERFORMANCE, RECOVERY & MUSCLE RETENTION

HOW IMF CAN BE MODIFIED FOR STRENGTH, ENDURANCE & PERFORMANCE ATHLETES

HOW TO CREATE THE LARGEST PRODUCTIVE DEFICIT WITHOUT COMPROMISING THE ATHLETE’S PRIMARY PERFORMANCE GOAL

The biggest theme throughout this episode is that the goal isn’t simply to create the largest calorie deficit possible.

The goal is to intelligently distribute that deficit in a way that allows us to achieve the desired rate of fat loss while preserving the things we don’t want to sacrifice in the process.

If you’re interested in fat loss, physique development, sports nutrition or understanding how to better periodize nutrition around training, this episode is for you.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG:

https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services:

https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email:

[email protected]

LYLE’S NEWEST BOOKS: 

https://store.bodyrecomposition.com

code: larrywon

20% off until Oct 7

Most people argue about rapid fat loss like the only variable that matters is speed. It isn’t. The rate of loss is downstream of a decision that gets made long before anyone touches a calorie target: who this is being used with.

On this episode I’m joined by Dr. Mikki Williden to kick off a new collab series where we both answer the same questions independently and let you see the reasoning on both sides.

In this episode we cover:

WHAT A PROTEIN SPARING MODIFIED FAST ACTUALLY IS

THE BENEFITS OF RAPID FAT LOSS

THE POTENTIAL DRAWBACKS OF RAPID FAT LOSS

HOW WE USE THESE STRATEGIES IN PRACTICE WITH CLIENTS

RAPID FAT LOSS DAYS & UNDULATING CALORIE CYCLES

REFEEDS & DEFICIT DELOADS

THE POPULATIONS RAPID FAT LOSS IS NOT APPROPRIATE FOR

If you’ve ever wondered whether you could get lean faster without losing  your muscle, this episode gives you the honest version: what the research actually supports, where it stops, and why I turn most people away from this approach entirely.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email: [email protected]

My Reading Recommendations:

THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS

https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw

When an athlete earns a pro card, the industry looks at the last 16 weeks. The peak week photos. The stage shots. The condition. And immediately the conversation becomes about prep: how low were the calories, how much cardio and what did peak week look like.

Here's the reality. That's the wrong place to look.

The card my client Wes Patterson earned this July was won long before the prep that produced it ever started. It was won in the 12 weeks we spent in a Post-Show Metabolic Restoration Phase restoring his physiology after his last show. It was won in the Lean Building Phase that followed. It was won across 50 plus check-ins where I analyzed his data and made strategic adjustments to his programs. 

The prep didn't build his physique. It simply revealed it.

Wes came to me in June of 2025 roughly 9 weeks out from NPC North Americans, and we brought his best-ever look and finished one placing away from a pro card in two separate classes. 

Then we spent the next thirteen months making sure he would never have to run a prep like that again. This episode is the complete walkthrough of how an amateur who had placed 10th at a national show became an IFBB Professional, told from both sides of the coaching relationship.

IN THIS EPISODE WE COVER:

WHY THE PRO CARD WAS WON IN THE PHASES NOBODY POSTS ABOUT

WHAT A NINE-WEEK PREP CAN AND CANNOT ACCOMPLISH

THE METABOLIC RESTORATION PHASE AND WHY MOST COMPETITORS SKIP IT

THE LEAN BUILDING PHASE AND THE BACK SPECIALIZATION CYCLE THAT CHANGED HIS PACKAGE

THE DESCENDING AND DYNAMIC RATE OF FAT LOSS APPROACH

WHAT GETTING AHEAD OF PACE EARLY ACTUALLY BUYS YOU EXTRA RUNWAY

REHEARSING PEAK WEEK INSTEAD OF GUESSING DURING IT

WHAT SHOW DAY AT THE UNIVERSE FELT LIKE FROM THE ATHLETE'S SIDE

If you've ever dieted hard, gotten a result, rebounded, and then started over from a worse place than you began, this episode is going to reframe the entire way you think about fat loss. 

Because what turned Wes into a pro isn't a competitor problem. It's the same principle that governs every lifestyle client, every executive, and every person who has ever tried to change their body: fat loss is a phase, not a lifestyle, and a healthy body is a responsive body.

Wes spent the overwhelming majority of these thirteen months not dieting. That's precisely why the prep worked when we finally did it.

CONNECT WITH WES:

Instagram: @mr.wes_ifbb_pro

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email: [email protected]

My Reading Recommendations:

THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS

https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw

Your nutrition can be dialed in. Your training can be on point. Your tracking can be accurate. And you can still fail to lose fat if the lifestyle variables operating outside of your diet are working against you.

These lifestyle variables aren’t peripheral to fat loss. They’re foundational. Your sleep quality determines whether you can manage hunger and appetite during a deficit. Your stress management determines whether your thyroid function supports your metabolism or works against it. Your daily movement determines whether your deficit holds across the week or quietly disappears as your body adapts. And the way you think about progress determines whether you’re actually pursuing fat loss or just chasing a number on the scale that means nothing about your physique.

In this episode, we shift into the lifestyle factors and behavioral patterns that sabotage fat loss progress even when your nutrition and training are dialed in. We cover the five most consequential mistakes I see derailing dieters during a phase, plus three honorable mentions that compound the problem when left unaddressed.

Because once you understand how these variables affect your fat loss outcomes, you can finally address what’s actually been holding you back.

HERE’S WHAT WE COVER:

WHY YOU CAN BE DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT WITH NUTRITION AND TRAINING AND STILL NOT LOSE FAT

WHY CHASING THE SCALE INSTEAD OF FAT LOSS LEADS TO MUSCLE LOSS AND POST-DIET REBOUND

THE PROTEIN STAT AND WHY HYPERPHAGIA DRIVES POST-DIET FAT REGAIN

COLLATERAL FATTENING AND THE YO-YO CYCLE THAT TRAPS CHRONIC DIETERS

HOW WE OVERESTIMATE CALORIE BURN FROM EXERCISE BY 3-4X

WHY FITNESS TRACKERS LIKE APPLE WATCH AND FITBIT HAVE 27-93% CALORIE BURN ERRORS

THE BURN AND EARN TRAP AND WHY EATING BACK CALORIES SABOTAGES FAT LOSS

WHY YOU SHOULD TURN OFF AUTOMATIC CALORIE ADJUSTMENT IN YOUR TRACKING APP

WHY 85-90% OF METABOLIC ADAPTATION DURING A DIET COMES FROM REDUCTIONS IN NEAT

THE REGULATED AND NON-REGULATED ZONES OF APPETITE

WHY STEP TRACKING IS NON-NEGOTIABLE DURING A FAT LOSS PHASE

HOW 2 NIGHTS OF SLEEP LOSS CAN MIMIC AN AGGRESSIVE CALORIE DEFICIT

WHY SLEEP DEPRIVATION CAN INCREASE DAILY CALORIE INTAKE BY 300-560 CALORIES

THE CORTISOL AND THYROID CONNECTION THAT SUPPRESSES YOUR METABOLISM

THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIETING-INDUCED AND STRESS-INDUCED THYROID DYSFUNCTION

HOW EMOTIONAL EATING DURING HIGH-STRESS WEEKS COMPOUNDS THE CORTISOL EFFECT

WHY ALCOHOL, HYDRATION AND MICRONUTRIENT INTAKE MATTER MORE THAN MOST DIETERS REALIZE

If you’ve felt like your nutrition is on point but you’re still not progressing, if you’ve been frustrated by stalls that seem to come from nowhere, or if you’ve never really thought about how variables outside of your diet are influencing your fat loss outcomes, this episode is going to give you the diagnostic framework to figure out what’s actually going wrong and how to fix it.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email: [email protected]

My Reading Recommendations:

THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS

https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw

Most women have been told that building muscle and losing fat at the same time is nearly impossible, and that the best they can do is pick one goal and grind toward it.

But here’s what the research and years of real-world coaching actually reveal: women may be some of the best-positioned people on the planet to recomp. In fact, under most real-world coaching conditions, women may have a genuine advantage over men when it comes to building muscle and losing fat simultaneously.

In this episode of the CHASING CLARITY HEALTH & FITNESS PODCAST, I’m joined again by Jeff Hoehn, host of the Mind Muscle Connection Podcast, for a deep dive into the physiology and the practical realities behind why women are so uniquely built to recompose their bodies. 

This is a conversation that reframes what most women have been taught about their own potential, and gives coaches a clearer lens for how to program for their female clients.

WE GET INTO: 

WHY WOMEN MAY ACTUALLY HAVE A RECOMP ADVANTAGE OVER MEN 

HOW HIGHER BODY FAT LEVELS BECOME A PHYSIOLOGICAL ASSET FOR BUILDING MUSCLE IN A DEFICIT THE GREATER LEAN MASS SPARING WOMEN EXPERIENCE WHILE DIETING (AND THE HEYMSFIELD DATA BEHIND IT) 

ESTROGEN’S PROTECTIVE EFFECTS ON RECOVERY, MUSCLE PRESERVATION & NUTRIENT PARTITIONING 

THE SUBSTRATE UTILIZATION DIFFERENCES THAT HELP WOMEN SPARE PROTEIN & PRESERVE MUSCLE 

WHY SO MANY WOMEN ARE PRIMED FOR DRAMATIC RECOMP THE MOMENT THEIR TRAINING & NUTRITION ARE FINALLY STRUCTURED CORRECTLY 

THE “PERFECT STORM” THAT HAPPENS WHEN YEARS OF UNDER-FUELING & CARDIO-FOCUSED TRAINING GET REPLACED WITH THE RIGHT INPUTS

If you’ve ever felt like your body wasn’t responding no matter how hard you dieted or how much cardio you did, this episode will help you understand why, and what actually needs to change for your body to start building muscle and shedding fat at the same time.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email: [email protected]

My Reading Recommendations:

THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw

Every once in a while you meet someone in this industry who’s building something for the same reasons you are. That’s what this episode is about. 

On this week’s episode of the CHASING CLARITY HEALTH & FITNESS PODCAST, I’m doing something a little different. This is a collab with Sarah Parker, host of the Beyond Condition Podcast, where we bring our two audiences together, introduce ourselves to each other’s worlds, and get into what years behind the mic have actually taught us.

We each walk through why and how we started our shows, the lessons podcasting has taught us about ourselves, and the biggest takeaways we’ve pulled from sitting across from some of the sharpest minds in the fitness space.

HERE’S WHAT WE COVER: 

WHY AND HOW WE EACH STARTED OUR PODCASTS 

HOW EMBRACING A FEAR BECAME A CATALYST FOR GROWTH 

THE COMPOUNDING EFFECT OF SHOWING UP CONSISTENTLY OVER YEARS 

WHAT DR. SCOTT STEVENSON TAUGHT ME ABOUT FAILURE, PROGRESSIVE OVERLOAD & LIFE 

THE GUESTS & CONVERSATIONS THAT SHAPED HOW WE BOTH COACH

If you’ve ever wondered what really goes on behind the scenes of building a podcast, or you want to hear the lessons that don’t make it into the episodes themselves, this one’s for you.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME: 

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/ 

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry 

Email: [email protected] 

My Reading Recommendations: THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw

Most people who fail to reach their fat loss goals aren’t failing because of metabolic damage, weight loss resistance, or genetic disadvantages.

They’re failing because they’re making specific dietary mistakes that erode the deficit they think they’re in.

And here’s the thing most dieters don’t realize. These mistakes aren’t about lacking discipline or willpower. They’re blind spots. They happen unconsciously, they happen to intelligent and successful people, and they happen to coaches and fitness professionals just as much as they happen to the general population.

In this episode, we cover the four most common dietary mistakes I see derailing smart dieters — the misestimation patterns, the tracking blind spots, the Weekday Dieter trap, and the restaurant eating discrepancies that erode deficits without dieters realizing it.

Because once you understand exactly where the gap between perceived intake and actual intake comes from, you can close that gap and finally unlock the progress you’ve been working for.

HERE’S WHAT WE COVER:

WHY MOST DIETERS WHO FEEL LIKE THEY’RE DOING EVERYTHING RIGHT AREN’T LOSING FAT

THE RESEARCH ON WHY UNDERREPORTING CALORIE INTAKE IS UNIVERSAL ACROSS ALL POPULATIONS

WHY UNDERREPORTING GETS WORSE THE DEEPER YOU GET INTO A FAT LOSS PHASE

CALORIE AMNESIA AND WHY BITES, LICKS, TASTES AND SIPS DON’T REGISTER AS EATING

THE FDA LABELING LOOPHOLES THAT LET PRODUCTS LABEL THEMSELVES AS ZERO CALORIES

WHY YOU SHOULD COUNT TOTAL CARBS RATHER THAN NET CARBS ON PROTEIN BARS

THE QUEST BAR EXAMPLE AND THE 70-80 CALORIE UNDERTRACKING DISCREPANCY

HOW TO TRACK ALCOHOL CORRECTLY WHEN YOUR APP DOESN’T HAVE AN ALCOHOL MACRO FIELD

THE NUTRITION TRACKING AUDIT INTERVENTION I USE WITH CLIENTS WHO HAVE STALLED

THE WEEKDAY DIETER PATTERN AND WHY WEEKENDS QUIETLY ERASE WEEKDAY DEFICITS

DIET PURGATORY AND WHY YOU CAN MENTALLY FEEL RESTRICTED WITHOUT BEING IN A DEFICIT

WHY RESTAURANT MEALS CONTAIN UP TO 245% OF THEIR STATED CALORIE CONTENT

THE CONSERVATIVE ESTIMATION PROTOCOL FOR TRACKING MEALS AT RESTAURANTS

WHY THE FIX ISN’T MORE CARDIO OR FEWER CALORIES — IT’S CLOSING THE TRACKING GAP

If you’ve ever felt like you’re doing all the right things and still struggling to lose fat, if you’ve been frustrated by what feels like a broken metabolism, or if you’ve been stuck spinning your wheels wondering why your progress has stalled, this episode is going to give you the diagnostic tools to figure out what’s actually going wrong and how to fix it.

WHERE TO CONNECT WITH ME:

Follow Brandon on IG: https://www.instagram.com/brandondacruz_/

For Info on Brandon’s Coaching Services: https://form.jotform.com/bdacruzfitness/coachinginquiry

Email: [email protected]

My Reading Recommendations:

THE MUSCLE & STRENGTH PYRAMIDS

https://getdpd.com/cart/hoplink/25469?referrer=1l54og96lf1ccw