How to: Fitness

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In one of our favorite episodes from Season 1, we're revisiting one of our earliest conversations about alcohol and its effects on our nutrition, fitness, and overall health. We talked about how alcohol is processed by the body, its effects on appetite, calorie intake, sleep, and recovery, and what the research actually tells us about its supposed health benefits. We're not here to tell you to change you’re drinking habits; our goal is to help you look at the evidence, weigh the trade-offs, and make more informed decisions about your relationship with alcohol.

🎗️ Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction: Alcohol and Health
01:30 Facts vs. Opinions About Alcohol
03:00 A Brief History of Alcohol
06:00 Alcohol, Calories, and Metabolism
09:30 Alcohol, Appetite, and the Drunk Munchies
13:00 Alcohol’s Effects on Sleep, Recovery, and Health
15:30 Does Alcohol Have Health Benefits?
23:00 Drinking, Personal Choices, and Social Pressure
28:30 Sober Curiosity and Rethinking Our Drinking Habits
31:00 Long-Term Health Risks and Final Takeaways

📒 Resources Mentioned:
🔗 Alcohol
🔗 Possible Health Benefits of Alcohol
🔗 The rise of the sober curious: having it all, without alcohol
🔗 How fast can you sober up?
🔗 Alcoholism
🔗 Helpful Links and Resources
📄 Benefits and Risks of Moderate Alcohol Consumption on Cardiovascular Disease: Current Findings and Controversies
📄 Beneficial Effects of Red Wine Polyphenols on Human Health: Comprehensive Review
📄 Alcohol and cardiovascular health: the dose makes the poison…or the remedy
📄 Overview: How Is Alcohol Metabolized by the Body?
📄 Energy labelling of alcoholic drinks: An important or inconsequential obesity policy?

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🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

In this Best of Season 4 episode, we’re bringing together some of our favorite conversations on recovery, menopause and the wellness industry, electrolytes, do food intolerance tests actually tell us anything and what actually counts as strength training. We revisit the questions, evidence, and nuance behind these topics and hopefully leave you with a few things to think about the next time you see an (overly)confident health claim online.

🎗️ Timestamps:
00:00 Best of Season 4 Introduction
2:20 The Science vs. The Hype of Recovery
11:09 How the Wellness Industry Preys on Menopausal Women
19:32 Food Intolerance Testing Is a Big Business & Here’s Why
27:10 Who Convinced Us We Need Electrolytes?
35:20 What Actually Counts As Strength Training?

📒 Resources Mentioned:
🎧 62 | The Science vs. The Hype of Recovery
🎧 63 | How the Wellness Industry Preys on Menopausal Women
🎧 64 | Food Intolerance Testing Is a Big Business & Here’s Why
🎧 69 | Who Convinced Us We Need Electrolytes?
🎧 74 | What Actually Counts As Strength Training?

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

What if today’s wellness grifters aren’t as original as they think they are?  We’re taking a trip down wellness history in today's episode as we talk about snake oil salesmen, questionable miracle cures, Clark Stanley, Sylvester Graham, John Harvey Kellogg, and John Brinkley (yes, the goat testicles guy!) And honestly, some of these stories are so wild, you might start seeing modern wellness trends a little differently.

🎗️ Timestamps:
00:00 Introduction
03:17 Wellness Grifters and Where the Story Begins
10:25 Snake Oil Salesmen and the Promise of Special Medicine
18:20 Clark Stanley as The “Rattlesnake King” and His Famous Snake Oil
24:38 Sylvester Graham on Diet, Sexual Desire, and Ideas About Self-Control
28:29 John Harvey Kellogg on Health Reform, Food, Moral Purity and How Food Became a Reflection of Character
35:48 Bernarr Macfadden on Bodybuilding, Physical Culture, and the Ideal Physique
39:36 John Brinkley and The Goat Testicle Treatment and Miracle-Cure Claims
42:41 William Banting on Dieting and the Early Business of Weight Loss
45:47 Dr. Oz and the Rise of Television, Celebrity, and Wellness Advice
50:43 Celebrity Wellness and Goop Into Selling a Modern Lifestyle
54:33 Modern Wellness Influencers and How the Past Still Shapes Today's Industry
57:48 Final Thoughts

📒 Resources Mentioned:
Episode 80 Resources

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

The Mediterranean Diet is constantly touted the “best” diet for everyone. And there are a lot of reasons why!

In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at why the Mediterranean diet became known as one of the “best diets” in the world, what the eating pattern actually gets right and how its history shaped the way we understand it today. We’re not here to dismiss the Mediterranean diet but we’re here to add some much-needed context and help us think about healthy eating beyond one culture, one menu, or one “best" eating pattern.

🎗️ Timestamps:
03:51 Why Is the Mediterranean Diet Called the Best Diet in the World?
09:48 What Is the Mediterranean Diet and What Is It Not?
14:02 Proven Health Benefits of the Mediterranean Diet
22:20 Ancel Keys (again!) & the Origins of the Mediterranean Diet
26:44 Myth #1
31:04 Myth #2
39:50 Myth #3
47:47 Final Thoughts

📒  Resources Mentioned:
 🔗 Episode 79 Resources

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

What if one of the most overlooked parts of our diet is also one of the simplest?

In this episode, we’re taking a closer look at fiber and why it’s so easy to overlook. We’re not here to tell you to completely change the way you eat but we’re here to help you understand where fiber fits into the bigger picture and find practical ways to include more of it.

🎗️ Timestamps:
00:00 Are We in a Fiber Crisis?
05:03 Have We Completely Forgotten About Fiber?
09:06 Why Is Fiber So Hard to Sell?
10:48 Fibermaxxing vs. Fiber Layering
15:04 What Fiber Does & The Different Types
19:52 Fiber & The Gut Microbiome
26:23 Fiber, Heart Health, Cholesterol & Blood Sugar
29:44 Whole Foods vs. Fiber Supplements
37:08 How We Became a Low Fiber World
46:16 Fiber Fast Talk: How Much Is Too Much?
46:41 Does Fiber Make You Bloated?
47:16 Smoothies, Sourdough, Potatoes & Frozen Vegetables
49:20 Fruit Juice, Beans, Popcorn & High Fiber Foods
52:16 Final Words

📒 Resources Mentioned:
📃 Association between dietary fiber and lower risk of all-cause mortality: a meta-analysis of cohort studies
📃 NHS: How to get more fibre into your diet
🔗 Vietnamese beauty queen arrested for fraud over fibre gummies

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

In this episode, we looked into the research to ask: is all the fear around artificial sweeteners actually justified?

We dive into the history of non-nutritive sweeteners, the challenges of nutrition science, and how artificial sweeteners compare to sugar. We get into the claims around artificial sweeteners and cancer, gut health, weight changes, metabolic disruptions, and cardiovascular disease. If you've ever wondered whether you should be worried about that Diet Coke, this one's for you.

🎗️ Timestamps:
3:56 Why We’re Talking About Artificial Sweeteners
10:36 Different Types Of Sweeteners
16:31 Aspartame, Acceptable Intake & Natural Sweeteners
20:20 Why We Started Looking For “Natural” Alternatives
31:24 What Observational Studies Tell Us
38:26 Do Artificial Sweeteners Cause Cancer?
41:55 Do Artificial Sweeteners Ruin Gut Health?
43:45 Do Artificial Sweeteners Disrupt Your Metabolism?
45:11 Do Artificial Sweeteners “Trick” Your Brain?
48:19 Do Artificial Sweeteners Cause Cardiovascular Disease?
49:09 The Diet Culture of It All
53:08 Final Takeaways

📒 Resources Mentioned:
🔗 Episode 77 Resources

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

We’re answering some of your listener questions around supplements. We know there’s a lot of conflicting (and loud!) supplement information out there, and we hope this episode helps you come away feeling far more confident in what supplements you may benefit from and, more importantly, which ones aren’t worth the time or money.

🎗️ Timestamps:
2:07 Is Creatine Necessary for Perimenopause/Menopausal Women?
4:54 Supplementing for Increased Energy
8:14 Why Are Electrolytes Everywhere On Social Media?
10:06 How to Make Protein Powder Not Taste Disgusting?
13:33 What Is Colostrum and is it A Worthwhile Supplement?
15:40 Final Thoughts

📒 Resources Mentioned:
🎧 50 | Everything We’ve Learned About Creatine (So You Don’t Have To)
🎧 69 | Who Convinced Us We Need Electrolytes?
📃 Colostrum

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

AI isn't just changing how we work but it might be changing who we trust for our health & fitness.

We don't use AI to create our content and we don't use it to serve our clients but it's becoming impossible to ignore how quickly it's changing the wellness space. We are aware that AI-generated meal plans, workout programs, deepfakes and virtual influencers are rampant now and it's raising important questions about expertise, trust and where we get our health information.

AI can be genuinely helpful but at what aspect does it falls short and how can approach it more thoughtfully. If you've ever used ChatGPT or been curious about AI or wondered how much you should trust AI-generated health advice, we hope this conversation helps you become a more informed consumer.

🎗️ Timestamps:
04:07 Why AI Feels Like Such A Big Conversation Right Now
05:21 The Real Problem With AI Wellness Influencers
15:33 Deepfakes & The Future Of Trust Online
17:57 How AI Is Already Changing Coaching, Fitness & Wellness
33:35 The Supplement Industry, AI & Confirmation Bias
38:14 How To Think Critically In The Age Of AI & How To Use AI Without Falling For Misinformation
46:06 Our Final Thoughts On AI, Trust & Critical Thinking

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

There is a massive push for strength training right now in the fitness space - which we love! But not every hard workout is strength training and knowing the difference can help us better understand how our training is (or isn’t) supporting our specific goals.

If you've ever wondered whether Pilates, swimming, F45, Burn Boot Camp or walking with a weighted vest actually "count" as strength training, this episode is for you. Kate walks through what truly defines strength training, what doesn't, and why concepts like mechanical tension and progressive overload matter if your goal is getting stronger or building muscle.

If you're new to lifting or simply want to be more intentional with your workouts, we hope this episode helps you better understand what actually counts as strength training so you can spend less time guessing and more time moving with purpose.

🎗️ Timestamps:
05:54 Introduction To Strength & Resistance Training: Why It Matters For Everyone
20:18 Why Strength Training Is One Of The Best Things You Can Do For Your Health
22:50 What Actually Counts As Strength Training? Understanding Mechanical Tension
29:15 Does Feeling The Burn Mean It's Working? & Progressive Overload Explained
34:39 What The Research Says: How Many Days Should You Train & How Many Muscle Groups Matter?
42:35 Practical Tips To Maximize Strength & Muscle Growth
46:51 What Doesn't Count As Strength Training (Even If It Feels Hard)
49:25 Do Pilates, Swimming, F45, Burn Boot Camp & Weighted Vest Walking Count?
55:20 Do You Really Need A Smartwatch To Track Strength Progress?
56:44 Final Takeaways: Focus On What Actually Builds Strength

📒 Resources Mentioned:
📃 QuickStats: National Health Interview Survey, United States, 2020
📃 The Mechanisms of Muscle Hypertrophy and Their Application to Resistance Training
📃 Muscular adaptations in low- versus high-load resistance training: A meta-analysis
📃 American College of Sports Medicine Position Stand. Resistance Training Prescription for Muscle Function, Hypertrophy, and Physical Performance in Healthy Adults: An Overview of Reviews
📃 Is a weighted vest a sufficient substitute for resistance training while dieting?
🔗 ACSM Unveils Landmark 2026 Resistance Training Guidelines — First Update in 17 Years
🔗 Brad Schoenfeld’s 3 Evidence Based Guidelines of Hypertrophy Training

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!

Send us Fan Mail

Can a collagen supplement actually improve your skin, joints, and recovery… or is it just another wellness trend?

Collagen is one of the most popular supplements on the market, and there is no lack of influencers telling us it’s a must have in our supplement regimen. In this episode, we look at what collagen is, why it declines with age and what the research actually says about its benefits. We also discuss collagen for hair and nails and whether industry-funded research changes how we should interpret the evidence.

This episode is for anyone who's wondered whether collagen is worth adding to their routine. Whether you're already taking it, thinking about trying it, or just curious about the science, we hope this conversation helps you make a more informed decision.

🎗️ Timestamps:
02:04 What Is Collagen & Why Is It So Important For The Body?
05:50 The Different Types Of Collagen & What They Actually Do
13:40 What Happens To Collagen As We Age & Why It Matters For Healthy Aging
19:54 How Collagen Supplements Actually Work Once You Consume Them
23:07 Can Collagen Really Improve Skin Health, Elasticity & Wrinkles?
28:42 Does Collagen Help Hair Growth & Nail Strength?
32:09 Collagen For Joint Health: What Does The Evidence Actually Show?
34:57 Can Collagen Build Muscle? Recovery, Protein Quality & Muscle Growth Explained
40:10 Is Bone Broth A Good Alternative To Collagen Supplements?
40:30 Collagen Research, Industry Funding & Final Takeaways

💛 STAY CONNECTED 
Don’t forget to subscribe to our podcast so you never miss an episode.

🟡 Questions & Suggestions
We love hearing from you, if you have a question, a topic idea, or feedback on an episode, just click here

🟡 How to: Fitness
Instagram: @howtofitnesspod

🟡 Michael Ulloa
Website: michaelulloa.com
Instagram: @michaelulloapt

🟡 Kate Lyman
Website: katelymannutrition.com
Instagram:  @klnutrition

Thank you for listening to the How to: Fitness Podcast with Michael Ulloa and Kate Lyman!