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

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

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

By: Philip Pape Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach & Fat Loss Expert
Listen for free

About this listen

For skeptics of the fitness industry who want to work smarter and more efficiently to build muscle and lose fat. Wits & Weights is one of the best fitness podcasts for evidence-based nutrition and fitness strategies. We cut through the noise and deconstruct health and fitness with an engineering mindset to help you develop a strong, lean physique without wasting time.


Evidence-based nutrition coach Philip Pape explores efficient strength training, nutrition, and lifestyle strategies to optimize your body recomp and metabolism. Whether you're focused on weight loss, muscle building, or both, you'll get simple, science-based, and sustainable info from an engineer turned lifter (that's why they call him the Physique Engineer). This show serves both women's fitness and men's health goals, with special attention to strength training over 40 and hormone health.


From restrictive fad diets to ineffective workouts and hyped-up supplements, there's no shortage of confusing information out there. Getting in the best shape of your life doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming! By using your WITS (mindset and systems!) and lifting weights efficiently, you can build muscle, lose stubborn fat, and achieve and maintain a lean physique through sustainable body recomp.


We bring you smart and efficient strategies for movement, metabolism, muscle, and mindset. You'll learn:

- Why fat loss is more important than weight loss for health and physique

- Why all the macros (protein, fats, and yes even carbs) are critical to body composition

- Why you don't need to spend more than 3 hours in the gym each week to get incredible results with proper hypertrophy training

- Why muscle (not weight loss) is the key to medicine, obesity, and longevity

- Why age and hormones (even in menopause) don't matter with the right lifestyle

- How the "hidden" psychology of your mind can unlock more personal (and physical) growth than you ever thought possible, and how to tap into that mindset


If you're ready to separate fact from fiction, learn what actually works with evidence-based training and nutrition, and put in the intelligent work, hit that "follow" button 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 (Doc Who Lifts), Eric Trexler (Stronger by Science), Bill Campbell (exercise science researcher), Jordan Feigenbaum (Barbell Medicine), Andy Morgan (Ripped Body), 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, body positivity, best protein powder selection, strength training over 40, women's fitness, men's health, muscle building, body recomp, macros and nutrition tracking

© 2026 Philip Pape Exercise & Fitness Fitness, Diet & Nutrition Hygiene & Healthy Living Personal Development Personal Success
Episodes
  • 2 Biggest Causes of Belly Fat, Sugar Cravings, and Constant Hunger | Ep 426

    2 Biggest Causes of Belly Fat, Sugar Cravings, and Constant Hunger | Ep 426
    Jan 14 2026

    Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
    https://witsandweights.com/calocurb

    --

    One bad night of sleep can increase your calorie intake by up to 500 calories.

    Chronic stress drives fat specifically to your belly.

    And both of these hijack the exact hunger hormones that control whether you feel satisfied or ravenous, even when your nutrition looks perfect on paper.

    Discover how sleep deprivation tanks leptin, spikes ghrelin, and reduces GLP-1 (the hormones behind appetite control and fat loss). Learn why cortisol from chronic stress promotes visceral belly fat storage, increases insulin resistance, and amplifies cravings for calorie-dense comfort foods, plus the biological mechanisms behind "food noise" and hedonic hunger.

    You'll hear 6 tips to improve sleep quality and 5 to manage stress.

    Stick around for a bonus 10-minute pre-sleep protocol you can use tonight to start shifting your metabolism and hormone health in the right direction.

    If you've been stuck in a fat loss plateau despite doing everything right with strength training and nutrition, this episode reveals the hidden factors that could be holding you back.

    Timestamps:

    0:00 – How sleep and stress sabotage fat loss
    4:24 – How poor sleep crashes leptin and spikes ghrelin
    8:48 – Why sleep deprivation triggers sugar cravings and overeating
    12:24 – 300-500 extra calories from one bad night
    15:00 – How chronic stress elevates cortisol and NPY
    20:44 – Why cortisol drives belly fat storage and insulin resistance
    28:18 – Appetite tools that offset poor sleep/stress
    33:02 – Understanding food noise and hedonic hunger
    37:15 – 6 tips to improve sleep for fat loss
    43:30 – 5 tips to manage stress
    49:12 – Bonus: 10-minute pre-sleep protocol you can use tonight


    👉 Register for the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop on January 20 to lose 8-12 pounds of fat with my targeted, 6-week mini-cut. Replay, downloadable guide, and fat loss workout program included.

    Support the show


    📱 Get Fitness Lab - Philip’s science-based AI app for fat loss, muscle building, and strength training for people over 40. It adapts to your nutrition, recovery, and training to improve body composition without guesswork.

    🎓 Try Physique University - Evidence-based nutrition coaching and strength training to help you lose fat, build muscle, and master your metabolism with support and accountability (free custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN).

    👥 Join our Facebook community - Free fat loss, muscle building, and body recomposition strategies for adults over 40 who want practical, science-backed fitness guidance.

    👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
    Show More Show Less
    36 mins
  • Brand New 6-Week FAT LOSS Workout Program (Introducing CHISEL)

    Brand New 6-Week FAT LOSS Workout Program (Introducing CHISEL)
    Jan 13 2026

    Get the new CHISEL fat loss workout program (when you register for the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop) along with my complete 45-day fat loss protocol (6-week mini-cut) to drop 8-12 lbs before summer and actually keep it off.
    https://live.witsandweights.com/

    --

    Introducing CHISEL, a flexible 4-day upper/lower fat loss workout program built to preserve muscle and strength during a calorie deficit.

    This training template pairs heavy work with volume, clear progression, and biofeedback checks, and it's flexible enough to adapt to the lower energy and recovery during a cut.

    Get INSTANT access to the template when you register for the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop:
    https://live.witsandweights.com/

    Support the show


    📱 Get Fitness Lab - Philip’s science-based AI app for fat loss, muscle building, and strength training for people over 40. It adapts to your nutrition, recovery, and training to improve body composition without guesswork.

    🎓 Try Physique University - Evidence-based nutrition coaching and strength training to help you lose fat, build muscle, and master your metabolism with support and accountability (free custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN).

    👥 Join our Facebook community - Free fat loss, muscle building, and body recomposition strategies for adults over 40 who want practical, science-backed fitness guidance.

    👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
    Show More Show Less
    6 mins
  • Hunger Hormones Controlling Your Fat Loss (Ghrelin, Leptin, and GLP-1 Explained) | Ep 425

    Hunger Hormones Controlling Your Fat Loss (Ghrelin, Leptin, and GLP-1 Explained) | Ep 425
    Jan 12 2026

    Try Calocurb natural appetite control (40% fewer cravings and 30% less hunger). It's prescription free, affordable, and fast acting. Get 10% off:
    https://witsandweights.com/calocurb

    --

    Your body is fighting your fat loss, and it's not a willpower problem.

    When you diet, ghrelin spikes to make you hungrier, leptin crashes so your brain thinks you're starving, and GLP-1 drops so meals stop filling you up. Understanding these hunger hormones is the difference between white-knuckling through every deficit and actually working with your biology.

    In this episode, you'll learn the science behind the hormones controlling your appetite... not just the big three (ghrelin, leptin, GLP-1), but also lesser-known players like PYY, CCK, NPY, and amylin that you rarely hear about.

    Discover why fat loss gets harder the leaner you get, what causes metabolic adaptation at the hormonal level, and specific strategies to support satiety naturally through protein, fiber, meal timing, sleep, and stress management.

    Plus, stick around for the Hunger Wave Check protocol, a simple 15-minute tool to distinguish physical hunger from psychological hunger so you can stop reacting on autopilot and start understanding your own appetite signals.

    Timestamps:

    0:00 - Why fat loss feels harder the longer you diet
    3:21 - Ghrelin: why this hunger hormone spikes during fat loss
    7:06 - Leptin: how losing fat makes your brain think you're starving
    13:42 - Natural GLP-1 upregulation to take the edge off your hunger
    15:17 - GLP-1: the satiety hormone behind Ozempic and natural alternatives
    20:31 - PYY, CCK, NPY, and amylin: the hormones nobody talks about
    26:42 - Bonus: 15-minute protocol for hunger awareness


    Support the show


    📱 Get Fitness Lab - Philip’s science-based AI app for fat loss, muscle building, and strength training for people over 40. It adapts to your nutrition, recovery, and training to improve body composition without guesswork.

    🎓 Try Physique University - Evidence-based nutrition coaching and strength training to help you lose fat, build muscle, and master your metabolism with support and accountability (free custom nutrition plan with code FREEPLAN).

    👥 Join our Facebook community - Free fat loss, muscle building, and body recomposition strategies for adults over 40 who want practical, science-backed fitness guidance.

    👋 Ask a question or find Philip Pape on Instagram
    Show More Show Less
    34 mins
No reviews yet
In the spirit of reconciliation, Audible acknowledges the Traditional Custodians of country throughout Australia and their connections to land, sea and community. We pay our respect to their elders past and present and extend that respect to all Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples today.