In late Dec. 2024, nutrition coach Thomas DeLauer rehashed his most eye-opening discussions on health and performance to take into 2025. He spoke to fitness, strength, training, and nutrition gurus across the health world to gather quintessential tips on fat loss and muscle building.
[Related: Recapping 2024’s Most Notable Muscle-Building Studies]
Bill Maeda – Cheat Food Mind Hack
Bill Maeda is a shredded 55-year-old trainer from Hawaii with a unique approach to nutrition. He treats all food as workout fuel and doesn’t avoid “cheat foods.”
“I always consider [food] fuel, whether it’s Costco hot dogs or a perfectly done macrobiotic masterpiece,” Maeda said. His rationale behind the madness? “I feel it burning; I’m replenishing myself.” It’s also his hack to maintain an active lifestyle, “It gives me a little dopamine but also a little guilt.”
Dr. Andrew Kutnik – Rethinking Carbs for Performance
Dr. Kutnik examined the relationship between carbohydrates and physical performance. His research found that minimal carb supplementation — three to four grams every 20 minutes — can prevent hypoglycemia without diminishing performance. “[It’s] six to 12 times lower than the traditional recommendations.”
Paul Saladino – The French Fry Whistleblower
Paul Saladino, MD, a leading expert on the carnivore diet, warns of the toxic byproducts from frying with seed oils. (1) He compares it to smoking cigarettes:
“A large frie from McDonald’s contains the same amount of toxic chemicals as a pack of cigarettes,” Saladino told DeLauer. A deeper look suggests reheating oils repeatedly is dangerous. Guy Crosby, an adjunct associate of nutrition at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, insists cooking with seed oils at home “isn’t an issue.”
Chris Duffin – Using the Pump for Leverage
World record powerlifter Chris Duffin described how muscle tissue quality affects performance and why nutrition is key. “Muscles full of glycogen, blood, and intracellular hydration; [diet] is the single fastest lever you can pull for better training performance.”
Duffin likens the pump to a powerlifting suit. “As you fill the muscles, you create tension and the ability for more power output. The muscle belly changes the muscle insertion to give more torque.”
Duffin recommends nitrate-containing foods such as potassium, beets, betaine anhydrous, and L-citrulline for muscle pumps.
Dr. Scott Sher – Unlocking Performance with Methylene Blue
Dr. Scott Sher swears by methylene blue (MB), the “first fully man-made medicine,” for metabolic flexibility and improved endurance; DeLauer also claimed performance benefits. (2)
“Methylene blue can compensate for stress [during long runs] and make more energy as it depletes,” Dr. Sher claimed. He observed major performance improvements by prescribing methylene blue to marathon athletes.
Brian McKenzie – The Breath Guru
Brian McKenzie promotes building CO2 tolerance, which he says is vital for oxygen use and performance. “Anything above 15 breaths per minute is dysfunctional; a massive gap in how your physiology operates,” the strength coach affirmed.
“Oxygen is a worthless, destructive molecule without carbon dioxide.” Mackenzie’s practical tips, like nose breathing during walks, are simple but significant. “We can make major changes quickly,” he asserted.
Dr. Ben Bikman – Carbs and Fat Gain
“A lot of carbs and fat together is particularly fattening,” Dr. Ben Bikman says. DeLauer concurred, “Theoretically, it’s metabolically difficult.” Dr. Bikman broke down the process of how the body uses insulin to stimulate fat growth from glucose, “People say [fat gain] is (related) purely to calories — it’s not true.”
Dr. Tommy Wood – Strength & Brain Health
In a paper published in 2024, Dr. Tommy Wood clarified the correlation between muscle mass and cognitive function. He found that:
“As long as your muscles are strong relative to their size, it doesn’t matter how big they are, referring to proportional strength — it’s how it’s been gained and how you use them that confers benefits.”
Jocko Willink – Fasted Training
Some believe that exercising on an empty stomach burns more body fat and former Navy Seal Jocko Willink feels better training fasted. (3) “It recalibrates your hunger and taste.”
Dr. Jacob Torres – Oxalates
Though vegetables like spinach and rhubarb are nutrient-rich, Dr. Torres shed light on the long-term dangers of oxalates, an acid found in them. He suggested that oxalates can form crystals in the kidneys or thyroid if their concentration is high enough. Torres advises balancing high-oxalate foods with calcium to prevent harmful effects.
Dr. Stephanie Van Watson – Sardinian Secrets for Longevity
Dr. Stephanie Van Watson investigated Sardinians’ longevity secrets, particularly their high levels of C15, aka pentadecanoic acid, essential saturated fatty acids in whole-fat dairy.
Research shows that C15 is as good, if not more effective than leading longevity-enhancing therapeutics. (4) “[Sardinians] have more than three times higher C15 levels [than the world average],” Dr. Watson noted.
Dr. Andy Galpin — The Testosterone Mythbuster
“It’s not just about how much testosterone is floating in your system; it’s about how many receptors can bind to it. That’s what activates all the benefits of testosterone,” said Dr. Andy Galpin, explaining that receptor density and sensitivity are key to unlocking testosterone’s effects. He adds, “Testosterone isn’t the only anabolic agent you have” when addressing anabolic issues.
More In Research
- Men Can Gain More Muscle Mass Than Women But Lean Mass Is What Matters
- Soluble Vs. Insoluble: The Fiber Debate
- The Rationale for More Reps Per Set for Muscle Growth
Reference
- Moumtaz S, Percival BC, Parmar D, Grootveld KL, Jansson P, Grootveld M. Toxic aldehyde generation in and food uptake from culinary oils during frying practices: peroxidative resistance of a monounsaturate-rich algae oil. Sci Rep. 2019 Mar 11;9(1):4125. doi: 10.1038/s41598-019-39767-1. PMID: 30858398; PMCID: PMC6412032.
- Xue H, Thaivalappil A, Cao K. The Potentials of Methylene Blue as an Anti-Aging Drug. Cells. 2021 Dec 1;10(12):3379. doi: 10.3390/cells10123379. PMID: 34943887; PMCID: PMC8699482.
- Zouhal H, Saeidi A, Salhi A, Li H, Essop MF, Laher I, Rhibi F, Amani-Shalamzari S, Ben Abderrahman A. Exercise Training and Fasting: Current Insights. Open Access J Sports Med. 2020 Jan 21;11:1-28. doi: 10.2147/OAJSM.S224919. PMID: 32021500; PMCID: PMC6983467.
- Venn-Watson S, Schork NJ. Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0), an Essential Fatty Acid, Shares Clinically Relevant Cell-Based Activities with Leading Longevity-Enhancing Compounds. Nutrients. 2023 Oct 30;15(21):4607. doi: 10.3390/nu15214607. PMID: 37960259; PMCID: PMC10649853.
Featured image: @thomasdelauer on Instagram
