DiscoverWits & Weights | Evidence-Based Fitness & Nutrition for Lifters
Wits & Weights | Evidence-Based Fitness & Nutrition for Lifters

Wits & Weights | Evidence-Based Fitness & Nutrition for Lifters

Author: Philip Pape, Evidence-Based Nutrition Coach & Fat Loss Expert

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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

600 Episodes
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Get Fitness Lab, the #1 adaptive coaching app that adjusts to YOUR recovery, YOUR schedule, and YOUR body. Build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger with daily personalized guidance. Now 20% through February 17. Take the free 2-minute quiz to see your custom plan before you buy. — How does someone smash a 515-pound raw squat at 181 pounds bodyweight? What separates elite strength training from the way most people lift weights? And are deloads quietly sabotaging your body recomp progress?...
Upgrade your sleep and recovery with Cozy Earth's bamboo pajamas and blankets. Temperature-regulating, lightweight, and designed to help you fall asleep faster. Go to witsandweights.com/cozyearth -- You're training consistently, eating enough protein, doing everything you're supposed to, but when you look in the mirror or step on the scale, nothing seems to be changing. Or worse, you look softer than last week. What's going on? The mirror and scale are terrible short-term indicators of muscle...
If what worked in your 30s isn't working anymore, it's not your fault. Your body and life have changed. The Fitness Lab app adapts to your sleep, recovery, and stress so you can actually build muscle and lose fat over 40. It also now syncs with Apple Health (iPhone version only). Podcast listeners get 20% off at bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20 -- Does menopause cause muscle loss or make it harder to build muscle? The fitness industry loves to blame hormones for everything. Wellness gurus want to sel...
Get Fitness Lab (20% off for listeners), the #1 coaching app that adapts to YOUR recovery, YOUR schedule, and YOUR body. Build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger with daily personalized guidance. — If you train hard, want to build muscle, and still lose fat, how do you actually recover faster without breaking yourself down? Can electrical stimulation really support body recomp and strength training, or is it just another shiny gadget? Garrett Salpeter joined me to connect the dots between ne...
Try Calocurb, a 100% natural appetite support supplement that activates your body's GLP-1 signals to reduce cravings by 40% and hunger by 30% within one hour. It's a helpful tool for your next recomp or fat loss phase. Get 10% off at witsandweights.com/calocurb -- If you're over 40, cutting calories to lose fat can backfire. Why? Because if your approach is too aggressive or your stress is too high, your hunger spikes, training suffers, and you often regain everything you lost when you increa...
I Messed Up

I Messed Up

2026-01-2701:14

Since late 2025, the 20% discount link for Fitness Lab wasn't applying at checkout but it's fixed now! Plus: a quick update on Apple Health ❤️ integration for iPhone users. Here's the (working) link for 20% off Fitness Lab: https://bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20 📱 Get Fitness Lab (now 20% off) - Science-based coaching app for fat loss, muscle building, and strength training over 40. It adapts to your nutrition, recovery, and training to improve body composition without the stress. 🎓 Join ...
Struggling with hunger during your cut? Try Calocurb for natural appetite support that activates GLP-1 to help you feel satisfied. Clinical studies showed a 40% reduction in cravings and 30% reduction in hunger within one hour. Get 10% off at witsandweights.com/calocurb -- Hungry after every workout and stuck in an endless “eat less, move more” loop? Strength training is actually one of the most powerful appetite control tools you have, but most people only think of it as a muscle...
For the ultimate in personalization, check out my Fitness Lab app, now with full Apple Health integration. It's like having a coach in your pocket. Listeners get 20% with this exclusive link: http://bit.ly/fitness-lab-pod20 -- What does it mean to "personlize" your fitness really? In this episode, you'll learn about my ADAPT framework for personalizing fitness: Assess your starting pointDo the thing (take action)Analyze your dataPivot based on what you learnTest your changesLearn why gen...
Get Fitness Lab (20% off for listeners), the #1 coaching app that adapts to YOUR recovery, YOUR schedule, and YOUR body. Build muscle, lose fat, and get stronger with daily personalized guidance. Now with Apple Health integration. -- Are biohacks keeping you stuck instead of helping you lose fat and build muscle? Why does body recomp feel so hard even when you are doing all the “right” things? Body recomp, build muscle, and lose fat come up constantly on fitness podcasts, but I keep seeing th...
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 -- If all you've done is diet, every cut will be harder than the last. More hunger, less energy, slower results. There's a reason, and it's not just your age or metabolism. Learn why building muscle first makes cutting (fat loss) dramatically easier, how more lean mass directly reduces hunger per calorie of defici...
Join the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop TODAY at live.witsandweights.com to get the complete mini-cut protocol, training template, 8-week guided course, and your first month in Physique University. Workshop starts at 12pm Eastern (recording included if you can't make it live): https://live.witsandweights.com/ -- Want to lose 8-12 pounds of body fat in the next 6 weeks? Learn the mini-cut approach: a shorter, more aggressive but "internally sustainable" fat loss phase that actually works because...
Register for the Get Lean in 45 Days workshop at live.witsandweights.com to learn exactly how to drop 8-12 pounds of body fat in 45 days while managing hunger the right way. 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 -- Hunger hits different after 40. You might feel like your body is actively fighting against fat loss: cravings show up more often and...
Register for the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop to get my complete 45-day fat loss protocol (6-week mini-cut) with a built-in exit strategy so you can drop 8-12 lbs before summer and actually keep it off. https://live.witsandweights.com/ -- You've lost weight before, right? The problem is... you probably gained it all back. Multiple times anyone? 🙋‍♀️🙋‍♂️ That's because most weight loss attempts fall into THIS fat loss trap. These mistakes GUARANTEE a rebound... but this doesn't have to happen!...
Try Calocurb natural appetite support backed by clinical research. Get 10% off your first order at https://witsandweights.com/calocurb — Why does hunger sabotage weight loss even with perfect macros? Is appetite control really about discipline or hormone health? Body recomp, weight loss, and building muscle get complicated fast when appetite refuses to cooperate. I dug into the real biology behind hunger with Sarah Kennedy, founder and CEO of Calocurb, to explore how the gut and brain regulat...
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 d...
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...
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 ever...
Enjoying the show? Leave a rating (and review) in your podcast app to help more people discover evidence-based fitness information... and let me know if you want more bonus episodes like this one! -- This is my conversation with Zora Benhamou on her podcast Hack My Age. Zora is a gerontologist and menopause coach who works with women navigating perimenopause and postmenopause. We dig into why your metabolism isn't actually slowing down the way you think, what's really behind that midlife weig...
Want to drop 8-12 lbs before summer without crash dieting or losing muscle? Join the Get Lean in 45 Days Workshop on January 20th. Includes replay, fat loss workout program, custom macros, and complete 45-day protocol. — Are you lifting weights, tracking macros, and still stuck with stubborn fat? What if your labs look “normal” but your metabolism feels broken? Body recomp is supposed to feel simpler when you train hard and eat well, yet many people chasing weight loss and muscle building fee...
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 -- Can you lose fat without all the hunger? Maybe you're eating fewer calories than ever but somehow hungrier than ever, and it feels like a vicious cycle that prevents you from losing weight or stalls out your metabolism. Discover the satiety hierarchy that explains why some foods keep you full for hours while ot...
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Comments (1)

TheDiamond

I want to like this podcast, he seems like he knows his stuff, but he's one of those Americans who uses his voice in such a way that he sounds like he's shouting. Constantly. I guess it's meant to be 'peppy' or something, but unfortunately for me it makes him un-listenable. Mr Pape, you know the benefit of coaching, talk to a voice coach, they can really help you sound and be more relaxed in your vocalisations. Suspect it will greatly help your podcast numbers, especially outside the US. Cheers.

Jun 20th
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