March 21, 2024
Do you ever feel like you're locked in a battle with your diet, following all the rules but seeing no results?
My guests on today's show, Matt Gallant and Wade T. Lightheart, just put the finishing touches on one of the most complete, unbiased nutrition books I've ever read: The Ultimate Nutrition Bible. If you grab it here (use code BEN10 to save 10%), you can start creating an optimized nutrition plan based on your goals, your genes, and your psychology.
Matt Gallant and Wade T. Lightheart, founders of BIOptimizers (use code BEN10 to save 10%), are here to help you identify the factors that will bring you lasting results by helping you create a nutritional strategy that works for you. This all-in-one, comprehensive guide to the current diet and nutritional landscape will help you establish a personalized, sustainable dietary strategy based on your goals, genetics, and unique needs.
Matt is a kinesiologist with a degree in the science of physical activity and the CEO/co-founder of BIOptimizers. He’s been a strength and conditioning coach for multiple pro athletes, a self-defense instructor, and has over 18 years of experience formulating supplements. He’s been successfully following a mostly ketogenic diet for over 30 years. He’s also a serial entrepreneur who’s built over 14 profitable companies.
Wade is a certified sports nutritionist advisor and the president, director of education, and co-founder of BIOptimizers. As a plant-based and drug-free athlete for more than two decades, Wade is a three-time National Natural Bodybuilding Champion who competed in both the IFBB Mr. Universe and the INBA Natural Olympia by the age of 31. At the age of 50, Wade came out of retirement to win the Open Men’s and Grand Master’s categories at the INBA Ironman International, then competed at the PNBA Natural Olympia. Six months later, Wade successfully ran his first marathon in four hours.
These guys are no strangers to the podcast. They've joined me for the episodes:
- How I’ve Been Able To Gorge On Delicious Gluten-Filled Foods Without Feeling Like I Swallowed A Pair Of Motor-Powered Scissors Tearing Up My Intestines.
- The Biggest Common Keto Mistakes (& How to Fix Every Metabolic Problem With A Low-Carb Diet In Just 7 Seconds)
- Probiotic Enemas, Digestive Enzyme Myths, Breathing 10 Kilograms of Oxygen, Low-Protein Diets & More!
They also helped to formulate monster, helpful articles on my site like “The Ultimate Guide To Nootropics: How To Safely Use Better Living Through Science To Get The Most Firepower Out Of Your Brain.”
Ready to dive in and discover how your genetic predispositions can revolutionize your approach to nutrition and performance? Join me, Matt, and Wade as we share insights on managing genetic challenges, optimizing hunger management, and exploring the latest in personalized nutrition testing.
Oh, and great news — Matt and Wade are giving you an exclusive offer — not only will you get 10% off The Ultimate Nutrition Bible by using the promo code BEN10, but you’ll get over 200 recipes worth of cookbooks (along with other bonuses) as a thank-you for listening to the show!
During this discussion, you'll discover:
–The Ultimate Nutrition Bible…05:06
- The Ultimate Nutrition Bible by Matt Gallant, Wade T. Lightheart (use code BEN10 to save 10% )
- BIOptimizers (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Magnesium Breakthrough (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Gluten Guardian (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Matt is a strength conditioning coach
- Years of formulating supplements
- A ketogenic diet enthusiast
- A serial entrepreneur
- Wade is a bodybuilder
- Three-time national bodybuilding champion
- More of a plant-based approach to nutrition
- Entrepreneur
- Nootopia (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Boundless by Ben Greenfield
- Ben is now working on Boundless 2.0
-Wade's personal nutritional preferences…09:00
- Wade hasn’t eaten flesh since 2021
- Not a vigilante vegan
- Strips away all of the ethical or moral grandstanding on diets
- Developed his plant-based diet
- To address some genetic condition
- Explore what could be done on the performance side
- A ketogenic perspective helped him fill major holes in his plant-based strategy
-Managing genetic predispositions with food…11:44
- Matt has a couple of interesting challenges; has suboptimal genetics for
- Cardiovascular health
- For feeling full and overeating
- For blood sugar regulation
- A traditional bodybuilder diet would lead him to a cardiac event in his 70s or 80s
- A plant-based diet does not deliver good outcomes for blood sugar level
- Started a plant-based diet but had to make major adjustments
- HOMA-IR blood glucose test
- Scott Abel created the cycle diet
- What is a “spike day”?
- Eat below your calorie maintenance levels for about six days a week
- On a spike day, you load up on the calories to refill glycogen stores
- Hormones aren't able to adapt to start putting on body fat
- To set that up, at least 12 to 16 weeks of dieting prematurely to get your body into a continuous deficit state for an extended time
- The Cycle Diet by Scott Abel
-Matt's perspective on how genetics impact diet…16:32
- The reason people fail weight loss is because of genetics
- Dieting too hard, too fast — starvation survival mechanisms kick in
- One defense mechanism is the creation of new fat cells
- Ozempic or any GLP-1 agonist helps override that survival mechanism
- The end-game solution for weight loss is probably some sort of gene therapy
- Eating because you should, not because you're hungry or being compelled by survival mechanisms
- Dopamine and serotonin response to food
- When competing, you can’t use enhancements that could distort the results
- Hard to separate hormonal augmentation from the strategy itself
-Wade’s hunger management tactics…22:52
- Protein and fiber
- Most plant-based folks should be supplementing with protein
- Don't have enough pool of protein to extract the amino acids out
- Wade is a fiber king — takes 85g of fiber per day
- Three times more than an average person takes
- Four types of fiber:
- Legumes
- Vegetable
- Fruit
- Cereal
- A meta-analysis of 14 studies
- 12% – 35% reduction of all causes of mortality
- Wade is working on creating a working theory of what fibers could be used in conjunction with the repopulation of the microbiome
- A dietary agnostic
-Matt’s hunger management tactics…26:23
- Sleep is crucial
- Bad sleep — craving more food
- Decaf coffee and salt
- Carbonated drinks increase hunger
- Smaller plates
- People will eat in proportion to the plate size
- Ben controls his appetite with small dishes
-Testing lab in Bosnia…32:47
- University of Sarajevo
- Met with the head of the biology department and created a partnership
- Supplied them with over a million dollars worth of equipment
- Got Ph.D. and master's degree students to do a nonstop experiment
- Met them every Tuesday morning
- Testing and research to improve BIOptimizer products
- Presently rebuilding Magnesium Breakthrough
- P3-Om experiments
- Mass spec guy on Instagram
-Matt’s current diet…34:47
- At 15, he started a ketogenic diet and was told he was fat
- Started running and Atkin’s diet — went from 190 to 147 in six months
- Got into bodybuilding and discovered an anabolic diet from Dr. Mauro Di Pasquale
- Cyclical ketogenic diet
- Carb refeed a couple of days a week
- Went from 147 to 235 in three years
- Training 12 times a week
- At the moment, focusing on rebuilding nutritional strategy in a completely new way
- A lot of influence and methodologies from the book The Ultimate Nutrition Bible (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Has a saturated fat genetic issue
- Replacing the fat with olive oil
- Increasing fiber intake
- Optimizing nutrient and micronutrient intake
- Genetic issues with zinc and selenium
- Doing experiments on algae oil and krill oil
- Trying to break down into fatty acids
- What are the good fatty acids
- What are the bad fatty acids
- Ben is eating 200 to 300 grams of carbohydrates while restricting most of the rest of the day
- Based on concerns about plaque scan and calcium scan scores and genetics components
- A more Mediterranean approach — less butter, less lard
-Ben is selling his complete bio-hacked home in Spokane…38:52
-Developing their own testing and app…39:28
- Working on their own test
- 23andme
- You are getting raw data
- Working on an app that's focused on nutrition and supplements that give people powerful insights
- The value of testing
- One of the greatest investments anyone can make in their health
- Adding an extra decade, two, or three of life
- Making corrective actions years or decades before alarm bells are ringing
- An at-home salivary test
- Ultimate Nutrition app
- Personalized recommendations based on your goals
- Simple and easy as possible to have a truly personalized nutritional experience
- Going to have a trainer feature
- Cronometer calorie counter
- Matt uses the Ultimate Nutrition app
- Ultimate Nutrition (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Recipes
- Nutritional diets
-Wade’s current diet…42:08
- Eat the same thing every day, all week long
- Keeps the calorie deficit at about 1,000 a day with 1 spike day
- Goes on a holiday in December and eats whatever he wants
- After Christmas, spends the next six weeks trying to get his weight back
- Likes food tours where he gets exposed to things that are outside of his range
- Before, he was very restrictive and never deviated from his diet
- Ben doesn’t restrict his food when traveling, just walks a lot
- Averages about 25,000 steps a day when traveling
-Calories in, calories out…45:11
- Two camps:
- Calories in, calories out is a law of thermodynamics that no one escapes from
- There are all these variables: hormones, leptin, etc.
- Both are right
- Probably, the number one variable is anabolism — the set of metabolic pathways that build molecules from smaller units, requiring energy in the process
- Ingested calories, whether it's carbs, proteins, fats, or fiber — have to be dealt with
- When you're consuming protein, your body has to break down 25% to 30% of the calories consumed to metabolize that protein
- Net calories are lower if you consume a lot of protein
- With fiber, only about half the calories are absorbed
- In terms of being satiated, and not overconsuming food, it's a great strategy
- Bodybuilders experiment
- Had a dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry scan (DEXA) — a medical imaging technique that measures bone density
- Doubled their calorie intake to 7,000–8,000 calories a day
- Repeated the DEXA scan after 10 days
- Lost body fat despite gaining 15–20 pounds of weight
- They cracked their anabolism through the roof
- Natural ways to improve anabolism
- Sleep
- Consuming mTOR-activating meals at least four times a day — mTOR (mechanistic target of rapamycin) is a protein kinase that regulates cell growth, cell proliferation, and cell survival
- Weightlifting
- A pound of lean muscle tissue burns about 300% more calories than a pound of fat
- Experiment with NAD
- Brain training and doing five days of 750 milligrams of NAD
- Koniver Wellness
- A friend did the Camino trail in Europe — activity level is very important
- Walking approximately 20 to 25 miles every single day
- Massive pasta meals and wine every night, huge dinners
- Lost weight — gets back 25 pounds lighter
- NAD patch by Ion Layer
- Ben’s hack for mitochondrial dysfunction:
- Activity is crucial for calories out
- Podcast with Thomas Delauer:
- Ben is working on his book
- Doesn’t go to the gym much
- Exercising with a 16 kg kettlebell (use code GREENFIELD to save 10%)
- 4-pound hand weights
- CAROL bike 5–10 minute bursts (use code BEN to save $100)
- A prototype supplement: Brown Fat Cap
- Exposure to air conditioning is enough to activate it
- Lowers blood sugar because of the shivering
- Cold exposure, both from heat loss and brown fat activation
- Really potent brown fat cap prototype
- Proteolytic enemas are the ultimate thing
- Do enemas with MassZymes (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
-And much more…
Upcoming Events:
- Health Optimization Summit — London: June 15–16, 2024
The Health Optimization Summit is the ultimate gathering for anyone passionate about biohacking, wellness, and living their best life. Dubbed a must-do event, it promises a transformative weekend filled with the opportunity to meet and learn from over 35 world-class speakers (including yours truly) in nutrition, longevity, mental health, relationships, and more. Learn best-kept secrets, try out the latest high-tech health gadgets, and discover the cleanest supplements and foods on the market. Don't miss this life-changing weekend — grab your tickets before they're gone here.
- The Longevity Circle Retreat in Croatia — Superyacht Wellness Adventure: Sept 4–10, 2024
Step aboard the ultimate luxury wellness journey: the longevity-focused Superyacht Wellness Adventure, set against the breathtaking backdrop of Croatia from September 4–10, 2024. This exclusive, invite-only event offers an unparalleled experience that blends opulence with the pursuit of wellness, disease prevention, and a long, happy life. With only 10 cabins available, this intimate retreat promises personalized attention and an atmosphere of elite exclusivity. Each day, I will lead 5–6 invigorating workouts, share insights through 1–2 enlightening talks, and engage in organic discussions and Q&A sessions, ensuring a transformative experience. Secure your spot here on this once-in-a-lifetime adventure and be part of a select group dedicated to elevating their health.
- Keep up on Ben's LIVE appearances by following bengreenfieldfitness.com/calendar!
Click here for the full written transcript of this podcast episode.
Resources from this episode:
– Matt Gallant and Wade T. Lightheart:
- The Ultimate Nutrition Bible by Matt Gallant, Wade T. Lightheart (use code BEN10 to save 10% )
- BIOptimizers (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Nootopia (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Ultimate Nutrition App (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Magnesium Breakthrough (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- Gluten Guardian (use code BEN10 to save 10%)
- How I’ve Been Able To Gorge On Delicious Gluten-Filled Foods Without Feeling Like I Swallowed A Pair Of Motor-Powered Scissors Tearing Up My Intestines.
- The Biggest Common Keto Mistakes (& How to Fix Every Metabolic Problem With A Low-Carb Diet In Just 7 Seconds)
- Probiotic Enemas, Digestive Enzyme Myths, Breathing 10 Kilograms of Oxygen, Low-Protein Diets & More!
- The Ultimate Guide To Nootropics: How To Safely Use Better Living Through Science To Get The Most Firepower Out Of Your Brain.
– Podcasts:
– Books:
– Other Resources:
- Decaf Coffee
- Salt
- NAD patch by Ion Layer
- SS-31
- MOTS-c
- Kettlebells (use code GREENFIELD to save 10%)
- Hand Weights
- Carol (use code BEN to save $100)
- HOMA-IR
- 23andme
- Cronometer
- Biohacked Spokane Home
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Do you have questions, thoughts, or feedback for Matt, Wade, or me? Leave your comments below and one of us will reply!
