The Fat Loss Blueprint
This is your six-step blueprint for creating the lean, strong, powerful, and healthy physique within you.
Is Recomping the Holy Grail or a Waste of Time?
Recomping is a strategy of simultaneously losing body fat and gaining muscle mass aka the holy grail.
Do Hormone Imbalances Cause Weight Gain?
Hormones matter. Have you ever gained 10, 20, or 30-plus pounds out of nowhere, but nothing else in your life changed? I have.
Can We Stop Blaming Every Gut Issue on Gluten?
Gluten-free this, gluten-free that. Do you really need to be gluten-free, or are there other gut issues at play? Maybe ditching gluten isn't your best bet.
A Case for Creatine Use in Soccer
Creatine is one of the most studied ergogenic aids on the planet. However, most people who use creatine do so for strength gains. Surprisingly, creatine can offer a lot more, especially for anyone playing soccer.
2 Hormone Issues That Cause Bloating for Women
Estrogen dominance and hypothyroidism are two common hormone issues we see in our female clients. Let's mitigate these issues!
Low Hanging Fruit to Improve Digestion and Eliminate Bloating
We NEED to make sure we are nailing down the basics. This is low-hanging fruit that everyone should be doing, regardless of whether you experience bloating!
10 Tips for STAYING Lean During the Holidays
The holidays equate to roughly 12 meals. If you can't handle 12 meals and instead turn into a slob overnight...
Your Nutritional Plan for Meet Day
You've done the work thus far to demonstrate your strength on the platform. Don't ruin it with poor food choices come meet day.
Overcoming the Pressure of a Six-Pack: How I Gained 100 Pounds in High S...
If you're a kid with some athletic potential but is knocked over by a slight breeze, you need to start training and eating properly. Here's how!
The 6s and 7s of Training and Nutrition
Exercises or food you ranked high at some point may not be serving you anymore? It's time to reevaluate what you lift and put in your mouth.
3 Mistakes You're Making to Get Lean This Summer
Let's look at three of the biggest mistakes—extended caloric restriction, adding too much cardio, and workout selection.
Counting Trace Macros Is Overrated
Tired of inputting your nutrition information into an app to count your total macros and calories? Give this method a shot.
5 Zombie Myths on Dietary Protein for Performance and Body Composition
You are a badass, meat-eating dude who likes steak; hence, you eat a 12-ounce all at once. If you can only use 30 grams, where do the other 50 grams go?
A Non-Steroid Bulk for Strength and Size
I gained 63 pounds of muscle in my first year of lifting and 30 pounds in my second year. Soon after I had 19 ½” biceps. Here's how.
Sparky's Nutritional Guide for Peak Powerlifting Performance and Gu...
Think of grease as your stomach's protective shield. It's like when your hands get dry and start cracking...
A Bodybuilding Diet for Powerlifters: How to Eat to Build Muscle and Get...
A few easy dieting strategies can make a big difference in your recovery, strength, and—most of all— how you look.
6 Tactics to Fight the Thanksgiving Fluff
Thanksgiving will leave you feeling like that butterball on the dinner table, unless you plan accordingly.
Continue Reaching Your Goals This Holiday Season
Four to six weeks of a holiday season IS NOT going to curve your physique goals. It's the other 52 weeks of the year.
The Best Diet for PCOS
Easy fix: Don't eat any dairy, gluten, processed foods, sugar, anything with dyes, artificial sweeteners, foods that are round in shape, water...
The Top-4 Habits of Successful Dieters
Successful dieters come in all different shapes, sizes, and genetic codes. Regardless of disposition, the rate of dieting success relies heavily on your mindset. What exactly are you telling yourself?
The Vitamin Most Women Should Be Taking But Aren't
Is your period haywire? Is your hair brittle and shedding? Do you feel constantly lethargic? Are you estrogen dominant?
The Benefits of Sodium
If you're not monitoring your sodium intake, you're leaving a lot on the platform or stage. Here's how.
Making Gains as a College Student
When you're not in class (or preparing for class), maximize your nutrition, lifting schedule, strength, and size. Life's only going to get more complicated once you graduate so build your foundation now.
Why Your Diet Isn’t Working
Are you tracking calories? If so, are you tracking correctly? What kind of cardio are you doing? Are you expecting to lose the fat fast? Super stressed? When's the last time you had your hormones checked?
The Gateway to Optimal Health
Here's a hint: It's a three-letter word that begins with the letter g.
I Know Shit
What's common knowledge to me may in fact be new to you...so here you go: Thirty-five training, nutrition, and supplementation gems to reach your physique goals. And oh do these gems glisten.
3 Nutrition Mistakes I Don't Regret
I admit it, I messed up. I restricted calories for too long, had too many changes all at once, and ate too many small meals throughout the day. In hindsight, these were the best mistakes that could've happened to my diet. Here's why.
My Crappy Diet
I have been a fat boy all of my life and have struggled mightily to be less fat. Here's where I'm currently at in the sea of macros and micros.
Poll: Have You Ever Struggled with Disordered Eating Habits?
Told mostly in their own words, this is the story of 110 women (mainly strength athletes).
Skipload Manifesto
I am providing this information in detail in one location, not so much for people to use the information themselves (though this will obviously happen), but to explain the methodology to those who still don't understand it or feel that it isn't an effective way to get lean.
Smart Fat Loss During a Pandemic
For the sake of this article, I am going to explain the smartest moves and what I have done personally with my clients with regard to fat-loss goals. We will go over two categories – general fat-loss and bodybuilding competitor.
One Diet Size Fits One
There is no universal healthy diet or macronutrient composition. You must identify what is healthy for you. Read on to understand why we are so diverse to discover your best diet options.
4 Weeks on a Plant-Based Diet
Hey, calorie restriction is tough, but excluding meat should be a piece of vegan cake. Right? Here is a real-world examination of a former professional bodybuilder who went plant-based.
More Nutrition "Facts" Debunked
Nothing is bad for us, per se. What we have to do is figure out how much we need, and then supply it in the correct amounts. But to villainize sugar, carbs, fats, and other nutrients is a gross miscarriage of judgment.
The Ultimate Guide to Designing a Muscle-Building Diet
"How do I make my own muscle-building diet?" is a complex question, and this article will take you through a complete step-by-step process. By the end, you'll have a muscle-building nutrition program ready to go.
Nutrition, Supplement, and Drug "Facts" Explained
No aspect of physical culture is more rife with myth, misunderstanding, falsehoods, and fantasy than is the field of nutrition. There is a very good reason that there exists so much confusion to this day when it comes down to what to eat: money.
Fat Loss Advice That Is Complete Bullshit
I'm going to dive into the top-4 pieces of fat loss advice that are complete garbage and why they’re garbage. So, buckle up, buttercup, and grab some popcorn — it's lie detector time!
Cast-Iron Pork Tenderloin Fillet with Jasmine Rice
Tired of eating chicken breasts? Mix things up with some seared pork tenderloin with a side of jasmine rice. It'll hit the spot after a tough workout.
Career- and Body-Killing Food Allergies From Eating the Same Foods Too O...
Eating the same foods too often can lead to a wide range of significant problems, such as difficulty breathing, an upset stomach, bloating, joint pain, low energy, skin rashes, lack of motivation, inability to focus, mucous build-up, and more.
Popular Diets, Simplified
Not sure if you should be going vegan or keto? What is the difference between vegan and vegetarians? Learn the basics of popular diets and nutrition and how to make them work best for you.
LISTEN: Table Talk Podcast Clip — Justin Harris Explains Carb Cycling
Carb cycling: A fancy phrase for rotating calories. Nutritionist Justin Harris breaks down why you should be carb cycling and why it works in simple terms.
LISTEN: Table Talk Clip — Are Cheat Meals Worth It?
It’s better to have one cheat meal a week than to go off of the program and eat on a day that you’ve burned off a lot of calories and now have taken in more calories than lost. Don’t turn a fat-burning day into a fat-gaining day.
WATCH: I am Vincent Dizenzo
“To be able to give back is a much bigger legacy than anything you’ll leave on a platform.” elitefts coach Vincent Dizenzo finds his calling in helping others by passing on knowledge, especially when it comes to dieting and weight loss.
Phases of Performance Nutrition
Looking at dieting as one big picture can be incredibly stressful. Let's break that big picture up into three more manageable pieces. We'll call them phases: the post-show phase, the reverse dieting phase, and the meet prep phase.
Show Report: 1st Place Novice at the 2019 NPC Mid-Atlantic Cup
I started my bikini prep at 147 pounds with 27 percent body fat and ended at a low of 113.8 pounds with 15 percent body fat — a total of 33 pounds lost. Despite that loss, after my results from the first show, I knew I had to bring in my glutes tighter...
You Can't Out-Train Processed Foods
My time spent in Italty resulted in the opposite of what happens to Elizabeth Gilbert in "Eat Pray Love." I didn't gain weight — I lost weight. The more I thought about it, the weight loss probably came from the quality of food in Italy. No ultra-processed foods here!
Simplify Your Nutrition
There is so much information about nutrition that it can be overwhelming. Rather than getting caught in that swamp, I suggest you stop reading and start dieting with some basic knowledge. I'll provide the info, but you'll have to do the rest.
4 Potent Supplements That Fight Insulin Insensitivity
Even if you're doing all the right things, sometimes the fat won't come off. One possible explanation for this could be insulin resistance. If you are insulin-resistant, it might help to try some supplements. These are four I've used with success.
The '90s Called and It Wants Its Diet Back
When I tried out the fast-food dirty diet in the 1990s, I fit in my Frantz canvas suit like 15 pounds of sausage in a five-pound casing, and worse yet, my deadlift went down. Don't make the mistake '90s lifters (myself included) made — learn from it. Eat cleaner to lift better.
Gain Weight in Your Off-Season with This Meal Plan
After reading Mark Dugdale's recent off-season diet article, I thought I would write about what my current diet in the off-season is like as well. Not only will I share my current off-season diet, but I'm also going to write about my process for gaining weight — not fat, but muscle.
A Snapshot of My Off-Season Diet — Health, Recovery, and Efficiency
Despite my absence from the stage, I often get emails asking about my diet. Yes, it’s different and much looser than my approach when I'm highly focused on professional bodybuilding. In fact, that makes this article more applicable to the majority of people.
The Good and The Bad About Insulin
I don't think most bodybuilders who use insulin as a performance enhancer truly understand WHY they are using it and what it can actually do to their bodies — both good and bad. So let’s dive into the nitty-gritty on the subject of insulin...
The Truth About Late-Night Snacking
A calorie at 7:59 p.m. is the same as a calorie at 8:01 p.m. Whether you’re eating at 7:59 p.m., 8:01 p.m., or in the middle of the night, it really doesn’t matter. Instead, consider each of the 24 hours in a day to be equal in terms of importance... or simply the number of calories you eat in a day.
Macronutrient Tracking for Fat Loss
Now that I've explained the basics of macronutrient tracking, I want to delve further into using macronutrient tracking for a more specific purpose: fat loss. Admittedly, it's not as simple as you might think; however, there are a couple good options out there. Here the ones I tend to use with my clients.
Super Bowl Fat Loading Feast Options
Here are two versions of a Super Bowl feast that can easily be prepared just in time for the game. There are many versions of macronutrient cycling protocols that we use to maximize client success. These two examples are a great way to get you started.
How to Avoid Obesogens
Obesogens are kind of exactly what they sound like: a chemical that can heavily contribute to obesity. Get to know some of them by name, learn how to avoid them, and potentially drop some body fat.
The Basics of Macronutrient Tracking
If you're interested in tracking macronutrients but aren't sure how to get started, no worries. With the assistance of fitness apps and smartwatches, it's easier to track macros than ever before. I'll teach you the basics, gram by gram.