Reviewed by Helen Kollias, PhD and Brian St. Pierre, MS, RD At some point in my mid-40s, the scale started climbing. A pound or two turned into five, then 10, then 20. It seemed as if I was doing all the right things: Eating less, moving more, rinse, repeat. Yet, the harder I worked, the less the scale seemed to respond. Had perimenopause destroyed my metabolism? It sure felt like it. However, after asking my doctor to run a series of tests, I learned that my metabolism was, in fact, fine. Instead, like the vast majority of midlife women, the…

Reviewed by Denise Asafu-Adjei, M.D., MPH A few years back, PN co-founder John Berardi, PhD, posted a shirtless photo of himself on his 47th birthday. He called it his “anti-regress pic” and thanked 30 years of squats, deadlifts, presses, and chin-ups—among other exercises—for his chiseled six-pack, pumped chest, and bulging biceps. The question many commenters posed: “Are you on testosterone?” Dr. Berardi explained in a follow-up post that while he wasn’t against testosterone replacement therapy (TRT) for people who needed it, he himself was not on this therapy, and his testosterone levels were boringly “normal.” He also offered some thought-provoking…

I was 13 when I went on my first diet. I had been struggling with my weight for about six years, and my obsession with how I looked was starting to dominate my life. I only had two to three shirts that I felt comfortable in. The only thing that mattered was that they didn’t make me “feel fat.” Even those chosen shirts were always under my West 49 sweater, for extra coverage. The cherry on top of this presentation was my slouched shoulders—a defense mechanism to protect against exposing my “man boobs,” the body part that had dynastic reign…

Everyone needs a team. As a health coach, you can become an expert in multiple areas: nutrition, behavior change psychology, fitness and athletic performance, stress management and recovery, and more. However, no matter how many certifications you earn, you’ll invariably encounter clients with progress-blocking problems you don’t have the skills, training, expertise, or legal right to solve. Here’s the thing… You may not be an expert at fixing marriages, treating GERD, or counseling someone with an eating disorder, but someone else is. Here’s where a healthy referral network comes in. By connecting your client with such a person, you get…

There’s been a growing shift in the fitness, health, and wellness industry. The promise of “immediate results” will probably never lose its sparkle. But, as a good portion of our population (hi, Boomers!) moves into their “silver” years, conversations around optimizing lifespan (how long you live) and healthspan (how long you live with a high quality of life) are also on the rise. People are more interested than ever in longevity, which, these days, means the combination of a long lifespan and a long healthspan. (Historically, longevity and lifespan were synonymous.) Trending too is the concept of biological age—essentially, how…

If you live in a larger body, sometimes it feels like you can’t win. If you don’t lose weight, people will criticize you for being “lazy,” “unhealthy,” or “lacking willpower.” But if you take medication to help you, you’ll be criticized for “cheating” or “taking the easy way out,” even if you’ve tried for decades to manage your weight through diet, exercise, and lifestyle changes (sometimes extreme ones). In this article, we’ll be talking about a highly contentious group of medicines—GLP-1 receptor agonist drugs such as semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy, Rybelsus) or tirzepatide (Mounjaro, Zepbound). And people have lots of opinions…