Advertise on podcast: The Bodybuilding Dietitians

Barramundi and beans at 8am. Anyone else have that on their first bodybuilding meal plan? Lauren did, and at the time, swapping it for a normal breakfast felt like it might cost her progress. In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we go back to how we each got into bodybuilding and the things we thought we had to do to get in shape. Jack talks about trying to stay lean when eating more would have helped him build muscle, Damien remembers logging over 300g of protein a day trying to eat like the pros, and Lauren explains why she used to give her glutes a full workout before leg day even started. We get into what we would do differently now, including how much more room there is to swap foods on a meal plan than we once believed. As always, we wrap up with what we each learned this week. Enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a five-star rating or review, it really helps us grow and reach more listeners. ⸻ Links & Resources Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/start?SQF_SOURCE=podcast  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en   Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en    Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en   Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

Could some of your nutrition choices be based on assumptions you have never actually questioned? In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, dietitians Lauren and Jack walk through the nutrition facts that most surprise our clients, and what they mean for your everyday food choices. We cover why frozen vegetables can be just as nutritious as fresh, why feeling better without wheat does not necessarily mean gluten was the problem, and what the research on metabolism and ageing actually shows. We also compare pink salt with iodised salt and explain why pink salt’s mineral content is misleading, why eating fish does not guarantee you are getting enough omega-3, and what to check on your fish oil label. We finish on why protein takes more energy to digest than other macronutrients, rising bowel cancer rates in younger adults and the role of fibre, and supplement testing that found banned substances in products sold online in Australia. We wrap up as always with what we learned this week. Enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a five-star rating or review, it really helps us grow and reach more listeners. ⸻   Links & Resources   Do you actually need a supplement? https://www.instagram.com/p/DaAErYjgclc/?srtk=aDNwaGE2ZTJqNHVz    Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

This week on the Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast we’re ranking common fat loss strategies into a tier list. Tracking and pre-logging, mindful eating, fasting, managing food focus, protein intake, diet drinks and chewing gum, and working with a dietitian or coach. Some of what you’d expect to be S tier isn’t, and some of what gets dismissed deserves a lot more credit than it gets. We go through where each strategy actually sits, why we ranked it that way, and what to think about before you decide which ones belong in your approach. ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

How do you know whether your nutrition and training plan is actually working? Scale weight can be useful, but it only tells you part of the story. Changes in training performance, measurements, progress photos, health markers and your relationship with food may reveal progress that the scale completely misses. In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, you’ll learn which metrics are most useful for fat loss and muscle gain, how to make your measurements more consistent and why relying too heavily on a single number can lead to unnecessary changes. You’ll also learn how to recognise psychological and behavioural progress, including becoming less reactive to weight fluctuations, handling unplanned meals more calmly and developing a healthier relationship with training and food. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week.   ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

How do you continue making progress when you have already been training for years? In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we share what our training and nutrition currently look like, the physique goals we are working towards and which variables we are adjusting to keep progressing. We discuss when adding more training volume may be useful, when execution and intensity deserve more attention, and why doing more work can become counterproductive if training quality or recovery begins to decline. We also compare our current approaches to nutrition, including eating without tracking, managing low appetite during a gaining phase, structuring food around early-morning training and knowing when a strategy such as fasting is no longer supporting the primary goal. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week.   ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

You may have started lifting to build muscle or change your physique, but the benefits of resistance training extend far beyond how you look. In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we explain how lifting can support metabolic health, bone density, cognitive function, mental health and physical independence as you age. We also discuss how much strength training may be needed to gain meaningful health benefits and why building muscle earlier can provide a greater reserve for later in life. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week. ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en ⸻

Which popular fitness trends deserve your time and money, and which are mostly surviving on hype? In this episode, we rate some of the most discussed foods, supplements and training methods as overrated, underrated or fairly rated. We cover creatine dosage and the growing interest in its potential brain benefits, whether greens powders can replace anything meaningful in your diet and why many pre-workouts may be little more than expensive caffeine. We also discuss whole eggs, sardines, potatoes, lentils and legumes before moving into Bulgarian split squats, antagonistic supersets and forced reps. Rather than giving every topic a simple verdict, we explain when each one may be useful, when it becomes overhyped and what may provide a better return. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week. ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we explain why macro tracking is often far less precise than people assume and how to make it more useful without becoming obsessive. We cover inaccurate database entries, barcode errors, raw versus cooked weights, restaurant meal estimates, untracked bites and cooking oils, and why your calories and macros may not add up even when you appear to hit your targets perfectly. We also discuss when tracking can support fat loss, muscle gain and contest preparation, when it may begin affecting your relationship with food, and how to gradually move towards a more flexible approach. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week. ⸻   Links & Resources   Calorie Calculator - https://tbd-calorie-calculator.subscribepage.io/   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

If your contest prep timeline only works when everything goes perfectly, prep can become much harder than it needs to be. In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we break down how to plan a smarter bodybuilding contest prep, from setting a realistic rate of fat loss to building in breathing room before fatigue, hunger and recovery become difficult to manage. We explain how to reverse-engineer your prep from your expected stage weight rather than defaulting to an arbitrary 16 or 20 week timeline, why your starting position matters more than the calendar, and how leaving room for illness, plateaus and poor recovery can prevent the largest deficit from being forced into the hardest stage of prep. We also cover maintaining food diversity as calories drop, identifying nutritional deficiencies before prep begins, starting posing practice early, and why training progress is often better judged through execution and muscle stimulus rather than load alone. Contest prep is never easy, but better preparation can prevent avoidable difficulties from stacking on top of the demands already required to get stage ready. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week. ⸻   Links & Resources   Fibre Guide - the-fibre-guide.subscribepage.io Calorie Calculator - https://tbd-calorie-calculator.subscribepage.io/   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

Is bulking dead, or have we simply misunderstood what a productive building phase should look like? In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we break down how to structure a bulk around your experience, starting body composition, training performance and personal preferences. We cover appropriate rates of gain for beginner, intermediate and advanced lifters, how long a building phase should last, and why the scale does not need to rise every week for progress to occur. We also discuss who may be better suited to recomping, why eating more does not automatically produce more muscle, and the common reasons people fail to grow despite believing they are in a surplus. From clean versus dirty bulking to cardio, food quality and the psychological side of gaining weight, this episode provides a practical framework for making your next building phase more productive. You can also access our new calorie and macro calculator through the link below. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week. ⸻   Links & Resources   Fibre Guide - the-fibre-guide.subscribepage.io Calorie Calculator - https://tbd-calorie-calculator.subscribepage.io/   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en Talia O'Brien - https://www.instagram.com/dietitiantali/   ⸻

In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, you'll learn how GLP-1 medications work and what to consider before, during and after using them. We explain how medications such as Ozempic, Wegovy and Mounjaro affect appetite, food intake, blood glucose and digestion. You'll also learn who may benefit from them, why eligibility should extend beyond a BMI cutoff, and why they are neither cheating nor a magic solution. If you're currently using a GLP-1, we cover how to structure your meals, hit enough protein, preserve muscle and reduce your risk of nutrient deficiencies. We also discuss resistance training, hydration, fibre intake and how to manage common gastrointestinal symptoms when eating enough becomes difficult. Finally, you'll learn what can happen when you reduce or stop the medication, why weight regain is common without a proper maintenance plan, and which nutrition and behavioural foundations to establish beforehand. We also answer whether GLP-1s directly cause muscle loss and whether using one should be considered cheating.   ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we share the small habits and practical changes that can produce a disproportionate return across your nutrition, training, sleep and body composition. We discuss how to combine structure with flexibility in your diet, choose exercises that stimulate the target muscle without creating unnecessary fatigue, and use a training log to make progression more objective. We also cover how meal timing and caffeine can affect sleep, why your hardest food decisions should be made before you are hungry or exhausted, and how creating satisfying default meals can reduce your reliance on willpower. Finally, we explain why consistently meeting a few nutritional minimums, including protein, fibre and proper meals, will usually achieve more than obsessing over minor details. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week.

In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, we work through five common dieting mistakes that can make fat loss harder to sustain, even when your calories and macros appear to be in order. We start with all-or-nothing thinking, including why one unplanned meal can quickly become an entire weekend of overeating, and why returning to your normal routine is more valuable than trying to compensate or waiting until Monday to restart. From there, we discuss what happens when a diet ends without a clear plan. We cover how to estimate your new maintenance intake, why some weight gain is normal after a dieting phase, and how setting new training or performance goals can make the transition easier. We also explore why constantly moving between cutting and gaining can prevent you from learning how to maintain a stable body weight. We finish on the practical side, including how food selection, protein, fibre, meal structure and food volume can improve hunger management during a deficit. We also unpack daily scale fluctuations, how to distinguish a genuine plateau from normal noise, and when removing scale weight as a progress metric may be appropriate. We also introduce our new Fibre Efficiency Guide, which ranks approximately 80 foods by the amount of fibre they provide per 100 calories. We wrap up as always with what we learned this week. ⸻   Links & Resources   Fibre Guide - the-fibre-guide.subscribepage.io   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

Training hard but still feeling sore, fatigued or stuck in the gym? The answer may not be another recovery supplement, massage gun or cold plunge. In this episode, we help you identify where your recovery may actually be breaking down. We explain how training volume, intensity and execution can create more fatigue than your current sleep, nutrition and lifestyle can support, along with the signs that it may be time to adjust your program or take a deload. We also unpack the foundations that deserve attention first, including sleep, adequate fuelling, protein intake, stress management and hydration. We put popular recovery tools into context, including why feeling less sore does not always mean you have recovered faster and how immediate cold-water immersion may work against hypertrophy adaptations. Before spending more money on recovery, this episode will help you work out which lever is most likely limiting your progress and what deserves your attention first. Enjoying the podcast? Make sure to subscribe, share the episode and leave us a five-star rating or review. It really helps us grow and reach more listeners. ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻

In this episode of The Bodybuilding Dietitians Podcast, you’ll learn how to bring your nutrition and training together to support more effective muscle growth. We cover whether a calorie surplus is necessary, how quickly body weight should increase, and why gaining faster does not always mean building more muscle. We also discuss the psychological side of a gaining phase, including accepting controlled changes in body composition while strength, recovery and training performance improve. On the training side, we explore mechanical tension, proximity to failure, progressive overload, execution and volume. Find out how to identify whether you are doing too much or too little, when additional volume may be beneficial, and why simply adding more sets is rarely the first solution. We also share practical strategies for reviewing training footage, selecting exercises with a strong stimulus-to-fatigue ratio, protecting shoulder health and creating a program that supports long-term progression. As always, we wrap up with what we learned this week. Enjoying the podcast? Subscribe, share the episode, and leave us a five-star rating or review. It helps us grow and reach more listeners. ⸻   Links & Resources   Coaching Services – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/enquirenow  Website – https://www.thebodybuildingdietitians.com/   Instagram The Bodybuilding Dietitians – https://www.instagram.com/thebodybuildingdietitians/?hl=en Team TBD – https://www.instagram.com/_teamtbd_/?hl=en Jack Radford-Smith – https://www.instagram.com/jack.radfordsmith/?hl=en  Damien Cox – https://www.instagram.com/dietitian_damiencox/?hl=en Lauren Stevens – https://www.instagram.com/thephysiquedietitian_/?hl=en   ⸻