230. Q&A: Fat Loss, Nutrition, Supplements and More!

Stop treating aging as the aggressive pursuit of comfort and start mastering the biological truths behind the 30-30-30 method, nutrient density, and the metabolic importance of resistance training. In this Q&A session I break down how to eliminate processed foods, optimize your supplementation through blood testing, and leverage natural stressors like breathwork and grounding to reclaim your vitality. By making morning sunlight and mobility non-negotiable, you can reset your circadian rhythm and transform your body into its Ultimate Human version. CLICK HERE TO BECOME GARYS VIP!: ⁠https://bit.ly/4ai0Xwg⁠ Thank you to our partners H2TABS: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/4hMNdgg⁠ BODYHEALTH: “ULTIMATE20” FOR 20% OFF: ⁠http://bit.ly/4e5IjsV⁠ BAJA GOLD: "ULTIMATE10" FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/3WSBqUa⁠ COLD LIFE: THE ULTIMATE HUMAN PLUNGE: ⁠https://bit.ly/4eULUKp⁠ WHOOP: JOIN AND GET 1 FREE MONTH!: ⁠https://bit.ly/3VQ0nzW⁠ AION: “ULTIMATE10” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/4h6KHAD⁠ A-GAME: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: ⁠http://bit.ly/4kek1ij⁠ PEPTUAL: “TUH10” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/4mKxgcn⁠ CARAWAY: “ULTIMATE” FOR 10% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/3Q1VmkC⁠ HEALF: 10% OFF YOUR ORDER: ⁠https://bit.ly/41HJg6S⁠ RHO NUTRITION: “ULTIMATE15” FOR 15% OFF: ⁠https://bit.ly/44fFza0⁠ GOPUFF: GET YOUR FAVORITE SNACK!: ⁠https://bit.ly/4obIFDC⁠ GENETIC METHYLATION TEST (UK ONLY): ⁠https://bit.ly/48QJJrk⁠ GENETIC TEST (USA ONLY): ⁠⁠https://bit.ly/3Yg1Uk9⁠ Watch the “Ultimate Human Podcast” every Tuesday & Thursday at 9AM EST: YouTube: ⁠https://bit.ly/3RPQYX8⁠ Podcasts: ⁠https://bit.ly/3RQftU0⁠ Connect with Gary Brecka Instagram: ⁠https://bit.ly/3RPpnFs⁠ TikTok: ⁠https://bit.ly/4coJ8fo⁠ X: ⁠https://bit.ly/3Opc8tf⁠ Facebook: ⁠https://bit.ly/464VA1H⁠ LinkedIn: ⁠https://bit.ly/4hH7Ri2⁠ Website: ⁠https://bit.ly/4eLDbdU⁠ Merch: ⁠https://bit.ly/4aBpOM1⁠ Newsletter: ⁠https://bit.ly/47ejrws⁠ Ask Gary: ⁠https://bit.ly/3PEAJuG⁠ Timestamps 00:00 Intro of Show 01:54 Category of Foods We Should Avoid 02:46 30-30-30 Method Effectivity 04:19 Best Sources of Protein 04:55 What Does Gary Eat in a Day? 05:43 Recommended Foods by Gary 07:04 Worst Nutrition Advice 08:01 Does Gary Have a Cheat Meal? 08:57 How to Build Motivation? 10:08 Why Supplement? 11:54 Best Way to Lose Fat (Not Muscle) 12:42 Risks of Parasites and Mold Toxicity 13:39 Is LDL Cholesterol Bad? 15:03 Common Medical Treatments (e.g. Statins) 16:06 Infrared Sauna vs. Dry Sauna 17:13 Simple Daily Routine for Longevity 18:15 Breath Work Techniques 19:24 Improve Sleep Quality Naturally 20:33 How (and What) is Grounding? Disclaimer: This podcast is for informational purposes only and does not provide medical advice. It is not intended for diagnosing or treating any health condition. Always consult a licensed healthcare professional before making health or wellness decisions. Gary Brecka is the owner of Ultimate Human, LLC which operates The Ultimate Human podcast and promotes certain third-party products used by Gary Brecka in his personal health and wellness protocols and daily life and for which Ultimate Human LLC and / or Gary Brecka directly or indirectly holds an economic interest or receives compensation. Accordingly, statements made by Gary Brecka and others (including on The Ultimate Human podcast) may be considered promotional in nature. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Speaker names marked ? are inferred from speaking time and the show’s known hosts — they are not voice-verified.

• 0:00Gary Brecka?

  Aging is the aggressive pursuit of comfort. And if you're comfortable with where you are right now, this is your wake up call to becoming the ultimate human. I'm breaking down the most asked questions in my DMs with pure, unfiltered science. No fluff, no BS, just the biological truth about how your body actually works. What's the number one food to avoid? I don't think that we should avoid a specific food, but there are ingredients like... What foods does Gary Brecker recommend? The data is in, guys. Dogmatic dieting is not what extends life. It's not carnivore, keto, paleo, pescatarian, vegan, vegetarian, raw food. It's eating... What is the best way to lose fat without losing muscle? Hands down, no second choice for this is... Is LDL cholesterol really bad or is it a myth? That is a myth.

• 0:44Gary Brecka?

  LDL cholesterol on its own is... What's the worst nutrition advice you've ever heard that made you want to throw a steak at someone? I guess the worst advice that I've ever heard is that...

• 1:08Gary Brecka?

  Hey, guys. You asked, I answered. My team has been collecting all of my DMs and all of the emails that we get at The Ultimate Human and compiling the most commonly asked questions. I'm going to go through them all as fast as I can in no certain order, and I'm going to try to answer them in one minute or less. So here we go. Look, aging is the aggressive pursuit of comfort. And if you're comfortable with where you are right now, this episode isn't for you. Because if you're ready to hear the science that the pharmaceutical industry doesn't want you to understand, then the next few minutes could literally add years to your life. I'm breaking down the most asked questions in my DMs with pure, unfiltered science. No fluff, no BS, just the biological truth about how your body actually works. So stay with me. This is your wake up call to becoming the ultimate human.

• 1:52Gary Brecka?

  So here are your most asked questions. What's the number one food to avoid? I don't think that we should avoid a specific food, but there are ingredients like high fructose corn sugar that we should avoid. And if I was to say what one food or category of foods should we avoid? It's highly processed foods. These are highly processed ingredients that have additives, preservatives. They have all kinds of garbage and chemicals in them that don't feed our cellular biology. They actually wreck our hormones. They keep us awake at night. They disrupt our sleep and they add to weight gain, water retention, poor focus and concentration, and lack of response to exercise. Those are the category of foods called highly processed foods. So my recommendation is that you switch to a whole food diet.

• 2:35Gary Brecka?

  Meat, fish, chicken, eggs, avocados, vegetables, coconut oil, olive oil, nuts, avocados. These are all great choices for you to have on your plate. Does the 30 30 30 method really work? Yes, 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking, followed by 30 minutes of steady state cardiovascular exercise really does work. I didn't develop this method. It was developed by a gentleman named Tim Ferriss. He wrote a whole book on this called The Four Hour Body. I am a huge believer because I have seen this work in my own clients thousands of times. 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking, followed by 30 minutes of steady state cardiovascular exercise. You can even accelerate this by using something called Perfect Aminos, which is the equivalent

• 3:20Gary Brecka?

  of 29 grams of whey protein, and it doesn't even break a fast. It's all nine of the essential amino acids. So if you're looking for that weight loss tip and you just want one simple strategy, 30 grams of protein within 30 minutes of waking, followed by 30 minutes of steady state cardiovascular exercise. You don't even need a treadmill. You can just go outside and do it with a walk. And if you want to accelerate it, add a weighted vest. How do I eat 30 grams of protein for breakfast? Great question. Well, I add something called Perfect Aminos, which is the equivalent of 29 grams of whey protein, but you can also do it by having three to five scrambled eggs. I like to put a little bit of goat cheese in there that is raw goat cheese. So I like, I like the raw forms of dairy. That's one great way. You can get it through a protein shake.

• 4:05Gary Brecka?

  Whole fat Greek yogurt is another excellent way to up your protein intake. Cottage cheese, raw cottage cheese is another way to up your protein intake. I'm going to put a link below to give you some of my favorite 30 30 30 recipes. What are good sources of protein? Well, all sources of protein are good. I prefer animal-based proteins in study over study. Animal-based proteins, even whey protein outperforms plant-based proteins. But for those of you that are vegans or vegetarians, you can still get good protein sources from plants. One of my favorite is shelled hemp seeds. If you're a vegan or vegetarian, very high in protein, very low in carbohydrate and just the right amount of omega-3 to omega-6 fatty acids. I also prefer lean meats, grass-finished meats,

• 4:50Gary Brecka?

  wild-caught fish, especially salmon and free-range chicken.

• 4:55Gary Brecka?

  What does Gary Brecka eat in a day? It's pretty boring. I stick to sort of the same plethora of foods. I do eat grass-fed, grass-finished meat. I eat a lot of wild-caught fish. I do eat a lot of eggs. I literally think that eggs are nature's perfect protein. I get fats from things like avocados. I eat a lot of olive oil. I've swapped out rice for something called cauliflower rice, and you won't notice the difference. I eat a lot of fermented vegetables, kimchi's, pickles, fermented foods. These have the right amount of free fatty acids, soluble and insoluble fiber. You can mix that bitter taste of sauerkraut or kimchi with other foods, and the balance is really beautiful. These are excellent sources of gut-healthy foods

• 5:39Gary Brecka?

  that will actually repopulate your gut and calm down inflammation. What foods does Gary Brecka recommend? Whole foods. The data is in, guys. Dogmatic dieting is not what extends life. If you look at Blue Zone studies, it's not carnivore, keto, paleo, pescatarian, vegan, vegetarian, raw food. It's none of those things. It's eating whole foods. What does a whole-food diet look like? It looks like a diet completely absent processed foods. Most of the things that we find in a package are highly processed. Most of the ingredients that you can't pronounce are highly processed. And any ingredient on a label that you can't find in the food store, that you actually can't walk around the grocery store and locate, that indicates that it's a highly-processed food. We should be shopping more often, shopping the perimeter of the grocery store,

• 6:25Gary Brecka?

  staying out of the aisles as much as possible and eating whole foods. That's the secret to extending life. If you could only eat one protein source for the rest of your life, what would it be? Absolutely, unequivocally, beyond a single shadow of a doubt, it would be grass-fed, grass-finished meat. Full stop. I could go into a long dissertation about the nutrient density of grass-fed, grass-finished beef, and how a lot of the myths surrounding the saturated fat that is found in these meats is not true. The war on saturated fat is about to end at our FDA, and it should end in your household too. And you should start the war on high glycemic sugars in processed foods.

• 7:04Gary Brecka?

  What's the worst nutrition advice you've ever heard that made you want to throw a steak at someone? I guess the worst advice that I've ever heard is that because something is not meat, it's healthy for you. I don't want to attack vegans or vegetarians. I think that people can do fine on a vegan or vegetarian diet. But just because something is not meat or not animal-based does not mean that it's healthy for you. Think about being a vegan. For example, you can have beer, you can have Doritos, you can have flour, wheat, pasta, grains, cereals. You can have all the sugar that you want. It's not to say that people that are on those diets eat like that, but just because it's not meat does not necessarily mean it's healthy. Next time you're in a grocery store, pick up a non-burger and read the ingredients on the back of that.

• 7:48Gary Brecka?

  Chemically laden, full of fillers, dyes, additives, preservatives, and thickening agents. Those are not things we want to put in our body. If someone caught you eating a cheat meal, what would it be? You know, when I cheat, I usually cheat with things like, my chef actually makes a really good almond flour cake with, he makes it out of almond flour, coconut sugar, and raw cacao. It is to die for. I do eat a lot of whole-fat Greek yogurt that I add honey and berries to. Once in a while, I will stray for a piece of carrot cake. That's probably my Achilles' heel. But most of the time, I can satisfy my sweet cravings with highly nutritious, highly nutrient-dense foods. In fact, next time you have one of these cravings, try this Ben & Jerry's recipe that I came up with.

• 8:33Gary Brecka?

  Take it, go to the supermarket, get a can of organic light coconut cream. Take about five tablespoons, 10 tablespoons of light organic coconut cream. Throw in a fistful of crushed nuts, a tad of Vaja Gold sea salt, and a packet of monk fruit. You can add fruit and nuts as sweeteners and things to make it crunchy. And try it ice cold. It will become your new Ben & Jerry's. How do I build? Motivation when I feel stuck or unmotivated. Being stuck or unmotivated comes from being stuck or unmotivated. By that, I mean that bodies at rest tend to want to stay at rest. Bodies in motion tend to want to stay in motion. So make this simple switch.

• 9:14Gary Brecka?

  Make 15 minutes of morning sunlight and a 20-minute morning walk non-negotiable. No matter what the weather, no matter what it's doing outside, your body will survive. You gotta stop saying, "I can't go outside, it's too cold." "I can't go outside, it's too hot." "It's too rainy, it's too windy." That's not true. Your body is very resilient. That becomes a natural hormetic stress. And just say, "I am going to make a 20-minute walk, non-negotiable." This will start to build the building blocks of mobility. And very soon, your body will crave that walk like a rat to cheese. When you do, and you start to walk regularly, get yourself an Ion weighted vest, A-I-O-N. You can go over to Ion Gear. You can add weight to your walks and get more out of less time.

• 10:00Gary Brecka?

  I promise you, if you look at the research between compression and weighted exercise, you'll be a convert.

• 10:08Gary Brecka?

  If someone told you they're taking 47 different supplements they bought from Instagram ad, what's your move? Intervention or just slowly backing away? That's actually a really cool question. I ask everybody that's supplementing, what are you supplementing for? Are you supplementing for the sake of supplementing? Or are you supplementing for deficiency? If you can't tell me this specific need for that supplement, you probably don't need it. At any time of the day, or the week, or the month of the year, I can make an argument for Ashogonda, St. John's Wort, CoQ10, NAD, NMN, Nicotinamide Riboside, multivitamins. You can make an argument for all of these things. They're all great for you. The question is, what does your body need? That's why I always say, "Test, don't guess."

• 10:50Gary Brecka?

  Getting a basic panel of blood work and a basic genetic methylation test will tell you exactly what your deficiencies are. And you can start by supplementing for deficiency rather than the sake of supplementing. If you don't have a roadmap to supplementation, you will change your supplements up every few weeks just based on the Latest Instagram ad. If you've followed me for any period of time, you see that I have taken the same thing over and over for years. I take all nine of the essential amino acids in the morning. I take a methylated multivitamin. I sometimes will use glutathione or NAD if I need a boost or I'm traveling or feeling rundown. I take hydrogen water tablets called H2 TAB. I put those in my water to reduce inflammation and actually turn the lights on and I always add

• 11:33Gary Brecka?

  mineral salt to my water first thing in the morning. I like a mineral salt called Baja Gold, but there are plenty of great mineral salts out there that have all 91 trace minerals and very little sodium compared to table salt. So try mineral salts, all nine essential amino acids, hydrogen tabs, and a methylated multivitamin. Those are your baseline go-tos. What is the best way to lose fat without losing muscle? Hands down, no second choice for this is weight bearing exercise and weight training. The simple sentence is if you want to live a long time, lift heavy weight. So actually learn to be comfortable with weight training. Resistance training not only builds muscle, but it lowers your glycemic profile, helps your body become

• 12:15Gary Brecka?

  more sensitive to insulin. Your muscles are like a sponge for glucose. Also, frailty is one of the greatest risks in older ages. We know that grip strength is correlated to longevity. We know that thigh circumference is correlated to longevity. The single biggest marker for longevity is your muscles. Our muscles are a metabolic currency. So don't waste them, stimulate them, and live a long time. What role do parasites and mold toxicity play in overall health? Wow, this is huge. Mold, mycotoxins, parasite, virus, heavy metals. I'm going to say that again. Mold mycotoxin, parasite, virus, or heavy metal. These invaders are the cause of so

• 12:58Gary Brecka?

  many underlying health conditions that do not show up on regular labs. If you're one of those people that wakes up exhausted, you have brain fog, you've had recent weight gain, water retention, poor focus and concentration, you have a very poor response to exercise, you feel fatigued all the time, and I'm talking about noticeable levels of fatigue, you might have mold mycotoxins. Mycotoxin, parasite, virus, or have heavy metals. You can do a test. I use one called a vibrant wellness test. I'm actually coming out with my own test very soon. These are urine tests and you can see these contaminants in your blood. Once you have them, head over to theultimatehuman.com and download one of our guides for mold or heavy metal detox and you're on your way to feeling the best you have in years. Is LDL cholesterol really bad or is it a myth?

• 13:43Gary Brecka?

  That is a myth. LDL cholesterol on its own is not a marker for cardiovascular disease. You have to have a corresponding increase in triglyceride and you have to look at the balance of your cholesterol panel. Cholesterol is not just HDL, LDL, VLDL, very low density liver protein, low density liver protein and high density liver protein, the healthy cholesterol. It's also what this ratio is to your blood fat called triglyceride. The lower your triglycerides without medication, the lower your triglycerides, generally the better cholesterol's impact is on your longevity. In fact, when we were in the mortality space, if you had elevated LDL cholesterol and low triglycerides, we would extend your life expectancy.

• 14:27Gary Brecka?

  So you have to pull the full profile of cholesterol. Lipo little a and lipob are much better markers for cardiovascular disease as are things like C reactive protein, nonspecific markers of inflammation that can tell how much inflammation you have in your body. If you really want to reduce your risk for cardiovascular disease, lower your insulin and your glycemic profile. Focus on something called your hemoglobin A1C, which is the three month average of your blood sugar. Try to keep that at 5.3 or lower and keep your insulin in the single digits and you're on your way to being cardiovascular risk free and living a long, healthy life. What are my views on common medical treatments like statins? I'm a believer in statins. I'm just not a believer in the overuse of statins.

• 15:10Gary Brecka?

  I think that every time somebody has marginally elevated LDL cholesterol, we have a tendency to go straight to statins. I am not a physician. I'm not licensed to practice medicine. Your doctor can make that. Recommendation to you, but I do see that we are over-medicalized in this country. The instant response is high cholesterol, no changes in diet, no changes in lifestyle, just take this pill. Statins long-term have been shown to have degenerative effects on cognitive function. In fact, one of the markers that we used for determining whether or not someone had a high propensity for early onset cognitive decline, Alzheimer's, dementia, early onset cognitive issues, was whether or not they had long-term statin use.

• 15:51Gary Brecka?

  Very often discontinuing the statin had a positive effect on their memory and on their cognition. I'm not telling you to get off a statin if you're on one. I'm telling you to talk to your doctor about other mechanisms like diet and lifestyle changes that'll have a bigger impact on your cholesterol. What's the difference between infrared sauna and dry sauna? And how should I incorporate them? An infrared sauna uses wavelengths of light, infrared light, and light that you can't see, in order to excite a water chromophore, create friction, and raise your body temperature. You sort of sweat from the inside out. We have centuries of data on dry sauna. I'm a fan of either type of sauna. I don't think that infrared sauna has a benefit that dry sauna doesn't. I don't think that dry sauna has a benefit that infrared sauna doesn't.

• 16:33Gary Brecka?

  What I do know is that for centuries, we have been using dry sauna. Nearly every form of religion and every ethnic background has sauna somewhere in their heritage. So we have lots of data on sauna. Why does sauna, regular sauna use, reduce all-cause mortality? Because it is one of the best ways to detoxify. A little tip while you're in the sauna, take a hand towel in and wipe off the sweat while you're in the sauna so those toxins don't resorb back into the bloodstream. And you wipe those heavy metals and other contaminants off while you're sweating. Get the most out of each one of your sauna sessions. Don't forget to hydrate. One liter of fluid for every time you do 15 to 20 minutes of sauna. What is a simple daily routine for longevity and anti-aging?

• 17:17Gary Brecka?

  I'm going to give you the three big ones, and there is no compromising each of these. One, focus on sleep. Sleep is your human superpower. We bully sleep around in our schedule and we don't give it the credence it deserves in terms of its impact on our health span and our lifespan. How do you draw your attention to sleep? Start setting an alarm to go to bed at night, keep your room cold, keep it dark, get off your screen at night, put your phone six feet from your head at night, unplug the electronics that are close to your bed, and learn to do a simple breathwork technique just so that you can calm down at night. Sleep is our human superpower. Number two, switch to a whole food diet. We know that dogmatic dieting, carnivore, keto, paleo, pescatarian, vegan, vegetarian, does not extend life.

• 18:01Gary Brecka?

  What extends life is the absence of processed foods. And number three, make mobility non-negotiable. Exercise has to be a non-negotiable part of every single day of your life.

• 18:15Gary Brecka?

  What is the correct way to do breathwork and practice breath holds? There's no absolute correct way to do breathwork. I do a Wim Hof style of breathwork. There's pranayama, there's all kinds of breathwork. You can go way down the rabbit hole of breathwork. It's like getting into anything else, sports, nutrition. You can really go down the rabbit hole of breathwork, and I encourage you to do so. The technique that I use, which was developed by Wim Hof, and I use it every day. I haven't missed a day in probably four years, maybe even longer, is I do 30 inhales, long, slow inhales,

• 18:48Gary Brecka?

  through my nose with a little pause, and I go out through a straw.

• 18:54Gary Brecka?

  At the end of each round of 30, I do an extended breath hold as long as I can. Then I take a deep breath in, pause, I let that breath out, and I start again. Start with three rounds of five, work your way to three rounds of 10, 15, 20, 25, and eventually 30. Don't go all the way to 30 when you start, and try to do this outside with your skin exposed to sunlight. I arise and gaze first thing in the morning and I promise you this will be a life-changing technique that once you start, you'll never want to end. How do I improve my sleep quality and energy levels naturally? Here's five things that you can do to naturally improve your sleep quality. Number one, and the research shows this, whoop data, all kinds of research shows this.

• 19:37Gary Brecka?

  Consistent bedtime is probably the single biggest factor in determining the quality of your sleep long-term. Number two, morning sunlight will reset your circadian rhythm and do more for your sleep cycle that night than even taking sleep medication. Number three, having a consistent sleep routine. What do you do at night? Do you darken the room? Do you cool the room down? Do you put your electronics away? Do you invest in a $10 all cotton sleep mask that goes over top of your eyes and blocks out all the light? And do you do the same breath work technique when you're in bed? I love to do something called the box breathing technique. Four seconds in.

• 20:15Gary Brecka?

  Four second hold. Four seconds out.

• 20:21Gary Brecka?

  Four second hold. Think about taking all of the thoughts from your day, pulling them down into your lungs when you breathe in and literally breathing those thoughts right out of your body. Also, waking at the same time really helps. Oh, how does one ground themselves and why is it so important? You can ground yourself several ways. A lot of commercial buildings, believe it or not, people that live in condos, their floors are actually grounded. You actually put a grounding meter on some of these commercial floors that have concrete and steel in them, they're actually grounded all the way to the ground. For those of you that are in homes or areas that are not grounded, taking your shoes off and touching the surface of the earth will ground you. Grounding is a very real thing. It's not some voodoo science. The earth has a low Gauss current.

• 21:04Gary Brecka?

  It actually has a current and when you touch the surface of the earth, you discharge into the earth. This is measurable. I've posted videos where I held the polar end of a meter in my hands. I plugged the other end into the ground. I stepped on my tennis shoes and the meter was resting on the post. I touched the ground and it banged all the way over to the other post. Grounding and earthing is a very real thing. Touching. The surface to the earth with bare feet is great for you. So if you can do that, that is the best way to ground. Hey guys, if you love this Q and A and you want to go deeper, I really encourage you to join my community. I started the VIP community to build a group of like-minded people that are going to change the world. You can ask me anything. I have a Gary AI in there. You can ask the Gary AI anything.

• 21:48Gary Brecka?

  We even have a 10-month course on becoming the ultimate human version of yourself. So please click the link below and join me in my VIP community.