Optimal Protein Podcast with Vanessa Spina

In this episode, Vanessa is joined by Dr. Jason Fung, author of The Hunger Code, to unpack the hormonal science behind fat loss — and how fasting may be entering a new era.

They start with the three types of hunger and why obesity is not simply about willpower, but disrupted hormonal signaling. We break down insulin's role in fat st...

What do elite athletes do differently when it comes to fat loss?

In this episode, Vanessa breaks down the most surprising takeaways from her conversation with sports dietitian Emily Mitchell, who has worked with professional teams including UCLA Athletics, the LA Galaxy, the Clippers, and the Buccaneers.

While many people think getting lean requires constant dieting, eliminating carbohydrat...

What do elite athletes do differently when it comes to fat loss and body composition?

In this episode, Vanessa sits down with Emily Mitchell, RD, CSSD, CDCES — former Director of Sports Nutrition at UCLA Athletics, Sports Performance Dietitian for the LA Galaxy, and current Registered Dietitian at Love.Life ...

Is fasted cardio really better for fat loss?

Or could eating protein before your workout actually improve fat burning, muscle retention, and long-term metabolic health — especially for women?

In this deep-dive masterclass recap, Vanessa breaks down the science from her interview with exercise physiologist Dr. Katie Hirsch and unpacks the research on:

• Fasted vs fed training
• Essential amino acids before HIIT
• Muscle quality vs mu...

Fasted training is one of the most persistent fat-loss myths—and in this episode, Dr. Katie Hirsch breaks down what actually matters for women: training quality, muscle preservation, and metabolic health.

We unpack why "burning more fat during a workout" is often the wrong target, and how a small amount of protein (or EAAs) before training can change percei...

Is fasting really the best way to lose fat — or is there a smarter, more strategic approach?

In this masterclass episode, Vanessa introduces a powerful new concept: Protein Fasting — a structured approach using PSMF (Protein-Sparing Modified Fast) days to optimize fat loss, suppress appetite naturally, protect muscle, and potentially tap into fasting-like cellular signaling.

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Perimenopause isn't just about estrogen. If you're eating less, working out more, and still gaining belly fat or losing muscle, the real issue may be metabolic — not hormonal.

In this episode, Vanessa sits down with Dr. Ni...

Start of episode recap is at 13.41

In today's Friday solocast, Vanessa Spina breaks down the biggest takeaways from her interview with Dr. Paul Moughan—one of the world's leading experts on protein quality, amino acid digestibility, and how much of the protein you eat actually becomes usable by the body.

If you've ever wondered why fat loss stalls in a deficit, why muscle can drop even when...

Protein grams don't tell the full story. In this episode, Vanessa Spina is joined by Paul Moughan, a world authority on protein quality and amino acid digestibility, to explore why fat loss can stall and muscle can be lost — even on a high-protein diet.

Dr. Moughan, a Distinguished Professor at Massey University and architect of DIAAS, explains why protein absorbed and delivered to muscle matters more than protein consumed.

Timelin...

Start of Arny Ferrando's episode recap is at 14:00 minutes.

In today's Friday solocast, Vanessa Spina recaps her recent interview with Arny Ferrando, one of the world's leading experts on human muscle protein metabolism — and explains why fat loss problems are often muscle problems in disguise.

The episode opens with two brand-new studies...

In this episode of The Optimal Protein Podcast, Vanessa Spina welcomes back leading muscle metabolism researcher Dr. Arny Ferrando for a deep dive into protein, muscle, and women's physiology across the menopause transition.

Timeline Mitopure Gummies — The #1 Urolithin A supplement for energy and healthy aging, now in delicious strawberry gummies. Get 20% off at timeline.com/va...

Most people think creatine only affects muscle strength and performance. But what if creatine also plays a role inside fat cells themselves—and could subtly influence fat loss and body recomposition?

In this episode of the Optimal Protein Podcast, Vanessa Spina I recaps the key takeaways from the interview with Dr. Scott Forbes, focusing on fat loss, body recomposition, muscle preservation, protein intake, creatine supplementation,...

Timeline Mitopure Gummies — The #1 Urolithin A supplement for energy and healthy aging, now in delicious strawberry gummies. Get 20% off at timeline.com/vanessa

Most fat-loss advice focuses on the scale — but what if that's the wrong metric entirely? In this episode, Vanessa Spina is joined by Dr. Scott Forbes, exercise physiologist and professor at Brandon University, w...

Skip to the start of the recap: 13:41

In today's Friday solo episode of The Optimal Protein Podcast, Vanessa breaks down the science of leptin — the hormone that determines whether your body will burn fat or protect it.

Leptin isn't just about appetite. It's a metabolic permission signal, and when leptin sig...

Timeline Mitopure Gummies — The #1 Urolithin A supplement for energy and healthy aging, now in delicious strawberry gummies. Get 20% off at timeline.com/vanessa

In this episode, I'm joined by Dr. Catherine Clinton to explore how circadian biology, light exposure, and cellular electrical charge regulate metabolism, hormones, and fat ...

Skip to the start of the recap: 11:40

In today's solo recap, Vanessa unpacks the most important takeaways from her conversation with Dr. Nick Barringer—former U.S. Army officer, researcher, and Registered Dietitian—whose work with tactical athletes and elite military populations reveals what really happens to the body during fat loss, stress, and recovery.

This episode explores why so many people lose muscle when dieting, how PSMF ...

Timeline Mitopure Gummies — The #1 Urolithin A supplement for energy and healthy aging, now in delicious strawberry gummies. Get 20% off at timeline.com/vanessa

In this episode of the Optimal Protein Podcast, Vanessa is joined by Dr. Nick Barringer, former U.S. Army officer, researcher, Registered Dietitian, and Chief Academic Officer at Lionel University. Dr. Barringer ...

Skip to the start of the episode: 11:52

In today's Friday solo recap on the Optimal Protein Podcast, I break down the most important takeaways from my recent conversation with Dr. Gabrielle Lyon — and why this episode has major implications for fat loss, metabolic health, and women's body composition.

🧠 IQBAR – Try the Ultimate Sampler Pack: ...

Timeline Mitopure Gummies — The #1 Urolithin A supplement for energy and healthy aging, now in delicious strawberry gummies. Get 20% off at timeline.com/vanessa

In this episode of the Optimal Protein Podcast, I'm joined by Dr. Gabrielle Lyon to break down the muscle-centered strategy every woman needs for fat loss, metabolic health, and long-term strength.

We unpack why muscle — not hormones alone — is the k...