In this episode of Anabolic Analysis, I sit down with Dr. Tony Boutagy, a sports scientist and strength coach with 30+ years of experience and over 70,000 coaching sessions. We break down what actually drives fat loss, why calorie deficits stall, and how to adjust your diet without immediately slashing calories or adding more cardio.
We also dive into diet breaks and refeeds, low-carb vs. high-carb dieting, hidden calories, intra-workout carbs, fat loss supplements, GLP-1 medications, blood work, supplementation, scale weight fluctuations, and how training should change during a calorie deficit. Tony explains why harder training can sometimes make fat loss more difficult, when to increase activity instead of cutting food, and how to build a physique you can maintain for decades.
Topics covered:
Why fat loss plateaus happen
The hidden calories that erase your deficit
Diet breaks, refeeds, and nonlinear dieting
Can you diet fewer days and lose the same amount of fat?
Low-carb vs. high-carb diets for fat loss
Carbohydrates, glycogen, and muscle retention
Orange juice and intra-workout carbohydrates
Carbohydrate and caffeine mouth rinsing
How low dietary fat can realistically go
When low-carb diets actually make sense
Using blood work to guide supplementation
Omega-3s, magnesium, vitamin D, and multivitamins
Why most fat loss supplements do very little
Fat burning vs. actual fat loss
Fasted cardio and calorie compensation
Fiber and resistant starch for appetite control
Semaglutide, tirzepatide, and retatrutide
Who should consider GLP-1 medications?
Why scale weight fluctuates so much
How to stop obsessing over daily weigh-ins
When to cut calories vs. increase steps or cardio
How training should change during a calorie deficit
Why Zone 1 and Zone 2 cardio are useful for fat loss
How to build your best physique over the next five years
Our Links:
Coach Kolt: linktr.ee/kolt45fitness
Dr. Tony Boutagy: linktr.ee/tonyboutagy
00:00 - Introduction
00:23 - Tony’s background and 30+ years of coaching
01:05 - The worst fat loss advice that refuses to die
01:49 - Why people are still afraid of carbs
03:02 - Best intra-workout carb sources
05:11 - Carb mouth rinsing and performance
06:32 - How to diagnose a fat loss plateau
07:45 - Hidden calories that erase your deficit
09:50 - Cheat meals, free meals, and off-plan meals
10:12 - Diet breaks and refeeds
12:18 - Dieting 21 fewer days with the same fat loss
13:15 - Refeeds and metabolic adaptation
18:09 - Why low-carb diets may respond differently to refeeds
19:23 - Low-carb vs. low-fat dieting
22:22 - When low-carb diets make sense
24:39 - Omega-3s and blood testing
25:46 - Why blood work should guide supplements
26:51 - Supplements Tony commonly recommends
30:03 - Saffron and curcumin
32:02 - Do fat loss supplements actually work?
33:19 - Fat burning vs. fat loss
34:05 - Fasted cardio and resistant starch
36:33 - GLP-1 medications for fat loss
37:40 - Retatrutide and potential health effects
39:43 - Who should use GLP-1 medications?
40:26 - How to stop obsessing over the scale
43:56 - Water moves fast, fat moves slow
46:40 - Why harder workouts can backfire during a diet
47:40 - Cut calories or increase cardio?
49:23 - Building your best physique over five years
50:07 - Why lifters should stop ignoring cardio
51:29 - Where to find Dr. Tony Boutagy
