34. The Truth About Creatine for Fat Loss, Muscle Retention & Energy

34. The Truth About Creatine for Fat Loss, Muscle Retention & Energy

In this episode,Emily and AJ break down the truth about creatine, what it is, how it works, and why it's one of the most researched and safest supplements available. They explain how creatine supports ATP production for high-intensity training, helps preserve and build muscle mass, and indirectly supports fat loss by improving metabolism and workout quality. The conversation also covers cognitive benefits, addressing brain energy and mental fatigue, and highlights why creatine can be especially powerful for women, postpartum and menopausal populations, and aging adults who want to protect muscle and bone health. They wrap up with clear guidance on dosing, timing, and how to use creatine consistently for maximum benefit without obsessing over short-term water weight. 5 Key Takeaways 1. Creatine doesn't directly burn fat but it boosts fat loss indirectly Creatine helps you train harder and maintain more muscle mass, which increases your metabolic rate and makes fat loss more efficient. 2. Muscle retention is the real metabolism "hack" More muscle mass requires more energy (calories) to maintain. By supporting strength and muscle growth, creatine helps keep your metabolism higher over time. 3. Short-term water retention is normal and usually temporary Creatine pulls water into your muscles, which can cause brief bloating or a small bump on the scale, especially in women. This typically settles within 1–2 weeks and is not fat gain. 4. Creatine benefits more than just your muscles, it helps your brain too By supporting ATP regeneration in the brain, creatine can improve memory, processing speed, and reduce mental fatigue, especially helpful for busy, sleep-deprived, or shift-working individuals. 5. Consistent daily dosing matters more than timing perfection Most people do well with 3–5 grams per day (many also tolerate 10 grams or more), taken consistently with carbohydrates and plenty of water. Loading phases aren't necessary, and missing an occasional day isn't a disaster, just resume your usual dose. "Creatine does not directly burn fat. What it does is help you train more intensely, support your muscle retention, and maintain your metabolism so the more muscle mass you have, the more efficient your fat loss is going to be." — Emily Connect with Emily and AJ Website: https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/ [https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/ [https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/] References https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/] Enjoyed the Episode? If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who's stuck in the start-over cycle. Your support helps more people find the podcast and build healthier habits that last. Until next time—keep showing up, stay consistent, and remember: small steps add up to big change.

33. Should You Change Your Fitness Goals for Summer

In this episode, Emily and AJ tackle one of the most common summer fitness dilemmas: should you change your goals when the season shifts? They explore why summer feels so different — from kids being home to packed social calendars — and why that pressure to look a certain way often leads to yo-yo behavior and short-lived results. Instead of chasing extreme transformations, they make the case for realistic, life-aligned goals, the underrated power of maintenance phases, and setting non-scale minimums that keep you moving forward no matter how chaotic life gets. 5 Key Takeaways * (2:00) - Summer doesn't mean you have to change your goals — it just means finding different ways to reach them that fit your current season of life. * (3:15) - The pressure to be "summer ready" pushes people into extremes that backfire fast, especially when vacation eating undoes a restrictive cut within 48 hours. * (12:55) - Maintenance phases aren't a step backward — they're a strategic recovery tool that helps your body respond better when you return to fat loss. * (20:02) - Setting non-scale minimums (steps, water, activity rings) gives you a measurable, achievable baseline even on your most unpredictable days. * (24:03) - Your actions — workouts hit, meals tracked, water consumed — build confidence and long-term results far more reliably than the number on a scale. Quote of the Episode "Consistency will always bring you much, much further with time over someone who's going to have an on switch and then an off switch when summer comes." — Emily & AJ Connect with Emily and AJ Website: https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/ [https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/ [https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/] References https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/] Enjoyed the Episode? If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who's stuck in the start-over cycle. Your support helps more people find the podcast and build healthier habits that last. Until next time—keep showing up, stay consistent, and remember: small steps add up to big change.

32. Why Knowing Your Macros Is Not The Same As Hitting Them

In this episode, Emily and AJ break down why simply knowing your macro targets is very different from actually hitting them consistently. They frame macro tracking as a learned skill—much like learning an instrument—that takes time, repetition, and strategy. The hosts share practical systems for planning meals, using pause-points throughout the day, building plates around protein, and avoiding common tracking mistakes, all with the goal of creating long-term freedom and confidence around food. 5 Key Takeaways * [0:00:55] – Knowing vs. hitting macros: Understanding your macro numbers is not enough; consistently hitting them requires intentional practice and a strategy. * [0:05:18] – Plan and track ahead of time: Pre-tracking meals—especially dinner—and using pause points during the day sets you up to hit your numbers instead of scrambling at night. * [0:08:50] – Break protein into realistic meals: Dividing your daily protein target across 3–4 meals helps you avoid huge, uncomfortable protein loads at the end of the day. * [0:11:39] – Macro tracking builds food intuition: Long-term tracking teaches you portions and macros by sight so you can eat more flexibly without logging every gram. * [0:27:56] – Consistency beats perfection: Hitting your targets about 80% of the time will drive better results than chasing perfect days and then quitting. "You don't expect to learn how to play a symphony on the piano in a week... this is a skill, and you need repetition and practice to obtain that skill." – AJ Connect with Emily and AJ Website: https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/ [https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/ [https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/] References https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/] Enjoyed the Episode? If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who's stuck in the start-over cycle. Your support helps more people find the podcast and build healthier habits that last. Until next time—keep showing up, stay consistent, and remember: small steps add up to big change.

31. Are Electrolyte Supplements a Scam? (Part 2)

In this episode, Emily and AJ break down the truth about electrolyte supplements, who actually needs them, when they're genuinely beneficial, and when they're just expensive flavored water. Drawing on their backgrounds as nurse practitioners and fitness coaches, they walk through real-life scenarios like flying, hard training, illness, low-carb diets, and GLP-1 medications. They also highlight how most people can meet their needs through smart nutrition, why gut health and overall calorie intake matter more than "optimization" powders, and how to evaluate health claims using actual scientific research instead of influencer anecdotes. Essential Lessons: * (0:01:26) – Most healthy, moderately active people don't need daily electrolyte supplements if their overall nutrition and hydration are solid. * (0:02:21) – Overdoing electrolyte products can worsen gut issues, and dialing in whole-food nutrition is often more effective and cheaper. * (0:05:21) – Electrolyte replacement is important when you're sick with vomiting, diarrhea, high fevers, or after colonoscopy prep due to significant fluid and mineral loss. * (0:07:42) – True low‑carb or ketogenic diets, and certain medications like GLP‑1s, may change fluid and electrolyte balance—but these situations should be supervised medically. * (0:15:04) – Don't rely on social media for health decisions; use tools like Google Scholar and look for multiple consistent studies, not just one headline or anecdote. "The question with any supplement should always be: Why am I taking this, and what does the actual data—not Instagram—say about it?" – Emily Connect with Emily and AJ Website: https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/ [https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/ [https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/] References https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/] Enjoyed the Episode? If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who's stuck in the start-over cycle. Your support helps more people find the podcast and build healthier habits that last. Until next time—keep showing up, stay consistent, and remember: small steps add up to big change.

30. Are Electrolyte Supplements a Scam? (Part 1)

On this episode of the EMILY LEVER COACHING PODCAST, hosts Emily and AJ break down what electrolytes actually do in the body, the difference between being hydrated vs. just drinking water, and when (if ever) you truly need electrolyte supplements. Drawing from both clinical experience and current research, they explain why most people can meet their electrolyte needs through food, when supplementation may make sense for endurance athletes or extreme conditions, and why blindly following wellness trends can be a waste of money, or even risky, without understanding the science behind them. Essential Lessons: * (0:03:01) – Electrolytes are essential for hydration and health, but most people don't need to supplement if they eat a balanced diet. * (0:03:22) – There's an important distinction between electrolytes themselves and electrolyte supplements sold on the market. * (0:04:49) – True hydration depends on both fluid volume and electrolyte balance inside and outside your blood vessels. * (0:09:26) – Supplementing with single electrolytes (like just calcium or just sodium) without medical guidance can be dangerous. * (0:13:43) – Even after hard efforts like a 5K or a long day in the sun, most people can fully replenish electrolytes with food and water, not packets. "You can't say electrolytes don't play a balance in hydration—they absolutely do. It's just that, for the most part, in most human beings, you should be able to get them fully from your diet." – Emily Connect with Emily and AJ Website: https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/ [https://www.emilylevercoaching.com/] Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/ [https://www.instagram.com/bedellever/] References https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9 [https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s44410-025-00011-9] https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/ [https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31377851/] Enjoyed the Episode? If this conversation resonated with you, make sure to subscribe, leave a review, and share this episode with a friend who's stuck in the start-over cycle. Your support helps more people find the podcast and build healthier habits that last. Until next time—keep showing up, stay consistent, and remember: small steps add up to big change.