My Take on Fat Loss & Muscle Building: What I Learned from Dr. Huberman's Chat with Alan Aragon
My Take on Fat Loss & Muscle Building: What I Learned from Dr. Huberman’s Chat with Alan Aragon
Eh, I’ve been down the rabbit hole of fitness advice for donkey years. From those YouTube fitness gurus to personal trainer, I’ve heard it all. But when I stumbled upon Dr. Huberman’s podcast with nutrition expert Alan Aragon, it was like finally someone speaking sense instead of all that marketing nonsense.
The Protein Thing That Blew My Mind
You know what? All this while I’ve been eating small portions of protein every 2-3 hours because some fitness influencer said “your body can only absorb 30g protein per meal”. Turns out it’s complete rubbish leh!
Aragon basically said our bodies are not as rigid as we think. After your gym session, you can wallop 30-50 grams of protein in one go and your muscles will thank you for it. No need to be so stressed about timing every single meal like you’re taking O levels again.
My new approach: I just focus on hitting my daily protein target instead of being anal about every meal timing. Much less stressful, honestly.
Training Fasted? Not Game-Changing
I used to wake up at 5am, skip breakfast, and drag myself to the gym thinking I’m some fat-burning machine. The truth bomb? Fasted training doesn’t make you lose fat faster than normal training.
Sure, it won’t spoil your progress, but it’s not the cheat code I thought it was. These days, if I’m hungry before gym, I just eat something light lor. Life’s too short to suffer unnecessarily.
Body Recomposition: Can Lose Fat AND Build Muscle?
This one really got me excited leh. You know how everyone says “cannot lose fat and build muscle at the same time”? Apparently, that’s not entirely true!
If you’re:
- New to proper training (like me when I started)
- Carrying extra weight
Then yes, you can actually do both at the same time. The secret sauce? Eat enough protein, lift weights properly, and don’t go too crazy with the calorie deficit.
I’ve been doing this for 3 months now and honestly, my body feels stronger even though the weighing scale shows I’m lighter. Win-win lah!
Supplement Game: Keep It Simple, Stupid
Wah, the amount of money I wasted on fancy supplements before this… can cry already. Aragon’s advice is super refreshing - just stick to the basics:
- Vitamin D3 (especially living in Singapore where we’re indoors with aircon 24/7)
- Fish oil (since I don’t eat fish every day)
- Creatine (this one really works for strength)
- Basic multivitamin (insurance mah)
- Vitamin C (boost immune system)
That’s it. No need for those atas pre-workout with fancy names that cost $80 a tub.
The Controversial Stuff That Made Me Think
Seed Oils
All this while I’ve been avoiding cooking oil like it’s poison because some health guru said seed oils will kill me. Turns out, comparing canola oil vs olive oil, the difference is not that dramatic.
So now I just use whatever oil is on sale at NTUC. One less thing to stress about when cooking.
Artificial Sweeteners Panic
I used to feel guilty drinking my Coke Zero, thinking aspartame will give me cancer or something. Research says it’s actually quite safe for most people, so now I can enjoy my guilty pleasure without the guilt.
My Real-World Training Approach
Since I’m always rushing between work and family commitments, those cluster sets and super sets techniques really helped maximize my gym time. Instead of spending 2 hours at the gym, I can get effective workout done in 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Perfect for our Singaporean lifestyle where everything also must be efficient and fast.
What I’m Actually Doing Now
- Eat enough protein throughout the day (don’t stress about perfect timing)
- Have protein-rich meal after gym - usually my chicken rice or tuna sandwich
- Train consistently 3-4x per week (realistic for my schedule)
- Don’t demonize any foods - balance is key
- Keep supplements minimal - save money for other things
- Focus on progress, not perfection
My Honest Take
Listen lah, after years of trying different approaches, this conversation really opened my eyes. The fitness industry loves to complicate things to sell you stuff, but the truth is quite straightforward.
Eat enough protein, lift weights regularly, be patient. That’s it.
Sure, it’s not as exciting as those “lose 10kg in 2 weeks” promises, but it actually works in the long run. And honestly? It’s much more sustainable than those extreme diets that make you cranky all the time.
The best part is I don’t feel like I’m suffering anymore. I can still enjoy my occasional zi char dinners and weekend dim sum sessions while making progress towards my goals.
Bottom line: Stop overthinking, start doing. Your body is smarter and more forgiving than you think. Just be consistent and trust the process lah!
Want to level up your nutrition game? Go listen to the full podcast - confirm got more nuggets of wisdom to pick up.