Live Coaching Calls: Topic Index  

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Welcome to the LCC Index!

This index allows you to browse the topics we have covered in the Live Coaching Calls (LCCs) each week.

Finding a particular topic (by doing a page-search for a word or phrase):

From your desktop, to do a search for a word or phrase, Ctrl + F is a simple way of finding any term or phrase on a given page. More explicitly, while holding down the Ctrl key, hit the F key. NOTE: Macs do not use the Ctrl + F search function, but instead use: command + F. This will bring up a search field on your screen that will allow you to type in the word or phrase you're looking for.

Here’s how to search for a term on this page with an Iphone (other mobile devices may vary in this function). First scroll up until the bottom set of icons appears, and hit the box with an up arrow. This will lead you to the next step, where you swipe the bottom row of options to the left until you arrive at the “Find on Page” magnifying glass icon. Selecting that will bring up a field that allows you to type in your search term or phrase. 

To view any of the LCCs (on replay):

Head over to the Masterclass section, and scroll down to the Live Coaching Calls module, and navigate your way to the LCC containing the answer you're seeking.

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September 30, 2025:

  • 2:40: Close to prediabetes (HbA1C = 5.4) despite low body fat & high training volume -- how to approach this?
  • 14:50: Do you have a resource for how I can put together a training program?
  • 30:11: Reactive hypoglycemia - how to approach/deal with it as well as the concept of sugar crashes after a fast?
  • 33:45: Reductions in insulin sensitivity with age in women due to the loss of estrogen?
  • 37:19: Clean eating plus 10K steps a day but still struggling to lose weight, what sport of metrics to investigate what's going on?
  • 47:40: How to approach tracking intake versus just going with a value generated by an online calculator? 

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October 7, 2025:

  • 3:40: Programming resistance training for muscle hypertrophy 
  • 7:40: How to decide between pursuing the goal of fat loss and muscle gain.
  • 12:12: Reverse dieting, finding new maintenance intake.
  • 23:00: Finding a theoretical maintenance calorie target (including a walk-through of my diet calculator (alanaragon.com/dietcalculator)
  • 39:50: Programming differences for muscle strength vs. muscle hypertrophy. 
  • 48:25: How do you deal with a client who does not want to track intake?
  • 52:00: Why is height always factored into certain methods for estimating body fat percent?
  • 55:42: How do you feel about 10 sets per muscle group per week for advanced trainees seeking hypertrophy?

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 Oct 14, 2025:

  • 0:58: Dealing with various people online & offline advising you to get on a GLP1 drug.
  • 2:15: Max time in a deficit vs max time at maintenance?
  • 5:10: Are there data to support phases versus a steady deficit until the goal is reached?
  • 9:26: Most clients don’t want to track calories their whole lives. Any advice?
  • 11:13: Can someone with obesity lose fat & gain muscle at the same time in a calorie deficit?
  • 11:35: How do you help clients who eat to self-soothe (emotionally eat)?
  • 16:10: How would you respond to a client whose body fat goal you disagree with (fat loss when they are already at a healthy/low level of leanness)?
  • 18:12: How to deal with a client whose doctor put her on 1200 kcals (too low for her body compo & goals) with 50 g protein (too low for her body comp & goals)?
  • 20:35: Should you still have people track at maintenance while they are on a diet break?
  • 23:28: Recommendations for tracking apps?
  • 24:22: Alan, do YOU still track your intake?
  • 28:54: How do you feel about measuring food with the "hand method"?
  • 30:25: How quickly does muscle grow back after a significant time off and significant muscle loss?
  • 32:27: Do you think that changing one habit at a time is a better way to start, versus starting on a meal plan?
  • 34:32: Is there an upper limit of protein intake if calories are restricted overall? (By default: what are the minimum amounts of carbohydrate & fat to consume)? 

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Oct 21, 2025:

  • 0:24: Genetics vs the environment; nature versus nurture; bodyweight set point vs settling point; dual-intervention hypothesis.
  • 11:30: Hormones vs calories on appetite and bodyweight/body fat regulation (insulin, ghrelin, leptin, cortisol).
  • 18:29: Cortisol mini-lecture.
  • 24:45: Diet break variations: 1 day off per week vs 1 week off per month.
  • 26:36: What's the most effective dose & type of cardio during dieting for fat loss?
  • 30:32: Consumer Reports protein supplementation (powders, shakes) lead scare. 
  • 39:00: What are the barriers for men trying to reach sub-10% body fat.
  • 42:15: Is there minimum amount of time that we need to maintain a "settling point" in order for it to become permanent? 
  • 43:38: Can some people's results be be more highly influenced by cortisol than others?
  • 45:26: Can chronic stress lead to chronically elevated cortisol lower RMR via the HPA axis?
  • 49:34: How do you respond to someone claiming that it's all about hormones and NOT calories during the menopausal transition?

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Oct 28, 2025:

  • 1:00: Overview of the questions.
  • 1:31: What is the relationship between insulin resistance and obesity? Do insulin resistant folks require a carb-restricted diet?
  • 8:49: Practical implications of the evidence at-large.
  • 11:07: Resistance training is superior to aerobic training for improving glycemic control.
  • 11:07: Resistance training is superior to aerobic training for improving glycemic control.
  • 12:53: Do fat cells that experience obesity have a greater propensity to return to an obese state? Is there a such thing as obesogenic memory at the cellular level?
  • 16:00: The National Weight Control Registry leaves clues about what's needed for long-term weight loss success 
  • 18:15: Is it possible to grow new fat cells as you gain body fat, or do existing fat cells just get larger? Fat cell hypertrophy vs hyperplasia. 
  • 20:00: Do genes predispose people to obesity, and is there an obesity gene?
  • 26:31: Fasted training in women: what are the potential health consequences versus fasted training in men.
  • 32:27: How long of a duration of no change qualifies as a bona fide progress plateau?
  • 32:27: How long of a duration of no change qualifies as a bona fide progress plateau?
  • 36:55: Would it be possible to have almost zero visceral fat, but still have insulin resistance? 
  • 38:13: Do we have to seek a particular proportion of soluble versus insoluble fiber? Is one better than the other?
  • 40:05: Is it possible to be overtraining and undereating so much that it forces the body to hold on to water and seemingly gain weight? If so, what's the solution?
  • 43:17: Any pro tips on how to lose the last 5 pounds without losing lean mass?

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November 4, 2025

  • 5:30: Health behavior change/mindset: goal setting, striving, attainment.
  • 16:17: Fueling resistance training sessions - carbs and/or protein before and/or during and/or after? How does creatine timing fit into the mix? 
  • 23:30: Health creatine supplementation - timing relative to training. 
  • 26:00: Health Dairy: full-fat versus reduced fat - effects on health and body composition.
  • 32:37: BPC-157 - does it work for tissue rebuilding & injury recovery?
  • 38:37: BPC-157 Prolonged fasting, inflammation, platelet activation, big picture. 
  • 38:37: Protein timing for a training bout consisting of 45 minutes of resistance training followed immediately but 45 minutes .
  • 43:30: BPC-157 Prolonged fasting, inflammation, platelet activation, big picture. 
  • 45:28: BPC-157 Are there potential health benefits of having some saturated fat outweighing the negatives?
  • 49:30: Is creatine as effective if it sits in water?
  • 50:28: Almond milk versus dairy milk?
  • 52:00: Does the very high-volume (sets) research showing more hypertrophy mainly show increased edema since it's not accompanied by strength increases?
  • 50:28: BPC-157 Almond milk versus dairy milk? 
  • 54:00: Opinion of 15 g protein pre-exercise (the training bout is 45 minutes of lifting immediately followed by 45 minutes of relatively intense cardio)?
  • 58:00: What is your opinion of counting collagen towards the protein total?

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