423: Reverse Dieting, Protein & the Truth About Training with Sal Di Stefano

Well with Arielle Lorre

Dear Media, Arielle Lorre

Alternative Health, Fashion & Beauty, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Arts, Personal Journals

4.8 • 4K Ratings

🗓️ 19 November 2025

⏱️ 61 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Sal Di Stefano is a renowned fitness expert, author, and co-host of the hit podcast “Mind Pump”. He joins the show to break down the simple, sustainable principles that make strength training the most effective path to long-term health, confidence, and consistency.

We cover:

Why it’s hard to “overdo” strength training—and the power of feeling strong
Why quick fixes backfire and how to avoid the obsession trap
How to get back on track without shame
Negative motivation vs. real, lasting change
The honest postpartum bounce-back reality
Fitting fitness into a busy life (yes, even with 2 days a week)
Fueling properly and overcoming the fear of losing progress
Breaking up with restrictive dieting + when data doesn’t match real life
The most effective form of cardio
How to avoid hyper-palatable foods
Reverse dieting basics + breakfast protein tips
Sal’s most overrated and underrated exercises

Follow Sal at @mindpumpdistefano on Instagram.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	The following podcast is a dear media production.
0:05.8	This is Well, a podcast about wellness in all its forms.
0:10.0	I'm Ariel Laurie, and each week I'm sharing unfiltered conversations with people shaping how we feel, live, and look.
0:17.2	Come for the substance, stay for the honesty, and leave with the tools to be well, inside and out.
0:25.2	I am so excited about this episode. I know that you guys are going to absolutely love it. If you loved my
0:32.3	episode with Joe Holder, then you're going to love this one as well. So I'm talking to Sal DeStefano. He is a guest that I have
0:41.2	wanted to have on for such a long time. He is a renowned fitness expert. He's an author. He is the co-host of
0:48.4	the top-ranked mind pump podcast, where he breaks down health and training through a science-backed common sense
0:55.4	lens. And I know that is what so many of you appreciate as well as myself is that
1:00.7	common sense approach. With over 20 years of experience as a personal trainer and gym owner,
1:06.8	he is known for cutting through industry noise, challenging harmful fitness myths, and teaching
1:12.3	people how to build strong, healthy bodies without obsession or burnout. His approach,
1:18.6	interestingly, blends behavioral psychology, strength training principles, and practical
1:24.0	lifestyle strategies making sustainable fitness accessible to everyone from beginners to
1:29.4	elite athletes. What does that all mean for you and for this episode? He is going to tell us
1:36.0	some fitness truths that are going to challenge beliefs that we've had in the past. Something that I
1:40.7	was shocked to hear from him was that you really only need to strength train twice a
1:46.3	week twice a week. That's not be active only twice a week, but strength train twice a week. And you can do
1:54.3	that and get the ideal body that you want. However, most of us think that more is more and we can almost get into these addictive
2:03.3	cycles where we become addicted to the diet or the exercise and then we feel like if we
2:08.7	stop even for a day or two, something is going to catch up to us. We're going to lose all of our
2:15.4	momentum and progress. And he really challenges that notion. He has
	...

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