The New Science of PSMF Days: My Results + The 2025 Meta-Analysis on Protein
Optimal Protein Podcast with Vanessa Spina
Vanessa Spina
4.5 • 758 Ratings
🗓️ 26 September 2025
⏱️ 53 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Today’s solocast is all about Protein-Sparing Modified Fast (PSMF) days — how I’ve been using them in my own fat loss journey, how my approach differs from the traditional PSMF, and what the latest research says about PSMF, refeeds, and protein intake for protecting lean mass.
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I’ll be sharing:
- Exactly how I structure PSMF days for myself, including my research based updates on the method
- How I base my approach on cutting-edge research, including the brand-new 2025 meta-analysis on protein intake and lean mass preservation during fat loss
- My personal results so far — how much weight I’ve lost since starting August 1, how it’s affecting my body composition, and what’s working best for me
- The latest studies on PSMF and refeed protocols: do refeeds really help with fat loss or just with muscle preservation and diet fatigue?
- Why pushing protein higher during a cut is “muscle insurance” and what the evidence says is the sweet spot for most women and men
If your goal is fat loss without losing muscle, this episode is your blueprint.
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🎙 The content in this podcast is for informational purposes only and not nutritional or medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before making major dietary or lifestyle changes.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Welcome to the Optimal Protein Podcast. I'm Vanessa Spina. Hello, my friends. Welcome back to the podcast. I'm your host |
| 0:07.9 | Vanessa and I am super excited for today's episode. So today I'm breaking down a strategy that has been |
| 0:15.0 | central to my own fat loss journey lately. Protein sparing modified fasting days or PSMF days. Not the traditional |
| 0:24.2 | weeks long medically supervised protein sparing modified fast that you may have read about or heard |
| 0:29.8 | about from clinical obesity journals, but strategic single days that I've been layering into my |
| 0:36.4 | weekly plan to drive fat loss while retaining as |
| 0:40.3 | much muscle as possible. So today we're going to go deep on rapid fat loss without sacrificing |
| 0:48.1 | muscle. I want to share exactly how I run my protein sparing modified fasting days, |
| 0:56.0 | how they differ a little bit from, |
| 1:01.8 | for example, Maria Emmerich's approach. And then we're going to break down two big research buckets. Number one, what new studies say about protein sparing modified fasting and the role |
| 1:07.8 | of refeeds, and two, new 2025 meta analysis on how high |
| 1:13.5 | you should push protein during a cut to keep your lean mass. And I found this really interesting |
| 1:19.6 | because it actually is even higher than on protein sparing modified fasting days. And this is |
| 1:25.9 | another reason why I structure my approach with protein sparing modified fasting days. And this is another reason why I structure my approach |
| 1:29.0 | with protein sparing modified fasting days differently, my own version of it. So if your goal is |
| 1:35.5 | fat loss and improving your body composition, retaining as much muscle and metabolic power as |
| 1:42.1 | possible, this is your episode. And I can't wait to jump in |
| 1:46.1 | right after this quick break. Hi, friends. If you have ever felt bloated after eating a big |
| 1:53.2 | meal or a high protein meal or maybe wondering why you're not making the progress that you think |
| 1:58.7 | you should be making in the gym despite optimizing your protein. |
| 2:02.2 | It could be that you are low on digestive enzymes, which is an issue that many run into and |
| 2:08.2 | studies have confirmed happens as we get more and more mature. Masszymes by bioptimizers is the most |
... |
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