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Early progress on a weight-loss plan can give way to a stretch where the same effort no longer produces the same results. That shift reflects a set of predictable physiological and behavioral forces that push back against restrictive eating. Below are nine of those forces and how each one slows progress. 1. Metabolism Slows as Weight Comes Off, Burning Fewer Calories for the Same Effort As body weight drops, the body burns fewer calories at rest, partly because it starts conserving energy. Researchers call this adaptive thermogenesis. A 2026 randomized trial published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics detected it within the first week of reduced energy intake. Over time, the same plan produces less progress, even when effort stays consistent. 2. Hunger Rises and Fullness Fades as the Body Sheds Weight Weight loss pushes appetite in the wrong direction. As the body’s energy stores shrink, hunger increases and meals feel less filling. Steeper cuts in food intake in...

Creatine has been around the gym long enough to have survived several generations of invention. And reinvention. And re-re-invention… Let’s just say it’s been a supplement industry staple for decades; it’s cheap, well studied, and, when combined with resistance training, actually useful. Naturally, that wasn’t sexy enough. So, now the Internet has served up a study suggesting you can take creatine, skip the gym, and build muscle anyway. The next sound in my brain after I read it was Ronnie Coleman’s voice in my head sayin’ his famous line: “Everybody wants to be a bodybuilder, but nobody wants to lift no heavy-ass weights.” But the study is real! Researchers at Texas A&M published it in August in the Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition , and the results have been making the rounds again this fall. I’m very familiar with the ISSN, I’ve presented at one of its conventions. I know several of the members. The organization is legit. And Texas A&M is no joke ei...

Kristoffer “Kris” Polaha took on a serious challenge when he agreed to add around 25 pounds of fat to his usually fit frame for his role in American Hostage , only to drop it soon after in order to continue with other filming commitments. And while the chance to say “yes” to every indulgent meal gave the star a sense of freedom, he tells M&F that the side effects had him ready to return to his normal state. Of course, Polaha’s mission to pile on the pounds for American Hostage wasn’t a personal cry for help. The actor had permission to stack up his plates in order to play Dick Hall in the true story of the mortgage broker who was abducted for 63 hours by a disgruntled client in 1977. The crisis soon became a media event as his captor, Tony Kiritsis, courted the press and called into his local radio station, all while holding Hall at gun point. “Dick Hall was a guy who’d reached a point in his life where he’d given up,” explains Polaha. “He stopped caring about what he looked li...

Australian weightlifter, personal trainer, and busy mom Stephanie Sanzo is known for staying in shape while balancing family life, so when it comes to firming her glutes, the buff beauty finds success in simple workouts that require maximum effort. Recently, Sanzo shared her booty building process on social media, so that others can work towards their own glute gains. The workout, shared with Sanzo’s 3.3 million followers on Instagram, had viewers understandably inspired to replicate her reps. “Steph proving that muscles don’t take away from femininity,” wrote one user. “The best,” added another,” and “Saved” wrote yet another fired-up follower. Here’s how to try it for yourself. Stephanie Sanzo’s Glue Focused Workout Standing Hip Thrust Machine: 3 sets, 20, 15, 10 reps Barbell Hip Thrust: 3 sets, 10 reps Rack-Supported Dumbbell Bulgarian Split Squats: 3 sets, 12 reps Hip Abduction Machine: 3 sets, 15 reps Bench Supported Single Leg Dumbbell RDLs: 3 sets, 20 reps ...

We can move in three dimensions, but we often get stuck in two: sagittal (forward/backward) and frontal (lateral). It’s similar to our core training with planks, Pallof, and crunch variations. But it’s time to change that. Think about swinging a golf club, throwing a baseball, or punching a punching bag. None of these movements happen because they’re all lateral, forward, and backward. They start and end with rotational power, and that’s where the Rotational Medicine Ball Slam shines. Unlike planks and Pallof presses, which train your core to resist movement, the Rotational Medicine Ball Slam challenges you to generate, transfer, and control force in the rotational plane. Your obliques, hips, and upper body must work together to rotate and drive the ball into the floor with power. If you’re ready to take your core training to a new dimension, you’re in the right place. I’ll cover: What it is How to do it How to know you’re doing it right Common mistakes & fixes Muscles tr...

With some people who take GLP-1 style drugs like Ozempic, Wegovy, and Zepbound, reporting thinner hair as well as slimmer bodies, experts have theorized that this side effect may be the result of rapid weight loss. However, new research out of NYU Langone Health in New York suggests that GLP-1 treatments could have a more direct link with baldness, increasing the risk of hair loss in susceptible men by 7%. The study , published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology, suggests that the risk of hair loss is determined by genetics. Those who are predisposed to androgenetic alopecia, a common type of hair loss, are more likely to drop some hair as they drop pounds of body fat. It’s not just men that are affected but with more studies completed on male hair loss, an abundance of historical data meant this initial study would be focused on the guys. What Did NYU Langone Discover About Ozempic and Male Hair Loss? The research team analyzed a genetic database of more than 200,000, mo...

A new study out of Japan appears to have identified how pterostilbene, an enzyme found in fruits like blueberries, bilberries, grapes, and cranberries, could be helping to burn excess fat stored inside the muscles. Experts have long known that pterostilbene is a powerful antioxidant that could offer several benefits including reduced inflammation and even DNA repair but this breakthrough study, led by Shinshu University in Japan, has cast new light on previous theories that suggest this enzyme could also be a vital tool for the war against excess fat. Until now, little was understood about the way that pterostilbene (a naturally occurring polyphenol) might accelerate fat metabolism in skeletal muscle. But among the compounds tested during the study on cultured mouse cells, pterostilbene was hailed as producing the most dramatic reduction of “intracellular lipid accumulation.” And, while pterostilbene was shown to reduce fat within the muscle cells, the enzyme had no detrimental eff...

As a model and actor, Parker Young has stayed in consistently great shape for scenes that require few clothes, but when the opportunity to play a vampire in the new CBS comedy, Eternally Yours came his way, Young decided to pack on some mass to fill the role. Taking off his fangs to talk fitness, the star sat down with M&F to share his love of weights, passion for the great outdoors , and why he’s a team player at heart. As an ectomorph , or “hard gainer,” who has modeled for Tommy Hilfiger and sent pulses racing with his six-pack on shows like Suburgatory, Young set himself a serious challenge to get bigger for the role of “Jesse,” a 30-something-year-old man turned vampire. “This character is a little bit older than the younger, high school guys I’ve been playing,” says the actor. “He’s a personal trainer by trade, so I felt I wanted to put on a little bit of size, just to look more like the trainers that I see out in the real world.” Young explains that he began ramping up h...

While our preference for maintaining a predictable routine is often seen as an individual choice, new research coming out of the University of Missouri suggests that chaos can be counterproductive for health and longevity. Apparently, consistency really is key for increasing our sleep, reducing pain, heightening moods, and supporting a healthier aging process. Here’s why. How Does a Consistent Daily Routine Improve Health and Longevity? The recent study  identified that daily routines helped to regulate the body’s circadian rhythm, a process that influences sleep, mood, and many other biological functions. “Regardless of sleep quality, those who reported having a regular daily routine had lower levels of physical pain and less depression compared to those without a daily routine,” said Eunjin Tracy, who is an assistant professor at the College of Education & Human Development, at the University of Missouri. What Is Social Jetlag and How Does It Hurt Fitness and Recovery? Insom...