The Model Health Show · Shawn Stevenson

The Truth About Burning Fat After 40 & Why Evidence-Based Training Can Be Wrong - With Jay Ferruggia

March 16, 2026·1 hr·4 clips
Jay Faruja says metabolism does not slow with age — and he eats more food at 51 than he did in his 20s while staying lean.
Shawn opens with purpose. He tells listeners this conversation is supposed to get past abstract fitness theory and into what changes bodies, both in the gym and outside it. Jay is the practical guide. Shawn describes him as someone who has worked with everyday people and elite athletes, then tees up six missed pieces of fat loss. The show is useful, but it also has a little friction. Evidence based lifting can miss real life, and the answer that looks right on paper can still be wrong. Exercise order gets attention too, especially for people trying to lift with less pain. Then the excerpt takes a turn. The biggest burst of energy starts during an electrolyte read, with Shawn naming high performance users and talking through flavors before the interview comes back. From there, the topic is hormones. Testosterone depends on sleep, or at least rises and falls with better hours and better sleep quality. One number gives the segment its punch: a week of sleep deprivation in college age men is said to drop testosterone by about 15 percent. Shawn hears that as making them seem 10 or 20 years older, which makes the science land. The conversation does not treat testosterone as only a muscle topic. It connects to energy and performance for both men and women. Jay also brings in estrogen, or estradiol, and makes the case that the relationship matters more than staring at one hormone by itself. Shawn keeps it loose: quick affirmations, space for Jay to explain, and a steady return to normal fitness worries. At the end, he asks listeners to share the episode with someone they care about, tag Jay, and stick around for more masterclass style interviews. The point is not a hack. Fat loss, training quality, hormones, sleep, and recovery are part of the same problem when the goal is a body that can perform.

As heard by us

A practical fat loss after 40 episode that ties lifting, sleep, hormones, and smarter training together.

Fat loss after 40 is framed as a practical training problem, with Shawn Stevenson bringing on Jay Ferruggia to look past the usual gym slogans.

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Why you'd press play

Your workout might be fully evidence-based and still be steering you wrong, especially past 40.

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