Hosts Jeanette Titus & Victoria Gasparini
Episode Summary
What does body recomposition for women actually require—and do you really need daily cardio, restrictive diets, cycle-synced workouts or complicated fitness plans to lose body fat and build muscle?
In this episode of Girls Gone Wellness, Jeanette and Victoria speak with Dr. Alisa DiFruscia, ND, CPT, a naturopathic doctor, certified personal trainer and founder of For Her Kind, about women's body composition, body recomposition, fat loss, muscle growth, resistance training, progressive overload, protein intake, carbohydrates, workout recovery, metabolism, reverse dieting, cycle syncing, creatine and fat-burning supplements. Dr. DiFruscia explains why her approach focuses on simplifying training and nutrition rather than asking women to spend most of their week in the gym. Her professional profile identifies her as the founder of For Her Kind and a naturopathic doctor and certified personal trainer.
The conversation starts by separating weight loss from body recomposition. Body recomposition generally refers to reducing body fat while building or preserving muscle, although Dr. DiFruscia explains that simultaneously losing fat and gaining significant muscle becomes more difficult as someone becomes more experienced with resistance training. Beginners and people starting at a higher body-fat level may see both changes more readily. Building muscle itself is also slow, which challenges the common fear that women will suddenly become “bulky” after starting weight training.
How often should women strength train? Dr. DiFruscia generally discusses three full-body resistance-training sessions per week, with recovery days between sessions. Rather than simply completing a predetermined number of repetitions, she emphasizes progressive overload, exercise technique and working sufficiently close to technical failure. Progress can come from increasing weight, adding repetitions, improving technique or increasing time under tension.
The episode also explores whether Pilates, yoga or lighter weights can build muscle. Dr. DiFruscia explains that beginners may initially gain strength and muscle from many forms of new resistance, but continued muscle growth eventually requires an increasing training stimulus. She also discusses why women do not necessarily need a separate “leg day,” “arm day” and cardio schedule; full-body training can make consistency easier.
A major myth addressed is menstrual cycle syncing for exercise. Dr. DiFruscia does not believe women need to rigidly change their workouts based on menstrual-cycle phases. Some women may feel stronger or more fatigued at different points in their cycle, but she recommends adjusting based on the individual's symptoms and energy rather than assuming every woman must follow the same follicular-phase or luteal-phase workout plan.
Nutrition is another major focus. The episode discusses protein requirements, carbohydrates, fibre, calorie balance and pre-workout nutrition. Dr. DiFruscia describes protein as particularly important for muscle growth, recovery and satiety and says her coaching approach commonly uses approximately 0.8–0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight, while still emphasizing a balanced diet containing carbohydrates and fats. She specifically pushes back on unnecessary carbohydrate restriction and explains that carbohydrates can support training performance.
The conversation also tackles “slow metabolism,” metabolic adaptation and reverse dieting. Dr. DiFruscia explains that prolonged calorie restriction can lead the body to adapt its energy expenditure, but she does not describe metabolism as permanently “broken.” She also discusses why rapid changes on the scale can reflect water, carbohydrate storage and food volume rather than immediate changes in body fat.
Finally, the episode covers workout soreness, overtraining, spot reduction, the meaning of “toning,” daily step counts, body-composition scans, food tracking and supplements. Dr. DiFruscia does not consider commercial “fat burners” a meaningful shortcut, while discussing creatine monohydrate, magnesium bisglycinate and vitamin D as supplements she may consider in context. The overarching message is simple: body recomposition is a long-term process built around consistent strength training, adequate nutrition, recovery and realistic habits—not a secret workout or supplement.
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What is body recomposition?
Body recomposition refers to changing the ratio of muscle to body fat rather than focusing only on scale weight. Dr. Alisa DiFruscia describes it as the broader process of reducing body fat while developing muscle and shape through resistance training, nutrition and recovery.
Can women lose fat and build muscle at the same time?
Yes, but it is easier in some situations than others. Dr. DiFruscia explains that beginners and people starting with a higher body-fat level may be more likely to build muscle while losing fat simultaneously, while experienced lifters may need more distinct fat-loss and muscle-building phases.
How many days per week should women strength train?
Dr. DiFruscia commonly recommends three full-body strength-training sessions per week for the women she coaches, generally with a recovery day between sessions. She emphasizes that consistency and training quality matter more than trying to exercise seven days a week.
Are full-body workouts better than separate upper-body and lower-body days?
Full-body workouts can be an efficient option, particularly for people training around three days per week. Dr. DiFruscia explains that training volume can be distributed across full-body sessions instead of requiring multiple specialized workout days, which may make a program easier to maintain.
What is progressive overload?
Progressive overload means gradually increasing the challenge placed on a muscle over time. In the episode, Dr. DiFruscia discusses increasing weight, adding repetitions, improving exercise technique and increasing time under tension as different ways to progress without constantly changing exercises.
Do you have to train to failure to build muscle?
Dr. DiFruscia emphasizes training close enough to technical failure that the final repetitions are genuinely difficult. She also discusses lighter weights as potentially effective when enough repetitions are performed to create an adequate training stimulus, although very high repetition counts may become less practical.
Can Pilates or yoga build muscle?
They can, particularly for beginners. Dr. DiFruscia explains that almost any new resistance stimulus can initially produce adaptation, but continued muscle growth generally requires progressively increasing the challenge. Someone who has been training for longer may therefore need more external resistance than yoga or Pilates alone provides.
Do women need to cycle sync their workouts?
Not necessarily. Dr. DiFruscia does not recommend rigid menstrual-cycle workout rules for everyone and says some women can perform very well during menstruation while others may need more rest. Her approach is to adjust training around the person's actual symptoms, recovery and energy rather than assuming everyone should train the same way in each cycle phase.
Is being sore after a workout a sign that it worked?
No. Dr. DiFruscia describes delayed muscle soreness as more closely related to novelty—such as starting a new exercise or returning after time away—than to workout effectiveness. Persistent soreness may instead prompt a closer look at sleep, nutrition, stress and overall recovery.
Can you spot-reduce fat from your stomach, arms or back?
No. Dr. DiFruscia explains that where the body stores and loses fat is influenced substantially by individual biology and genetics. Resistance training can selectively build muscle in particular areas—what she calls being able to “spot build”—but exercises cannot force fat to disappear from one chosen location.
What does “toning” actually mean?
The “toned” appearance people commonly describe generally involves having enough muscle to create visible shape along with a sufficiently low level of body fat for that muscle definition to be visible. Dr. DiFruscia explains that simply losing scale weight without resistance training may make someone smaller without creating the muscular definition they expected.
Should women restrict carbohydrates when trying to improve body composition?
Dr. DiFruscia does not recommend automatically restricting carbohydrates for body recomposition. She discusses carbohydrates as an important source of training energy and specifically prefers clients to have some carbohydrate before workouts rather than routinely training fasted.
How much protein do women need for body recomposition?
In her coaching practice, Dr. DiFruscia says she commonly uses approximately 0.8–0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight, while individualizing recommendations. She also emphasizes keeping carbohydrates and fats in the diet rather than treating protein as the only nutrient that matters.
Can dieting permanently damage your metabolism?
Dr. DiFruscia does not describe metabolism as permanently “broken.” She discusses metabolic adaptation, where energy expenditure can adjust during prolonged calorie restriction, and explains that increasing food intake back toward maintenance can help the body adapt again. Scale weight may temporarily increase as carbohydrates, water and food volume increase without representing equivalent fat gain.
Do fat-burning supplements work, and is creatine useful?
Dr. DiFruscia does not consider commercial “fat-burning” supplements a meaningful shortcut for fat loss and describes many as largely marketing-driven. She is more supportive of creatine monohydrate, discussing a consistent intake of approximately 3–5 grams per day for people who choose to use it, particularly to support short, high-intensity muscular efforts.
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This transcript has been edited for clarity and readability while preserving the substance of the conversation.
Jeanette
Welcome to Girls Gone Wellness, Dr. Alisa. We're so excited to have you here today.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Thank you. It's nice to be here.
Jeanette
We actually haven't talked to anyone specifically about body composition for women yet, so we're really excited to speak about this topic.
It's something our audience always asks us about, and you're the perfect person to have on.
We're excited to get all of those questions answered.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Yeah. Nothing is off limits. Let's take it all.
Jeanette
Before we get started, can you introduce yourself and tell us how you got into the body-composition space?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
For sure.
I'm Alisa. I went to the Canadian College of Naturopathic Medicine, just like you ladies.
I got into training and exercise during undergrad.
Prior to that, I wasn't an athletic girl at all, so I really found myself in the gym. I was learning how to exercise for the first time, getting familiar with that environment and building a really cool community through it.
I fell in love with it.
I was definitely the type of person who thought more was better.
There were a lot of benefits at the time. It was a great way to feel productive when I wasn't studying in undergrad, and I got the endorphins and all of those things.
Eventually I dove in even more and became a personal trainer.
It was something I was very passionate about, although initially it was more of a side thing.
I was always researching and building programs for friends and family. I was reading books, watching YouTube videos and listening to podcasts.
Then I came across Sal DiStefano's work and a book called Resistance Training Revolution.
I read it and thought, “Okay, basically everything I'm doing is going against what I thought I was supposed to be doing.”
So I tested out some of the techniques.
I reduced my training output by probably 75%.
I focused on strength training only two days per week and getting stronger in a few key lifts.
My body changed.
One of my favourite benefits was that it freed up so much space in my day.
At the time, I was also trying to focus on my career as a naturopathic doctor.
Trying to fit in a five-, six- or seven-day-per-week workout regimen while building a career and helping other people was a lot.
The timing was perfect for me to realize these things.
People started asking questions, so I shared what I was doing.
Then I noticed that my patients were coming to me with seemingly different goals—longevity, changing body composition, balancing hormones—but the general protocol I was giving them was really similar.
I thought, “There's something here.”
The problem was that I'd give someone a list of things to do and say, “Good luck. I'll see you in eight weeks.”
They'd run into a roadblock on day one.
Maybe something happened with their nutrition.
Maybe they went out for dinner and didn't know how to manage an “off-plan” meal.
Then they'd come back eight weeks later and say, “I fell off.”
I knew what results they were capable of.
They just needed more accountability and support outside the appointment setting.
That's how the coaching side was born.
Jeanette
That's amazing.
You bring up a really good point that we'll probably talk about later.
With exercise, women can fall into this zero-or-100 mentality.
If we're going to the gym, suddenly it needs to be seven days a week.
That becomes a lot when someone is also trying to work on nutrition and everything else.
Hearing that two or three days a week can be useful must be a huge relief.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
It's life-changing, especially for women because we're pulled in so many different directions.
If we can simplify one thing in our lives and still know we're being efficient with our time, it builds confidence.
It also allows you to be more present in other areas of your life.
Jeanette
Let's jump right into it.
Can you explain the difference or similarities between body composition, weight loss and building muscle?
Are these all the same principles?
And where does resistance training fit in?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
When you say body composition, we're basically talking about body recomposition.
Body recomposition is the goal a lot of people are actually looking for: losing fat and building muscle.
Doing both at the same time is possible, particularly for beginners in the gym. We sometimes call that “beginner gains.”
Someone starting at a higher BMI may also have an easier time recomping.
If you're already a smaller person, have a lower BMI or are experienced with lifting, doing both simultaneously becomes more difficult.
That's something women need to understand.
Building muscle and losing body fat are two different goals.
They can happen simultaneously under certain circumstances, but the overall process of building muscle, losing fat, building muscle and losing fat is what I think of as body recomposition.
It takes time.
It isn't a quick fix.
That's a big reason For Her Kind was created. We're focusing on sustainable change rather than a quick fix.
Then there's weight loss, where you're losing body weight, which can include both body fat and muscle mass.
Building muscle is another goal altogether.
Building muscle isn't easy.
A lot of women are scared that they're going to “bulk up,” but building a large amount of muscle is actually difficult.
Women will sometimes start weight training and think they're becoming bulky within the first four weeks.
A lot of that initial change can simply be swelling and water.
All healing happens in a fluid environment.
If you're new to strength training and you've started and then stopped because you felt discouraged by that early change, keep going.
That will settle.
The benefits after that are lifelong.
You are not suddenly gaining huge amounts of muscle in four weeks.
Unfortunately, it isn't that easy.
Victoria
I'm glad you brought that up because I see it in patients, and I've seen it in myself.
I'll get really consistent with the gym, step on the scale and think, “Are you kidding me? I gained four pounds in one day?”
Apparently I'm extremely muscular now.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Exactly. Super muscular.
But that's a good point.
Often it's largely water retention or related to how many carbohydrates you've eaten because carbohydrates hold water.
People sometimes think they need to restrict carbs.
But carbohydrates can actually help fill your muscles and contribute to that leaner, fuller muscular appearance people are often going for.
When you restrict carbohydrates, you can see water weight drop quickly.
Women see the scale change and think, “Boom. Fat loss.”
It isn't necessarily fat. A lot of it can simply be water.
Victoria
That's really good to know.
You touched on your own all-or-nothing mentality.
You were hitting the gym constantly and then realized you did better with fewer training days.
We're all looking for the secret workout plan.
How many days do you typically suggest women start with for resistance training?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Three.
Three full-body days with at least a day of recovery between them.
The most important “C” is consistency.
Three days is doable.
It's a promise you can keep to yourself.
You can go to the gym three days per week.
But it's not just about physically showing up and sweating.
You need to actually work the muscles to what we call technical failure or use some form of progressive overload.
You want to get stronger over time.
I used to do this too: if the program said three sets of 12 reps, I'd do 11 and 12 like nothing happened.
The later reps should actually be difficult.
If there's one thing you take from this, it's that.
You can pick five or six exercises and ideally have at least a couple of compound movements.
Then the others can focus more on areas you're interested in developing.
You can spot build, but you can't spot lose.
The gym can be fun because you can build muscle and create shape.
I don't look at the gym primarily as a place to burn calories.
Once you shift from “I'm here to burn calories” to “I'm here to build strength and shape,” everything changes.
Calories burned in a day also aren't necessarily perfectly additive.
Energy expenditure is constrained and the body adapts.
I joke about this with my partner because he's into training and he'll say something like, “I worked out, so now I can have three Crumbl Cookies.”
I wish it worked exactly like that, but it doesn't.
Victoria
Even fitness apps do that.
They'll say, “You did this many steps today, so you burned this many calories, and now we'll add those calories back onto how much you can eat.”
I'm always thinking, I don't know if that's exactly how that works.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
We tell our clients to turn that feature off.
I wear my watch for steps, but I don't even turn on my gym workouts to calculate calories burned.
Those calorie estimates aren't particularly relevant to me.
Jeanette
That's a good tip.
Victoria
I think that also removes some of the punishment aspect of exercise.
You're going because it's good for you and you're building strength and shape.
We've been taught for so long that you should run as much as possible, do cardio and burn calories to “slim down.”
We have to get out of that mindset.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
I used to be a spin instructor.
At one point I was doing three classes a day.
Now I love not sweating, to be honest.
I can do my hair twice a week and not wash it constantly.
Truly.
Victoria
I love it.
If you're strength training three days a week, are you adding a separate cardio day?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Not necessarily.
I've gone outside my own comfort zone recently and did a sprint triathlon, but that wasn't for a body-recomposition goal.
For sustainability, with clients I generally focus on steps.
It's an easy way to keep overall daily movement consistent.
I've worked with so many people—and I've done this myself—who take a spin class and then sit down studying for 12 hours.
Your total daily movement may still be relatively low even though you had that one intense workout.
If you're consistently mindful of your steps, it's an easy way to keep moving throughout the day.
Victoria
This suddenly seems much more attainable, and we're only at the beginning of the episode.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
It's life-changing.
We overcomplicate things.
That's part of why For Her Kind was born.
In practice, people were asking me questions about gluten or lectins or whatever the trend was at the time.
A lot of those questions simply weren't the things that mattered most for their body-recomposition goals.
I thought, “We need to simplify this.”
Then women can focus on other areas of their lives too.
Victoria
What should rest days look like between those three workouts?
Is it a completely inactive day or more of an active rest day?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Walking is great.
If someone enjoys swimming, they can swim.
We encourage people to do activities they actually enjoy, rather than treating rest days as another workout prescription.
You don't have to do 25 minutes on the StairMaster.
We don't prescribe cardio that way.
It's more lifestyle movement.
A lot of our clients are moms.
They're chasing toddlers around the house, doing laundry or walking around the neighbourhood.
Very simple things.
The nice thing is that those activities can often involve the whole family.
It becomes more of a family lifestyle change.
Jeanette
You also mentioned that the three training days are full-body days.
Why do you like that approach instead of saying, “This is lower-body day, this is upper-body day,” and splitting everything up?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
There are many ways to structure a program.
For consistency, commute time and people's actual lives, going to the gym three days a week and combining upper and lower body into those sessions often makes the most sense.
We have some long-term clients who genuinely love the gym, so maybe we program a four-day split for them.
But in terms of consistency, three days can be enough.
We're looking at the total training volume over the course of the week.
Proper programming can distribute enough volume across those sessions to get the result we're looking for.
Victoria
Do you have to train a muscle to failure to build it?
People also say you can lift lighter weights for more reps or do something like Pilates or barre.
Is progressive overload the key?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Yes.
Increasing repetitions with a lighter weight can itself be a form of progressive overload.
If you can reach technical failure within roughly 20 to 30 repetitions or fewer, you can still create an effective stimulus.
That's generally what the research suggests.
I love Pilates.
There's nothing wrong with mixing Pilates in.
But if you're an advanced lifter, it can become harder to reach technical failure using limited resistance within a practical number of repetitions.
After you're doing huge numbers of repetitions, you're also changing what kind of training you're doing.
And personally, I lose count.
I don't want to count that high.
So yes, you can get a result, but in my opinion it becomes more difficult.
Victoria
That makes sense.
What about constantly switching workouts?
When I first started exercising, I had a Pinterest board with about 17 different workouts.
I thought I had to do something different every time I went to the gym.
Can you just repeat the same workout?
When should exercises change?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
That was me too.
I loved programming my workouts before I went to the gym.
It was my “me time.”
Now I'm doing basically the same program for months at a time.
The basics work best.
Compound movements give you the biggest bang for your buck.
Don't be fooled by the latest “best glute workout.”
The compound lifts need to be a major focus.
Execute them with good technique and get stronger at them over time.
Learn the movement.
Watch videos.
Film yourself doing it.
Don't only look in the mirror during the set.
I had a coach who called that the workout equivalent of beer goggles.
When you're looking in the mirror mid-set, you often think you're doing way better than you actually are.
Record yourself and watch it afterward.
Get feedback.
Form, technique and time under tension matter.
You want to make sure you're spending enough time in the appropriate phases of the lift.
Jeanette
How long are these gym sessions?
Thirty minutes? An hour?
Some people are in the gym for two hours.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
It varies because we can manipulate the program.
We can use supersets to shorten sessions—for example, performing a lower-body accessory movement while you're resting from an upper-body accessory movement.
We don't necessarily prefer that with the main compound lifts because we want proper recovery there.
But generally, workouts may be anywhere from about 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on the program.
It also depends on what you're doing during your rest time.
If you're scrolling Instagram instead of actually tracking your one- or two-minute rest, you'll obviously be there longer.
Jeanette
I was going to ask about rest periods because I see people at the gym sitting on a machine scrolling Instagram for ten minutes.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
I've definitely been guilty of that before.
I try not to.
Someone comes over and asks if I'm done and I'm like, “Oh, right. The set.”
Jeanette
We've been talking about body recomposition and lower-impact exercises such as yoga, Pilates and walking.
Could a woman theoretically increase muscle and lose fat by only doing yoga or Pilates without heavier resistance training?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
It depends on the starting point.
Everybody has a different starting point.
It also isn't only about training.
Nutrition, recovery and movement outside the gym all matter.
If somebody is completely new to exercise, yes, they may initially see muscle growth from yoga or another new stimulus.
After a few months, you're eventually going to need more challenge.
You also need enough protein and overall nutrition to support muscle protein synthesis.
Jeanette
Can you explain why someone who's new to exercise may make a lot of progress initially and then hit a plateau?
Or someone goes to the gym for three months, sees lots of changes and then suddenly nothing seems to happen?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Strength progress is relative.
Take lateral raises.
Maybe you start at five pounds.
Then you move fairly quickly to seven-and-a-half, then ten, then 12-and-a-half.
Eventually you might sit at a certain weight for months.
I've been doing 15-pound lateral raises for at least a year.
Initially, you often see bigger strength gains.
Eventually you plateau more.
At that point, you can focus on better technique.
Instead of increasing load, maybe you add one extra rep.
Adding one rep can be a huge win.
It's about being patient.
Jeanette
That's good because sometimes people are at the same weight for a while and assume they're not progressing.
But adding a rep can still be progress.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Exactly.
There are several ways to create progressive overload.
One is time under tension.
If you're doing a Romanian deadlift, for example, you can slow the eccentric or lowering phase or add a pause at the bottom.
That's especially useful for people training at home who don't have a huge range of dumbbells.
If you have 15-pound weights and can't immediately jump to 20, stay at 15 and manipulate the tempo.
Make each repetition last longer.
That's more time under tension.
You can add load.
You can add repetitions.
You can also improve your form and technique.
Those are all ways to make progress.
Jeanette
That's really useful for people who don't have access to a gym or a full rack of weights.
I want to talk about cycle syncing workouts.
You've talked about this before, and when I heard you speak about it I immediately wanted you on the podcast.
What's your approach?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
It's person-dependent, and I don't think rigid cycle syncing is necessary.
I've had cycles where I could go into the gym on day one of my period and hit a personal best.
I've had other cycles where I go in, cry and go home.
It depends.
Mindset can also become a limiting factor.
If you tell yourself, “I'm bleeding this week, therefore I'm not strong,” you can start creating that expectation before you've even tried.
I haven't been convinced that women need to avoid challenging training during specific menstrual phases across the board.
Endorphins often make me feel great afterward.
But like I said, sometimes I go home.
Sometimes I don't go at all.
The flexibility of only training three times a week means you can move sessions around your lowest-energy days.
For some women, the late luteal phase is the worst.
Once they start bleeding, they feel great and are ready to go.
It's very individual.
Victoria
We talked about this with Dr. Britt Schamerhorn too.
She said, essentially, “Who cares if you show up and can't go as hard as you did the week before? Just show up.”
Why are we limiting ourselves?
And with something like dysmenorrhea or painful periods, exercise can sometimes help.
If you can get out there, do it.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Exactly.
So what if you're not hitting a personal best that day?
You're still moving your body.
Discomfort can be okay.
But if you're doubled over in pain, stay home.
There's nothing wrong with that either.
Victoria
You've mentioned clients who come to you and are overtraining.
They're exercising multiple times a week but aren't getting the result they want.
Why can exercising more actually work against progress?
It seems backward.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Think about your muscles like a garden.
Every training session is like planting seeds or pruning plants to help them grow.
But they need time to recover.
If you keep planting more and more seeds without enough water, sunlight and time—think nutrition, sleep and recovery—the plants aren't going to flourish.
More isn't always better.
You need to give your body space to regenerate.
Jeanette
That's a great analogy.
I've never heard that before.
Another thing I do is go to the gym, not feel sore the next day and think, “Was that even a good workout?”
Should you be sore after these workouts?
Does it depend on how experienced you are?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
I love this question.
People used to always say, “No pain, no gain.”
But soreness is often more a sign of novelty.
If you've taken time off, went on vacation or haven't performed a certain movement in a long time, you're more likely to be sore.
You'll often be sore at the beginning of a new training block.
But if you've been doing the same lifts for a while, even if you hit a personal best, you may not be particularly sore.
If somebody is extremely sore after every session, I start wondering whether they're recovering well enough.
How are they sleeping?
What are their stress levels?
Are they meeting their nutrition requirements?
Are they eating enough?
Maybe they need more calories.
Ongoing soreness after every workout is not necessarily evidence that the workout was effective.
Outside of the first week of a new program, it can sometimes indicate inadequate recovery.
Jeanette
Good to know.
We're talking specifically about women's body composition.
Do women need completely different exercises to create a more “feminine” figure?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
That comes down heavily to programming and exercise execution.
The major compound lifts don't suddenly make someone unfeminine.
Squats, hip thrusts, Romanian deadlifts and shoulder presses can all be part of the program.
But how exercises are performed can emphasize certain muscle groups.
If someone has a specific physique goal, we can program accordingly.
For example, in bikini bodybuilding, many women aren't necessarily trying to maximize their trapezius muscles.
So we may pay attention to execution so a lateral raise is targeting the deltoid more than the traps.
Exercise feedback matters.
Then there are all the Instagram ab workouts.
Some exercises build the abdominal muscles outward more than others.
We don't routinely prescribe endless crunches.
Jeanette
Is that the transverse abdominis?
I'm forgetting the anatomy.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
The transverse abdominis is the deeper muscle you're thinking of—more like a corset.
You're thinking of the rectus abdominis for the more superficial abdominal muscle.
And remember, compound lifts require a lot of core involvement.
Those are some of your best core exercises.
We actually don't routinely program separate ab-focused exercises for our clients.
If someone's been with us a long time and we want to add something for variety, we can.
But it isn't a major focus.
Victoria
Interesting.
What about the person who says, “I have a problem area. I need to lose the fat under my bra,” or from their stomach or thighs?
Can we spot-reduce fat?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
You can't choose where you lose fat from.
Fat distribution is heavily influenced by genetics.
If fat loss is the goal, you reduce body fat overall and unfortunately don't get to decide which area loses it first.
Often we'll focus on fat loss first.
Then once some body fat comes off, you can better see the muscular base underneath and decide what you want to build.
Maybe you want more shoulder definition, more quad or hamstring development or something else.
Then we can use resistance training to build those areas.
You can spot build muscle.
You can't spot reduce fat.
When it comes to cellulite, I also use concepts from German New Medicine or Germanic Healing Knowledge.
The framework I use is that self-devaluing thoughts about a body area may affect how somebody experiences or perceives that area, and I encourage women to be kinder when speaking about those “problem” areas.
Victoria
I've never heard that before.
I'm definitely going to be more aware of how I speak about those areas.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Be nice to your problem areas.
Victoria
Earlier you said the word “toned” and put it in quotation marks.
Everybody talks about toning.
What actually is toning?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
What people usually mean by “toned” is that body-recomposition look: relatively lower body fat while still having enough muscle to create visible shape and definition.
There's no single “toning workout.”
It comes down to muscle and body fat.
A lot of women underestimate how much muscle is required to create the look they describe as toned.
Women will come to me and say, “I lost the weight, but I look exactly the same—just smaller.”
Often that's because their primary strategy was simply eating less.
They lost weight, but they didn't intentionally build enough muscle to create the shape they wanted.
Weight loss and fat loss aren't always the same goal.
If you reduce your energy intake enough, you'll lose body weight.
But achieving the appearance people call “toned” requires more intentional resistance training and body-composition work.
Jeanette
When you're working with someone who first needs to reduce body fat, do you start the workout program at the same time?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Yes.
We start holistically from the beginning.
We look at movement and where they're starting.
If someone is only getting 2,000 steps a day, we're not immediately jumping them to 10,000.
Ten thousand steps gets thrown around all the time, but there's nothing magical about that exact number.
Again, it's about consistency and fitting it into someone's life.
We create small wins rather than setting them up to feel like they're constantly failing.
We also start nutrition right away in what we call a restorative phase.
That might mean learning to hit protein and fibre targets and understanding calorie balance throughout the week.
Then strength training starts right away too.
For new moms, we may begin at two sessions per week because we want an achievable win.
For most others, we're looking at around three.
Jeanette
I'd love to talk about the idea of a slow or fast metabolism.
People will say, “My metabolism is broken.”
Can you actually speed metabolism up or slow it down?
Is there a true maintenance metabolism?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
The body is very intelligent and it adapts.
Energy expenditure responds to how much energy is coming in and how much is going out.
We touched on this with people who do huge amounts of cardio.
You cannot endlessly add more and more exercise and expect the calorie burn to rise linearly forever.
The body adapts.
For people who've been dieting for a long time, metabolism and energy expenditure can adapt to that lower intake.
But I wouldn't say metabolism is permanently “broken.”
It's flexible.
When you start giving the body more energy again, it can adapt in the other direction.
Think about being stranded on an island with very little food.
Your body is going to become more economical.
It may reduce little movements that contribute to daily energy expenditure—fidgeting, touching your hair, moving around spontaneously.
Those small movements contribute to total daily energy expenditure, or TDEE.
So when somebody says, “My metabolism is broken,” my response is usually that it isn't broken.
Sometimes we need to bring calories back toward maintenance for a period of time and give the body more energy.
Victoria
Is that the same as reverse dieting?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Reverse dieting is a little different.
I actually don't routinely reverse diet clients, and I haven't done it with myself.
Let's say you've been in a calorie deficit and lost ten pounds while eating around 1,500 calories.
Then based on your new weight and other factors, your estimated maintenance intake might be around 2,400 calories.
With reverse dieting, someone might slowly add calories back toward that maintenance level.
Some people do it gradually partly to see where maintenance falls and partly because it can reduce anxiety around the initial scale increase.
After dieting, carbohydrate intake may have been lower and body water may be lower.
When you bring food and carbohydrates back up, you can see the scale move three to five pounds relatively quickly.
That doesn't mean you've suddenly gained three to five pounds of body fat.
Some of it is water.
There's also simply more food volume in the digestive tract.
Food itself weighs something.
That's another reason scale changes need context.
Victoria
Speaking of measuring outcomes, stepping on the scale is easy.
But if we're doing body recomposition, how do we know whether we're building muscle and losing body fat if the scale isn't moving as quickly as we expected?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Data is your friend.
I wouldn't recommend randomly weighing yourself once a week because that's such a tiny piece of information.
That's particularly true for women because body weight changes throughout the menstrual cycle.
What we like to do is collect consistent morning weights—after using the bathroom, first thing in the morning—and calculate weekly averages.
Then look at what those averages do over time.
You can't make a major decision from one week or two weeks.
We may wait at least a month to look at the overall trend.
The name of the game is slow and steady.
The expected rate of loss or gain also depends on someone's starting point and goals.
Victoria
Do you ever use machines such as InBody to measure body composition?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
No.
We generally use a regular digital scale and other trend data.
There's too much variability in some of the body-composition machines for me to rely heavily on the absolute muscle or body-fat number.
They're more useful if you're using them consistently and watching a general trend, but I question the precision of the absolute measurement.
Victoria
Good to know.
We obviously have to talk about protein.
Recommendations are all over the place.
You see 0.8 grams per kilogram, then 2.2 grams per kilogram.
Are women eating too much protein?
Not enough?
Where should we focus?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
I definitely don't think most women are eating too much protein.
But a balanced diet is still important.
You want fats and carbohydrates because they all serve a purpose.
In our program, with individual exceptions, we often prescribe around 0.8 to 0.9 grams of protein per pound of body weight.
Protein is also more thermogenic than the other macronutrients, meaning digestion itself requires energy.
If fat loss is a goal, meeting your protein target can also help with fullness while supporting muscle.
Victoria
What about protein sources?
It's easy to think, “I'm 30 grams short, so I'll just drink another protein shake.”
Should whole-food protein be the main focus?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Whole foods are the goal.
But we also have to live our lives and have flexibility.
Protein bars or protein powders can be helpful.
I love the Robert Irvine protein bars.
They're at Costco now in Canada.
Most protein bars, let's be real, aren't actually delicious.
We eat them because they're protein.
Those ones I actually like.
More generally, we meet people where they are.
If someone is currently eating almost no protein and adding a protein shake and a protein bar helps them reach an adequate intake, I'm fine with that.
If somebody already has a good understanding of protein and we're trying to optimize further, I'll encourage more whole-food sources.
If progress isn't where we'd expect despite good adherence, I may replace some supplemental protein with lean meats, seafood or other whole-food sources.
Jeanette
When clients first come to you, are they already eating a lot of protein?
Or do you usually find that women aren't getting enough?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
We see the full spectrum.
We've had clients who have worked with coaches or even done bodybuilding competitions and are looking for accountability and the next level.
Then we have complete beginners who don't really know what foods contain meaningful protein.
But more often than not, women aren't eating as much protein as they think.
Then they start tracking and realize, “Oh my gosh. I'm getting 50 grams.”
Jeanette
That was me.
I thought I was doing so well.
Then I tracked it and realized I wasn't.
Victoria
Me too.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Tracking teaches you portion sizes.
Women often feel like they're always supposed to have the smallest possible plate.
Once you weigh food for a period of time, you start learning what an actual serving of chicken looks like if you want a specific amount of protein.
It's like learning a new language.
Jeanette
Do you have all of your clients weigh and track food?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
When they're in control of the food, yes, we generally teach weighing and tracking.
We're not telling people to bring a food scale to a restaurant.
We give them targets and teach them how to plan.
Pre-planning can reduce decision fatigue because you wake up and already have a general idea of what's on the menu for the day.
The specifics are individualized.
Jeanette
What about clients with a previous eating-disorder history or body dysmorphia who still want to work on body recomposition?
How do you adjust the weighing and tracking part?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
It depends heavily on the individual.
I think knowledge and education around food can be healing for some people.
But if someone isn't willing or able to weigh and track safely, our particular coaching program may simply not be the right fit.
We don't view tracking as something someone necessarily needs to do forever.
We may use it for six to nine months as a way to build a knowledge base and create an informed eating approach.
Then you can carry those skills into the rest of your life.
I don't weigh and track every single thing I eat now.
If I'm eating something completely new, I may track it because I want to learn.
But because I've spent time doing it, I don't need to do it every day.
It's a skill.
Jeanette
We've talked about protein, but fibre and carbohydrates are also important.
How do you generally approach those?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
We keep it simple.
That's part of why women can have flexibility.
Detailed macro counting can become very restrictive because if meal one or meal two doesn't perfectly match your planned macros, suddenly you feel like the entire rest of the day is limited.
We focus on a protein minimum and a fibre minimum.
Obviously fibre itself is a carbohydrate.
Then fats and carbohydrates can have more flexibility.
There isn't evidence that keeping the exact same ratio of carbohydrates and fats every day is essential for body-composition results.
For an advanced client, I may keep carbohydrate intake more consistent because that can help make training energy more predictable.
But that's an advanced detail.
For beginners, it often doesn't meaningfully change the result.
Keep it simple.
Hit protein.
Hit fibre.
Then you have flexibility with the rest.
Build the meal around protein.
Choose a fibre source.
Then decorate the meal with the other things you enjoy.
Victoria
What I love about this entire episode is that everything sounds doable.
It's something people could actually do long term.
You don't have to weigh and track food for the rest of your life, but once you understand portions and nutrition, it almost gives you food freedom.
We're all thinking about our body size and body composition to some degree, and we make it so complicated.
It's empowering to hear that you can still enjoy your food.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Exactly.
It can also give you freedom to go out to eat without being terrified of what happens afterward.
That's why we also teach rough tracking.
If one of our clients goes out and has no idea how to estimate the meal, she can send a photo of the menu item and her plate into the group chat.
Sometimes we'll use her hand in the photo as a rough size reference.
Then we estimate together.
We make it fun.
We want women to know they're getting enough of the things they need without being scared to go to a restaurant.
Victoria
Let's talk about mindset.
What's one common thing you see holding women back from their body-recomposition goals?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
There are a few.
One is self-limiting beliefs.
Women don't always believe they're allowed to choose themselves first.
They may feel like they're inconveniencing other people by having their own goal.
At the end of the day, you have to choose yourself and make space for yourself.
When you're feeling your best and more confident, you're often able to give more to everyone around you too.
A rising tide raises all ships.
If your light is shining brighter, you can lift other people up too.
Jeanette
That's why the coaching aspect you've developed through For Her Kind is so interesting.
Women sometimes need that encouragement and reassurance.
Seeing somebody for one appointment and then saying, “See you in two months,” puts a lot of responsibility on the patient without support in between.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Exactly.
People ask me what's different between being a naturopathic doctor and coaching.
A big part of it is that I'm simply spending more time with clients.
The foundational methods aren't necessarily completely different.
There's just more ongoing support.
Jeanette
We can't have a weight-loss or body-composition episode without talking about fat-burning supplements.
You guys debunked the MB1 supplement on Instagram.
But more broadly, do “fat burners” do anything?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
There's no secret sauce.
There's no one supplement that's going to create all the change.
A fat burner might increase energy expenditure by a tiny amount.
Maybe you're talking about something equivalent to ten extra calories in a day.
To me, that's not meaningful enough to make it worthwhile.
A lot of them rely on stimulants such as caffeine.
Have a cup of green tea.
Caffeine might make you fidget a little more and burn a tiny bit more energy.
Spirit fingers.
But it's not enough to create a substantial body-composition change.
A lot of it is marketing.
Victoria
What about supplements that may actually support training?
Something like creatine?
Magnesium?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
We just did a creatine post.
I like magnesium bisglycinate in the evening for some people, particularly in the context of recovery and sleep.
We're very minimalist when it comes to supplements.
We don't start clients with a giant laundry list.
I'm also fine with creatine.
I don't force anybody to take it.
But if you choose to use it, consistency matters.
Something like 3–5 grams of creatine monohydrate per day is what I typically talk about.
Some women are scared of creatine because they see an initial increase in scale weight.
Creatine increases water within muscle, so that initial change isn't the same as gaining body fat.
Creatine can help with short bursts of high-intensity effort.
When you're training close to technical failure, having the ability to get an extra repetition or two can contribute to training progress over time.
And if you live in Canada or somewhere with very little winter sunlight, vitamin D is another nutrient to think about depending on your individual needs.
Or take a vacation and get some sun.
Doctor's orders.
Victoria
I like that prescription.
Tell us about For Her Kind.
What inspired you to build it?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
It happened naturally.
It came out of my own experience and then working with patients in clinical practice.
I knew what results people were capable of, but I also saw how much support they needed outside a standard clinic appointment.
Then the program started growing.
Once I couldn't take more clients myself, I hired another coach, and it continued from there.
At its core, we're trying to solve the problem of too much information making the truth difficult to find.
We like working with women who are ready to take more control of their health, embrace personal responsibility, build self-awareness, participate actively in their transformation and create results that last.
After working with us, my goal is that you shouldn't feel as though you need to buy another ebook, another plan or another program every few months.
I want this to be the last stop.
Jeanette
I love that.
We'll link everything so people can find the website and your information.
We're going to move into rapid fire.
I'll give you a statement, and you can answer myth, truth or “it depends.”
First:
Women should cycle sync their workouts to get the best results and balance their hormones.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Myth.
Jeanette
Weight training will make you bulky.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Myth.
Jeanette
You should restrict carbohydrates when you're trying to improve body composition.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Myth.
And I actually want to expand on carbohydrates.
We don't like women routinely working out fasted.
We generally want some form of carbohydrate available before training because carbohydrates are an important energy source.
Food is fuel.
Having adequate energy can help you get those extra repetitions and support recovery.
Jeanette
I'm glad we touched on fasted workouts.
Next:
High cortisol or stress can keep you from achieving your body-composition goals.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Truth, in the sense that chronic stress can impair recovery.
Cortisol is catabolic, and if you're highly stressed and poorly recovered, it can become harder to support muscle growth.
If the body doesn't have adequate resources for recovery and muscle protein synthesis, that's going to affect progress.
That's why we put so much emphasis on recovery too.
Jeanette
Last one:
InBody or DEXA scans are necessary and accurate ways to measure body composition.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
I'd say myth—or, more specifically, they're not necessary for the way we monitor progress.
Jeanette
Amazing.
We've been myth-busting throughout the whole episode, but what is one myth in your space you would want to debunk once and for all?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
I would say that HIIT training is required for results.
I used to love HIIT training.
I will happily never do a burpee again.
If you're doing high-intensity exercise for general fitness, longevity or cardiovascular health and you enjoy it, great.
But it's not mandatory for body-composition results.
Strength training taken close to technical failure can be incredibly effective.
Jeanette
Amazing.
Thank you so much for coming on the show.
I'm really glad people will have this resource to come back to because we covered so much.
Where can everyone find you and For Her Kind?
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Instagram is probably the easiest place.
You can find For Her Kind there, and my personal Instagram is @dr.alisa.nd.
Our DMs are always open.
I'm happy to chat, learn more about where you're at and see whether we can help.
Jeanette
Amazing.
Thank you so much for coming on.
Victoria
Thank you.
Dr. Alisa DiFruscia
Thank you, guys.
You're such good interviewers.
Victoria
Thank you!