How Precise Does Your Eating Need to Be?
From IIFYM to mindful eating: how to choose the right amount of structure, when to revisit tracking, and what three levels of eating precision…
Read the articleTHE PCS NUTRITION BLOG
Useful science.
Real people.
Something to practice.
Nutrition, training, and the general clown show of adult life. Research reviews, client stories, and practical ideas from Mike Beiter.
Want the next article in your inbox? Get Mike’s articles twice a month.
The Progress You Stop Noticing
The funny thing about progress is that once it starts working, you often stop noticing it. Something that would have been difficult six months ago becomes something you just do. You make a different decision,…
Read the articleWhat happens after you stop GLP-1s
Losing weight with GLP-1s isn’t exactly “easy.” For some, it may be easier than the alternative: dealing with constant thoughts about food and hunger, white-knuckling smaller portions, and restricting comfort…
Read the articleOctober Through December Isn’t a Vacation From Your Health
I wish people would quit treating October through December as a vacation from their health. It usually happens gradually. A busy weekend turns into a week without tracking. Workouts get squeezed out by…
Read the articleEnjoy the Games, Have a Plan for Eating
It’s Saturday, September 26, and we’re into Week 4 of college football and Week 3 of the NFL season. The opening-weekend excitement is settling into a familiar routine: football on the screen, something on the…
Read the articleSend Me the Video
I stopped consuming social media more than two years ago. My peace of mind has improved dramatically. My clients still use it, though. So, through them, I maintain a small, involuntary subscription. They send…
Read the articleWe Didn’t Get Her Wedding Ready
A longtime client of mine got married last weekend. We’ve worked together for 11 years. So naturally, with one of the biggest days of her life approaching, we did what the fitness industry tells every bride to…
Read the articleI Used to Prescribe Six Days of Lifting. Then I Paid Attention.
I believed strength training covered what mattered. Build muscle, get stronger, and everything else was optional. I spent a lot of time in rooms full of powerlifters and bodybuilders. In those rooms, that…
Read the articleIs moderate drinking actually ok?
For years, a glass of red wine was seen as a health tonic. Most of us now know that's not quite accurate. Still, plenty of people drink. And a lot of them believe a moderate amount is fine. Maybe even good for…
Read the articleSometimes the Conversation Is the Intervention
A client of mine had a rough summer. His nutrition got looser. Training became less consistent. He’d spent the previous couple of years losing a substantial amount of weight, and suddenly he seemed to be…
Read the articleReady When Varsity Called
One of my clients’ moms recently texted me to say her son had been asked to play tight end for varsity. He's 15. She attached a video of him from his first varsity game, catching a pass and streaking down the…
Read the articleIs Fasted Cardio Actually Better for Fat Loss?
Fasted cardio has been a fixture in the fitness world forever. The usual pitch is pretty simple: Wake up, don’t eat, go do cardio, and because you haven’t eaten anything yet, your body will be forced to burn…
Read the articleWhat’s Actually Working for My Clients
Every week, I talk with people trying to improve their nutrition, training, sleep, and health while also dealing with jobs, children, travel, injuries, hormones, pets, and the general clown show of adult life.…
Read the articleThe Kids Are Back in School. Now What?
Over the last eight weeks, I've heard some version of the same sentence from more than a dozen parents: "Summer is great, but we need the stability back." By August, the freedom of summer can start feeling a…
Read the articleHow Exercise Becomes Part of Who You Are
Introduction Some people exercise. Others see themselves as exercisers. That difference may help explain why one person repeatedly starts a routine, lasts three weeks, and promises to “get serious” again next…
Read the articleThe Headline Said Women Need More Electrolytes. Gatorade Supplied the Study.
Electrolyte powder has somehow become a lifestyle. People mix it into giant water bottles before sitting at a desk, walking through Target, or completing a 40-minute workout in an air-conditioned gym. Social…
Read the articleWhat’s Working for My Clients Right Now: Less Diet Theater, More Useful Structure
Last week, I got two of those messages that coaches love to receive. Not because either person had discovered a secret, but because they had stopped looking for one. The first came from a former high school…
Read the articleFiber Without Having to Inhale Metamucil
American adults eat roughly 16 grams of fiber per day, while common recommendations range from 25 to 38 grams. Depending on the person, that leaves another 9–22 grams to find somewhere between breakfast and…
Read the articleBuild Your Winter Momentum Now
Holy crap, it’s August. My clients are already counting the days until their kids go back to school. My summer nights are ending a little earlier. The itch for sweater weather and college football is getting…
Read the articleThe Headline Said You Could Slash Dementia Risk. The Study Did Not.
A lesson in how modest research becomes a miracle before breakfast I went looking for one of the week’s most widely circulated nutrition stories. I found a small study about meal timing and cognitive tests…
Read the articleIn Praise of Weighted Vest Walking
Weighted vests, micro-workouts, and the underrated skill of keeping exercise alive Lately, some of my best workouts have happened while I was mowing the lawn. I put on a weighted vest, start pushing the mower,…
Read the articleWhat Really Happens When You Quit Sugar?
Introduction Have you ever tried to cut back on sugar and felt surprisingly awful? Maybe your energy crashed. You became irritable. You thought about dessert constantly. By day three, the cookies in the pantry…
Read the articleHot out? How to Train, Eat, and Sleep Through an Iowa Summer
It is hot in Iowa right now. Not pleasant summer hot. Not “let’s eat dinner on the patio” hot. It is the kind of heat where stepping outside feels like being wrapped in a warm, wet towel. Temperature alone…
Read the articleYou Have a Work Ethic. What About a Rest Ethic?
Ask someone about their work ethic, and they will happily explain it. They show up early. Stay late. Push through. Never quit. Handle their business. Outwork the competition. Ask the same person about their…
Read the articleCan a Healthy Diet Include Ultra-Processed Foods?
Almost nobody follows national nutrition guidelines. In the United Kingdom, fewer than 0.1 percent of adults follow the government’s Eatwell Guide. In the United States, fewer than 5 percent of people meet…
Read the articleEven the Helpers Need Help
This morning started like thousands of others. For some reason, I woke up with Good Charlotte's Girls Don't Like Boys stuck in my head. I have no idea why. It had probably been fifteen years since I'd heard…
Read the articleCan You Really “Bank” Sleep Before a Hard Week?
Introduction Before a hard week, it would be nice if sleep worked like money in a savings account. You know a rough stretch is coming: travel, work deadlines, a newborn, a tournament weekend, night shifts,…
Read the articleFitness, Freedom, and the Strange Miracle of Being Born Here
America turns 250 today. That number is almost too big to feel. Two and a half centuries of argument, invention, sacrifice, contradiction, repair, failure, progress, noise, work, and cooperation. A whole…
Read the articleJuly 2026 Cooking Videos & Note From Mike
A brief note from Mike: I’ve spent a lot of time creating for social media. Some of it has been useful. Social platforms can help people find ideas, recipes, coaching lessons, research reviews, and the…
Read the articleThree Client Wins, Three Different Reasons Fitness Matters
One of the best parts of coaching for a long time is getting to see what fitness turns into after the novelty wears off. At the beginning, people usually come in with a goal. Lose weight. Get stronger. Feel…
Read the articleWhen You Feel Off, Fix the Inputs in Order
A client said something to me today that I hear in some version almost every week. Work is stressful. Home is stressful. There is no time to breathe. Food happens in the car, between meetings, or not at all.…
Read the articleGLP-1s Are Only the Beginning: What the Next Generation of Obesity Medications Could Mean for Weight Loss, Muscle, and Long-Term Health
Introduction A few years ago, most people had never heard of GLP-1 medications. Now, names like Ozempic, Wegovy, Mounjaro, and Zepbound are part of everyday conversation. That shift happened fast. These…
Read the articleLosing Weight With GLP-1s Shouldn’t Come With a Side of Shame
Introduction “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t.” That is how some people at a higher weight feel when they think about GLP-1 medications for weight loss. They may feel judged for living in a bigger body.…
Read the articleShe Got Leaner by Eating More
MyKenzie is leaner than she has ever been. That part is easy to understand. Here is the part that makes people pause: She is also eating more than ever. That sounds fake if you have spent any time marinating…
Read the articleWhy Exercise Feels Hard Before It Feels Good
Nine out of ten people choose the escalator when the stairs are right beside them. That little moment says a lot about human nature. We are not lazy. We are efficient. The brain is designed to conserve energy…
Read the articleThe Leanest He’s Ever Been, After the Second Kid
There are certain client updates that sound simple until you know the context. “Dan is the leanest he’s been since we started working together.” That is a good sentence by itself. Clear. Satisfying. Easy to…
Read the articleIs Your Social Media Feed Feeding Orthorexia?
Introduction For years, the conversation around social media has mostly focused on kids. That makes sense. Children and teenagers are still forming their identities, learning emotional regulation, building…
Read the articleCan Your Personality Age You?
We tend to think of aging as something that happens mostly because of time. Another birthday passes. Another year gets added to the story. The body changes, energy shifts, recovery takes a little more…
Read the articleDelicious and Nutritious Recipes for Busy Lives
Quinoa Salad: A Quick and Healthy Meal Ingredients 1 cup quinoa, rinsed 2 cups water or vegetable broth 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 1 cucumber, diced 1 bell pepper, diced 1/4 cup red onion, finely chopped…
Read the articleCan a Hot Bath Before Bed Help You Sleep?
There are seasons of life when sleep feels effortless. You remember those days. Maybe you were younger, stayed up too late, crashed on a couch, under a pool table, or in some questionable sleeping position,…
Read the articleStrength Training Is Not Just About Looking Like You Lift
For a long time, strength training had a branding problem. People heard “lift weights” and pictured bodybuilders, powerlifters, gym bros, chalk dust, gallon jugs, sleeveless hoodies, and someone looking in…
Read the articleBLT Chicken Salad
Serves 4 - 20 Minutes What you need: 2.5 oz. (70g) kale, deboned & chopped 1 lb. (450g) chicken breast, cooked, shredded 6 slices bacon, cooked, chopped 5.3 oz. (150g) cherry tomatoes, halved ½ small red…
Read the articleWhich Peptides Are Actually Worth Trying?
Peptides are having a moment. You may have seen them mentioned on podcasts, in “biohacking” circles, in fitness forums, or in conversations about weight-loss medications like Ozempic and Wegovy. Some people…
Read the article“I Don’t Eat That Stuff… But the Kids Love It.”
In nearly 15 years of nutrition coaching, I’ve heard some version of this sentence almost every single week: “Oh, I don’t eat any of that stuff anymore… but the kids love it.” And every time I hear it, part of…
Read the articleGolden Garden Tofu Scramble
Serves 2 - 15 Minutes What you need: ¼ onion, diced 2 cloves garlic, chopped 10.6 oz. (300g) mixed vegetables, e.g. mushroom, carrot, chopped 8 oz. (225g) tofu, crumbled ½ tsp. ground turmeric Splash of tamari…
Read the articleWhen Does Fitness Peak? And How Much Control Do You Really Have?
At some point, most people feel it. Maybe it shows up when a workout you used to breeze through now leaves you sore for two days. Maybe it happens when your knees start talking during stairs. Maybe it’s the…
Read the articleTen Years, 3,432 Workouts, and the Kind of Progress No One Can Fake
Ten years ago, Carmen and I met in the Merle Hay Mall food court. Which is funny, because if you were writing the movie version of a decade-long health transformation, you probably wouldn’t start it under mall…
Read the articleYour Watch Has Data. You Still Need Common Sense.
A lot of people now start the day by checking in with a device before they check in with themselves. They wake up, grab their phone, open an app, and find out how they supposedly slept. Then they look at…
Read the articleSavory Cottage Cheese Toast: A Quick and Healthy Meal
A Delicious and Nutritious Recipe Are you looking for a quick meal that’s both tasty and healthy? Look no further! This Savory Cottage Cheese Toast is perfect for busy days. It’s easy to make and packed with…
Read the articleWhy Maintenance Feels So Hard
Why “this is good, stay here” can feel harder than changing in the first place One of the strangest things I’ve seen in coaching is this: People work incredibly hard to get somewhere better with their health,…
Read the articleWhat I Just Told American Clients Heading to Italy
When my clients go to Italy, I tell them to pay attention to three things. Not the church ceilings. Not the wine lists. Not the pasta. I tell them to watch how people eat, how they move, and how they sleep .…
Read the articleOatmeal Cottage Cheese Waffles
Serves 4 - 15 Minutes What you need: 4 eggs 1 lb (450g) cottage cheese 4.2 oz (120g) rolled oats 1 tsp baking powder Olive oil (for cooking) What to do: Blend all ingredients with 1 tsp olive oil until smooth.…
Read the articleScrambled Tofu with Spinach & Pesto
Serves 4 - 20 Minutes What you need: 1 onion, diced 4 oz (115g) spinach 1 lb (425g) firm tofu, crumbled 15 oz (425g) chickpeas, mashed 2 tsp turmeric 2 tbsp nutritional yeast 2 oz (60g) sun-dried tomato pesto…
Read the articleWhy Regaining Weight After Success Isn’t a Discipline Problem
What I’ve learned from clients, my own life, and the Precision Nutrition model Recently, a 42-year-old client returned to full coaching with me after spending more than two years using only my app. His story…
Read the articleEgg Salad on Rice Cakes
Serves 2 - 20 Minutes What you need: 6 eggs 0.7 oz (20g) fresh dill 2 green onions Juice of 1 lemon 2.1 oz (60g) Greek yogurt 1 tsp Dijon mustard 6 rice cakes 1 tomato What to do: Boil eggs for 7 minutes,…
Read the articleWhen Life Feels Out of Control, Start Here
There are seasons where life doesn’t ask for your permission. Things shift. People leave. Plans don’t unfold the way you expected. What you thought would be clean and decisive turns into something slow,…
Read the articleYou Don’t Need a Better Vacation. You Need a Different One.
Introduction Over the years, I’ve noticed something that has nothing to do with macros, workouts, or step counts—but impacts all of them. People are consistently bad at vacationing. Not because they don’t take…
Read the articleShe Has Four Kids, Runs a Company… and Still Outperforms the Textbooks
Every once in a while, you come across someone who makes you question everything you thought you knew. This is one of those people. I’ve coached her for over a decade. I’ve seen her through multiple phases of…
Read the articleWhat Your Sleep Personality Says About Your Health
Introduction Most people think of sleep in simple terms: good or bad, enough or not enough. But if you’ve ever laid in bed exhausted yet unable to fall asleep—or slept eight hours and still felt drained—you…
Read the articleYou Can’t Out-Train Your Environment
I was with one of my long-term clients the other day—someone I’ve worked with since September of 2023. When we started, we kept things simple: one 45-minute training session per week, paired with nutrition…
Read the articleDo Pre-Workout Supplements Actually Work?
Introduction Walk into any supplement store or scroll through fitness content online, and you’ll quickly get the impression that pre-workout supplements are the key to better training. More energy. More focus.…
Read the articleHow to Think About Food – Trust Over Trends
My First Book Is Finally Here I’ve been sitting on this book for three months. Not because it wasn’t ready. Not because it needed more edits. Not because I didn’t believe in it. Because I was afraid. Afraid of…
Read the articleYou Don't Need a Coach Who Yells At You
Why “bad cop” coaching fails—and what actually helps people change. This morning one of my clients made an observation that made me laugh. She said, “Mike never gets mad at me.” She meant it as a compliment,…
Read the article