When it comes to intermittent fasting and sustainable weight loss, the advice out there can be overwhelming and often conflicting. Today’s guest joins the podcast to cut through the noise and tier-rank the most effective lifestyle strategies for long-term success, spotlighting what truly moves the needle—and what’s better left behind.
Today on The Dhru Purohit Show, Dhru sits down with Cynthia Thurlow to unpack what we need to prioritize—and just as importantly, what to let go of—for sustainable weight loss and long-term weight management. Together, they tier-rank the most impactful lifestyle habits and debunk common myths around overexercising, one-meal-a-day diets, and detox trends. Cynthia also challenges outdated narratives targeted at men and women over 40, offering a science-backed approach to behavior change. Plus, she dives into the most destructive mindsets that often lead to self-sabotage.
Cynthia Thurlow is a nurse practitioner, author, and host of the Everyday Wellness podcast. With over 25 years in health and wellness, she’s a leading expert in intermittent fasting and women’s health during perimenopause and menopause. Her TEDx talk on intermittent fasting has over 15 million views. Cynthia’s mission is to empower women to thrive through midlife and beyond.
In this episode, Dhru and Cynthia dive into:
-Role and benefits of intermittent fasting in weight loss
-Long-term goals for fasting
-Counting and tracking macros
-The downsides of the one-meal-a-day (OMAD) trend
-The connection between body parasites and weight loss
-Gut health tests and their impact on weight loss
-“Thyroid-pause” and its effect on weight
-The role of fiber in our diet and its impact on the microbiome
-Detoxing for weight loss—does it help?
-The difference between intense daily cardio and strength training
-Daily alcohol consumption and its effect on weight loss
-Regular and diet soda consumption—how they affect the body
-The role of mindset in a successful weight loss journey
-Recommendations for developing a stronger mindset
-Destructive beliefs that sabotage wellness goals
-Why a daily dose of creatine matters
-The role of protein powders and shakes in your diet
-Seed oils and how to reduce ultra-processed food intake
-Thoughts on GLP-1 medications
-Hormone replacement therapy
-Cynthia’s practical steps for sustainable weight loss and building strength
Also mentioned in this episode:
-Everyday Wellness with Cynthia Thurlow ™ – Podcast:
-Cynthia’s Creatine – The Midlife PAUSE: Strength, Radiance, and Resilience:
-Dhru’s protein shake: Try This newsletter:
For more on Cynthia, follow her on
-Facebook:
-Instagram:
-X/Twitter:
-YouTube:
-TikTok:
-LinkedIn:
-Website:
Sponsors:
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-Maui Nui:
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There is no way I get all that protein. The only time I ever did is when I was on super low carb. I lost the 15l s I had gained and got my brain and energy back. You can eat the fatty things as long as you don't eat carbs that spike your insulin. Calories and fat don't add weight on their own.
If i dont weigh myself everyday i get out of control it really helps me
Would you like to do a show with someone sorting out visceral fat? The findings on exercise are all over the place.
This girl needs to become carnivore.
Love this podcast, but you lost me at seed oils.
I agree this has been one of the most useless minutes spent on a podcast.
"Women Do Fasting WRONG" – How To Burn Belly Fat After 40+ uncovers the most common fasting mistakes women make and shows proven strategies to boost fat loss, balance hormones, and stay energized after 40. 💪🔥 #FastingForWomen #BellyFatLoss #HealthyAging
If you enjoy learning practical ways to transform both body and mind, I also share positive self-growth videos on my channel—feel free to check it out for daily motivation. 🌿✨
Her creatine awful reviews.
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It’s amazing how no one talks about the Undiscovered Diet site, even though it has changed lives and helped millions of women lose weight, myself included.
I eat one meal a day have for 9 months, I always tell myself Jesus fasted, and so do many religions . I have lost 70 pounds, and I also work out 3-4 times a week. I have incredible energy. I would give fasting an A.. But when I fast, I eat good, lots of protein..
Great podcast, but I run a detox retreat. Please don't make fasting too complicated. Start where you are and move slowly… fasting can help shift your mindset towards eating better food and cutting out additive foods that don't serve you.
Great info and as always you ask better questions than most podcasters, but… Dhru… what has happened to you? It really seems like you're trying to appeal to a younger crowd with your forced enthusiasm and cheesy gameshow-like ranking system. You're trying too hard and it feels gross. Kindly fire your marketing team and go back to your authentic approach please!
Hello Dhru & Cynthia, I have been doing OMAD for 3 years. I have lost 40 lbs during the first 9 month and kept going. I credited OMAD with keep my carbohydrates and over eating in check. I was eating about 100g of meat based protein per day. However, about 3 months ago, I heard that your utilization of protein is not maximized by consuming too much at once and having too long a time, with exercise, between protein doses. It made sense. Despite my concern about over eating, I start my day with 50g of beef protein (200g actual beef) and eat the remainder, about 60 to 80g of meat protein around supper. I am more or less 2 meals a day. My cravings and over eating has not returned (likely because it is a low carb "breakfast"). I have to admit that OMAD had lost its usefulness once I was in a healthy range. Great video & content 🙂
Am surprised there are this many subs. I cringed and couldn’t sub. She was great, too bad my brain kept on getting distracted by him.
Cynthia Thurlow says on OMAD: some people might be able to ingest 100 grs of Protein in one meal, however few are. According to Dr Gabrielle Lyons, we shouldn't ingest more than 50 grs of Protein per meal, as the body cannot absorb beyond that amount.
OMAD is MAD!
I'm in the UK and on HRT – estrogen and progesterone. I feel like I have myself back. I'm sleeping well, my memory is working properly, I have energy (despite having fatigue from 24 years of rheumatoid arthritis and chronic pain). As I take several meds for my RA, I buy a Prescription Pre Payment card for just over £10 a month and get ALL my prescription items for that cost.
Thanks!
IMHO: MOST PEOPLE WITH "LOW THYROID FUNCTION" ARE MERELY NOT GETTING ENOUGH "IODINE" IN THEIR DAILY DIET!!! IT'S THE LACK OF IODINE THAT CAUSES YOUR THYROID SYSTEM TO FAIL TO PERFORM AS NEEDED!!!!!!! EAT YOUR OCEAN FISH, AND SEAWEED!!!
….I FIND IT ABSURD, THAT SO MANY EMPLOYEES THINK THAT THEY NEED TO GET IN THEIR "10,000 STEPS" ON COMPANY TIME!!! THAT'S ABOUT 1 HOUR A DAY OF NONSTOP, BRISK WALKING!!!… WHO'S PAYING FOR ALL OF THAT LOST WORK TIME"???!!!!
What is fobmat?
The only fiber i eat 5 days per week is a handful broccoli 2 wheetabix and 1 bannana otherwise i get too bloated i am 53 yrs old and 4 ft 11 inches in height my bmi is 24 my weight is under 130 pounds.
Financially my food budget is limited i cant afford fancy foods.
I eat at least 10 eggs per day lucky i love eggs
I weight train combined with rebounding.
As soon as i open my eyes in the morning i do 20 minutes on my rebounder its a great all over body workout.
Your not supposed to over do cardio.
Rebounding is great for increasing and decreasing your heart rate.
I do treat myself to a chicken and some beef and bread on a sunday thats my cheat day.
Processed food is not food.
Eat when its light out dont eat when its dark.
what was the name of the app she mentioned that tracked micronutrients?
At about 1:22:16, Cynthia said something like: in an airport, someone could either choose to have a protein bar or fast… And said neither of those are good option. Did she mean that fasting was not a good option, or none of the seed oils involved were a good option? Thank you so much if this could be answered! Thank you for a great interview.
From the email I was sent:
00:24: Role and benefits of intermittent fasting in weight loss
4:08: Long-term goals for fasting
5:36: Counting and tracking macros
11:15: The downsides of the one-meal-a-day (OMAD) trend
20:24: The connection between body parasites and weight loss
25:22: Gut health tests and their impact on weight loss
33:26: “Thyroid-pause” and its effect on weight
41:16: The role of fiber in our diet and its impact on the microbiome
43:05: Detoxing for weight loss—does it help?
51:10: The difference between intense daily cardio and strength training
1:00:25: Daily alcohol consumption and its effect on weight loss
1:03:45: Regular and diet soda consumption—how they affect the body
1:09:28: The role of mindset in a successful weight loss journey
1:12:48: Recommendations for developing a stronger mindset
1:15:16: Destructive beliefs that sabotage wellness goals
1:17:32: Why a daily dose of creatine matters
1:21:49: The role of protein powders and shakes in your diet
1:25:05: Seed oils and how to reduce ultra-processed food intake
1:35:25: Thoughts on GLP-1 medications
1:47:44: Hormone replacement therapy
1:55:01: Cynthia’s practical steps for sustainable weight loss and building strength
At 40 give woman testosterone, any woman over 40 listening g to this…..tell your Dr. You want testosterone and get back to enjoying your life,
Listening now. Excellent so far. Thanks! ❤
It fucking does not
What’s crazy is how mislead I was until I read “Rethinking Health Secrets”. It’s never too late to wake up. This book drops real knowledge.
really garbage, no timestamps
"Women do fasting wrong" is such an intelligence insulting quote, I can't give this interview any serious attention….It's like these influencers are now scrambling to create content by adding unnecessary nuance to something very straight forward…
Thanks dhru
Did Synthia have plastic surgery?! Her nose shaved off for sure…
I don’t think you need to rephrase what the expert says unless they were vague—your explanation of what you believe the interviewee said is often longer than their explanation plus you tend to add things that they didn’t say. I really want to watch your show but I really have a tough time with this.
Thank you.. I enjoyed this podcast.. it was very informative
I increased my consumption of dates + walnuts (large portion size) for the past 6 weeks, and that added 6-7 pounds to my weight. I was eating large portions of this, which was the problem.
The fructose and the higher carbohydrate in dates (combined with large portion sizes I was consuming) was too much, which resulted in my 6-7 pound weight gain.
Now that I decided to reduce my carbohydrate intake, my weight is naturally coming off.
The glp-1 discussion can go deep. It has become so popular.
I totally understand about health, wellness, and fitness so this basis is set.
From what I have seen in the folks who I know and even in the media who have used it, they experienced certain non positive changes in addition to the weight loss, that cannot ever be reversed for their benefit. Certain things I notice that others may not. A very high price to pay.
I support using it for certain circumstances only.
Interesting discussion today on all different topics. Thank y’all. 😊
I think the 5-10 pounds I want to loose is the sleep factor for me.
Just subscribed to her channel 🎉
How do you calculate amounts of protein both consumed and body-manufactured?
My thyroid is broken. Hashimoto’s. I did lose 81 lbs while being undertreated. My free t3 was tanked, varying between 2.9-3.3, and I should have been around 4. I was taking t3, just not enough. It still helped because I did lose the weight but with enormous effort. Prior to that, the weight gain wasn’t from poor diet but from the lack of movement and sleeping all day and whatever you can get at night because our circadian rhythm is also broken. Insomnia. Yes also to high SHBG, binding up hormones and making them unusable. So it’s possible to lose the weight while slightly undertreated but I felt like I was having to put forth 3xs the effort than a normal person. I finally demanded to increase my t3 and it was smooth sailing from there on. Now, perimenopause is at the forefront. Can’t win for losing 😂. I’m once again having to put forth a lot of effort just to maintain my weight.
Sue if you see this, know that i love you so much! Fast buddies