Strong Ambition Podcast

Hosted by Rhyland Qually

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140

Latest episode

Jun 2026

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EN-US

About the show

You know those people who hang out at the top? The kind of people who have an internal drive to excel at everything they do? Maybe it's sports. Maybe its' academics. Maybe it's a professional career. Whatever it is....each person has their own unique story about how they became who they are. The Strong Ambition podcast is all about having conversations with high-performers, and getting to the core of what drives their ambition, so that you can apply those same lessons to your own training, nutrition and mindset.

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June 10, 2026Episode 1401 hr 42 min

#140 - Weight loss without calorie tracking — with Rachel Schwartz

Rachael Schwartz coaches women through fat loss without making any of them track calories.None of them.Not her 1:1 clients.Not her group coaching (which sometimes runs 300 people deep).That probably sounds like the opposite of what I usually say. Because it is.I think calorie tracking is one of the best tools out there for fat loss.Rachael disagrees because she believes tracking creates problems for the people she works with.Perfectionism.Obsessing over the number.Throwing the day out because they went 200 calories over.Her system gets around that by building structure into everything.Instead of "hit your numbers," her clients get parameters:Protein servings sized to them.Specific eating windows.A built-in dessert every day (she calls it BID).One treat meal a week with actual rules around it.Drinking nights capped at two with specific drinks.It's basically a pick-your-own-adventure meal plan with guardrails. The calorie deficit happens, they just don't see the math.We also had a pretty good debate over intermittent fasting (she thinks it backfires for most women because they get too perfectionist about the timing).And we disagreed on whether fasting itself provides longevity benefits or whether it just makes a calorie deficit easier to hit.But the conversation that surprised me most was peptides.A few years ago Rachael was firmly anti-Ozempic. Now she's been microdosing for months.Not for weight loss — but for inflammation, energy, and what she described as "feeling like a sponge that finally got wrung out."She's also been experimenting with NAD+, GHK-Cu (the copper peptide for skin and hair), BPC-157 for gut health, and a few others.We got into where this is all headed — and why she thinks microdosing GLP-1s will eventually be classified as a longevity tool, not a weight loss drug.I'm more cautious. But I think she's probably right about where this is going.We get into:Why Rachael's clients lose weight without tracking a single calorieHer actual system (built-in dessert, treat meals, alcohol rules, eating windows)Why "the habits that get you lean should be the same habits that keep you lean"The intermittent fasting debate — and why she thinks it backfires for most womenHow her view on Ozempic completely flippedMicrodosing GLP-1s as a longevity tool, not a weight loss toolThe other peptides she's experimenting with right nowWhy she rates exercise as a drug — and why the data backs her upWhere weight loss medication is probably heading in the next 10 yearsClick below to listen to this great conversation!Find Rachael on Instagram: @rachaelschwartznutrition

May 27, 2026Episode 1391 hr 23 min

#139 - He got off 7 medications by changing what he ate — Jeffry Hannah

Jeffry Hannah weighed 315 lbs when he graduated high school.Then he spent the next nine years trying to lose it.He tried keto. Carnivore. Paleo.He even tried what he calls the "hospital food diet" — canned everything.Some of the diets worked for a bit, but nothing stuck because nothing felt like a sustainable lifestyle.And while he was trying to fix his body, Jeff felt like his mind was falling apart.He hit rock bottom mentally, lost the ability to mask his autism and ADHD, and spent about two years struggling with suicidal thoughts.Imagine this: Seven medications a day, and still not feeling okay.The thing that eventually changed Jeff's relationship with food wasn't another diet. It was finding out that people with ADHD and autism burn through vitamins and minerals faster than the average person — and that what he'd been eating was making his mental health worse, not just his weight.He landed on a modified Mediterranean approach.More grains, beans, lentils, vegetables he didn't really want to eat, fatty fish a couple times a week. Plus some Little Debbie's double decker fudge rounds, because he's still a person.Today, Jeff is off all seven medications.Then, halfway through our conversation, Jeff and I did something different.We ranked squat variations — every major quad exercise — from S tier to F tier.Back squat, front squat, Zercher, goblet, hack squat, Smith machine, safety squat bar, leg press, pendulum squat — all of it.We disagreed on a bunch of them.Because the thing about ranking exercises is that the same one can be S tier for one person and C tier for someone else. It depends on your body, your strength, and what you can actually feel.Here's the rule I use: if you can't get to failure on a quad exercise in under 20 reps, it's probably not building your legs. It's cardio.In this episode, we get into:How Jeffry went from 315 lbs to off his meds entirelyThe link between ADHD, autism, and how fast you burn through nutrientsWhy keto and carnivore "worked" but didn't actually fix anythingHis modified Mediterranean diet (Little Debbie's included)Why beans + a grain beats expensive protein every timeThe 9 years he wasted listening to influencers instead of the scienceMechanical tension vs. time under tension — what actually builds muscleWhy the stretched position is where most of the growth happensRest-pause sets and the time I wrecked my hamstrings for daysWhy the hack squat is undefeatedThe Zercher debate — practical strength or unnecessary?Find Jeffry on Instagram: @geek_body__nutrition_417

May 13, 2026Episode 1381 hr 27 min

#138 - Debate: Sugar Free or Flexibility? — Mike Collins

This was one of the most fun debates I've had.Mike Collins doesn't believe calorie deficits exist.Not "are hard to sustain." Don't exist. As in, the framework itself is wrong.That's where we ended up about 20 minutes into this episode, and it turned into of the more interesting debates I've had on the show.Mike runs SugarDetox.com.He's worked with around 60,000 people.And his whole approach is built on the idea that sugar (and flour, and caffeine) functions more like a drug than a food.For about a third of the population, he says, moderation isn't possible. They're biochemically incapable of stopping once they start.I come at it from the flexible side. Whole foods most of the time, room for the foods you actually enjoy, and an understanding that calorie deficits still matter even when nobody likes hearing it.So, we went at it.And here's the thing — I didn't agree with a lot of what he said. But some of it landed.His point about selection bias was a real one. My clients finds me because they want flexibility. His finds him because they've tried flexibility and it didn't work. Those are two different populations, and neither of us is going to fully understand the other one's clients.Some points we debated:Does eating fewer calories than you burn actually cause weight loss — or do sugar and flour mess with your body in ways that calorie math can't explain?Is sugar addiction a real thing people can be diagnosed with — or just emotional eating wearing a fancier name?How do scientists actually measure calories in food?Can people genuinely not stop once they start eating sugar — or can anyone learn to moderate with the right approach?Are eating disorder treatment centers helping people by letting them eat sugar and bread again — or making things worse?Does eating "a little bit of everything" actually work long-term — or does it just give people an excuse to never really change?Is the way bodybuilders eat (lots of carbs, then cutting hard before a show) dangerous — or is it just intense training that works?Was my own history of binge eating an addiction, a way of coping with loneliness, or both?We disagreed on how weight loss actually works, but we agreed on more than I expected — that sugar is a problem, behavior matters more than meal plans, your community changes your outcomes, and the person delivering the message matters as much as the message.I referenced a few research articles in my closing monologue that back the flexible side. They're linked below if you want to actually read them instead of taking my word for it.If you've been wondering whether you're someone who genuinely can't moderate — or if you've tried flexible dieting and it's not working — this one will be useful.If you just want to hear two coaches disagree hard (respectfully) — also worth a listen.Find Mike Collins at SugarDetox.comAnd on Instagram @realsugarfreeman

April 29, 2026Episode 1371 hr 17 min

#137 - Emotional Eating Part 1 - How we develop our coping patterns - with Megan Grimord

Do you ever wonder why or how you developed your emotional eating habits?Do you think about how you’d want to raise your kids so they don’t struggle with the same issues?That’s exactly what Megan and I discussed this week.Megan has been on the show before (Episode 127), and we realized we needed to go deeper into emotional eating and how it’s impacted both of our lives.We didn’t even get to everything we wanted to cover, but this week we really focused on our own development and how we might influence our kids’ relationship with food.In this episode, we talk about:• What emotional eating actually looks like (not the cleaned-up version)• How different upbringings can lead to the same struggles• The quiet habits that follow you into adulthood without you realizing it• Why “fixing your diet” doesn’t fix your relationship with food• What changes when you finally stop avoiding the deeper stuff• Why forcing kids to clean their plates can backfire• How labeling foods as “good” or “bad” can really mess with them• The difference between making food normal vs. making it emotional• Letting kids have a choice without turning every meal into chaos• Why some of the habits we thought were harmless weren’tIf you’ve ever said, “I don’t even know why I eat like this sometimes…”This will hit.Because it’s not just about food.It’s about where the pattern started and whether you’re willing to actually look at it.This is part 1, and we’ll be doing another emotional eating episode in the future.Find Megan on Instagram: @megan_grimord

April 15, 2026Episode 1361 hr 3 min

#136 - I’ve been doing this wrong for years — Rhyland Qually

I’m 42 days into eating “fun food” every day… and still losing weight.Which sounds simple when you say it like that.It’s not.This episode is basically me walking through what’s actually making it work this time — because I’ve done versions of this before where it didn’t work.And the difference isn’t motivation. It’s the details.Here are my 6 biggest lessons so far:1. “I overeat” isn’t specific enough to fix anything.That was my default answer for a long time.But this time I had to actually call it out properly:I overeat high-protein baking because it feels “safe”I snack while cooking and don’t track itI get looser on weekends and pretend it evens outOnce you see the exact behavior, it’s way harder to ignore it.2. If you’re going to eat something, make it worth it.I’ve had donuts during this.Some were great. Some were honestly a waste of calories.Same with cookies, chocolate, whatever.If you’re building your day around 300–700 calories of “fun food”… and it’s not actually that good?You feel it.You’d rather just not have eaten it.3. Weekends will quietly wreck this if you don’t pay attention.This is where I’ve screwed up in the past.Friday night hits, and I'm a bit more relaxed.Meals become less structured.I'm out more. Around more food.It’s not one big binge. It’s just… everything’s a bit looser.And when I do this every single weekend, it's enough to stall things.4. High-protein, “fun” meals change everything.This has probably been the biggest difference.Instead of just plugging in random treats, I’ve been building meals that are actually satisfying:homemade nachos with lean beef and Greek yogurtpizza with higher protein baseschili, salmon dinners, carrot cake that actually fills you upIt still feels like you’re eating well… but you’re not blowing through your calories in two bites.5. Don’t cut out the stuff that keeps you healthy just to fit in treats.This one caught me off guard.I pulled back on things like strawberries, fruit, vitamin C… just to make more room for “fun food.”And then I got sick for the first time in like four years.Could be coincidence. Could not be.Either way, it was a pretty clear reminder: don’t trade your baseline health habits for short-term flexibility.6. You don’t need to eat the whole thing.This sounds obvious. It’s not.Restaurants. Family dinners. Dessert. Chocolate.You can stop halfway.You can take it home.You can eat the rest tomorrow.You don’t need to finish it just because it’s there.And then there's one big fitness lesson I've had to relearn:When you’re injured, stop trying to be clever.I dealt with some sciatica during this.I tried to work around it with mobility, adjusting my exercises, all that.Then I got to a point where I was like, "What am I doing?"Go use machines, train what doesn’t hurt, and keep things moving.Not everything needs to be optimal. It just needs to be consistent.If You've ever:done well all week, then watched the weekend undo ittried to include treats but felt out of control with themovercomplicated fat loss to the point it’s exhaustingor had an injury and no clue how to train around itthis episode will be helpful for you.It’s not a “here’s what you should do.”It’s just what’s actually happening, in real time, while I’m doing it.

April 1, 2026Episode 1351 hr 22 min

#135 - Ranking Strength Training Exercises For Boxers— Andreas Chrysouliotis

We broke down the most overrated and underrated exercises for boxing—and ranked them from S tier to F tier.Because the reality is… most boxers are strength training completely wrong.Not based on trends.Not based on what looks cool.Based on what actually carries over into the ring.We talk about:• What exercises actually build punching power• What most fighters are wasting time on• Why strength training should NOT look like boxing• The biggest mistakes fighters make in the gym• And the one thing almost nobody trains… but shouldWe also talk about:• Why most people fail fat loss even when they “know what to do”• The role of consistency vs perfection• How to actually build a sustainable nutrition approach• Why accountability matters early—but not forever• And how to individualize your diet so it actually works for youIf you box, coach, or train fighters—this will change how you think about training.Find Andreas on Instagram:@andreas_chrysouliotis

March 18, 2026Episode 1341 hr 6 min

#134 - You don't actually hate the gym — Amy Stroud Contreras

If you've been avoiding going to the gym, it's probably not because you're lazy.Most people don’t avoid the gym because they’re lazy.They avoid it because they feel like they don’t belong there.That was Amy.She didn't have a sports background.Didn't like showing up to the gym.Tried all the diets. Fell off. Started over. Same loop.Now she coaches women (a lot of moms) who feel that exact same way.In this episode, we get into what actually changes when you stop trying to be perfect and just build something you can stick to.Because probably 99% of you reading this don't have a laziness problem.You have a problem with the broken way you've been taught to approach fitness.We get into:Why so many women think their “best body” is already behind themWhat fitness actually looks like when you’ve got kids and no timeWhy “I’ll find time later” never worksThe guilt around taking time for yourself (and why it’s backwards)How social media turns normal eating into a problemWhy calling food “good” or “bad” screws people upWhat beginners actually need (and what they don’t)Why having a plan matters more than motivationAnd why walking is still one of the best things you can doOne thing Amy said that stuck with me:Her whole message is basically:You’re not too late.You’re not too old.You’re not stuck.You’ve just been doing it in a way that doesn’t work.If you’ve ever felt behind, overwhelmed, or like you’re starting from scratch again — you’ll probably relate to this one.Find Amy on Instagram:@amyrenefitness "There are seasons where you’re just trying to get through the day. That’s fine. But a lot of people stay there way longer than they need to."

March 4, 2026Episode 1331 hr 24 min

#133 - I’m eating Oreos for 100 days - Solo cast

You don’t need to suffer to lose fat.I know that’s controversial.Because most people think if it doesn’t feel miserable, it’s not working.But allow me to prove that those people are wrong.In this solo episode, I’m doing something a little different.I’m committing to 100 days of eating some form of “fun food” every single day while still losing fat.Oreos.Pizza.Burgers.Candy.Whatever fits.Not because junk food is magical. And not because I’m trying to win the Cool Coach Award.But because fat loss isn’t about restriction. It’s about skill.And most of us don’t lack this skill — or discipline, for that matter.We lack structure.So in this episode, I break down exactly how I’m doing it:Leaving 300–700 calories open for something I actually enjoyLocking in protein first (two shakes a day, non-negotiable)Building lean meals around itEating enough fiberSlight calorie trades (almond milk swaps, sugar-free sauces, small stuff that adds up)Planning tomorrow before tomorrow shows upSimple does not mean easy.It takes planning.It takes appetite tolerance.It takes not panicking when you feel a little hungry.And that’s really what this episode is about.We also get into:How your metabolism actually works (in simple language)Why “micro, mezzo, and macro” yo-yo dieting keeps wrecking peopleWhy starving all week just to explode on the weekend isn’t a metabolism problemThe different ways your body burns calories (not just workouts)Why a good deficit should feel like “enough,” not “empty”Why maintenance is harder than fat lossAnd why planning beats motivation every single timeI share where I'm personally at too — mobility wins, knee frustrations, maybe an MRI in my future — and how purposeful discomfort is different than self-punishment.There’s a big difference between:“I hate this but I deserve it.”and“This is uncomfortable, but it’s building something.”If you’ve been stuck in the Monday-to-Friday diet / Saturday blow-up cycle, this episode will probably call you out a little.In a good way.And if you want help building the skill instead of just trying harder, I opened a free Fun Food Fat Loss Facebook group where I’m sharing:My DIY fitness portalA meal plan generatorA metabolic calculatorWeekly accountabilityA place to practice this without getting overwhelmedThis isn’t about eating cookies every day.It’s about being able to.Listen to the episode and tell me what you think.Join the Fun Food Fat Loss Group

February 18, 2026Episode 1321 hr 24 min

#132 - What the USDA food update means for us — Jesse Rosenthal

The USDA updated its food pyramid — and most people missed what actually matters.So before you panic about carbs or seed oils... read this.The USDA increased protein recommendations. That’s a good thing.The saturated fat guidance stayed about the same.Whole foods are still prioritized over processed ones.Fruits and vegetables are still a must.But what most people missed is this:The average American still isn’t hitting baseline protein intake.Most people aren’t close to adequate fruit and vegetable intake.And almost nobody’s problem is “too many seed oils.”That’s what this conversation is about. I sat down with Jesse Rosenthal — an online fitness coach with 13+ years in the industry.We cover the updated USDA food guide… but not in a boring, policy-debate way.We talk about what it actually means for you.Because the bigger issue isn’t food dyes or ingredient lists.It’s unrealistic expectations, shiny-object programs, and quitting in week three because you’re sore and impatient.We get into:Why most people sabotage themselves with timeline pressureThe “bathtub model” of progress (and why month one feels worse)Why extreme diets go viral — and why they don’t lastThe real story behind the USDA’s protein recommendationsWhy 1 lb per week is boring… and undefeated“Everything in moderation” — and why that phrase misleads peopleHow 80/20 only works if you actually trackThe difference between balance and avoidanceWhy two years of consistency can undo decades of neglectHow to stop jumping programs and just let something workJesse’s whole philosophy is systems over motivation.If you’ve been stuck bouncing between carnivore, keto, detoxes, or the next viral plan — this episode is worth your time.Find Jesse on Instagram:@jesserosenthalfitness

February 5, 2026Episode 1311 hr 14 min

#131 - Fat loss starts in your brain, not your fridge — Anna Murphey

If your mindset runs the show… this episode hands you the remote.This is for anyone who's ever thought, "I know what to do — so why can't I do it?"This sit-down with Anna Murphey is one of the best conversations I’ve had about mindset — not just around food or fitness, but the deeper stuff:How you think, how you react, and how you talk to yourself when things go sideways.We didn’t just touch on macros or training programs — we dug into the internal patterns that shape everything.Because your mindset is the program.And if you’re constantly stuck in all-or-nothing thinking, guilt spirals, or identity labels like “I’m broken” or “I always screw this up”... it doesn’t matter what plan you follow. You’ll sabotage it.This is about how to stop doing that — with more compassion, better tools, and way less shame.We get into:Why mindset is the missing link in sustainable fat lossHow emotional eating can be healthy when it’s structured (donuts included)The “pause” — what it is, and how it builds self-trust fastIdentity work: how to stop calling yourself broken and start building someone newThe link between emotional maturity and long-term successStrength training as therapy — and what it teaches you about discomfortHow to stop moralizing food and start using it for fuel and joyWhat most diets miss about real-life consistencyWhy 80% effort wins over 100% pressureWhat to do when the old version of you won’t let goThis episode will be MASSIVELY helpful for anyone stuck in a mental loop of “why can’t I just get it together?”It’s not about working harder — it’s about thinking differently.Find Anna on Instagram: @commonsense.health