#509 Brad Dieter - Lack of Disease Doesn’t Mean You’re Healthy

<p>Brad Dieter, now CEO of FITTR, returns to the podcast to bring the perspective of his PhD in Exercise Physiology to a wide-ranging conversation about coaching, trust, health, alcohol research, GLP-1 medications, and the future of fitness.</p><p><br></p><p>We discuss:</p><p><br></p><p>• What the “commoditization of everything” means</p><p>• Why commoditization can hurt both coaches and consumers</p><p>• Where lower-cost standardized services can actually be beneficial</p><p>• Where commoditization starts sacrificing quality</p><p>• How the music industry offers a useful comparison for fitness coaching</p><p>• Why high-service coaching may become even more valuable</p><p>• The “tragedy of the commons” and why trust is a limited resource</p><p>• How short-term influencer incentives can erode trust across an entire industry</p><p>• Why real outreach and relationships still matter</p><p>• How consumers can evaluate coaches and services</p><p>• Wearables, health data, and information overload</p><p>• Why good coaching should give people more agency, not less</p><p>• Are we measuring health—or just measuring the absence of disease?</p><p>• Why “normal” lab values do not necessarily represent optimal health or function</p><p>• Functional health metrics and quality of life</p><p>• Why we may be tracking the wrong markers</p><p>• How observational research created the impression that light drinking was healthier than abstaining</p><p>• Why the alcohol “J-curve” became so influential</p><p>• Why panic around weight regain after stopping GLP-1 medications can miss the bigger picture</p><p>• And much more</p><p><br></p><p>Follow Brad:</p><p><br></p><p>@brad.dieter</p><p><br></p><p><strong>CHAPTERS</strong></p><p><br></p><p>01:49 Origins and Conferences</p><p>02:37 Commoditization Explained</p><p>06:02 The Music Industry Shift</p><p>09:21 The Future of Fitness Coaching</p><p>14:19 Grifters and High-Service Coaching</p><p>20:08 The Tragedy of the Commons</p><p>22:45 Rebuilding Through Real Outreach</p><p>25:22 Advice for Consumers</p><p>27:33 Wearables and Data Overload</p><p>30:29 Trust in Real Coaching</p><p>31:35 Giving People Agency</p><p>35:00 Rethinking Health Markers</p><p>36:57 Functional Health Metrics</p><p>40:11 Quality of Life Matters</p><p>43:18 Beyond “Normal” Labs</p><p>44:37 The Alcohol J-Curve Myth</p><p>49:26 The GLP-1 Rebound Conversation</p><p>54:57 Final Thoughts and Contact Info</p><p><br></p><p><strong>SUPPORT THE SHOW</strong></p><p><br></p><p>