#19: The Science of Rapid Weight Loss | Tyler Minton

UFC fighters routinely lose 10 to 20 pounds in the 5 days before a weigh-in — then put it all back on in the 24 hours before stepping into the Octagon. It is one of the most extreme metabolic feats in sports, and almost no one talks about what it actually teaches us about everyday fat loss.

In this episode, Michael Easter sits down with Tyler Minton, the nutritionist behind some of the UFC's top fighters and current advisor to Naval Special Warfare. Tyler nearly died from his own weight cut years ago preparing for a fight, which sent him on a long quest for knowledge to rebuild how elite combat athletes prepare. He breaks down the exact protocol fighters follow and why the old "eat less, run more" model destroyed careers. Finally, they discuss the science behind UFC weight cutting and what it reveals about crash diets, GLP-1s, and why most diets cause rebound weight gain.

Two Percent is hosted by Michael Easter. Today’s episode was produced by Joey Fischground, Robbie Hiser, Dana Brawer and Julia Nutter. From Kaleidoscope, our executive producers are Mangesh Hattikudur and Kate Osborn and Julia Nutter. From iHeart, our executive producers are Katrina Norvell and Nikki Ettore. Our Head of Video is Maria Paz Mendez Hodes. This episode was edited by Will Mayo. Our theme music is by the Heater Manager.

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Chapters:

00:00:00 - Intro

00:00:00 - "I Nearly Died" — The Weight Cut That Started Everything

00:03:22 - How Tyler Got Into Fighting and Stumbled Into Nutrition

00:07:15 - "Eat Less, Run More" — The Old-School Playbook

00:11:50 - What 10% Over Really Means on Fight Week

00:13:30 - Where the Lost Weight Actually Comes From (Mostly Water)

00:17:12 - The Full 5-Day Cut Protocol — Fiber, Sodium, Fat, Water Loading

00:24:05 - How Much Weight Fighters Lose in One Sauna Session

00:27:04 - The Female Fighter Calendar: Cutting Around a Menstrual Cycle

00:29:46 - Refeed: Electrolytes, Ice Cream, and Projectile Vomit Warnings

00:35:28 - Why Crash Diets Cause Rebound Weight Gain

00:37:35 - The GLP-1 Rant: Why Most People Are Using Them Wrong

00:41:56 - Calories, Macros, Quality — The 3 Rules of Weight Loss

00:46:42 - The Aesthetics / Performance / Health Triangle

00:52:32 - 70% of Americans Overweight, 70% of Food Ultra-Processed

00:53:24 - What Max Holloway's 170 lb Camp Looks Like

00:56:10 - UFC 250 White House Lawn Picks: Gaethje, Pereira, O'Malley

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