Zane Griggs

Zane Griggs Evidence-based fitness & metabolic health for adults 40+
Strength • Fat loss • Longevity
Fit Over 40 Plan + MetaFlex Community + Trusted brands ⬇️

Following my passion for health and fitness, I became a certified personal trainer in 1998.... and that's when the education really began. Working with many, different people, I found that the textbook nutritional guidelines were really not effective for many of my clients to achieve a healthy weight. This was especially true if the person were obese or had another metabolic issue. As I began look

ing for alternative sources of information I found that the people who much of the fitness and nutrition industry considered to be "questionable", were actually getting results with their methods and had biological explanations for it. I've had the great opportunity to work with one of the popular weight loss shows for two seasons, one for the entire season and the other for the last three months, to help two participants lose approximately half of their body weight. These were not only incredible learning experiences but also very inspiring. I was actually both frustrated and inspired. Frustrated by the false messages being sold to the public by the government and health authorities, as well as the food industry profiting from and perpetuating the misinformation, while we, as a nation, continue to get fatter and sicker. Inspired to explain the truth about our food and how our bodies work to whomever will listen in a clear and approachable way.

04/23/2026

Eating clean but still feeling off after meals? It might not be your diet. 👇⁠
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Most people never think about bile flow — but it’s what your body uses to break down dietary fat. When it’s sluggish, fat digestion suffers, digestion feels heavy, and energy takes a hit.⁠
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I’ve been using TUDCA — a bile acid your body makes naturally, used in Chinese medicine for hundreds of years. ⁠
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Supports bile flow, liver function, and helps you actually process fats efficiently.⁠
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Like removing friction from the flow🎯⁠
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Comment BILE and I’ll send you the link + my 20% discount code. 👇

04/22/2026

What if eating 80% of your calories as table sugar for 10 weeks actually improved your blood sugar control?⁠
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That’s what the data showed in a controlled study of 13 healthy men.⁠
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20% carb, 65% fat caused abnormal glucose tolerance⁠
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Increasing carbs to 40%, 60%, and then 80% of calories brought glucose tolerance back to normal⁠
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Then... he switched the 80% sucrose- TABLE SUGAR- for 10 weeks!⁠
Glucose tolerance improved AND insulin came down!⁠
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This is just one of many studies and interventions showing similar results⁠
Clearly carbs do NOT cause insulin resistance⁠
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BUT its time to get honest about how a high fat diet negatively impacts glucose metabolism⁠
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“Effect of high glucose and high sucrose diets on glucose tolerance of normal men”⁠
Anderson, Herman & Zakim. Am J Clin Nutr. 1973.

Most people are working out harder than ever…and getting worse results. Why?Because they’ve been told to train like an e...
04/09/2026

Most people are working out harder than ever…and getting worse results. Why?

Because they’ve been told to train like an endurance athlete —
not someone trying to rebuild their metabolism and muscle.

People think I work out multiple hours a day, but the truth is, I only work out 2-3 hours a week, as well as daily mobility work and regular walks...

I just understand what the greats understood.

Old-school bodybuilders didn’t guess.

They trained with intention:

→ Heavy load
→ Full recovery
→ Real stimulus

And they built bodies that lasted.

If you’re over 40, your body doesn’t need more stress.
It needs the right signal.

And that signal is strength.

Not exhaustion.

If you want help rebuilding your metabolism the right way,
comment FREE PLAN and I’ll point you in the right direction 👇

That’s not theory. That’s data.Deon’s lab took obese and type 2 diabetic individuals and did something very simple—lower...
04/08/2026

That’s not theory. That’s data.
Deon’s lab took obese and type 2 diabetic individuals and did something very simple—lowered their circulating free fatty acids for just 12 days. What happened next is what most people aren’t talking about.

Mitochondrial ATP production increased by over 50% in both groups. That means more usable energy at the cellular level. At the same time, insulin sensitivity improved—and the lower those free fatty acids dropped, the better the response.
This wasn’t random. It was highly predictable.

Here’s the mechanism.

When fat in the bloodstream drops, the body can more efficiently oxidize glucose inside the mitochondria. That leads to more ATP production, less glucose backing up in the bloodstream, and better blood sugar control as insulin is finally able to do its job—moving glucose into the cell where it belongs.

This is where the narrative gets flipped.
Contrary to popular opinion, running primarily on fat is not the optimal state for most people trying to improve metabolism. In many cases, it’s the exact thing slowing the system down.
Your mitochondria aren’t broken.

They’re overloaded.

They’re being asked to function in an environment flooded with circulating fat, which limits their ability to use glucose efficiently.

And when that happens, energy drops… and blood sugar rises.

The good news is, we can replicate this effect.

Lower dietary fat. Bring in more single-ingredient carbohydrate sources like fruit and potatoes. Support the system instead of stressing it. As glucose oxidation improves, stress hormones like cortisol and glucagon begin to come down—and the entire metabolic environment shifts.

I’ve used this exact approach with my clients and inside my MetaFlex community.

This isn’t guesswork. It’s applying peer-reviewed metabolic data to real people—and watching their energy, blood sugar, and body composition improve.
And if this works in type 2 diabetics…

it will absolutely work for someone who just wants to lose body fat and feel better doing it.
Your body isn’t broken.

It’s responding to the environment you’ve created.

Follow for strategies that actually work long term. 🔥

04/07/2026

Metabolic disease begins with a drop in ATP production in your mitochondria ⁠
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That drop in cellular energy, ATP, signals an alert, a need for more energy⁠
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So your body releases hormones to deal with this physical stress:⁠
✔️Glucagon⁠
✔️Adrenaline⁠
✔️Cortisol⁠
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To stimulate the release of stored energy⁠
Free fatty acids from fat cells⁠
Glucose from the liver (and will tell the liver to make more glucose if it gets low)⁠
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When these hormones, or even one of them like glucagon, remain elevated long term it causes:⁠
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⚠️Reduced Thyroid Function⁠
⚠️Impaired Insulin Signaling⁠
⚠️Increased Fat Storage⁠
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And creates a high Glucagon to Insulin ratio which causes Insulin Resistance and elevated fasting blood sugar⁠
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The same high Glucagon to Insulin ratio is created with very low carb diets⁠
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Liver increases gluconeogenesis⁠
Liver releases stored glucose⁠
Insulin secretion is insufficient to overcome glucagon’s effects⁠
Glucose accumulates in bloodstream⁠
Peripheral tissues become resistant to insulin signaling⁠
= Elevated fasting glucose despite not eating carbs⁠
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“Higher glucagon-to-insulin ratio is associated with elevated glycated hemoglobin levels in type 2 diabetes patients” Korean Journal of Internal Medicine, 2019⁠
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“Low carbohydrate intake correlates with trends of insulin resistance and metabolic acidosis in healthy lean individuals” ⁠
Frontiers in Nutrition, 2023⁠
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“The Insulin:Glucagon Ratio in Diabetes and Other Catabolic Illnesses” Diabetes, December 1971⁠
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“Alterations in Glucagon Levels and the Glucagon-to-Insulin Ratio in Response to High Dietary Fat or Protein Intake” Nutrients, November 2024⁠
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“Insulin Resistance Is Accompanied by Increased Fasting Glucagon and Delayed Glucagon Suppression” Diabetes, November 2016⁠
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“Basal and postprotein insulin and glucagon levels during high and low carbohydrate intake” Diabetes, 1975

You’d think cutting carbs would lower your blood sugar… right? That’s what I thought too.But what most people don’t real...
04/03/2026

You’d think cutting carbs would lower your blood sugar… right? That’s what I thought too.

But what most people don’t realize is that a lot of people on low-carb or intermittent fasting actually wake up with higher fasting blood sugar. I’ve seen numbers like 95, 105, 110… even 120+. Mine included at one point.

And it doesn’t make sense at first—if you’re not eating carbs, why is your blood sugar elevated?

Because your body is making its own.

When carbs are low, your body still has to fuel the brain and other tissues that depend on glucose. So it leans on stress hormones like glucagon and cortisol to signal the liver to release glucose into the bloodstream. The problem is, that glucose didn’t come from food—it came from your liver.

And because of that, your insulin response is significantly lower than it would be after eating carbs… often 50–70% lower.

Now you’ve got elevated blood sugar, not enough insulin to move it into the cells, and higher stress hormones working against you. Over time, that creates insulin resistance driven by a low insulin-to-glucagon ratio.

This is where a lot of people get misled. The low-carb crowd will say this is just an “adaptation” and that it only matters if you eat carbs. But that completely misses the point.

If two cars collide in an intersection, does the damage depend on why they crashed? No. The damage comes from the collision itself. The cause matters for prevention—but it doesn’t change the outcome.

Same thing here. The damage comes from chronically elevated blood sugar, not the explanation behind it.

And the irony is… most people start low-carb or fasting to fix insulin resistance, not create a different version of it.

If your fasting glucose is elevated, I would start simple. Eliminate ultra-processed foods, prioritize lean protein, and add back in quality carbs like fruit and potatoes. Give it 60 to 90 days and actually watch what happens.

I’ve seen this play out in clients over and over again. And I’ve seen it personally. When my wife and I added carbs back in, energy improved, performance improved, and blood sugar normalized.
And if you’re a woman, this matters even more.

Your body isn’t broken—it’s responding to the signals you’re giving it. Stop blaming carbs and start looking at the full picture.

If you want to see how I’d coach this step-by-step, comment FREE PLAN below 👇

04/02/2026

Waking up at 2–3 AM? It’s probably not your schedule… it’s your metabolism.

Chronic low-carb dieting = higher stress hormones = disrupted sleep.

Your body isn’t broken. It’s under-fueled.

And when it’s been running on stress hormones all day…

it wakes you up at night.

Full video on YOUTUBE!

04/01/2026

A diet of 85% carbohydrates IMPROVED insulin sensitivity, glucose tolerance and fasting insulin⁠
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in people with type 2 diabetes within 10 days!!⁠
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This is one of many high carb interventions improving metabolic function and/or fat loss⁠
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Because carbs like fruit, potatoes, rice and yes even bread, juice, syrup and honey⁠
do NOT cause insulin resistance, high fasting blood sugar or any other symptom of metabolic disease⁠
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So if a high carb diet will reverse type 2 diabetes symptoms, why would you reduce them in your diet??⁠
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If you want to see how I apply this with my clients and in the Metaflex community comment “free plan”⁠
and I’ll send you my Fit Over 40 protocol⚡️⁠
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“Improved glucose tolerance with high carbohydrate feeding in mild diabetes” PMID: 5100724

Most people are trying to fix their energy from the outside in…More workouts.More supplements.More restriction.But energ...
03/31/2026

Most people are trying to fix their energy from the outside in…

More workouts.
More supplements.
More restriction.

But energy doesn’t start in your routine.
It starts in your cells.

If your mitochondria aren’t supported,
nothing else works the way it should.

This is why so many people feel stuck —
they’re doing more… but producing less energy.

Fix the cell…
and everything else starts to follow.

Let’s clear something up: Just because your body can adapt to burning fat as its primary fuel…doesn’t mean it’s optimal ...
03/30/2026

Let’s clear something up: Just because your body can adapt to burning fat as its primary fuel…
doesn’t mean it’s optimal — or healthy long term.

Fat adaptation gets talked about like it’s the ultimate metabolic goal.

But when you look at physiology — not trends — the story changes.

For years, I leaned hard into high-fat, low-carb.

And at first? It worked.

But over time… I started getting mixed signals.

Performance started dropping.

Recovery wasn’t the same.

Energy felt inconsistent.

And I remember thinking… “Why is this happening if I’m doing everything right?”

That’s when I had to step back, do more research,
and be honest with myself.

I wasn’t optimizing… I was slowly pushing my body deeper into survival mode.

A little more each day.

Your body prefers glucose for a reason.

Glucose supports:

→ thyroid function
→ metabolic rate
→ cellular energy (ATP)
→ body temperature
→ digestion
→ stable mood

When glucose is low (fasting, low-carb, inconsistent eating),
your body can’t efficiently convert T4 → T3…

That’s your active thyroid hormone — the one driving metabolism.

At first, your body pulls from stored glycogen.

But once that runs out?
It has two options:

🔥 slow everything down

🔥break tissue down to survive

So it shifts into a stress response…

Burning fat and muscle — not because it’s optimal,
but because it has to.

And survival mode comes with consequences:

✖️ slower metabolism
✖️ reduced thyroid conversion
✖️ lower cellular energy
✖️ colder body temp
✖️ increased stress hormones

This is why so many people experience:

• fatigue
• poor sleep
• mood swings
• stalled fat loss
• cold hands and feet

Yes — you can run on fat.

But you weren’t designed to run on fat all the time.
Carbohydrates send a different signal:

“You’re safe.”
“There’s fuel available.”
“No need to stress.”

And when your body feels safe?

Metabolism improves.

Hormones balance.

Energy becomes effortless — not forced.

Being “fat adapted” isn’t the goal.

Being metabolically flexible and well-fueled is.

Because survival mode…
is not the same as thriving.

03/26/2026

All jokes aside… this is one of my favorite parts. Getting messages every day from clients and followers telling me how much better their health (and life) got once they stopped fearing carbs and left restrictive diet dogma behind.

Energy up. Metabolism improving. Health Freedom.

Comment FREE PLAN if you want to learn more 👇

Take me back to Florida 🌴Had the best time in Florida with my family for spring break ☀️There’s something about slowing ...
03/26/2026

Take me back to Florida 🌴Had the best time in Florida with my family for spring break ☀️

There’s something about slowing down, being present, and making memories with your kids that reminds you WHY you want to stay healthy. More energy. More moments like this. More life lived fully.

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Nashville, TN
37201-37250

Website

http://www.free40plan.com/, https://zanegriggs.com/, https://metaflexcommunity.com/, http

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