This Surgeon Ate 7,500 Calories Every Saturday for Months. What He Learned About Bulking Will Save You Years of Wasted Effort

When fitness advice feels like an endless maze of conflicting protocols, two health experts sat down to cut through the noise.

Dr. Dominik Nischwitz, a biological dentist and performance nutrition specialist, joined podcast host Max Lugavere for a wide-ranging conversation that stripped health optimization down to its essentials.

Their verdict? Most people are overthinking it.

What emerged was a practical roadmap for body recomposition that prioritizes simplicity over obsession, real food over supplements, and long-term consistency over extreme short-term results.

Body Composition: The Foundation That Everyone Misses

Dr. Nischwitz doesn’t mince words about where transformation begins.

What really matters is just to understand your body composition first. In our clinic we use an in-body scan even for all our patients to just see how much muscle mass is there, how much body fat is actually there.

Before adjusting a single macro or logging a workout, he advocates measurement. Not for vanity, but for clarity.

The goal? Recomposition—staying the same weight while dramatically shifting the ratio of muscle to fat.

Recomposition means maintaining body weight while simultaneously building muscle and losing fat. For a 180-pound man at 22% body fat, the target might be dropping to 12% while still weighing 180 pounds—just with vastly more muscle.

This approach flips conventional wisdom on its head. Weight loss becomes secondary to tissue quality.

Protein: The Non-Negotiable Foundation

Both experts agree: protein is the only truly non-negotiable macronutrient when building or maintaining muscle.

Lugavere lays out a straightforward formula:

You want to aim for assuming you’re resistance training and you do want to improve your body composition, which most people ought to, you want to set a target of 1.6 g of protein times your weight as a starting point in kilograms.

Or use ideal body weight if significantly overweight. Dr. Nischwitz pushes slightly higher—around 2 grams per kilogram—especially post-surgery or during intense training phases.

But he warns against the trap of protein obsession.

Protein is important, that is correct. But I totally see that you can overdo protein. They eat like their 250 g of protein, which is way too much. And then they don’t eat carbohydrates or fats because they think that makes them shredded and lean.

The body uses protein for immune function, hormone production, and enzymatic processes before muscle building. Muscle protein synthesis is actually the last priority on the list.

The Protein Hype: Marketing or Medicine?

Is the current wave of protein-everything just another diet fad?

Dr. Nischwitz acknowledges the marketing machine.

It’s definitely a marketing thing at this point of time because everything has protein. Even your Coke Zero has now protein, right? Everything is protein.

Yet unlike low-carb or low-fat trends of decades past, protein’s primacy is rooted in physiology, not fashion.

It’s the most satiating macronutrient. It preserves muscle during fat loss. It provides building blocks the body cannot manufacture on its own.

The real issue? People losing sight of balance once they nail protein intake.

Carbs and Fats: The Negotiable Energy Sources

After protein, everything else becomes flexible.

Lugavere frames it perfectly:

Carbohydrates and fat are the most negotiable. Like carbohydrates are probably the most negotiable because there’s no such thing as an essential carbohydrate, which doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t eat them.

The winning formula? Whatever ratio helps you sustain a calorie deficit long enough to reach your goals.

Dr. Nischwitz designs meal plans around individual needs, often incorporating carbohydrates strategically based on activity level and nervous system type.

For highly active, sympathetic-dominant individuals (think high-strung, fidgety types), he recommends generous carbohydrate intake. For more parasympathetic individuals, lower carbs might work better.

But he emphasizes dinner carbohydrates for everyone.

Everyone non-negotiable has it at dinner because it helps you serotonin and GABA, which are the more relaxing neurotransmitters.

The Fat Trap: Where Good Intentions Derail

One of the most insidious pitfalls in body recomposition? Unconsciously overshooting fat intake.

Dr. Nischwitz sees this constantly with his bodybuilding clients.

They often times just enjoy their ribeyes. And enjoy the more fattier proteins which come with a lot of calories and a lot of energy. And then they don’t lose the fat they wanted to because they probably end up at maintenance calories or slightly above maybe.

Fat delivers 9 calories per gram—more than twice as much as protein or carbohydrates at 4 calories each. Two tablespoons of olive oil? Nearly 240 calories with minimal satiety benefit.

Both experts have scaled back their fat consumption dramatically. Not because fat is “bad,” but because it’s calorie-dense and less satiating than other options.

Lugavere admits he used to liberally pour olive oil over meals. Not anymore.

Blood Sugar Spikes: Stop the Panic

Continuous glucose monitors have created a new kind of dietary neurosis.

Dr. Nischwitz doesn’t hold back:

I oftentimes take them away from my patients because they become self-fulfilling prophecies.

A blood sugar spike after eating oatmeal or potatoes? That’s not pathology—it’s physiology.

For lean, insulin-sensitive individuals who resistance train, glucose spikes are rapidly cleared by muscle tissue through non-insulin-dependent mechanisms. Obsessing over the number on a CGM creates stress that may do more harm than the spike itself.

Lugavere pushes back against the demonization:

I also don’t think it’s really appropriate to pathologize a blood sugar spike. Like if you eat a bowl of oats, like you’re going to have a blood sugar spike, but that’s not bad.

Potatoes rank among the most satiating foods on earth. If they help control hunger and sustain a deficit, the temporary glucose elevation is irrelevant.

Training: Intensity Beats Complexity

Forget elaborate periodization schemes and tempo prescriptions.

Dr. Nischwitz learned this the hard way:

There was a phase of like this overthinking training like counting reps counting actually the tempo of the reps. For me personally, it does not work at all. It makes me I don’t know. I need to be in my physical body and just train.

Lugavere echoes this, pointing to a critical mistake: people pick a rep target and stop, even when they have more in the tank.

His advice, borrowed from world champion Stan Efferding? “Do all the reps.”

Train close to failure. Don’t obsess over whether you hit 8 or 10 reps. Focus on intensity—that burning, exhausting final few reps that actually stimulate adaptation.

Diet Versus Training for Fat Loss

Here’s a revelation that contradicts years of bro-science: your training shouldn’t change whether you’re building muscle or losing fat.

Lugavere learned this lesson the hard way:

I used to think that your training should change depending on whether or not you were targeting fat loss or muscle growth. And the reality is what I’ve come to learn is that your training shouldn’t change.

The “toning” workouts with higher reps and lighter weights? A myth.

The training that builds muscle is the same training that preserves it during a cut. Keep lifting heavy. Maintain intensity. Let diet create the deficit.

Dr. Nischwitz adjusts volume, not intensity, during fat loss phases. He keeps the weights heavy, reduces rest slightly if needed, but primarily leans on increased daily walking to create an energy deficit.

The Bulking Mistake That Wastes Years

Traditional bulk-and-cut cycles? Both experts now consider them inefficient at best, counterproductive at worst.

Dr. Nischwitz recalls his own excess:

I was only focused on building muscle. I wanted to be the biggest like 24 years old, and I built I’m now I’m like 85 maximum kilos, but I was 15 kilos heavier. So, 100 I touched 100. I wasn’t super fat, but my face looked like super fat.

He ate 5,000 calories daily, with Saturday “cheat days” hitting 7,500 calories. The result? Unnecessary fat accumulation that took months to strip away, leaving him right back at 85 kilos.

The better approach? Get lean first. Then add muscle with a modest 100-200 calorie surplus.

Fat accrues far faster than muscle. Aggressive bulking mostly builds adipose tissue, not contractile protein.

Sugar Versus Fat: The Overfeeding Question

Given a choice between overconsuming 500 calories of sugar or fat, both experts choose sugar.

Why? Fat is already fat. The body stores dietary fat as body fat with minimal metabolic cost.

Converting carbohydrates to fat—a process called de novo lipogenesis—requires significant energy and rarely happens in lean, active individuals. Excess glucose typically gets burned, stored as glycogen, or increases metabolic rate through thermogenesis.

Dr. Nischwitz applies this logic even with his kids:

I would always let them eat rather eat a lot of sugar, even like candy, cotton candy. They can eat it. Why? Because they burn it off the next 5 minutes versus if they do the the highly deep fried stuff, they probably have a hard time digesting it.

Walking: The Underrated Fat Loss Tool

No HIIT. No hour-long cardio sessions. Just walking.

Dr. Nischwitz makes it simple:

I don’t do any specific cardio. I tried it all. Trust me, I tried the hits. I tried the runs. But it feels like extra stress for my already stressed lifestyle maybe. So, walks it helps perfectly.

Ten thousand steps daily is non-negotiable. More is better.

Walking provides a calorie deficit without the recovery demands of intense cardio. It reduces cortisol rather than spiking it. And it fits seamlessly into daily life.

The Oral Health Connection Nobody Talks About

Dr. Nischwitz brings a unique lens: oral health is the missing link in body optimization.

As a biological dentist, he sees the mouth as the body’s “hotel lobby”—the first point of entry that reflects systemic health.

If you see tooth decay, the tooth decay shows you the whole body is decaying. If the hotel lobby is shitty, the rest might be, too, right?

He pioneered a bone-healing protocol over a decade ago, centered on vitamin D3, K2, magnesium, and other micronutrients that support osseointegration—the fusion of dental implants with bone.

The same nutrients that heal bone after dental surgery? They optimize bone health everywhere, from teeth to spine to jaw.

Lugavere used Dr. Nischwitz’s tooth supplement after his own spinal surgery for exactly this reason.

Real Food, Real Results

Both experts advocate an elimination-style approach during recomposition phases.

Dr. Nischwitz’s “red chart” removes inflammatory triggers:

• Gluten-containing grains
• Refined vegetable oils
• Dairy (even high-quality)
• Added sugar

What remains? Whole-food proteins, carbohydrates, and fats—tailored to individual tolerance and preference.

He designs meals around neurotransmitter profiles: protein and fat in the morning for focus (dopamine, acetylcholine), carbohydrates at dinner for relaxation (serotonin, GABA).

But the foundation is always the same: eat real food.

Wearables: Data or Distraction?

Oura Rings. Whoop straps. Apple Watches. CGMs.

Dr. Nischwitz tested them all—simultaneously.

I love wearables and I love data points, but I don’t emotionally connect to them. For me it’s just literally data.

The problem? Most people do emotionally connect. They see a suboptimal sleep score and cancel their workout. They spot a glucose spike and spiral into restriction.

Wearables work for the analytically detached. For everyone else, they often create more stress than insight.

The 80/20 Rule Still Wins

Perfection isn’t the goal. Consistency is.

Lugavere frames it clearly:

Your health is going to be made up of the decisions that you make 80 90% of the time. Not 10% of the time, not 20% of the time. It’s the dietary pattern.

Dr. Nischwitz agrees, noting that occasional deviations—a dessert, a non-stick pan in an Airbnb—don’t derail progress.

Stress about the deviation does more damage than the deviation itself.

What Actually Matters

Strip away the noise, and body recomposition boils down to a handful of principles:

• Measure body composition (InBody or DEXA scan)
• Prioritize protein (1.6-2g per kg ideal body weight)
• Create a modest calorie deficit (100-300 calories below maintenance)
• Lift heavy, train close to failure
• Walk 10,000+ steps daily
• Eat real, whole foods
• Include carbohydrates strategically
• Don’t fear blood sugar spikes if you’re lean and active
• Focus on the 80%, not the 10%

Everything else—supplement timing, macro cycling, advanced periodization—is optimization for people who’ve already mastered the basics.

For everyone else? Start simple. Stay consistent. Build the motor before you polish the paint.

Sources

• Morton RW, et al. (2018) – Systematic review and meta-analysis of protein intake for resistance-trained individuals, British Journal of Sports Medicine
• Helms ER, et al. (2014) – Evidence-based recommendations for natural bodybuilding contest preparation, Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
• Schoenfeld BJ, Aragon AA (2018) – Dose-response relationship between resistance training and muscle hypertrophy
• Price WA (1939) – Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
• Masterjohn C (2009) – Vitamin K2 identification and historical context
• Lyon G (2023) – Forever Strong: A New, Science-Based Strategy for Aging Well