If you think a weight-loss plan has to be miserable to work, consider this your proof it doesn’t. If you want a tactical breakdown of a cut that moved fast without suffering, this is it.

Christina breaks down her latest fat-loss phase: losing 17.36 lbs in just over 8 weeks, and why this cut felt easier and faster than any before. She covers exact numbers, what changed (and what didn’t), and the overall mindset shift: progress comes from precision and recoverability, not punishment.

If you want proof that “work smarter” can mean better results, listen in.

Topics Discussed

• Christina's fitness backstory: chronic binge eating, harsh body image, early competing (2016–2017), weight loss struggles, back injury, and 2023 prep realities
• The “failed” 2024 cut on high cardio/low cals—proof that more ≠ better
• Goals + timeline + context: what set this win up before the even hitting the deficit
• Identity over motivation, and why suffering is not a strategy
• Exact protocols: training, cardio, steps, sleep, meditation
• Training done right, strength trends + recovery anchors, and stress management,
• Nutrition at 100% compliance ALWAYS: consistent foods, proper timing, high-quality choices

Tune in if you want the play-by-play of a cut that worked because the build was precise, the inputs were consistent, and the strategy was intentionally boring.

Key Links:

📱 Christina's Instagram

💪 Cut & Conquer Instagram

📝 Coaching Application

🌍 Free FB Community

🌶️ Shop our Meal Prep Seasoning

Episodes Mentioned:

• How to Not Get FAT During Your Building Phase: Tips for Lean Muscle Growth Without Feeling “Bulky”

• Why I Gained Weight for 15 Months Straight

• The Inner Work of Fitness Transformations

• How to Eat for Weight Loss Without Ruining Your Metabolism

• Your Leaving GAINS on The Table in Training: Here’s Why (And How to Fix it)

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

A must-listen for your next building phase if you want to gain muscle while staying lean.

This episode is for those who are doing a reverse diet, about to build, or already in a growth phase and low-key panicking about the scale, their jeans fitting, or “getting bulky.”

Bella and I talk through what a real muscle-building phase looks like; the mindset, the training precision, and the nutrition structure it takes to add lean tissue without letting it turn into a sloppy bulk. We discuss why muscle growth is a long game, why it should be taken just as seriously (if not more) than a cut, and how to stay locked in when you’re not getting those fast, visible “I’m leaner!” wins.

Topics Discussed:

• Why muscle growth is slower than fat loss, and what that means for your expectations
• Top mistakes people make in a building phase
• Mindset blocks: scale going up, clothes fitting different, fearing feeling “bulky”
• Tracking strength, training intensity, and pushing to failure
• Exercise selection for max muscle growth vs “just working out”
• High reps vs low reps vs half reps - Actual physiology behind rep ranges
• Nutrition in a build: timing, quality, and why “just eat more” isn’t a muscle-growth strategy
• Fasted training in a build (and why we don’t love it)
• Digestion, enzymes, and making sure you can actually absorb the food you’re eating
• Creatine: what it does, what it doesn’t do, and why you should take it
• How PEDs and influencers can make bad training appear good
• When to cut vs when to keep building, and why chasing constant weight loss stalls your physique
• The benefit of a coach during a build (accountability, photos, adjusting food, keeping intensity high)

Key Links:

📱 Christina's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knifina/

💪 Cut & Conquer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cutandconquerfitness/

📝 Coaching Application: https://cutandconquer.typeform.com/CQA-application

🌍 Free FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weightsandwellness/

🌶️ Shop our Meal Prep Seasoning: https://healthydevil.ca/collections/all

Episodes Referenced:

How to Not Get FAT During Your Building Phase: Tips for Lean Muscle Growth Without Feeling “Bulky”:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/1N4zCPaSwfGddwmB3T3O56?si=taEKQ7f-T7CXnaaQW_j2sA

Why I Gained Weight for 15 Months Straight:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/0oBmilMC9EaXzUL5RTkrgN?si=zhF-7c9VQRWjotSVEhEvLg

Cutting vs Bulking - Which Should YOU Do First?:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/61p9b8jmToiP6Db3nrK71X?si=yerbgLicTeG7Meq1HShz4A

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

If you want to build lean muscle without looking bulky, this one’s for you! Especially if seeing the number on the scale go up freaks you out! 😬

In this episode, I break down exactly how I ran my best growth season ever! Including important tips for building muscle with minimal fat gain, and how this set me up for the easiest fat loss phase of my life so far.

I walk through the actual protocols I used this year to structure my growth phase to bias gains toward lean tissue. I also myth-bust “toning” reps and talk training frequency, cardio, steps, supplementation, and the data to track so you can avoid unnecessary fat gain or feeling “too bulky.”

• What a building phase is and why trying to “lose fat and build muscle at the same time” stalls most women
• “Toning” misinformation on light-weights/high-reps vs heavy-weights/low-reps
• Taking the build as seriously as the cut: programming, progression, and recovery
• Strength tracking and exercise selection for hypertrophy
• Daily scale data: using trends and averages (not single weigh-ins) to steer the surplus
• Sleep, digestion, and bloodwork: the unsexy levers that move everything
• Training frequency: why I’ve switched to 4 lifting days/week
• Phase timing: how to align your reverse/build/cut with real life so you actually succeed

📱 Christina's Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/knifina/

💪 Cut & Conquer Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cutandconquerfitness/

📝 Coaching Application: https://cutandconquer.typeform.com/CQA-application

🌍 Free FB Community: https://www.facebook.com/groups/weightsandwellness/

🌶️ Shop our Meal Prep Seasoning: https://healthydevil.ca/collections/all

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.