On today’s episode, Robb Wolf joins us to discuss his new book Wired to Eat, recent research, and his perspective on where the health and nutrition field is headed.
Welcome to episode 104 of the Fed+Fit Podcast. We publish a new episode every Monday — be sure to subscribe on iTunes and follow the show so you don’t miss future conversations.
Episode 104 Links
- Robb Wolf website: http://robbwolf.com/
- Robb Wolf on Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/dasrobbwolf/?hl=en
- Wired to Eat: available through major booksellers.
Episode 104 Sponsors
- Aaptiv — use promo code FEDANDFIT for a free 30-day trial.
- PrepDish — Fed and Fit listeners can try 2 free weeks of Paleo/gluten-free meal plans via PrepDish.
Episode 104 Transcription (excerpt)
Aaptiv sponsorship note: Aaptiv provides trainer-led, audio-based workouts with motivating music, accessible on the go. Fed and Fit listeners can get a 30-day free trial using code FEDANDFIT at signup.
Cassy Joy: Welcome back to the Fed and Fit podcast. I’m thrilled to have one of my nutrition heroes on the show: Robb Wolf. Robb is a former research biochemist, author of The Paleo Solution and the new Wired to Eat, and has served as a review editor for nutrition journals. He lives in Reno, Nevada, with his wife Nikki and daughters Zoe and Sagan. Thanks for joining us, Robb.
Robb Wolf: Huge honor to be here.
Cassy Joy: Your first book had a major influence on so many people. What have you been focused on since The Paleo Solution and what led to Wired to Eat?
Robb Wolf: A lot has happened: family, moving to Reno and getting involved with an innovative medical clinic that ran a pilot program with Reno police and firefighters. The clinic implemented a lower-carb paleo-style diet plus sleep and exercise adjustments, and the outcome suggested substantial health improvements and cost savings. Being involved in that experience reinforced for me that the paleo approach can be powerful in real clinical settings.
At the same time, I noticed the paleo template is a strong starting point but not always the final answer. Personalized nutrition is key: we don’t all respond to foods the same way. A paper from the Weizmann Institute highlighted huge individual variability in glucose responses to the same foods. My own informal testing with my wife showed markedly different blood glucose responses to the same carbs, even though she weighs much less than I do. That inspired part of Wired to Eat: understanding bioindividuality and helping people find what actually works for them.
Beyond physiology, I also saw many people who appeared successful externally but struggled internally. They experienced shame or self-blame when change felt hard, and often gave up. Part of my work has been normalizing that struggle — it’s not your fault that modern food environments are engineered to be addictive — and offering practical strategies to move forward without drama or self-loathing.
Cassy Joy: That evolution toward personalized nutrition and addressing the emotional side of eating has influenced a lot of practitioners and programs, including what I talk about in the Fed and Fit community: mindset, rest/hydration, food, and fitness. Why isn’t it ever only about food?
Robb Wolf: Our health systems (sleep, movement, community, food) are tightly interconnected. Poor sleep can increase craving for processed, hyperpalatable foods. Lack of social connection can be as damaging as smoking. Movement affects appetite and sleep. To make lasting change we often have to address several levers together. For some people small steps like swapping soda for water are a huge win; for others a more aggressive reset is needed. It’s about finding the right approach and then building momentum so healthy choices become easier.
Cassy Joy: Many listeners ask about cheat meals or cheat days. How do you view “cheating” when it comes to food?
Robb Wolf: The language of “cheating” brings heavy moral weight and shame that’s inappropriate for food choices. In human social biology, cheating has a specific meaning related to unfair advantage and social trust. Applying that word to eating causes unnecessary guilt. Planned “cheat days” are also problematic because the anticipation and planning can fuel addictive reward wiring — you end up spending the week waiting for the binge and reinforcing the habit. Instead, I recommend flexibility within an overall plan: allow a couple of meals per week to be more relaxed, and when you attend special events, enjoy a serving but avoid keeping problematic foods in the house where they become triggers. Focus on learning how foods affect you rather than moralizing choices.
Cassy Joy: That’s a helpful reframe. Your book also includes a practical 7-day carb test. Who should do it and how does it fit into the overall plan?
Robb Wolf: The 7-day carb test is best done after a 30-day reset that includes a triage process to establish where you are — subjective feelings and objective markers like waist-to-hip ratio, fasting glucose, A1C and blood pressure help determine insulin sensitivity. After resetting gut health and appetite regulation, you use an inexpensive glucometer to test a variety of carbohydrate foods over seven days to see your personal blood glucose responses. I designed it so people feel empowered to test rather than feeling restricted. However, if someone already clearly knows they’re carb-intolerant — for example they’re diabetic or have severe metabolic dysfunction — there’s no need to provoke a glucose spike to confirm what’s already known. For others, especially those feeling good and stable, the test can map the carbohydrate foods that work for their biology.
Cassy Joy: For practitioners who want to adopt personalized nutrition strategies, what’s the call to action?
Robb Wolf: Pay attention to the emotional context of eating and avoid blaming the person. Use empathetic language and tools that help clients understand their biology. The sections in Wired to Eat that address mindset, healthy relationship with food, and the 7-day carb test are especially useful for clinicians. Also, clinics can offer practical lab-based screening and clear, actionable reports so clients aren’t left confused by numbers. At the clinic I work with in Reno we’re building a referral program that provides screening, blood work, and a clear report practitioners can use to help clients plot their path forward.
Cassy Joy: Where can people find you and your ongoing experiments?
Robb Wolf: I’m at www.RobbWolf.com and on Instagram @DasRobbWolf, where I share ongoing self-experiments and practical insights from our household experiments with food and health.
Cassy Joy: Thank you so much, Robb. Wired to Eat is a thoughtful, practical step toward truly personalized nutrition, blending physiology and psychology in a way that helps people sustain change. For listeners, you can find the full transcript and resources at www.FedAndFit.com soon.
Robb Wolf: Thanks for having me.