Reasonable Over Hardcore: Dev's Tips for a Healthy Lifestyle

Fernanda: Hi friends, welcome back to the Connectedness podcast. I'm Fernanda, your host and founder of Filled Cups.

This is the space where we explore what it means to grow, connect, trust ourselves, and show up authentically with each other. This podcast is all about navigating real life—messy, beautiful, and unpredictable—while leveling up in ways that actually matter. Whether it's health, creativity, relationships, or personal growth, we get into conversations that help us build a life that's full, not just busy.

Today hits on something I've been thinking a lot about: physical health. For a lot of people, especially when life gets chaotic, working out, eating well, and taking care of our bodies falls way down the list. But what if taking care of our physical health is one of the core pillars of a fulfilled life?

My guest today is Dev, someone I know from the dance world who is also an online personal trainer. He has built a system that helps busy professionals get real results without making fitness a full-time job. Dev, welcome to Connectedness!

Devone Smith: Thank you for having me, Fernanda. I'm happy to be here.

Fernanda: Can you start by sharing a bit about your fitness journey? You mentioned in your guide that you were overweight as a kid. How did that shape your approach today?

Devone Smith: Something scared me when I was eight years old. My mom took me to the doctor and found out I was pre-diabetic and very obese. Once my mom found out, my older brother tried to help by making me run, do push-ups, and do bodyweight movements, but I wasn't really losing weight.

It wasn't until my early twenties that I actually learned the science behind weight loss and fat loss. It came down to creating a calorie deficit on top of working out.

Once I learned that, I went from 195 pounds at 19 years old down to about 147 pounds a few years later. I'm currently 155 pounds, feel great, and my health markers are solid. From there, I made it my passion to help busy professionals—nurses, software engineers, accountants, real estate agents—get into their best shape and feel good about themselves.

Fernanda: When did it click for you that fitness had to be sustainable and not obsessive?

Devone Smith: It clicked through pattern recognition when I realized that most things people do to lose fat aren't sustainable. Maybe a small percentage can sustain keto or low-carb, but most people can't. Most people eventually return to eating the foods they enjoy.

Once I realized that people have to be able to eat the foods they love while getting in shape—without guilt and without eating feeling like a chore—that’s when it really clicked.

Fernanda: I struggle with this too because I enjoy indulging. Why do you think physical health is one of the first things people let go of when life gets hectic?

Devone Smith: Honestly, it's our stress hormone: cortisol. When we're highly stressed by our careers or outside activities, health drops off our radar.

Research shows that when someone is stressed by looming work deadlines, they are more likely to reach for pleasurable, calorie-dense foods as a coping mechanism to deal with that pressure.

Fernanda: When you're stressed, it becomes about convenience. It turns into a vicious cycle: the more stressed you get, the less you care for yourself, and the worse you feel.

You're a very fit guy, so how did you learn to avoid obsession in your own workouts?

Devone Smith: You have to enjoy the journey rather than obsessing over the destination. If you look forward to your daily meals and workouts, you can be much more patient about the results.

I tell people all the time: I don't want you training more than three days a week, and I don't want you lifting weights every day. You should be active daily, but you don't need to do bench presses or overhead presses every day. Give your body time to heal and repair, and you'll grow stronger naturally.

Most people mistakenly follow bodybuilding ideology, which isn't built for the everyday person. A lot of bodybuilders take performance-enhancing drugs that accelerate recovery, which is why people think they need to be in the gym five or six days a week. Everyday people need more rest and recovery.

Fernanda: So we don't need to be in the gym every single day? Two to three times a week is enough?

Devone Smith: Absolutely. When you do a heavy resistance session, muscle protein synthesis remains elevated for 48 to 72 hours post-workout. You get muscle-building and recovery benefits for up to three days after you train.

Fernanda: That makes me feel much better about going two or three times a week!

Devone Smith: You should still be active every day, just not doing heavy resistance workouts daily. The number-one tool I promote is walking—hitting 10,000 steps a day if you're trying to lose fat and maintain a calorie deficit.

Fernanda: I love walking, but what about dancing?

Devone Smith: Dancing is fantastic because it's a lower-intensity, enjoyable activity that burns calories without spiking your appetite. People rarely dread dancing the way they do running or jogging.

You have to genuinely enjoy the activity to sustain it. People often tell me they prefer running over walking because walking feels boring, but when I ask when they last ran, it was two weeks ago. Inconsistent effort isn't sustainable.

Fernanda: What do you say to someone who says, "I just don't have time to work out or eat healthy"?

Devone Smith: Can you find two hours a week to train your entire body? That's all it takes. You can do a full-body workout on Monday and another on Friday, focusing on chest one day and shoulders the next.

As for eating healthy: regardless of how busy you are, you still have to eat. Even if you don't have time to meal prep, there are simple 15-minute recipes, or you can outsource meal prep through services like Factor, CookUnity, or HelloFresh.

Fernanda: In your guide, you write that fitness should enrich your life, not consume it. What does that look like in practice?

Devone Smith: It goes right back to the three-day-a-week philosophy. You want fitness to build muscle and improve your health, but it shouldn't feel like a second job where you're trapped in a gym for two hours five days a week.

We have careers, families, and passions like our dance community. Your purpose in the gym isn't to mindlessly burn through endless repetitions; it's to get progressively stronger. A successful session simply means lifting slightly heavier or completing one or two more reps than last time.

Fernanda: I usually do thirty minutes of Zumba followed by fifteen to twenty minutes of weights. You told me a few months ago to prioritize free weights, but I'm terrible at keeping track—I'll count "one, two, three, nine, twelve, fifteen" and call it a set!

Devone Smith: To clarify: machines are fine as secondary movements for extra volume, but free weights should remain your primary metric for tracking strength.

Fernanda: How can someone make their training more effective if they tend to do the bare minimum during sets?

Devone Smith: You need sufficient intensity. A clear sign someone isn't training with enough intensity is if they can hold a casual conversation or browse their phone during a set.

Whether you're aiming for six to twelve reps, the effort should feel demanding enough that you couldn't speak mid-set even if you tried.

Fernanda: Your guide outlines several key strategies: calorie deficits made simple, a three-day strength split, walking for fat loss, and intermittent fasting with evening dessert. Can you explain your take on intermittent fasting and saving calories for dessert?

Devone Smith: Many people know intermittent fasting, but not the style popularized by Ori Hofmekler. Instead of rigid eating windows, his philosophy focuses on fasting for the first four to eight hours after waking up.

Rigid windows aren't practical. If your window closes at 9:00 PM but you're out dancing late and get hungry, are you just supposed to starve?

Instead, wake up and push your first meal to around lunchtime. Break your fast at noon with a modest, high-protein meal to power your afternoon workout, then have a substantial dinner with plenty of protein and carbs.

From there, allocate 15% to 20% of your daily calories to an evening treat. Having carbs at night actually promotes serotonin release, helping you fall asleep easier—which is huge when a calorie deficit leaves you restless.

Fernanda: That is such practical advice. When you have a lower daily calorie budget, knowing you can enjoy a real treat at night makes staying in a deficit much easier.

Devone Smith: Dessert doesn't even have to be sweets. It just needs to be something satisfying—a quesadilla, popcorn, fruit, or a 400-calorie bag of chips.

Fernanda: Let's do a quick rapid-fire round: What is your favorite high-protein snack?

Devone Smith: A Greek yogurt bowl: 2% plain Greek yogurt mixed with chocolate collagen powder and a tablespoon of peanut butter. Lately, I've been adding a tablespoon of pure maple syrup, which is natural and surprisingly rich in magnesium.

Fernanda: What is your least favorite fitness myth?

Devone Smith: The myth that carbohydrates make you fat. Carbs don't make you gain fat; being in a prolonged calorie surplus does.

People blame carbs because hyper-palatable snacks like pastries and chips are easy to overeat without feeling full. But carbs alone are never the culprit—it always comes down to total energy balance.

Fernanda: Where can listeners connect with you and find your guide?

Devone Smith: You can visit my blog at dkslifestylefitness.com and follow me on Instagram at @dkslifestylefitness.

Fernanda: I'll make sure both are linked in the show notes. Dev, thank you for sharing your expertise and reminding us that fitness can be structured, flexible, and sustainable.

To everyone listening: check out Dev's guide, stay curious, and take good care of your body. Until next time!