S3 Ep24. The Heart of Better Nutrition with David Arguez

In this episode of ABWilson’s Heart of the Matter, host Aderonke Bademosi Wilson sits down with David Arguez, a Miami-based nutritionist and restaurant consultant whose work blends science, service and a deeply human approach to helping people and businesses thrive. 

David shares how adaptability, empathy and resilience shape his professional philosophy and the systems he has built to support individuals, families and restaurant partners. He explains how his work goes far beyond nutrition advice, offering a thoughtful framework that combines portion standardization, nutrition labeling and practical guidance designed to create better outcomes for  consumers and businesses.

David also opens up about his personal journey and the values that keep him grounded. He speaks candidly about learning to balance authority with approachability, the importance of working with experts and the role of self-care in sustaining long-term energy and focus. 

From martial arts and piano to travel, family and a commitment to lifelong learning, David reflects on the habits that help him stay well while serving others. His story is a reminder that meaningful health work is not just about numbers but about relationships, trust and respecting each person’s unique palate, pace and goals.

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Transcript

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:02.958)

Welcome to another edition of ABWilson's Heart of the Matter, a podcast that uses overwhelmingly positive questions to learn about our guests, where every episode uncovers extraordinary stories of triumph, growth, and empowerment. Greetings from Bermuda. Hi, I'm Aderonke Bademosi Wilson. My guest on today's show is David Arguez. David is resilient, empathetic, adaptable. David, welcome to the show.

David Arguez (00:37.592)

Thank you so much, AB, for having me on the Heart of the Matter podcast. I know we have more than a few things to discuss. And our preliminary conversation started off very interesting before even hopping onto this show. So I'm very excited.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (00:56.974)

So I'm going to cut you, David. My name is Aderonke. I meant to tell you that before. So let's go back to me welcoming you. My name is Aderonke. Nobody calls me A.B.

David Arguez (01:04.118)

Okay. Okay, let's do that.

David Arguez (01:12.278)

Yeah, sorry about that. That's how Dr. Campos introduced you, but I like Aderonke better. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:18.054)

Yeah, I saw that and I meant to tell you that earlier. Yes, okay.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:27.032)

My guest on today's show is David Arguez. He is resilient, empathetic, and adaptable. David, welcome to the show.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:56.506)

David, you've described yourself as adaptable. What does that look like? What does that feel like? Tell me about being adaptable.

David Arguez (02:04.578)

Well, being able to pivot, right? Depending on what needs to be addressed at the moment. And for context, I'm a nutritionist and restaurant consultant. I was fortunate to have been named Miami's Nutritionist of the Year back in 2021. And yes, you used a word that's very important to not only me, but my company's culture, which is empathy — being empathetic towards people's palates, being empathetic towards their needs in regards to their food. So just knowing how to put yourself in the other person's shoes, and whether it's a staff member who works for me, whether it's a member doing our private nutrition program, whether it's a restaurant partner that cares more about the cost savings that we offer versus the nutrition labeling to help them get compliant with the FDA menu labeling rule — which is something we're going to expand on later during the show — that is how we have to be adaptable. Myself and the entire team, really, we have to figure out what the needs of the particular individual or organization are and then adapt based on that.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (03:31.224)

So what is a restaurant consultant? What do you do?

David Arguez (03:35.768)

So we do portion range standardization for chains. What this means is that restaurants will typically — if they haven't done this kind of work before — serve, I'll give you an example, a five-ounce steak in one dish, and then serve that same dish to another table and it'll be eight ounces. So the margin leakage and the profit loss that occurs by not tightening portion ranges is massive. It could amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars, sometimes over a million, depending on the number of locations per year. So we help them first standardize their portion ranges. We have a team of executive chefs and other consultants that also work with me to help do this kind of work. And once the portions are standardized and we save them money, then we tell them, okay, now we're going to handle your nutrition labeling, which, yes, is important for compliance. But the reason why we include nutrition labeling in our offerings is to increase nutrition transparency for consumers. Since right now, at the majority of restaurants we go to, we have no idea how many calories we're consuming, how many grams of protein, grams of carbs, grams of fat. So for consumers to have that information readily available, and for the restaurant to be proud to be one of the pioneers — since this is relatively new — only chains with 20 or more locations are the ones who typically implement these nutrition labeling guidelines set out by the FDA here in the United States. So yeah, it's rewarding work. It's tedious. It's labor-intensive. But it's rewarding because we help restaurants save money and we help consumers enjoy more transparency, especially if it's a diabetic person or someone who really has to watch their nutrients. That's really important for us and for the restaurant partners that we work with.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (05:56.198)

So do you find that portions have increased over the years or are they decreasing? Tell me how that looks from your perspective.

David Arguez (06:07.342)

So the protein portions are absolutely decreasing. I can give you one example that comes to mind immediately. Chipotle — they used to be a little bit more lax with the amount of chicken or steak that they provided with each bowl or burrito. Now they've gotten very strict, specifically because of portion range standardization. But the issue with the nutrition labeling in relation to the portion range standardization is that a lot of the nutrient figures are off. I just had breakfast this morning at a place that had an egg white omelet listed at 180 calories. And I was actually doing the nutrition math, because I eat, sleep, and breathe nutrition — for those who know me. And I said, hmm, this is a little bit closer to 220 calories instead of 180, but they were more or less in a ballpark range. I'm going to have to go back to that particular restaurant, since they are a chain and they do want to, I'm sure, present themselves accordingly, as they're very well known here in Miami. I'm not going to say who they are, but that's someone we most likely will work with in the future to make those nutrition facts more accurate. And yes, the portion ranges do affect the accuracy of the nutrition facts tremendously. So that's why it's typically the first step. When we work with a restaurant partner, we standardize their portion ranges. So we bring it from, let's say, a five-to-eight-ounce salmon portion, and we'll tighten it to six and a half to seven and a half ounces. And it's better for the consumer in terms of accuracy when it comes to their nutrition tracking. And it's also better for the restaurant because they want to increase their bottom line, be able to pay their staff more, and be able to continue with their expansion. So it's a win-win-win all around.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (08:21.306)

Thank you, David. This is really interesting. I'm going to come back to this in a little bit. Another descriptor that you used is resilient. Tell me about being resilient.

David Arguez (08:34.005)

Well, that is the main secret sauce, right? Not so secret. And the reason for that is because we typically think that in order to reach a certain level of success, it requires a lot of motivation, a lot of discipline. But Aderonke, you and I both know that that is the baseline, right? Because how many good, skilled, and talented people do we know who put forth effort towards a project and then don't end up achieving their desired outcome? So I said resilient because it is the baseline. That is the bare minimum that I can be for my staff, for my restaurant partners, for the individuals and families that rely on me for performance coaching, which is another service that we offer. So we have to set the example. Our clients come to us looking for solutions and they want to work with somebody who is not only knowledgeable but dedicated and caring. How do we show that we care? Not with our words, not with our branding — even though both of our brands are pretty beautiful, if I'm being honest with you — but by actually doing the work, meeting the deadlines, and respecting the turnover timing estimates that we give our clients and partners.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (10:07.458)

And you touched on it, but let's look at empathetic. What does that look like for you?

David Arguez (10:15.854)

Great question. So I used to be obsessed with only the outcomes — the FDA menu labeling compliance assistance, our individual members (since we do weight loss and fatigue support, nutrition coaching), our members reaching their target weights. But I was neglecting the human aspect of coaching and consulting, which is actually realizing, wow, this person is putting forth money and, more importantly, time towards their desired milestone that they're in the process of achieving. And yes, because this is co-execution, typically nothing falls through the cracks on our side. But on the member side or on the restaurant partner side, things are going to slip through the cracks. They're going to forget to complete certain tasks. They're going to forget to do certain things, and that's perfectly fine, because that's when I'll come in — whether in person or on a call — and I'll actually walk them through every single step that they have not yet completed and simplify everything for them, versus just sending them a form and having them complete it on their own. That's really important to me: for them to know that there's no judgment here. If you're a step behind, if you're half a step behind, it happens to the best of us. Let's get together, let's regroup, and let's keep moving forward together without any judgment whatsoever.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (11:58.406)

Thank you, David. I'd like our listeners to learn a little bit more about you. Please share three interesting things about yourself that our listeners may not know and your friends will be surprised to learn.

David Arguez (12:14.286)

So one — we already touched on it — my profession. I was named the Nutritionist of the Year. I've also begun doing restaurant consulting recently, even though we've already done a couple of jobs and our partners have been happy with that. So one, I always like to start with my work since that's my primary focus in my life right now. Two, I do have Cuban and Jewish heritage, even though I consider myself a little bit more multicultural because I'm based in Miami. I was born and raised here. And it's so much fun trying different cuisines, hearing the different languages, learning about how the world is, right? Because we can spend a whole lifetime traveling and we'll never get to know all the world's cultures, all the cuisines. There's always more to learn. There's always more to do. And lastly, I practice both martial arts and I play the piano a little bit. I'm not going to tell your listeners that I'm an expert, because by no means am I an expert in either of these two activities. But I do have my instructors, who are very dedicated and very patient with me because they know the heavy workload that I'm dealing with. And it's just been a pleasure to learn from both of them — from my martial arts instructor and my piano teacher — because it's important to take breaks, right? Despite me wanting to always focus on the wellbeing of our members and restaurant partners and staff, they even tell me to take it easy sometimes. And it's important to have other extracurricular activities so that we don't just become one-dimensional. That was happening to me at one point — I became extremely one-dimensional and didn't have anything else going on in my life. And now I've added these two activities that I'm really enjoying.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (14:36.406)

Why were you drawn to martial arts in the first place? What attracted you to that area?

David Arguez (14:44.108)

That's a good question. So going back to the traveling — I like to travel. I like to go to South America. And so from a self-defense standpoint and a risk management standpoint, I thought, well, if I'm going to dedicate my free time, or if I'm going to make time for any sort of extracurricular activity, it needs to be something functional. Something that I could use, that will be useful for me. So God forbid if there's ever a robbery attempt when I'm in Brazil or Colombia or in any country at all — it could happen everywhere, anywhere. It doesn't have to be in South America. It could happen here in Miami, or anywhere in the States. But for risk management purposes, and also because of the benefits that I've experienced that I wasn't planning on — from a mental standpoint and a confidence standpoint — I walk into every meeting, every podcast, every seminar confident that the people in the room with me, or the person that I'm having a conversation with, are going to benefit. And that is the goal: to give as much as we can, and we will receive by default when we live this way.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (16:16.934)

Thank you. Can you tell us about a recent accomplishment or success that you're particularly proud of?

David Arguez (17:21.963)

It was rewarding because people applied the steps right away. We had about 40 or 50 people in attendance. We packed the room. Typically the chamber events don't sell out the way that our events sold out. So the outcomes after the event were very solid. A lot of people not only took action and started noticing a difference in their energy, but they also booked initial consultations with me and with Dr. Campos, who has her own program for executive psychology. So that was really good to see — everyone getting enthusiastic about health and productivity and using these more modern approaches when it comes to nutrition and psychology.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (18:14.48)

So what kind of guidance would you give to an executive who's busy, who may not have time to eat? Because a lot of times you're going from meeting to meeting, you're troubleshooting, you're getting things sorted out, and food may be the last thing on your mind until you're hungry. And then it's like, just give me something to eat. What kind of guidance do you give to somebody like that?

David Arguez (18:40.643)

That's a great question, and hopefully your listeners can apply this information right away. So anything that is individually packaged works well — like individually packaged guacamole snack cups. Bread slices, depending on the kind of bread; of course, we know that influences health a lot, knowing which one to choose. And then even fruit that has its own wrapping, the way that nature intended it. Tangerines, bananas — those are fruits that require no prep. We can just put them in our pockets, put them in a lunchbox, take them with us. But really, Aderonke, it's all about knowing what our nutrient benchmarks and nutrient thresholds are, because our total daily nutrient intake and our total daily calorie intake matters more than our individual food decisions. So the reason why these executives pack their tangerines, their bananas, their guacamole snack cups — a specific example I shared during the seminar was Royo. That's the name of the brand. There are many similar brands; I don't endorse any of them, but this one happens to be very good nutrition-wise, so that's why I always bring it up. It has 80 calories for a very big bagel. It could be repurposed — so if people want to have the bagel in the traditional way with cream cheese and smoked salmon, that's something they could do. Or they could also have it as a sandwich in many different ways: an egg sandwich, a ham and cheese sandwich, or they could put the guacamole on top of the bagel with maybe a fried egg and some Parmesan cheese. Get creative with it. The amount of flexibility that we have when it comes to respecting our palates — when we're tracking our foods and our health metrics — it's really rewarding and quite frankly liberating to be able to squeeze in the desserts and still feel our best, just by approaching food in a more strategic way.

David Arguez (20:56.305)

I think it's great, because in terms of energy people feel the results right away. And then in regards to body composition — which is what our bodies are made of: muscle mass, body fat mass, total body water, and minerals — that also improves with nutrient tracking. People typically ask me, "David, what's the number one tip, or what are two or three tips that you would give listeners right now that they can implement right away?" It's just knowing what your nutrient benchmarks and thresholds should be, and then tracking accordingly, and eating food sets that will help you remain within those nutritional parameters. The setup initially is tedious, but once we know our numbers and how to reach them, it becomes almost automatic. That's why I've named the system that we've developed the Macro Intelligent Nourishment System — specifically for that reason, because systems have preset steps with very little variation. If A occurs, B follows. If B occurs, C follows. And just having the program so clearly scoped and all the steps so clearly defined really makes it simple for people. So that's the number one thing. And not to jump from program to program — I was going to discuss this a little later during the show, but I'll mention it now: I'm working with a personal trainer, and I'm also working with a performance physician specializing in physical therapy, mobility, and different areas for athletes. And I spoke to both of them and asked, "Hey, are you sure your programs are not going to conflict with one another's?"

David Arguez (23:23.763)

And they both confirmed that there is no conflict. I'm working with the coach more on the bodybuilding side — his name is Rayl Vanderpool, a great guy, owner of Z-Form Fitness. And then Dr. Diana Solaris, who is my performance physician, actually discovered that there is 98% asymmetry between my legs. So my left leg is significantly stronger than my right leg. And it's just things like this that we overlook, because we're so caught up in our day-to-day. I would have never imagined that there was any asymmetry in the strength of my legs. But because of her technology and her tools, and because that's what she specializes in, I was able to discover that. So life is a learning journey, right?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (24:21.318)

So David, sorry — one of your legs is stronger than the other, so you have to strengthen the one that's slightly weaker?

David Arguez (24:32.905)

Yes. So she gave me specific exercises for that — different things like step-ups. I don't want to repeat the names of all the exercises because I may botch many of them. But yeah, she does have me doing my homework and seeing her once a week. And this is something that's being addressed. Right now she knows that I'm in the optimization phase. Nothing hurts; nothing's wrong with me. But if I want to be the best version of David, I know that I need these specialists and these experts in my corner. Because as much as I like to think that I know certain things, I don't have all the answers. So that's why I go to them and rely on them for their areas of expertise.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (25:25.944)

Okay, thank you. Please tell us about a time when you made a difference in another person's life. What were the circumstances? Paint a picture for me.

David Arguez (25:37.007)

So the most memorable one that comes to mind is Carrie Gonzalez. She's a 67-year-old grandmother and she's very public about her transformation. She loves when I bring it up because she knows how much it inspires others to also take action with their health and their lifespans. She was not able to climb a flight of stairs when she initially started.

David Arguez (26:13.227)

After just 10 months, she lost 53 pounds. She did this with chronic arthritis. So she wasn't able to work out as much as I would have liked her to — going back to empathy and putting myself in her shoes and acknowledging how much pain she would feel. So we had to do this primarily with just her nutrition. And now she's climbing stairs. She's able to walk a few blocks.

David Arguez (26:52.779)

And she's still moving along, still making progress with her desired milestone. But the difference is night and day. We've all picked up or attempted to pick up a 50 or 55-pound dumbbell at the gym. We know how heavy that is. So removing that amount of weight off a person's frame is very impressive, and her execution was flawless. But that's originally who the program was designed for — adults over 50, since they're the ones who need it the most. And then also petite women, because their basal metabolic rates, or the amount of calories they burn while at rest, are significantly lower than the rest of the population. That's who the performance program was first intended for. Now I've opened it up to executives and a few other demographics, because I've seen how well they do on it and how much they value it. Because of course, if there's a monetary ROI, executives are going to hop on any program that's going to make them more productive and help them think clearly and meet those deadlines on time. So that's why, when we initially had interest from that group, I said, you know what, this is something I can incorporate into the program. And it's great. But the most memorable cases are always the seniors, the women who start off with food anxiety and a little insecurity about the way they look, and just seeing their confidence build, and seeing how they become more and more emotionally stable as their physiques change. Because our physical selves are a reflection of who we are inside, right? At least that's the way that most people see it. So just getting them to detach emotionally at the beginning and to see nutrition, food sets, and body composition metrics as data — without getting emotional about it, without feeling guilty — just removing that guilt, removing that negative feeling towards ourselves, is very important. Because if we look at what nutrition is — and I'm going to expand on this a little bit later — it's math and logistics. That's what nutrition is, if we were to simplify it into two terms.

David Arguez (29:18.981)

Math and logistics. And getting them to see nutrition and food sets and their body composition metrics as data without getting emotional about it, without feeling guilty — just removing that guilt, removing that negative feeling towards ourselves, is very important. Because if we look at what nutrition is, it's math and logistics. That's what nutrition is if we were to simplify it in two simple terms.

Math and Logistics.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (30:07.152)

Where does the logistics come in? Is that the movement? Explain logistics to me.

David Arguez (30:15.055)

Solid question, because the word logistics by itself can sound a little ambiguous. So that's knowing when to prep our meals, knowing how to prep our meals more efficiently, knowing what decisions to make at restaurants, how we should speak to the servers, whether or not we should have pre-planned scripts to ask staff to make our meals more trackable — by asking the chef —

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (30:49.542)

Sorry, David — can you do that? Can you go to a restaurant and say, "I need you to just put a teaspoon of oil in this, no sugar"? Can you be that prescriptive in a restaurant?

David Arguez (30:53.663)

Yeah.

David Arguez (31:05.263)

Absolutely. Some of them do not like it at all. Others actually take pride in accommodating. It all depends on where you are. So for example, in Italy, they're not going to do that, because we know how Italians are about their food. But here in Miami, absolutely. And many of them — some, again, do not like it. And we have to know: at French restaurants, they're less likely to accommodate when it comes to these things; at other restaurants, they're more likely. So just knowing how to ask for these meal adjustments is very important. But typically the workaround is: if their nutrition facts are listed online already, that removes the need to ask for any meal adjustments whatsoever, because the nutrition facts are already publicly available. So we can look at the amount of protein, carbohydrates, fats, fiber, saturated fat, sodium, and potassium in these meals and factor it into our daily intake. That eliminates the need to ask for adjustments. So there are many ways to skin a cat.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (32:26.278)

So are you finding — I'm not a person who will go online and look at a menu beforehand. I've done it a few times, but that's not my favorite thing to do. I like getting there and being overwhelmed by the menu and reading out what I am and am not going to eat. So are you finding that more and more restaurants are putting their nutritional values on their website?

David Arguez (32:53.499)

Now they are, because the FDA made it a rule. They made it a requirement for restaurants to comply with their nutrition labeling and be more transparent with consumers. But the problem is that not all restaurants are aware that this rule exists. So that's where we come in, and that's where we're creating awareness about the FDA menu labeling rule and how restaurants should comply with it — one, for liability reasons, and two, because of the savings they get from standardizing their portion ranges in order to make the nutrition facts accurate. So yes, a lot of these restaurants are implementing nutrition labeling, and that's why we got into this line of work at the right moment. Because now is when — so the rule was actually implemented on my birthday: May 7th, 2018.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (34:02.266)

Your birthday's coming up. Happy birthday soon. But your birthday will be gone by the time the show airs!

David Arguez (34:10.551)

Okay, well, I'm sure that we'll celebrate on another occasion. We'll e-celebrate, right? With a glass of wine or something. But yeah, that's when the rule took effect. And for eight years, these restaurant chains have had a sufficient amount of time to get compliant, to standardize their portion ranges, and to have — whether it's an in-house compliance team or whether they'd rather outsource that to a company like us — the time to get it together. Of course, with the amount of fires they have to put out on a daily basis, with everything on their plate, I don't blame the ones who have not been able to do this kind of work. But if they have 20 or more locations, they're required to have their nutrition labeling done. If they have fewer than 20, they do it voluntarily — because they actually find that it brings them more business, since every day more and more people are tracking. And since we know that the alternative weight loss solutions now on the market are not as effective long term, people are still doing those methods and then gaining the weight back once they finish and having to scramble again to find another solution. People have found nutrition tracking and education to be a permanent solution. So restaurants are realizing that, and they're seeing the trends in consumer spending and how wellness spending is rising. People are spending more money on their health. So if somebody is working with a nutritionist, a health coach, or a performance physician, that individual is going to want nutrition information available.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (36:48.72)

So David, going back to your story of Carrie Gonzalez, what were the key strengths and qualities you relied on to make a difference?

David Arguez (37:02.639)

Because your listeners can handle it, I'll say it. So number one: math. We spoke briefly about nutrition math. There's a formula that states that every 3,500 calories is equal to one pound. So by figuring out what her resting metabolic rate was — the amount of calories she was burning while at rest — and adding her energy expenditure (the amount of calories she was burning while active), then figuring out her maintenance calories (the amount she would have to eat in order to neither gain nor lose weight), we simply divided those 3,500 calories by seven, since there are seven days in a week. That gave us 500. We subtracted 500 from her total daily calorie expenditure, including both her resting and active calories. And that's how we figured out her ideal calorie range. That controlled her weight and the pace at which she lost it initially. What helped her remain on a good path — continuing to burn the resting calories she needed as the weight came off, continuing to preserve her muscle mass — was all her nutrient distribution. Not just the calories, but what those calories are made of. Are they protein? Are they carbohydrates? Are they fat? Also, what kind of protein? What's the amino acid profile? What kind of carbohydrates — simple, complex, or fibrous? Not many people know this, but vegetables are carbohydrates.

David Arguez (39:09.233)

And in terms of math, tracking everything is so, so important. Tracking every single metric. Second, we discussed the logistics — making sure she understood what was a realistic timeframe for her to execute her breakfast before she had to go to work and drop her grandchildren off at school. Figuring out which lunches and dinners were realistic for her to stick with, whether at restaurants, at home, or at a family member's house. Helping her work through the holidays — people typically gain one to two pounds during the holidays from one year to the next, and when that happens over 20 or 30 years, it's a significant amount of cumulative weight gain.

David Arguez (40:15.959)

I think it may be closer to two to four pounds, because of the way people eat here in Miami. I don't know how they eat in Bermuda, but people love to eat here. And that's why, if our members are going to do well with this, this has to be a plan for foodies, for people who like to go out, for people who are social and family-oriented. Those are all things that we take into consideration. And going back to empathy: care is a component of empathy. Respecting her palate, respecting her cultural cuisine — she's Cuban American, so she loves her rice, her beans, her plantains, all those delicious foods that are very readily available here in Miami. Helping her work those in, in the exact amounts she needed to eat.

And it was very fulfilling. Very fulfilling. She wished me a happy Easter this year. And I wouldn't be surprised if she wishes me a happy birthday this week, because she and I stay in touch. Going back to prioritizing relationships: these are relationships that we're going to keep for life because we had an impact on one another. Yes, I helped her with her weight loss journey. I helped her regain her mobility and go to her grandchildren's sporting events and baseball games and cheer them on from the stands. That is priceless for her. But what's priceless for me is that she trusted me initially when she didn't know who to go to. She was scrambling for a solution. And she said — these were her words, not mine — "David, I need you to brainwash me and tell me what I need to be eating." Ever since she used that term, I've been using it on podcasts and in other places. But yeah, what's really interesting is that each individual is so unique — they have a unique palate, unique tastes, unique schedules.

David Arguez (42:43.377)

So learning how to work around their specific obstacles while maintaining our systems and protocols — because I'm all about systems and automation, and whatever can be turned into a template, we turn into a template, because if not there aren't enough hours in the day to do absolutely everything — but there are just certain things, particularly the meal plans (or what we call master menus), that can't be templates. Because everybody's nutritional needs are different, everybody's tastes are different, everybody eats at different restaurants, and their locations are different. So we work with people in New York, in Atlanta, mainly in the United States. I have worked with people in Europe and in other places as well. But yeah, it's great. I have fun doing what I do.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (43:54.87)

Excellent. Thank you, David. Can you recall a situation where you overcame a challenge that led to personal growth? What did you learn from that experience?

David Arguez (44:07.115)

Yes. So balancing authority with approachability. Because when we rebranded last year, I started dressing differently and approaching my work differently, and this trickled down to the other members of the staff. People started to perceive me as the strictest nutritionist in the industry, and I thought that this was great, because we achieved a 100% compliance rate internally with our members. Everybody was seeing results, everybody was doing what they had to do. And I thought that was due to me being rigid about the rules. But going back to the relationships and putting ourselves in other people's shoes, I realized that, okay, five to ten percent of the market absolutely adores this and says they haven't seen anything like it. But the idea from the very beginning was always to help the masses — not just to do this for executives or the people who can access this kind of program financially.

David Arguez (45:57.999)

How to set the right nutrient benchmarks and thresholds and actually apply the first steps of the framework without even having to come and see me — that's something I wanted to make possible. So I started doing a lot of volunteer events, speaking at churches, and just giving value wherever I go, so that people know: okay, he's obviously not going to reveal proprietary information, and we respect him for that, but he's giving us a lot. And the general knowledge when it comes to nutrition I can share freely. So the benchmarks set by the USDA in terms of nutrients and thresholds — I'll give you an example. Right now all the influencers online are talking about protein, how we should eat more protein and how protein is essential for human health. And while it is an extremely important macronutrient — there are only three macronutrients: protein, carbohydrates, and fat — and of course all of them are very important, there is such a thing as too much protein. The biomarker I've observed being affected in one of our former members was his kidney function — his kidney biomarkers were actually out of range because he was consuming excessive protein.

David Arguez (47:57.665)

Our strategy when it comes to eating has to be balanced, or things can unfortunately go south quickly. Potassium is another example — that's something that can affect the kidneys if we take in over 4,700 milligrams. But if we don't get enough of it and we have an excess of sodium, that's where I've observed hypertension occurs. And the studies also back up the fact that there's a relationship between our potassium-to-sodium ratio and our blood pressure. So these are serious issues. A lot of times we tend to think that nutrition and fitness are just about improving the way that we look. But if we can actually go to the doctor and receive good news from our primary care physician after implementing a few nutritional adjustments — adjustments that still respect our palates and still meet our foodie standards, because we know that food is delicious and it's a gift that we have to enjoy and not reject — then that is the best of all worlds.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (49:16.972)

So David, thank you. Thank you for the maths and a little bit of the logistics of food and nutrition, and at a depth that I have not gone into before. It's been really interesting to listen and learn. You are listening to ABWilson's Heart of the Matter podcast.

Welcome back to ABWilson's Heart of the Matter. My guest today is David Arguez. David, we've talked in detail about nutrition. You've given us an example of a woman that you helped lose 53 pounds. You've described nutrition as a combination of maths and logistics. And you've talked about what it means to be resilient, empathetic, and adaptable. What self-care practices or strategies help you to sustain your energy and motivation while navigating your journey?

David Arguez (50:25.391)

These are just phenomenal questions. So number one is food, because we know energy availability is directly correlated with staying in a set calorie range. So whether I have 2,300 calories on one day or 2,600 calories on another, I'll never go two days in a row with a large calorie fluctuation, because that's when my energy drops. Performance movement — I mentioned that I'm working with Dr. Diana Solaris and Rayl Vanderpool. That's really important. I've noticed a difference in my energy and productivity because I have them to hold me accountable. If it was up to me, I think bodybuilding is the most boring thing in the world, if I'm being honest, but they make it fun. Having somebody there with me ensuring that we're hitting those milestones — when we don't achieve those milestones, that's when motivation drops and we forget our why. We forget why we're working so hard, why we're making certain sacrifices.

David Arguez (51:55.137)

So those are my three: food, performance movement — I say performance movement because it's not simply walking or doing a couple of squats at home; it's about identifying the deficiencies of the human body, the same way that I have my health team — and forward thinking. It's funny that I have a health team now because I feel like an athlete or someone of that caliber. But yeah, that's what it takes nowadays.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (52:54.576)

How might sharing your experiences of success and growth create a positive ripple effect in your family, community, and the world?

David Arguez (53:05.689)

So it's already created a good ripple effect in my family, because my mother in particular now hops on the bike every single morning. She bought a stationary bike. She loves it. She's tracking her macros. She's actually learned a lot on her own. I don't know why she hasn't come to me for more advice, but I'm surprised she's been able to figure out the majority of the steps by herself. So that's great. And in terms of the community, having more nutrition transparency for restaurant consumers, and then the nutrition education — I would like to speak to more groups. I would like to enlighten more individuals about what high-ROI steps we can follow that will actually make a difference with our body compositions — in other words, our body fat percentages — and also with our blood work. What are some documented cases of individuals who have improved in these two areas after implementing the Macro Intelligent Nourishment System?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (54:46.67)

Thank you. And what exciting opportunities do you see on the horizon? How do these opportunities align with your passions and aspirations?

David Arguez (55:04.587)

I would like to help the USDA update their food and nutrient database — a database where if you look up, say, salmon, it'll tell you how much protein a three-ounce salmon serving has, how many carbohydrates, how many fats. It's considered to be the most credible nutrient database in the world: the USDA Food Data Central database. And the issues I see with it are: one, it's not user-friendly, and two, there's no version of it for the general population. So if I log on and I see the different forms of omega-3 — and I see that salmon contains this much ALA, this much EPA, this much DHA — I understand it because this is what I do for a living. But the average person does not, and we shouldn't expect them to. If we see, for example, arachidonic acid or linoleic acid, the average person doesn't know what those are. Those are forms of omega-6, which we know is inflammatory for the body. If our omega-3-to-6 ratio is off, omega-3 has the opposite effect — omega-3 is anti-inflammatory. So by simplifying this database and making it more user-friendly, that would encourage the average everyday person to log on and get more curious about foods. But even on nutrition.gov, they have generalized meal plans, generalized guidance, generalized recipes — but there's no nutrition math education anywhere on the website. So just getting more involved at the federal and state level with these government bodies, I think, would help. But we'll see, because now they've just flipped the food pyramid upside down and there's a lot of hype around that. I don't think that addresses the root issue. Did you hear about that?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (57:22.384)

So you said to flip the triangle upside down — the food pyramid. Because a couple of months ago, I was at a conference and a gentleman gave a presentation. He talked about what the food pyramid was like maybe in the early 1980s or '90s compared to what it is today. So I'm hearing something new now. What has happened?

David Arguez (57:47.587)

They've flipped the food pyramid upside down. Now grains and carbohydrates are at the very top, meaning the least amount of food we should consume is from that group. And they're encouraging people to eat more fats now — more butter. This is not what I encourage people to do, but this is what the current administration encourages.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (58:17.008)

So at the bottom before, it was grains and fruit and vegetables, right? Am I right?

David Arguez (58:22.229)

Yes. In my book, they're both wrong. Both versions are wrong because there's no math involved. Yeah.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (58:28.312)

Wow. So David, if you had to write the book, what would it look like?

David Arguez (58:34.543)

So it depends, right? If it's a petite woman who wants to lose weight, then lean proteins should be her most abundant food option: chicken, fish, shrimp, turkey, lean ground beef — anything that is lean, meaning high protein and lower in fat. And of course, to meet the fat goal: women should typically get 50 grams of fat or more per day. That is what I recommend to my private members, and they do really well with this number from both a productivity standpoint and a hormonal balance standpoint. So avocados, hummus, and some of the higher-volume fats — because the problem with fats is that one tablespoon of olive oil, which is very nutritious (we know all the benefits olive oil has for the heart and other areas of the body), has 120 calories. So if we overdo even nutritious foods like olive oil or avocado oil — again, extremely nutritious — it could put us above our calorie threshold and cause stagnation in our weight loss. So going back to the food pyramid: I would do lean proteins. I would do avocado and olive-oil-based hummus with very low tahini to reduce the omega-6. I would do —

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:00:20.614)

So a lot of chickpeas then — a lot more chickpeas than normal?

David Arguez (01:00:25.315)

Yes, so it's good that you beat me to it, because legumes in particular — or for people who have limited carbohydrate allowances — the focus should be on getting to 20 to 25 grams of fiber daily as a minimum. Men could require even more; the USDA typically recommends 38 grams of fiber per day for men, which would be almost impossible to meet otherwise.

Yeah, so it'll be almost impossible to meet that fiber goal while staying below the carbohydrate threshold and the calorie threshold unless we're having legumes. So yes, chickpeas are a great example of a food that should be in our daily eating regimen. I'm referring to the general population, assuming we're speaking about healthy individuals. Lentils, black beans, red beans, peas — all of these higher-fiber legumes (really all legumes are relatively high in fiber, some more than others) should be part of our regimen. Artichokes — we tend to think that all vegetables have fiber, but artichoke hearts have eight grams of fiber per cup, which is pretty significant compared to the rest of the vegetables. Meanwhile, a cup of broccoli or a cup of carrots only has three grams of fiber per cup. Not to say that broccoli and carrots don't have other benefits — they do — but if we're looking solely at the fiber content of foods, we really need to learn the numbers. And even on the nutrition.gov website, I looked at their video the other day on their homepage, and they have these two dietitians — very knowledgeable, both of them — but they were giving those blanket statements you hear everywhere else: eat leafy greens, eat this. But okay, which leafy greens have the most fiber? Which leafy greens have the most potassium? Can we look into the numbers, look into the math, and assemble food sets to ensure that the individual is meeting their daily nutrient targets? That's really the approach I have to eating — for myself, my family, and my members.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:03:13.062)

So David, is this on your website? Are your maths-and-logistics nutrition guidelines on your website? Because now you've got me curious. I think I'm pretty okay when it comes to what I should and should not be eating — whether or not I actually eat what I should, that's a different thing. So I'm more curious about your approach and the fact that you look very closely at the numbers. And you've talked about petite women and men, but I'm a little more than average and I tend to depend on exercise to cure everything. Then I think nutrition needs to play a greater part. So what website would you recommend for people who are more interested in getting into the numbers?

David Arguez (01:04:16.761)

So I would recommend the USDA Food Data Central website just to start, for education — to see where I source the information and the numbers. But if they really want to begin taking steps towards accomplishing their desired body composition and blood work goals, what they have to do is download a food tracking app such as MyFitnessPal. For the numbers, they're going to have to adjust the macros — and that's where it could get a little technical. But again, women should get over 50 grams of fat per day and three-quarters of a gram of protein per pound of body weight. Men could do one gram of protein per pound of body weight. And then follow the formula I spoke about earlier during the show: go to a BMR calculator on Google, find out give or take how many calories you're burning while at rest. And if somebody wants to do an in-body scan or any body composition analysis, that will give the person a great baseline as to how much visceral fat they have — in other words, how much fat in the midsection that may be pushing their internal organs out of place. That's the dangerous fat that we have to work on reducing. Subcutaneous fat, on the other hand — the fat stored in our arms and legs — is actually healthy for us, so that one we don't have to worry about.

David Arguez (01:06:13.199)

A body composition analysis will also give us a more accurate representation of what our basal metabolic rate actually is. Yes, we can look it up on a Google BMR calculator and get an estimate. But if we do a body composition analysis, it takes into consideration our muscle mass and body fat mass, giving us a much more accurate figure. So yes — USDA Food Data Central is where people should go if they're curious about the real nutrient content of a certain fruit or vegetable, or to verify a claim an influencer has made. In terms of my framework, I would love to send you the details. I'm writing a book called Body Composition Outcomes Report. It's going to include the science behind body composition — studies conducted by external organizations — as well as a few of our member success stories and a step-by-step guide as to how they can get started. My site right now shows the work we do for restaurant partners, not so much for our private nutrition members. But that's going to change — we're putting out plenty of content, and our software developers are working overtime to get these pages up and running. And I'm somebody who, if I don't like the system we have, I scrap it and we start from scratch. That's pretty much what happened with our previous program: it was working very well, but we weren't satisfied. We wanted to make it even better. So we've now rebuilt everything from the ground up, and you'll also see that on our website very shortly.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:08:38.298)

David, what is your website?

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:08:46.436)

Nourishment Resource, Nourishment Resource Support Center.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:08:55.108)

So I have a few more questions. What brings you joy?

David Arguez (01:09:03.833)

What brings me joy? Well, I think this is the word of the day: outcomes. Outcomes bring me a lot of joy. But in addition to the outcomes, the people. Just being able to reconnect with the same people over and over again and not lose contact. I have an excuse to call them — I ask them about their nutrition, but I also want to know how they're doing and how their family's doing, since I end up meeting the families of my members. So that's one thing that really brings me joy: the outcomes and the bonds that form when I achieve these outcomes with individuals. Something else that brings me euphoria — because yes, there's joy and there's euphoria — is traveling. Getting to know new environments. And that's exactly why I've set up the program the way I did, so that I can work from anywhere.

David Arguez (01:10:16.631)

And that's why about 90% of our consultations are now via telenutrishment. When we were doing everything in person before, we were a regular brick-and-mortar business where people had to come in physically to meet with me and do their body composition tests here. Now we've figured out a way to do this fully online, and people are loving it because they don't have to drive to the office or sit in traffic. Sometimes they do the consultations in their pajamas. I tell them not to worry — this isn't anything they need to dress up for. And yeah, they really love it.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:11:02.488)

Thank you. And we're nearing the end of our conversation. What book recommendation do you have? It could be a book that you've read recently or something that has stayed with you over the years. And it could be more than one book.

David Arguez (01:11:19.887)

So I like this question, and I've got to give credit where credit is due. Our good friend Natalie Alcantara gave me this book recommendation, and I loved it. It's called Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. Because when people think of persuasion, they think of it as a bad thing — like manipulation. But because of the strategies that I've learned from this book — some of them I use, some of them I discarded — really, it's a combination of many different books and many different frameworks that have all come together into the one framework I've created for the Macro Intelligent Nourishment System. It's become so easy to get people to comply with following programs that are for their own well-being. It makes compliance simple when you're reading books that help with persuasion, because as a practitioner, or as any kind of consultant or individual who requires their colleagues, clients, or members to actually execute something with them, it's so important to be persuasive and to let them know: this is what's in it for you.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:13:03.872)

David, thank you so much for your time. Is there anything else? Do you have any final thoughts?

David Arguez (01:13:14.735)

Know what your numbers are. Know what your basal metabolic rate is. Know what your ideal calorie range is. Know what your ideal macros are. Know what your fiber goal is. Know which food sets can get you within your nutrient ranges. Track your body composition. And also respect your palate. If there are certain non-negotiables that your body asks for — whether it's pizza or ice cream or fruit or whatever it is — we have to find a way to work it in strategically, instead of rejecting and excluding that food altogether, which is where binging unfortunately happens. For example, having two cups of chicken bone broth for satiety before having pizza or any calorie-dense meal will prevent you from eating more of it, because you've already filled your stomach with the bone broth. Different hacks and strategies like that allow us to eat our favorite foods without going overboard. So yeah, I'm glad that I ended on "respect your palate," because that is so important. We all have different palates, different tastes. And with a system like this, we can find out how to work in the foods we enjoy without necessarily compromising our body composition results or our health.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:15:06.086)

Thank you, David. I appreciate you being on today's show. And here are a few of the appreciation nuggets I'm taking away from our conversation. One of the things that you said: you believe in giving value wherever you go. You talked about the importance of knowing your numbers and being able to adjust from day to day without going over your allotted numbers. And fiber is extremely important, and getting lots of legumes into your diet is critical. You also shared a success story of a grandmother losing 53 pounds on the program you created. And your last point: respect your palate. David, I appreciate you taking the time to join me on ABWilson's Heart of the Matter — a podcast dedicated to asking overwhelmingly positive questions as we uncover incredible stories, knowledge, and wisdom of people you may know. David Arguez, thank you so much for being here today.

David Arguez (01:16:38.083)

Thank you for having me. It's been great. Hope to do this again soon.

Aderonke Bademosi Wilson (01:16:41.868)

Indeed.